Every once in a while I am approached by someone who wants to understand more about the inner city from the perspective of someone who lives here. They ask me if I can provide them with a family who would be willing to allow a reporter into their home to talk about food insecurity. They want to know if a child would be willing to provide a day-in-the-life report in hopes of getting a better picture of their life with gangs. Or they may want a mom to talk about her frustrations of trying to get a job with no childcare.
I want people to understand the environment, families, educational system, and why things work or don't work for people in poverty. Yet, every time I am approached, my defenses immediately go up.
My experience with the press hasn't always been good. I learned the hard way that the whole context of what you say isn't always put in the writing. Reporters have an agenda, an angle. They work to fit the story into their angle. As a result, the story becomes one-sided and often, for people in my neighborhood, reflects negatively on the people in the neighborhood. Therefore, a lot of my friends and neighbors turn away from those "opportunities" and often look at me with skepticism when I even approach them about it.
I get it. I mean, really, who wants their dirty laundry aired? I don't see a lot of press reports on upper class white families whose children become addicts because their work-a-holic parents hire nannies and they never have any real connection with their own children. Instead, when a drug epidemic breaks out in the suburbs, I see generous concern for students who have turned to drugs. There becomes an outpouring of support, counselors brought in, and attempts to weed out the drugs. Situations in either community are extremely sad, but similar situations are approached very differently depending on the neighborhood.
I do think people need to know about and understand the reality our kids in poverty face. I want to tell people if they really wanted to know, they should spend some time in our neighborhood. They need to be a part of our day-to-day for a while. I think they would find that some things aren't near as scary as they've been presented and other things are just as heart-breaking. Unfortunately, I've learned that convincing someone to hang out in our neighborhood for a while is pretty futile.
I wish people could see and understand the joy along with the sorrows. I wish they could meet Ron, who grew up on my street and comes back every once in a while to check on my elderly neighbor, who has also been here for most of her life. I wish they could know my friend who mows my lawn periodically when he knows I'm too busy. I wish they could feel the pain of the losses we've experienced to shootings, mental illness, diabetes, cancer, and other preventable actions and diseases. I wish people outside of our neighborhood could see how pain is embedded in the system.
There are some people who have become a part of our programs...and they have come to know the joys and the sorrows. We love, together. We hurt, together.
When I listened to this NPR segment, it reminded me of how real and powerful reports from people experiencing the system can be. But even as they explain, it took a lot of courage on their part to hold the tape recorder and get the information from their community.
After listening to the NPR segment (below), you may want to listen to one of their original pieces. If you want to know what "ghetto life" is like, listen to these two young men. They may have done the piece in 1993. Unfortunately, not much has changed in our urban areas since then. You may have to sign up for a subscription for the second audio piece (PRX » Piece » #50 - Ghetto Life 101), but it's free and I guarantee you it's worth it. Take a listen...
PRX » Piece » #50 - Ghetto Life 101
Showing posts with label inner city. Show all posts
Showing posts with label inner city. Show all posts
Sunday, February 06, 2011
Sunday, January 02, 2011
Protecting the Powerless Award of 2010
I received a phone call on Friday morning. It was a week day, but it was my day off for New Year's. I usually ignore unrecognizable numbers on my days off, but I answered anyway, "Hello, this is Janet."
On the other end of the line was a 24 year old guy I met a couple of years ago. His mom lives two streets over from me. We discovered this when I was facilitating an Americorps training he was required to attend. He was surprised that I lived in his neighborhood and knew some of the same guys he grew up with.
When he called, I'm guessing his mom was working on her taxes. He needed someone to write a letter saying that his mom took care of his niece this past year. Though I've talked to him several times over the last couple of years, I don't know much about his family. I had to explain to him that since I didn't know the situation, I didn't feel comfortable writing a letter on our letterhead saying she lived there.
I suppose I could have gone on his word and just written the letter, but I have learned a few lessons along the way. One being, it's not always a good idea to step into something you know nothing about. Even so, it bothers me that I couldn't do something that simple for him.
Situations like his frustrate me because all he needs is someone who can vouch for the fact that his niece is being taken care of by his mother. What his mother is doing is so common in our neighborhood. I've never heard of any official "adoptions" taking place by people in the community, but I know of many who take a child in, despite their own poverty and struggles, to ensure that child has the basic necessities their biological parent can't provide for them at that time.
The people who do this always impress me. They don't ask for anything in return. They usually can't get any food stamps or government assistance for the child despite their own...and the child's...poverty (oftentimes the biological parent could receive it, but they often aren't at a functioning level enough to make it all happen). So much of what that child needs comes straight from the new care taker's pocket...a pocket that has little in it for their own family. Sometimes the child stays for a short time. Other times, their entire life. I think what impresses me so much about the people who take other people's children is that there never seems to be any real contemplation about whether or not they could financially take on an extra mouth to feed. A child needs to be cared for so that they won't enter the "system." Period. End of story. The child enters their home.
So when my friend's mom wants to get what will probably amount to about a $1500 tax credit for this child she has raised all year long, I feel like it's a very small cost to us, the taxpayers, to provide her with that. After all, putting the child in foster care or out on the street may have cost us much, much more in the short term and the long term--financially and otherwise.
It's a hard job. Raising someone else's child means less for your own children. Rationing the money out for everyone in the household means even if there was enough before, extracurricular clubs and activities that would help develop a child and prepare them for college are probably not even considered. And college? I rarely hear that as something a parent has extra money to save for their own child, let alone for a couple of others they've raised along the way.
Last year, as a result of my Christmas gift, The Awe-manac: A Daily Dose of Wonder, and it's suggestion to create annual awards, I created my own. This year as I reflect, the people who take it upon themselves to raise other people's children without any fanfare or recognition deserve to be commended. Thank you for what you do!
On the other end of the line was a 24 year old guy I met a couple of years ago. His mom lives two streets over from me. We discovered this when I was facilitating an Americorps training he was required to attend. He was surprised that I lived in his neighborhood and knew some of the same guys he grew up with.
When he called, I'm guessing his mom was working on her taxes. He needed someone to write a letter saying that his mom took care of his niece this past year. Though I've talked to him several times over the last couple of years, I don't know much about his family. I had to explain to him that since I didn't know the situation, I didn't feel comfortable writing a letter on our letterhead saying she lived there.
I suppose I could have gone on his word and just written the letter, but I have learned a few lessons along the way. One being, it's not always a good idea to step into something you know nothing about. Even so, it bothers me that I couldn't do something that simple for him.
Situations like his frustrate me because all he needs is someone who can vouch for the fact that his niece is being taken care of by his mother. What his mother is doing is so common in our neighborhood. I've never heard of any official "adoptions" taking place by people in the community, but I know of many who take a child in, despite their own poverty and struggles, to ensure that child has the basic necessities their biological parent can't provide for them at that time.
The people who do this always impress me. They don't ask for anything in return. They usually can't get any food stamps or government assistance for the child despite their own...and the child's...poverty (oftentimes the biological parent could receive it, but they often aren't at a functioning level enough to make it all happen). So much of what that child needs comes straight from the new care taker's pocket...a pocket that has little in it for their own family. Sometimes the child stays for a short time. Other times, their entire life. I think what impresses me so much about the people who take other people's children is that there never seems to be any real contemplation about whether or not they could financially take on an extra mouth to feed. A child needs to be cared for so that they won't enter the "system." Period. End of story. The child enters their home.
So when my friend's mom wants to get what will probably amount to about a $1500 tax credit for this child she has raised all year long, I feel like it's a very small cost to us, the taxpayers, to provide her with that. After all, putting the child in foster care or out on the street may have cost us much, much more in the short term and the long term--financially and otherwise.
It's a hard job. Raising someone else's child means less for your own children. Rationing the money out for everyone in the household means even if there was enough before, extracurricular clubs and activities that would help develop a child and prepare them for college are probably not even considered. And college? I rarely hear that as something a parent has extra money to save for their own child, let alone for a couple of others they've raised along the way.
Last year, as a result of my Christmas gift, The Awe-manac: A Daily Dose of Wonder, and it's suggestion to create annual awards, I created my own. This year as I reflect, the people who take it upon themselves to raise other people's children without any fanfare or recognition deserve to be commended. Thank you for what you do!
