Posts from — May 2008

After that passionate imaginary letter I wrote to one of my students on Tuesday, a few questions came up about how I approached the situation.

Did your administration support you through this decision?

In a word, yes. Though I knew I was right and I thought about my decision clearly, I still consulted with fellow teachers and administration, and I got the right response. I didn’t have to ask my principal because the assistant principal was enough. I know a lot of my fellow bloggers find themselves in more dire straits, but I also notice a lot of principals who blog that say I’m somehow stifling the young man’s creativity and individuality. The next three questions should address that.

By not letting him go to the trip, aren’t you promoting a perpetual cycle of failure for him?

In some ways I understand the question, but in realistic terms, no. I believe I was rather clear about the chances I’ve given him, and if he can’t respect that, then what happens when we’re actually outside and I’m responsible for his well-being and safety on the subway or anywhere else? Furthermore, what kind of message does that send to the kids who do behave well and make a decent effort to do well socially and academically? I have students who once messed up but improved significantly in all the major areas and they’re getting a chance to go on trips, so for this student, that’s not the case. He hasn’t been an exemplary student, and there have to be consequences.

Don’t you think you’re pushing your kid so hard to fit a mold that you’ll squash his “creativity and independent spirit”?

Again, a somewhat valid question, but one that I’m more than willing to squash. (I’m not sure where either of these qualities comes into the argument of whether or not the student deserves a trip or not, but whatever.) If we think of the most creative and independent spirits of our time, I can make a pretty safe assumption that, in order for them to break the rules, they must learn and master them. Every rapper had a favorite rap song they knew every word to, and wrapped their head around that favorite style until they found their own niche. Same goes for artists, and even teachers. This student needs to learn the rules and understand why we make those rules before he goes off and becomes an independent high school student and eventually college. That’s the difference between someone who’s self-reliant and one who’s a recluse.

Also note that I consider myself rather creative and more often than not allow for creativity and independence in my classroom, but in a constructive and positive manner. We also need to find ways to hone that. The most talented athletes may not always be the most successful, but the most successful athletes have an excellent mix of talent and discipline. Then again, you’d have to have read my blog for more than one post, or actually read the whole post to see that.

Isn’t using a trip or any “escape from school” demeaning the purpose of school itself?

Let’s flip that question on its head then: do you think we should have trips at all then? And if so, then are you taking everyone? Again, just from yesterday’s experience with my students, I have a pretty good idea of what the answers to those questions are. I know how trips often help develop the civil skills of my students, and helps me gauge how much they’ve grown socially as well as academically. When, for instance, I can take them to the park and they can interact with their teachers and fellow students without the confines of the school building, it changes things a little bit. Unless you a) find yourself really uncomfortable with the group of students who you’re trying to take out, 2) your group of students don’t merit getting a trip, especially one on your own dime or 3) are a bit of a hermit / curmudgeon, then I can’t see anyone trying to discredit teachers for taking their students on a class trip.

Then again, I think my reasoning was pretty clear, and for people who insist on playing the devil’s advocate on these questions have to come correct. I’m not asking for the children to be perfect, but here’s the order:

1. He cut class.
2. He begs for trip.
3. I say, “If you cut class again, you don’t get this privilege.”
4. He cuts class again.
5. I decline his invitation.

Done. Respond as you please.

jose, who has a few more trips to go on …

No, I can’t let you go.

Since the beginning of the year, I knew you had lots of potential. Yes, we had a rocky start. You are the jovial joker, who has little to no restraint with his wants and desires. Your mom supports you, and you seem to bring a smile to her face even when she’s done. Yet, she hasn’t taught you restraint, especially in academic settings. You come into my classroom calmly usually, but by lunchtime, you lose your senses. I try to keep you away from your other friends, but you keep bargaining to try and get something you want.

OK, but you can’t always get what you want. Back in January when I finally moved you to a more productive situation, you performed at your best. Your test scores were higher, you showed a lot more leadership potential, and you made the most out of the opportunities you had. Nowadays, you’ve squandered that in favor of living a life without consequences, hopelessly meandering through the hallways, your name ringing the ears of little girls interested in your favor. You’re a superstar in your own right, even with your short height.

