Canada believes that much of the violence we see in America today can be traced back to a broken education system, so I argue that this issue is the most important of all. Canada references schools in Harlem as an example: he writes that when students are not able to read and write at the proper grade level,
it means that those children have no chance of leading productive, fulfilling lives in twenty years.
Canada cites examples of schools that do do well despite being in poor communities, and exhorts the government to look at these schools and learn how to scale their successes to larger audiences. Canada cites four factors that are crucial to fulfilling this mission:
1) Rebuilding Communities: Canada argues that the neighborhoods in which poorer schools often reside are in decay and ravaged by violence. Students will not be motivated to learn in an environment when...
Unlock This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
it's clear that neither they nor their surroundings are valued.
2) Establishing Clear Best Practices: Research shows that students learn more effectively when class sizes are smaller and when children have enough to eat during the school day, but the government sometimes ignores these facts and is then mystified when students fail. Canada also encourages us to work with pregnant mothers to institute healthy practices from the beginning.
3) Working With Young Children: Canada writes that evidence supports the theory that an in-depth initial investment in large numbers of young people pays off in the future; however, he also suggests that other local agencies may need to pick up the slack for children as they age into adolescence.
4) Rethinking the Evaluation Process: Canada believes that we need to assess children early and often to prevent students from falling between the cracks. If evaluations are done at the end of the year—as is the case in many schools—the information is often not evaluated but instead simply placed in the student's file.
The author believes that we will not be successful in overhauling the education system in this country unless all four of these practices are put into place. Although there are many other reasons for violence in America, the lack of opportunity for young people—due to inadequate government funding and oversight in the educational system—is often at the root of violent behavior.
References
In his book, Canada reiterates that government must position itself in the forefront of the war on violence. He lays out some actions government should take, arguing that these actions are needed to help stem the tide of violence in the United States:
1)Create a Peace Corps.
The creation of a Peace Corps task force will strengthen the integrity of conflict-ridden communities.
Canada proposes that Peace Corp officers will not intrude on the jurisdiction of the police authorities in crime prevention. Instead, Peace Corp officers will act as counselors, mediators, and educators.
2)Stem the violence through drug education in the schools; create employment opportunities for young people.
Canada proposes the inclusion of drug education programs in the curricula of schools. He also recommends the creation of more employment opportunities for young people in order to discourage participation in illegal activities. Canada suggests that this program be financed with the savings from lowered rates of incarceration and hospitalization.
3)Reduce the prevalence of domestic violence, child abuse and neglect through early intervention solutions.
Canada proposes the creation of a family preservation worker program where licensed practitioners can aid in teaching troubled families new coping skills to address conflict and aggression.
4)Hold the movie, music, and television industries accountable for the violence portrayed in their products.
Violence is a recurrent subject matter in many movies, rap music, and television shows. Canada proposes that the entertainment industry be held accountable for aberrant portrayals of masculinity and power.
5)Reduce and regulate the possession of personal firearms.
Here, Canada argues that all handgun sales should be banned by the government. He proposes that every prospective gun owner be required to pass both written and field tests before being allowed to own a firearm license. Additionally, he believes that gun manufacturers should be required to register each gun they manufacture. This will enable law enforcement to trace the guns used in violent crime straight back to the manufacturers. Canada believes that this will hold gun manufacturers accountable and encourage them to sell their guns only to reputable dealers and responsible citizens.
Moreover, Canada believes that every customer who purchases ammunition should be required to pay for a special coding identification process; this will allow law enforcement to trace every bullet used in a crime to the perpetrator. Additionally, the author also argues that the government should invest billions of dollars in a national gun buy-back program. Although this investment represents an intimidating investment, Canada reasons that we will more than recoup the costs of such an investment through the creation of a safer society.
To summarize, Canada believes that these actions constitute long overdue preventive measures which will stem the importation of violence from the ghettos to the larger, mainstream American society.