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
After the Bell: Roseland Jr. Reporters
In case you just couldn't roll out of bed...or forgot to...this morning, here is our WFAA Channel 8 segment on the Roseland After School Academy and Dallas South News Jr. Reporters.
Watch out Chris Flanagan! :)
Watch out Chris Flanagan! :)
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Teens donate their shoes
The shoe donation came right after the Haiti earthquake. Terrence’s Teen U kids had been studying about Haiti—looking things up on the internet, having discussions, and seeking to gain an understanding of the tragic event that happened. As the rest of the world, they became very enmeshed in what was happening. Around this time, I received an email from our development department letting me know tennis shoes had been donated for the youth at Roseland. When I let Terrence know, he took the information to the teens and asked them if they wanted to keep the shoes or send them to Haiti. One of the students said they would rather send the shoes to Haiti. All of the students agreed. They then began to seek out places who were coordinating trips to Haiti.
The pictures are of them sorting and packing the shoes. They took it upon themselves to go through the shoes and sort them according to size. In watching them sort the shoes, they seemed to really like the shoes and the different designs. A younger kid came upstairs and said something about wanting a pair of shoes. The other students immediately reprimanded him explaining, “No! These shoes are going to Haiti!”Their research led them to Prestonwood Baptist church. The shoes have now been taken and, I assume, have already been sent to Haiti. It was a great service project opportunity. It always amazes me how willing the youth are to give and share what they have to help others.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Skills of a thief
I've been reading the book, Flow, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.
There are different ways to "flow" and different reasons people get into "flow." But the result is the same. Flow is something that happens when we get completely absorbed in something we enjoy. It happens when we engage the mind...when we work toward a solution...when the gears in our brain are turning and we are deep into problem solving. It may be gardening, writing a paper, fixing a computer, or planning an event. "Flow" is not accomplished when veging out in front of the TV. It takes work. But the work is so fulfilling that it results in a deeper rush of enjoyment.
It made me think of a conversation I overheard one time. Some teenage boys were talking about "hitting a lick." From listening to them talk, it sounded like their "lick" had produced quite a bit of money. Not so long ago, I would have written off crimes like this as an adrenalin rush. However, I don't think that is entirely accurate.
I do believe that "hitting a lick" successfully provides an adrenalin rush, but it is much more than that. These teenage boys had to do a lot of work to rob the store. They had to plot out which store to hit, research the store, scope out the patterns of people going in and out, figure out the security system, know where and how the money is secured, ...you get the picture.
There are a lot of skills involved in robbing a store. Yet these teenagers do it successfully and often manage not to get caught. Adrenalin rush? Perhaps. But I would argue that the problem solving that takes place and the enjoyment and excitement they receive as a result of their success is what Csikszentmihalyi refers to as "flow."
I thought about schools and after-school programs. Too often, schools are set up to teach kids to read and write. After-school programs are set up to contain kids between the critical hours of 3:00-6:00 until their parents get home. In itself, there's nothing wrong with that. But we're missing a piece. We're not equipping kids to use their minds outside of the classroom!
Even in after-school programs, we often provide activities kids can do while there. They might have fancy equipment or toys that they don't have at home. That's great...as long as they're at the program. But what happens after they leave? Their mind has to become sedentary until they return the next day. For a kid with a sharp mind (like many of those "thug" teens in my neighborhood), they are not satisfied with passive learning. They want to think!
We need to begin thinking in terms of how to engage kids in a way that they can take what they learn outside of the classroom. We need to think about how to engage kids utilizing and being creative with the resources they have.
So how do we do this?
As a child, I used to get absorbed in making crafts--cross-stitching, putting craft kits together, latch hook... I loved crafts. Some days my cousins and I would walk to the creek. We searched for crawdads and strategized how to catch them before they could scoot away backward. I was given a job I hated--scraping paint and re-painting our mill. As I scraped the paint, I tried to figure out the best way to hold the scraper to get off as much paint as possible, as quickly as possible.
We need to provide kids with opportunities to pique their interest.
In our After-School Academy, we have a garden. I have watched Ladaysha and Niemen get completely absorbed in that garden. I'm hoping we can begin working with them to create container gardens for their home. In our Digital Connectors program, Vanessa said she wants to learn everything they have planned because she wants to be able to fix their home computer when it goes down. In the Library, kids can get absorbed in books...and now they can purchase them and take them home with them for a mere 25 or 50 cents.
Instead of writing off the kid who has chosen a life of crime, maybe we should look at the skill level their crimes require. I believe if we look close enough, on the higher order thinking scale, we will find that the skills they have taught themselves often exceed what we're teaching them in school.
Maybe we're the ones that need to re-evaluate.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Is lying a justifiable means to get to college?
My text message alert went off around 9:30 p.m. "Are u still up?" it asked.
I was tired. I was planning to go to bed early that evening and really didn't feel like talking to anyone. I responded by saying I was getting ready for bed, but then thought about the person sending the text. It was Jasmine and she didn't seem like the type who would want to talk to me about something pointless. "Is everything all right?" I text'd. "Not really," she replied. "I just wanted help. I'm so sorry."
I was tired. I was planning to go to bed early that evening and really didn't feel like talking to anyone. I responded by saying I was getting ready for bed, but then thought about the person sending the text. It was Jasmine and she didn't seem like the type who would want to talk to me about something pointless. "Is everything all right?" I text'd. "Not really," she replied. "I just wanted help. I'm so sorry."
When I tried calling, her cousin said she was crying so hard she couldn't talk. My mind immediately went through all of the worst that I know about some of my teens. Did she kill someone?? Is her mom pimping her out?? Is she selling drugs?? Is she pregnant?? My mind raced.
I continued trying to communicate with her through texts. She said she was going to quit coming to Teen U but wouldn't say why. She said if she told us why, we'd never look at her the same. I explained all of my former interactions with and knowledge about teenagers (some mentioned above) and told her I was still in contact with those teens. I tried to assure her I wouldn't look at her differently. "It's not that bad!" she replied. But I still couldn't get her to talk.
After an hour of texting back and forth, Jasmine finally called. Even then, all I could get out of her was, "I'm a fraud." After much coaxing, she explained to me that she was 20 years old...not 17 like she had told us.
"That's it?!" I couldn't help but be incredulous to this discovery.
"But I lied!" she went on. "I signed papers that said I was 17 and in high school, but I'm not."
Jasmine and I had a long talk about being truthful. Because of her dishonesty, she had missed the deadline for the Central Dallas scholarship. There were other natural consequences that occurred because she had lied.
I am no fan of lying. But here's the bigger issue to me...
A 20-year old girl lied SO THAT SHE COULD GET HELP WITH COLLEGE!!!!
Because Teen U is only for 6th-12th graders, Jasmine was afraid that if she told us her real age, she would not get to visit the college campuses, listen to the career speakers, and begin figuring out what she wanted to do. She was afraid she'd passed the age of being able to get the guidance she needed and desperately wanted. Jasmine's mom and aunt encouraged her to keep lying so that she could get a college education.
What does it say about our inner city communities when a young adult so desperately wants to get an education that she is willing to lie about her age to access those resources??
How often have I heard and read that we have to teach "those kids" [in the inner city] to value education?! How often do I hear that "those parents" [in the inner city] don't want anything for their kids?! Who are "those people" talking about???? Where are they getting their information??
Knowing this truth, I know our program needs to be expanded. We don't have the people or monetary resources in place, but we will make it work. Fighting crime and providing basketball leagues are important....but the communities where I live and work deserve educational opportunities as well. Our city and our society has to begin backing up this big talk on education. If education is so important, we need to improve our schools and offer more accessible, community-based programs that provide kids AND adults with the opportunities to fulfill their dreams...and helps them figure out how to get there.
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
The Traveling Journal
Our Education Department has what's called a Traveling Journal. Since our programs meet at different times and in different buildings, I think it's important for each of us to see what the other is doing on a particular day. Each staff member signs up for a day and is supposed to chronicle that day. They can write whatever they want. They can draw, attach items, etc. The journal creates a daily history for us.
