DOCUMENT RESUME UD 032 995 ED 431 833 Haberman, Martin AUTHOR What Do Urban Middle School Youth Think Should Happen to TITLE President Clinton? 1998-00-00 PUB DATE NOTE 6p. Reports - Research (143) PUB TYPE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. EDRS PRICE High School Students; High Schools; *Middle School Students; DESCRIPTORS Middle Schools; Minority Groups; Sexuality; *Student Attitudes; *Urban Youth; *Values *Clinton (Bill); *Impeachment Proceedings; Milwaukee Public IDENTIFIERS Schools WI ABSTRACT The opinions of young urban teenagers about the possible impeachment of President Clinton were studied through assigned compositions. Among the 228 students, all in grades 7 through 9 in Milwaukee (Wisconsin), were 9 European Americans, 15 Hispanic Americans, 6 Hmong, and 198 African Americans. Student compositions showed little knowledge of the facts of the President's situation. They knew that the President had a sexual affair, but knew little else about it. They were strongly empathetic toward the President, although they did express a moral code that was very similar to common beliefs among the U.S. public. Students expressed a belief that the President should be treated as other people are treated. (SLD) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************************************************** What Do Urban Middle School Youth Think Should Happen to President Clinton? U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS CENTER (ERIC) BEEN GRANTED BY XThis document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization karii n 1-kabefrYnn originating it. 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Points of view or opinions stated in this INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. 1 Martin Haberman Distinguished Professor School of Education University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee BEST COPY AVAILABLE 1 The literature on urban youth argues that they do bad things (drugs, violence, sex) of because they lack conscience. Without a moral compass they are insensitive, even unaware proposition that they have how they are destroying their own lives and burdening society. The which I have substituted street values for those of the general American society is one to contributed in the past. Given this popular perception I decided that young urban teenagers would be the ideal group to react to President Clinton's situation. The Respondents and one high The students are all 7th, 8th, and 9th graders attending three middle schools the question, school in Milwaukee. Their teachers had them write compositions answering respondents were as "Should President Clinton Be Impeached?" The background of the 228 There were follows: 9 European American, 15 Hispanic, 6 Hmong, and 198 African American. approximately 56% females and 44% males in the group. What the Youngsters Wrote The 228 responses included some as short as one sentence, others as long as two pages. total of 1,824 The average number of statements was eight. The 228 respondents made a and were comprehensible. statements. Of these, 1,287 statements pertained to the question Figure 1 summarizes these statements. 3 2 Number of Percent Responses Essence of Statement 399 31 Nobody's business 25 322 President Clinton did wrong 15 193 Monica to blame 10 128 President doing good job 103 President's family hurt 8 4 Enemies out to get him 51 39 Media is the problem 3 2 26 Forgive him 13 Punish him/no mercy 1 13 Don't care 1 100 1,287 Content Analysis of Urban Middle Schools' Compositions Re: President Clinton's Figure 1. Impeachment include Compositions with statements of wrongdoing by the President were likely to also of statements that the statements that it is "nobody's business." The number and strength "nobody's President did wrong (322) was more likely to lead to the conclusion that it is still business" (399) rather than to some form of punisl=ent (13). How the respondents feel about impeachment is a significant "no." Assuming two choices there could not be this many "no" responses by chance. Total Female Male % Percent Number % No. No. Response 22 51 27 12 24 Yes 10 66 150 37 84 29 66 No 2 0 0 Resign 2 1 1 7 3 4 2 Don't Care 3 1 18 8 Unclear 5 7 11 3 100.0 228 56 44 126 102 Urban Middle Schoolers' Answers to "Should President Clinton Be Impeached?" Figure 2. 4 3 What Might the Responses Mean? I had several impressions going through these compositions. First, there was little or no e.g.,"President Clinton should not factual information and what there was was likely to be wrong, compositions make it be elected again." Whatever the students believe about the case, their essentially knowledge abundantly clear that they know the President had a sexual affair but are watching free regarding the facts of the case. In effect, they have not been reading newspapers or factual information. television programs; if they have, they have certainly not retained any ("The The students are strongly empathetic. They see the President as a person. his situation. ("If I was President is a regular person except he is President.") They then relate to President.") While a in his position I would lie too." "I would have done the same thing to stay with him. ("If someone few feel he should be punishedjust as they would bemost empathize say?") asks you, 'Did you cheat on your wife with so and so?', what are you going to communities, fewer Although this population of respondents are part of active religious religious; for than 1 percent of the statements refer to anything that might be construed as mentioned. Whatever the example, concepts such as grace, forgiveness, sin, or God are hardly religious values or degree of church participation among these respondents they do not apply any criteria in giving their opinions of what should happen. be quite clear on At the same time, the respondents are highly moralistic. They seem to what are right and acts right and wrong behavior. Almost every composition explains who and the survey. These perceived as serious wrongs. I consider this the most important finding of beliefs in the general youth do have a moral codeand it is very similar to the common employee American value system, e.g., adultery is wrong; an older man having sex with a young These mostly is wrong; lying under oath is wrong; hurting one's wife and family is wrong. 5 4 African American young teenagers share the same values as most Americans. If anything, they have an oversupply of moral prescriptions. Their behavior cannot be simplistically written off as amoral. These respondents have a strong, clear sense of what they believe to be right and wrong. There is also a theme of fairness defined as sameness in many of the compositions. 'Their definition of fairness is that the president should be punished in the same way as other people. affair. "If Bill Clinton is punished then so should the rest of the people in the world who have an in Do you know how many would be punished?" This view of fairness as sameness also appears their view of punishment. "He should have some kind of punishment. I would make him do some kind of community service or something." If the fate of President Clinton were in the hands of these students he would remain as president, after they let him know that they disapprove of his behavior and that he let them down have been shaped by the larger as a role model. The issue of the degree to which these views Black community would be an interesting one to study further. We will have to learn more about and why and how urban youth sift through their communities' values and decide which to follow which to ignore. Or even more important, when and under what conditions do they choose to respond to the values they apparently know quite well? Haberman.4 I Pres Clinton.wpd 09 Oct 98 12:07 LtS.DepartmentofEducation Li1=1] Office of Educational Research and Improvement (0ERI) National Library of Education (NLE) Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) REPRODUCTION RELEASE (Specific Document) I. DOCUMENT IDENTIFICATION: What Do Urban Middle School Youth Think Should Happen to President Clinton Author(s): Martin Haherman Publication Date: Corporate Source: Kappa Delta Pi On Line 12/10/98 www.KDP.Org II. REPRODUCTION RELEASE: In order to disseminate as widely as possible timely and significant materials of interest to the educational community, documents announced in the monthly abstract journal of the ERIC system, Resources in Education (RIE), are usually made available to users in microfiche, reproduced paper copy, and electronic media, and sold through the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS). 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