Angela McCutcheon
Dr. Bowles
Multicultural Issues
January 27, 2007
Video Insight
1. These young men face pressures from their urban environment that are much more detrimental than the pressures the rural youth faces. On a daily basis, they must deal with the problems created by poverty, gangs, street violence, and crime. I think that these kids lose out on so much of what is considered a healthy childhood, by being surrounded by these conditions.
2. In addition to the challenges Leon and his friends must face, this young couple is going to struggle ten times harder to provide for their baby and themselves. More than likely, they will have a very difficult time even completing high school. The saddest part about it is that this is a devastating reality of today’s youth; it is a vicious cycle that, in the end, hurts the baby more than anyone. I truly believe that adoption, in a situation such as theirs, is the best option. We as future educators have a responsibility to inform our kids of all the positive aspects of adoption and make them realize that adoption is one way they can break the cycle of poverty.[FB1]
3. I don’t agree with the idea that young African-American males are an endangered species, because honestly, if one takes into account all the teenage pregnancies, how can one truly agree with this thesis on a literal level. Now, I do understand the concept that is trying to be conveyed through the thesis, but young African-American males are definitely not the only ethnic male group that are killing each other in the streets at such an alarming rate.
4. Of course, other
ethnic groups face these problems. For
example, the gangs in a nearby city are populated by the Hispanic people in
that community. They beat, rob, and kill
each other, too; therefore, it’s not just happening in the inner city, I
believe it’s a problem everywhere, even rural
5. I believe these are the problems of both our nation’s schools and society. We teachers do have moral responsibility to educate our students to the inevitable dangers of life on the streets and the realities of living in poverty. Awareness[FB3] is a key factor in preventing the cycle from continuing. I think that our society has become numb to the violence in the streets, on television, and at home. With so much exposure to violence in the media, we have begun to accept it as a part of life. This view must be reversed if we are going to keep kids safe[FB4] .
6. Schools should be
a sanctuary for kids. They need to
always feel very safe and out of danger inside the walls of their school. Otherwise, it seems obvious, that learning
will not be achieved because of fear. If
kids are scared to go to class because they are afraid of being gunned down in
the middle of library time, they are going to skip school altogether. I believe we need security officers[FB5] ,
cameras, and whatever else it takes to make sure that tragedies such as the
shootings at Columbine, Virginia Tech, and
[FB1]This is a most interesting point of view, Angela. I just don’t know how realistic it is for a mother of any age to give up a child.
[FB2]Ay, here’s the rub. SES looms large before ethnicity.
[FB3]Awareness is already there; just ask a child who is homeless or hungry. It’s action that is lacking.
[FB4]I totally agree. Violence is unacceptable; so is hunger, homelessness, and helplessness.
[FB5]I think too much security reflects an attitude of fear that we have because we have not addressed the core social issue of poverty, which is an ever-growing class of people.