First Day

After giving my students their Independent Project assignment of meeting and getting to know a person from a different background from theirs, I was surprised at their resistance. One young woman said, "You gotta be kiddin'. We could get ourselfs kilt. You 'spec up to go up to some stranger and say, 'Hey, man, you don know me, but I wants to be yo fren.' You crazy." As I kept explaining that they should develop a relationship with someone they see every week at the bus stop, the coffee shop, the newspaper stand, the cafeteria, the resistance began to recede, and some students were beginning to smile. One older woman raised her hand and said, "This is great. I always wanted to have a white friend, but I never knew how to make one." I almost wept and lept for joy.

But this comment was topped when a diamond earringed young man raised his hand and asked, "If I give you the money, could you buy the books for me?" I was started but realized that he was asking out of genuine concern; he worked all day and figured that his teacher must have loads of time on her hands. Plus, if I wanted him to succeed, as I had insisted, I must be willing to provide for him the necessary materials. I mean, he was going to give me the money! It all made sense to him.

And then there was watching the inauguration in the college auditorium, more packed than I've ever seen it, and anybody who attended received a small bag containing 4 small pieces of candy. We were given pins, wee American flags and "stress balls" with the flag painted on them, all brought to us by the Student Activities Office. When I got to my class, most of the students were sitting in their seats, chatting on cell phones or text messaging. Those there hadn't bothered going to see the inauguration on the big screen in the auditorium, and the rest wandered in half an hour late.

This is "Developmental English" in Philadelphia.