Saturday, April 10, 2010
We get ink!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Bethany's Blog ~ Day 5
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Bethany's Blog ~ Day 4
Friday, April 2, 2010
The Letter "L"
The Letter "L"
I like the poem "Where I'm From" (above, center) because it reminds me that this young woman from Washington, DC has a strong sense of pride in her city and in her roots in the city. The poet, Sharri, is a 4th grade student from one of the inner city public elementary schools in Washington, DC.
Throughout our cultural immersion, it has been tempting to compare "what we have" and "what others don't have"....
Well, what we don't have is an inner city background. Most of us are from small Midwestern towns. And, while each of us holds our background in some degree of esteem, it is important to be reminded of the pride that others have in theirs.
Enjoy Sharri's proud song (reprinted below):
Where I'm from is my mother.
I look out at the city and all I see is the light
shining on me
and the buildings smiling at me
and the people saying hello to me
and the wind blowing at me
and I know I'm in a happy city
Do you know too?
I pick yes for my answer
because cities like DC are somewhere to live
somewhere to do something fun
and have something to say and somewhere to come
and that's the story of where I'm from.
The Letter "L"
Enjoy the picture at the left called, "The Purple Hat." It was painted by a 5th grade student from one of the public elementary schools in Washington, DC.
There seem to be many issues with the educational system in DC. Persons with wealth tend to send their children to private schools or they live outside of the District and their taxes support schools in Virginia or Maryland.
We visited two inner city public schools, and we were all made aware of the importance of standardized test results to the faculty who work there. At one location, parents were actually told that if their children did NOT score well (for whatever reason), the school might be closed and faculty could lose their positions. No pressure, eh?