Figure 1.--This class at the John Worthy School is in perfect order. This was a court ordered residential school. The students are hard at work on the lesson. They have immaculately combed hair and suits do not look like juvenile delinquents, but they are all minor Chicago miscreants. They look to be about 11 years old. They are at the John Worthy School, an experimental school for juvenile delinquents. The photograph is undated, but would have been taken about 1900. What we do not know about the school was how successful it was.

Criminal justice reformers established the John Worthy School (JWS) in Chicago at he end of the 19th century (1891). The idea was to treat boys differently than adult criminals within the Chicago House of Correction. The question was how to deal with boys committing minor crimes like shop lifting. Chicago reformers, experts, and city leaders were intent on reforming and educating boys, giving these goals a higher priority than punishing when dealing with children. They felt that juveniles should be treated differently than 'hardened' criminals which was not the case for much of the 19th century. The school was closed 1916. We are not sure why. Modern scholars studying criminal justice tend to focus on the creation of juvenile courts. There has been little attention given to the history of correctional institutions for younger offenders. he image here gives the impression of well behaved little angels. In fact they are what we would now describe as juvenile delinquents. There is a sense of calm in the image, but the school was run n a very strict basis, surely including corporal punishment. The harshness was such that would not be acceptable today. Boys this age today are treated much more gently with far greater compassion. What we do not have is assessments as to success. How effective was the John Worthy School is both educating and reforming these boys. And how does his compare with the modern system of educating and reforming troubled boys.

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Created: 11:48 AM 5/29/2015
Last updated: 11:48 AM 5/29/2015