After telling this story to a few folks...they asked me..”Sabrina, what do you teach again?” I have 4 Public speaking classes of general education students I teach by myself. Then I teach one Government & Politics class w/ my co-teacher, a biology class with a co-teacher and one US. History class I teach with the co-teacher Ms. G (you'll read about her later). Any class in which I have a co-teacher, it means there is a mix with special education and general education kids in the class. Most of the special education students are labeled as “emotionally disturbed” so they are said to have ADHD, ADD, post traumatic syndrome, etc. (However, if you asked me…80% of them just needed more discipline as a young child from their guardians and then they would know how to have more self-control as a teen.)
One day before heading into U.S. History class, I told Ms. G that I wanted to do some map lessons with the freshman because I sensed their map skills were a little off. “OFF” was the understatement of the year.
I came into class the next day and gave each kid a blank map of the United States. I simply told them they had 5 mins to write down/locate as many states as possible on the map. I started the timer and told them to begin. Surely, I thought they would get the states they hear about all the time, but probably get tripped up with some of the states in the Midwest that have similar shapes such as Wyoming, Nebraska and Iowa.
After 2-3 mins, I looked up and saw students staring at the walls or doodling. I said, “look ya’ll, just identify as many as you can even if you have not traveled to the state(s).” I could hear crickets chirping and blank stares…
I lowered my voice, wrinkled my forehead in a perplexing manner and in a loud whisper I said to the class, “If you don’t locate any other state…you BETTER locate the state in which you live.”
Sadly, 8 kids out of 32 located New York on the US Map and nearly half of them didn’t even know to look up in the Northeast region of the US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I started to get lightheaded and took a seat.
I looked at their papers and the following is what I got from not ONE but MANY papers: (brace yourself!)
--many thought Brooklyn was a state
--no one knew the shape of New York state (if they did maybe they could have found it!)
--no one knew what ocean bordered New York State
--many of them didn’t know what I meant by the word “border”
--When reading a compass, they were saying Eastsouth, WestNorth instead of Southeast and Northwest and that Maryland is EastWest of Georgia... (WHAT???????)
--EVEN with a compass a few struggled telling me where California was in relation to New York even AFTER we identified where the states were on the map.
--They had no clue what continent the United States was on
--They had no clue that Canada, the US and Mexico made up North America
--Many thought Mexico was a state in the United States
--A few thought that London was a state in the United States
Sadly, I can go on…and on...and on…but I won’t for the sake of my sanity and the kids.
How did these kids get to the 9th grade not knowing the basics? Where and who failed these kids in their early years? I couldn’t get mad at them and many said they were never taught geography in school. Should I blame the parents or should I stop trying to backtrack and just get them on track now? Of course we did and are still having intense lessons on geography, but where can we begin to tackle these issues?
Honestly, it’s a collective issue that everybody has to chime in on…parents, the community, teachers, and administrators. The basics that we “assume” these kids know…they have no clue. Or is it the egocentric notion that many Americans have in which all countries and nations should cater and/or want to strive to be like us? Taking it one step further does this egocentric state of mind fester even more regarding New Yorkers? Since many Americans consider New York City the mecca of transition, progressiveness, trendsetters and an icon of success, are NY children poisoned with the mindset that everybody must cater and know about their home state instead of them knowing about every other place in the country? Is it not that deep or is it? Or are our educational institutions pushing curriculums so science and math heavy with chemistry, world history and trigonometry when our kids don’t even know basic phonetics, how to add two digit numbers and can’t tell me who the friggin’ mayor of New York city verses what year the Revolutionary War was won. What will matter most when these kids are passed through (not graduated from school?)... Surely not the date of a historic war or how to work with imaginary numbers.
They need the basics…something that is being glossed over simply because they don't have time to stress that so much when they are young or they feel like stressing the basics will produce a complacent child. (And passing a child through to the 9th grade with a 2nd grade reading level doesn’t produce complacency, a handout, and a bar so low that Snoopy could high jump over??)
