Dryfoos, J. (1998). Safe passage: Making it through adolescence in a risky society. New York: Oxford University .

    Joy Dryfoos explores several different programs that now exist to help students overcome the ever increasing number of negative obstacles they encounter growing up. These obstacles include such things as drugs, sex, pregnancy, disease, violence, etc. Dryfoos provides examples of how these obstacles are affecting the youth, and of how communities are now using schools as a social center.
    In her book, Dryfoos not only talks about what is working to help kids grow up safely without becoming a statistic relating to these obstacles, but she talks about why it works. What makes this book particularly strong is that it includes suggestions from children that have helped in real life and suggestions that could help to make children grow up safer. Dryfoos also includes a plan of action to implement Safe Passage schools that are open the majority of the day to provide daycare and activities for children.
    I chose this book because I am very interested in what communities are doing to help the children grow up in a positive environment, and overcome often powerful negative influences. As a teacher I feel that I should be educated in this area so that I may better assist my school/community with the care of it's students.
    Hopefully someday either Dryfoos vision of a Safe Passage school will become a part of every community, or that our society will change so that the number of negative obstacles faced by adolescents decreases.

Questions
1. Is a Safe Passage School a realistic goal?
2. If the government won't fund this program who will?
3. Do you feel that a Safe Passage School relieves the parents of too much of the responsibility of raising their children?
4. What role do you currently play in your community?
5. Do the DARE programs really help when they are done in elementary school, but have little or no follow up in middle and high school?

Submitted by Katherine Beall