Can we blame them?
Can we really blame students for some of the gangster-like
behavior that they are emulating? There are many students who are just trying
to be gangster or they are “wannabe hardcore.” As the article points out ‘I do
not want to be a gangster, but I can behave like one if the situation demands!’”
(pg. 52). Of course some kids want to act gangster. What do they see on TV, in
music and films? They see rappers acting “gangster”, doing drugs, demoralizing
women and they’re millionaires from it. If being a gangster is going to make
you a millionaire who wouldn’t want to be one? Page 60 also points out that “sometimes
black and white kids act hardcore because it’s like kind of a trend.” If this
is the message that media is sending students it’s hard to blame them for
acting like that. I know that many would say that’s not reality and kids can’t
act what they see on TV but many kids do. Unfortunately many of these people
are “role models” for young people and it’s pathetic. You can argue all you want
but society glorifies this kind of “gangster” behavior in many very real and
noticeable ways.
Of course there are many situations where students need to
take the blame for their actions and not just because they are “gangster” but
because they are dangerous and illegal. The “jacket incident” was particularly
disturbing to me. Pages 59-60 outlines a scenario where a student wants to
assault another student over a jacket. What does it really prove that you are
willing to physically harm someone over a jacket? Was he actually going to hurt
him or was this just a “front” to show that other boy that he would hurt him
and not to mess with him again? Maybe it’s because I’m a girl or perhaps
because I grew up on the mean streets of Pelham, New Hampshire but the thought
of hurting someone over a jacket just seems a little out in left field to me. If
this is really how it is and kids need to act this way to survive why aren’t we
trying to do something to help them? Why do children have to grow up like that?
I think that all of this gets back to being good role models
in the classroom. We obviously aren’t going to save every kid that walks
through our doors; it’s unreasonable to think that we are going to. But if we
can make one kid feel safe, change one person’s life then we are on the right
path. We’re all here because we had teachers who truly impacted our lives.
Hopefully 10-15 years down the line a troubled teen or otherwise labeled “gangster”
will be in our shoes ready to teach because we made a difference in his or her
life.
Both these articles make some excellent points about what teens are going through, and why they might be acting - or acting out- the way they do. Being hardcore or hardcore wannabe isn't necessarily a choice, but a method for survival. Students who are despondent in the classroom are using defense mechanisms responding to successive failures and adults who have repeatedly demotivated them. When those teachers or adults come along who are responsive, make connections, and can maybe instill some hope and values, they can make a difference - like you said, Kim - and that is really satisfying. Despite the many frustrations that can happen when teaching, seeing the kids happy or proud of themselves are some of the best moments.
ReplyDeleteHi Kim,
ReplyDeleteI liked the point you made regarding the media (showing "successful" "gangster types." While media will simply reflect the society or show particular people, etc., the accumulation of the same iconic image begins to have an impact, I think.
Consequently, one would hope that there should be more stories in the media of those who have chosen a path, despite obstacles, and have made progress to their goals.
Of course, it may be hard for anyone from a more difficult background to see leadership examples when leaders themselves at the very top are undermining the "meritocracy" model through crony capitalism, fraud, and "name-calling rhetoric."
It seems as though teaching "is a politcal act," indeed.