Gilberto Q. Conchas and James Diego Vigil: Streetsmart Schoolsmart: Urban Poverty and the Education of Adolescent Boys

In Streetsmart Schoolsmart, authors Gilberto Conchas and James Diego Vigil examine the culture of inner city schools and the issues that frequently prevent adolescent boys from social mobility. They argue that “boys of color”, boys who are of Black, Latino, or Asian descent, are inherently disadvantaged in the modern school system due to the color of their skin and the unique challenges that their ethnicity faces in society. Furthermore, they face the constant choice between school attendance and “street socialization”: skipping out on school to participate in gang activities or drug and alcohol usage, among other things. Conchas and Vigil then go on to examine some programs that have worked to deter enmeshment in the “street life” and encourage adolescent boys to make school a priority, set goals for high school graduation and postsecondary education, and work to improve their situation. Their purpose in writing is to promote school reform and the presence of these programs that provide the extra support that at-risk urban adolescent boys need to create and pursue goals for their future. The programs highlighted in Streetsmart Schoolsmart have high success rates and seem to have a plan that works, although there is little information offered on how these plans may be widely implemented and made available to a large number of at-risk students. …