I've meant to share some of those with you...and will try to do better...but Tameshia's struck me as one that is really representative of what a day in the life of the Education Department is like. I'll let her speak...
Today I feel like pulling my hair out. I'm so frustrated at the moment. I don't know what happened at school with the kids today but they all seem to be in a bad mood. Stinky attitudes all day today. Doesn't help that I have a headache either.As I'm writing, I'm getting less frustrated. I just asked Iesha (Dr. Iesha) what she did at the doctor (physical therapy with Ms. Janet) and expected her to tell me not demonstrate it! I'm really impressed and delighted that she remembers. She just asked me to go to the internet (blog) so she can show me something. When the blog comes up...she asked me to make it big. Then she says to her classmates, "Look, I'm famous. I'm Dr. Iesha!" She then tells me, "You see this button (talking about the timer at the therapy place)...I pushed that first then...." (and so on and so on).I can't be frustrated now.My class has finally calmed down and now we're playing "roll-a-turkey" on the computer. They love it!! When you finish the game...you've drawn a turkey. Ladaysha has truly (slowly but surely) become a leader. When she finished her turkey, she started talking about what she's thankful for. Her classmates then followed. I like when they come up with their own ideas from a lesson I planned. It's refreshing.So now it's 2 hours later...I'm now in the Teen U lab with the Digital Connectors. I walked into the building at exactly 6:00 p.m. All of my students were together saying, "Ms. Tameshia! You're late!" Wow!!!!! These can't be the teenagers the media displays. They're ready and excited to learn.They've bonded so well. They work together without me saying so and get mad if I put them with the same partner over again. It's all kind of surreal to me. What's wrong with them...I think to myself sometimes (haha). Tonight they learned the difference between the internet and the world wide web and my "flows/raps" about the differences. They took it serious and actually wrote really good flows. Dung thinks they could get a record deal. hahaSo much for being frustrated!!
Tameshia Rudd-Ridge is our technology guru who teaches the 2nd-3rd graders in the After-School Academy and is the Coordinator of the Digital Connectors program for teenagers.
This is why I love my job!
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Preparing kids for the future
This is why our education department is doing everything we can to prepare our kids and teens to be knowledgeable in technology:
They don't deserve to be left behind.
They don't deserve to be left behind.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Education and focus through the community garden
As I sat in my office trying to produce outcomes and documents, my phone rang. From the other end of the building, Danielle asked, "Are you going to come see the garden?" and then strongly encouraged, "You really need to see this garden!" I grabbed the camera and quickly went to the garden so I wouldn't miss the kids working.
As I rounded the corner to the garden, I slowed. I could see Ladaysha working so intently with Ms. Susie and I didn't want to miss that moment. I took a few pictures through the bars of the fence just in case they got distracted by me...but it didn't matter. Ladaysha was busy trying to cut the string that would hold the tomato stakes she was putting up. I overheard her say to Ms. Susie, "Man, this takes patience!" I snapped a few shots and then turned to see Niemen.
Niemen has become a favorite of all of ours, but he does present us with many challenges. Yet, Niemen was so intently working on pushing the new thermometer/rain gauge into the ground, he didn't see me either. As I watched, he knelt down to the ground and began packing the dirt around the bottom so it wouldn't accidentally tip over. After getting a few shots, I approached him and asked him to tell me about the garden. His sly little smile told me that he was really enjoying himself.
Ladaysha and Niemen are two of our "Garden Apprentices." Ms. Susie (Gleaning Network of Texas) has been absolutely wonderful! She comes every other Friday to do a Gardening class with the kids...but probably 2-3 times/week she pops in to grab a few Garden Apprentices to help chart the garden's progress, water, pick vegetables, and teach them how to do regular maintenance work.
As I walked around the garden, the Ladaysha and Niemen showed me the black-eyed peas, tomatoes, bell peppers, and jalepenos that are growing. You can see in the videos below that we still have a little work to do on telling the difference between the different vegetables (Niemen had me convinced that the bell pepper was the jalepeno!), but they are quickly becoming expert gardeners. Sometimes the foundations kids need go beyond reading, writing, and math.
As I rounded the corner to the garden, I slowed. I could see Ladaysha working so intently with Ms. Susie and I didn't want to miss that moment. I took a few pictures through the bars of the fence just in case they got distracted by me...but it didn't matter. Ladaysha was busy trying to cut the string that would hold the tomato stakes she was putting up. I overheard her say to Ms. Susie, "Man, this takes patience!" I snapped a few shots and then turned to see Niemen.
Niemen has become a favorite of all of ours, but he does present us with many challenges. Yet, Niemen was so intently working on pushing the new thermometer/rain gauge into the ground, he didn't see me either. As I watched, he knelt down to the ground and began packing the dirt around the bottom so it wouldn't accidentally tip over. After getting a few shots, I approached him and asked him to tell me about the garden. His sly little smile told me that he was really enjoying himself.Ladaysha and Niemen are two of our "Garden Apprentices." Ms. Susie (Gleaning Network of Texas) has been absolutely wonderful! She comes every other Friday to do a Gardening class with the kids...but probably 2-3 times/week she pops in to grab a few Garden Apprentices to help chart the garden's progress, water, pick vegetables, and teach them how to do regular maintenance work.
As I walked around the garden, the Ladaysha and Niemen showed me the black-eyed peas, tomatoes, bell peppers, and jalepenos that are growing. You can see in the videos below that we still have a little work to do on telling the difference between the different vegetables (Niemen had me convinced that the bell pepper was the jalepeno!), but they are quickly becoming expert gardeners. Sometimes the foundations kids need go beyond reading, writing, and math.
Check out the two videos below to see our garden and what the kids are learning:
Friday, September 25, 2009
Opportunity is underestimated
The Roseland Library/Bookstore was a buzz of activity when I entered. Ms. Anna's class from the After-School Academy was there for their KidzLit reading class. They had finished reading the book and doing their activities and were all browsing the library.
I noticed a low-key rucus begining to take place. I looked over to see Randy rather upset. One of the kids had picked up a book and Randy was afraid he was going to buy it. Miss Katrina intervened, "What's wrong?" Randy, upset, tried to explain, "He's got the book I wanted to buy!!" Katrina calmly explained to Randy, "He doesn't have any money with him today. He was just looking at the book." The other child finished looking at the book and turned it over to Randy. Randy was then able to get his book and pay Miss Katrina at the check out desk. (I believe I heard a sigh of relief. :) )
After his purchase, I realized Randy had already bought three other books that same day.
Randy quickly settled into one of the library tables and began soaking in every word on the page.
The Roseland Library/Bookstore is open for kids, teens, and adults Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 3:00-7:30, Fridays from 3:00-5:30, and Saturdays from 10:00-4:00. Miss Katrina facilitates story times and book clubs for kids and teens. All books are available to read in the library or to purchase--25 cents for paperbacks and 50 cents for hardbacks.
In the past, we've given away books to the kids so they could build their library. It wasn't uncommon to see books laying all over the yard outside as kids dropped them in order to run and play and then forgot to pick them back up. Now that we have a bookstore in the community, books are going like hotcakes. And, as far as I can tell, not a one of them gets left behind. Miss Katrina has sold 24 books so far...and we've only been open for 8 days.
1) Charity is not the operative word; opportunity is. Affordability is the issue. Charity can be devalue opportunity. 2) When kids are given the opportunity, don't underestimate. Families want the best for their children and children love to learn. 3) How can we expect kids to love to read when there are no libraries close to Roseland (and many other inner city communities) and bookstores are cost prohibitive?
I am not surprised how the kids are responding. For 14 years I have been engaged with people who live in inner city communities who simply want the same access and opportunity as people in other neighborhoods. When that access is available, people respond.
I noticed a low-key rucus begining to take place. I looked over to see Randy rather upset. One of the kids had picked up a book and Randy was afraid he was going to buy it. Miss Katrina intervened, "What's wrong?" Randy, upset, tried to explain, "He's got the book I wanted to buy!!" Katrina calmly explained to Randy, "He doesn't have any money with him today. He was just looking at the book." The other child finished looking at the book and turned it over to Randy. Randy was then able to get his book and pay Miss Katrina at the check out desk. (I believe I heard a sigh of relief. :) )
After his purchase, I realized Randy had already bought three other books that same day.
