Wow, two blogs in one day...I must really have a lot on my mind. Actually I want to start a conversation with everyone that my friend recently started on his new blog. I think he has some pretty valid points, so I thought I'd share his blog and my comments. So, here goes:
"The Sage" said in an entry titled Wake Up:
As Dap said in School Daze, "Wake Up!!!" Young black America, if you're between 25-40, you know we've got some work to do. Let this blog be the laboratory where we go to work. I'm late to the blog game, how stereotypical already, but better late than never. We're a unique group, born too late to march during the Civil Rights Movement of the 60's yet old enough to remember the dawn of the computer age (Commodore 64, anyone?). We've seen hip hop arrive, change, and go astray. We've seen Michael Jackson arrive, change, and go astray. I've got my eye on you Eddie Murphy.We're torn between worlds, coporate and cultural, political and spiritual, love and war. I want to use this blog to discuss how we define ourselves in this world. Would our ancestors, who've sacrificed so much, be happy with where we are now? Do we stand for anything? Could we have voted without dying? When did BET get buckwild? Is UPN, BET Lite? Ladies, do you really buy the purse for it's quality? Singles, maybe it's really you, not them. Fellas, she can't be a video girl all day, everyday. Did everyone really sell crack? I worked at Six Flags. Does anyone even know who their local Congressperson is? And everyone, please stop forwarding junk e-mails... There's no trip to Disneyworld, you're not about to lose the right to vote, you will not die if you don't send it 8 friends, and I don't want to see the pictures from Ginuwine's damn wedding. Y'all gonna get a brother fired.Let's put it all on the table. Let's talk! I'm tired of playing with y'all.
And I replied:
You are definitely right. It is time that we WAKE UP! Where do we get started though? The thing that worries me the most is that if we don't wake up, and wake up soon, our future generations are going to fall downhill even faster. And while my own conscienceness is important, I think it may be even more important to start reaching our children. As a teacher in an inner city high school, I witness daily nihilism in the black community as discussed by Cornel West. Not only do most of the kids that I teach have a lack of desire for education, but they are so far removed from what our ancestors have done for us. One of my students thought Martin Luther King was still alive! (What???) I'm trying to bring as much history into my English classes as possible, but oftentimes find myself very disturbed at my student's reactions. When we read and then discussed "I Have a Dream" as a piece of literature, students were laughing during the reading of the speech. Yeah, I'm not old enough to have marched during the Civil Rights movement, but never would I have ever thought of laughing during such a monumental speech. During a mock lesson on segregation, many of my black and latino students wanted to be "white" during the activities. The ones that were chosen to be "white" completely changed their attitudes and demeanors in the class...they were attentive, sitting up straight, and even answering questions. Why did they have to be "white" in order to do this? What does this say about their own self image? This is definitely something I need to explore with all of my classes. Many of my hispanic students call themselves white...even if their african roots are more than obvious...again, what kind of self image do these kids have of themselves? How do I begin to give them a somewhat unbiased education while also trying to address these issues with self image? How do I get them to stop using the term "nigga" or is that even possible. They think I'm just old school when i ask them to refrain from using the word. So much to do, and I feel like there's just not enough time. I have to do all of this plus try to get these kids caught up because their entire time in our educational system has been screwed. These kids can't write complete sentences, don't know about history whatsoever, and can't locate Africa and Mexico on a map or globe. What do we do???I think I've actually shifted gears in this comment, but I am definitely with you. Hope you can follow my remarks. I'm open to any suggestions anyone may have regarding my class.
What are your thoughts my fellow bloggers?
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1 comment:
we are all products of socialisation! and yes, i did spell that with an 's'. case and point of socially constructed normative practice adpoted as i am acculturated by british lexicalities. anyhow, about the kiddies...it sounds very fatalistic to say, you can't change anyhting until we change the whole of society, but i think this is true. tonya (latoya), you would agree that the enviroment that many of these children have grown in are evident in there behaviours, personalities and perspectives on life. while this doesn't make their jackass behaviour any more endearing, it does make it understandable. but,they, you and i are social actors accompnaied by an entire cast, stage and crew, therefore asking change of the individual is next to hopeless until we can visualise and enact greater change. and while its important to the past for examples of why change is necessary and also to celebrate the triumps that change has created, we still have to wipe the slate so to speak and start fresh. the world is a much differnt conglomeration of people, faiths, cultures, ethnicities and values that didnt exist 40 years ago. making sense of the world we live in now is difficult enough without adding the complexities of the past or even the future. so it's simply not an issues of merely 'waking up.' we have to give people something to wake up to! not everyone is keen or committed to fighting a unwinnging fight. i am reminded of my favorite kozol quote, 'i am alive right now. i see much of the world around me that is unjust and fair. i have the power to change it.' that should be our mantra. dont live in the past, or even the future. create a social revolution, start where you can and start now!
now,pardon me while i step down off my soap box, i need a cup of tea!
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