Nonetheless, you must face consequences. You must show up for every class, even the classes you don’t deem important. It’s not enough to just do the bare minimum during the academic times, but every time. Running away from your responsibilities will be your undoing. Yes, there are circumstances around the both of us that don’t always hold you accountable, but that’s not me.

I care for you, and that’s why you’re not going on the trip tomorrow. Other teachers may protect you at their leisure. They may argue that you need the attention, and that you’ve deserved it academically, and to an extent they’re right. Yet, something makes my head itch at the thought that I’d let a repeat cutter attend a trip with students who truly deserve it. And of course, we know it’s not just you. The crew you hang out with influences your decisions to miss out on my afternoon announcements, my calls to you for better behavior and respect for all teachers, not just the ones you feel like respecting.

The incident that was most telling of all, young man, was last week after I spoke to you in the morning about the importance of the aforementioned classes. You nodded while everyone looked on, noting how I checked you on your lack of responsibility. You responded positively, avoiding possible detention with me that afternoon. The next day, you assumed the same position, understanding the seriousness of your trip status. But we missed you that afternoon. You left with no trace, and no student could identify where you went. Neither the last teacher nor I could detect your whereabouts. A vagabond if we think of my room as home.

We waited there with your permission slip in hand. I imagined your name on it, but no person to collect it. You must face the consequences even when others won’t hold you accountable. You will not go until that changes. If you’re still bitter about it 10 years from now, I’ll give you the directions to the place we were going, but if your person 10 years from now appreciates it, then your present anger is well worth it.

I’m angry, too. I wanted to take you. You can’t always get what you want, but I’ll definitely give you what you need …

jose, who has four trips in the next month at least …

I went with my girlfriend a week ago to the American Museum of Natural History near Central Park (NYC), mainly to watch the movie Colossal Collisions with the voice of Robert Redford (wondrous, really). and it just got me to thinking about our place on this Earth. For all that we clutter our lives with, the politics, debates, bills, social life, anger, hate, and yes, even love and / or lack thereof, we also forget how really infinitesimally small we are compared to the rest of the universe, and even the galaxy. Thus, it’s imperative for us to also keep everything in perspective, even whilst the universe changes all around us.

I think of this today in light of my cousin’s mother’s death. Though I don’t believe I’ve ever actually met her mother, my heart sank when I heard the tragic news. Death is as serious as it gets for us, and what’s more, my cousin came to celebrate life (a birthday) rather than death. This cousin’s been like a sister to me, and to know that this long-time struggle with her mother’s health has come to this, hurts hard. It’s put my own relationship with my mother in perspective, with the tension we’ve had. In light of this recent death, the overall feelings for my mother is that I love her; none of our clashes can compare to that understanding.

Something Robert Redford said caught my attention somewhere between me wondering how they put this production together, and that’s the fact we look at all the major collisions that have happened in our universe, some insignificant and routine while others looked disastrous and cataclysmic. Yet, these collisions also produced Earth, and the Moon, and the universe around us, creating beauty and life all around us. Maybe we can take something away from the much larger celestial beings, as we too clash and burn, and how often, even when it seems the stars above us seem distant, they’re just like us in our rudimentary behaviors.

jose, who often theorizes on humans’ gravitational pull …

“Add ____ as a friend.”

“Befriend ____”

“Accept or reject this friend?”

Social networks these days have utterly confounded the term “friendship.” OK, that and the growing ambiguity in romantic relationships in which “It is what it is” and “it’s complicated” have become acceptable labels for a relationship status. The term friend becomes even more confused when people don’t learn to categorize and prioritize. I hate to say it, but friends more often than not need to be boxed in before they can move out of that box.

Back when my understanding of friends was a little too permissive, I had friends left and right, and I tried too hard to keep them around, but eventually, I ended up suffering because they didn’t meet my standards, the little that I had. Then I had other friends who just wanted to remain friends when I was thinking that we were becoming more than that. Of course, that’s all types of awkward, but worth going through nonetheless. Then there’s the person you call a friend because you develop a really deep connection with them from the jump, and for a while, they’re the go-to person for every and anything, but after a while, they’re little more than a flame in the dark, ready to extinguish once the darkness becomes overwhelming.

