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Victor Okam

Mr. Taylor

English II Honors

11 January 2018

Problem Solution Essay: Youth Joining Gangs

Attention America! We’ve got a big problem, of 360,000 teenage boys and 32,000

teenage girls 15%female and 85%male are in juvenile detentions because of their gang

involvement. Some youth are robbing stores, kidnapping, shooting, and killing people which

sometimes includes their peers and this is all because of their involvement in gangs. This matters

because there is over 1 million active youth gang members in the U.S, it’s a serious problem

because gangs account for the majority of violence in the United States. Youth that are in gangs

significantly increase their chances of being in prison and even worse ending up dead, by

implementing the plan to set up mentors in schools we could help lead our youth to the right

path.

The first solution to this problem is to implement more after school activities for example

educational programs, this will keep our youth occupied and it can also help them educationally.

Another example is field trips, after school educational field trips is a great way to keep our

youth interested in school and occupied. This solution is a great way to keep our youth occupied

and in school but it also has some negative sides to it so it isn’t the best solution. Some youth

might find it difficult to attend after school activities for example, some kids and teens might not

want to do after school activities maybe because they are always doing extracurricular activities

and are tired of it or maybe because they might have a hard time finding a time balance. “Those

who had extracurricular activities that accounted for between one to 13 hours per week of their
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time actually showed some positive academic effects. However, academic improvement was not

present when students were involved for more than 17 hours per week” (Leyla).

The second solution is to build YMCA recreation centers in rough areas. Building more

YMCA centers will get our youth involved in sports and programs, this solution will keep kids

occupied after school and it is a great way to keep kids thinking big and positive. The YMCA not

only have programs but it also allows the youth to have fun while playing sports and other fun

activities with their peers. Although this solution is better than the first, it still has some flaws

and because of that it isn’t the best solution to this problem. Some parents can’t afford to put

their kids in YMCA maybe because the pricing is too expensive, another negative about this

solution is some youth may not like the running, playing, and other fitness type activities at

YMCA. “No matter how many ways you look at it, some kids just don’t like after school sports.

The cause might be an aversion to the competition, the practice time, or the strenuous activity, or

it could be any other number of reasons” (After School Sports).

The third solution which is the best solution is to give the youth mentors that will help

guide them to the path of success. “A five year study sponsored by Big Brothers Big Sisters

Canada found that children with mentors were more confident and had fewer behavioral

problems” (Science daily). This shows that having mentors shapes our youth and it also

influence our youth to make better choices and to stay out of trouble. Another reason why this is

the best because having a mentor gives kids and teens a sense of someone caring for them like a

family, some teens are in gangs because they don’t have a role model to show them what's right

but having a mentor can fill in that missing role. Another great reason is that having a mentor can

release stress from the youth, knowing someone believes in you and has your back can release a

great deal of stress which will allow you to focus and succeed. The solution plan is to hire and
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set mentors in schools that are in areas that have high amount of youth involvement in gangs so

that they will be able to interact with the teens that really needs guidance, by doing this we could

try to limit the amount of teens that wants to join gangs by giving them a mentor to help

influence them to make the right choices. This plan is not only simple but is very helpful and will

work, teens will be open to anyone that will listen and help them through life and providing

mentors for those teens is the key to guiding them to a better life.

Youth joining gangs is a problem on the rise but can be fixed by putting mentors in

schools near high gang involvement areas. If the mentor solution isn’t implemented in those

areas the future generation will be at risk, crime rates will continue to rise but at a higher rate,

there will be more teens that are locked up because of gang violence, and school dropout rates

will increase at a higher rate. There is more terrible things that could happen if youth joining

gangs is not solved, that is why we as people should try our best to be a mentor to our friends,

peers and even family members that needs someone to show them the right path and not the

wrong path which can lead to death.

Works Cited:

“After School Sports – Why Kids Say No.” How To Learn | Powerful strategies to master any
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new skill or subject, 14 Dec. 2012, www.howtolearn.com/2011/07/after-school-sports-

why-kids-say-no/.

Norman, Leyla. “Reasons Why Kids Shouldn't Have Extracurricular Activities.”

LIVESTRONG.COM, Leaf Group, 13 June 2017,

www.livestrong.com/article/1000551-reasons-kids-shouldnt-extracurricular-activities/.

ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily,

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130115143850.htm.