My Summer Vacation

I would like to share with you what I did during my summer vacation. Contrary to popular belief I did not spend it at the beach. I did not get a chance to travel or check out a whole lot of baseball games. In fact I got very little sleep and spent most of the summer days on my feet. Sound like fun? Well it was. In fact it was the kind of summer that inspires and invigorates you. It's the kind of summer that brings out the best in the people around you. My summer vacation was spent in the city of Watts at an area city high school. I spent my time working with a staff of eight educators and together we helped prepare 100 recent college graduates to go into the classroom and start their first year of teaching.

The school and neighborhood we called home for six weeks has many challenges. We all had to deal with the harsh realities of working in an under resourced community. The teachers came from all over the country and from all walks of life. They came from privileged and working class backgrounds and represented a multitude of racial backgrounds. With all of this diversity both behind and in front of the teacher's desk one might surmise that the summer was a tough one. Truth be told, the would be teachers worked as hard as they could both during the school day and after school into the week hours of the evening.

As the summer progressed something very exciting happened. The teachers taught to the best of their ability being aided by veteran teachers. The students were pushed and held to a critical standard and for the most part rose to the occasion. Their were times when the diversity of the teachers and students threw everyone for a loop. Their were times folks wondered if success should be had. Through it all I watched a group of young college graduates turn into first year teachers. I watched them acknowledge the differences with their students but I also watched them transcend those differences in order to get the job done. I watched the teachers deal with their own differences with each other and find the commonalities they had in order to work together. I also had a chance to watch the students go from skepticism to trust with our young group of educators. Bonds were formed, tests were passed and papers were written. A culture of hard work had been created by students, faculty and teachers. What a summer indeed.

When it comes to issues of race and class I believe we do have a ways to go to understanding these complex and vital problems. But having said that, I also believe we do not give ourselves credit when credit is due. This is but one of many examples going on in this city and cities like it where folks of different backgrounds, fall apart, come together, agree to disagree and find the ties that bind in order to take on the task at hand. I enjoy watching teachers and students meet each other half-way in order for the learning experience to take place. More so, I like watching humanity realize its true potential by transcending racial differences and artificial boundaries in order for collaboration and success to prevail. This isn't the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King. This is the reality he spoke of in the latter stages of his life. He spoke of all of us coming together in the name of social justice in order for this country to live up to it's doctrine. He united African Americans for the north and south along with Chicanos, Puerto Ricans, Native Americans poor Whites and Asian Americans in order to address issues of poverty, hunger and yes education. He transcended our identities and differences in order to unite folks around a common vision on what America could really be. That's what I watched this past summer.

So what did you do on your summer vacation? Whatever it was, did it inspire you? Did it lead to the empowerment of others? Did it speak to the common good in us all? If so more power to you. If not let me know. I know exactly how we can change that. Here's to humanity's true potential. We are a work in progress and sometimes we stumble and fall, but each day we move the ball of social understanding and equity forward. And here's to you. When the new group of teachers arrives in July, I hope to see you next summer!!!

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