A Kind and Just Parent: The Children of Juvenile Court

by William Ayers (Author)

7 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-0807044032

ISBN-10: 0807044032

Why is ISBN important?

Have one to sell?

Sell on Amazon

Used: Good | Details

Sold by gatecitybooks

Fulfilled by Amazon

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

48 used from $0.65

In Stock.

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

Available at a lower price from other sellers that may not offer free Prime shipping.

FREE delivery: Nov 8 - 10 on your first order.

Fastest delivery: Thursday, Nov 5 Details

21 new from $11.29

Available at a lower price from other sellers that may not offer free Prime shipping.

Most people know juvenile offenders only from daily headlines, and the images portrayed by the media are extreme and violent: predators and even "superpredators." Distorted and incomplete, these pictures shape the way Americans think and feel about city kids, poor kids, children of color.

A Kind and Just Parent gives us a transformative view of kids caught up in the justice system that we could never get from nightly news and newspaper stories. William Ayers has spent five years as teacher and observer in Chicago's Juvenile Court prison, the nation's first and largest institution of juvenile justice, founded by legendary reformer Jane Addams to act as a "kind and just parent" for kids in need. Today, immensely confused and confusing, it serves as a perfect microcosm of the way American justice deals with children.

Through brilliant storytelling, Ayers captures the lives and personalities of young people caught up in the juvenile justice system. The book follows a year in the life of the prison school. Its characters are three dimensional: funny, quirky, sometimes violent, and often vulnerable. We see young people talking about their lives, analyzing their own situations, and thinking about their friends and their futures. We watch them throughout a school year and meet some remarkable teachers. From the intimate perspective of a teacher, Ayers gives us portraits, history, and analysis that help us to understand not only what brought these kids into the court system, but why people find it hard to think straight about them, and what we might do to keep their younger brothers and sisters from landing in the same place.

Unsentimental yet wrenching, A Kind and Just Parent is a riveting look at kids and crime. It will change the way Americans think about juvenile crime and juvenile justice.

Frequently bought together

Total price: $45.58

One of these items ships sooner than the other. Show details

Buy the selected items together

This item:A Kind and Just Parent: The Children of Juvenile Court by William Ayers Paperback $17.00
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Big Girl Small: A Novel by Rachel DeWoskin Paperback $14.09
Only 12 left in stock - order soon.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
The Beautiful Struggle: A Memoir by Ta-Nehisi Coates Paperback $14.49
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items when the Enter key is pressed. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Devah Pager

14

Paperback
$16.00
Angela Y. Davis

29

Paperback
$12.85
Tara Herivel

8

Paperback
$54.95
Angela Y. Davis

444

Paperback
$11.99
Joy James
Paperback
$33.95
Christian Parenti

41

Paperback
$24.95
Usually ships within 6 to 10 days.

Special offers and product promotions

Amazon Business : For business-only pricing, quantity discounts and FREE Shipping. Register a free business account

Editorial Reviews

Review

Here is truth exceeding the power of fiction. --Norval Morris, professor, University of Chicago Law School

"Ayers's book does for incarcerated kids . . . what Studs Terkel has done for the city's working folks, [and] what Alex Kotlowitz has done for the residents of its housing projects." --Anthony M. Platt, Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Bill Ayers is a gifted writer and an acute observer of the inferno which we call the Juvenile Court. No part of the American justice system is less observed or more greatly in need of reform. A Kind and Just Parent is a moving and intensely sympathetic account of the lives of both the adults and children caught in the sometimes hopeless maelstrom of our juvenile justice system. At every level, it is a book full of grace." --Scott Turow, author of Presumed Innocent

"William Ayers is as sensitive and gifted a chronicler as he is a teacher. His odyssey-for it is far more than just a tour-through the juvenile court is Dickensian in its tragic, maddening detail and dimension; and yet it is strangely hopeful."--Studs Terkel

"At last a heroic and insightful account of what poor young people have had to endure in the Cook County Juvenile Court system. . . . Ayers, I salute you. Your words cut true. And no one can escape their clarion message."--Luis J. Rodriguez, author of Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A.

"A very important and disturbing book about the betrayal of Jane Addams's dream and the ways in which heroic individuals still struggle to defend the dignity of children in the face of crushing odds. It is Bill Ayers's immersion in the lives of those who go before the court that gives this book its strength and passion and intensity. Vivid narratives are set in context by an author who has studied history and understands the politics of juvenile injustice. I hope this book will reach the ears of Congress."--Jonathan Kozol, author of Amazing Grace and Savage Inequalities

"As juvenile crime increases, the brutal conditions that produce delinquents have risen even faster. Since 1960 the number of child abuse or neglect cases handled by juvenile courts has risen five times faster than delinquency cases, which have nearly quadrupled. With that in mind, one might ask why so many children become delinquents and how so many avoid becoming delinqents. . . . [Ayers] offers a view of delinquent youths you won't see much of on the evening news. It is not scary enough. It is only tragic." --Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune

From the Back Cover

A Kind and Just Parent gives us a transformative view of kids caught up in the justice system that we could never get from nightly news and newspaper stories. William Ayers has spent five years as teacher and observer in Chicago's Juvenile Court prison, the nation's first and largest institution of juvenile justice, founded by legendary reformer Jane Addams to act as a "kind and just parent" for kids in need. Today, immensely confused and confusing, it serves as a perfect microcosm of the way American justice deals with children. The book follows a year in the life of the prison school. Its characters are three-dimensional: funny, quirky, sometimes violent, and often vulnerable. We see young people talking about their lives, analyzing their own situations, and thinking about their friends and their futures. We watch them throughout a school year and meet some remarkable teachers. From the intimate perspective of a teacher, Ayers gives us portraits, history, and analysis that help us to understand not only what brought these kids into the court system, but why people find it hard to think straight about them, and what we might do to keep their younger brothers and sisters from landing in the same place.

Item Weight : 0.035 ounces
Paperback : 224 pages
ISBN-10 : 0807044032
ISBN-13 : 978-0807044032
Product Dimensions : 6 x 0.5 x 9 inches
Publisher : Beacon Press (June 1, 1998)
Language: : English

Best Sellers Rank: #636,323 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #69 in Child Advocacy Family Law
- #285 in Behavioral Disorders in Special Ed.
- #387 in Criminal Law (Books)

Customer Reviews:
7 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		63%
4 star		21%
3 star		16%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star 0% (0%)		0%

How are ratings calculated?

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

N. Haack

Important book for all to read

Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2010

Verified Purchase

This book really finds the humanity in an otherwise demonized demographic (juvenile delinquents). Everyone going into education should read this book.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Comment

Heather R. Burbach

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2016

Verified Purchase

A Must-Read for anyone involved (professionally) in the child welfare system!

Helpful

Comment

Brianna

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2014

Verified Purchase

Book came in great quality.

Helpful

Comment

Amber Denault

Worn

Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2013

Verified Purchase

This book was an old library book so I expected the wear. One page was torn but it wasn't one that was necessary. The book was excellent and worked just fine for the class I needed it for. Product was true to description.

Helpful

Comment