Overview

Despite well-publicized reports of decreased incidents of violence, the United States remains a leader in rates of homicide, handgun ownership, and school violence. Based on research conducted in high schools and a prison, At Zero Tolerance examines how the United States has responded to violence in its schools and in its streets. In addition to its critique of get tough policies initiated in the 1990s, this book offers a means of violence prevention that addresses issues of school restructuring, handgun policy, vocational education, and popular culture. At Zero Tolerance examines violence and violence prevention from the perspectives of policy, institutional reform, and the individuals most affected by the crisis, namely, youths caught in cycles of victimization and victimizing.

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9780820449968

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Reviews

Ronnie Casella's 'At Zero Tolerance' provides a disquieting critique of the zero tolerance policies adopted by many public schools in the wake of the 1994 Gun-Free Schools Act passed by Congress after several fatal shootings at schools across the country. Casella uses historical and sociological data to sustain his arguments against zero tolerance policies; he claims that society should not merely clamp down on youths, but needs to address the behaviors and attitudes that ferment violence in American society. Casella's book will have wide appeal. It is a 'must' read for everyone concerned about the future of our nation's public schools. (Joan Burstyn, Professor of Education and History, Department of Cultural Foundations of Education, Syracuse University) Ronnie Casella's fine ethnographic work - in both schools and prisons - is more than just a critique of zero tolerance. His contribution - as both anthropologist and as advocate - is to demonstrate the intimate social links between the deterioration of school systems, urban poverty, and the rise in the prison population. His work enables us to begin to understand how violence must be understood not just by examining the individual behavior but also the nitty-gritty human context in which it takes place. Casella also helps us to unpack 'context' in the broadest possible way - by getting at the historical underpinnings and the political meanings in our exploration of 'causes'. This book should be on the 'required reading list' of every school of education and department of anthropology. (John Devine, Chair, Academic Advisory Council, National Campaign against Youth Violence)

Author Information

The Author: Ronnie Casella is Assistant Professor of Education at Central Connecticut State University and author of Being Down: Challenging Violence in Urban Schools.

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