Lesson Number One:

To start out our studies of world history my brother-in-law, Jon, does a little geography unit so that the kids are better able to read maps and diagrams, and so they can understand where these historical events are taking place. As I’m sitting in the back of the class, Jon hands out the packets full of maps and diagrams and begins to ask the kids questions about general geography. The kids, some of whom were barely younger than I was, were having trouble reading the simple maps. Jon draws a compass rose on the chalk board and explains to them how to remember North, East, South, and West. When I was growing up we used acronyms like ‘Never Eat Sour Watermelon’ to remember the cardinal directions. Jon nonchalantly says to the students, “You guys can use different acronyms to remember the order of the directions like for instance: ‘Never Ever Smack Women’ or ‘Never Ever Smoke Weed’” The students nod as they begin to understand, and I sit wide-eyed in the back astounded at what has just taken place. Jon’s acronym choices show that those ideas of drugs and abuse are things they are all familiar with, so while I found it funny at first that a teacher said ‘weed’ in class (at the small school I went to that would have been a big deal) I found myself once again faced with the fact that these kids were not really kids, and certainly nothing like me. They have grown up in neighborhoods filled with gang and domestic violence as well as copious amounts of drugs. The world they know and understand has made them tough and distrusting towards anyone and everyone. Not only is it disturbing to know that these hard issues are a part of their daily lives, but these kids, who were pretty much all seniors in high school, have been so obviously failed by the school system they grew up in. How a kid can be leaving high school and just learning basic geography is completely ludicrous. It is heart breaking to know that they have been dealt a hand in life that is not only not working in their favor, but also working completely against them. Their environment has failed them, but more importantly so has their school.