Teaching in the 4th Most Dangerous City in the U.S.
By Lara Burenin
Wednesday, December 12th, 2007 at 11:43 pm in Lara Burenin.
Since I began teaching at EnCompass Academy in East Oakland three and a half months ago, I have been warned many times not to stay too late at school, to be sure to go with a colleague if I wanted to work at school on the weekend, not to hang around the neighborhood past dark.
I was even told by one person who had just moved from the Bay Area from out of state that his parents warned him not to drive through Oakland at all, with the surge of violence the city has been experiencing. These warnings have come from many different people, from family members, to fellow teachers, to people who have never been to Oakland, to staff members at my school.
I never feel like my safety is at risk when I am on the campus of our beautiful new school site that we share with Acorn Woodland Elementary on 81st Ave. near International Blvd. We have bright stucco buildings, garden-lined walkways, walls adorned with student work, an outgoing and positive staff, and a bright and exuberant student body.
When I am within the four walls of my classroom, my first thoughts are not about my safety, but about raising my students’ reading levels, seeing evidence that they are learning concepts in my math lessons, teaching students to be compassionate towards one another.
Nevertheless, violence reaches into the harmonic bubble of EnCompass just as it does to many other, if not all, schools in Oakland. Even in the first weeks of school, the families of several students and two colleagues experienced the death of a loved one as a result of violent crime. Last night three students were shot after a McClymonds High School basketball game.
Last night members of our school community were at a basketball game of our own. We watched our 4th and 5th Grade girls’ basketball team play their first game in the Sports4Kids developmental league at a neighborhood gym. It was a great opportunity for me to spend time with my students outside the role of Teacher, and to get to know them in a new way.
It wasn’t until the next day that I learned of the shootings at McClymonds. And I couldn’t help but wonder: What if it had been our school community? What if it had been my students? What if it had been me? When do I start heeding people’s warnings about where and when to spend time in the community where I teach?
In the end I know that the most significant answer for me is that I have the privilege to go home at the end of the day, to a different neighborhood, in a city that hasn’t made national headlines for how dangerous it is. So the real question is: what will it take to ensure that all Oakland students are safe in their neighborhoods, and that going home at the end of the day doesn’t increase their chance of becoming another statistic in a nationwide study?
Lara Burenin is a fifth-grade teacher at EnCompass Academy.
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December 15th, 2007 at 11:08 am
Lara, hats off to you for teaching in Oakland and doing your ultimate best to bring the love of learning to your children.
Why is there violence in the hood? Lots of reasons. Dysfunctional families, the macho, belligerent nature of music and film directed at inner city youth, the disemboweling of the economic infrastructure in Oakland that forty years ago was stable and offered job options for non college youth at a decent wage. Also, the gross worship of materialism across all racial and economic classes as well as the complete collapse of “Movement” politics that offered minority youth an alternative way of analyzing and then changing society. No more SNCC, No more Panthers and no more CORE. And people wonder why the new heroes for the youth hate Little Wayne and Fifty Cent!
I truly don’t think things will ever change except on an individual level. Even in the worst schools and most impovershied areas you have visionaries, rebels and iconoclasts who see through the nonsense of 21st Century capitalist consumerist culture. Nurture and encourage them.
Maybe in twenty years we will have another Malcolm,another Martin or another Caesar Chavez to shake up the system.
December 18th, 2007 at 12:44 pm
Best of luck in your efforts. You bring obvious dedication to kids who need it. Kudos.
December 23rd, 2007 at 3:12 pm
It’s like they say: all you can do is what you’re already doing unless what you’re doing is nothing at all. Hopefully you can inspire these minds to become more than what they think they’re capable of, and the transformations can happen through them. Just a thought …
January 2nd, 2008 at 12:27 pm
As a young teacher you must still feel somewhat immortal. But then so do the kids loitering on the street who get shot. East Oakland is a hopeless community. It lacks a critical mass of civilized humans to self-improve. If all the supports of the welfare state ended, the community would evaporate or violently self-destruct.
