I only spent a single year teaching in Newark, New Jersey, but that experience changed my life forever. When you teach in an inner city school you quickly learn how education truly is a holistic experience. It's not just about getting information across to young minds, but also making sure the young people you work with are aware of their potential. You also need to make sure you inspire them to reach that potential. Finally, you also need to show them love. Many kids in the inner city have a severe lack of love in their lives and I think that was the one thing that stuck with me. I ended up loving many of my Newark kids like they were my own.
In the past few weeks, the community where I worked has been severely affected by over six shootings that all resulted in fatalities. Three of those shootings took place within a block of my old school.
The inner cities in our country are a mess. What if three shootings took place within a month of each other blocks from a suburban school? The country would be up in arms and the media coverage would be huge. But, shootings in the inner cities are "expected"?
Newark is not an "inner" city - it's an American city. This city, like others, is not inhabited by "minority children" or "black children" but American children. When are we going to realize this and treat our cities as such?
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