What are friends for if they can’t teach you anything else besides what it means to be a friend? My friend and mentor Cynthia, who I wish I could mention by full name because she’s that awesome, showed me how her “Rings of Friendship” work. She presented this over 6 years ago, so excuse me if I just interpolate.

I’ve found myself using this model time and again with friends, and really, it’s saved a lot of time and energy worrying about whether or not I should pay certain people x amount of time when they pay me a minuscule a. Granted, my real life ring of friendship looks more like this:

Of course, within those friends, they each have a special interest they represent. Some are there for emotional support (tends to be the women) and some are there for parties and what I can’t call anything else besides male bonding. Some are good professional friends, but not good out-of-work friends. Some of my friends are good for going to parties, but as far as having deep and intricate conversation, never that. Sometimes it gets deeper than that, where I might favor a friend because I might just need someone to listen without necessarily finding direct solutions on the spot, while others are perfect for the latter.

Maybe what I find most interesting is that many of the people in that gold circle I’ve met on the Internet. I’ve probably met more than 100 people that I’ve interacted with at some point and time first through the World Wide Web. The irony that I’m finding good friends through a place I also feel is diluting the word doesn’t elude me. Yet, I also found that Facebook friends who I met in other venues first don’t even say hi in real life. I guess that’s why so many people only have their “true” friends added to them.

And I’ve heard many a mantra of what a real friend is. The friends-are-there-for-a-reason-season-lifetime doesn’t strike me as too deep anymore, and I don’t consider someone who got into jail with me a friend any more than the person who’s there bailing me out; I’d rather sleep on my bed than on a slab of concrete with a cell mate whose trying to sleep on me. I’m good. What good is a friend who sends you friendship e-mails all the time but never drops a line to say hi? What good is a friend that only wants you to plug their latest fad but never asks you how you’re doing? No, scratch that: what good is any friend that doesn’t want to know how you’re doing?

In turn, I always have this sense of who warrant my utmost attention and who doesn’t deserve all of that. Even when they don’t realize it, anyone who starts becoming less important in my life gets moved to the wayside, and leave room for people who really want it to come into my life. That golden spot in my ring of friendship is really hard to get into, as I’m just as comfortable riding solo as I am with an entourage of 50 or more. And like I’ve said before, I have 2000+ friends on MySpace, and 800+ friends on Facebook, and another 100+ spread across the nets, but I would most certainly call the majority of them acquaintances. Percentage-wise, only a handful make it into the “I’ll call you up if I need something” territory.

So I ask once again, what’s a friend? How do you define a friend?

jose, who gets by with a little help from mine …

Today was one of those days in which I had my homeroom for the entire day. That happens every 2 months or so, when they have a state-provided exam and the homeroom teacher has to administer said exam, order them alphabetically, and still have the same students for a double period of class right after lunch. It’s a daunting task to have the same group of students for 5 periods, but it’s particularly trying when it’s my homeroom, a class that’s gotten a bit of a reputation for being the worst-behaved class on the floor. It’s not just one or two headcases: at this point and time, every teacher who has them only wants literally 1/2 the class to go on trips based on academics and / or behavior.

I’ve had a bit of difficulty with them lately as well. I understand; the state exams are over, and it’s getting a little late in the year. Every relationship goes through a period where you wonder what the hell you’re doing in it to begin with. Nonetheless, many of the students have gotten particularly spiteful as of late, and in turn, I’ve had to show them I’m from the hood. (Secretly, I wonder why we act in our rather callous and dogmatic behaviors as urban teachers, but in more affluent settings, there’s less need for that, but really I know the answer. More to come at some point.) I have yet to curse at them, but I’ve let them know more often than not that I’m playing with them, and it’s taken a bit of a roll on my sanity.

For many of the children, calling houses doesn’t work, because with some of the students, their parents are either never home or the parents only pay you lip service. I’m not saying all, but some. Yet, that seems to be the 50% of my class I’m having a hard time with. So I went to my defaults: progress reports, interviews, and summer school status alerts. Theoretically, and ideally, I shouldn’t be lording that over their heads, but for a moment, it really worked for them.

Then, it all went to crap. Finally, today really, I decided that I’d get even more direct and concurrently make them more responsible for every action they do.

