This isn't related directly to the class but I thought it was a good piece to share with some people.
This past Saturday a teacher panel from Urban Teaching backgrounds spoke about their experiences to a crowd of students. One teacher who taught elementary students on the west side of Chicago said to us "They're just kids."
This comment was in response to the misconstrued fear weaved by the ignorant. The fears that all inner-city are in gangs. The fear that all inner-city kids will steal your wallet, purse or car. The fear that when inner-city kids speak another language, their talking about you. She was responding to a situation where a first grader stenciled a crown on her folder. Since this is a common gang symbol in their neighborhood they wanted to remove the girl from the class and give her some type of punishment. The teacher asked to wait and talked to the girl about the crowns. It turns out that on the very folder that she stenciled on was the same crown. The first grader liked it so much that she wanted to try and draw it.
"They're just kids."
I just finished watching a documentary called Born into Brothels. It's about children born into the brothels of Calcutta and how they live. I really liked this film and want to recommend it to everyone. What I liked about it was the fact that it showed the kids being kids.
Yes it showed the difficult lives they had but the film did not dwell on it. The majority of the film consists of these children laughing, talking, playing and taking photos. It shows us that even though we, as Westerners, see these "major" social issues, see the disparity of these children's lives, see the frustrations of those who try and help, these children still grow and live like children.
They still played with each other. They still were fascinated by new things. They still wanted to learn and be doctors and lawyers when they grow up. They still wanted the best for their family. They still wanted to have fun.
"They're just kids."
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3 comments:
I don't think this post is completely unrelated to class. I think that the issue about the girl drawing the crown can be connected to the "zero tolerance" issue that we have discussed. I believe that the girl should in no way receive any punishment for the drawing. Like the teacher brought up at the panel, kids are still kids. Sometimes I think people are so worried about the things going on around these kids, thinking that it is sinking into their heads, but at a first grade level...these kids NEED to be treated like kids. Society pushes youth to grow up too fast, and I know that in some circumstances it may be inevitable, but we as teachers still need to try to lessen the burdens at home or in society and allow these kids to have time to "just be kids." "Zero tolerance" would definitely say to remove that girl from the classroom, but what is this going to do? It's just going to hinder her learning. Just do what the teacher did and observe the situation, maybe ask the girl a question regarding the crown and then drop the issue.
Thanks for the recommendation on the video...I'll have to pick that up.
I work at an after school program down here and when i first started working there i was shocked at some of the things that these kids were bringing up. One example that will always stick in my mind is what a kindergarten boy was talking to me about last year. He was talking with his friends about their families and one of the little boys asked him why he lived with his Grandma. He seemed a little hesitant at first to answer, but then he started saying that his dad was never around and that he did a lot of drugs and alcohol and that his mother couldn't take care of him. I was really shocked to hear this and it really broke my heart. Although, i don't think he could really understand the extent of his situation, i feel that he knew what was going on in his life and that he was bothered by it. A few days ago, which is a whole year later from the previous conversation, i was talking to the same kid. He began to talk about beer and was asking me questions about it. He then said that he tried some and he seemed to think that this was something really cool. After that he went on to tell me the same thing about his dad that he had said to me a year ago. He told me that his dad drinks a lot of beer and is always drunk and that is why he isn’t around. It scarred me a little because i wanted to make sure that he knew this was a bad thing. It is funny how a year has past and these issues are always still present on his mind. To hear that this one child has already dealt with so much and to know that other children at the after school program have gone through similar things is just upsetting to hear. I was thinking about this after reading this post because I was thinking about the phrase, “they’re just kids,” and it made me upset. It is so true to think that they are just kids and that most of them, especially in urban schools, are going through such “adult” things. Some of them are learning early on in life the harsh realities of the world and it is upsetting to know that they have to deal with them at such a young age. I think it was a good point to bring up that we need to make sure we understand that our students are just kids and for us to make sure they have positive reinforcement at school. They need to be able to just be a kid at school and not worry about everything that might be going on at home. At the end of the day, all kids are just really kids no matter what they have been dealt. I think that when working with students it is important to keep in mind their background as far as their family life and the environment they live in, but it isn’t fair to them to treat them differently because of these issues. I know that this example isn’t about a child from an urban school, but I can’t help but compare a lot of these discussions we have in class to the kids that I work with down here.
I definitely agree with the statement that kids NEED to be treated like kids no matter what their personal circumstances are. I really am a firm believer that people are products of their environment. Kids are still learning the measures of what is right and what is wrong, so it is important to set positive examples for them and be understanding of the fact that many of their actions are simply reflections of the things that they have been exposed to.
However, as Carrye suggested, the sad reality is that many kids ARE dealing with situations that are "too adult", very serious, and/or far over their heads. That is why childhood is so critical. Children learn from the different things that they are exposed to, and they can unknowingly make decisions that can be detrimental or lead them down an unwanted path in the future.
As teachers, we must be positive role models. Students do not come into classrooms as a clean slate or a ball of clay that we can mold however we want. Thus, in order to try and reach these children, we must get to know our students and EVALUATE the issues on an individual basis based on the messages that you wish to convey. For example, perhaps the issue with the crown stencil IS one that should be addressed due to the fact that there is a gang that uses this symbol and it is important for children to be aware (to some extent) of issues such as these, because they can also be safety issues. However, it is clear that the student did not sketch this drawing due to gang activity, so that should certainly be recognized. Children aren't always aware of everything, and that is why it is important to address the situations on an individual basis and not prescribe such a one-size-fits-all system for young kids.
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