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Listening to Understand Violence: The Voices of Youth

by Susan Hopkins and Susie Peppers
March/April 1995
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Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/listening-to-understand-violence-the-voices-of-youth/5010255/

"It takes a whole community to raise a child; it takes a whole community to raise one issue." So spoke a former gang member from Los Angeles at the 1994 National Association for the Education of Young Children conference. Teachers from all over the country listened to a panel of six young people who have experienced violence in their lives and are now working with youth around issues of violence prevention. The event was sponsored by Concerned Educators Allied for a Safe Environment (CEASE), a small organization of early childhood educators which works to promote a safe world for children.

Teachers asked: What experiences contributed to the problems you have had in your lives? How did you recover from the violence you experienced? What are you doing now to work with the issues of violence? What is your message for teachers?

As the young people told their stories, the messages for teachers were clear. The youth were articulate in what had happened to them. Being abused and abusing, dealing and using drugs, using and being wounded by guns, prison and parole were central parts of their stories. One message which stood out ...

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