A Kind and Just Parent: The Children of Juvenile CourtA Kind and Just Parent gives us a transformative view of kids caught up in the justice system that we could never get from nightly news and newspaper stories. William Ayers has spent five years as teacher and observer in Chicago's Juvenile Court prison, the nation's first and largest institution of juvenile justice, founded by legendary reformer Jane Addams to act as a "kind and just parent" for kids in need. Today, immensely confused and confusing, it serves as a perfect microcosm of the way American justice deals with children. The book follows a year in the life of the prison school. Its characters are three-dimensional: funny, quirky, sometimes violent, and often vulnerable. We see young people talking about their lives, analyzing their own situations, and thinking about their friends and their futures. We watch them throughout a school year and meet some remarkable teachers. From the intimate perspective of a teacher, Ayers gives us portraits, history, and analysis that help us to understand not only what brought these kids into the court system, but why people find it hard to think straight about them, and what we might do to keep their younger brothers and sisters from landing in the same place. |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
adolescence adult ain't Alex alright Antoine asks Audy Home Berniece boys charged Chicago Chicago Tribune child Children and Family classroom Clint Cook County cops courtroom crime criminal delinquency desk detention center Dilulio door drugs Eric Morse eyes face feel fight gang Gangster Disciples Girl Talk going Gwendolyn Brooks hand head Hull House human hurt Jamie Jane Addams Jeff Jeff's Jefferson Jesus judge justice Juvenile Court kids Langston Hughes Latin King laughs lawyer LeMarque lives locked look Lucille Clifton Marge Piercy Marvin mean Merce morning mother murder never parents prison punishment Rasheed responds says Frank says Freddie says Mario sexual smile state's attorney statutory rape stay story superpredators teacher teenagers tell things Tobs told trying turn violence wait What's words write young youth Zayd