Large city school districts and their personnel have been under scrutiny because of poor academic performance by their students. In TEACHING BABY GANGSTERS, author Marilyn K. Gifford communicates the realities and obstacles teachers face in todays inner-city classrooms. Using her personal experiences as a teacher of at-risk middle-school students, Gifford explains how the social fabric of society has changed and examines how those changes may limit students ability to learn. She discusses the students lives and how many overcame difficult circumstancessuch as special education needs, gang membership, drug and alcohol use, and povertyto succeed in school. She also relays the sad stories of those students who gave in to their environmental influences and failed to get an education. TEACHING BABY GANGSTERS proposes a pragmatic approach to fixing failing inner-city schools by reviving student consciousness and limiting the drama of drugs and gangs. Gifford takes a strong stand for inner-city school reform that is based on the needs of the students reform that makes a difference in the lives of young people.

Did you know that babies come into the world with abilities that adults are unaware of? The Baby Gangs of Athens peels back the curtain and shows the lives of the babies who live in Athens and Athens County. We see the gangs with their alliances and rivalries that exist, especially the East Side and the West Side gangs in Athens. We watch with bated breath as they prepare for the big baby drag races held at the Athens County Fair. Adults do not know that each baby gang works toward winning the baby drag race and being proclaimed, ‘Athens County’s #1 Baby Gang’. Through rigorous training, each gang works toward putting the best team of babies into the big race. But like adults, the babies use intrigue and tricks as they maneuver to gain the upper hand. We see Baby Ben, a member of the East Side gang, being accused of crimes against puppies and kittens. Horrors! But Baby Ben, with the aid of his gang and especially his friend Jewell, may yet prevail and goodness might win the day. The gangs get together in their clubhouses and on social media using such platforms as Babybook and Babieslist. We follow their training regimen and the history of baby gangs in Athens.In fact, we learn of other baby gangs throughout Ohio and beyond. In the end, the babies race before thousands of spectators at the Fair. As each race narrows the field, the excitement builds. Betting on the babies reaches a new record and the results of each heat reaches viral proportions. Who will win the big prize of being the best baby drag racer and whose gang is proclaimed the best gang in Athens County?

Presents state-of-the-art research and teaching into the study of corruption and those affected by it. Analyzes the benefits and disadvantages of various teaching methodologies in universities, police academies, and crime victim services.

New Directions in Teaching English: Reimagining Teaching, Teacher Education and Research attempts to create a comprehensive vision of critical and culturally relevant English teaching at the dawn of the 21st century. This book is multi-voiced. It includes perspectives from classroom teachers, teacher educators, and researchers in language and literacy, positioned to respond to recent changes in national conversations about literacy, learning, and assessment. These variously situated authors also recognize the rapidly changing demographics in schools, the changing nature of literacy in the digital age, and the increasing demands for literacy in the workplace. This book is critical. At all times education is a political act, and schools are embedded within a sociocultural reality that benefits some at the expense of others. Therefore the approach advocated through many of the chapters is one of critical literacy, where English students gain reading and writing skills and proficiency with digital technologies that allow them to become more able, discerning, and empowered consumers and producers of texts.

This book takes a down to earth look at Gang Gun Violence and what we can do as American citizens to eliminate it. Every household, school, church, community center, and organization who is working to stop or eliminate Gang Gun Violence should have a copy of this book. There is no book on Gang Gun Violence which contains more information on the subject than this one. Once you start reading it you will find it very hard to put it down. The information in the book just seemed to jump out and capture your attention and cause you to see gang culture for what it really is. Your eyes will be opened in many new ways, and your mind will sing triumphantly, "This is it, this is it." This is the kind of book I been looking for. Your life will never be the same after reading this book. People who especially work with youths need this book, and every Police Department or Gang Task Force should have this information ready to enlighten, as a form of prevention, for any would be gang member. You can not put a price on a book that help's as much as this book does.

Published in 1998, Adolescent Gangs is a valuable contribution to the field of Counseling and School Therapy.

The special teachers are a drag queen, a swindler, and an ex-boxer!? Off-the-wall classes start as the young leader of a gang group tries to transform the dour school girl!

In addition to providing an accessible introduction to postcolonial theory, the authors explore the enormous potential which postcolonial art offers educators—a wealth of material to draw upon for any rethinking of the school curriculum. Some of the artists discussed in this groundbreaking volume include: African-American critic and writer James BaldwinTrinidadian intellectual and activist C. L. R. JamesNovelist Wilson Harris of GuyanaAfrican-American novelist and Nobel laureate Toni MorrisonThe painter Arnaldo Roche-Rabell of Puerto RicoThe Australian artist Gordon BennettThe Haitian–Puerto Rican–American artist Jean-Michel BasquiatPlus a look at popular "world musics" from around the globe. “A seminal, cutting-edge work.... These insights will radically transform the pedagogical practices that now define schooling and education on a global landscape.” —Norman K. Denzin, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign “A landmark volume…for undergraduate and graduate students alike.” —William F. Pinar, Louisiana State University “If ever a book registered important advances in our thinking about the relationship among culture, power, and education, this is it.” —Michael W. Apple, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Youth violence has become a concern as gangs become a popular option for urban children and teenagers and weapons use among young populations becomes more prevalent. Exploring the psychological motivations and foundations upon which such violence is developed and cultivated can assist in better understanding the modern dilemma of violence, weapons use, and gang behavior among children, teenagers, and young adults. Global Perspectives on Youth Gang Behavior, Violence, and Weapons Use reconsiders the traditional understandings of youth violence in various forms, such as gang activities, criminal behavior, and weapons use. Focusing on the psychosocial elements of violence among children, teenagers, and young adults, this timely publication is ideally designed for use by policy makers and government executives, professionals, educators, and graduate-level students involved in psychology, criminology, social work, and criminal justice studies.

This open access book explores the nexus between knowledge and space with a particular emphasis on the role of educational settings that are, both, shaping and being reshaped by socio-economic and political processes. It gives insight into the complex interplay of educational inequalities and practices of educational governance in the neighborhood and at larger geographical scales. The book adopts quantitative and qualitative methodologies and explores a wide range of theoretical perspectives by drawing upon empirical cases and examples from France, Germany, Italy, the UK and North America, and presents and reflects ongoing research of international scholars from various disciplinary backgrounds such as education, human geography, public policy, sociology, and urban and regional planning. As such, it provides an interesting read for scholars, students and professionals in the broader field of social, cultural and educational studies, as well as policy makers and practitioners in the fields of education, pedagogy, social work, and urban and regional planning.