In the article ",Deep in the Heart's Core" Michael Johnston narrates
             his own experience with Jevon Jenkins. Jenkins is far from the typical 15-
             year-old high school freshman. He is almost 6 feet tall and weighed
             considerably more than most of his peers. He was also very behind
             academically, not having mastered the basic reading and other social skills
             he needed for a successful school experience. In the end, Jevon failed
             Johnston's class. The teenager was additionally arrested for several
             crimes, including the sexual assault of a seven year old girl.
             Rather than explaining Jevon's failures as products of the lad's
             personal weaknesses, Johnston looks at how the public educational system
             had failed Jevon and continues to fail young people like him. The article
             implies that Jevon's disciplinary problems started when he was a child
             whose behavior was too much for his mother to manage. Sadly, this is not
             an isolated case. Many single mothers are forced to work longer hours in
             order to provide for their children. This forces many to also spend time
             aware from the children. In Jevon's case, the overwhelmed mother
             eventually gave up her disciplinary attempts, inadvertently setting the
             stage for Jevon's future disciplinary problems.
             Jevon's mother turned to public schools to provide direction and
             discipline, a task which public schools are increasingly unable to do.
             Jevon most likely entered school with lesser-developed reading and math
             skills, compared to his second-grade peers. Johnston points out that these
             disciplinary problems should have been a red flag at this level, since
             children often turn to disciplinary infractions as a defense mechanism. If
             school authorities addressed these problems in second grade, perhaps
             Jevon's later problems could have been nipped in the bud.
             From second grade, Jevon's problems have since snowballed. Instead of
             addressi...