And honestly, I'm still concerned. A number of volunteers reported frank talk with students about school and community violence and their fear of gangs. Three boys were pessimistic as to whether or not they would live to be adults. Others said students were able to identify gang members in their classes and did not feel safe. But adult visitors to other schools were more upbeat.
Parental influence is very dominant.
No mention of gangs or violence. All students comfortable. Roger Richardson, a food service manager for Pepsi Cola Bottlers, came away from his sessions at Johnson Traditional Middle School concerned that 7th graders don't take their studies seriously enough. Put them on a piece of paper where you can see them all the time. But I don't think they understand how important it is to set goals in life.