Maeroff, Gene I. (1999). Altered Destinies: Making life better for schoolchildren in need. Reviewed by Richard W. Race, Keele University

Maeroff, Gene I. (1999). Altered Destinies: Making life better for schoolchildren in need. New York: St. Martin's Griffin. 240 pp. $26.95 (Cloth)     ISBN 0-312-17543-4 $15.95 (Paper)     ISBN 0-312-22080-4 Reviewed by Richard W. Race Keele University March 8, 2000           In Altered Destinies, Gene Maeroff offers vivid insights into the social context and culture of many schools and communities in America struggling to survive in the 1990s. He shows how teachers and administrators have tried to improve education and ultimately increase social capital for schoolchildren leading to increasing their life chances. The book poses questions that must be asked about schoolchildrens' education relating to education policy and practice using what Maeroff refers to as his "four sense theory", which is illustrated by examples of schools that have addressed them effectively. Although many examples are scattered somewhat haphazardly throughout the book, this review will focus on four main exemplars: El Puente Academy for Peace and Learning—a middle school with extra curriculum activities for all ages; the Intermediate School (I.S) 218 in New York City; Canton Middle School in Baltimore; and the Advancement Via Individualised Determination (AVID) program in San Diego.           Maeroff offers an outline of an approach that can be adapted to increase social capital for poor schoolchildren. The notion of social capital originates from James Coleman (1988) who argued that strong families and social networks improve children's performance in the classroom. Coleman has documented how social capital is being eroded and Maeroff sets out to examine how social capital can be increased by observing programs called enhancement programs which attempt to provide the support structure to increase social capital within schools. He bases the support structure and his book around four senses: 1) a sense of connectedness i.e. the link between school and community; 2) a sense of well-being i.e. boosting confidence and improving the health of students and the physical conditions within schools; 3) a sense of academic initiative i.e. how students can be motivated to learn; and 4) a sense of knowing i.e. how students can build knowledge which assists them in the classroom and workplace.           According to Maeroff, communities need to be rebuilt to create social capital for the poor. The ideal way to do this is to reinvigorate entire student surroundings through public and private means. Schools are seen as part of a larger communal landscape. Wider social problems have to be examined and addressed in order to make life better for schoolchildren in need.           The first part of the book examines the sense of connectedness. A student's connection to a school begins with the feeling that s/he is part of the school. The barrier to connectedness is the size of many schools which generates student anonymity. For Maeroff, the aim is to improve and personalize the educational experience. Educators should appreciate the extent to which neighbourhoods and cultures shape students demands and their allegiances. Learning is social and by increasing social capital, students can increase access to wider circles.           For example, in New York City children are living in homeless shelters teachers in El Puente Middle School are attempting to use education to build community. Besides a sense of community, security and tranquillity are needed in schools in which neither students nor teachers feel safe. So the school had to secure an environment whereby students were going to enjoy the peace of mind to study and achieve. Maeroff points out that schools are becoming urban sanctuaries that provide a space for children where they can participate in a community and feel better about themselves. Uniforms were also used at El Puente to bring discipline, order and identity into schools, and parents liked the idea of youngsters not competing to be fashionable. Among the many examples Maeroff uses to illustrate the importance of connection and community is the example of St.Paul's School in Minnesota and the Area Learning Center which opens at 8.30am and closes at 6.30pm. A contract is declared with the school being "neutral territory" with no gang colours, weapons and cellular phones.           The Rheedlan program in Harlem offered video, drama and dancing for students as part of the education curriculum. The program, part of New York City's Beacons Initiative, was also devised to improve reading and build youngsters' confidence. The program enticed parents into the school building. Poetry and Bingo were offered and the school quickly became a community center. The initiative combated crime and drugs which was destroying whole neighborhoods in New York City. The Beacons Initiative built a climate of safety away from the realities of inner city existence. Families were strengthened within a positive climate. Maeroff argues that the school has become the last surviving social institution and can serve as an intermediary in community revitalisation. Maeroff argues, "...by building ties to parents and to the community, a school makes the work of educators easier."(p.44)           Rural America also suffers from poverty. Ivydale, West Virginia, is pictured as a town of plywood shacks and trailers. Ivydale offered many programs for the community and parental labor was donated freely for repair and construction work around the school. The school acquired a washer and dryer and changes of clothing to accommodate students who turned up for school in dirty clothes. For the author, a school improves the education of its students when it forms community ties. The community network increases social capital for schoolchildren.           But, a shortage of social capital among poor people creates the need to organise communities to obtain attention and services. I.S 218 has forged such links with the community. Uniformed police officers patrolled the school, but the police also showed a more informal face with a basketball game between Dominican youth and a police officers team. "Washington Heights [the area surrounding I.S.218] contains an estimated 150 drug organisations employing 5,000 dealers working out of 500 locations."