In the midst of things as crazy as ever, I am left wondering what else has to happen to further establish the ugly truth that educational systems, especially for the more disadvantaged, are highly, highly flawed. After a week of teachers being non-renewed at our school, to teachers not showing up for a sustained time, to countless student fights, outbursts, threats, bullying, emotional break downs of teachers and students, and the most disheartening of all, the lack of instructional time with our students, I have continued to work as hard as I can to do MY best and to maintain a positive outlook. However, I am not sure what else could happen for me to be even more shocked or repelled from working in public schools.
It seems like this year, I have seen it all, and while I have seen some people working on making real improvements, I think a lot of people are missing the point or are displacing the blame on other things. I think it all boils down to community; and not just one community. It has to do with several communities, coming together to see problems and see solutions to make change. I can't believe the racism, the sexism, the classism, the neglect to address BIG, and IMPORTANT issues that exist in my school. There are so many dysfunctional relationships and systems, and when all of these things collide nothing gets solved. Bitterness, hate, ego and pride all build a wall against cultivating a school community. There is such similarity in the community that my students live in and the culture that has been created at my school, and it is clearly a culture of violence and hate.
My solution is simple. Reach out to the community to better understand where this culture of violence stems from. Try to understand their community and make the school community transform in a way that they can understand how they can CHANGE their own neighborhood. It is SO important and SO obvious that the students need to be able to connect their own lives to the lives they lead in school during the week. When we walk around our school all day, pushing middle class values down their throats, speaking to them not in their native language, making them practice rituals that they don't understand, it is no wonder they will rebel. Respect to wanting an education and wanting to feel SAFE in a community has to start outward and move inward, it has to be fluid. It cannot sustain on its own within the walls of the school.
Do theatre! Make change by performing the problems that exist in Montbello. Act out how problems are solved with hateful words and violence. Put yourself as a person, as an actor, into that action and CHANGE it. Choose a different solution. Be kind, be peaceful. Show that with your actions. Let the community see the possibility of ACTING on change. Theater is REHEARSAL for REALITY. Make a show out of the injustices that exist in the community. I return to the passionate mission I had when I came out here, that theatre can be revolutionary, and can make change in communities that are falling a part. My school and its community are damaging each other. This extends any state standards, any district obligations, paper work, curriculum, assessment, data, any of that. These are people and it is their future. Our future.
WE are the only ones with the vision to empower people to make changes in ways they never imagined they could. I am hopeful but I know that it's going to take harder work than even I am putting in now.
Feeling like Obama/Boal/Freire at this point, I also want to remember good things such as...
KJ winning the Hope Scholarship for Most Improved in the 8th grade, and winning $500 for higher education.
BC's IEP meeting and how much he has improved this year.
DE's protectiveness, concern and interest in me and my life.
A good visit with my aunt and grandma this past weekend.
Feeling productive with work that has approaching deadlines..
Planning for a fun summer, doing work with El Museo del las Americas, a Latin American Art Museum in Denver.
Getting a long night's sleep to let this all sink in and make something meaningful out of the last few weeks of school.
C
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