Responds to article by Bill Linn concerning the urban student's alienation and suggests that Linn may have a defeatist attitude. (MKM)

School choice is increasingly promulgated as a promising education reform policy for failing urban schools, but no solid evidence has yet shown the promise fulfilled. The authors argue that choice based on market theory without a moral center is insufficient. Without a moral foundation, such market-driven choice programs may actually disadvantage…

Describes high school students' letters written to help their teacher interpret youth culture to college professors at an upcoming seminar. Essays reflected four themes: (1) a search for family, (2) identity problems and loneliness, (3) living with rapid change, and (4) fear of failure, especially in college. (2 references) (MLH)

This publication presents essays written by seven young, urban, minority students participating in an intensive writing workshop given by What Kids Can Do in collaboration with the Margins to Mainstream project. The goal of the workshop was to coach students to create short essays suitable for use as a newspaper column, radio commentary, or…

In 1996, only 30% of poor children who lived apart from their fathers received financial support. That year, welfare reform addressed this hard fact, stepping up efforts to collect child support. However, increased child support alone will not be enough. Further support, economic incentives, and revised child support policies are needed to enable…

Increasing participation of Black students in high technology vocational programs requires (1) eliminating negative attitudes about vocational education; (2) introducing technology education in elementary and middle schools; and (3) linking vocational programs with community opportunities, for example, through the work of vocational-technical…

Comments on the articles in this special issue on research from the Chicago Longitudinal Study. Analysis concludes that resilience is a highly combinatorial process, and is dependent on the capacity of individuals in a supportive social network to perceive these declines in functioning by the existence of these risky events present in low income,…

The relationships among Black Studies as an intellectual discipline and rap music are explored. It is argued that black urban culture has provided much of the impetus for Black Studies, and that the academy and those involved in the black studies discipline should feel a responsibility to take rap music seriously as the expression of urban youth,…

This book examines the policies and practices that create educational inequality in the United States and what can be done to reduce their influence. The introduction identifies children who are disadvantaged by the U.S. educational system, and documents the results of society's failure to serve them properly. Part One, which contains four…

Explores the new racism of the intelligence quotient as represented by "The Bell Curve" by R. Herrnstein and C. Murray (1994). Educators must confront the factors that divide Americans to contribute to a multicultural society in which diversity unites rather than divides. (SLD)

Traces how the "Great Migration" of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North in the early part of the century has resulted in a "Lost Generation" of urban youth. Emphasizes the need for a reconstruction of the traditional African American family and a renewed commitment to social action. (FMW)

Responds to feminist groups' assertions that the educational system shortchanges females, suggesting that these assertions have detracted attention from the real problem of low academic achievement among African-American males and boys in general. Research on adolescent self-esteem and sex differences in mathematics achievement is reviewed. (SLD)

Three mothers whose children were connected to Dallas (Texas) gangs told their stories at the Fourth Joint National Conference on Gangs, Schools, and Community. It is said that gang members come from dysfunctional families, usually from homes where fathers are not present or involved in children's upbringing. In spite of a great deal of research…

Most of what the world envisions of the period of westward expansion in America has been crafted through Hollywood cinema. The myths of the West are so ingrained in America's culture that they have taken on a truth all their own. In a series of recent films, which began with the release of "Boyz N the Hood," Hollywood is at it again, presenting…

What are the common tasks facing cities committed to saturating their city with high quality out-of-school opportunities, available to every young person? While no list is definitive or complete, we identify ten critical tasks. (Background and Contact information is appended. Contains 5 footnotes and 9 figures.)