South Bronx United: Getting to Know you
My responsibilities at South Bronx United last summer were plentiful. I mentored 7th and 8th grade girls by fostering discussion on how to live a healthy lifestyle to be successful in the classroom and on the soccer field, I taught a 7th/ 8th grade class and a 10th grade class speech and debate, I coached soccer, and I chaperoned field trips. Although I was only about 30 minutes away form where I grew up on Long Island, I was exposed to a radically different lifestyle plagued by poverty, violence, and drugs. One memory that really stands out to me when I reflect on this summer is from my very first day there when I handed out a “Getting to Know You” worksheet to my students (see uploaded sheet below). I wanted to get to know each student as a person, so this worksheet asked them a little bit about their family, their extracurricular interests, as well as their academic interests. One of my tenth grade students said his favorite subject in school is “Jim.” The minute I read that, my heart sank. How many teachers let him get by referring to gym as “Jim?” That’s not an error that a tenth grade student should be making. Although this one heart-breaking error jumped out to me, I know that I have to remember to look at how many words this student did spell correctly, which showed me that the student does have potential and just needs a little more guidence and support to fix his errors. I had always heard rumors of the poor school system in the South Bronx, but this little error really put the injustice in perspective for me, motivating me to try to pursue a chance to be a good role model and instructor for these students both now and in my future. Their zip code shouldn’t determine the quality of their education. This artifact sparked the beginning of my endeavor to improve and equalize urban education.
"He who opens a school door, closes a prison."
Victor Hugo
