Many children in today’s society lack understanding of the the world in which they live. The present conditions of their world virtually remains unseen. The role of schools is to educate its children, so that they can grow up to be productive citizens. They must have a safe, orderly and positive environments in order to achieve success.
When a crime is committed in a consunity, it is in a way caused by everyone. People do not live in the world alone, the criminal grows up with people. People are affected by their social experiences. If children want to murder or break a school window, their environment has taught them how and have given them a reason. And if they are punished by the community, it is because the community feels guilty their crime, for failing to provide positive experiences in schools, for not protecting them from severe cruelty, neglect, starvation, and rejection. Those in the community who most demand their punishment are usually those who feel most guilty for their own failures, real or imaginary. If they could forgive themselves, accept themselves, they could forgive the delinquents, accept and teach them, and so in doing, convert them before they become hardened unconvertible criminals.
It is not an easy process to change the behavior of people. The job is too big for any one school, teacher, policeman, judge, psychologist or social worker. It takes many people to make an ordinary little boy or girl into a hardened criminal. It will take many people to make a criminal into a good citizen.
Every little boy or girl in trouble should be examined by a doctor, psychologist, a reading specialist, a social worker, and his home and neighbor should be studied. Intelligent steps can then be taken by this team of people working with the community council and community based police, with cooperation of the boy or girl what everybody needs: security, affection, adventure, a chance to get recognition, to learn, and to give others the best that he or she has to give.
Every city has some special programs for handling delinquents. As our society becomes more secular, the official agencies, such as, police, social workers, etc. are used more often. In a friendly neighborhood, when children at play break a window, the parents may talk it over and decide who pays; but in a neighborhood where people do not know each other, they may call the police. The two misdeeds are the same, but the crime rate is higher in one place than another.
It takes all of us working together to save our children. Sometimes a youth commits a crime which so angers the community that letting it go without punishment is impossible. The problem is what punishment to one person may be a reward to another. Sending a person to jail may be just what he has been hoping for, an opportunity to get away from his mother, father or gang, relax, and get three meals a day.
A good amount of evidence suggests that the majority of juvenile delinquents and criminals have been neglected or otherwise punished as infants and children. We can reduce crime by preventing punishment of infants and small children. Children at an early age can and will decide on their behavior good or bad by age four.
We as educators, community workers, and politicians can not afford to ignore that we have responsibilities in educating and training our children for a better society.
