Blog 8

Phillip Massa

March 27, 2012

Uy

Blog 8

                A 2007 study showed that 9 out of 10 of youth reported being verbally harassed at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation. About a quarter of them reported being physically abused, and nearly two thirds of these students never reported the abuse. All too often students are harassed because of their sexual orientation. This especially true for students in their middle and high school years, which are crucial times when young individuals search for their true identity. I’d like to share a personal story about a friend of mine who experienced the hardship of being homosexual in a heterosexual culture.

                As Dennis Anderson mentions in his article Lesbian and Gay Adolecents: Social and Developmental Considerations, regarding homosexuality, “…gay males more frequently self-identify in their late teens or earlier.”  My good friend and teammate discovered his sexual orientation in his early teens, however didn’t come out until he was 23. For nearly ten years he lived his life under a fake identity in order to preserve his name and avoid confrontation. This was especially true when he entered college at Newbury College. When on the volleyball team during his freshman year he witnessed a “out” homosexual teammate slowly deteriorate mentally due to verbal abuse. This individual was so beaten down by mid season he dropped out of Newbury in order to get away from the abuse. My friend was so horrified by the heinous actions by his teammates her decides to hide his homosexuality in order to play a sport he loved. For four additional years he lived under a fake heterosexual identity in order to avoid abuse and torment. As Anderson points out, “withholding personal information and suppression of his or her genuine interest results in the elaboration of a false persona in order to gain peer acceptance or to maintain status.”

                My teammate avoided his true identity and portrayed a heterosexual persona. He even overcompensated and participated in many heterosexual actions in college in order to reinforce this fake persona. Like my friend, many students are struggling with their sexual identity both outward and inward emotionally. It’s important as teacher that we can assist these students in any way possible. If it wasn’t for a strong support system my friend may have hid his identity for a longer more painful period of time. We need to be a positive outlet for an individual receiving abuse for their sexual orientation. Once again if we care we can make a difference, in some cases even save a life. 

Blog 7

Phillip Massa

March 20, 2012

Uy

Blog 7

            For the second time I was able to work with the Teen Coalition. Unlike, last time I didn’t feel as out of place. Instead of trying to relate to African American culture in a program entitled “AfroNation” I instead was able to help a particular student with her US History homework. When I entered the Teen Coalition office I could see this young students eyes light up as if she knew I was a “helper” from the University. All I could think about however, was the drive over to the coalition headquarters and my thoughts while doing it. I honestly had no desire to go and on the way over I kept reiterating the reasons why I didn’t want to be there today. I had worked all morning at my first job, and then attended to some recruiting work at my coaching job. When it came to working with the teens I was mentally drained and wanted nothing else but my own personal time.

            However, when I began to interact with this eager student, any negative thought regarding being with the Lowell coalition for an hour was completely gone. It was refreshing to do something so rewarding for both myself and the student. We went over her homework and I gave her a couple potential techniques to simplify her home work and readings. As I was aiding the student I couldn’t help but think about the article we read about regarding care. Rosalie Rolon-Dow’s article discusses the importance of critical care and its effects in student’s successes and failures in an academic setting. One particular statement that stood out to me regarding my experience today was, “[that] the care or rejection experienced by Puerto Rican students in U.S. schools can have a significant impact on their academic success or failure.” I couldn’t help but think of what a teacher goes through every day and how exhausting our work is going to be. As educators no matter how tired we are or worn down we feel, if we don’t give it our best for our students they will suffer. They could suffer both academically and emotionally. Rolon-Dow’s article point out that, many diverse students felt as if their teachers didn’t care. As I mention in nearly every blog, we as educators can’t have a positive learning environment unless we establish that connection. For many students that connection will make or break their academic careers.

            It isn’t to say that we can’t have a bad day, because surely we will all have our days of chaos. However, we must understand that we set the tone and atmosphere for our classrooms. If we can come in out room’s everyday with a smile on our face and project positivity into our classrooms, then we are truly aren’t caring for our students. I truly am grateful that I was able to work with this special student today, who forced me to have this realization. I feel regenerated! 

Blog 6

Phillip Massa

March 4, 2012

Uy

Blog 6

                One statement that struck me when reading Rosalie Rolon-Dow’s article regarding critical care was regarding care and its effects in student’s successes and failures in an academic setting. Rolon-Dow points out that, “the care or rejection experienced by Puerto Rican students in U.S. schools can have a significant impact on their academic success or failure.” We consistently discuss the importance of how we should connect without students in order to create a strong learning environment; however I feel that we never discuss the importance of caring within the classroom. There is a distinct difference between remembering a student’s name, and asking how they’re weekend went. It seems once again that we as teachers need to do more. We need to understand that students don’t just want to be noticed they want to be known as well. I cant help but reminisce when we were children it was always nice be acknowledged at family parties, but we always remember those aunts and uncles who truly cared. We hold the fondest memories of these family members and always enjoy and respect their company. The same experience can be had with teachers and we could have a lasting effect on our students. I know personally I enjoyed the company of many of my teachers, but I always talk about one teacher in particular who made that extra effort. Mrs. Kiernan my 7^th grade math teacher would come to my house and drive me to school for extra help. Although sometimes she frustrated me, I would always do what she asked and give her my best effort. That kind of respect can’t be earned by just greeting our students. Establishing relationships truly means caring for our students. If we can make that extra effort to care for our student, they’ll go the extra mile for us.

                I feel that this concept of caring for our students is especially important to minority students. Rolon-Dow mentions that only 52% of Latino students of the age of 25 graduated high school. We truly can only imagine the struggle of learning a mainstream language within a classroom setting. The 48% of Latino student who didn’t graduate likely didn’t have caring educators in their life. Learning a new language is challenging and f demoralizing experience for many students, but having an individual who cares about their education can make a difference. However, such a task is hard. With a constant increase of responsibilities for teachers and quotas that are needed to be met, it’s easy to try and push students through without establishing relationships with them. However, if we want to do the best we can then we have to care for our students. At the end of the day we need to go to bed and say that we did our best. Although our best won’t always be what our students need, at least they know that we care.