Stories from the Inner City...

Action #1

I realize that I live a pretty sheltered life. I grew up in a Christian home, attended a private, Christian school all my life and now am attending a private, Christian college. Though I did live in a poor, third-world country for 14 years of my life, I lived a comfortable, middle-class existence and really have nothing at all to complain about. Of course, I am aware of the injustices and horrors around me, but it is one thing to know, and another to experience. Still, I believe it is important to be informed and knowledgeable about what other kids and adults live through. As a future teacher, I am aware that I will not always interact with other people who lived my privileged life, and I may very well teach children from terrible broken backgrounds. I am sure I am in contact with students like this even now at my field placement school, Goshen Middle School!

I recently began reading Our America, by LeAlan Jones and Lloyd Newman. These two boys grew up in the Ida B. Wells housing project in Chicago, one of the worst projects in the city, with high mortality rates and gang violence. The book tells of ghetto life - family, school, friends - from the perspective of these two boys. One section of the book is devoted to learning more about the tragic murder case of five year old Eric Morse who was thrown from a 14th story window by two young boys over a petty grudge. When reading this book, I was struck by the nonchalant way LeAlan and Lloyd wrote of their life. I cannot imagine living in a place like the Ida B. Wells, where gunshots ring out all the time and it is common to have lost at least thirty friends to violence before even reaching twenty. Most of the children have at least one parent in jail or completely out of their lives. In all my education classes, I am being taught to include the parents in their child's education as much as possible. In a situation like this, however, the parent is simply gone. Does the teacher need to fill the empty space left by absent parents in the student's life? Perhaps not, but I think one does need to learn to look past the tough exterior or the ugly stories attached to the student and learn to love/accept them just as they are.

In the book, LeAlan and Lloyd included an insightful interview with the principal of their school. Ms. Tolson freely acknowledges the difficult situations all the students come from but manages to express hope that they will succeed. She recognizes that many of the children passing through the school's hallways will never leave the ghetto, but despite this, she also states that the students all have the potential to succeed and she will do her best to see this happen. One thing she specifically mentions trying to do is helping teachers recognize the gifts and talents each child brings to the classroom. I admire her brave attitude. Teaching/working in any sort of inner-city school must be extremely difficult, yet we desperately need teachers of excellence to be working there! Though I have yet to experience working in the inner-city, I hope to learn from reading accounts of people like Ms. Tolson and boys like LeAlan and Lloyd. A teacher of excellence will learn to see each student's gifts and struggles and work with child in whatever position the they are in to help them learn and grow.

No but really, you should look inside this book! :)