1. I now go on elongated rants and make a big deal out of every little thing they do that’s out of line. It’s similar to the Broken Windows Theory: if even the smallest thing goes awry in the classroom, then it opens the floodgates for bigger things. My lack of meticulousness has cost me before.

2. I changed their seats, and paid little mind to their interpersonal history. I tried sitting them with their enemies and they ended up arguing more often than not. I tried sitting them with their friends and they talked more than at any other point in my class. Finally, I sat them at random, paying attention more to behaviors and remedying them than just trying to squash a grape with a Louisville Slugger.

3. I pulled out the grade book from the very beginning, and had it in front of me the whole time. Many of us would agree that a student’s work behavior more than other aspects of their academics will eventually determine how successful they are as students. Thus, if I grade them on their preparedness, their participation in the conversation, and their willingness to try and ask questions, all while not disrupting other people’s learning, then I’m training them to become better students in any and every classroom.

4. I’ve handed things back to my kids more promptly. Before, I’d take too much time to give my kids back their assignments and exams. Now, I’ve trained myself to take no more than 2-3 school days to grade their work. I also already grade them during class, as aforementioned. That gives a clear picture of their academic success more readily.

5. If after I called out “5 … 3 … 1″ I still don’t get quiet, I make the offending party stand up. Not all the offending parties, just a central one. That worked twice today, and it got their attention really quickly. I then had the person sit back down and told the parties involved what the proper procedure was for class.

I don’t know what it was about this set of rules I added to my repertoire, but it really made me feel that I could teach for the long haul. Sorta like Bruce Leroy in The Last Dragon, I kept getting submerged in water, but I just got The Glow. Even one of the girls who actually got really nasty with me said, “Mr. V, this was definitely a good change.” After the seat change, there was no attitude from her at all.

With only 26 days left in the NYC schedule, it’s imperative that we keep our sanity. What are you doing in these last few days to tighten the ship before it heads to shore? For the non-educators, what did you think of the disciplining aspect of some of your teachers? (There’ll be a follow-up post to this.)

jose, whose looking forward to all the trips he has planned …

No, just got in a mess. Girlfriend graduating tomorrow and discussions on what assimilation, acculturation, reparations, and alladat really pushed any writing time out of the way, which I don’t mind. But I think I got some good posts for you all. In the meantime, riddle me this, Batpeople:

What is a friend?

Yeah, easy right? Right …

I repeat, what’s a friend to you?

jose, who’s keeping it reeaaalllly simple tonight

A few notes:

1. Keith Olbermann just told President Bush to shut the hell up on national TV (watch the video). Say what you will about Keith, but that’s commendable.

2. Bin Laden’s going to drop another tape. I call it BS, and BS by any other name … is actually still BS.

3. What were John McCain and George W. Bush doing during Hurricane Katrina? Was it

a. going straight to the New Orleans and helping with the victims like Al Gore?
b. informing the nation of this terrible tragedy on national television?
c. writing up legislature to provide immediate relief to the areas affected?
d. cutting a cake?

Mole333 at The Culture Kitchen has your answer.

4. Web site releases are becoming a lot like album releases: sometimes you need to push back the date of your website release because someone else might sell better on your date. I’m glad I already pushed my date back so J. Dakar didn’t blow me out of the water. Check his site out.

5. When Mr. Wasserman first said he was going to add me to his class’ syllabus, I was a little stunned and surprised. But then I noticed that really did add me to his class syllabus via his class’ wiki. That and the recent success of my Ma’afa / Holocaust post (2000 hits in 2 weeks!) really keeps me inspired to write. (By the way, sir, you’re linked on my sidebar.)

6. Shout-outs to the folks at Instructify for the latest edition of the Carnival of Education.

jose, who feels a little sore from my latest workout …

Today, I read the latest news that George W. Bush, our president, compared his political opponents in America to Nazi appeasers. He didn’t mention anyone by name, but I’m sure Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama were taken aback at the slight from such an aloof leader. If there was ever a more inappropriate but frankly ironic quote, it’s GW calling others out for their support of the Nazis, not only because of how Bush approaches foreign policy, but also because of his own connections to the aforementioned reign of terror.

