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| Daryl Brooks |
Photo by: Delonte Harrod
It is said that violence destroys a community; it is known within the state of New Jersey that Trenton is no stranger to crime, poverty, and a poor education system. As of late, the ugly snake of has raised its head once again. In the last few months we have had death in the city streets and violence in schools. Up until this point, Trenton High is only graduating an estimated 120 students this year; out of 357 students in the current senior class, 237 students failed the standardized tests required by the state of New Jersey. Other reports indicate that students have one more chase to take the HSPA test in April, to give these students a winning shot at graduating.
However, a community activist Daryl Brooks says that he has the solution to Trenton’s problems. On April 13, of 2010 Brooks held a press conference at the Trenton Public Library on Academy St., announcing his initiative to move forward with a plan that will teach non-violence skills to students in grades K-12.
“There is too much violence in our school system, elementary school, junior high school and now in high school were now Trenton High School is becoming a kind of a police community…more students are becoming more violent than ever,” said Brooks.
His philosophy is “if you teach these kids how to be non-violent and understand how to deal with conflict” they will be better students. Brooks has teamed up with non-violent activists Priscilla Prutzman, who heads a non-profit organization located in Nyack, New York and Hal Flemington who is a member of the Trenton Meeting of Friends, a Quaker Organization to face these issues. These individuals stand alongside Brooks supporting him in his crusade to drop the rate of violence that pollutes schools and neighborhoods in Trenton.
“We are talking about giving young people tools to resolve conflict without violence… in all the world this is being done,” said Flemington.
Prutzman agrees and her pedigree proves she and her organization’s “Creative Response to Conflict” have worked with school systems in New York City and in Newark, New Jersey. “We are trying to create a safe and welcoming school environment where students can learn.” She also makes the claim that violence affects the way a student learns and the rate of retention in schools: “When students drop out of school it’s because of bullying,” said Prutzman.
Prutzman lays out some of the skills that they would like to teach to these students: “students need social and emotional learning skills, skills of getting along with each other, cooperating with each other, skills of communicating with each other, listening, speaking in a way that other people can hear what is being said, basic conflict and resolution and problem solving tools….. the skills are out there and students will make more progress in this type of environment.”
It is said that violence destroys a community; it is known within the state of New Jersey that Trenton is no stranger to crime, poverty, and a poor education system. As of late, the ugly snake of has raised its head once again. In the last few months we have had death in the city streets and violence in schools. Up until this point, Trenton High is only graduating an estimated 120 students this year; out of 357 students in the current senior class, 237 students failed the standardized tests required by the state of New Jersey. Other reports indicate that students have one more chase to take the HSPA test in April, to give these students a winning shot at graduating.
However, a community activist Daryl Brooks says that he has the solution to Trenton’s problems. On April 13, of 2010 Brooks held a press conference at the Trenton Public Library on Academy St., announcing his initiative to move forward with a plan that will teach non-violence skills to students in grades K-12.
“There is too much violence in our school system, elementary school, junior high school and now in high school were now Trenton High School is becoming a kind of a police community…more students are becoming more violent than ever,” said Brooks.
His philosophy is “if you teach these kids how to be non-violent and understand how to deal with conflict” they will be better students. Brooks has teamed up with non-violent activists Priscilla Prutzman, who heads a non-profit organization located in Nyack, New York and Hal Flemington who is a member of the Trenton Meeting of Friends, a Quaker Organization to face these issues. These individuals stand alongside Brooks supporting him in his crusade to drop the rate of violence that pollutes schools and neighborhoods in Trenton.
“We are talking about giving young people tools to resolve conflict without violence… in all the world this is being done,” said Flemington.
Prutzman agrees and her pedigree proves she and her organization’s “Creative Response to Conflict” have worked with school systems in New York City and in Newark, New Jersey. “We are trying to create a safe and welcoming school environment where students can learn.” She also makes the claim that violence affects the way a student learns and the rate of retention in schools: “When students drop out of school it’s because of bullying,” said Prutzman.
Prutzman lays out some of the skills that they would like to teach to these students: “students need social and emotional learning skills, skills of getting along with each other, cooperating with each other, skills of communicating with each other, listening, speaking in a way that other people can hear what is being said, basic conflict and resolution and problem solving tools….. the skills are out there and students will make more progress in this type of environment.”
The pioneers of this program have a
desire to see others in the community get involved and show support. They are
hoping for cooperation from politicians, churches, and other community
activists. The funding of this program will most likely come from federal
dollars in the form of grants, and private donations. When Prutzman was
challenged about the validity of the non-violent teachings at other high
schools her response, “I have seen a decrease in violence!”
By Delonte Harrod
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