At Risk: Stories of Hope

I am writing this after seeing the world markets taking a nose dive.  Maybe we need to rethink what is really important, the fact that we are still alive.  I would imagine that students are wondering if it is worth it to even carry on and continue their education.

We are at a very critical crossroads.  Now even some of the most secure members of the eroding middle class are feeling what the folks at poverty level have had to live.  So what is discussed in their homes will affect your students’ mindset.

I dream of my own children learning in a small class of 10 or less.  I dream that we can lead our students to discover that becoming a more caring human is appreciated more than a human that has acquired every material possession known to mankind and is still unsatisfied with life. I dream that no child ever feels invisible in his or her classroom.

I dream that extraordinary children with Tourette’s Syndrome, autism, and other children who are perceived as different, will be given a voice to teach us about their perceptions so that we can learn how to become sensitive to others and smile while we thank them for enriching our lives.  I dream that “disability” will change to “this ability”, and that “these abled”  persons will teach us how to become better care givers and less selfish in our own personal lives.

American students must learn other languages or suffer the consequences of being left out of the global mix.  Hunger breeds creativity and a yearning to improve your lot in life. I am impressed with India’s development.  China is very hungry to establish its role as a world leader.

I see us collaborating with other countries so that we might understand how a human in any part of the world can find happiness without all the consumer trappings.

The internet allows us to do this like never before.  Of course being an art educator, I would hope to see art from the world’s youth to start making socially relevant art to stimulate new dialogue.

I see a nation of teachers who are free to facilitate students’ interactions from different cultures in remote parts of the world relative to the U.S. so that we can stop the fear mentality.

I see music patterns piercing our soul which will awaken new ideas.

I see us learning from drug producing countries because, quite frankly, my cousins in Mexico hate drugs and their effect on the world’s youth.  I wonder how they make drugs look boring?

I dream about children producing poetry that just shocks the world into listening to their hopes and fears so that we can man up as warriors for justice.  The new weapons will be their unshakable positive ideas, not guns.  Great artists like Gordon Parks taught us this years ago.

I see the popular media promoting teaching as the most important activity that will fill young minds with hope.

I dream of schools that incorporate the need for disaster relief workers and health care workers that can respond to world disasters so that Americans will be known as the most caring nation in the world.

I dream of food on the table for every American and the means to earn the right to raise a family in peace.

Let us continue to be life long learners and read about how the leading countries have made breakthroughs.

Let us solve some problems at home so that we can be the world’s example of a diverse nation that enjoys freedom to learn and serve.