Patronizing attitude causes social, scholastic deficiencies

  Shirin Vossoughi Vossoughi is a
third-year history and international development studies student.
Speak your mind and e-mail her at [email protected].
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Fourteen-year old Nathaniel Brazill pulled back the slide on a
.25 caliber handgun in a packed courtroom under direction of a
prosecution that grilled the Florida youth for the recent murder of
his teacher. “You want it to be an accident, don’t
you?” said prosecutor Marc Shiner. “You
don’t want anyone to believe you were angry enough to
kill another human being, do you?” (Los Angeles Times, May
10, 2001.)

Shiner said Brazill felt in control with the gun and mocked
the young man, “I’m going to show these girls that
I’m a big man and maybe they should go out with me
“¦ I’m Nate Brazill. I have a gun.” (Los Angeles
Times, May 15, 2001.)

Earlier this month, Brazill was charged as an adult for
a murder the defense claims was accidental. The jury found the
young Brazill guilty of second-degree murder, a verdict that
could land him in prison for the rest of his life. This
prompted protests by groups such as Amnesty International,
which argue that the sentencing of children to life in prison
without parole is a violation of international law.

These trials raise crucial questions regarding the
criminalization of our youth on an institutional level. But
more importantly, they reveal how the patronizing,
disrespectful treatment youths receive from adults like
prosecutor Shiner is supported by a system that throws children
in jail and then ponders why in God’s name many
young people have trouble in school or wind up in
court.

Bob Hatcher, principal of Brazill’s middle school,
praised the verdict, stating that “the justice system
worked.” As a school principal, his applause of such blatant
injustice divulges the depth of the United
States’ violent attitude toward its young people.

The roots of this attitude must be traced to the classroom
where young people whose life experiences often complicate
their learning are labeled from the jump as
“troublemakers” and punished. 

Witness a recent Los Angeles Times special about
“disruptive students” testing novice teachers.
Addressing the difficulties of discipline, Duke Helfand said,
“The challenge grows exponentially in secondary schools,
where adolescence turns cuddly children into walking
hormones.” These labels deny that youths are, first and
foremost, human beings. We fail to treat them as such,
yet continue to expect kids who are not regarded as equals to act
like adults and face adult consequences to their actions.

Helfand goes on to compare the classroom experience to dodging
shrapnel in a foxhole. With such war-like
metaphors, youths are painted as violent and uncontrollable
individuals on the other side of a battle rather than equal
members of a community who are striving to learn.

  Illustration by Kristen Gillette/Daily Bruin In addition,
students are blamed for situations out of their control, such as
difficulties in learning or lack of concentration
that frequently stem from unaddressed personal or societal
problems. Youths often feel that adults either fear them or are
simply against them, a disempowering emotion that can lead to
anger and resentment.

As one educator said, “I help those kids
who want to learn. You want everybody to succeed, but you
can’t help everybody.” (Los Angeles Times, May
23.) That’s the spirit. Give the most help to the students
who already have the drive to learn and let the rest fall by
the wayside. It’s their fault anyway, right?

Some adults sure think so. In a letter to the Los Angeles Times
titled “This Is Why We Can’t Read” (May 5, 2001),
Los Angeles high-school seniors describe the deplorable
conditions under which they are expected to learn. Amidst all
the hoopla of education as a hot election issue and
politicians running around declaring what’s best for the
city’s youth, it seems no one thought of asking the
kids they so sincerely aim to help.

As the students wrote, “Despite all the scratching of
so many wise heads, nobody seems to be able to figure out what
the problem is. … You, the adults out there, remain
clueless. The real problem is that you have not asked us. As
far we are concerned, the reasons are simple and the solutions
are clear. If you would only listen.”

Their solutions include starting school at a reasonably later
hour, access to a decent breakfast, adequate desks and
books and adults who set a good example. “We don’t
need more strip malls, video arcades, food courts or movie
theatres,” they write. “Give us a school in good
shape, with trees and grass instead of concrete and broken
glass and most of us will try to take care of it, to make it a
place we will want to come back to and support rather than try
to get away from as soon as we can.”

Despite such an honest plea, adults like Sid Lazarow from Orange
Country tell the youth to look for sympathy elsewhere, saying,
“Sorry, if you are in a mess, you are responsible and
nobody else.” Thus adults continually turn a deaf ear
toward youths and then revile them for giving up on school, a
place where many adults have already given up on them.

It is adults who need to open their eyes to the reality of a
system that turns its back on youths and then scrambles to
find explanations for increased drug use, high drop-out rates and
young people committing “adult” crimes.

It is within this system that the House of Representatives
approved plans to expand school testing last week from grades
three through eight, endorsing a cornerstone of Bush’s
education scheme that will use testing to punish
“failing” schools.

One principal, from Sherman Oaks Elementary school, went so
far as to call funds that reward high test scores “blood
money.” (Los Angeles Times, May 24, 2001.)
Senate Republicans also succeeded in rejecting an initiative
to bolster the teaching corps in such schools and as Sen.
Patty Murray said, “Bipartisanship crashed in our
kids’ classrooms today.” (Los Angeles Times, May
18, 2001.)

But aside from all the political rhetoric, every branch of the
current system spells out where our real priorities lie, and it is
far from creating a safe and healthy environment for kids.

Beyond education, the attack on youths from all sides continues
as Bush and his lackeys at the National Rifle Association push
to quell any restrictions on access to firearms. The
centerpiece of Bush’s plan is a proposal to spend $15
million to hire 113 additional assistant U.S. attorneys to
prosecute gun charges. (Los Angeles Times, May 15, 2001.) Better to
enlist more prosecutors like Marc Shiner who know how to lock
away our youth than spend a dime on teachers or better
schools.

With capricious politicians battling one another, adults
patronizing youth and many teachers giving up, where does the
responsibility for our children’s futures lie? While the
rehashing of our attitudes toward youths must be a community
effort, much of the responsibility lies with us.

As college students, we clearly remember and still confront the
feeling of youth, of being underestimated, ignored or
belittled. Having entered a place where our voices are heard
(to an extent) and where there is power to affect policy, the
education system and the prison system lie in our hands. We must
listen to those who will momentarily take our place in order
to ensure that they do.