The End of the Beginning
July 3, 2009
So it appears, after 4 weeks of “practice” (I hate that term) with inner city students in Houston, that I am officially ready to receive my teaching certification. I have got to say that these last 4 weeks have been some of the most eye opening of my life. This is not “Freedom Writers”, or “Dangerous Minds”. This is real life for these kids. Gangs, pregnancy at 11 and 12 years old, 1 or sometimes 0 parents for these kids, free lunch programs, all of it is very apart of the lives of these young adults, yet up until now I have managed to turn a blind eye to the meaning and consequences behind all of this. Sure, I have brought up these kids scores from 15% 3 weeks ago on the first test I gave them, to an 86% average, however the fact remains in 1 week I’m out, and a new teacher is in.
These kids will not dissappear after I am gone on Thursday, and neither will the problem of closing the gap in American Education, however, I’m seeing that the problems children face in America have far reaches outside of education. There exists a cultural gap in America between what is viewed as right and what is viewed as wrong. Gangs, pre-teen pregnancy, these are things that should have been foiled a long time ago, yet they still persist and to these children are viewed as the rule, rather than the exception. Beyond closing this “achievement gap” in education, I hope I can begin to heal the wounds of the cultural gaps that plague these regions, because when I look out over my classroom, I don’t see gang members, or a 13 old 7th grade girl with two kids. I see children, wanting something more, but not knowing what that something is. These kids CAN learn, and these kids CAN succeed, if only they were given a chance to see what it is like on the other side of the tracks.
For me, these last few weeks have not been practice, but I do now see how neccessary it is for me to get in the game. And while I do not condone fighting of any kind, I think I’m gonna have to take the gloves off for this one.