Randy quickly settled into one of the library tables and began soaking in every word on the page.
The Roseland Library/Bookstore is open for kids, teens, and adults Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 3:00-7:30, Fridays from 3:00-5:30, and Saturdays from 10:00-4:00. Miss Katrina facilitates story times and book clubs for kids and teens. All books are available to read in the library or to purchase--25 cents for paperbacks and 50 cents for hardbacks.
In the past, we've given away books to the kids so they could build their library. It wasn't uncommon to see books laying all over the yard outside as kids dropped them in order to run and play and then forgot to pick them back up. Now that we have a bookstore in the community, books are going like hotcakes. And, as far as I can tell, not a one of them gets left behind. Miss Katrina has sold 24 books so far...and we've only been open for 8 days.1) Charity is not the operative word; opportunity is. Affordability is the issue. Charity can be devalue opportunity. 2) When kids are given the opportunity, don't underestimate. Families want the best for their children and children love to learn. 3) How can we expect kids to love to read when there are no libraries close to Roseland (and many other inner city communities) and bookstores are cost prohibitive?
I am not surprised how the kids are responding. For 14 years I have been engaged with people who live in inner city communities who simply want the same access and opportunity as people in other neighborhoods. When that access is available, people respond.
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Who are mission trips for?
Bob Lupton does amazing urban ministry in Atlanta. He has a way of saying things I want to say, but he seems to always add a little twist that creates a profound challenge to my thinking.
Honorable Marketing
August 2009
Cheerios just got a black eye. For as long as I can remember, those little round “O”s have been a breakfast favorite of both children and adults. Kids have spelled words with them in their cereal bowls, moms have carried baggies of them in their purses for snacks, dads have shoveled down spoonfuls as they hurried out the door on the way to work. In recent years these nutritious, fiber-rich, toasted 100% whole grain oat delights have boasted an amazing ability to lower bad cholesterol. I believed them. Who wouldn’t believe in Cheerios? Then some whistle-blower or competitor cried foul and the Federal Trade Commission took a close look at these health claims. Cheerios may be nutritious but no longer can they claim to lower cholesterol. They got caught doing false advertising.
Is it buyer beware or do we want government watchdogs checking the validity of our marketing practices? Frankly, I’m glad there is some ethical standard in our society that attempts to maintain a modicum of honesty. Can you imagine living in a culture where you could believe nothing that you read or heard? What chaos! I’m disappointed in Cheerios. I wish their advertising were as wholesome as their 100% whole grain oats. But I’ll keep eating the little “O”s for breakfast. And I’ll also keep taking my cholesterol pills.
The Federal Trade Commission, an independent agency of the U.S. government, is charged with keeping American business free and fair. Included in its many responsibilities is “to prevent the dissemination of false and deceptive advertising of goods, drugs, curative devices, and cosmetics.” False claims, whether by Cheerios, car dealers or snake oil peddlers, when detected are subject to public exposure, penalties and immediate corrective action. The FTC has jurisdiction over a broad spectrum of activities but there is one realm it cannot penetrate — the church. The church-state barrier offers protection against government intrusion into the practice of organized religion. Of course, one would expect that, since the Judeo-Christian traditions are foundational to the ethical and moral codes of American society, the church would be the last institution in need of ethical policing.
Certainly the church is not without its flaws. The moral failure of church leaders is legendary. The media feeds off such scandal. Yet, in spite of the damage caused by the occasional fall of religious leaders, the church as an institution strives to preserve and protect high standards of conduct. Though its members, and too often its leaders, fail to measure up to its high ideals, the church remains the primary guardian of moral and ethical values. It may wrestle with controversial issues of the day such as gay marriage and abortion, but it does so in pursuit of a moral high ground.
But there is one area that seems to have eluded the ethical scrutiny of the church. Churches from the left to the right, high and low, share the same blind spot. Perhaps it’s because the practice is so pervasive or because the claims seem so spiritual. But if the FTC were to shine the spotlight on the marketing of missions, the expose would be, well, perhaps not damning but certainly embarrassing. Take a look at most any promotional package for a mission trip and you will get the distinct impression that lost, starving, forsaken people have their last hope riding on the willingness of Christians from the US to come and rescue them. The pictures are heart-rending — a close-up of a child’s sad face, a tin-roof shack beside an open sewage ditch, an old woman struggling under a load of firewood sticks. The emotional call goes out for the “healed, trained, empowered and Spirit filled teens to be missionaries to the world.” Such experiences promise to touch lives, change the world, and have a dramatic, life-changing impact on those who will sacrifice their comfort to go. For a week!
Can we be honest? Mission trips and service projects are important. For lots of reasons. But the truth of the matter is that dropping into a strange culture for a week or even two creates far more work for the local leadership than it’s worth, except for the money and gifts we leave. And those gifts more often than not do more long-term harm than good. As one local leader told me: “They’re turning our people into beggars.” Much of the work we do is make-work — painting a church, digging a foundation, leading a summer Bible school — all work that could and should be done by locals. “Our men need the work,” a seminary president once told me as we discussed the impact of US mission trippers in her impoverished country.
But this treatise is not about the downstream impact of mission trips. Some ambitious young reporter seeking to make a name for himself will sooner or later handle that expose. This is about the dishonesty in our marketing of these trips. Our “people-are-dying-and-you-can-save-them” rhetoric may be effective spin to lure young people (and older as well) into signing up but we know that only on rare occasions is this actually true. Yes, there are Katrinas. But the overwhelming majority of our mission trips are to places where the needs for development are far greater than for emergency assistance. And development is about enabling indigenous people to help themselves, not doing the work for them. Development is much longer term, calls for professional expertise and planning, requires lending and investing — not the sort of things that lend themselves to a typical short-term mission trip.
I am not saying that mission trips don’t have value. They do. Great value. They open up new worlds, new perspectives, new insights. They expose us to fascinating cultures, connect us with new friends, allow us to experience God at work in surprising ways, inspire us, break our hearts, build camaraderie among traveling companions. Any one of these benefits might well justify the time and expense. But isn’t it time we admit to ourselves that mission trips are essentially for our benefit, not for the benefit of the ones our marketing material portray? Would it not be more forthright if we called our junkets “insight trips” or “exchange programs”? Or how about Kingdom adventures? Do we really need to justify our journeying to exotic lands under the pretense of missionary work? Religious tourism would have much more integrity if we simply admitted that we’re off to explore God’s amazing work in the world.
I know we have to have good reason to justify spending the kind of money we do on mission trips. US churches spent well over $2 billion (that’s with a “b”) on them last year. This is not at all inconsistent with our normative pattern of church spending, however. We typically spend upwards of 95% of church budgets on ourselves anyway. So to admit that mission trip expenditures are primarily for the spiritual benefit of our members would not be out of line, that is if we feel justified spending that percentage on ourselves. But that’s a discussion for another time. Our subject here is marketing with integrity.
So how do we capture the imagination, the compassion, of a younger generation if not by appealing to the tenderness of their hearts? Come to think of it, it was the story of fatherless children that drew me into urban work nearly 40 years ago. I wanted to make a difference. That was a powerful motivator. So maybe “touching lives” and “changing the world” is appropriate rhetoric after all. It certainly appealed to my compassionate side and it played at least some part in shaping my call into ministry. The idea of sacrifice was also appealing to me, to offer myself up to a cause of great importance. I wanted my life to count. That was important. But playing to those tender Spirit-sensitivities should be done with great care. Setting up unrealistic expectations can lead to discouragement. Portraying false representations can lead to cynicism. Is it not enough to simply say “come and see” and then allow the Spirit to do the touching and surprising?
Here’s my bottom line: the Kingdom doesn’t need our hype. The Kingdom needs people who speak the truth.