How does a child get this far in the system without knowing where they physically live in relation to the rest of the world? And then they randomly say things like, “ain’t Obama that Arab who blows up sh*t?” (NO LIE) Many don't know that Barack is running for President or who he is for that matter. And even worst…I realized that my kids were 6 years of age when Bush, Jr became President Not only do they not know where they live, but they have the village idiot leading the land they believe is the Supreme power in the world. I feel horrible for these kids. Oh, what they think about the President is another blog for another day…disturbing, simply disturbing…on all levels.
Friday, December 28, 2007
SPERM GOT ON MY KNEE
Today I had to take a moment, take a deep breath and sit down in the middle of class from the outrageous comments I heard during an impromptu lesson I had to do for another teacher’s class. I actually taught the biology class but another section so I was familiar with the topic they were going to cover next…the reproduction system.
Since the teacher didn’t leave material on what she wanted me to cover, I did an impromptu lesson on the “myths and facts” about sex and the reproductive system as an intro to the next biology topic. I deliberately didn’t tell them anything. I simply told each student to write down 5 things they were either unsure or sure about and then we'll clarify it together as a class.
OH …..MY ….LORD….The stuff I heard was unbelievable.
Keep in mind…these students were 13 and 14 years of age and freshman. Below is a rundown of the stuff I heard and the results of the # of folks who believed it.
--OVER HALF the class thought that a woman could not get pregnant if a woman is on top during sex.
--At least 3 out of the 10 boys in the class thought you could impregnate a girl if she gave oral sex because they thought the esophagus lead to the stomach and then to the uterus…..(YES, they think it’s one big ole’ pipe all connecting…and a few tried to seriously set up an argument to save face in class)!!!! I sat there and looked at my watch with a grin on my face.
--THE ENTIRE CLASS thought they could not get disease through anal sex.
--Many of the girls were not sure exactly where the baby was kept after it was fertilized.
--Over half thought the baby came out of the belly button itself.
--The guys in the class thought that a girl can only get pregnant when she is menstruating.
--They were ALL interested in knowing how strong and how far sperm can swim. A kid with a concerned look on her face asked, “well Ms. Thompson…if one sperm got on my knee (as if they swim alone) and swam up my thigh into “that hole” (you mean the vagina) could you get pregnant?” After I explained about the lifespan of sperm outside of the body, a kid blurted out, “whewww, Ms. T I’m glad sperm can’t live that long.” I was thinking what in tarnation have YOU been doing?????
--then the question I had to take a seat on was this one….coming from a laid back yet precocious freshman named Ralph. After he noticed the class was asking all types of questions he felt comfortable and raised his hand to ask me an outrageous question (with a straight face). “Ms. Thompson let’s say you have two guys who are having sex. If he gets sperm in the next man, could he become pregnant?”
I was waiting for the “ha ha ha, SIKE” to come…but it didn’t! Half the class yelled, “NO DUMMY”..and then there were AT LEAST 5-6 other students who looked at me with a confused look on their faces wanting me to answer the question because they weren’t quite sure! I was beyond baffled.
Was I having sex at the age of 14? Nah..far from it, but I surely knew the basic concept of sex. It was scary to know that almost all of these kids had not had a “Sex” talk from their parents (I asked)…and that many (I can sadly but safely assume) were engaging in sex. What in the world was going on? These were babies with no knowledge engaging in adult activities!
I did the same lesson with my class to see where in the reproductive lesson I had to start. It wasn’t any better and I decided to start at ground zero. If they don’t learn anything else in this biology class, I hope they absorb the upcoming lessons on the reproductive system as fast as they absorb the lyrics from a Jay-Z song….God knows they need a real Blueprint to the basics of how they came into this world
Since the teacher didn’t leave material on what she wanted me to cover, I did an impromptu lesson on the “myths and facts” about sex and the reproductive system as an intro to the next biology topic. I deliberately didn’t tell them anything. I simply told each student to write down 5 things they were either unsure or sure about and then we'll clarify it together as a class.
OH …..MY ….LORD….The stuff I heard was unbelievable.
Keep in mind…these students were 13 and 14 years of age and freshman. Below is a rundown of the stuff I heard and the results of the # of folks who believed it.
--OVER HALF the class thought that a woman could not get pregnant if a woman is on top during sex.
