Reducing Hate Crimes and Violence Among American Youth: Creating Transformational Agency Through Critical Praxis. - book review

Adolescence, Summer, 2002

GOODMAN, Greg S. Reducing Hate Crimes and Violence Among American Youth: Creating Transformational Agency Through Critical Praxis. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 2002. 176pp. $29.95 (p).

As hate crimes and violence continue to hurt the innocent, society has looked little beyond retribution and punishment for the perpetrators. This book breaks new ground by looking at the ways in which educators and school boards can work to develop transformational agency for those students most at risk. By developing alternative schools that foster strong relationships through supportive communities, disaffected youth can find hope and trust within themselves as they continue their educational and social development. Undergirded with critical and border pedagogy, alternative schools effectively build transformative agency within their students by genuinely caring about their success.