This fall, I will ask my students to look around their Valley (Imperial and/or Coachella) for someone to interview for a Community Profile. This will be the basis of our semester writing project, a combination of PERSONAL and ONLINE RESEARCH. Their profile could come right from their past, present, family, job, school, or reading. Their goal will be to convey how the subject of their interview represents a larger idea.
Here are a few of the topics my students came up in previous semesters: Sex Trafficking, PTSD, Standardized Instruction in Public Schools, Drug Smuggling, Vegetarian Lifestyle, Eating Disorders, Bullying, Binge Drinking, Gangs, Gender Identification, Mental Illness, Deportation...
Many of my students are close to family members that have worked in the fields surrounding our campuses. These students are able to research first-hand sources regarding the hardships and complexities of the job. I've read several essays that detail the history of the UFW, and the "lucha" that continues to this day to protect worker rights. My students interview friends and family members who know the TRUTH.
Over the years I have been teaching, the rate of teen pregancy has shown a steady decline, but the number of single mothers grows every year. The last statistic I read reveals that more than half of all babies are born to single mothers. I encourage my students to write about the causes and effects of single parenthood. Like Bob Dylan once said, "The Times They Are a-Changin'." I see students write with intimate knowledge about a stigma around single parents. Each semester I recognize I have several single mothers in each class. They write about how raising a child on their own may be the best thing that could have ever happened to them. Their knowldege is acutely aware. Their writing is expectantly STRONG.
My Nursing and Administration of Justice students always elevate their performance on this project. Most often they have a clear idea for what inspired them to join the profession? Their essays define the attitude and sacrifice necessary to succeed on the job. Their interview subjects have great stories.
In Jay’s Community Profiles, we strive to open a greater discussion of social and political import. With first-hand research of an uncle’s minimum-wage job experience in the fields, for example, a student can better address the issue of worker rights. An interview with a former teacher can lead nicely into an insightful paper about educational reform. Here is our goal: to provide our own commentary, questions, interpretations, clarifications or even feelings of what we have read and heard. In other words, we take possession of our source and establish our presence in our papers. I want to deepen my students’ involvement in their own education. I want to give them their voice and a larger audience. I want them to feel more a part of this campus. The writing here reflects the diversity of student interest and concern regarding important issues in our community.
When I was close to the age my students are now - this was a long, long time ago - I knew a girl whose parents pulled her out of high school when she became pregnant. It was a different world back then. Teen moms experienced more than their share of guilt and shame. Of course they dropped out. There were no programs to support them. Although many teen parents struggle with the responsibility, my friend Suzy found the appropriate resources to return to school and raise her child. Sadly, teen pregnancy often comes with a stigma. The first things that come to mind when we see a pregnant teenager is drop-out, government assistance, single motherhood, promiscuity. Because of the rampant stereotyping, we blame the young women for their choices. As a result, teen moms experience more than their share of guilt and shame. In my current research, I found that does not have to be the case. Families, schools, and communities can join together to to provide support for teen mothers. It’s important they have access to resources to raise their children in a safe and positive environment. By restoring dignity and reducing discrimination, we can all strengthen the futures of both mother and child.
I'm writing this here because Suzy became a successful elementary school teacher and leader in her community. I mean, if I was ever assigned a Community Profile project, I would contact Suzy. She could share with me the fear and misunderstanding that surrounded her pregnancy in high school. She would also explain to me how this experience shaped her decision to become a teacher. Below I model a possible anedote to include in my essay. I push my students to consider their audience. What type of imagery will capture the imagination of their readers?
Before Suzy became pregnant, we used to sit together in the back of the room in many of our classes. Suzy always used to take the spot next to the window and draw pictures in her notebook. She was a dreamer. She was also a runner. She was on the cross country team. She spent a lot of her time in class drawing pictures of running shoes she liked in her notebook. She was good with the Nike and Puma symbols. They covered her pages. Her teachers didn’t seem to mind. They said she was very talented. Suzy planned to continue running and drawing in college. She was going to study art. "My pregnancy turned my life inside out," she told me. "Nothing I had ever done in my life prepared me for the life I would now lead. When she told me she was pregnant, she cried. We both knew she wouldn’t be able to go to college any time soon. Suzy had to drop out for a while. I was the one who sat by the window. While I was able to go to college, Suzy worked to take care of her family. She had different priorities now. I missed her. With our crazy schedules, we didn't see each other very often. Soon after she had her baby, however, I saw she was running again. I saw her in her Nikes pushing her stroller along the side of the road when I was going to school. She didn't look like your typical drop-out. She looks determined and full of life. It’s just that she has a whole new set of goals.
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