--At least 3 out of the 10 boys in the class thought you could impregnate a girl if she gave oral sex because they thought the esophagus lead to the stomach and then to the uterus…..(YES, they think it’s one big ole’ pipe all connecting…and a few tried to seriously set up an argument to save face in class)!!!! I sat there and looked at my watch with a grin on my face.
--THE ENTIRE CLASS thought they could not get disease through anal sex.
--Many of the girls were not sure exactly where the baby was kept after it was fertilized.
--Over half thought the baby came out of the belly button itself.
--The guys in the class thought that a girl can only get pregnant when she is menstruating.
--They were ALL interested in knowing how strong and how far sperm can swim. A kid with a concerned look on her face asked, “well Ms. Thompson…if one sperm got on my knee (as if they swim alone) and swam up my thigh into “that hole” (you mean the vagina) could you get pregnant?” After I explained about the lifespan of sperm outside of the body, a kid blurted out, “whewww, Ms. T I’m glad sperm can’t live that long.” I was thinking what in tarnation have YOU been doing?????
--then the question I had to take a seat on was this one….coming from a laid back yet precocious freshman named Ralph. After he noticed the class was asking all types of questions he felt comfortable and raised his hand to ask me an outrageous question (with a straight face). “Ms. Thompson let’s say you have two guys who are having sex. If he gets sperm in the next man, could he become pregnant?”
I was waiting for the “ha ha ha, SIKE” to come…but it didn’t! Half the class yelled, “NO DUMMY”..and then there were AT LEAST 5-6 other students who looked at me with a confused look on their faces wanting me to answer the question because they weren’t quite sure! I was beyond baffled.
Was I having sex at the age of 14? Nah..far from it, but I surely knew the basic concept of sex. It was scary to know that almost all of these kids had not had a “Sex” talk from their parents (I asked)…and that many (I can sadly but safely assume) were engaging in sex. What in the world was going on? These were babies with no knowledge engaging in adult activities!
I did the same lesson with my class to see where in the reproductive lesson I had to start. It wasn’t any better and I decided to start at ground zero. If they don’t learn anything else in this biology class, I hope they absorb the upcoming lessons on the reproductive system as fast as they absorb the lyrics from a Jay-Z song….God knows they need a real Blueprint to the basics of how they came into this world
One of my kids got 10 years in prison....
Mouths hit the floor and heads starting shaking in denial when I gave out the next speaking assignment. The hands of worried students started flailing in the air with a thousand questions and I took them one by one. “Ms. Thompson, don’t you think that is a bit much?” “Ms. Thompson, my parents will have an issue with this assignment.” “Ms. Thompson this assignment goes against my religion.” “No…have your parents call me, and what religion do you practice?” Were my responses…
I gave my students one week to write their own obituary. We talk about how to define, establish and flourish your legacy 24/7. I informed them that I chose this assignment in order to celebrate their current and future lives. Often, as humans, we wait to celebrate someone’s life when people die. NO! Like Kanye said, “If you admire somebody you should go ahead and tell ‘em, People never get the flowers while they could smell ‘em.” I don’t want my kids, or anyone else for that matter, to wait until someone passes to start celebrating life or expressing their feelings towards loved ones. It’s absurd, shiftless and a little out of order don’t you think?
I wanted to see how far their vision would stretch in this assignment and what they see themselves doing in their lifetime. There were 2 requirements. 1—they had to deliver the speech in third person 2—they were not to tell me when or how they were going to die (because I felt like that is what was freaking them out). Once I gave them that speech, most were cool and got really excited about the assignment.
One week passes and it’s speech day.
Talk about an emotional day! I learned that several of my kids’ parents were doing life terms in prison. I learned that one of my children currently lived in a shelter. Many of my kids had lost a parent to death. Many of my kids were dying to get out of the projects after school. A few kids envisioned themselves graduating from Ivy league schools. Many of my kids stressed that they got married and had several kids by the same spouse and lived in a house far from the projects and left behind a host of grandkids who became inventors of various items. One girl busted out crying during her speech because she now was at peace because she was now able to see her grandfather up in heaven. I was in tears in the back of the classroom. I was NO GOOD!