January 16th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
To Greg-
Clearly you have many misconceptions about people in East Oakland. It is interesting to me that you think people in East Oakland are hopeless, uncivilized, and completely dependent on the government.
To the absolute contrary, the parents, students, and teachers from East Oakland that I work with on a daily basis are not any of those things. I see families working hard to support their children to succeed in school and be able to achieve whatever they desire in life. I see people committed to bettering the condition of people in their neighborhoods, whose residents have historically been oppressed and discriminated against in this country. And I see people who honor their roots, respect their elders, and treasure their children.
January 21st, 2008 at 3:51 pm
You believe in our children and that belief can go farther than any fraction concept or any grammar lesson that you teach them. It is that belief that strengthens their belief- an unstoppable force.
Take care.
January 25th, 2008 at 10:15 am
To Greg-
I am not surprised that you, like many others, claim to know about the people in Oakland and other inner-city communities. You claim that the people are dependant on welfare, they are not civilized, and that the city lacks a critical mass of people to self-improve. But have you ever been to the city and met any of the people? Have you ever taken the time to really sit and explore the environment and understand what goes on in the community? Obviously you have not.
I was raised in East Oakland and then I moved to Richmond, which is even worse than Oakland with its high crime rates, yet I attend UC Santa Barbara and I in a year I will be graduating with a Bachelors degree at the age of 21. I also know many of other people from these cities that have made it to college and have made it to be professionals of all sorts, so how can you say that there lacks a critical mass of people to self-improve?
Have you looked at the economic structures that oppress the people in inner-city communities? Have you looked at the neighborhoods where minorities live and how they are proportionately different than upper-class neighborhoods? Have you yourself taken the time to be around in this city and meet some of its people? Im sure you haven’t. You, like many other people accept the stereotype that are portrayed and you are helping perpetuate them even more. You do not have to be afraid to walk down the streets of Oakland.
And to Laura-
I applaud you for taking the time to step out and help these young children and show them that someone is on their side. Many people are so busy stereotyping the community that they are not willing to do the wonderful things that you are doing. I, too, plan to come back to the community and help out the people. Thank you for being who you are.
February 8th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
One thing that depresses me is how it seems that for many of the students, the violence of Oakland is a twisted source of pride — often the only one they embrace.
March 7th, 2008 at 9:58 am
Lara
i was wondering if there is a way of getting a hold of you? i am thinking about applying to OUSD. i am a little apprehensive about it. i live in Riverside county where there are no teaching jobs. i want to teach so badly. I hear OUSD is hiring and it is an excelerated process becuase they need teachers. i want to know if you had the choice to do it again would you? Hopfully you can get my email from this and write me!
March 9th, 2008 at 3:31 am
Lara,
Keep up the good work. I’ve been an Oakland resident for 21 years and am proud of it. Like coaching (soccer) and parenting, teaching is a novel way to give knowledge and hope to those that need it most. As you, I’m convinced that Oakland (East/West) is a good place to live and work with a great upside. We must start with the young people in our midst. It will take time, but stay the course. Let me know, if I can be of help in any way. It’s not the big things that make a difference, the incremental small actions people take. We need more of you in Oaktown..
March 23rd, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Lara,
This is fantastic work. It is touching to see that you are giving back to the community. I still remember (and use!) the mnemonic device you taught me to remember how to spell the word “family” in Ms. Valterza’s class.
I know from experience the lasting impact teachers can have on students. It was not until late in high school when I finally met a teacher who believed in me and motivated me to make something of my life. I have no doubt you will touch countless students in this same respect.
I am currently researching the municipal and state laws with regards to public school funding and the ramifications of these on lower income neighborhoods. I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject. I am focusing on OUSD and the disparate funding available to schools within the same district.
You can reach me at aamiri@berkeley.edu
Best,
Amir