I’m not going to come here and call Bush a straight up Nazi. However, we have to take a look at some of his “best” policies, including the nixing of habeas corpus and the focus on military brute force to achieve capitalist gains. We have to see his human rights record, and we have to see just how out-of-touch he is with the rest of the country and its needs. We have to look at his penchant for invading countries, and selling it back to his country as a means of creating some ill-gotten national identity. In the process, he implicitly ostracizes huge sections of our citizens to keep the people distracted, confused, and under his prying thumb. From most liberal pundits’ estimates, he’s overtly stricken 9 out of 10 rights off the Bill of Rights, and the year’s still young. What’s more, he has a not-so-clandestine set of leaders who support him all throughout every industry that apparently matters to this country, like Fox News Network, for instance, and every branch of government.

I could go on about his administration’s policies, but his “cowboy” persona (when he’s really from Connecticut, and attended Yale U) has made a huge rift between our country and the rest of the global community. The many accounts of American tourists who get harassed, belittled, or even feel a bit of shame for what their government’s done to the Middle East are reaching an all-time high. Yet, even with his political gaffes, missteps, and stubborn refusal to make amends with any section of people he’s offended with his antics, he’s got the nerve to condemn someone’s actions when they’re actually trying to find peace … on their own dime.

On days like this, when we are still searching for peace within ourselves and our neighborhoods, we have to understand how messages from the “leader of the free world”, a term I haven’t used for him ever, really affect that. Every time he calls out peace makers as war mongers, he gives license to those who propagate war to continue doing so. Every time he vaguely mentions helping people in this or any country, it’s really a call to special corporate interests to strip the people of any real help. Every time he so much as grins, most perceptive people feel like they’re being lied to, and yet he fancies himself the judge and jury for people heading any world peace efforts.

This is not an endorsement for Barack or Jimmy, but we can’t get peace until the proletariat get a piece, too. I’m an optimist, so peace is really the only rationale for me. But I also understand that the precedent for how any top-down structure runs starts from the head, and frankly, ours has no interest in peace. But he does have an interest in misappropriating it. Another misstep for this administration, surprise surprise.

jose, who wonders if he’ll ever invite anyone to guest-blog at his page …

When I read about the recent arrest of the infamous “Soulja Girl” (synopsis: she harassed an old lady on Atlanta’s metro train system, and the video got viral. for more info, watch here), I applauded. No really, I applauded all by myself in front of my computer. This was a situation that shows, really, the degradation of our youth. That huge sense of entitlement and unharnessed lawlessness really gets on my nerves with these kids. Whether it’s at the movie theatre or my schools, many of our youth have become more superficial, less integral, more belligerent, and more careless with themselves, more than anything.

While it’s easy to point at the parents, I’m of the belief that the village raises the child. When communities as a whole set a standard for how their neighborhoods like, for what their children should know, and how their offspring should behave in any given environment, I strongly believe that translates into higher success for the communities in general. There are clear examples of that in many communities of different racial and socioeconomic backgrounds, but the poorer ones rarely get highlighted. I also believe that there are neighborhoods that don’t have the social, fiscal, and/or experiential tools necessary to make that happen, but even the little things make a huge difference.

For example, at the movie theatre, I proposed to my girlfriend and partner-in-movie-watching that maybe theaters should establish a “code of conduct” at the movies. After the last few debacles at the movies, teenagers screaming curses at the screen for no apparent reason, others playfighting at the front of the movie screen, and others still hushing the people who were trying to quiet them down, I honestly wanted to dropkick at least a few of these teens for ruining these movies. Yes, they have as much right as I do to be there because they paid their 12$ like I did, but there’s an understanding that we’re all going to be quiet while the movie’s playing unless it implicitly elicits a crowd reaction, such as laughter, crying, or the occasional scream.

“Fuck that shit” is not an appropriate reaction (unless it’s Cloverfield, then go right ahead). Yet, when the movie theatre does not have appropriate consequences for dealing with people who interfere with the crowd’s movie-viewing experience, then they’re allowed to do as they please. They’ll make fart noises all throughout, get on their cell phone during the movie, or just find little ways to annoy you, thus leaving the chastising up to the patrons who are just there to enjoy a movie.

