W: Hi, Frank ! I just saw a program on TV that said that juvenile crime was increasing. And I want to ask your opinion because I know you work with a lot of young people,
M: Well, first... I think the media worsens the problem, and so does the school system. Where I live, we have thousands of security guards in the schools, and metal detectors, too. And the kids get searched as they go into school. Now all of that presents the wrong message. The kids don't feel like they're going to school. They feel like they're going to jail. And so they are more likely to become violent. I think it's a cause-and-effect relationship.
W: So you're saying that the messages kids get from the media, and even from the school, are responsible for making them do bad things?
M: Yes, I am. I think that every young person is essentially good. I mean you see students who are violent in class, but put them on a one-to-one basis, and they are usually very friendly. It's not that they're really bad.
It's that they're the product of their environment. If you give them a more caring environment, you really can change the kind of actions they take.