Planting A Legacy for Za’layia
Episode #079
“Each year we want [the garden] just to grow, and grow and grow.... Her little body can’t grow anymore so this is her body, and I want people to realize that. This is her...
“Well, I mean that's so much a part of us, where we live, who we're around our environment. When you don't have that support system. It’s so important. When you don't have it then you have to fend for yourself.”
You might think you know the student who gets expelled the one who picks fights, destroys school property, brings in a bb gun, or maybe a real gun. But you probably have no idea what’s really going on with that student.
Southeastern Education Center is an alternative school for middle school aged kids expelled from the Milwaukee Public school system. Technically referred to as a behavioral reassignment school. Almost all students have been expelled for fighting. And every kid has something that underlies their behavior, namely chaos at home.
The school is trying to squash violent behavior... Before it becomes a habit, an automatic response something that, if you then add a gun to the equation, could lead to another senseless homicide.
PHOTO CREDIT: Rick Wood for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Marquette University Peace Works runs a cognitive restructuring exercises at Southeastern Education Center, a behavioral reassignment school for students expelled from Milwaukee Public Schools.
Learn more about Pathfinders on their website, or click here to become a role model for teens and young adults.