However, in one of my classes that is mainly full of horny, fake gangsta boys, I had a different experience. Although I told them NOT to tell me how they were going to die, a handful of them passionately said that they lost their lives at the age of 32 in a drive by shooting, but that their creative tracks and music still lived on for 50 years or so. Another student said that after he graduated from college he started to sell drugs in order to pay back his college tuition and ended up getting 10 years in prison for drug possession and armed robbery. That same student said that after he got out of prison, he lost his wife to a terminal illness and became a single father. After he revealed that he would later battle depression for 12 years, he found the love of his life 5 years prior to his death. (I was thinking that Ron Howard has nothing on these vivid future screenwriters and I was also thinking was this someone’s story in his family?)
Then, one of my students said verbatim, “Tim leaves behind 5 kids by 4 different women and a Cadillac for his mama.” He proceeded to look up and say, “yeah, boy”. The class erupted in laughter and a few of the boys bigged him up and said, “that’s my n*gga…playa for life!” My heart sank to the ground, but I decided not to interrupt his speech, especially in front of the entire class.
My mind started racing with thoughts of “why are these boys praising the concept of having multiple children by multiple women?” “what have they seen in their lifetime to make them think this is cool?” “Why are my boys envisioning their life ending at the young age of 32?” “Why do they envision themselves dying so violently?” “Why are their life visions so short and narrow?” and “Why are they selecting Tupac’s legacy of a tragic death but the longevity of his music as a blueprint for their life?”
It was entirely too much for me to address in the last 3 mins of my class, and I still have not addressed it. I want to set aside about a week to address the multiple topics and bring in cool, ambitious African-American men in my class to talk about the importance of living a worthwhile and dynamic life. How to be a responsible, respectable and prosperous man and the importance of placing value on things that appreciate in value instead of depreciate and how to properly address a woman. The list goes on and on…
Then one of my favorite kids, Rob, stood up and had a refreshing, yet simple life he envisioned. He said that he went on and graduated with honors from high school, attended FAMU on an academic scholarship yet earned a track and field scholarship after walking on the track & field team. He said that later he graduated with an engineering degree, married his college sweetheart, became the CEO of Microsoft and then later created his own software company. He went on to retire and move down to Florida with his wife and then spent the rest of his days walking on the beach and making weekly trips to his mailbox to receive the newest pictures of his grandkids that his prominent kids would send him. Talk about warming my heart after hearing a day full of dismal visions!
Was I saddened because my vision of what I know my kids can do and how they see themselves differ so greatly? Was I saddened because the world in which they live in was clearly a different norm from what I grew up in? Was I saddened because my kids, compared to the kids in this world, have success at their fingertips but choose not to see or obtain it because life beyond the projects and a better life than their parents is not stressed? Was I seemingly happy to hear from Rob who had what would be considered by many…achieving “the American Dream”? “What, really, is the American Dream?” and “Why are some of my kids even afraid to dream because what they have seen so far in their lifetime is a nightmare?”
So many thoughts raced and still race through my head and I think the assignment affected me more than it did them. Where and how do I begin to realistically shed light on the dark tunnel in which they figure is their future. Today was an overwhelming day… Help….
I gave my students one week to write their own obituary. We talk about how to define, establish and flourish your legacy 24/7. I informed them that I chose this assignment in order to celebrate their current and future lives. Often, as humans, we wait to celebrate someone’s life when people die. NO! Like Kanye said, “If you admire somebody you should go ahead and tell ‘em, People never get the flowers while they could smell ‘em.” I don’t want my kids, or anyone else for that matter, to wait until someone passes to start celebrating life or expressing their feelings towards loved ones. It’s absurd, shiftless and a little out of order don’t you think?
I wanted to see how far their vision would stretch in this assignment and what they see themselves doing in their lifetime. There were 2 requirements. 1—they had to deliver the speech in third person 2—they were not to tell me when or how they were going to die (because I felt like that is what was freaking them out). Once I gave them that speech, most were cool and got really excited about the assignment.
One week passes and it’s speech day.
