Today at Newcomer, I was not in the art classroom the entire time. After the high school students left, Mrs. Latta and I walked our middle school group down to the auditorium for a presentation on vaping and prescription drugs. I was initially very excited for the presentation to not only learn something myself, but to have the students learn some really important information that could affect their health.
I learned that underfunded schools do not have the same access to amazing anti-drug presentations nor do they have the materials to even make the presentation go smoothly as compared to wealthier districts. This experience made me frustrated that the woman presenting couldn’t reach the kids on this topic as much as would have liked and they were still left with so many questions. The children had much difficulty logging into the online program, as everything was in English, and most of them speak minimal English. This program could have been much more effective had the woman presenting did more of a group presentation and utilized the translator at hand instead of assigning fifteen minutes of individual work on the I-pad. Of course there were not enough I-pads for everyone, so the students had to share with one or two other students as well. I hid my irritation with the lack of organization, and reacted in a calm manner and just floated around the room helping students log into their I-pads.
These kids are in middle school right now, so they don’t realize how their school compares to say Carmel Public Schools. They will however, begin to realize the injustices they are facing once they get a little older. This IPS Newcomer situation reminded me of the students in Ha Jin’s “An Official Reply” who were upset that the top English students from the testing done their first year of college were taught by the best professors (156). The low group received a worse English education, which prevented them from having the same future career opportunities as the top group, who were educated by more experienced professionals.
This day helped me to better understand that the nature of this community is vulnerable to things like drugs, and that educational programs such as the one provided are necessary. However, I think the information could have been presented in a more effective way especially because the children are learning English. This experience helped me further my patience and enhanced my sense of responsibility to helping others. This ICR constantly inspires me to continue to pursue my career goals in law, so I can help combat the injustices that marginalized communities face in the United States.