Creative Connector
Pg. 137-138: Mr. Michie’s first encounter with gang activity:
I still remember my first encounter with gang activity: once as a high school student and another as a teacher. As a high school student my freshmen year, we actually have a major problem with “gangs” forming in our school between two different groups of boys. It got to a point where fights would break out between the boys during passing time in the halls and eventually, a select few of the boys were transferred to other schools to break them up. As a teacher, my first encounter with seeing and hearing gang related activity was actually teaching in schools abroad in Belize for 10 days with a group at my undergraduate school called Friends Across Borders. I was taking pictures with a group of the 1st grade students out in the courtyard during recess, and I asked them to say cheese or make a funny face. A few of the boys held up a symbol with their hands and as soon as a teacher at the school saw it, they ran over and started yelling at the boys. I wasn’t sure what was going on until another teacher at the school explained it to me that it was a gang symbol that was absolutely not tolerated at school. The more days I spent working with the teachers and students at the school, the more symbols I saw and the more stories I heard about the teachers and staffs struggle to keep the younger students safe and out of the gang groups around Belize. It was amazing to see how gang related activity can be seen all over the world and viewed in similar ways.
Pg. 141: “The Preacher” meets with the students in his room after the fight in the hallway:
Every school needs a “Preacher”! This is the model teacher who doesn’t just send the boys to detention, but treats them like adults and human beings by sitting them down, letting them discuss the issue and hearing them out. I remember a teacher back in high school similar to the “Preacher” and the way he would handle a situation like this. It’s comforting for students caught in situations such as gang activity in school to not be shut down but to be heard so that whatever the issue is can be addressed instead of suppressed and cause something worse to happen later. Mr. Michie took note of the ‘Preacher’s
actions with these students and put forth his best effort to do the same with those students. It’s important for us as teachers to remember the “Preacher” and the way he would handle a situation such as the confrontation in the hallway the next time we are faced with a challenging situation.
actions with these students and put forth his best effort to do the same with those students. It’s important for us as teachers to remember the “Preacher” and the way he would handle a situation such as the confrontation in the hallway the next time we are faced with a challenging situation.
Pg. 153-154: Juan talks about the student teacher in his classroom and the impact it left on him.
I thought Juan’s comments on the student teacher in his classroom were interesting! Since we’ve all been in that situation, and we try to have the best experiences we can and make those special connections with our students. It sounds like in Juan’s experience, he felt that the student teacher knew more about Juan and actually knew his name more than his regular teacher. It seems to be true in some situations that the student teacher comes in with a whole new energy and perspective on the classroom more than those teachers that have been around for years and start to burn out. It’s nice to see that in Juan’s situation, he had a good experience with a new teacher in his classroom to feel welcome and enjoy school.
Essence Extractor:
Treating students as individuals and human beings during difficult and frustrating times can go a long way.
Hey guys! Kathleen, I think I might be the researcher this week?? So I went ahead and researched some websites on the topic/theme of this week’s chapter-gangs and gang activity in schools. I found some pretty good articles as well and websites alike that discuss the trend in gang activity in school and how teachers and staff are handling it, even one article on girl gangs that are starting to appear. Check them outJ
I have never experienced any sort of gang activity, either when I was in high school or when teaching. I don't know how I would respond to something like this in my school. Talking them can only go so far, how does one totally put a kibosh on everything?
ReplyDelete-Stephanie