Overcome Your Surroundings
I grew up in Lexington, South Carolina. This is a suburban town outside of the city of Columbia. Growing up I never had many issues in life. This town is majority white with mainly middle-upper class families. I had many privileges growing up in such a nice community and never felt that there was an opportunity not presented to myself. The privileged community is reflected in our school system. I attended Lexington High School, which is known for its many academic and athletic achievements.
With all the positivity surrounding the town, it’s easy to overlook some issues. There is one small part of Lexington that is known as the “ghetto” of the town. This section of Lexington consists of mainly poor and black families. It is surrounded by the jail of Lexington County. The small community is also placed next to the Alternative Learning Center. According to the Lexington One District website (2016), this school is used to help educate students that are at risk of expulsion and other behavioral issues. Their ultimate goal is to reduce the number of dropouts in Lexington high schools (p.1). I think it is quite ironic that this school is placed next to the worst part of town. The county assumes that the worst kids come from this community, so out of convenience they place the school next to the most troublesome part of town.
Deplit’s (2006) piece really made me think about this issue in my community at home. In a section of “Beyond Silenced Voices” he talks about the differences in cultures between black and white people. He describes the differences in how these two types of people talk to their children. Black parents tend to be more stern and assertive at telling their children what to do. White parents tend to take a more calm approach and ask their children what they are supposed to do (p.129). As I read this section, I kept thinking about the many black people in the “ghetto” community of Lexington. I started to realize some of the differences between my culture and the culture of some of those individuals I grew up with that lived in that part of town. Deplit stressed to embrace the different cultures and be able to adjust teaching methods to the needs of students that grew up using these two different types of language. I agree with this. A teacher needs to be able to not only teach to a student’s preferred learning style, but also his or her culture style.
As I said earlier, growing up in my community I always had it easy. That was not the case for one of my friends. In order to keep him anonymous, we will call him Blake. Blake was black and lived in the rough part of Lexington that I have been refereeing to. His parents were not there in his life, so he lived with his grandmother and she was his caretaker. Blake and I went to school together ever since kindergarten. Blake was an average student and an amazing athlete. As we both grew older, I noticed Blake was gradually starting to hangout with a rough crowd of friends. As his talent in football grew, so did his attitude. In high school we drifted away from each other. I saw the direction he was going and I did not want to follow. Approaching his senior year, he decided to quit playing football. This was a major shock to our school because he was by far the best player on the team. He would have more than likely received a scholarship to play football in college. Soon after quitting football he dropped out of school. Last I heard from him is that he is in and out of jail on drug charges and still lives in the same rough community.
Some people may blame the town Blake grew up in for his troubling. Some people may blame Blake’s race. Personally I cannot blame either of these. Instead of Blake blaming things that he cannot control, he should of taken responsibility for his own actions. This attached video from Top Right News (2014) contains a black man that talks about the issues of race in his eyes. He displays how it is up to the individual to change his or her life, not their environment or skin color (p.1). Blake had all of the opportunities he needed in order to succeed in life. If Blake had realized his true potential, he could be playing college football and getting a degree. Instead, he decided to throw everything away and stay stuck in a rough community. Some individuals have things better off then others, but it is up to the individual to overcome adversities.
FOCUS Program. (2016). Retrieved May 21, 2016, from http://www.lexington1.net/schools/focus-program
[Top Right News]. (2014, August 30). Black Man Issues EPIC Rant to ‘My Black People’ — Stop Blaming Racism, Take Responsibility. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDxgJq4toYo
Weis, L., & Fine, M. (1993). Beyond silenced voices: Class, race, and gender in United States schools. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
