The United States incarcerates more people per capita than any other country in the world. There are now more black and brown men in prison than in college. The White House has announced a new initiative aimed at curbing this trend. We now have approximately two million people of color on lock down in this country. It's no wonder that there is a renewed interest in investing in education to properly empower all young people with the skills and knowledge necessary to life a healthy and happy life. Furthermore, we know that a high school education is not enough. A recent article, in the New York Times, title, "Is College Worth It?" shows the income gap between those who have a four-year bachelor degree versus those who simply have a secondary diploma. However, with many schools challenged with supporting students social and emotional needs, our communities are often not equipped to deal with students lure for street life and dysfunctional home lives. How do we support students who do not want to do school? Those who simply are deviant and refuse to listen to anyone in the school and they are empowered by their parents to fight those who simply lay their hands on them? Furthermore, many youth believe that quick fame and fortune will come through sports or quick money of the streets. Today for me was an eye-opening experience. Here was a young man that was most definitely headed in the direction of incarceration. As I spoke to him about why he got suspended, he displayed little remorse and as I continued the conversation, he simply said to me, "You're wasting your time, I don't really care." He went onto to say that he didn't care who laid his hands on him (this included the principal, other teachers, etc.) that he would fight them.
