Chapter 4
The Miracle of SAL in
Underprivileged Communities
Earlier in my career, I spent nearly five years in traditional secondary classrooms in two (2) major urban areas of the United States (Atlanta, Georgia and Houston, Texas).
Suffice it to say, I've had my share of experiences working with teenage students.
During my time as a substitute teacher in metro Atlanta, I visited 42 different elementary, middle, high, and alternative schools. From once putting out a fire—literally—to physically restraining a student to prevent a fight, I've had my share of stressful classroom experiences with juveniles over the years.
Thank God for... and God bless all teachers of YOUTH!
Teaching brought me up close and personal with inner-city youth of all kinds and backgrounds, from over a hundred different countries. Throughout the course of my combined learning, teaching—and lived—experiences, I've seen the dramatically negative impacts of external pressures to not succeed. I've also observed the terrible consequences that drug use, irresponsible sexual behavior, and other troubling activities have had on the lives of America's youth, and especially our most vulnerable youth. It is a vicious cycle that ensnares millions.
It is self-perpetuating tragedy.
But, it does not have to remain this way.
There are many causes to these deep and complex social issues. Contributors to these problems have historically included structural inequalities, insufficient resources, and racism, sexism, or xenophobia. Such problems, however, are usually secondary issues in the 21st century. The primary problem in our modern world is a lack of education in, and too few role models of, Self-Action Leadership, character, and success in homes, communities, and schools where these vulnerable youth live.
If we could overhaul the educational culture in our nation's most troubled communities, we could—in a single generation—dramatically alter the communities themselves for the better.
It is as simple—and as difficult—as that.
In conjunction with the many sad and sobering situations I came across as a classroom teacher, I also came to discover—and greatly admire and appreciate—the extraordinary innate talent, capacity, and potential of these same underprivileged and underserved students. Illustrative of these realities are a trio of examples from my own classroom experiences, one in Georgia and two in Texas.
One student, however, was busy at work constructing an artistic rendering for a friend and his girlfriend by producing an attractive enmeshment of their two names linked together with romantic symbology (i.e. hearts). I began observing him at work and then complimented him warmly and enthusiastically on the quality of his artwork. Soaking up this well-deserved praise, he then acquiesced to my request to create a similar work of art for me and my wife.
It was GORGEOUS!
I excitedly took it home that evening and gave it to my young bride, whom I had just recently married. She was similarly impressed by the young man's considerable talent. This experience was a powerful reminder to me of the incredible talent that exists among those who may be overlooked and/or underdeveloped among us, and particular among the rising generation.
The second and third experiences took place during my time as a full-time classroom English teacher in Houston, Texas during the 2009-10 school year. During that memorable year in as a full-time teacher, two of my top students were African Americans (a boy and a girl) who came from middle-class, single-parent households.
While neither of these students had a father in their lives, both of them had a mother who was extraordinarily caring and involved in their students' lives. They were also exceedingly proactive in supporting their child's education. For example: these mothers expected—nay, demanded—that their students did their homework, respected their teachers and coaches, and got good grades.
These same mothers further supported me as their kids' teacher by requiring their children to listen to and follow my academic and behavioral directives. When an issue did arise with their student's academic performance of classroom behavior, these mothers did not make excuses for their kids. Rather, they respectfully consulted with me, carefully considered the facts at hand, and then responsibly took strategic and productive action with their students to solve the problem from their end.
Such parental responsibility and support worked wonders in the lives of these two students—even in the absence of a second parent. The attitudes, actions, and perspectives of these mothers empowered their students to rise above many of the negative pressures and behavioral pitfalls that commonly befell their peers. This kind and degree of parental involvement and support dwarfed any impact I may have had as their teacher—despite my many efforts to effectively teach them both English and SAL.
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| With Keldrick Winslow on Graduation Day The Berry Center / Cypress, Texas June 2013 |
Four years later, Keldrick invited me to his college graduation party, to celebrate his completion of a 4-year degree in chemical engineering from Texas A&M, one of the most prestigious public universities in the Lone Star State. Soon thereafter, this same young man was hired by a Fortune 500 Company on the Eastern Coast of the United States.
Winslow's diligent commitment to academics and Self-Action Leadership have empowered him to rise in the world in wonderful and exciting ways. Over time, he earned the freedom and power to write his own ticket in his personal and professional life.
The third experience I would like to share also comes from one of my English classes in Houston.
Of the 140-or-so students that passed through my classroom as a full-time English teacher, my overall top performer was not White, Black, or Asian; he was a Native American. Moreover, he was not in my advanced class; he was in one of my regular, on-level 9th grade English classes.
His name was Jesse Nazario.
This remarkable young student was small of stature and shy of disposition; so much so, in fact, that I hardly even noticed him for the first several weeks of the school year. But all that changed once I began to realize how hard he worked and how diligently he completed his assignments.
Due to his proactive completion of extra credit assignments, this young man consistently scored above 100 percent on his overall grade. He also ended up walking home with the overall champion's trophy I gave out to the top performing student for all five (5) of my classes for the entire school year.
In his English journal, which I graded every other week, Jesse wrote the following—reprinted here with his permission:
"English is my worst subject, and has been throughout all these nine years, but now I feel like it's all about to change, and Mr. Jensen has helped in this realization. He teaches English unlike any of my previous English teachers. And I like it. It's a shame not many of my colleagues notice how good they have it, they don't even try. I try and well my grades from last semester proved it. I was the greatest achiver (sic) by having the greatest average the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd six weeks. I also had the highest semester grade, just sayin.' It's something to be proud of, and I am, I am just surprised. English is my weakest subject! And by accomplishing this achievement, I was baffled. Sure intellect played a role, but I believe effort dominated the outcome of my grade. And Mr. Jensen helped me make an effort. One time Mr. Jensen talked to the class and basically said, "If you want to pass my class, make an effort." Now do you see how lucky we are?"
Jesse graduated from high school in 2013 and went on to attend the University of Texas at Austin—arguably the most prestigious public university in the Lone Star State, and one of the more esteemed public universities in the United States.
Teaching an extremely diverse student body underscored for me the challenges and problems facing inner city youth. But, it also highlighted the limitless potential possessed by those same students—regardless of their race, background, socioeconomic status, or other demographic variables and hurdles.
What a tragedy it is when parents, teachers, leaders, and academics choose to focus on past grievances and limitations rather than present possibilities and future potential.
To further illustrate the feasibility of these highly workable educational reforms, the next five (5) chapters spotlight real-life stories of ordinary educators who achieved extraordinary results by intentionally and thoughtfully incorporating character and leadership education into traditional classroom environments.
While these examples are taken from formal school settings, they are designed to foster ideas that can be creatively formatted to fit any educational setting (e.g. home, work, community, church, club, et cetera).
—Dr. JJ
Author's Note: This is the 496th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 283rd consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.
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