Boys of Baraka

I watched the documentary Boys of Baraka last night. It reminded me of how there was a time when I was very sure I wanted to open an alternative school (I still might some day). It was going to be called an "E.P.R. School" which would stand for "Education, Practice, and Research" (and also my initials). So the Baraka school was a school in Kenya that took 20 at-risk boys from Baltimore, MD each year to go to Kenya for two years to complete middle school with the idea that it would help them graduate from high school. (75% of African American boys in Baltimore do not graduate from high school).

There were many aspects of the film that struck me, but one that is directly related to my research is the idea that context has such an impact on development. And further, if one is removed from his context, it might improve his development. In this case, innner city youth were taken to a rural area. The juxtaposition of the two locations was striking. In the beginning of the film the boys were in their natural environments-- the city. They were 12 years old, but looking and acting like men. They were flexing for the camera and talking about how tough they were. They were on the streets getting into fights and doing drugs with people much older than them. When they arrived in Africa, they looked like different kids. They were little boys, collecting bugs, chasing lizards, and playing like boys should. They were allowed to have a break and just relax a bit and be kids.

So I am thinking about rural vs. urban again. On the one hand, urban youth see opportunity, but may feel more constrained by their context and the multiple negative influences. On the other hand, rural youth may lack exposure to other opportunities, thus not even knowing what is available to them. Which is more hopeless? I might guess the urban. I would also guess that maybe this leads to anger at being aware of what is out there that you can't reach. This might then precipitate more violence. Meanwhile, rural youth are just as exposed to drugs and alcohol (maybe not as much violence), but there is less to distract them overall; fewer people, and less stimuli. So, do they feel more hopeless or depressed as a result?

I must say that my comparisons are simply a product of my brain tyring to understand these two contexts in order to make better recommendations for practice and change. I don't think it is at all important to try to determine who has it worse. I think it is obvious that the two contexts are just different, thus we need to know how they are different in order to help the different youth growing up in them.