I was watching the news and saw this video...it is heartbreaking! Think about how these students fit into some of the discussions we've had so far this semester...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WMTTrOrKVI
Here's the background information for the clip from youtube:
A Dream Comes True! Students meet President Obama on March 19, 2009! In addition, see President Obama's reference to Village Academy in his first speech to the nation about education. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/...Follow up with KCET.org/socal beautiful tribute to this project!This project sprang from discussions held in our Advanced Placement Literature and Composition class during the reading of F. Scott Fitzgeralds novel The Great Gatsby, says Mr. Steinman, AP Lit. teacher at Village Academy High School (Pomona Unified School District). They opened up, shared deeply touching details of their current travails, and felt compelled to share their sentiments with those who were in a position to not only listen to them, but implement policies in order to make things better for them and the country they love dearly. The sentiments expressed in this project are true, heartfelt and totally unscripted. Students sat themselves down, the camera began to roll, and the resulting footage is as true as it gets. Spoken with innocence, directly, and with the courage rarely seen by teenagers today, the video was totally edited by students and is meant as a means of expression by which positive action will hopefully be inspired to evolve.
Proactive Pathways for Engagement
12 hours ago
This is so real. Testify I say, let people know how you feel individually about the crisis at hand. There should be more research on the effect this economic meltdown is having on individuals. I believe that we have a lot to learn about how people can adapt to future problems, this learning experience can be lost however,if we don't use this current opportunity to learn from.
ReplyDeleteHow has the current economic crisis Affected you? your loved ones? Anyone you know? People you know from the neighborhood.
One recurring theme I see in the testimonials is sadness and a feeling of helplessness. I want to help my parents make ends meet. THey don't want me to, they want me to succeed in school, that's the only way they think that they're going to make it.
I don't know if this is true though. If the schools across the country are similar to the working and middle class schools that finn describes in his book, then what are they really struggling and studying for? Why are they wasting their time getting an education that could be worthless.
Working class and middle class schools do one thing. They prepare the students in them for jobs. Now that these jobs do not exist, what are they teaching the students to do? I feel that they are just wasting their time.
Think however if education was instead designed to get the students to think for themselves, be critical, not graduate so that they could work for somebody. Why don't we teach our students that they have to empower themselves, take their talents and use them to put their future in their own hands. They need to feel that they can do something about their situation.
We need to help students like the ones from this video to realize the American dream at any cost. If these students cannot do it who seem from their demeanor that they have much motivation to do so, how can students that don't have that motivation survive?
Wow, This was realy sad. All I know is how fortunate I am to be in the place and position I am in right now (Canada with a job). I am also grateful that these students have a teacher that is allowing them to express their emotions by various means of literacy. These poor students not only have to deal with the every day stresses of being a student but also feel the pressure from their families and the surrounding community. My heart goes out to them.
ReplyDeleteThis video really touches home...from a history perspective, I sit here and say it will all get better because that is how the economy works but seeing something like this makes me not believe it. These students are innocent teenagers being so badly affected by the crisis that is occuring world wide. Their childhood is being stripped away and they are being forced to act like adults. I just hope that one day kids can just be kids again. Students should not have to worry about these things. They should be having fun, hanging out with friends and enjoying life. In time, hopefully everything will change. Until then, I hope everyone can just hang on.
ReplyDeleteThis video touched my heart deeply. I know so many families are going through with this hard time. Students can not concentrate in studies when their families are in trouble due to economic crisis.
ReplyDeleteEmotional well-being is an important factor for learning. Expressing emotions constructively helps to release stress.
I especially liked the teacher in this video who is trying to help their students to express their emotions.
Also, this video made me think how as an educator, I can create a healthy learning environment so that studies are not suffered.
This video really touched me and opened my eyes to the everyday struggles students face. The economic crisis has truly impacted all Americans on different levels. These students are so scared for the future and don’t know what to do to improve their situation. Education has always been thought as a means to improve your position in society, however that doesn’t seem to be the case here. These students feel almost indifferent to gaining an education. They need to get jobs and make money now. Even the students who want to earn an education feel that they will not get a job once they complete their degree because the economy is so bad. A friend of mine graduated from University of Toronto two years ago and had been working for one of the big accounting firms, however she got laid off and has been unable to find work for the past six months. My friend is lucky that she has her parents to support her, but it leaves me wondering what happens to the people who have no one to support them and at one point should we turn to the government for help.
ReplyDeleteThe students remind me of some of the working class students Finn describes in his book, specifically the freeway boys. The education such students receive is to prepare them for the working class type jobs they are expected to fill, however these students and their parents had aspirations to go to college. The students in the video are from a working class background, yet are trying to aim higher to achieve a better education and future, however due to socio-economic reasons their achievements are limited. I find the whole scenario frustrating, when the school system itself is not limiting student potential, it seems that society itself is.
I think what the teacher is doing is smart. He is trying to open the lines of communication and give his students an environment where they can express their concerns. At the same time he is relating the curriculum to the current problems of society today, which makes students take notice.
Wow, watching this video has really opened my eyes to the struggles students, well children, are facing. I feel so unbelievably sheltered and removed from what these students are saying. I am left wondering what implications the reality of the harsh environments students live in will have on my teaching practices.
ReplyDeleteIn one of my classes that I observe the teacher has a very relaxed homework policy. It is a grade 7/8 class and when he explained it to me, it made sense. The teacher said, "It is hard to come down on a kid for not doing their homework when they are the ones making dinner and putting their siblings to bed."
Ontario students just came back from March Break, and the reality for some students is that a week off from school is not a break, but rather a week with no escape from the terrible environment they live in.
Young children are dealing with issues that I can in no way relate to. They are forced to bear the burdens of adults at such a young age. I feel overwhelmed thinking about what my role will be in trying to make their educational experience as positive as possible.
There is so much 'bad' in the world that I can see why students feel the way they do in the video. It is hard to see the 'good' when your world seems to be crumbling around you.
A critical issue as a teacher I believe is to know the background of your students.
If you do not know where a student is coming from then how can you help? How can you engage the student if you do not know their home situation?
Endless amounts of research demonstrate the disadvantages children of a lower socio-economic backgrounds face from the beginning of their lives. I believe that all accommodations possible should be made to students of these types of backgrounds because the 'cards are already stacked against them so much'.
A teacher must become more than just an instructor, but a confidant, a source of support and stability. For many children, their teacher may be the only positive adult influence in their life.
Watching this video clip was like putting salt on an open wound. Why? Because I am experiencing a similar struggle as the people interviewed since March 07, 2007. That was the day I was laid-off from my engineering job in manufacturing and finances to support my wife and two children are borderline.
ReplyDelete