Tuesday
the 8th was an eye opener. Some of the comments the teacher panel made had
me shaking my head on the inside. It was interesting to watch them disagree and
not follow up their disagreement with a discussion. I thought; man these people
need to set themselves free. I felt like all of them were holding themselves
back from saying what they truly believe. I don’t want to turn out to be that
way. I feel good about our class because we actually voice our beliefs.
After they left it was nice to hear our
perspectives and our expectations of what Central Falls High School was going
to be like. This experience puts the CF stereotype to rest. I love it because I was
proven wrong. I thought the students were going to be troublemakers. I thought
there wasn’t going to be any respect in the school. I was so wrong. I feel that
every teacher candidate needs to be exposed to an urban setting like CF.
Student teachers should be able to come to their own conclusion of what Central
Falls High School is worth instead of feeding into the stereotype. We have to
come to the realization that not everyone is the same. I, as a Puerto Rican,
was terribly mistaken. I know the environment these students come from and I
made the mistake of stereotyping them as well. This experience has made me
realize that not everyone behaves the same and that CF high is not a mirror
image of the community.
I understand that bad behavior gets
all the attention. The reality is that a gunshot, a scream or a punch catches
more attention than a hug, a kiss or a compliment. Violence is negative and loud, and love is
positive and silent. It is easier to spot the negative than to see the positive.
This is the reality that world faces and it is up to us to see the good in
everyone. I’ve seen the good in Central Falls.
I like your point about how the school is not a mirror image of the community. Driving around CF you see that the city is pretty run down. I think the school changes the people inside of it though. It may even be seen by some as a safe zone. It has been my experience that people act differently in schools, regardless of the city (rich or poor/ well developed or run down).
ReplyDeleteHi Adrian,
ReplyDeleteI think you made a really good observation; the teachers did disagree with each other, but never followed up on the issue. There was a bit of snide joking back and forth, but they really never addressed the root issues. I wonder if it is like that in their staff meetings and professional development activities, or if they were circumspect because we were sitting in front of them and potentially judging them. I think I would find it incredibly difficult to function in an environment where I felt like I had to tiptoe around people that I fundamentally disagreed with. I think I'm going to have to ask my supervising teacher about his experiences...