Bob Lupton
Honorable Marketing
August 2009
Cheerios just got a black eye. For as long as I can remember, those little round “O”s have been a breakfast favorite of both children and adults. Kids have spelled words with them in their cereal bowls, moms have carried baggies of them in their purses for snacks, dads have shoveled down spoonfuls as they hurried out the door on the way to work. In recent years these nutritious, fiber-rich, toasted 100% whole grain oat delights have boasted an amazing ability to lower bad cholesterol. I believed them. Who wouldn’t believe in Cheerios? Then some whistle-blower or competitor cried foul and the Federal Trade Commission took a close look at these health claims. Cheerios may be nutritious but no longer can they claim to lower cholesterol. They got caught doing false advertising.
Is it buyer beware or do we want government watchdogs checking the validity of our marketing practices? Frankly, I’m glad there is some ethical standard in our society that attempts to maintain a modicum of honesty. Can you imagine living in a culture where you could believe nothing that you read or heard? What chaos! I’m disappointed in Cheerios. I wish their advertising were as wholesome as their 100% whole grain oats. But I’ll keep eating the little “O”s for breakfast. And I’ll also keep taking my cholesterol pills.
The Federal Trade Commission, an independent agency of the U.S. government, is charged with keeping American business free and fair. Included in its many responsibilities is “to prevent the dissemination of false and deceptive advertising of goods, drugs, curative devices, and cosmetics.” False claims, whether by Cheerios, car dealers or snake oil peddlers, when detected are subject to public exposure, penalties and immediate corrective action. The FTC has jurisdiction over a broad spectrum of activities but there is one realm it cannot penetrate — the church. The church-state barrier offers protection against government intrusion into the practice of organized religion. Of course, one would expect that, since the Judeo-Christian traditions are foundational to the ethical and moral codes of American society, the church would be the last institution in need of ethical policing.
Certainly the church is not without its flaws. The moral failure of church leaders is legendary. The media feeds off such scandal. Yet, in spite of the damage caused by the occasional fall of religious leaders, the church as an institution strives to preserve and protect high standards of conduct. Though its members, and too often its leaders, fail to measure up to its high ideals, the church remains the primary guardian of moral and ethical values. It may wrestle with controversial issues of the day such as gay marriage and abortion, but it does so in pursuit of a moral high ground.
But there is one area that seems to have eluded the ethical scrutiny of the church. Churches from the left to the right, high and low, share the same blind spot. Perhaps it’s because the practice is so pervasive or because the claims seem so spiritual. But if the FTC were to shine the spotlight on the marketing of missions, the expose would be, well, perhaps not damning but certainly embarrassing. Take a look at most any promotional package for a mission trip and you will get the distinct impression that lost, starving, forsaken people have their last hope riding on the willingness of Christians from the US to come and rescue them. The pictures are heart-rending — a close-up of a child’s sad face, a tin-roof shack beside an open sewage ditch, an old woman struggling under a load of firewood sticks. The emotional call goes out for the “healed, trained, empowered and Spirit filled teens to be missionaries to the world.” Such experiences promise to touch lives, change the world, and have a dramatic, life-changing impact on those who will sacrifice their comfort to go. For a week!
Can we be honest? Mission trips and service projects are important. For lots of reasons. But the truth of the matter is that dropping into a strange culture for a week or even two creates far more work for the local leadership than it’s worth, except for the money and gifts we leave. And those gifts more often than not do more long-term harm than good. As one local leader told me: “They’re turning our people into beggars.” Much of the work we do is make-work — painting a church, digging a foundation, leading a summer Bible school — all work that could and should be done by locals. “Our men need the work,” a seminary president once told me as we discussed the impact of US mission trippers in her impoverished country.
But this treatise is not about the downstream impact of mission trips. Some ambitious young reporter seeking to make a name for himself will sooner or later handle that expose. This is about the dishonesty in our marketing of these trips. Our “people-are-dying-and-you-can-save-them” rhetoric may be effective spin to lure young people (and older as well) into signing up but we know that only on rare occasions is this actually true. Yes, there are Katrinas. But the overwhelming majority of our mission trips are to places where the needs for development are far greater than for emergency assistance. And development is about enabling indigenous people to help themselves, not doing the work for them. Development is much longer term, calls for professional expertise and planning, requires lending and investing — not the sort of things that lend themselves to a typical short-term mission trip.
I am not saying that mission trips don’t have value. They do. Great value. They open up new worlds, new perspectives, new insights. They expose us to fascinating cultures, connect us with new friends, allow us to experience God at work in surprising ways, inspire us, break our hearts, build camaraderie among traveling companions. Any one of these benefits might well justify the time and expense. But isn’t it time we admit to ourselves that mission trips are essentially for our benefit, not for the benefit of the ones our marketing material portray? Would it not be more forthright if we called our junkets “insight trips” or “exchange programs”? Or how about Kingdom adventures? Do we really need to justify our journeying to exotic lands under the pretense of missionary work? Religious tourism would have much more integrity if we simply admitted that we’re off to explore God’s amazing work in the world.
I know we have to have good reason to justify spending the kind of money we do on mission trips. US churches spent well over $2 billion (that’s with a “b”) on them last year. This is not at all inconsistent with our normative pattern of church spending, however. We typically spend upwards of 95% of church budgets on ourselves anyway. So to admit that mission trip expenditures are primarily for the spiritual benefit of our members would not be out of line, that is if we feel justified spending that percentage on ourselves. But that’s a discussion for another time. Our subject here is marketing with integrity.
So how do we capture the imagination, the compassion, of a younger generation if not by appealing to the tenderness of their hearts? Come to think of it, it was the story of fatherless children that drew me into urban work nearly 40 years ago. I wanted to make a difference. That was a powerful motivator. So maybe “touching lives” and “changing the world” is appropriate rhetoric after all. It certainly appealed to my compassionate side and it played at least some part in shaping my call into ministry. The idea of sacrifice was also appealing to me, to offer myself up to a cause of great importance. I wanted my life to count. That was important. But playing to those tender Spirit-sensitivities should be done with great care. Setting up unrealistic expectations can lead to discouragement. Portraying false representations can lead to cynicism. Is it not enough to simply say “come and see” and then allow the Spirit to do the touching and surprising?
Here’s my bottom line: the Kingdom doesn’t need our hype. The Kingdom needs people who speak the truth.
Bob Lupton
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Perseverance to forge new paths
I love this picture!
Though this is not near all of the college students, these are a few of the young adults who have gone on to college...some who will be completing soon.
All of the people in this picture grew up in our Kids Kamp/University of Values program. Some were students, some volunteers, and some ultimately became the teachers of the program. (Two of them are not yet in college, but definitely plan to go).It's fun when they get together and reminisce.
As we cooked together and then played games, the students talked about lessons learned, talked about how they were passing their knowledge on to kids below them, and just had a good time laughing and getting reacquainted. Some exchanged numbers so they could help each other find jobs or provide other information.
Most of them lamented the fact that their friends from high school have taken different paths. Because of that, they no longer have much in common and much to connect on. As Lewanna explains, forged paths are easier to follow. The students above are persevering and forging the path to make things easier for those behind them.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
From symphony to brass band jazz
The last few days have been filled with music.
On Friday, we ended our After-School Academy with a fun, interactive performance with the Inner City All Stars jazz band.
Thanks to the City of Dallas's Office of Cultural Affairs, we were able to bring this group to the ASA as a finale performance. They worked with the kids on Mardi Gras masks then pulled out their instruments and put on a New Orleans jazz performance--first in the ASA, then outside for the whole community to hear.
It was neat watching people come outside to tap their feet and move to the beat. The music was so fun, you just couldn't help yourself!
After taking a few kids to the symphony the night before, I was just sure they would be so excited to hear more up-beat music. So, as the band was playing I leaned over to Monteyvion and asked him, "So, which do you like better, today or last night?" Monteyvion wrinkled up his forhead in a very perplexed expression like I had asked a really crazy question, "Both!" he told me without a moment's hesitation.
I don't know why I should have thought any different. I, too, like variety.
I don't have any video of the symphony we attended (you can listen to Nathan from yesterday's post to get an idea), but I do have the jazz band.
Click on the videos below and get ready to move your body and tap your feet. It was a great time!
On Friday, we ended our After-School Academy with a fun, interactive performance with the Inner City All Stars jazz band.
Thanks to the City of Dallas's Office of Cultural Affairs, we were able to bring this group to the ASA as a finale performance. They worked with the kids on Mardi Gras masks then pulled out their instruments and put on a New Orleans jazz performance--first in the ASA, then outside for the whole community to hear.
