DEJ 10

Chapter #1: Framing the Inner-City Teenager

1. Do you think topics that center on "frustration with official power" and "attraction for mass media fantasies would differ in  rural communities from those that inner-city teenagers focus on? How? Give some examples.  I do think that frustration with official power exists within both communities but in different ways.  In a rural community the issues may be speeding, driving without a license, underage drinking and drugs.  In an urban community life is more about survival than the risk taking events of the rural community.  The youth have to comply to the laws while survival may be doing the exact opposite.  The pressure no do right comes from official power but gangs, peers, life situations often dictate behavior that is in direct conflict with the official power.

2. How do traditional social institutions and mass media work to silence inner-city kids?

Traditional social institutions try to mold behavior into their desired outcomes without taking all the factors into consideration and fall short in helping the person.  Mass media give an image and a face to behaviors of certain groups.  The behaviors are either acceptable, looked down upon or exploited to sell a product.  Urban youth often find themselves in the unacceptable group and want to be the accepted one or just accept their fate and continue behaviors that will lead them on a downward spiral.  Media shows more of the failure of minority youths than the achievements.  There is no news in Tammy getting her B.S. but if Tammy shoots her rival at a graduation party it is news.

3. What is your reaction to the statistics presented under the heading "And Justice For Some?" Do you think the system in intentionally organized to disadvantage urban youth of color?

I do not think that it is intentionally organized to give a disadvantage to urban youth but there are many more minority urban youths on the roles of detention centers.  I think the problem is much more complicated than courts being unfair or slanted against urban youth. 

4. Link to an advertisement or commercial that you consider to b e influenced by hip-hop culture?

5. What dangers to young people do you see in the relentless marketing of "cool”?

I think that one of the negative results is that all youth want to be cool so if a produce is marketed and the teen can not afford the product they may go to extreme means to obtain the product.  If on the other hand the teen accepts that they have no way to obtain the product they are looked at as a social outcast because they do not have or wear the cool products.  I also think that the hip-hop life style sends the wrong message to all yoths not only minority youths and yet this lifestyle is glorified in the media.

6. What is your reaction to the research that shows youth violence in decline? Do you still think that is the trend in 2012? Find some statistics to support your answer?

Living outside of Pittsburgh I hear that crimes are being committed daily by youth so I did think that crime rate was on the rise.  I know that in Chicago this year it has been the worst summer for murder in many years and they related it to gangs.  I found this short video that stated that crime was on the rise but more important was the message of the video.

Juvenile Delinquency Rising in US - Video Dailymotion

7. Why is it important to let youth speak for themselves and their voices to be heard?

When we give the chance for youth to speak we gain insights into their world, their problems and their dreams.  It can give us a starting point of what needs to be changed to help them travel on a tract to success rather than on the same path of risky behaviors.  I live not far from many low income urban neighbors and I often hear the man is keeping me down but do we ever give the youth to explain why they feel that way or even the opportunity to find out if it is really true or that they can be successful given the tools and their own work to achieve.

8. What prevents Urban Youth from articulating their own lived experiences in ways that might be productive? Do you think this is problematic in rural areas like West Virginia? Do you think rural youth are victimized by mass media in ways that are different than Urban youth? How?

First with urban youth language skills are very poor for many.  Urban youth have a street language and a language they are expected to use.  We have classes for ESL but it reality the street language is like their native language and then they are placed in a classroom or work place that their native language is not acceptable.  Media celebrates the thugs and the hip-hop culture and so urban youth take their role models from this subculture.  Once again street language is used in these portrayals. When their message is delivered in street language main stream media disregards the message.  Rural youths may not have been exposed to rich language and many terms and words may be foreign to them.  When you see rural settings and people in mass media they are also stereotyped but instead of thugs and rappers, they are slow thinking country western singing people who are not very ambitious.  Rural messages also may be disregarded my main stream media as being backward and unimportant.

9. According to the author, what is the best way to address the literacy challenge? Let the youth voices be heard.  Give them opportunities to experience language by community interactions, virtual lessons, and successful business leaders to see how language is used in telling their story.  This will give more meaning to words than rote memorization.

10. Why is the skill and drill approach to literacy instruction ineffective?

The rote learning will soon be forgotten because the youth do not have a reference point for the words.  There is no connection between many of the words and their real life use of words.  The rote memorization is just that and true meaning and practical use is not achieved.

11. What should schools offer to improve literacy instruction for Urban Youth? Do you think this strategy would also benefit student of the Appalachia region whose literacy rates are similar to those of youth in the inner-city?

I do think both groups would benefit from the same strategies.  Give the students opportunities to see actual ways these words are used.  Start with building a working vocabulary that has meaning to the student and build on that.  Let the students have access to different community members, business leaders and learning opportunities via technology.  Give the students opportunities to express themselves.  Challenge their knowledge by designing projects outside their comfort zone to expose them to new learning opportunities. 

12. How is the process of reading changed by media?

The media can be a good source for students to experience things outside their comfort zone however they must be given literacy skills to interpret the message the media is really presenting. 

13. According to the author how might the imbalance between inner-city kids strong command of oral and visual language be used to improve print-based language? Do you think this would also work for low-literacy kids in the Appalachia region?

Give the students exposure to all racial groups, cultures and social opportunities by developing projects that give the students exposure through media, technology and printed words.  Let them develop their oral and visual language skills by participating directly in the process rather than given a set of rote lessons.  5 do think that this type of learning would work in both settings and one of the many reasons I do not believe in teaching for a test.