don't know who (if anyone) is still reading this, but i feel that i will break the blogsilence.
(p.s. i decided to give up proper punctuation etc. because i am no longer turning this in for any credit...and the shift key is such a hassle)
so, the kids at eli whitney were the most astute and socially knowledgeable seventh graders i have ever had the priveledge of talking to (by socially knowledgeable i mean knowledge of social issues, not how to interact in social situations). granted they still lacked the tools to discuss difficult issues, it was astonishingly apparent that they knew about the issues because of their extreme proximity to the issues that most interest me (i.e. race, racism, social segregation, etc.).
talking to the kids about social issues was a powerful and meaningful experience, but it was disgustingly heartbreaking (i am enjoying the adverbs tonight). social segregation, institutional and rhetorical racism (racist language structuring action/thought)...these are NOT the things that 12 and 13 year old children should be thinking about. these issues rip apart my heart, and that such beautiful young children should have to see them so young terrifies me and pours salt in the wound.
i cannot even begin to understand the emotions of the kids in that classroom. in describing the experiences they had with gangs they seemed emotionally unaffected... i dont even know how to explain it.
one group presented a short skit about gangs and the effects and affects that gang life can have, and granted that kids can be silly, they giggled the entire way through. this wasn't their intent, but it completely illustrated to me the degree to which gangs have infiltrated the lives of the children.
i cant describe any more right now. words fail me.
I was very surprised by how the students felt about their neighborhood and the issues within it. I liked the fact that the students acknowledged the fact that there were negatives in their neighborhood, and in the same token, valued the positives. These kids wanted to do something about the gang problem in their community. They realize that living the lifestyle of a gang member is not the best option for them. They want a better life for themselves and they wanted to live in a peaceful community. Even though this is true, it saddens me that some of the kids think that they will not survive in their neighborhood. One boy told me that he didn't think he was going to live long because of his neighborhood. It is truely tragic when a child's environment dimishes their aspirations for a long, happy, successful life. I really admire these kids for their wisdom. They are wise beyond their years. Sometimes it's hard to imagine what these kids know and have experienced. They've witnessed classmates and sisters die because of senseless violence. As an adult I would never want to experience this, and it shocks me that people who are seven years younger than me have been through this. I would never in my wildest dreams think that I would ever be shot at, while one boy admitted that he was shot at six times.
Even though I'm glad that these kids are so knowledgeable about their environments, I wish they didn't have to live in a place that requires them to know such things.
Although I was not there for the whole day, the little time I did spend was awesome. The kids expressed themselves well for the most part and spoke for those classmates who had difficulty doing so. I was surprised that we were allowed to leave the school and walk around the neighborhood, but I did like seeing the graffiti, eating the ice cream, being out in the sun, and feeling the energy of the classroom. I wish I was able to spend more time listening to the students and getting a glimpse into their lives because although it only took me 20 minutes on I-55 to get home, we live in separate worlds, and I wish it weren't that way.
Two things shocked me during the day: 1. One of the boys kept reiterating that he was glad we were here and they needed us to be teachers in their community. I asked him if he would be a teacher in Little Village and he just laughed and said yea sure if he was alive ( this was the same boy Tanika was talking about). It made me kind of think that they were thinking we were going to "save them" Maybe? Maybe not. It just surprised me. 2. Well it escapes me now...but I'll think of it later.
Anyways, it was a great experience! I got to talk to our classmates, learn about the Little Village community, and just overall have a great day. I was not scared or worried the entire time I was there, even though my mother was worried the entire day. I even started thinking seriously about doing PDS in Little VIllage, an idea that I have casually tossed around in the past. We shall see. Thanks for a great trip everyone...can we write them a thank you letter or something? They were great hosts!
I was a bit taken aback when a girl sitting at our table asked us what we first noticed about the community when we arrived. It was a bit like meeting someone, who then asks what your impression of them is. I wasn’t quite prepared for it. I forgot exactly why, but the conversation steered itself in a way that I never had to answer the question. So I thought I’d try to answer it here.
To be honest, the very first thing I noticed as I drove into the neighborhood was simply the close proximity of the buildings…
I don’t know how the girl who asked the question would have reacted to my seemingly superficial observation of spatial relationships as the main thought floating through my brain as I drove down Pulaski and into Little Village, but I think here I can expand on it (or try to) in a way that makes it relevant to what I saw at Eli Whitney.
I thought the closeness of the buildings, in some way symbolizes the strong sense community I felt in the classroom. That community was most evident (to me) as the class attentively listened to each other’s presentations on Little Village, laughed along with the occasional funny comment thrown in from the peanut gallery, and supported one another as they shared a part of themselves, and their neighborhood, with the audience.
They discussed, with a courageous openness, some very serious issues, and shared some very personal stories.
In the surrounding, wealthier suburbs, the buildings often sit farther apart, and, in some ways, I think the kids don’t have to stand so close together, because the outside world doesn’t appear to be converging in on them (as much as it is their neighbors in other parts of the city) with it’s ugly forces (like high poverty, crime, gang violence), prompting them to come together in their resistance against these forces.
But in Little Village, like the building that stand so close together, I sensed that the kids have to stand closer to one another as they come to more fully understand how their neighborhood, in all its complexity, beauty, and imperfection, affects their own choices and chances.
I think a good number of people would benefit from spending a day listening to the powerful insights of the kids who are living in the situations affected by these factors that many people only know as topics of sociology books or newspaper articles.
