Summary: Socialization is a process by which a person learns to be a member of a group or community. Families and educators have the task of socializing children into the collective in a healthy way in order to sustain ourselves as a society. “Us” and “them” socialization (racism, sexism, have vs have not, good kid vs bad kid classroom culture, etc.) impedes healthy socialization. It can prime the excluded, “lesser” children to seek inclusion in groups and relationships that are damaging or abusive, including street gangs. In this episode, DJ Baptiste shares his experiences from being a teenage gang leader through his current role as a motivational speaker and advocate for creating a healthy School Family “gang” for all children. Essential Takeaways • Any form of “us” and “them” socialization impedes the development of a healthy culture • Disconnected/marginalized children will find an alternative way to meet the need to belong • All children need predictability, consistency and a sense of belonging • Creating a sense of community in the classroom (a School Family) provides students with connection, predictability and a sense of belonging Important Links Gang Leader to Graduate Success Story (insert/connect link) How to Make a (Bully from Scratch) (insert/connect link) Bully Road Signs series of videos (insert/connect link) Products Conscious Discipline: Building Resilient Classrooms Creating the School Family Conscious Discipline: Building Resilient Schools and Homes e-Course Show Outline (time stamps) :24 What is Conscious Discipline 1:42 Prevalence of gangs in our society 2:50 What is socialization 5:01 Introduction of guest speaker DJ Baptiste, former gang leader 6:23 DJ’s story of his path towards being in a gang 9:55 DJ expelled from preschool 12:56 DJ created his own gang 15:15 A sense of belonging draws children toward gangs 17:40 How gangs provide consistency and predictability 19:18 Codes of conduct in DJ’s gang 20:42 Was there ever a sense of fear being in the gang 23:00 DJ’s life-changing moment 26:10 Mrs. Porter connects, gives DJ a class job and creates a School Family 29:46 DJ’s current employment 31:35 Summary of what the gang provided Transcript can be found here: https://consciousdiscipline.com/podcast-episode014/