(p.59) The police ensured a peaceful atmosphere on site within I.S 218 and thus promote a positive sense of connectedness. The author highlights that many families during the 1990s have been unable to provide adequately for children. The Children Aid Society have helped I.S.218, by helping the school remain open between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., offering a varied curriculum including law, community and business studies. These programs have also attempted to broaden services available to the community. The community school in its new incarnation is beginning to take on an identity that can give fresh hope to those whose needs far exceed the resources and mission of the traditional school.           In part two of the book Maeroff suggests ways schools can contribute to children's sense of well-being which begins with the fact that education is part of the wider social picture which in many places exists alongside violence, crime and health problems. Maeroff suggests that schools have become protection centers for schoolchildren to improve childrens' sense of well-being. He uses Canton Middle School in Baltimore as an example of how children cannot learn unless they are physically and mentally healthy. Substance abuse, family violence, grief and loss, as well as family disintegration are social problems which the author underlines. Psychologists, speech pathologists, guidance counselors, paediatricians and psychiatrists have been employed by this school to deal with these social problems. But he asks, when schools provide these health services, "...does this mean the school alone must deliver the services?"(p.110) He points out that poor families lack the knowledge and access to the American health system, that, for instance, asthma and teeth problems are serious health concerns for schoolchildren, and that some teenagers have never seen a dentist. The author sees a new responsibility for schools and argues for preparing a new curriculum and developing new pedagogical approaches that incorporate issues of student well-being.(p. 219)           Self-image rests on qualities and accomplishments. Chances of success g as students get more support to overcome hurdles to their learning. Respect is all important i.e. the degree to which schoolchildren respect themselves and to which they believe other people respect them. Communication is the linchpin. Enhancement programs, e.g., the Rogers Adolescent Program (RAP) in Connecticut, help to develop strengths, not shortcomings thus increasing the sense of student well-being. The author suggests that the poor think in terms of impending deprivations of hunger and poverty. Children recognise the economic conditions of their parents. Students with low self- regard may resist learning in the first place. Students need to feel cared for and to cultivate a sense of caring about others. Caring is all about how people interact with others and the result is understanding. Students at Expo Middle School in St.Paul Minnesota have made community service an integral part of education. Expo students prepared tasks in the school before they had learnt enough and built confidence to go into the community. The enhancement programs aim was to let students discover a caring side of themselves by helping others. Maeroff argues that those who shed feelings of alienation tend to behave in socially acceptable ways, thus improving the well-being of the community.           Part three of the book examines a sense of academic initiative. Self-discipline and the work ethic are important. Students who resist working hard in school usually see no reason for altering their approach, so building academic aspirations is a priority. In neighborhoods where scholastic attainment seems most irrelevant, students receive least support for putting forth effort in the classroom.           The AVID program in San Diego during the 1980s and 1990s sought out students in need who were committed to improving their academic performance. AVID concentrated on equipping students with note taking and organisational skills in order to cope with their studies. AVID also hired tutors to help students study. The AVID program in San Diego's Southwest High School kept expectations high and the students gradually responded. The author argues that expectations—for children and teachers—must be raised in elementary and middle schools in the U.S. AVID provided students with information to succeed in courses and emphasized student and staff development. The AVID programs suggest that youngsters can achieve despite tough economic circumstances.           Raising hopes can be a starting point for changing outcomes and promoting asense of academic initiative. But in some cases it will take more than praise to get students through. The nationwide program, "I have a dream," run at Chelsea-Elliot Houses in New York City, chose fifty-nine children to go through the program. Only eight had fathers. Tutors came from Princeton University and top college preparation schools to help and the program focused most intensively on the fifteen to twenty who needed more help than the others. Forty out of the fifty- nine finished high school; twenty-one entered postsecondary education; seventeen of the twenty-one remained in postsecondary education. The program challenges the racial stereotype that poor Latino and Black youngsters cannot be successful in schools. Maeroff's sense of academic initiative relates to empowering and improving both teachers and childrens roles within the education system. Essentially this sense is designed to raise hopes and expectations amongst staff and students.           The fourth and final part of Maeroff's theory, a sense of knowing, describes how the sense of academic initiative could be achieved. Extra-curricular activity, through enhancement programs could fulfill individual potential and increase both academic and social knowledge. A sense of knowing underlines academic achievement. But what is the impact on the country of a policy of neglect under which the population is left with unfilled potential? Preschools, summer camps, books, software and computers allow potential to be fulfilled. Enhancement programs usually proceed on the premise that extra time needs to be devoted to learning to fill in the gaps. The author argues that efforts to enhance a sense of knowing in impoverished settings must start early and receive continuous reinforcement. This academic nurturing leads to success in both school and life.           