On the 24th of August, a ten-year-old girl was killed in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Victoria Martens turned ten the day before she was drugged, abused, and murdered by her mother’s boyfriend and his cousin, while her mother was in the house, letting it happen. The same community has been hit constantly with abuse cases of children. Baby Brianna, was killed in 2002, at just 5 months old, by a boyfriend and his family member, in her home, with the mother failing to intervene. She also abused her. Her story was so gruesome that it made national headlines as one of the worst child abuse cases in history and broke millions of hearts. Unfortunately, these cases happen all over the United States and the world but in 2016, the age of technology and information— the age where psychology, sociology, and education in general should be broadcast as easy knowledge to the public— these incomprehensible cases are still happening. Our innocent, children of tomorrow, are being abused and killed by the very people that are supposed to be protecting, caring for, and even shaping their young minds.

So, why is this still happening— why so frequently, why does it seem to be getting worse in certain communities such as Albuquerque, and what can be done to stop it? There are certain factors that all human beings need to thrive and to be their most successful in life. We all need a balance and thanks to psycholgists like Freud and Erickson, we know that the building blocks to a human being start forming from the very beginning. Whether needs are met or not, whether events or conditions are introduced into ones life— there are many factors that contribute to what make a person who they are.

An obvious cause of unthinkable crime is drugs. Drugs are ruining communities, stealing the life out of people— the potential, the will to pursue a life of integrity and success through hard work. Children grow to learn that they must commit crime to get by— they’re around drugs because in these neighborhoods drugs are the seen as the easiest way to make money. People end of doing drugs and will do anything to get them. The cycle of crime and violence is one that is not hard to get sucked into. Drugs make people into monsters— unrecognizable to the family who raised them, love them, want them back. Drugs such as methamphetamines and heroine are so addictive that they completely take over pleasure centers and cognitive functions in the brain. People that fall into the darkness of these drugs are often lost to a life of crime and heartlessness, never to fully return to their previous selves.

Poverty is another leading factor. Parents may try their hardest to make ends meet, but children grow up in impoverished neighborhoods surrounded by crime. The cycle of crime is perpetuated by survival. Kids don't finish high school because they have to get jobs to help their families financially. College is expensive and they often see pursuing further education as an impossibility— they take minimum wage jobs and leave education in the dust. They get into drugs, crime, and whatever they need to to get by. Their minds get warped, their spirits are shattered, and they end up in places where they think that it's okay to do things like steal from others, hurt others, abuse children, kill.

If lawmakers and community and government leaders had all of the answers, then we wouldn’t have all of the problems. Sure, it is always going to be up to each person’s choice, but some people start out with stars in their eyes and end up in a black hole of their environment. If I am to take a look at this list and the struggles I encountered in the start of my own life, I would say that there is one thing that can greatly contribute to bettering the odds of breaking the cycle. The one thing that can change anyone’s life is education.

Education systems are failing our youth in cities such as Albuquerque. According to the 2016 Kids Count Data Book, New Mexico is ranked 50th in education and 49th overall for child well-being in the nation. Quality teachers need to be hired and paid more, curriculum needs to be taken more seriously. Children need to be given a fighting chance in life, but no one is willing to give them a chance to truly learn. Pass rates in cities are a big deal— in order to get funding, rates need to be met, and so, classes are made to be easier, corners are cut, the system is a mess. For many, a lack of quality education often leads to a life a crime. In cities with a higher quality of education crimes rates are shown to be lower. There is no coincidence.

Education is the answer to so much drug use, poverty, and crime like child abuse. Isn’t it time, in 2016, that we focus so much more money and effort into our schools? Schools need to be a priority, from early childhood development through high school, and on to college. Children are our future and we have the information and tools to create some outstanding citizens of tomorrow, but do we have quality schools? No. It is only in shaping young minds that we can truly better the crime rates of tomorrow and hopefully put an end to child abuse so that little girls like Victoria Martens can celebrate many more birthdays, free from pain.