4 comments:
don't know who (if anyone) is still reading this, but i feel that i will break the blogsilence.
(p.s. i decided to give up proper punctuation etc. because i am no longer turning this in for any credit...and the shift key is such a hassle)
so, the kids at eli whitney were the most astute and socially knowledgeable seventh graders i have ever had the priveledge of talking to (by socially knowledgeable i mean knowledge of social issues, not how to interact in social situations). granted they still lacked the tools to discuss difficult issues, it was astonishingly apparent that they knew about the issues because of their extreme proximity to the issues that most interest me (i.e. race, racism, social segregation, etc.).
talking to the kids about social issues was a powerful and meaningful experience, but it was disgustingly heartbreaking (i am enjoying the adverbs tonight). social segregation, institutional and rhetorical racism (racist language structuring action/thought)...these are NOT the things that 12 and 13 year old children should be thinking about. these issues rip apart my heart, and that such beautiful young children should have to see them so young terrifies me and pours salt in the wound.
i cannot even begin to understand the emotions of the kids in that classroom. in describing the experiences they had with gangs they seemed emotionally unaffected...
i dont even know how to explain it.
one group presented a short skit about gangs and the effects and affects that gang life can have, and granted that kids can be silly, they giggled the entire way through.
this wasn't their intent, but it completely illustrated to me the degree to which gangs have infiltrated the lives of the children.
i cant describe any more right now.
words fail me.
I was very surprised by how the students felt about their neighborhood and the issues within it. I liked the fact that the students acknowledged the fact that there were negatives in their neighborhood, and in the same token, valued the positives. These kids wanted to do something about the gang problem in their community. They realize that living the lifestyle of a gang member is not the best option for them. They want a better life for themselves and they wanted to live in a peaceful community. Even though this is true, it saddens me that some of the kids think that they will not survive in their neighborhood. One boy told me that he didn't think he was going to live long because of his neighborhood. It is truely tragic when a child's environment dimishes their aspirations for a long, happy, successful life. I really admire these kids for their wisdom. They are wise beyond their years. Sometimes it's hard to imagine what these kids know and have experienced. They've witnessed classmates and sisters die because of senseless violence. As an adult I would never want to experience this, and it shocks me that people who are seven years younger than me have been through this. I would never in my wildest dreams think that I would ever be shot at, while one boy admitted that he was shot at six times.
Even though I'm glad that these kids are so knowledgeable about their environments, I wish they didn't have to live in a place that requires them to know such things.
Although I was not there for the whole day, the little time I did spend was awesome. The kids expressed themselves well for the most part and spoke for those classmates who had difficulty doing so. I was surprised that we were allowed to leave the school and walk around the neighborhood, but I did like seeing the graffiti, eating the ice cream, being out in the sun, and feeling the energy of the classroom. I wish I was able to spend more time listening to the students and getting a glimpse into their lives because although it only took me 20 minutes on I-55 to get home, we live in separate worlds, and I wish it weren't that way.
Two things shocked me during the day:
1. One of the boys kept reiterating that he was glad we were here and they needed us to be teachers in their community. I asked him if he would be a teacher in Little Village and he just laughed and said yea sure if he was alive ( this was the same boy Tanika was talking about). It made me kind of think that they were thinking we were going to "save them" Maybe? Maybe not. It just surprised me.
2. Well it escapes me now...but I'll think of it later.
Anyways, it was a great experience! I got to talk to our classmates, learn about the Little Village community, and just overall have a great day. I was not scared or worried the entire time I was there, even though my mother was worried the entire day. I even started thinking seriously about doing PDS in Little VIllage, an idea that I have casually tossed around in the past. We shall see.
Thanks for a great trip everyone...can we write them a thank you letter or something? They were great hosts!
I was a bit taken aback when a girl sitting at our table asked us what we first noticed about the community when we arrived. It was a bit like meeting someone, who then asks what your impression of them is. I wasn’t quite prepared for it. I forgot exactly why, but the conversation steered itself in a way that I never had to answer the question. So I thought I’d try to answer it here.
To be honest, the very first thing I noticed as I drove into the neighborhood was simply the close proximity of the buildings…
I don’t know how the girl who asked the question would have reacted to my seemingly superficial observation of spatial relationships as the main thought floating through my brain as I drove down Pulaski and into Little Village, but I think here I can expand on it (or try to) in a way that makes it relevant to what I saw at Eli Whitney.
I thought the closeness of the buildings, in some way symbolizes the strong sense community I felt in the classroom. That community was most evident (to me) as the class attentively listened to each other’s presentations on Little Village, laughed along with the occasional funny comment thrown in from the peanut gallery, and supported one another as they shared a part of themselves, and their neighborhood, with the audience.
They discussed, with a courageous openness, some very serious issues, and shared some very personal stories.
In the surrounding, wealthier suburbs, the buildings often sit farther apart, and, in some ways, I think the kids don’t have to stand so close together, because the outside world doesn’t appear to be converging in on them (as much as it is their neighbors in other parts of the city) with it’s ugly forces (like high poverty, crime, gang violence), prompting them to come together in their resistance against these forces.
But in Little Village, like the building that stand so close together, I sensed that the kids have to stand closer to one another as they come to more fully understand how their neighborhood, in all its complexity, beauty, and imperfection, affects their own choices and chances.
I think a good number of people would benefit from spending a day listening to the powerful insights of the kids who are living in the situations affected by these factors that many people only know as topics of sociology books or newspaper articles.
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