Sat in the back of the class with my hand up
Two wild security guards, grabbed my man up
Threw him in detention for 5 days suspension
Cuz he said, the teacher was lyin about the Indians
Tryin to dumb us with the story of Columbus
-Masta Killa & RZA, "School"
A week from now, what has to be my favorite TV show will make its welcome return to the airwaves. The Wire is back and will be a case study for those unaware of the realities of urban public education. back in
May, I invoked the spirit of dead Prez to highlight the parallels between one of their tracks and some of the sentiments within the minds of some "unacclimated" youth. But shT is about to get real ugly...and beautiful. Never have I felt such a connection with a show so much. Ok, aside from House Party and Class Act (since I was such a huge Kid N Play fan back in the day). But I digress. The stage has been set. The Baltimore school system is the backdrop. The opening episode of the season was premiered at the Martha's Vineyard African American Festival and the heat is on. It'll be interesting to see how the story develops having gotten the overall picture painted for me about the different youth and their background stories (more to come about the stoop kids versus corner kids concept). Naturally, all of this will be revealed as the storyline progresses, but I am so axious to see this sht it just doesn't make sense. It'll be my Sunday night release from the world into a parallel universe where I can relive old experiences, reassess moments in time when I faced a challenge, empathize with the young people that I come across on a weekly basis, and enjoy a well written and acted drama that panders to my sensibilities. Might sound real suspect to you, but it makes sense to me and so what. Back in May, I quoted my man HMC's thought about the ironies of urban youth workers and his sentiments still hold the same weight months later. I'm seriously thinking about getting more folks in the district that I come interact with to watch this show as well. Some of thing might learn a thing or two. And I'm not saying I am any kind of expert, but there are noticeable gaps in the education process. Hell, I've been learning so much this summer interacting with the PHH youth as well as young people from a couple of other programs that I now have a whole bunch of new ideas and approaches to how I'll manage my own youth this coming school year. From being more aware of my words and actions around the young ladies to the restraint I self-impose interacting with the guys, it's helped me to be more disciplined. There's definitely some room for growth, as evidenced by my delayed reaction this past week to a couple of a$$holes in particular. I am much more confident and comfortable in my dealings with them. And the entrepreneurship program really helped me bring it all together and solidified some techniques I hope to refine in September and October. It's bigger than technology, B. So much more to it than that. Case in point, after the latest Social Night, everyone rolled out and the flock all strolled towards their hood only to the piercing tune of sudden pops in the night. There's nothing worse than placing a call for shots fired when you are unsure of the danger that lurks beyond the shadows. Yet, that very concept is a consistent theme in hoods and urban school districts across the country. That danger could swallow you whole or it could free you. It is the game of russian roulette we call life.
No comments:
Post a Comment