Have a little faith...and Ivan Stevens

I just finished watching segments from a documentary Diane Sawyer did on the children of Camden, NJ. I am not sure how to explain how I feel right now. I have so much to say in response to the things I watched and yet, simultaneously, I am speechless. I have lived in NJ most of my life and in all my time here I have known of Camden and driven through Camden and I also had no idea.......I had no idea that statistically it is the most dangerous city in the United States. Nor did I know that one third of teenagers were arrested last year in Camden. Thirty drug busts in 3 hours in one town. And only a few short ten miles away is the suburb of Cherry Hill, the second most affluent zip code in the state of New Jersey. As much as I try to wrap my head around those few details...I struggle and I pray

To be continued.....

The beginning??

In all those movies and television shows the teachers got through to the students, helped improve their lives and the movie ends with the feeling with hope.......maybe. Everything I ever watched as a child and adolescent always left me wanting for the “ultimate" learning experience or perfect group of friends because everything ended with happy moments and no one was ever let down. Who didn't want that? How interesting it is when we sit to analyze our thoughts on things as trivial as movies and end up discovering our unconscious misconceptions. I always thought things would end "happy", everyone’s problems were solved and students did go on to graduate from high school. The teacher was always successful. Everyone is supposed to persevere, right? The more I learn and educate myself, the more the stark reality sinks in that not everyone graduates and unfortunate things do happen. 

With that being said, how do we change things? Where do we begin?

Is the system really set up to make our students fail.....

Well, I just left the most interesting class discussion. Pink Floyd, Dead Prez, Urban Schools. I honestly never thought of the education system was set up to fail. Why would anyone want a child to fail? Aren't we supposed to help them succeed? Isnt that what we are all taught since day one as brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, mothers, fathers....teachers?? Perhaps I have looked through the rose colored glasses for too long, but is that a bad thing? I am honestly not sure and hope to figure out some answers to all of these questions. I will say that I always thought that if any person made the choice to succeed at something, they would. And maybe in my own way movies such as Dangerous Minds and Lean on Me, Stand and Deliver have left me thinking that it will always work out. If the teacher cares enough and tries every avenue possible, the students will have that "moment" where the desire has been ignited, the light has been turned on, they will get "it" and never want to look back. Yet as I sit and reflect on these oh so romantic thoughts of education I suddenly realize that they are just that, romantic. And lets all admit there is nothing wrong with a little romance but I think maybe its time to take off my glasses and look at the education system before us. I can admit that I have not done this before.  Maybe out of fear of loosing my desire, my hope, my persistence to reach even just one mind?? But isn't that what its all about? If you can reach just one, isn't it worth it.....