A Child’s Full Potential

The following quote by Ayers really stuck out to me throughout the reading “Another World is Possible/Another Education is Necessary”, “the basic proposition that all human beings are of incalculable value and that life…is geared toward and powered by a profoundly radical idea: the fullest development of all human beings…the fullest development of each is necessary for the full development of all” (195). The reason this stuck out to me was that it was a new concept. Usually people think that only the child suffers if they are not able to succeed in school. But in fact the community and the child suffer. There are a lot of what ifs in life. If the child is not given the necessary tools then maybe the child will not be able to succeed and reach his or her full potential. Then the community suffers because perhaps the child goes in the direction of crime instead and falls into the school to prison pipeline. Or perhaps wants to learn and succeed, but is incapable of doing so due to inadequate resources. The community also suffers because of the lost potential of the child perhaps helping the community in ways unknown. The child may have been the next Albert Einstein. But since the child was not given the necessary tools to succeed with his or her potential, it makes life harder for the child. This concept also relates to the idea of equity and that every child should be given what they need to succeed. But yet instead “one school for wealthy white kids funded to the tune of $40,000 per student per year, and another school for poor immigrant kids or the descendants of formerly enslaved people with access to $4,000 per student per year” (195). This is not equity. If every human being’s life and education is important for all of society, then why are there privileged and underprivileged groups? I know a lot of people are aware of this issue but I also do not think that many people are aware of how large the gap is between particular schools. My community partner is trying to minimize the gap by giving the students in the Canal an opportunity to increase their resources to succeed in school. The UP! Program helps these students to try and succeed by offering tutoring and a safe space to do homework.

A second quote by Ayers also stuck out to me, “Instead of trying to bully young people to remain in the classrooms isolated from the community and structured only to prepare them for a distant and quickly disappearing and hostile job market, we might recognize that the reason so many young people drop out of schools is because they are voting with their feet against the educational system that sorts, tracks, tests, and rejects or certifies them like products in a factory” (198). I wrote this quote in length just because the idea was so foreign to me. From my perspective I never liked standardized tests but I knew that they were necessary for some aspects of education. The same can be said about the NCLEX, which all of the nursing majors will have to take to officially become a nurse. Although this is only a standardized written test and does not base your situational experience. If you do not pass then you do not get your nursing license. As a society we are hung up on the idea of pass or fail. There is no in between. The same can be said about the SAT and ACT to determine what colleges will accept you into their institution. I never considered the fact that many people would just decide to drop out of school because they did not enjoy it. That the stress and worries of school could be too difficult for a person that they would rather not attend. I had always thought that the stresses of school would be worth it in the end after graduating and receiving a diploma. But for some, they did not think it was worth it or did not want to use their time on an education. Usually a reason that one does not go to school is lack of money to pay for the education. But for youth that choose not to go to school, they do not see the benefit of it and instead would prefer to do other activities with their time. Schooling should be a place of learning and growth, it should not be something that youth dread going too every day. Many poorer youth probably do not like going to school due to the lack of resources. Instead of struggling to try and learn in an overcrowded school with minimal resources, they figure they can better their time by staying at home and maybe learning a trade from their parents or other sources of education. The root cause of not wanting to attend school is due to the same standard curriculum that does not evolve as the times change. For the schools that are given less money for improving this, it is difficult to change curriculum or improve standards when so little money is given from the state. Which is why those students who attend poor schools usually take longer or never get to obtain their full potential as human beings.

I think that it is invaluable for a person to be able to share their own experiences and stories that they have undergone. Each person is different and experiences events differently, although many people undergo similar events and emotions. It is important to talk about those feelings and experiences so as to help others to see your point of view and what you experienced. Collins writes about Hurston’s beliefs of having “power of the voice…She believed in the power of telling one’s own story” (181). People benefit from hearing other’s stories because of the idea of relating to others and knowing that they are not alone. Sharing stories also helps others to learn from others’ mistakes and to try and make better decisions. For example, watching videos and reading about the countless stories of undocumented people here in the US is powerful. One such example that stuck out to me was the video of the mother and son who were separated and the detrimental impact that had on her son. It shows that as a society we are not that great because we are hurting people who just want to be able to have the same opportunities as legal citizens in the US. It is difficult to try and imagine that things like that are happening here in our country. Many people do not even know that all of this is happening or to the extent of it. This is why these stories are passed down and shared. The goal of storytelling is to try and educate people through other’s life experiences. These experiences perhaps can change and shape a new future for others. But if these experiences are not shared, then society will not know of the injustices or experiences that members of that society have faced. Change can not happen if the issue is not brought to light by others. One way to do this is through the power of voice and storytelling. When attending the extra credit Canal Alliance presentation, the two speakers that were there and the video shown demonstrate the power of storytelling and of voice.

One of the possible steps that Ayers describes in the section titled “Nine Possible Steps, Campaigns, and Connections” is step number three: peer restorative justice. This to me goes along with my research presentation and also with the school to prison pipeline issue. Ayers discusses the “movement to end the criminalization of youth, and to open creative spaces for moral reflection and positive action, redemption and recovery, whenever someone has made a mistake or wronged the community” (199–200). An example of this is youth court. This allows the youth to be judged by a jury of their peers to determine the best course of action to be taken. Instead of being put into prison, the child is able to atone for their sins in the community or with their peers. This concept is attempting to break the school to prison pipeline. This is something that Ayers believes would be beneficial for youth. Instead of being punished for their wrong doings and not getting a second chance, they should be allowed to try and become members of society again. Going to prison for a child I can only imagine is detrimental to their emotional, physical and mental health. Whereas reflecting on what they have done and trying to redeem themselves through society and youth court is a better alternative. After youth court, they would be able to go back to school and once again be members of the society. They would be able to try and reach their full potential as members of that society. They would be able to use the power of their voice and share their stories with others so they do not end up making similar mistakes. This is why having peer restorative justice is more beneficial than continuing the school to prison pipeline. I also watched the video on restorative circles and the statistics that were shown demonstrated that by having the teacher take the time to figure out how students were doing emotionally greatly improved how they did in class. By not addressing underlying problems or feeling like they were being heard, they kept their emotions inside and were not focused on school. By giving these kids a voice and a chance to share, they are able to feel like active members of the class and have their experiences acknowledged. I also thought it was beneficial that restorative circles were used when there was a problem on the playground. There was a mediator and this allowed all sides to be heard and for the issue to be dealt with in a calm environment. Restorative circles allowed the students at this school to improve their grades by giving them an opportunity to share how they are feeling on a daily basis.