There's no way to avoid the Sun Time's relentless journalistic message in relentlessly featuring the relentless gang killings in our city. While adult homicide rates often drop, teen rates often soar. With every photo-story, the paper is poking some hard facts into our faces. Too many neighborhoods have become killing grounds with no solution insight!
While I live in the suburbs now, I lived and taught in the city for years. To us teachers, two solutions have always loomed just out of reach.... but not out of sight! There have to be more "No's" at home, and more "Yes's" in school.
OK, it's not that simple, but it does start there. Parents -- even in broken or blended families -- have the absolute right (and obligation) to act like parents. To impose "No" whenever their god-given-intuition so advises (see Bill Cosby Show & Roseanne reruns for details). But at the very same time, schools -- even in tough gang-riddled communities -- have the absolute right (and obligation) to act like educators. Which means more creative "Yes's" to the students' desires to break out of the old pedagogical routines (see films like To Sir With Love, Blackboard Jungle, Mr Holland's Opus & Hoop Dreams for details).
The stories on the screen aren't the solutions...! But their messages can be a damn good place to start taking back out city....!
Not only did you name some of my favorite movies and television shows, but I do agree....the "message" we should take away from them is a good place to start. Unfortunately I think a lot of people make the mistake of thinking everything can be fixed in a half hour like on Cosby or 2 hours like To Sir With Love. If only....
ReplyDeleteIf only, indeed.....! But maybe we both agree, the MESSAGES in the STORIES are a good place to begin. Every good cause needs a good ideal to chase.
ReplyDeleteAnd the inspiration you're talking about simply can't come from unions and schools of education...
ReplyDeleteAmen to that....!
ReplyDelete