P. Beatty's Essay 'Survival Skills At A School In LA'

In the first few weeks of school Laurie came home full of stories about Charles, the class rebel. Charles was rude to the teacher, hurt some of the other students, and yelled so loudly that it disrupted other classes in the school. He even hit the teacher, and kicked a presenter that came into their class. During those same weeks, Laurie’s behavior grew worse, mirroring Charles’ problems at school. He became loud and insolent,

Every teacher’s worst nightmare – that is the setting to which Madame (whatever you do don’t call her Mrs.) Esme Raji Codell stepped into as her first job fresh out of college. In this sink or swim world Esme, unknowingly, became a lifeguard to thirty youngsters, as she seemed the only one who could protect the children from the rough waters that are inner city Chicago. Through studying her very candid and personal diary, I am awe stricken by her extraordinary display of pedagogy as she exemplifies what it truly means to be a teacher. Esme’s proficiency in her dealings with situations surrounding equity, creating a safe, relaxed and positive classroom environment, expectations as a teacher, gender, diversity learning, multicultural

There were many diverse aspects to this book. Most of this book is a recall from either the main character, or one of his students. This book is intended to open people’s eyes to see that in order to change the world we must first change ourselves. Being able to go through this story and see the mistakes, and the good decisions, teachers in Michie’s life have made, has taught me that the best way to teach is through love, justice, cultural empathy and imagination. Some of the points brought up in this book include the positive and negative sides of physical contact with a student, classification/stereotyping, race, gangs, police brutality/lack of justice, and children not being able to escape peer pressure.

In “Keeping Close To Home: Class and Education”, Bell Hooks argues that we have to not only maintain our ties to home but adapt to the new settings around us . In order to strive in one’s life, you must be able to interrupt daily life changes and maintain stability. (74). She explains that being an African American woman, coming from a Southern state, not really experiencing the things she did once she transitioned to Stanford University was a little frightening for her.(74). Hooks found many differences in the environment she now lived in. For example, the way the students interact with one another was strange to her. Where she comes from, children treated their parent with respect, but her white, middle-class roommate thought otherwise. She explained that “things were different” there and people “[thought] differently.”(76).

He has been homeschooled all his life, but this year, he is entering a private school down the street from his New York City apartment. His struggles that year, along with his sister’s journey and that of a few other characters, are chronicled through this book that teaches so much about what it means to be human and how hard it is to be different and accept others, looking beyond the surface to see the person underneath.

The story; themes; and implications for teaching from the House on Mango Street come from showing how today’s society has low expectations for those in the inner city. This book can be used to show what inner life is like and how these people are looked at and treated by others in society. Using this book in the classroom can be beneficial because many people have negative preconceptions of what life is really like as a minority. I know that I think of inner city schools and the students that attend them as underprivileged and don’t hold them to the same standards as I do others from smaller more suburban towns. Going to Milwaukee this semester has been a culture shock and I think that reading this book

What makes an individual special from anyone else? Is it their physical attributes, their upbringing, perhaps the effect of their environment? All of these things are the just the beginning layers of what encompasses a person’s identity. Identity is the knowledge of who we are and what groups we belong to, and unfortunately, it is not easily determined from person to person. It is a complex, developmental process that begins at birth and continues throughout an individual’s life (Sheets). One’s identity makes every individual unique, and this uniqueness facilitates growth by exchanging philosophies, ideas, and knowledge. Consequently, the most essential environment for these exchanges to occur is within a classroom. In Gregory Michie’s novel, Holler If You Hear Me, he accounts his time spent teaching inner city middle schools in Chicago. During his time in the Chicago Public School System, conflict of identity between teacher and student is present, which ultimately leads him to assess his teaching methods and reevaluate the processes he uses to connect with his students. Because the identities of his students differ from his own, Michie implements cultural relevant and sustaining pedagogy in his classroom in order to combat the students’ apathy, boredom, and lack of interest in school. There is importance in the way in which student and teacher identities intersect, and throughout Michie’s novel he demonstrates that by bringing in material that relates to the students’