Talk about an emotional day! I learned that several of my kids’ parents were doing life terms in prison. I learned that one of my children currently lived in a shelter. Many of my kids had lost a parent to death. Many of my kids were dying to get out of the projects after school. A few kids envisioned themselves graduating from Ivy league schools. Many of my kids stressed that they got married and had several kids by the same spouse and lived in a house far from the projects and left behind a host of grandkids who became inventors of various items. One girl busted out crying during her speech because she now was at peace because she was now able to see her grandfather up in heaven. I was in tears in the back of the classroom. I was NO GOOD!
However, in one of my classes that is mainly full of horny, fake gangsta boys, I had a different experience. Although I told them NOT to tell me how they were going to die, a handful of them passionately said that they lost their lives at the age of 32 in a drive by shooting, but that their creative tracks and music still lived on for 50 years or so. Another student said that after he graduated from college he started to sell drugs in order to pay back his college tuition and ended up getting 10 years in prison for drug possession and armed robbery. That same student said that after he got out of prison, he lost his wife to a terminal illness and became a single father. After he revealed that he would later battle depression for 12 years, he found the love of his life 5 years prior to his death. (I was thinking that Ron Howard has nothing on these vivid future screenwriters and I was also thinking was this someone’s story in his family?)
Then, one of my students said verbatim, “Tim leaves behind 5 kids by 4 different women and a Cadillac for his mama.” He proceeded to look up and say, “yeah, boy”. The class erupted in laughter and a few of the boys bigged him up and said, “that’s my n*gga…playa for life!” My heart sank to the ground, but I decided not to interrupt his speech, especially in front of the entire class.
My mind started racing with thoughts of “why are these boys praising the concept of having multiple children by multiple women?” “what have they seen in their lifetime to make them think this is cool?” “Why are my boys envisioning their life ending at the young age of 32?” “Why do they envision themselves dying so violently?” “Why are their life visions so short and narrow?” and “Why are they selecting Tupac’s legacy of a tragic death but the longevity of his music as a blueprint for their life?”
It was entirely too much for me to address in the last 3 mins of my class, and I still have not addressed it. I want to set aside about a week to address the multiple topics and bring in cool, ambitious African-American men in my class to talk about the importance of living a worthwhile and dynamic life. How to be a responsible, respectable and prosperous man and the importance of placing value on things that appreciate in value instead of depreciate and how to properly address a woman. The list goes on and on…
Then one of my favorite kids, Rob, stood up and had a refreshing, yet simple life he envisioned. He said that he went on and graduated with honors from high school, attended FAMU on an academic scholarship yet earned a track and field scholarship after walking on the track & field team. He said that later he graduated with an engineering degree, married his college sweetheart, became the CEO of Microsoft and then later created his own software company. He went on to retire and move down to Florida with his wife and then spent the rest of his days walking on the beach and making weekly trips to his mailbox to receive the newest pictures of his grandkids that his prominent kids would send him. Talk about warming my heart after hearing a day full of dismal visions!
Was I saddened because my vision of what I know my kids can do and how they see themselves differ so greatly? Was I saddened because the world in which they live in was clearly a different norm from what I grew up in? Was I saddened because my kids, compared to the kids in this world, have success at their fingertips but choose not to see or obtain it because life beyond the projects and a better life than their parents is not stressed? Was I seemingly happy to hear from Rob who had what would be considered by many…achieving “the American Dream”? “What, really, is the American Dream?” and “Why are some of my kids even afraid to dream because what they have seen so far in their lifetime is a nightmare?”
So many thoughts raced and still race through my head and I think the assignment affected me more than it did them. Where and how do I begin to realistically shed light on the dark tunnel in which they figure is their future. Today was an overwhelming day… Help….
STUPID JUICE
Short and sweet are two words that describe this blog entry….oh and did I say funny? lol I teach 4 classes by myself but for the rest of my classes I have several co-teachers. One co-teacher in particular is such a dynamic and refined person. I do NOT use the word dynamic loosely so you KNOW she embodies a piercing and unforgettable presence. Usually I am rather stern with my kids but she takes it to another level.
