11/24 blog post

Is there a way to change the system around? I mean, people talk about the issues and how there are no resources in the poorer communities. But how can they go about changing the system and breaking the cycle so that people can receive a good education and eventually make their way out of the poorer communities?

I don’t think that they are very different children. They are both young boys who want to go to school, but are not 100% dedicated to their education. Despite the fact that James has all of the resources available to him, he doesn’t take advantage of it all. They both have dreams of what they would like to be and they both plan on continuing their education. Obviously their environments affect each of them in different ways. For James, he is very privileged to attend Riverdale. The school has a lot of resources such as the instruments available to create a full band, an outdoor track and field, as well as certified teachers. For Lonnie, the school just has a crowded gym and their music class consists of the students playing on electric keyboards. I would say that the most unequal aspect of their educations is the fact that the teachers at the Riverdale School are certified and licensed in their area. However, the teachers at Lonnie’s school are not certified. His science teacher said he had experience with teaching; however, he said he was just a dance teacher and a swim instructor. That in no way makes him qualified to be a science teacher, or any teacher in general. The majority of the teachers at Lonnie’s school were like the science teacher. I was shocked to hear the way the teacher spoke to the children. He yelled and was very condescending, and chose to reprimand the students in front of all of the other students. Furthermore, the science teacher claimed that he’d be lucky if he taught 15 of the 42 minutes of the class period. If you added up all the minutes he spends attempting to control the students, then you can see how there is a lot of wasted class time. Lonnie would never have the opportunity to receive an equal education as other students simply because he doesn’t have access to it.

James wants to be a vet and his mother realizes this dream. Lonnie would like to be a professional basketball player for the Bulls but he says that if he cannot have that dream then he would consider being a lawyer. After school, Lonnie does not have many options of things to do. He could play video games or basketball games down the street. There are few community resources available to him. However, James has a community center available to him. This way, he has a place to go after school that will keep him off of the streets and in a safe environment. Lonnie claimed that he wasn’t scared of his neighborhood; however, he mentioned that he was scared to go outside after dark (and even during the day).

I feel like the teachers have different expectations for their students. Lonnie’s teachers just have a goal of controlling the class and making it through the day. James’ teachers encourage him and push him towards his goals. They are more involved in his education and his success than Lonnie’s are, in my opinion. Lonnie becomes discouraged towards the end of the film and says that he doesn’t want to return to the school for the 8^th grade. He claims that he is bored by his classes, but the teachers say that he isn’t a very good student and his grades don’t reflect his ‘boredom.’ Had he been receiving really good grades and claimed he was bored, and then perhaps they would move him into a different level where he would be more challenged. From the movie, it did seem like he was bored in his science class. I just don’t think he has the same motivation to learn as the students at Riverdale do. It’s awful that the students at Lonnie’s school are taught by uncertified teachers and probably don’t receive a good education. The system is just setting them up to not be able to excel and leave the school system/escape from poverty.