The isolation of schoolchildren living in the center of major cities where poverty and crime exist is commonplace. Schoolchildrens' survival skills have been sharpened to cope with urban needs. Inner-city children tend to know little of the world, except for the televised distortions of reality. "Mehan et al. highlight that socialization practices learnt at home appears to give middle-class students advantages over their working-class counterparts."(p.254) Social knowledge is essential but overlooked as a component for poorer youngsters. Isolation robs children of social experiences vital to accumulating social knowledge. Some enhancement programs took youngsters into restaurants for the first time. The most important social lessons are taught early. The Children Aid Society found communication skills were weak and social capital was poor amongst minority youngsters. Enhancement programs teach students to conduct themselves in the world of work. Even though poor parents are committed to their childrens education, they often lack the social, economic and education capital to push and promote their children's interests. Better informed parents presumably act in ways that make stronger students of their offspring.           Maeroff begins his conclusions with the assertion that youngsters are being hurried into growing up and missing their childhood. The author wonders how much social capital does a youngster need to overcome poor circumstances. He highlights the example of Japanese schools which create strong social bonds. The future American focus has to be on social factors beyond the classroom. Collaboration is imperative, especially with the family. The overall effect of enhancement programs is on both educational practice and individual achievement. Replication of good practice should be encouraged and repeated. School reform poses bigger issues such as changes to the school curriculum. Teachers are reluctant to immerse themselves in services that divert them from their academic mission. As Maeroff argues, "... the programs rely on a handful of dedicated hardworking individuals who exert themselves beyond the call of duty."(p.302) What happens when the dedicated leave? More importantly, are schools that serve those in need in any position to help revitalise communities? Enhancement programs help facilitate change, triumphs remain limited but the altered lives and destinies of a relative few is testament to what has and can be achieved. Healthy communities provide a basis for good schools which sustain communities.           But how can healthy communities be allowed to develop with the recent events at the North Valley Jewish Community Center in Los Angeles and the Columbine High School, Colorado? Shootings and massacres in American schools underline the problems which exist in American society. Images of a white supremist chasing terrified children down a school corridor in California does not bode well for the future, especially with swat teams studying the layouts of high schools and practicing drills involving mock hostage taking. Preparing local police teams for repeat killings in schools suggest these events are not only isolated incidents but will happen again in American schools. Maeoff's "four sense theory" has to be praised in this context because the enhancement programs highlighted in schools are not just for children but whole communities. The building of a sense of connectedness might prevent further school incidents in the future. Like Phil Wexler's (1995) observations in Becoming Somebody, Maeroff sees an emptying out of social relations in schools leading to alienation and despair.           Maeroff's book highlights social problems in American society and the environment in which many schoolchildren and teachers have to work. A culture of drugs, single parent families and language difficulties exist which American schools have to cope with. Maeroff describes people living in garages, dilapidated rural schools, urban deteriorating housing projects. Parents in poor communities are not being allowed to parent because of a lack of economic opportunity. The book usefully asks how far the school can and should reach out into the community. Social services should be addressing problems which education programs are trying to solve, but when the services do not exist what is the solution?           Maeroff describes the co-existence of white middle class culture alongside poor white, Latino, and Black culture and the consequences this has for schoolchildren in need. Mareoff's discussion of the effects of poverty usefully applies Boudieu's theory of cultural capital and neo-Marxist analyses of economic capital, but places the need for social capital at the center of his analysis. The notion of social capital, developed originally by Coleman, (1988) returns us to a more classically liberal theory, but still useful discussions of how to intervene in the cycle of urban and rural poverty.           The book highlights programs that have been a success although it would have been interesting to read about more programs that had failed or been partially successful. Connectedness, well-being, academic initiative and knowing are useful dimensions within which to frame educational and social problems. These dimensions are effectively described and linked to the solution of many of the problems Maeroff describes. In an era of simplistic solutions like high stakes testing and zero tolerance, it is refreshing to find an analysis that offers complex and successful programs which can begin the process of altering schoolchildrens' destinies. References Coleman, J.S. (1988). "Social Capital, Human Capital and Schools," in Independent Schools, Volume 12. Wexler, P. (1995). Becoming Somebody. London: The Falmer Press. About the Reviewer Richard Race is completing his PhD in Education, examining the state executive relationship between education politicians and civil servants. He also lecturers part-time in Applied Social Studies at Keele University.