Module 7: Youth Gangs and the Schools

Introduction

Wus' happ'nin', Homee!

"How does one identify a student in class that is a gang member or leaning toward gang activity? What are the reasons for wanting to join a gang? What can teachers do to redirect students and to prevent others from joining gangs? What can parents do at home and in their communities to help these children and youth?" This problem of youth gangs is not limited to our region; it is a rapidly growing phenomenon and of national and international concern! It is estimated that there is youth gang activity in every small town and in every large city in the United States, some in greater and lesser degrees than others.

In Northern Arizona, including Flagstaff, rural towns and the nearby Native American Reservations, we have identified youth gangs and youth gang activity in and around school communities. Certainly, there is ample gang activity in all of Arizona including Phoenix, Yuma, Nogales, Tucson, Safford and most Native American Reservations. Most teachers do not have a handle on the issues nor do they have any approaches available to them to help redirect their students away from youth violence and gang activity. Educators, parents, police and concerned citizens need approaches for preventing children and youth from joining gangs.

This module will only introduce you to the problem and will inform you about some approaches for identifying gang members and for re-directing "wannabe" children. Keep in mind that this is national problem and each state and community has specific approaches for dealing with it. Since each community and state is different, approaches are tailored to the specific problem. Our goal is to begin to explore this important social problem: awareness, solutions, prevention, & the role of parents and teachers.

Once you will have gained an overview of this topic, then you will explore your own community's youth gang activity and you will be asked share this information as part of your activities for this module. This includes posting your own experiences and opinions about gangs in your community. The overall goal is to become aware of the problem and to learn to use the internet as an informational tool to address it. The internet has literally thousands of sites. Please note that many of these sites are posted by police departments! But you will also see sites posted by actual gangs, community service organizations, and state and national government sources.

I suggest that you explore first the gang situation in large urban centers such as Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City, Atlanta, San Francisco, Miami, etc. The reason behind this suggestion is that most gangs in suburban and rural areas are influenced by the city gangs. For example, on the Navajo Reservation we see graffiti and "gang colors" which are linked directly to LA City gangs such as the "Bloods" and "Crips." There are also affiliations with Chicago gangs and New York City gangs!

Let's begin this module by looking at the structure of youth gangs.

To complete this topic successfully, please complete the following activities in the order shown below:

LESSON 1: Group Structure of Youth Gangs: Definitions

READING & VCC ACTIVITY: Read Luis Rodriguez' Always Running.

INTERNET RESEARCH ACTIVITY: Gang Sites

VCC ACTIVITY: Gangs in your Community

FINAL EXAM: Final Exam

COURSE Evaluation: Online Evaluation Evaluation