Week 5

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Chapter10.pptx

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Chapter 10

Schools and Delinquency

American Schools

In 1890 only 7% of children in the US attended school. Today that number is 90%

Globally, school has become the primary determining factor of social and economic factors

Schools, especially for children after the age of 12, are the primary social interaction environment

The medium income for a child who drops out of school in the US (K-12) - $23,000 That is almost 50% less than a high school graduate, and 75% less than a college graduate.

More on schools

The US high school graduation rate in 2012 was 75% Despite increases in funding, the rate has only risen 5% in the past 20 years.

While the US is the wealthiest nation in the world, we rank 24th in per capita spending on students.

Overall, US students scored 23rd in the world in median skills testing

While overall scores for US students have improved in the past ten years, so has the rest of the world! We still lag behind most industrialized nations in educational scores and spending.

Demographics

Students scoring Proficient at 4th Grade

Caucasian – 42%

Hispanic – 20%

Black – 15%

At the 8th Grade –

Caucasian – 33%

Hispanic – 15%

Black – 11%

Drop Out Rates

Nationwide – 8.5%

Caucasian – 4.9%

Black – 9.4%

Hispanic – 18.8%

Asian – 4.4%

Indian – 17.5%

Mixed Racial – 4.2%

Why drop out?

Wile jobs and expulsion are certainly factors in children dropping out of school, there are other factors to consider:

Education through graduation is not compulsory in may states (Colorado it is until 16 years of age)

Nearly 90% of all dropouts come from single parent homes

Nearly 80% of all dropouts come from families living near the poverty line

The overall effect

Why do we care about high school drop outs? Some interesting factors:

A high school dropout will cost society, on average, $243,000 to $388,000 in welfare and social program benefits

A high school dropout who is arrested before their 21st birthday, will cost society $1.3 million to $1.5 million in legal cost attributed to the criminal justice system.

School failure and delinquency

Children who underachieve in school are considered to be at greatest risk for delinquency. There are three theories for how poor performance at school is related to greater rates of delinquency:

School failure is a direct cause of delinquency, as poor students associate with other failing individuals in anti-social groups

School failure leads to social and psychological problems, which in turn lead to anti-social behavior

School failure is not a cause of delinquency, but rather shares the same underlying causes of delinquency.

Delinquency and education

Regardless of the causes, several correlations have been made between school failure and delinquency:

Personal and psychological problems in the home follow the child to the classroom, and are made worse

Children in lower social classes are traditionally the poorest performers in school

While tracking student may help those with high skill sets, it creates labels for those who are remedial

Students who feel alienated from the social structure of school, are most likely to develop delinquent tendencies.

Violence in the schools

While there has been much made in the media about school violence, the statistics tell a different story:

The overall threat of violence against teachers is very low. Less than 3% of all teachers will be attacked in their entire CAREER, while approximately 7% will receive a threat during their career.

More statistics

As illustrated in the text, actual criminal acts performed on school grounds have decreased dramatically over the past twenty years:

Overall crime rates for students away from school is nearly identical to the number of acts on school grounds

The overall rates of violent crimes have dropped by nearly 70%

Violent crime affects less than 1% of all students at school , and less than 3% of all students will be a victim of any crime at school (including thefts)

The real problems

Bullying – Bullying, by it’s definition, is a form of harassment. It can include teasing, threats of violence, or repeated negative denouncement. Nearly 64% of all students report being the victim of bullying in a school year, and nearly 75% report being victims of cyber-bullying.

School shootings – While close to 10% of all students have reported bringing a weapon of some type to school, the overall number of firearms attacks are relatively rare. Where a weapon is discharged or used at a school the overwhelming percentage of attacks are NOT mass shootings.

Where violence occurs

Regardless of it’s causes, school place violence does follow certain characteristics:

Large schools breed violence – 89% of schools with enrollment over 2,000 students reported crimes of violence, while only 38% of smaller schools did (in a given year)

Schools in urban areas reported nearly four times as much crime as rural ones

Schools with poor aesthetics ( pollution, graffiti, need of repair) reported crime at nearly three times the national rate.