The Rhymes of a Discriminated Student - Wake Up America!

I always have a lot to say about how our culture leaves youth behind and how our education system is inherently discriminatory.  However, I have never put it quite so eloquently as our young man Elmer Reyes.  Here he offers his firsthand account as a student in South Central Los Angeles.  Listen to his mix of gratitude, recognition and intelligent anger as he cries out to all of us to become heroic teachers, mentors and a more just society.

The Rhymes of a Discriminated Student

There is a huge epidemic in the United States.

The achievement gap shows the devastating rates.

The statistics are staggering, it has to change.

The system is corrupted, it’s not the same.

The poor minority students think it’s a game.

African American and Latino students don’t find it strange.
But all the schools in urban cities compare a cage.
Keeping students confined like if they’re insane.
That’s what gets most of them enraged.
And leads to high school dropouts that didn’t graduate.
If only teachers knew how to motivate.
Instead of teachers who discriminate.
To give students a chance and communicate.
There would be more students to educate.

As the white, middle class, majority students succeed.
Urban city students roam the streets.
Not caring about a high school diploma or a college degree.
Causing the achievement gap to increase.
What type of solution does it take to make the gap decrease.
The one that has teachers actually teach.
To show students something they’ve never seen.
To make their dreams a reality.
And they can be what they want to be.
If only teachers had this ability.
Then the achievement gap would be filled with tranquility.
And have both majority and minority students in universities.

Urban city schools have so many problems.
People have to find away how to solve them.
Like one of my teachers that was involved in
After school programs where students would taunt him.
But slowly gained their respect and then brought them
Books that he would give and then taught them
How to get good grades in school projects.
He motivated and pushed them to accomplish.
A high school diploma that he promised.

My teacher had the skill to communicate
With minds that were hard to educate.
This is a solution that can make change.
If only there were more teachers that were the same
The achievement gap would have never been made.
I’m sure this solution will even out the rates.
That have been made and claimed
Throughout the United States.
Imagine all of the graduations.
Caused by teachers that had communication.
That stayed after school with dedication.
And gave urban city students inspiration.
And let them see that success comes from education.
That knowledge is power there should be no hesitation.
All the teachers need the communication.
To give urban city students motivation.
 Elmer Reyes

Thanks Elmer for sharing your voice with us and reminding us of our responsibility toward the education of all youth.

Tony

Elmer and his Mentor Jeff at Warner Bros.



Tony LoRe

CEO/Founder, Youth Mentoring Connection / Urban Oasis

Waiting For Superman: Waiting for America to become America for all children

In the tug-o-war between left and right, between union and management, between ideologues of different stripes all too often children become the rope. They become the rhetorical tool that people on either side of an argument use to argue their position. So you end up with a system that places accountability measures on schools, teachers and children while at the same time severely limiting their resources. The state of education in the State of California has been steadily declining since the passage of Prop 13 to the point that a system that once was the envy of the world is now a dysfunctional and horribly inequitable mess which has a racially skewed result. To be clear I’m not blaming Prop 13 for our educational problems, but rather an electorate that is more willing to fight for the interests of property owners than for the rights of all children for an equal education.

This should be no surprise as it simply follows the trends of this country. The rich get richer and the poor compete for what little resources are left. The well-to-do can afford expensive private schools ensuring that their progeny can take over their positions of power and influence. The balance of the population are relegated to a position of living off of the table scraps of the wealthy…and then are blamed for not being able to accomplish the near impossible. Our schools may be letting our kids down, but our society is letting our schools down. Children are not safe to walk to a school where they will not have the resources to learn effectively, taught by teachers who have to manage classrooms of 30-40 kids that enter at tremendously disparate levels of comprehension. This is partially the legacy of “No Child Left Behind”. It has left millions of children behind because it was an empty slogan so representative of our willingness in this country to get behind ideology but not worry about its repercussions on real human beings.

Enter the new documentary: "Waiting for Superman” to put a human face on this problem. Rhetoric and statistics disappear into the background when one witnesses the real human tragedy of a parent sitting in a hall watching for a lottery ball to drop in order to know if their kid will go to a school that will prepare her for college or one that will warehouse him for the streets and possible incarceration.

This exceptional piece of filmmaking has already created a tremendous amount of controversy and it only opened this past weekend. There will be much debate over teachers and unions and public schools vs. charter schools, and who is to blame. Entrenched interests will rush to defend their positions. The movie will no doubt be criticized for not offering enough comprehensive solutions, but is that the role of a documentary movie? We have to be careful that we don’t let a 90 minute film define the terms of the discussion. Let’s just let it do what it is intended to do: stimulate debate and inflame our desires to offer a better future for all children. The film does show us what is possible. It is up to us to all to stop “waiting for Superman” and engage in one of the most important debates of our lifetime. We need to get angry at what we see on the screen and then make that anger productive.

In an ironic twist, Superwoman Oprah Winfrey takes up the cause of “Waiting for Superman” and features Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg flying in like Superman to drop 100 million dollars on the Newark school system. While we heap praise on both of these wonderful actions (and appreciation for the spotlight that this puts on the problem), it is easy to lose sight of the millions of children who don’t get to go to the few schools who will benefit from these actions. It is a scary proposition that the well-being of the vast majority of the population is once again dependent upon handouts from the wealthy.  Every one of us needs to ask what we can do. Volunteer at a public school. Become a tutor. Better yet, become a mentor. Engage in the debate. Advocate for a more level playing field. Become active.

As mentors we realize how much power there is in simply paying attention to youth. So, when the youth of America see that we are debating and arguing over their future, even if we disagree, they may get a message that they do count after all. But if nothing comes of it, or if they see that we are cynically using them once again as the rope in our tug-o-wars about taxes and privilege and position, they will lose hope and we slip further into a culture of fear that continues to promote the interest of the few at the expense of the children of our future.

sincerely,

Tony

Tony LoRe
CEO/Founder Youth Mentoring Connection
Founder Boarding House Mentors