It was neat watching people come outside to tap their feet and move to the beat. The music was so fun, you just couldn't help yourself!
After taking a few kids to the symphony the night before, I was just sure they would be so excited to hear more up-beat music. So, as the band was playing I leaned over to Monteyvion and asked him, "So, which do you like better, today or last night?" Monteyvion wrinkled up his forhead in a very perplexed expression like I had asked a really crazy question, "Both!" he told me without a moment's hesitation.
I don't know why I should have thought any different. I, too, like variety.
I don't have any video of the symphony we attended (you can listen to Nathan from yesterday's post to get an idea), but I do have the jazz band.
Click on the videos below and get ready to move your body and tap your feet. It was a great time!
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Class Matters
If you have never been to the Central Dallas Ministries' Urban Engagement Book Club, you really should try it. Every month Randy Mayeux discusses a book that focuses on a social justice issue that challenges us to think of our society differently. There's no need to read the book beforehand. He does that for us and provides the important talking points of the book.
Today's book was Where We Stand: Class Matters by bell hooks. bell hooks has been a favorite writer of mine since grad school. She's so blatantly honest about what she sees and knows.
One of my favorite quotes today:
And people who live within this "class-free" society that isn't so class-free have obstacles to making it to the top.
As I drove back to my office today, I couldn't help but think about my 10 years in Turner Courts in far South Dallas. In a city of 1.3 million people, the small section of the city where I worked had absolutely no places to eat, shop, or work other than the two small corner stores that offered over-priced groceries and greasy burgers and fries at the back counter.
During the book club, Randy pointed to the video that I posted yesterday where I pointed out the one grocery store that serves all of South Dallas. The Dallas Observer reported on this a couple of years ago stating that the South Dallas Minyards serves over 30,000 people.
What I wish could've been included on that video was the reaction of the Fortune 500 lady I took into the South Dallas Minyards. In South Dallas, we always talk about how things are over-priced, but I'm not one who memorizes grocery store prices so I figured I might be over-exaggerating. But before I had a chance to say anything she exclaimed, "These prices are high!!" She confirmed my suspicions.
Would someone please explain to me why the lowest income neighborhoods have the highest prices?? I wonder if more people like this lady took the time to visit low-income neighborhoods and were forced to face the reality that in neighborhoods that average less than $10,000 annual income, the prices can be up to 50% higher (so that you believe me...a tub of sour cream in an Allen Kroger was 99 cents, compared to an Albertson's close to my house that was $1.79).
Class Matters.
Not only does it matter, it creates situations that have allowed our society to exploit the most vulnerable. Is that the kind of society we want to live in?
Today's book was Where We Stand: Class Matters by bell hooks. bell hooks has been a favorite writer of mine since grad school. She's so blatantly honest about what she sees and knows.
One of my favorite quotes today:
For so long everyone has wanted to hold on to the belief that the United States is a class-free society--that anyone who works hard enough can make it to the top. Few stop to think that in a class-free socity there would be no top.She has a point.
And people who live within this "class-free" society that isn't so class-free have obstacles to making it to the top.
As I drove back to my office today, I couldn't help but think about my 10 years in Turner Courts in far South Dallas. In a city of 1.3 million people, the small section of the city where I worked had absolutely no places to eat, shop, or work other than the two small corner stores that offered over-priced groceries and greasy burgers and fries at the back counter.
During the book club, Randy pointed to the video that I posted yesterday where I pointed out the one grocery store that serves all of South Dallas. The Dallas Observer reported on this a couple of years ago stating that the South Dallas Minyards serves over 30,000 people.
What I wish could've been included on that video was the reaction of the Fortune 500 lady I took into the South Dallas Minyards. In South Dallas, we always talk about how things are over-priced, but I'm not one who memorizes grocery store prices so I figured I might be over-exaggerating. But before I had a chance to say anything she exclaimed, "These prices are high!!" She confirmed my suspicions.
Would someone please explain to me why the lowest income neighborhoods have the highest prices?? I wonder if more people like this lady took the time to visit low-income neighborhoods and were forced to face the reality that in neighborhoods that average less than $10,000 annual income, the prices can be up to 50% higher (so that you believe me...a tub of sour cream in an Allen Kroger was 99 cents, compared to an Albertson's close to my house that was $1.79).
Class Matters.
Not only does it matter, it creates situations that have allowed our society to exploit the most vulnerable. Is that the kind of society we want to live in?
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Dreaming of a healthy community
What does it take to make a community healthy?
Why are inner city neighborhoods run-down and crime-ridden?
Who are the people in those neighborhoods and how are they affected?
So often, businesses, non-profits, people of faith, and others come into our neighborhood to try to "help," but they often don't ask the questions that would help them understand the community before deciding what they want to do. A couple of months ago, a fortune 500 company came in and did just that. They decided they wanted to do something, so they asked.
As several of us from Central Dallas and the community they are hoping to impact came together, they asked questions and they listened. As we talked, I noticed that they had blank notepads and they wrote. There was no preconceived agenda on their sheet of paper. They simply asked a question or two and let us talk.
The people around the table voiced honest concerns. We talked about people who come to "do good" but never last. We talked about our friends and neighbors who have become victims of circumstance because of a failing school system, lack of businesses in the community to provide jobs, absentee parents because they ride the bus for hours to get to a job and can't be home for their children, absentee parents because they have turned to crime, hopelessness yet also a tight-knit community who knows each other and supports each other. We told them about the good that isn't often seen by the general public. We talked about the frustration and cynicism caused by people outside the community who don't understand and don't take the time to understand.
They listened.
Though the meeting was like no other I've ever experienced, I remained cautiously optimistic and hesitant, not wanting to be naive.
But they came back again. They talked about what we had said. They quoted people who were in that initial meeting. They remembered the names of individuals who spoke.
But more than that...they had taken our words, thoughts, and feelings to their company as wisdom from the community. They saw us as players on their team. They then combined that with all of the intellectual and innovative capacity in their company and came back with more ideas.
I was blown away.
What struck me was the amazing possibilities that can happen when the capacity and knowledge of an low-income, urban, informally educated community comes together with the power, resources, creativity, and formal education of a company that has the power to do something. The solutions to the very complex problems of education, jobs, health care, food insecurity, child care, and so many others, become much less daunting. And all it took was for a small group of people to come together and genuinely listen and be willing to act on what they heard.
I continue to tell them, "I'm still cautiously optimistic." But each time they come back, they continue to gain my trust and confidence.
Hopefully soon the entire project will go "online" so that everyone can know what is happening. But for now, here is a video they produced to help people understand what they are beginning to understand:
Why are inner city neighborhoods run-down and crime-ridden?
Who are the people in those neighborhoods and how are they affected?
So often, businesses, non-profits, people of faith, and others come into our neighborhood to try to "help," but they often don't ask the questions that would help them understand the community before deciding what they want to do. A couple of months ago, a fortune 500 company came in and did just that. They decided they wanted to do something, so they asked.
As several of us from Central Dallas and the community they are hoping to impact came together, they asked questions and they listened. As we talked, I noticed that they had blank notepads and they wrote. There was no preconceived agenda on their sheet of paper. They simply asked a question or two and let us talk.
The people around the table voiced honest concerns. We talked about people who come to "do good" but never last. We talked about our friends and neighbors who have become victims of circumstance because of a failing school system, lack of businesses in the community to provide jobs, absentee parents because they ride the bus for hours to get to a job and can't be home for their children, absentee parents because they have turned to crime, hopelessness yet also a tight-knit community who knows each other and supports each other. We told them about the good that isn't often seen by the general public. We talked about the frustration and cynicism caused by people outside the community who don't understand and don't take the time to understand.
They listened.
Though the meeting was like no other I've ever experienced, I remained cautiously optimistic and hesitant, not wanting to be naive.
But they came back again. They talked about what we had said. They quoted people who were in that initial meeting. They remembered the names of individuals who spoke.
But more than that...they had taken our words, thoughts, and feelings to their company as wisdom from the community. They saw us as players on their team. They then combined that with all of the intellectual and innovative capacity in their company and came back with more ideas.