From the outside she reeks of a poised, dignified yet very youthful persona. She is razor sharp and hales from an Ivy league background, but she gets up in kids faces and challenges them at the drop of a dime. It takes a lot to shock me, but she manages to do it at least once a week and I crack up laughing inside because the kids are TERRIFIED OF HER! For the sake of confidentiality, I’ll call her Ms. G. I’ve seen Ms. G charge into the face of the biggest kid (she’s tiny). Ms. G walks on top of desks which intimidates the kids by far and the thing she did the other day has been the conversation to a few of my friends and family lately.
So we start class the other day and two kids are arguing and talking over her. Ms. G says, “SHUT YOUR MOUTH”! One kid shuts up immediately and Carl, the other kid, decides to be defiant and keep talking. Ms. G says in a stern voice, “so you are just going to keep talking and ignore me?” Carl says, “yeah, yeah whatever, yes. I am talking back to you and yes I am still talking!” (SIDE NOTE: Now do you remember in the movie, The Color Purple, when Harpo’s girlfriend Squeak slapped Ms. Sofia in the juke joint and the piano player closed shop and shut down the piano? Well I was like the piano player and shut the book I was browsing through and moved to the side because I KNEW she was going to go A-Wall on him! HA!)
Ms. G goes off on Carl and the kid he was arguing with starts ferociously laughing at him. Carl yells out to him in front of the class, “Yo, son..F*CK you and suck my D**k!” Ms G. walks over to Carl and in front of the class, she says, “boy get out of class…NOW! Nobody wants to suck that little thang!”
I tried to hold back my laughter, but I couldn’t! I was dying laughing along with the other 30 kids. Of course the kid was mortified, but hey…he brought it upon himself. We later talked to him outside of class and he apologized. Carl is probably one of my favorite and smartest students, but the new crowd he is starting to hang around obviously has got him drinking stupid juice to think he can get away with saying that. Later, Ms. G came to me and was like..”OMG, it was a reaction and I didn’t realize I was going to say that!” Hey, I didn’t care and neither did the class. A good guy friend of mine said that he is going to need a therapist to get over Ms. G’s comment…I disagree. He’s just fine…the world will deal out tougher cards than that comment. We are just building up his armor.
From the outside she reeks of a poised, dignified yet very youthful persona. She is razor sharp and hales from an Ivy league background, but she gets up in kids faces and challenges them at the drop of a dime. It takes a lot to shock me, but she manages to do it at least once a week and I crack up laughing inside because the kids are TERRIFIED OF HER! For the sake of confidentiality, I’ll call her Ms. G. I’ve seen Ms. G charge into the face of the biggest kid (she’s tiny). Ms. G walks on top of desks which intimidates the kids by far and the thing she did the other day has been the conversation to a few of my friends and family lately.
So we start class the other day and two kids are arguing and talking over her. Ms. G says, “SHUT YOUR MOUTH”! One kid shuts up immediately and Carl, the other kid, decides to be defiant and keep talking. Ms. G says in a stern voice, “so you are just going to keep talking and ignore me?” Carl says, “yeah, yeah whatever, yes. I am talking back to you and yes I am still talking!” (SIDE NOTE: Now do you remember in the movie, The Color Purple, when Harpo’s girlfriend Squeak slapped Ms. Sofia in the juke joint and the piano player closed shop and shut down the piano? Well I was like the piano player and shut the book I was browsing through and moved to the side because I KNEW she was going to go A-Wall on him! HA!)
Ms. G goes off on Carl and the kid he was arguing with starts ferociously laughing at him. Carl yells out to him in front of the class, “Yo, son..F*CK you and suck my D**k!” Ms G. walks over to Carl and in front of the class, she says, “boy get out of class…NOW! Nobody wants to suck that little thang!”
I tried to hold back my laughter, but I couldn’t! I was dying laughing along with the other 30 kids. Of course the kid was mortified, but hey…he brought it upon himself. We later talked to him outside of class and he apologized. Carl is probably one of my favorite and smartest students, but the new crowd he is starting to hang around obviously has got him drinking stupid juice to think he can get away with saying that. Later, Ms. G came to me and was like..”OMG, it was a reaction and I didn’t realize I was going to say that!” Hey, I didn’t care and neither did the class. A good guy friend of mine said that he is going to need a therapist to get over Ms. G’s comment…I disagree. He’s just fine…the world will deal out tougher cards than that comment. We are just building up his armor.
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