*** YOU ONLY NEED THE THREE FILES I ATTACHED FOR THE RESOURCES. NO OUTSIDE RESOURCES***
**MUST READ!!!!! THIS JOURNAL ASSIGNMENT IS BASED ON CHAPTERS 5-8 IN THE BOOK THE OTHER WES MOORE, HANDOUT #7, AND CHAPTER 7 PP. 206-220 IN THE BOOK RETHINKING JUVENILE JUSTICE***
In his frequent speaking engagements, the author (and now Governor) Wes Moore has often discussed how we cannot talk about a delinquent youth’s “individual responsibility” without looking at not only the people around that individual teen (as is referenced on Handout #7 as the microsystem and mesosystem factors), but at the structural opportunities that are available to that youth (see Exosystem factors on Handout # 7). The author connects the concept of ‘societal responsibility’ and the need for ‘structural change’ in his book, The Other Wes Moore, by saying that for the ‘other’ Wes, just like for many youth growing up in disadvantaged neighborhoods and communities, there are very few opportunities. The following questions are about the interaction between Mesosystem and Exosystem factors in the ‘other’ Wes Moore’s life.
1) At the end of chapter 5 (which is entitled ‘Lost’) the ‘other’ Wes at age 16 shoots and almost kills an older teen. Who were the people in the ‘other’ Wes’ peer group in the community at this time? Who were the ‘other’ Wes’ role models in his community at this time? Who were the people in the ‘mental audience’ the other Wes kept in mind when he remembered the phrase “send a message….” and ran back into his house to grab a gun? In addition to these mesosystem factors, which exosystem factor came into play here and had a disastrous effect on the other Wes Moore at this point in his life? [20 pts.]
2) By chapter 6, we see that the ‘other’ Wes got out of Juvenile Detention after serving 6 months because luckily, the older teen he shot did not die. Within a few months of getting released though, the ‘other’ Wes dropped out of high school because he was now 2 years older than his classmates, and felt high school classes were meaningless. Although still a teenager he was soon running his own drug operation and his crew had now became his family. At this point “…Getting arrested was starting to feel routine. [The ‘other’] Wes wasn’t shocked or afraid anymore, just annoyed…” What 2 additional examples in the ‘other’ Wes Moore’s very negative mesosystem during his teenage years does chapter 6 discuss? E.g., What were the high schools like in Baltimore City at the time? What was the graduation rate? What very negative and ultimately disasterous interactions with exosystem took place as a result? [20 pts.]
3) In the book, Rethinking Juvenile Justice chapter 7 discusses what successful programs designed to re-direct youthful offenders need to include. Give 2 examples from the sections titled “Youths in Community-Based Programs” and “What Works with Young Offenders?” (pp. 213 – 218) of types of services and opportunities that were not made available to the ‘other’ Wes. [20 pts.]
4) In the introduction to Part 2 of the book, The Other Wes Moore, the author quotes something the ‘other’ Wes said during one of their visits at the prison where the ‘other’ Wes was incarcerated: “…both of us did some pretty wrong stuff when we were younger. And both of us had second chances. But if the situations or the context where you make the decisions don’t change, then second chances don’t mean too much…” Were there any opportunities for the ‘other’ Wes in terms of what his Baltimore communities had to offer? How did teen pregnancy and poverty affect him? What about the drug trade surrounding him in his Baltimore neighborhoods? (Give specific examples from the middle of chapter 7 in The Other Wes Moore. ) [20 pts.]
5) The ‘other’ Wes got a ‘second chance’ when he went to Job Corps at about age 20, quickly earned his GED, and graduated Job Corps with a skill. But what happened? Which Exosystem factor(s) remained the same for the other Wes such that despite his successful graduation from Job Corps and learning a trade, he returned to his criminal activities? [20 points]
