Creative Connector
Page 135
“If he is really cunning, really ruthless, really strong – and many of us are – he becomes a kind of criminal. He becomes a kind of criminal because that’s the only way he can live.”
In a way joining a gang is smart. I never thought I would write or think this but in a way it is. Many of the students we’re reading about in this book are just like the students in the Rochester Schools, I think about the poverty, danger and discrimination in our city and I can say no wonder they ‘turn.’ It’s a built in family and protection, it is support for your entire life, you are respected (maybe for the wrong reasons but when you’re used to being powerless respect is respect). I do not in any way condone gang activity, I do however see a faulty system that does not serve all of its people, that leaves the majority of individuals in this country wanting and I don’t blame teens for joining. If the government, schools, economy… fails kids and their families how do we expect them to abide by the rules and regulations of these systems? I think of the jail system, if a person is in jail it is intended to be a punishment and correctional system. You have a regulated schedule, 3 meals a day, time to work out, forced education, in many cases inmates will be with people of like-mindedness. It seems that jail, like gangs, have a negative connotation in society but for the people they serve it is what makes life work.
Pg 140&141 Moses Green stops a gang fight in school and sits with the boys involved.
How awesome is “Preacher”? What an amazing person to have at this school. Someone who believes and shows everyone that no matter what organization people belong to, they are still humans. He is an example to teachers, he wants students to keep gangs out of school and offers them a socially acceptable and healthier place of belonging inside of school. This is what I want to do: To understand my students on a human level, not to pretend to know what they’re going through, not to be their friend, not to know the latest gadget or TV show (though hopefully I’ll stay up to date), not to be a savior, but to know the person in each student. There is an explanation for every action taken no matter how crazy it seems, honor student or gangbanger (or both!) kids are kids. They need teachers who see beyond the masks they wear and can educate them as people.
Pg 149 “Have they made any difference? Or have they, in the end, just been school assignments?”
The answer? We don’t know, we probably will never know. As an art teacher I have unique opportunities in my class to be able to make every lesson applicable to student life (if I do it right!) I hope that some of them stay with students and show them that they have a voice in the world. The creations of my students can, I hope, make a difference not only to themselves but to their community as well. Its up to me to let them to the things we already know them capable of doing. If teachers can create relevance for their students, as Mr. Michie has, there is no doubt that a difference has been made within a student. Maybe a huge governmental change was not created by the letters to the Mayor, but now students know that they can voice their opinions, and that they count for something.
Essence Extractor
Students are people, they deserve the respect and service of their communities and when they don’t get it on their own there are, unfortunately, organizations that can help them achieve this in unhealthy ways.
???
I didn’t know if I was supposed to do research or vocabulary so I did a mix of the two and found this really interesting article from CNN about how the Drug Enforcement Agency wanted to higher Ebonics translators to help catch drug cartel. There are so many social and political implications of doing this and this article touches on many of them. Ebonics, originally a combination of the words “Ebony” and “Phonics”, is now more of an urban language than one for strictly African Americans. Read the whole thing (its only 3 pages) and we can have a chat about it in our discussion on Thursday!
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/08/24/dea-wants-to-hire-ebonics-translators/?iref=allsearch
Kathleen - I like your comment on the "Preacher"! I made a similar comment on my blog in my creative connector. I think we see very much eye to eye on the teacher's we want to be for our students. I agree that we want to see the student for the person they are and to model the "Preacher" approach to these situations as much as possible. We want to be be there for our students no matter what trouble some of them may find themselves in, everyone needs someone to hear them out and we need to try to be the ones to see beyond the "hardness" some of them may show:) - Rachel
ReplyDeleteAhhhh! I love what you found for Rigorous Researcher! As I said before I am writing a paper on ebonics. My thesis is that ebonics is is not laziness, but it's a cultural aspect. This article will fit nicely in my paper! Thanks again!
ReplyDelete-Stephanie