"Black males are disproportionately "in trouble" and suspended from the nation's school systems. In Bad Boys, Ann Arnett Ferguson offers an account of daily interactions between teachers and students to illuminate this serious problem. She demonstrates how a group of eleven- and twelve-year-old males are identified by school personnel as "bound for jail" and how the young men construct a sense of self under such adverse circumstances.".

"Through interviews and participation with pre-adolescent African American boys in classrooms, playgrounds, movie theaters, and video arcades, Ferguson explores what "getting into trouble" means for the boys themselves. She supplements the boys' perspectives with interviews with teachers, principals, truant officers, and relatives of the students.

Together these data construct a disturbing picture of how educators' beliefs in a "natural difference" of black children and the "criminal inclination" of black males shape decisions that disproportionately single out black males as being "at risk" for failure and punishment.".

"Bad Boys should be of interest of educators, parents, and all professionals and students in the fields of African American studies, childhood studies, gender studies, juvenile studies, social work, and sociology, as well as anyone who is concerned about the way our schools are shaping the next generation of African American boys."--BOOK JACKET.