gangsinourschools.com/blog

     Sorry for the hiatus but it has been quite hectic lately. Anyway welcome back to a new post on gang issues in education.

     I have recently had many inquiries about what age group gang members fall into. My response is always the same. There is no set age limit to be initiated into a gang. Any student, regardless of age group or social economic status, can become a member if a gang sees fit to accept such a student. 

     Sadly, many gangs try to recruit members who are still in elementary school, some as young as first or second grade. It has been my experience that gangs typically go after children in a younger age bracket  because they will not experience harsh penalties if they get caught partaking in illegal activities. Unlike someone who is classified as an adult, where real consequences are given. Often younger children will only be put on probation and given a (ceremonial) slap on the wrist by the legal system.

     Also, many young members are brought into gang life, by virtue of their parents being in one. The children of existing members are formally accepted into the gang simply because their parents hold status in a gang. Unfortunately, it is usually these types of children who will be the most violent in their respective gangs’ because they have become desensitized to all the activities going on around them. When a child is witness to gang activities first hand they will often have a seen it, done it attitude when it comes to their dealings with gang issues. Which sadly, makes for a truly hardcore member who is likely to commit deplorable acts later on in their lives.

     In addition, many of the members who start off or  grow up in a gang will have a long list of misdemeanors and felonies, long before they turn eighteen. It is not uncommon for the legal system to have an intimate relationship with this type of member.

     But the bottom line is what does this mean to you, the educator? Basically it means a lot of grief for us in the teaching profession. What you need to understand is that once a member is accepted into a gang they are mandated to earn hardcore status. These new members will also begin to push authority in the hopes of building such status. And sadly, they will often go to great lengths to prove to their leaders that they deserve to be in the gang. One thing you can be sure of is that earning hardcore status will lead to many problems not only to the legal system but to the educational system as well.

     In my next post I hope to address what educators can do to help combat this problem in school.

     Thank you and come again for another post on gang issues in education. 

If you need to contact me you may do so at: cabgil@aol.com.

I look forward to hearing from you.

     In addition, I would like to thank those of you who have recently purchased a copy of my book. I hope this information has been helpful in your dealings with gang members in your schools.

Sincerely, 

Gilbert R. Cabrera

     Welcome to another post on gang issues in education. In which I will address the problems associated with the week-end or previous evening carry over of issues brought to school by gang members.

     Understand that everything a member experiences out of school will be brought with them to school. Many times members will participate in activities; drive-bys, tagging, robberies, drug dealings, etc. which can and often does carry over to the following day and beyond. It is very likely that most of this type of carry over will be directed toward another gang in school. And when it does a fued can brew for many months, if not the remainder of the school year. 

     Extra caution must be exercised by all staff to be on the lookout for small or large groups forming at different parts of the school premises. In addition, all taggings should be reported immediately and cleaned up to avoid the danger of a tag-over by another gang, which would only add more fuel to an already voltile situation. It is also crucial that some type of communication by all staff members on duty be emphasized.

     I would also have staff pay close attention of who goes to the restroom as well as how often. In addition, it’s probably a good idea to have staff members also frequent student restrooms on a regular basis, taking into account both genders. If gang members know staff could walk in at any time throughout their passing break, they may be more reluctant to tag, deal, or initiate while in there.

     I could go on and on with other areas to be on the lookout for, but it would take a book. So instead, for a detailed view of this and other gang issues in education, go the link on the right of this page and follow the book order instructions.

If you need to contact me you may do so at cabgil@aol.com

Thanks and look for another post of gang issues in education.

Gilbert R. Cabrera   

     Welcome back to a new post on gang issues in education. In this writing I hope to try to help you delve, a little, into the mind of a gang member as to what and how they think at school.

     First and foremost, remember this mantra when dealing with all gang members in school. You are the enemy! They will always view you, the educator, as the enemy.

     Next, hard-core members will usually only attend school to socialize with other like members, and to conduct gang business. Gang business at school can often include, but is not limited too, recruitment, jump-ins, drug dealing, gang intimidation, tagging, and defending their reps and colors. Every thing else associated with school is of insignificant value.

      My experience with members has led me to the conclusion that most members in your classroom will fall into two distinct categories.

     The first would be the observers, as I like to refer to them. These members will be the ones who sit back and scrutinize your every move, always searching for your weakness’s.

     It is their intent to have other lower tiered members push your buttons and disrupt the flow of your lesson, by being disruptive. These types of members are usually higher up on the chain of command in their respective gangs and thus can dictate the disruption.   

     The second category are the ones being controlled and dictated by the hard-core members. These members are usually the new recruits and at the bottom, the wanna-bes. These new and wanna-be members will do whatever is asked of them by their sponsors and other hard-core members in the gang.

     No matter what they are asked to do it must be accomplished, because part of being in a gang is accepting the fact that you are mandated to earn hard-core status. And because of this mandate, everyone involved in education, teachers, administrators, security, ancillary staff, and students can and will be affected by their actions. No one is immune to the violence members can cause, especially by ones trying to solidify their reps.

     Often these new recruits will be more standoffish and will behave more aggressively toward you than even the hard-core members. Do not ever forget that these recruits are always looking to add to their reputations, and an authority figure on their mantles will always help add to their stature.  

     I know I have covered a lot of information in this post, and I could literally go on and on about this. But I have only begun to scrape the tip of this issue. For a more detailed view please refer to my book:

Gangs in our Schools An Educators Guide.

You can buy a copy for yourself by going to the, Buy link, on the right hand side of this post and follow the order instructions.

      If you wish to drop me a comment, feel free to contact me at cabgil@aol.com.

Thank you and come again for another look at gang issues in education.

Gilbert R. Cabrera

     Welcome back to a new post on gang issues in education. In the post Night Drops, I discussed how some contraband gets onto school campuses. Although I outlined the many stash places out on the playground, here I will touch upon the inside areas of the school.

     It has been my experience that the student restrooms are where many deals take place. But not all of these sales are done hand to hand. Many school restrooms have little pouches around the pipes which hides the plumbing and makes good hiding places for contraband. Remember all it takes is a little time coordination and the sale can be made after classes have started to reduce suspicion. Beware of students who ask to go to the restroom right after class has started.  

     And while your looking around in there do not discount the toilet paper holder or even inside the paper rolls themselves. Also, be on the look out for contraband which has been taped to the underside of the toilet or sink areas.

      If you have trashcans in the restroom they also become great places to do drops and pickups. I mean, after-all, how may times do we as staff actually go through the trash in restrooms or anywhere else on campus for that matter?

     Another place one should look into are the fire extinguisher boxes. As crazy as this may sound, I have found different forms of contraband hidden in them. Although I could go into more detail on hiding places in school, it would take more than I can write here. So, for a more detailed view of these and other hiding places you can order a copy of my book by going to the link on the right side of this page and follow the order instructions.

     Thank you and come again for another posting on gang issues in education.

If you need to contact me you may do so at cabgil@aol.com.

Gilbert R. Cabrera

     Welcome back to a new post on gang issues in education. I would like to make a quick announcement to all of my readers. I have recently changed my post office box number and orders will be delivered quicker and in a more timely fashion, and this is a plus for everyone involved. My new address is: Post Office Box 13591, Las Cruces, New Mexico 88013.

     In a past posting I have addressed how many parents do not wish to accept the fact that their child is in a gang even after being confronted with hard evidence. But, putting the blame all on the parents is only a small part of the equation to solving gang problems in a community. You see part of the blame has to also be accepted by the schools where a heavy gang concentration exists.

     It has been my experience, that many school districts will not admit there is a gang problem in their schools. And I can’t say I really blame them, because admitting such could have severe repercussions for schools and the school district. But I truly feel that the way to combat street gangs and the problems they present to schools should be out in the open.

     Everyone involved in education: local school districts, local businesses, law enforcement, court systems, and in fact, the whole community should be involved in gang intervention. I do not believe any one entity has the power to combat street gangs at any level and be effective. Everyone in the community must become involved for any type of intervention to be successful.

     With this being said, the main issue is how does anyone go about getting the whole community to buy into a solution. Here is where things get complicated rather quickly, because quite frankly, many of us lead busy lives and feel it is better not knowing what problems exist, by living in our own sheltered worlds.

     Sadly, without every ones cooperation gangs will only continue to thrive and expand their territories. I do not have all the answers to this perplexing dilemma, but I do feel that gangs are a community problem that can only be solved with community involvement. I truly feel everyone has to buy into a solution to combat gangs, or we are fighting a losing battle in our schools and communities.

     To find out more about street gangs in an educational setting you can go to the book order link on the right side of this post.

     Thank you and come again for another post on gang issues in education. If you need to contact me you may do so at: cabgil@aol.com.

Gilbert R. Cabrera

     Welcome back to a new post on gang issues in education.    In this post I would like to address the challenges you are probably facing in teaching to gang members. For those of you who are currently gaining such experience with members in the classroom, you are no doubt wondering how to reach these students.

     This is a question I get asked often. The only answer I can give you is to be real with your interactions with them. I believe you have to relate to their world in some way. And if you can do this successfully, you are well on your way to being able to teach to them effectively.

     You may be wondering what I mean by their world? The fact of the matter is members often participate in activities, that frankly, many of us are not familiar with nor wish to know about. But to be successful in teaching to members you have to learn as much as you can about the gang world, so you understand exactly what kind of animal you are dealing with.

     This is the most critical part in teaching to them, because then, they know that you know. I agree there are some elements of gang life that will shock you once you learn about them, but this is exactly what you need to know to understand how they think. I feel it is very important to learn their true motives for being in school and go from there. Once you are familiar with gang life, you can use this information to your advantage in teaching to them. 

     You must also understand that many of the members you get in your classroom are older and have very few credits needed to graduate from high school. Often, members will have been suspended from school repeatedly and do not have the skills to keep up with their peers in the classroom.

     Each year they begin to feel intimidated by the knowledge their peers possess over them and act out more, to get themselves purposely suspended. Many feel that if they are suspended from school enough, they don’t have to learn and can concentrate on gang issues. For a member this becomes a vicious cycle they are not able to escape from, and will eventually drop out of school.

     Now for a strategy, I feel you can use that will allow you to hook them into learning. Once you identify who the members are in your classroom and you find their educational weaknesses, you can water down the curriculum at whatever level they are at, for a short time, which lets them taste success. Show them their grades often and boast about their progress, but by all means, keep this information discreet.

     The last thing they want to be perceived as is a school-boy, not a good thing in the gang world. But I can assure they do want to learn and will do so if you take their learning in baby steps, until they have tasted enough success that they willingly want more.

     I could go on and on as far as to what other strategies you can use, which are successful for me. But it would take more writing than I can put here. So instead, you can follow the links on the right side of this page for the order instructions to buy a copy of my book.

Thank you and come again for another post on gang issues in education. If you need to contact me you can do so at cabgil@aol.com 

Gilbert

     Welcome back to a new post and a new school year. As many of us in the teaching profession get ready for a new wave of students, being prepared is paramount for our success in the classroom.

     In my opinion, being prepared not only includes the intellectual and physical sides of teaching, but also the awareness side, by knowing how to spot and deal with gang members in your school and classrooms. I feel knowing what to look for will help with school wide discipline, especially if members are able to be immediately identified by school personnel.

     With this being said, I have recently been asked by some of my readers if there are any sure-fire signs, which would help in identifying members. Although there is no exact science to spotting gang members in your school there are signs to look for, regardless of affiliation.  

     During my time teaching to this population, I came up with a checklist to help identify students with possible gang ties. Although the list I am about to give you are general items to look for, the questions given will be a good indicator of gang involvement. I would also like to add that these indicators can be used with either male or female members.

Has the child:

*Recently started to dress differently?

(ex: baggy clothes, headgear, earrings, etc.)

*Started to wear items which represent a specific color?

(ex: pants, shirts, hairbands, shoes, and shoelaces)

*Recently received a new tattoo or brand on their body?

(ex: visible or non-visible, on the neck, arms, etc.)

*Started using drugs or alcohol and does not hide the fact?

*Started to skip classes on a regular basis?

*Recently changed whom they hang around with?

*Started to wear expensive jewelry or other expensive items without the means of buying such items?

*Recently come home or to school looking like they got into a fight with no explanation of how they got that way?

*Have tagging on their personal belongings?

(ex: shoes, notebooks, etc.)

*Have a nickname you recently became aware of?

(ex: psycho, g-dog, juice, loco, etc.)

*Have a dramatic change in language and use of profanity?

*Started to carry around large amounts of cash, again with no means of earning it.

*Become defiant towards authority and parents and shows no remorse for their actions or care about the consequences?

     If you can answer yes to a majority of these questions, you are probably dealing with either a full-fledged member, or a wanna-be. Either way they probably claim some sort of gang affiliation.

     Again, these guidelines are just general items to look for as this list can become quite complicated. For an in-depth look at this and other issues, you can purchase a copy of my book by going to the link on the right side of this post and following the order instructions.

Thank you and come again for another look at gang issues in education.

Gilbert

     Welcome back to a new post on gang issues in education. Although I try to aim most of my information towards educators, in this post I feel the need to get to the root of gang problems.

     Just recently, there is a small community not far from where I live that is having a hard time trying to control the gang problem, which has spiraled out of control there. At this point in time the community has come together, with the police and other gang specialists, to have special sessions for citizens to educate themselves on how to deal with the current problem.

     I for one am convinced that the problem can only be controlled if everyone in the community buys into the problem and takes action to stop gang activity. Sadly, I do not feel that everyone in this particular community is as committed to solving this issue, which will only hinder every ones efforts to thwart this problem.

     Sadly, many parents are in denial when it comes to their children being in a gang. Even when presented with hard evidence, they keep denying their child’s gang involvement. This is where the problem begins to escalate for everyone involved. The community can do everything in its power to stop the gang problem, such as painting over tags when found, and enforcing a curfew, but the bottom line is it falls into the hands of the parents/guardians of these children.

     If a parent denies their child’s gang involvement, then the issue will continue to fester in the community. As the saying goes, it takes a community to raise a child. I feel that if these types of parents do not want to take responsibility for their children then these children need to be held accountable for their actions. As it is, right now the lawyers run the system and will do everything in their power to get these types of criminals off of their charges, instead of helping out with viable solutions.

     The way our laws are currently written, if a juvenile commits a crime they are usually tried as a child and will only have to serve time until they turn twenty-one years old, at which time they are set free with conditions. Basically this is just a slap on the wrist and serves no real consequence. What kind of message does one think this sends to a gang member? Unfortunately, it sends a signal that tells the offending perpetrator that its OK to have juveniles commit crimes because they will get off easier on their punishments. One can now see why gangs go after young recruits to do their dirty work.

     The bottom line is that once convicted, members need to have harsher penalties imposed for gang involvement, regardless of age. If gang members know that committing a crime will impose a stronger penalty they may be more inclined to think about the actions they are partaking in.  I feel this should not only be enforced for their actions on the streets but in our schools as well.

     Although I could go on and on concerning this issue, it would be better to just buy a copy of my book, Gangs in our Schools An Educators Guide, where I outline various strategies people can take to deal with the gang issue. You can order a copy of the book by going to the link on the right side of this page and following the order instructions.

Thank you and come again for another posting on gang issues in education.

Gilbert

     Welcome back and sorry for the hiatus, since school let out I have been busy promoting my book and just generally living life to the fullest.

     What I wanted to discuss in this post has to deal with the ever increasing gang population we are starting to see across this great nation. As I have had the opportunity to talk to various groups from different parts of the country, the same question keeps popping up, which is who is susceptible to join a gang? My answer to them is always the same, anyone can be a candidate to join a gang.

     Usually the most likely candidates are children who have no support system at home or are being bullied at school. Many times these children will turn to any group who is willing to lend them a helping hand, unfortunately most times it seems, gangs turn out to be the sole support group. 

     Because of the need to recruit and grow, gang members are actively searching for children in such a predicament. Often the need for safety will outweigh any illegal activities the gang participates in and will not discourage a new recruit from joining up. This is especially true if a gang helped the child out of a predicament and have temporarily solved their problems. Because children can only see the immediate future they are often grateful for this help and will join the gang as a way to payback for their support.

     The bottom line is that nowadays gangs are often made up of various races and are not just limited to one race anymore. Obviously there are still some gangs who focus solely on a single race, but for the most part these new generations of gangs will be an  inter-racially mixed bag of people. The need to expand territories and bring in new recruits to the gang will often leave most gangs taking just about anyone who is willing to commit to them, thus leaving the door open to anyone who wants to join up, regardless of race. 

     With this  being said, people who deal with gang members on a daily basis need to keep an open mind about this issue, and not dismiss a child as not having gang affiliation just because they don’t fit the stereotypical mold. As I stated earlier, anyone can be a gang member. The key is to keep an eye on such students as they interact in the hallways with their fellows peers and take note as to whom they are associating with. This will always be the tell-tale sign of gang membership. If they are hanging around known gang members they are either considering joining or have joined a gang.

     I hope this post has been helpful in clarifying some points on why race is not a factor to gang membership.

Thank you and come again for another post on gang issues in education. If you need to contact me you may do so via e-mail at: cabgil@aol.com. If you would like a copy of my book please use the link on the right hand side of the page and follow the order instructions or simply click here; gangsinourschools.com 

Gilbert

     The need to communicate is a basic fundamental inherent to all insects and animals. With verbal communication being the main use for man, we tend to neglect the hidden signals people often send. In this post, I will address the issue of non-verbal communication in relation to gangs. I hope you will be somewhat enlightened to the subtle intricacies of sign language used by gang members.

     You see all gangs have some type of sign language they use to communicate with each other in any given situation. Depending on the gang, the use of such signs often depict the gangs specific hand sign, as well as a way of getting a message from one area to another without saying a word. As an educator you will often not even notice signing unless you are specifically expecting it to happen, and even then if you do not know what to look for it can escape your detection.

     What I have found is that members are willing to display their hand signs on photographs, or videos, as well as towards each other or other gangs. But are reluctant to display these hand gestures in front of school personnel. Members need to communicate, but are often separated in a class because of behaviors or no classes together, but this will not deter their communication. With hand signs they can say what is on their mind  with a few simple hand gestures. And catching them in the act can be marginal at best because the gestures happen so quickly.

     Having the expertise to know what to look for is critical to stopping this practice from happening in school because signs can start fights very quickly. When you do catch someone in the act, the member is obviously going to deny they were doing anything, and proving it can be somewhat difficult. So what does one look for too know if a hand gesture is being communicated, especially if one does not know what the gesture means specifically?

     Because the way hand gestures are varied from gang to gang I am going to try to answer this question while being as general as possible with this information. But you will notice there are only so many ways to use gestures, which will make it easier to detect when being done. Of course you will always have members who do not care if they get caught signing, and are often quite brazen when doing it, but the majority will be more discreet.

     So look at how their hands are placed towards the body when a sign is being thrown. Often members will hold their hands very close to the body, with the fingers usually in some odd shaped fashion. But the key here is that it is usually done close to the body mostly around the torso, or leg areas if sitting down.  And it is usually done very quickly, most often when passing each other in the hallway or classroom.

     I know it is very difficult to have an eye everywhere in the classroom because our classes are often overloaded with students, so detecting a sign is extremely difficult to catch. All I can add is to be vigilant of the gang members in your school and place extra emphasis on them when they are moving about in the hallways and classroom. And don’t be surprised if a fight begins to erupt in your classroom when all was quiet, especially if you have members from different gangs present in your classroom. I can tell you a sign was thrown and misinterpreted by a rival gang or was thrown to a rival gang on purpose, thus the need to stop signing before it gets out of hand.

     Obviously I can go on and on as to what to look for in gang signs, so for a more detailed view of this issue you can go to my book-site link on the right and follow the order instructions for my book: Gangs in our Schools An Educators Guide.

     Thank you and come again for next weeks mini-lesson on gang issues in education. If you need to contact me you may do so by going to this link: gangsino@gangsinourschools.com.

Gilbert