Originally posted by riv6672
This seems somewhat relevant to the topic:http://twentytwowords.com/what-will-you-do-with-your-privilege/
[b]When a high school teacher wanted to teach a class about privilege, he came up with a simple, but powerful and insightful object lesson for his students.
At the beginning of the class, all the students received a piece of paper, and were asked to crumple it into a ball.Then, he moved the recycling bin to the front of the room.
He told them…
The game is simple — you all represent the country’s population. And everyone in the country has a chance to become wealthy and move into the upper class.To move into the upper class, all you must do is throw your wadded-up paper into the bin while sitting in your seat.
The students in the back of the room immediately piped up and said it wasn’t fair — the students in the front of the room obviously had a much better chance than they did.
All the students took their shots. Most of the students in the front of the room made it, and of course only a few students in the back of the room did.
The teacher continued…
The closer you were to the recycling bin, the better your odds. This is what privilege looks like. Did you notice how the only ones who complained about fairness were in the back of the room?By contrast, people in the front of the room were less likely to be aware of the privilege they were born into. All they can see is 10 feet between them and their goal.
Then the teacher wrapped things up with the most important thing to take away from this simple lesson…
[/B]
Your job — as students who are receiving an education — is to be aware of your privilege. And use this particular privilege called “education” to do your best to achieve great things, all the while advocating for those in the rows behind you.
This is an awesome analogy Riv. Just today my cousin came by, and we spoke at length about his teaching career. He works in a failing school district here in Jersey. Just a few days past, I saw that many of the public schools in NYC were failing, and he told me that this is not something that the teachers can be solely blamed for. He went on about how the students are their own worse enemies. They show up to class with cell phones in hand, they refuse to do their home work, the language that they often use is profane.
The shocker is that these are junior high school students. Where should the blame be cast I asked, if not on the teachers? He said that the problem begins at home. He said that many of these children can not read, or figure out simple arithmetic problems, and getting through to them can often waste an entire class. Something else that should be mentioned, is that he teaches in a less than privileged neighborhood. This is what immediately came to mind after hearing this; If a person is to build a solid foundation for their future, it must begin in their youth (obviously).
Generally speaking, many of the people that live in ghettos for prolonged periods of have no right to blame anyone other than themselves for remaining there. If this statement is correct then the question arises, do we only get one shot at the correct path? How can a child see into the future when their minds are too immature to realize the here and now? Should parents be held responsible for their child's failing ways, or should all of the burden be placed on those that are trying to keep these children from failing?
Generally speaking, many of the people that live in ghettos for prolonged periods of have no right to blame anyone other than themselves for remaining there. If this statement is correct then the question arises, do we only get one shot at the correct path? How can a child see into the future when their minds are too immature to realize the here and now? Should parents be held responsible for their child's failing ways, or should all of the burden be placed on those that are trying to keep these children from failing?