Young boys need to feel safe as well

We often dismiss boys’ concerns and feelings in school due to wrong reason; but the fact of the matter is, school is becoming more difficult and hostile to young boys (thank you Eric Kline for the article). Read the whole article here: http://ideas.time.com/2013/08/19/school-has-become-too-hostile-to-boys/#ixzz2cRZUjDd1, watch this short clip here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpXhbdl1MKo .  Zero tolerance has done a number on boys, and is especially skewed  negatively towards boys of color.

 

 

Dozier School for boys

“The Florida School for Boys, also known as the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys (AGDS), was a reform school operated by the state of Florida in the panhandle town of Marianna from January 1, 1900, to June 30, 2011”. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_School_for_Boys)

“Investigators have been given permission to exhume remains found at the notorious Arthur G Dozier School for Boys in Florida, which closed in 2011 following pupils' revelations of widespread physical and sexual abuse”.

“Governor Rick Scott and the rest of Florida's cabinet voted unanimously on Tuesday to allow dozens of unmarked graves found in woods near the school to be opened up. The decision comes after a team of researchers found evidence of almost 100 deaths at the institution”
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/07/florida-exhume-remains-dozier-school

“Following revelations from former inmates who had been incarcerated at the school in the 1950s and 1960s, who described themselves as "The White House Boys," the school was the subject of an extensive special report, For Their Own Good, published by the St. Petersburg Times in 2009.  Allegations focusing on the 1960s included claims that one room was used for whipping white boys and another for black boys. The whippings were carried out with a 3-feet-long belt made of leather and metal and were thorough enough that the recipients' underwear became embedded in their skin. One inmate said that the punishments were severe but justified. But another claimed that he had seen a boy trapped in a running laundry dryer at the school and suspected the boy was killed”.

“One former inmate claimed that he was punished in the white house eleven times, receiving a total of over 250 lashes. Others alleged that they were whipped until they lost consciousness and that the punishments were made harsher for boys that cried.  Some former inmates also claimed that there was a "rape room" at the school where they were sexually abused. The complainants said that some of the victims were as young as nine years old”.

Read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_School_for_Boys

This is not ancient history; this school was finally closed in 2011, just two short years ago.

When did our young men become the enemy?

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam