What I want to discuss in this writing is a decision handed down by the U. S. Supreme Court in which they define responsible search of a student in a school setting. Apparently a student in a school in Arizona had brought some pills to school or was holding such and got caught by school personnel. She was taken into the office and administered a strip search by the school administration. Although I feel it is necessary to find any contraband brought onto school grounds there are other way of dealing with the situation without using such drastic measures.

     First, and foremost, I understand what can happen if contraband is allowed to roam our school hallways. But at what lengths should searches be initiated to stop such contraband? In the girls case she was searched all the way down to her undergarments, before the drugs, in this case pills, were found. Although they were over the counter pills they were drugs non-the-less. 

     First I can see where a school is in need of finding contraband on its students because of what can happen if it is not confiscated. Having dealt with many gang members in a school setting has given me the perspective as to what lengths they will go to to bring any contraband into a school (i.e drugs/weapons). So I understand why a school would go to such lengths to stop this issue as much as possible.

     But I believe it would be better to get the police involved and let them administer any searches as they are trained in such practices. In this case it would have eliminated the need for the school to be put into such a situation and opened themselves up for a lawsuit. I’m not advocating for letting contraband run amok in our school hallways but letting the professionals (police, resource officers), deal with these situations legally. That way if charges are pressed or contraband is found a report can be administered on the spot.

     What this does is it allows schools to do what they are supposed to do, which is to teach students, while getting school districts out of the predicament the school district in Arizona put itself into.  This is why I feel it is imperative that all schools have a resource officer on hand so issues like this can be dealt with immediately.

      Although I can write pages and pages addressing this issue why not just by a copy of my book where I detail these situations in depth. You can purchase one by sending $19.95 plus $4.00 s&h, to Gilbert Cabrera, P.O. Box 13591, Las Cruces, New Mexico, 88013.

Thanks 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

     First I want to address that I recently ran into a student, I had in class several years ago, at a local burger joint. At the time I taught to him he was a self proclaimed Blood gang member, and was always sporting some sort of red clothing or article. Well it just so happens that he was still sporting his colors but this time he had a small child with him; his child.

     We talked for a little bit just catching up on life in general. I asked him if he was still involved in a gang. He looked at me and said “what do you think” as I noticed the red garb he had on. I asked him if he ever intended to get out of the gang now that he had a child of his own, to which his reply was, “where is the motivation in doing so?” I then looked at his little girl and replied, isn’t she motivation enough? His next reply seriously startled me. He said that she would be representing soon enough and she would know more than he does about gang life. I didn’t have any reply to his bravado as it left me literally speechless. Later in the evening I reflected back on our chance meeting and could only feel sorry for the child, because she had no idea what kind of life she would soon be leading.

     On June 7th of this year a 14 year old child in suburbia Maryland was brutally victimized by admitted gang members. He was beaten so badly that it claimed his life. Although he had been in constant contact with his mother via text message, it was not enough to prevent the inevitable. The school had even been warned that something was up with this child and the gang members that were harassing him.

     Sadly, as is usually the case, the claims were dismissed as hearsay. I can tell you from experience that these students, (gang members), often have more rights than their victims, which always falls under the due-process banner. Often, it usually takes a shooting or some other violent offense before something is done. In this case, the victims rights and the due-process procedure of the perpetrators will do the victim no good now.

     It is a sad testament when gang members have more rights than someone they are harassing in school. I feel really bad for the parents of this child because he will never fulfill his true potential, while the gang members will serve their time and eventually be set free. And to make matters worse they will probably bring their own kids into the gang life just like the student I had in class plans to do.

     So, the correlation is that no matter what interventions a school or community does to intervene, gang life is often a vicious cycle. A cycle that can only be broken by a family member who finally takes a stand and says, enough is enough. I can only hope that school district officials will read this post and seriously take immediate action when something like this is brought to light. If schools don’t take these matters seriously what happened in this case will become the norm. And this is not acceptable for anyone involved.

     Although I could go on and on detailing why this might have happened you may want to buy a copy of my book, which outlines the true motivation of why children join up with a street gang.

     If you need to contact me via this or other issues related to street gangs feel free to drop me a line at: cabgil@aol.com and I will be happy to offer some advice. Also, if you would like to purchase a copy of my book you may do so by sending $19.95 plus $4.00 s&h. to P.O. Box 13591, Las Cruces, New Mexico, 88013, c/o Gilbert.

     Thanks and come again for another post outlining gang issues in education and in our world.

Gilbert R. Cabrera

     In case you haven’t read his story let me fill you in on the jest of it. He was a gang member who was able to rise above street life through writing and is now active with at-risk youth to help them avoid his fate. Sadly, his son followed in his footsteps and is now serving a prison term.

     So if you want a first hand account of what gang life is like and how it affects the family, check out his book, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. However, I found it unusual that our paths have crossed, because he writes about gang life looking out and I write about it looking in. I guess if you look hard enough one can see the irony in our meeting.

     Any way in this post I want to address a question that was asked by one of my readers. I sent him a response to the question, then it occurred to me that the information he was requesting is something all my readers should probably know about.

     The question posed was, how early should intervention begin on a child who is either in a gang or contemplating joining one?

     I believe that to answer this question one must know at exactly what point in time did the child start to exhibit the signs of gang membership. But more importantly, did anyone notice the change and how was it handled, by first the parents of the child and eventually the school?

     This is where the answer can become muddled because all the factors that go with gang membership must be understood by all parties involved with the child. If one does not know what signs to look for, then the chances of getting to them early becomes more difficult to achieve. The sad fact is that the longer they stay in a gang the harder it is for them to leave even when presented with other options.

     So the first answer to the question is that intervention should begin as soon as someone knowledgeable on gang practices notices the changes in the child. The second point is that intervention must be quickly initiated, to at least give the child a chance to at least contemplate other alternatives.    

     Some of these interventions might include sending the child to a family member in another part of the state or country, to after school community programs geared specifically towards at-risk students. The problem with the moving strategy is that there is nothing to stop the child from claiming affiliation if moved to a new location.

      And these are not the only alternatives that can be used for intervention, because there are many others that can be implemented that are extremly beneficial to the child, such as mentoring programs. But the bottom line is every strategy available must be used to help a child from getting into a gang, or helping them get out of the gang. Because the earlier one intervenes on the child’s behalf the better the chances of removing them from the situation.

     But regardless of what kind of intervention is imposed the parents have to be fully involved with their child, which I understand is difficult, because many parents are often forced to choose between work and family. Sadly, most of the time family time suffers because work is needed to sustain life. And in these difficult economic times two jobs are not uncommon to make ends meet.

     So I can see where it becomes difficult to raise a child, but if they are contemplating joining a gang everything else should become secondary until the child is out of the gang. Because the only thing accomplished by gang membership, is it breaks the family apart and the possibility of death or prison life becomes very real for them.

      Even though the community and the schools can take a proactive role in helping the child out of gangs, the parents also have to buy into everything being offered. If they turn a blind eye to the situation then the battle is lost before it is even begun. Everyone has to buy into the solution for anything to be effective. So in nutshell this was my response to him, but obviously I did go into more detail in my letter, and I gave him more information than I could give you in a posting.

      So, for a more detailed view on this or other issues you can purchase a copy of my book by sending $19.95 plus $4.00 S&H, to Gilbert R. Cabrera, P.O. Box 13591, Las Cruces, New Mexico 88013. Or just go to my website and order using Pay Pal.

     Please feel free to contact me at: cabgil@aol.com, and I will try to answer your questions promptly.

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

Gilbert R. Cabrera

     Lately in my neck of the woods there has been a rash of drive-by shootings. I believe the retaliation stems from a gang member being shot and killed by a rival gang. Of course I have no proof, but just knowing how gang members operate leads me to this rational. Because the one thing I have learned about the gang world is that retaliation be swift and show no mercy on those to be retaliated upon. In other words, just exact revenge of some kind.  

     Sadly, most of the time a drive-by shooting by a rival gang is done it is because they feel they were dissed (disrespected) by the person they are shooting at. So the bottom line is that this member, or his gang, did something that drew the ire of a rival gang and they retaliated against him becuse of it. Could it have been a case of wrong place wrong time, probably not.

     But I think what really concerns me more about this whole situation is how the family of the deceased adamantly deny his involvement in gangs. But adding to every one’s confusion is this person had a my-space page in which he pledged his allegiance to his gang. It’s hard to deny he was in a gang when he personally pledges out right that he did. But during a news interview of the family of the deceased they say he was not involved in gang activity.

     It has been my experience that most parents I have talked to about their child’s involvement in gang activity always deny such involvement. Even when proof is presented to them in the form as tagged notebooks or other personal items, they still deny it. But this is a reaction that typifies most parents because it is hard for us, as parents, to see faults with our children especially if they are loving and caring individuals at home.  

     I guess the main question that has to be investigated now is whether or not something could have been done that could have prevented this child from ever getting into a gang. And I believe that signs were present from the first time this child was experimenting with street gangs. I’m not sure if anyone picked up on the these signs because most can be subtle in the beginning. Of course other changes are more drastic, but these usually come after the child is already well into the gang world.

     And this is where I believe that everyone who had contact with this child failed him because one way or another he ended up in a gang with the consequences that usually follow being in one. I believe it takes more than just a family.  It takes schools, the community, and state programs all be involved in raising the child. Because the old proverb is true, it takes a village to raise a child. If it takes everyone involved to save just one child from joining a street gang, then the efforts will be well worth it.

     I could go on and on trying to give advice using strategies on dealing with gang members but it would take posting after posting. So for more thorough insights into this issue, buy a copy of my book buy going to the pay-pal link or by sending $19.95 plus $4.00 S&H to Gilbert Cabrera, P.O. Box 13591, Las Cruces, New Mexico 88013.

     Thanks and come again for another post on gang issues in education. If you need to contact me please feel free to e-mail me at: cabgil@aol.com

Gilbert R. Cabrera

     But before we can distinguish between both factions some background information must be understood between them.

     The hard-core member is one who has been in a gang for quite some time and has earned the status of hard-core from their respective gangs. Although each gang has different criteria for hard-core members, the one common element amongst all gangs, is that hard-core members have earned a reputation within the gang. The common link as well as main criteria being the member not afraid of using violence to further the gang both financially and as well as furthering the gangs reputation. Any hard-core member in any gang will have these two qualities and have earned the right of hard-core status.

     The wanna-be on the other hand has only begun their journey’s into the gang and have earned no rights from the gang. And in the classroom these are the students who will be the most disruptive to your class. One key difference between hard-core and wanna-be’s is that the hard-core member has already earned their stripes and do not have to prove themselves anymore. Although they lead by example out of the school setting they are only really in school to make sure that the wanna-be’s are adhering to the code of their particular gang. So in a sense the hard-core member will often be polite and will even go so far as to to their school work and turn it in on time.

     While on the other hand the wanna-be has been instructed by the gang to earn hard-core status and is mandated to disrupt the educational process of the classroom. This disruption is done to start earning points towards hard-core status. In a sense they are required to get into as much trouble as possible and are awarded status by how many times they can get thrown out of the classroom as well as get suspended from school. The more times this occurs the more status they will earn within their respective gangs.

     All members join a gang for various reasons but they all want to eventually achieve hard-core status and are also mandated to do so by the gang. They also want to earn such status because of the perks associated with it, which is another post in itself. So the bottom line is that the hard-core member will usually sit in the back of the classroom, and may or may not do their work, but will usually not be a class disruption while the wanna-be will be nothing but continual trouble.

     But now that you have an understanding of gang dynamics of both factions, you will know why some gang members are disruptive to your class while others are not.

     If you need more information on this or other topics related to gangs in an educaitonal setting you can buy a copy of my book by going to the static page http://gangsinourschools.com and ordering using the pay-pal link, or sending $19.95 plus $4.00 shipping and handeling care of Gilbert R. Cabrera, P.O. Box 13591, Las Cruces, New Mexico 88013.

     Please feel free to contact me via e-mail for further infomation or if you have any comments or questions at cabgil@aol.com.

     Thanks and come again to another post on gang issues in education.

Gilbert R. Cabrera

     Because of the mandates members live under I believe everyone who teaches to gang members must be informed, reguardless of affiliation. Not only about their practices out of school but also what to expect from a member in school. I believe by having a thorough understanding of what to expect from a member will make teaching, and more importantly, reaching them crucial to any teaching success you may have with them.

     One of the things I make clear in my book is that in order to reach gang members you have to know their lifestyle. It is rare that anyone in the teaching profession has had life experiences that members live under on a daily basis. So I truly believe that the only way to reach them and be able to teach to them is to understand them. 

     So in answer to my colleagues statement, I can only say that I am not trying to scare anyone, only giving them pertinent information for their teaching success with gang members. Like anything else in life, the more you know about something the easier it is to deal with it.

     If you wish to discuss this or any other issue that deals with gang members in your school or classroom please feel free to contact me at cabgil@aol.com.

     If you need more information dealing with gang members buy a copy of my book, by going to the main web page, and getting your copy today.

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

Gilbert R. Cabrera

     If you are new to my web-page, please drop me a line and let me know if you find this information helpful, your feedback is invaluable to my research and future blog entries.

     I would also like to add that up to this point in time I have been stuck in the dark ages, and was only selling copies of my book through snail mail and by word of mouth. But I was getting complaints because many people prefer to buy via the Internet because of its convenience. So in order to get up to date you can now go to my static html page at gangsinourschools.com  and purchase a copy via the secure site on Pay-Pal. As I had been told by someone lately; it’s about time!!

     And now to the jest of this topic. I started to notice an alarming trend that is cropping up in the gang world. It seems that the initiation practices many gangs are using are starting to become extremely violent. What I’m talking about is the practice of shooting potential recruits to be accepted into the gang. Now the intent is not to kill but to show true loyalty to the gang by taking one in the foot or the finger or wherever. It also proves to the sponsoring gang that this recruit will go to any length to protect the gang.

     At this point in time I’m not sure if these practices are part of a legitimate street gang initiation or just wanna-bes going too far. But one thing is for sure, it proves that many of these wanna-be gang members will go to any length to be a part of a particular gang, by allowing themselves to get shot for sake of the gang.

     This should be alarming for anyone who has to deal with gang members in the school and classroom because this violence can carry over into the school. As you can well imagine, if someone is willing to take a bullet for the gang what obstacle would you, the teacher, present to them? I am not trying to use scare tactics here, only that you should be vigilant to any underlying talk you may hear around the school and have it dealt with through the proper channels.

     Trust me when I say an ounce of vigilance is worth a ton of cure. It’s just best to nip any potential issues before they become problems for the school. So my advice is to just keep your antenna’s up by paying attention to any tags they leave in your classroom and any talk you may hear. This especially holds true if you have members from different affiliations in your room.

     Because once gang members start to feel as though they are falling behind in proving their hardness to other gangs it won’t be long before they start trying to prove it to each other at school.

     I know that there is more to this issue than I can cover in a post, because it could literally take pages to cover thoroughly.  So to get a more detailed view of why members partake in gang initiations, you can purchase of copy of my book at the link offered above. If you wish to contact me please do so a cabgil@aol.com.

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

Gilbert Cabrera

     Anyway I wanted to keep my readers up to date as to what has been happening with Gangs In Our Schools An Educators Guide, lately. First and foremost you have probably noticed that I have added quite a few links that are geared to different aspects of gang intervention. The links I have added are resources that I feel will be of great value for anyone who needs answers about street gangs. Whether it be a parent who needs information on how to spot gang membership and how to approach their child about such. To the professional who needs some type of support in relation to gangs, whether it be in dealing with members directly or simply just for more comprehensive answers.

     I listed the sites of what they had to offer by putting the specific information in parenthesis. You may notice that some of the sites might be in competition with my services as far as what they have to offer. But again the intent of Gangs In Our Schools An Educators Guide is to offer you, the reader, a place where you can find answers on gang members without having to surf all over the web for these resources.

     In a sense you could say I am cutting my own throat, because I offer the services of some sites that may be competing for your dollars. But if you find the information informative, then I am more than willing to take the risk because I feel that information is power. And if someone benefits from this information and just one person is saved from being jumped into a street gang then it will be well worth it to me.

     My intent is to make as much information available to anyone who needs it, regardless of how that impacts me personally. Just understand that I am here to try to give you a one stop place to find facts and statistics and services to help prevent the spread of gangs. Whether that be in our schools or in our communities. I hope you find the resources I have supplied informative and please feel free to drop me a line and let me know if I missed a site that would fit in with what I have to offer. I will be glad to add it to my links and make it available for my readers.

     I would also like to add that my blog page was one of the featured resources on an in depth look at street gangs, in the Las Cruces Sun News recently. You can find that information by going to www.lcsun-news.com and clicking on the Under Fire, Gangs in Dona Ana County, articles dated December 29-31.

     If you need to contact me you may do so at cabgil@aol.com. If you wish to purchase a copy of my book Gangs In Our Schools An Educators Guide, you may do so by sending $19.95 plus $4.00 shipping and handling to P.O. Box 13591, Las Cruces, New Mexico, 88013. Please allow at least 10-12 working days to receive your book.

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

Gilbert R. Cabrera

     Her question was one that got me thinking about all the factors which would compel a child to contemplate being a part of a gang. Just to outline the many variables involved in quantifying the reasons would not suffice in an arena such as this. But I will attempt to at least outline a few of them. And I do understand that this question has been sufficiently studied for quite a while now, as to offer some common answers. And once I outline some of these I am certainly going to chime in on how I feel about this issue.

     But before I do let us look at some of  the commonalities that others’ research have answered, which I also concur with. I will attempt to outline some of these factors by what I believe is order of importance. With the first issue being the most relevant and so on down the line.

     First and foremost is the issue of home life, or lack of in this case, which plays an overwhelming roll in the overall decision. Many times what happens in the home pushes the child into the gangster lifestyle. Next comes protection and safety, which sadly, in some gang infested neighborhoods almost makes membership mandatory for survival.

     Another issue would be for socialization and acceptance, which the child may be lacking in other areas of their lives. And finally the lure of the danger and excitement often associated with being in a gang can also play a role in this decision. The way the gangster lifestyle is being portrayed now days in movies and music videos makes this lifestyle fascinating to many vulnerable children.

     But I believe there is one issue that super-cedes the above and plays the most significant role in the decision process. And it is one of the simplest  and most fundamental concepts inherent to all of us; money. If you can imagine a scenario in which a child is lacking the fundamentals for survival they will almost surely do whatever they can to aid in such survival.

     And if the lure of gang membership and its money offers just such an alternative for the escape of poverty, then the opportunity to jump at that avenue is to be expected. Sadly many of the members I encountered and taught to were in a position where any chance to earn some money, no matter the means, was just too irresistible.

     Although I realize I have only scraped the proverbial tip of the iceberg on this issue. You can get an in depth look at this and other problems pertaining to gang members in an educational setting by sending $19.95 plus $4.00 shipping and handling for a copy of my book, to P.O. Box 13591, Las Cruces, New Mexico 88013. 

     If you wish to discuss this or any other topic pertaining to gang members in your schools and classrooms you may contact me at: cabgil@aol.com.

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

Gilbert Cabrera

     Being a teacher in the classroom means that once the bell tolls at the start of the year it is continously non-stop action. I know I don’t have to tell many of my readers this as a majority of you are also working in the trenches as teachers. And I also know that in addition to your teaching duties, you will have to deal with gang members in your schools and classrooms.

     As if you do not have enough on your plate already, you now have a group of students who don’t care about their educations. I know it is easier to just give up on them and let them fend for themselves. But I believe as educators we should at least say we gave it a shot at teaching to them. And hopefully in the process they find something meaningful about their educational careers and will not become statistical drop outs.

     I know most people get into the teaching profession to make a difference in their students’ lives, so it would be a shame to give up on this population simply because they are a problem in your class. But if you have the skills to deal with a member effectively in your classroom it makes teaching to the class that much easier.

     And that is what I try to offer my readers here on this website. But the jest of my strategies are outlined in my book. The reason I offer this advice is because I feel it is extremely important to reach this population; after all they will eventually become citizens in our communities. And honestly, I would prefer they be productive tax paying citizens rather than drains on our already taxed system.      

     So I guess it comes down to the question of what can be done to effectively reach them. I wish there was a formula one could use that would instantly make you super teacher, able to reach all children with your magical powers. Unfortunately, this just isn’t the case, mainly because every student you come into contact with come from different home environments and all with very different needs. And to quote Forrest Gump, students truly are “like a box of chocolates, you never know what your gonna get.”

     My research shows that many wanna-be gang members are mandated to recruit as many of their peers as they can before they are kicked out of school. Because the goal of every wanna-be is to become a hardcore member. This includes doing anything that helps them achieve this goal. And I can assure you it is only a matter of time before these wanna-be’s are kicked out because of the many discrepancies they have caused in school. 

     But if there is one critical piece of advice I can give you in dealing with gang members it is this. No matter how much you think one trusts you, don’t be fooled into complacency with them. Because of their loyalty to the gang they will do whatever they have too to prove they belong to the gang. This includes causing harm to you in some way whether it be getting into your face or stealing something you own.   

     So I guess the million dollar question is; is there really a way to reach a member and hope they make a turn around in their lives? I say that they can be taught skills to help them cope with what is happening in their lives, but to truly have them be successful they must be totally removed from their predicaments. I have had this very discussion with many educators over the last few years. And I have to agree with many of them in that the short amount of time we are with students in the classroom will often not erase a life time of habits they have created.

     I suppose I could go on and on about this, but if you want a more comprehensive look at this issue please buy a copy of my book. I guarantee it will be the best $19.95 you’ve spent lately. And it goes without saying that if you are not completely satisfied with the strategies I offer, I will refund your purchase price plus your shipping cost at my expense.

     This is how much I believe this issue needs to be brought to the fore-front for educators. I believe we can not just sit around and wait for gangs to take over our educational systems by using them as fertile recruiting grounds without putting up some kind of resistance. And I truly believe information is the vital tool in dealing with gangs in our schools and classrooms.

     Thank you and please come again to another post on gang issues in education. If you need to contact me to discuss this or any other concerns you may be having related to gangs in your schools, you may do so at cabgil@aol.com.

Gilbert R. Cabrera