I was blown away.
What struck me was the amazing possibilities that can happen when the capacity and knowledge of an low-income, urban, informally educated community comes together with the power, resources, creativity, and formal education of a company that has the power to do something. The solutions to the very complex problems of education, jobs, health care, food insecurity, child care, and so many others, become much less daunting. And all it took was for a small group of people to come together and genuinely listen and be willing to act on what they heard.
I continue to tell them, "I'm still cautiously optimistic." But each time they come back, they continue to gain my trust and confidence.
Hopefully soon the entire project will go "online" so that everyone can know what is happening. But for now, here is a video they produced to help people understand what they are beginning to understand:
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Encouraging fighting to solve problems
As I read the report about South Oak Cliff (SOC) high school using cage fighting to solve problems, I was troubled for more than the obvious reasons.
Evidently, "documents obtained by The Dallas Morning News show that troubled students were sent to duke it out – with bare fists and no head protection – in a steel utility cage in an athletic locker room. "...while..."students stood around clapping and screaming while watching the fight, as if they were in an arena."
Yes, our urban areas and urban schools can be violent places to be, unfortunately. But is perpetuating that violence really the way to go?
Though the principal at the time denies that he allowed it to go on or knew about it, I wonder if he bought into the belief that in inner city communities people have to be dealt with violently in order to make change. Respond with violence. That's the only thing they'll understand, right?
I've heard that sentiment from other people as well. I don't buy it.
In different parenting classes, I've often heard that we shouldn't spank kids because it teaches them to hit. I don't subscribe to that fully, but there is an underlying point there. If we yell at people, they often yell back. If we hit people, they will hit back. But if we don't feel like we can hurt the person who hurt us, the hurt and anger that is left behind is often taken out on the next person that comes along.
Treating people like animals in a cage creates the "zoo effect" that incenses me. It allows people to observe barbaric behavior at the expense of the people in that environment. How can we think that treating people like animals creates a setting where people feel dignified and respected in a way that behavior will change toward the better?
From the reports I've read, I would agree that SOC is a very challenging environment. Under the same principal who allowed the cage fighting, grades were adjusted so that certain players could play in the state basketball tournament. Creating an environment where high expectations are the norm and students are acknowledged and valued is not easy, but it is possible...and necessary.
We have to do better...for our kids...our communities. Our response affects everyone's future.
Evidently, "documents obtained by The Dallas Morning News show that troubled students were sent to duke it out – with bare fists and no head protection – in a steel utility cage in an athletic locker room. "...while..."students stood around clapping and screaming while watching the fight, as if they were in an arena."
Yes, our urban areas and urban schools can be violent places to be, unfortunately. But is perpetuating that violence really the way to go?
Though the principal at the time denies that he allowed it to go on or knew about it, I wonder if he bought into the belief that in inner city communities people have to be dealt with violently in order to make change. Respond with violence. That's the only thing they'll understand, right?
I've heard that sentiment from other people as well. I don't buy it.
In different parenting classes, I've often heard that we shouldn't spank kids because it teaches them to hit. I don't subscribe to that fully, but there is an underlying point there. If we yell at people, they often yell back. If we hit people, they will hit back. But if we don't feel like we can hurt the person who hurt us, the hurt and anger that is left behind is often taken out on the next person that comes along.
Treating people like animals in a cage creates the "zoo effect" that incenses me. It allows people to observe barbaric behavior at the expense of the people in that environment. How can we think that treating people like animals creates a setting where people feel dignified and respected in a way that behavior will change toward the better?
From the reports I've read, I would agree that SOC is a very challenging environment. Under the same principal who allowed the cage fighting, grades were adjusted so that certain players could play in the state basketball tournament. Creating an environment where high expectations are the norm and students are acknowledged and valued is not easy, but it is possible...and necessary.
We have to do better...for our kids...our communities. Our response affects everyone's future.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Dallas Mayor appoints himself?
Dallas Mayor Looks at Taking Over DISD
As the news broke that Mayor Tom Leppert was considering a take-over of the Dallas Independent School District, emotions start rising.
When asked for a comment, all Mr. Leppert would say was, "The statement speaks for itself. I'm sticking with the statement," he said, adding only that "in the end, the kids have to be the priority. We're having a lot of conversations."
However, some school board members are questioning his motives. "Why would he want to be in charge of the school district?" Lew Blackburn wondered. Other board trustees from the southern sector (a primarily African-American section of the city) are stating their concern about a mayor from the northern sector (a primarily White section of the city) running the Dallas district (which is primarily African-American and Hispanic).
I get the sense that there is some defensiveness and territorialism going on. But, the truth of the matter is, our district teeters on the edge of a downward spiral. Though blame has been freely placed on Superintendent Hinojosa, blaming people does not fix the fact that our school system is not doing well and our children are suffering.
In the past, I don't know that I would've been on board with a city take over. However, I think we need to consider our needs and our resources.
DISD hasn't been thought of as a quality district for quite some time. If Mayor Leppert is serious about making the children a priority, it doesn't matter to me what color he is or where he lives. Our children deserve better than what they're getting.
I actually like Hinojosa. I like his passion; I like his approach. However, just because he has the best in mind for the kids and may be a great educator visionary doesn't mean he's got great business sense.
What I notice in non-profit is that most of us come from social sciences fields. We have been taught to be social workers, ministers, educators, etc. We have not been taught how to create a business plan, develop outcomes, and have a solid sense of budgeting. Yet, we are expected to wear that hat. Even the president of the United States has a team of people to figure out the economic piece.
So...if a successful business man who graduated from Harvard and was the former CEO of Turner Construction is committed to education and can help us get our financial piece in order, why not take him up on the offer? I don't get the sense he's wanting to tell educators how to teach. I would hope he is willing to listen to the educators and work in conjunction with them so that we can have a financially viable and educationally strong school system.
As the news broke that Mayor Tom Leppert was considering a take-over of the Dallas Independent School District, emotions start rising.
When asked for a comment, all Mr. Leppert would say was, "The statement speaks for itself. I'm sticking with the statement," he said, adding only that "in the end, the kids have to be the priority. We're having a lot of conversations."
However, some school board members are questioning his motives. "Why would he want to be in charge of the school district?" Lew Blackburn wondered. Other board trustees from the southern sector (a primarily African-American section of the city) are stating their concern about a mayor from the northern sector (a primarily White section of the city) running the Dallas district (which is primarily African-American and Hispanic).
I get the sense that there is some defensiveness and territorialism going on. But, the truth of the matter is, our district teeters on the edge of a downward spiral. Though blame has been freely placed on Superintendent Hinojosa, blaming people does not fix the fact that our school system is not doing well and our children are suffering.
In the past, I don't know that I would've been on board with a city take over. However, I think we need to consider our needs and our resources.
DISD hasn't been thought of as a quality district for quite some time. If Mayor Leppert is serious about making the children a priority, it doesn't matter to me what color he is or where he lives. Our children deserve better than what they're getting.
I actually like Hinojosa. I like his passion; I like his approach. However, just because he has the best in mind for the kids and may be a great educator visionary doesn't mean he's got great business sense.
What I notice in non-profit is that most of us come from social sciences fields. We have been taught to be social workers, ministers, educators, etc. We have not been taught how to create a business plan, develop outcomes, and have a solid sense of budgeting. Yet, we are expected to wear that hat. Even the president of the United States has a team of people to figure out the economic piece.
So...if a successful business man who graduated from Harvard and was the former CEO of Turner Construction is committed to education and can help us get our financial piece in order, why not take him up on the offer? I don't get the sense he's wanting to tell educators how to teach. I would hope he is willing to listen to the educators and work in conjunction with them so that we can have a financially viable and educationally strong school system.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Fearing the police: Which one will protect you?
Why is there so much hostility and resentment to police in the inner city and from the Black and Hispanic community?
Here is a new cell phone video that has just been released on the Oscar Grant case showing a different police officer punching him in the face before the other officer shot him in the back and killed him:
I don't know what happened to cause the police to get involved. I assume the guys might have been causing some trouble. However, I also know that police are not trained to deal with situations by punching people in the face or by shooting them in the back.
