Esperanza's story is more popular than we see in the news; national and local. Many students are living in not so great neighborhoods, living with parents who live paycheck to paycheck, and sometimes taking care of their families themselves. Esperanza is lucky in that she has a family who loves and supports her, however some kids are not so lucky. One of the instances of this that comes to mind is the radio documentary we heard last semester in 518 titled "Remorse" about the two boys who were interviewing people about the little boy who had been killed. REMORSE I can't help but think if Esperanza didn't have close siblings she might have been sucked into a life of crime and negativity. The vignette where the girls put on their high heeled shoes and walk down the street and get unwanted attention is proof of the rough neighborhood that they are living in. Also, the vignette entitled "First Job" is disturbing at the end when the Oriental man kisses her and won't let her go. It is scary and unsafe for a girl of her age to be out on her own, especially in the workplace where she knows no one.
I think that many schools and communities today have caught on to the change that is taking place. Students want their voices to be heard and fight for freedoms in their schools and communities. In order to keep the communities like the one Esperanza lives in, many changes have to take place. They can start at the local schools. The United Students is formed by a group of students from different schools who meet to discuss current issues. They unite to form leaders who help other students as well as their community. InnerCity Struggle
Crime and community are a big part of Esperanza's story. I think a lot of what she is experiencing is due to the location in which she lives. There are many ways these vignettes can relate to current events, however I feel that location is one of the biggest influences on the book.
(From Hannah)
ReplyDeleteJess- Great tie in with Remorse! That would be a great piece to use in a unit with THOMS. What type of inquiry could we form around these two works, or what kind of questions could we ask? Maybe we could try to develop a unit that looks at how life in America is really lived - taking a look at neighborhoods and communities. That could be a really cool unit. How does the makeup in our nation's neighborhoods and communities look and how are they evolving? Students I'm sure would have a great deal to talk about here because they all have their neighborhoods, communities, and school districts to look into, and I know for a teacher who is inspired by social justice issues and projects, this would be such a great opportunity to inspire our students to get involved and make a change.
Jess,
ReplyDeleteI really liked the way you brought in Esperanza's community ties, which is obviously so important to her. I think the pieces that you tied in are great ways to get students thinking about what it means to live in an impoverished area, especially if we are teaching in heterogeneous, white bread classrooms.
Hannah,
I like your idea of coming up with an inquiry unit that focuses on the neighborhood and the affect that the place we live in has on our everyday lives, beliefs and experiences. This could be a really rich inquiry unit because EVERY student would have something different to contribute and would obviously feel very personally connected to the unit. It would be great if students could view "In The Heights" and to discuss it as one of the texts in this unit as well.
- Brooke
ReplyDelete(PS- it seems that we are having issues with remembering to name our pieces, since we are all under the same username. Maybe that is an issue to consider when we have students use blogs in our own classrooms one day?)
Brooke-Great idea with In the Heights! We could also use a piece from the show "Everybody Hates Chris" - his neighborhood, Bed-Stuy, really impacts his life. Anybody have any ideas for movies, songs or other books?
ReplyDeleteWhat about maybe bringing in the other perspective, too-rising above what your neighborhood has to offer?
-Hannah
I've already mentioned this, but I think Akon's "Ghetto" could be a good song to incorporate into a unit about neighborhoods. This might be a stretch- but what about Annie? That could center on the question of the affect home environment has on the person.??
ReplyDelete-Brooke
I was also thinking a unit on neighborhoods would be an opportunity to bring in some multicultural texts - could we even look at neighborhoods from all around the world? Maybe an opportunity to use ePals!
ReplyDelete-Hannah