But Jose, this is coming from someone who’s a bit of a rebel rouser.

Yes, but I also understand the power of timing and purpose. Interrupting people’s subway ride because you want to scream some nonsense or act like you’re Mary J, but can’t even hit one of her lower notes is not conducive to anyone’s argument for the improvement of the proletariat’s condition. If you’re at the Kanye concert dancing to” Gold Digger” but you’re trying to sit on the stairs of a lower section than the ones you bought (and you’re the same chicks I catch at the club who never come with cash but an open hand), then you’re not really helping the situation out either. Retro Kids and hipsters crawling my stomping grounds making a whole lot of noise about the latest small-and-subpar hangout spot also make me sick. These group of people often make the noise I’m not trying to hear.

Then, I check that Soulja Girl video again, and she’s emblematic of the hip-hop movement these days in general: style without substance. At first glance, she’s reminiscent of how the young hip-hop kids would rebel against their elders through the use of music, and bucking the older generations’ culture and standards in favor of new trends and a sense of independence. Of course, that prose comes crashing down when you watch it again, and she probably doesn’t think about these implications as much as us philosophers, too. She’s probably just as annoying and trifling as she seems. And her mother said that she “didn’t take her meds that day.”

Yes, I know what you’re thinking. That excuse lacks substance for me, too.

jose, who definitely wrote a thinly-guised educational post here …

“Superstar,” an art teacher once said, in reference to me in the classroom.

Sometimes I hear it ring in my head in the morning while I’m washing my face, brushing my teeth, and looking at these life-worn eyes. Every minute after that is in preparation for some upcoming performance, maybe even a battle. I watch Sportscenter in the morning, or maybe some NY1 so I can get the weather and the latest on the news, so I’m ready for any inclement weather. I walk down the streets while it’s still a shade dark even now, humming a song that hopefully congests the channels to my foremost thoughts, where the negative ones often invade and parade. I’m often my own worst enemy, and if Lucifer exists, he plays awful tricks in my mind, with worst-case scenarios replaying throughout the little piece of time I have to unwind, really.

The cold, orange and beige benches of the subway do nothing for my enthusiasm or lack thereof to go to school. Traveling 40+ minutes on the train, I have no choice but to play the most inspirational tracks I have. The last track I play on my iPod before I get near the school building rings true to so many of us who give more than a real percentage allows: “Bittersweet Symphony” by The Verve. It’s the anti-wrestling theme song. Whereas before the gym, I choose “What You Know” by T.I. or “Ante Up” by M.O.P., I choose the more subdued and slightly more vulnerable tones of the one-hit wonder.

But I also find it fitting because in my random bits of utter humility, I often wonder if I deserve all the acclaim, praise, and blessings I’m thrown. I should just stick to the job description and not what it inherently means. I shouldn’t take on any more than what I’m actually paid to do nor should I pontificate too often on developing the human side of the kids. I shouldn’t focus on the aesthetic of our occupation, and possibly developing the young ones into older and wiser ones, helping them arrive at their own conclusions about what success looks like but also guiding them and showing them alternatives that might work to their benefit. I shouldn’t seek to inspire, and follow the advice of those who say, “Well if you don’t inspire them, believe me, it’ll get done.”

I also know that I facilitate a special role for these kids, whom have grown more attached to me and my energy as the year’s gone on. Some of my more turbulent kids have made almost 180-degree turns in favor of focusing on the positive. The males especially have taken a liking to me, because finding a male teacher who understands their struggle in the school system has become increasingly difficult. The female students have taken a liking to me strictly off my ability to translate math for them, and them feel part of a usually male-dominated conversation. The whole school gets snippets of this energy through my efforts with Penny Harvest and math.

“You? YOU!? Psh, you’re a superstar. Please. The kids really like you, they love you and respect you, and you can tell by the way they talk about you, and how they follow you. Every kid’s always going to be a little tough, especially in this school, but you? No, you got it.”

If you say so, lady. With 30 school days left, the lights are definitely on high …

jose, who won’t be writing tomorrow because of the big Glow In The Dark concert with Lupe Fiasco, NERD, Rihanna, and Kanye West …