As future alumni, of Emmerich Manual High School, going on the fourth year here, I have an abundance, and variety of memories. Undoubtedly, the incomparable memory I have, was the day I realized I had found the diamond in the rocks. In the course of my sophomore year, one of my teachers motivated me by saying; “You’re selling yourself short, and turning in hogwash to get by.” The following day these words were regurgitated over and over in my head. While enduring this repetitive selection of words, I registered everyone I was surrounded by were also being navigated by almost the same words. Subsequently we all joined in on a healthy academic competition. We hustled each other, and continue to do so; my friends became my ‘saving grace’ this day. Regardless of this experience, Manual was not always a great place to go to school. Essentially Manual could have been considered a zoo by anyone who read, Matthew Tully’s 2012 book, Searching for Hope. Tully’s book details a school that contained students with academic apathy, violent action, and crippling attendance. These students demolished many opportunities that Manual yearned to present to the students. While Manual today resembles Tully’s Manual in the way some students maintain the prior students’ characteristics,

There are a group of students from Woodrow Wilson Classical High School who were apart of the new integration plan following the L.A Riots in 1994. Due to the unfamiliar school setting, students separated themselves into different groups: the Latinos, the African-Americans, and the Caucasian. A new caucasian teacher, Erin Gruwell, comes to the school to teach English to the Freshman and Sophomore class. Before the school year started, the Principal handed Erin Gruwell a list of students who were failing English, the majority of the students had grades in the fifties. Seeing the scores, made her realize that the students needed a great deal of work in order to improve their reading, the mass majority were reading at the 5th-grade level and were the freshman class in High School.

“The Sanctuary of School” uses good details, personal experience, and narrative writing style to successfully help the audience with difficult periods in their own childhood. The amount of details the author used, helps the readers visualize her childhood. It makes the audience put themselves in her shoes. The reader can feel her emotions and reactions to certain situations.

My parents constantly worried about our financial situation more than me and my brother. “The only place where we could count on being noticed was at school” (1). I was never safe and secure at home because there was no home. The only place on this earth where I felt a sense of security, was with my teachers at school. “[When] I was with my teacher... for the next six hours, I was going to enjoy a thoroughly secure, warm, and stable world.

In this paper, I will summarize and critique an article “Name” written by Lauren Segedin in 2008??. Segedin is a doctoral student at OISE, University of Toronto. Segedin’s study came out of her experience teaching students who are disengaged in school and have not succeeded in their studies. She was specifically interested in hearing the voices of the students who were classified as “at risk”.

When people succeed through hard times they usually have to power through some difficult circumstances to get to where they want to be. In the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a Native American high schooler who decides to challenge himself by going to a high school outside of his neighborhood and comfort zone. Even though numerous obstacles come in Junior’s way, he keeps his focus on powering through those obstacles and not giving up. Setting challenging goals is not usually the easiest option, however even the remote possibility of success makes some people take that chance. When Junior first arrived at his new school he begins to face setbacks right from the start.

These are the times that provoke horror in the heart. The naive child and preppy teacher,will, in this misery, end all efforts to edify themselves and others; but the one who manages to caper into the dreaded familiarity of the prison-like room will be a martyr for the suffering she shall endure. Class after class, like the taste of a shriveled asparagus, is not very appetizing, but there is a minor feeling of solace. Ultimately, because students have toiled, they will appreciate the knowledge they have gained. At least the teachers get paid for undergoing this torturous venture, whereas the unenviable students have to pay for this traumatic experience, Students should be getting paid, and at the very least should not have to pay, to attend

She is a young lady with a big smile and a personality that matches her smile. Yet, it is her quiet and selfless leadership in her school and community that reflects her noble character. Alison is a Jack Kent Cook Young Scholar Cohort ’14 who loves to write poetry and has published one poem to date. Three years ago, Alison transitioned from a public school in the Bronx to a private, independent, all-girls’ school in Manhattan. During these three years, Alison has already left an indelible imprint on the Spence School. Although this transition was not easy, Alison saw a void at her school and came up with a solution in filling it. To this end, she ran for class representative and became a voice for those students like herself who were