I know before I moved in to the inner city I trusted the police a whole lot more than I do now. Even though my skin is white, just by virtue of living here I have had a few police officers talk very rudely to me. Other times, also because my skin is white, I have had police officers be very kind to me (assuming I didn't live here) and try to help me find my way (even though I wasn't lost).
I don't believe that every police officer is bad, corrupt, evil, mean, or racist. It reminds me of something a [Black] friend told me once. He explained that he knows White people aren't all racist. He made his point by saying that perhaps only one in 10 are; the problem is that you never know which one of the 10 you are encountering.
I think it's the same way with police in our neighborhoods. It's not that we don't like the police or don't want them around. In fact, we know we *need* them to keep us safe. There is a part of us that want the police presence. However, there is the other part of us that wonder and worry...perhaps only one in 10 of the police are racist or corrupt; the problem is, we don't ever know which one of those 10 we are encountering.
Unfortunately for Oscar Grant, he encountered the wrong one (or two) police officers. Incidents like these make the rest of us more skeptical and reinforce our distrust, despite our best efforts to believe the police are here to protect us.
Here is a new cell phone video that has just been released on the Oscar Grant case showing a different police officer punching him in the face before the other officer shot him in the back and killed him:
I don't know what happened to cause the police to get involved. I assume the guys might have been causing some trouble. However, I also know that police are not trained to deal with situations by punching people in the face or by shooting them in the back.
I know before I moved in to the inner city I trusted the police a whole lot more than I do now. Even though my skin is white, just by virtue of living here I have had a few police officers talk very rudely to me. Other times, also because my skin is white, I have had police officers be very kind to me (assuming I didn't live here) and try to help me find my way (even though I wasn't lost).
I don't believe that every police officer is bad, corrupt, evil, mean, or racist. It reminds me of something a [Black] friend told me once. He explained that he knows White people aren't all racist. He made his point by saying that perhaps only one in 10 are; the problem is that you never know which one of the 10 you are encountering.
I think it's the same way with police in our neighborhoods. It's not that we don't like the police or don't want them around. In fact, we know we *need* them to keep us safe. There is a part of us that want the police presence. However, there is the other part of us that wonder and worry...perhaps only one in 10 of the police are racist or corrupt; the problem is, we don't ever know which one of those 10 we are encountering.
Unfortunately for Oscar Grant, he encountered the wrong one (or two) police officers. Incidents like these make the rest of us more skeptical and reinforce our distrust, despite our best efforts to believe the police are here to protect us.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
The stakes are high
When I was in college, my cousin started dabbling in drugs. He ended up getting stopped by the police and sent to an out-patient rehab center.
After word got out, I can remember one of my friends in our small town telling me, "He'll be alright. He's been raised by good parents. He'll come out of it."
Sure enough, he did. He's married with three children, runs his dad's farm, and is an upstanding citizen maintaining the good Morrison name in our small town.
Unfortunately, the stakes are much higher in the inner city. Once a kid messes up, it seems that it is much harder to recover. A police record is much harder to break for a kid in poverty and a kid from certain neighborhoods. The surroundings seem to pull children down and keep them there. One mistake sends them into a downward spiral. It is because of these odds that it makes me breathe a sigh of relief when I watch a student consciously make a decision and put forth great effort to do something different.
I thought of that as I talked to Kia* (not her real name) the other day.
Kia is now in the 8th grade, but she was in our After-School Academy for about four years--first as a student, then as a volunteer. She has a mom who strongly encouraged academics and did everything she could to keep her children involved in productive activities...even if it meant spending extra money.
Kia started out as any young elementary student. She was smart. She was interested. She followed her mom's rules. But as Kia got older, she became influenced by her surroundings. Her attitude made her more difficult and her school work started suffering. Not only was she being influenced, but began influencing others as well. The teen girl attitudes seemed to take on a ripple effect throughout the After-School Academy.
She and her family moved several months ago. I stayed in touch with the family, but didn't talk to Kia much except to say hi and chat with her a little here and there.
The other night I went over to see the family, but everyone was gone but Kia. As we sat and talked, she eagerly began telling me how she had made a conscious decision to change her attitude and begin focusing on her education. She proudly told me that she had all A's and could see now why her younger sister hated getting B's. She had decided she needed to begin working on everything now so that she could be prepared for college.
As I quizzed her about how this all took place, she simply explained, "I just decided."
I know it was more than *just* a decision. I know that her mom's perseverance probably had a lot to do with it. I would guess that being a part of the community we had created in the After-School Academy had a part as well. But I also believe that them moving away also played a major part.
Either way, I'm glad she made such a conscious and intentional decision. It was really good to listen to her. It was so great to see such a genuine smile on her face and hear her chuckle about her "old self" as if she were a grown woman looking back on her teen years. Her conversation seemed lighter...friendlier. It seemed like the attitude she used to have was a burden and had been taken off of her shoulders.
The stakes are high for kids in the inner city. We need to provide as much support, guidance, and encouragement alongside the parents. We need to make sure there are plenty of opportunities available for kids like Kia to make that decision.
"It takes a village," is more than a cliche and the kids need to know there are many of us there to walk beside them long term.
After word got out, I can remember one of my friends in our small town telling me, "He'll be alright. He's been raised by good parents. He'll come out of it."
Sure enough, he did. He's married with three children, runs his dad's farm, and is an upstanding citizen maintaining the good Morrison name in our small town.
Unfortunately, the stakes are much higher in the inner city. Once a kid messes up, it seems that it is much harder to recover. A police record is much harder to break for a kid in poverty and a kid from certain neighborhoods. The surroundings seem to pull children down and keep them there. One mistake sends them into a downward spiral. It is because of these odds that it makes me breathe a sigh of relief when I watch a student consciously make a decision and put forth great effort to do something different.
I thought of that as I talked to Kia* (not her real name) the other day.
Kia is now in the 8th grade, but she was in our After-School Academy for about four years--first as a student, then as a volunteer. She has a mom who strongly encouraged academics and did everything she could to keep her children involved in productive activities...even if it meant spending extra money.
Kia started out as any young elementary student. She was smart. She was interested. She followed her mom's rules. But as Kia got older, she became influenced by her surroundings. Her attitude made her more difficult and her school work started suffering. Not only was she being influenced, but began influencing others as well. The teen girl attitudes seemed to take on a ripple effect throughout the After-School Academy.
She and her family moved several months ago. I stayed in touch with the family, but didn't talk to Kia much except to say hi and chat with her a little here and there.
The other night I went over to see the family, but everyone was gone but Kia. As we sat and talked, she eagerly began telling me how she had made a conscious decision to change her attitude and begin focusing on her education. She proudly told me that she had all A's and could see now why her younger sister hated getting B's. She had decided she needed to begin working on everything now so that she could be prepared for college.
As I quizzed her about how this all took place, she simply explained, "I just decided."
I know it was more than *just* a decision. I know that her mom's perseverance probably had a lot to do with it. I would guess that being a part of the community we had created in the After-School Academy had a part as well. But I also believe that them moving away also played a major part.
Either way, I'm glad she made such a conscious and intentional decision. It was really good to listen to her. It was so great to see such a genuine smile on her face and hear her chuckle about her "old self" as if she were a grown woman looking back on her teen years. Her conversation seemed lighter...friendlier. It seemed like the attitude she used to have was a burden and had been taken off of her shoulders.
The stakes are high for kids in the inner city. We need to provide as much support, guidance, and encouragement alongside the parents. We need to make sure there are plenty of opportunities available for kids like Kia to make that decision.
"It takes a village," is more than a cliche and the kids need to know there are many of us there to walk beside them long term.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Obama donates campaign supplies to schools
Barack Obama's campaign contacted iloveschools.com a few weeks ago to begin organizing the donation of their office supplies and other items.
"The man had the foresight to plan this. In the middle of a huge national campaign, he's thinking about poor children," commented Jean Schmalzreid, the district's director of federal programs and special projects.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08317/927129-54.stm
"The man had the foresight to plan this. In the middle of a huge national campaign, he's thinking about poor children," commented Jean Schmalzreid, the district's director of federal programs and special projects.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08317/927129-54.stm
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