A KIND AND JUST PARENT
The title of this beautifully written and heart-engaging book about a group of youths at Audy Home school, part of the juvenile court system in Chicago, is taken from the first annual report of that court, which was established by Jane Addams' Hull House just over l00 years ago. The first of its kind, Cook County Juvenile Court was envisioned to function in the best interest of children and youth, acting as "a kind and just parent" would act. The goal of its founders was to "create a special separate place for children in crisis, away from adult courts and the horrors of adult jails. . . ."
Thus began a movement that by 1925 saw the establishment of special courts for children across the U.S. in all but two states. The Hull House court was based on a compassionate concern for the special needs of youth in conflict with the law, which a mere hundred years later threatens to founder on the rock of vengeance and fear that characterizes society's current view of the purpose of the judicial system.
In California's spring primaries, a proposition appears on the ballot that would increase the number of offenses and lower the age at which juveniles can be tried in adult court. It would also make it easier to tag youths as members of gangs and thus liable to receive more draconian punishment. Meanwhile there is little public support for programs of crime prevention, drug treatment, or schools, and a general lack of concern for poor children accompanies the alarming increase in their numbers. This in a country whose leaders regularly applaud our unprecedented "economic growth."
In a highly publicized case in Michigan, 13-year-old Nathaniel Abraham was convicted of murder in an incident that occurred when he was 11, despite lack of clear evidence that the act was (1) committed intentionally, or (2) even the result of Nathaniel's gun. Much less was there discussion of the boy's mental age, learning disability, and failure of the schools or public agencies to respond to his mother's prior expressed concerns for the child's difficulties. Rather, the boy is branded in blazing national headlines as the "Eleven-year-old killer . ."
So in the midst of this public clamor for the heads of children, it is refreshing to find a book about youthful law-breakers which is profoundly thoughtful and compassionate while not mincing the difficulties involved in the management of young offenders. Mr. Ayers, a teacher who spent five years with Chicago's Juvenile Court, tells the stories of six youths and some of their remarkable mentors, with tenderness, humor, and honesty. He is a writer par excellence, with a keen eye for nuance of character and an unerring sensitivity that never descends into sentimentalism. Even the selections of poetry with which each chapter is introduced are stunning in their appropriateness and beauty.
An insightful chapter on adolescence recalls a time when society cut some slack for this tender and problematic stage of life. Less is said about girls, who are relatively few in relation to the boys at Audy; yet you realize there is potentially a whole other book on that subject as the trend toward criminalization of women grows. A chapter on punishment and how the notion of prison has evolved over recent times, reminds us that there must be other, better ways to think about these difficult issues.
Reflections on coping with violence, responding to attack, being strong without resorting in kind to destructive behavior: these are profound issues that seldom receive the sensitive consideration that the author accords them. Mr. Ayers is the father of three grown boys, and his book is happily free of the jargon and officious theory that frequently accompany efforts at understanding and explaining youthful behavior. This is a voice often missing, and much needed: that of a kind and just parent.