I really enjoyed Paul Gorski’s talk. The thing that struck me most about him, is that he is very passionate about his cause…and his cause is poor people. What cause could be better? I am also impressed that he is speaking free of charge. This tells me he is not doing this to make money. I really would like to become more of an activist after I finish my EdS…when I have more time!!! I know that I was put in the inner city to teach when I was younger for a reason, and I have never forgotten the children that I taught. I will always have a soft spot in my heart for inner city children. I guess my job now is to try and create empathy for those children in the upper middle class children I teach now. Our school does service projects, but I am learning that this is not enough! I wonder if it would help to find pen pals in another area of Atlanta where the children aren’t as fortunate as those that I teach? I don’t really know what the answers are, but I definately am open to ideas, and I am going to keep searching until I find the right thing to do!
March 21, 2008
Posted by: dbabb | March 21, 2008 |Responses - Create a free edublog to get your own comment avatar (and more!)
I had no idea that you taught in an inner city school. I’ve taught at a title 1 school but never an inner city one. How difficult was that? I really think that you impact your students, especially in your circle time. I still recall watching your teaching video. I think that is something that I definately want to do when I have my own classroom again. That’s a great time to learn about social issues and empathy. I know a middle school teacher in Alpharetta who does penpal with a south Fulton elementary school. Every spring, the south Fulton children come on a fieldtrip to the suburban middle class north Fulton school. I think that would be a great idea for you to try with your students next year.
By: park on March 21, 2008
at 1:36 pm
I , too, was amazed that Paul would speak for free so I did a google search for his workshops and found out that he does, indeed, charge money for his workshops, although not as much as Ruby Payne. I found many workshops where he charges $45.00 per person. I think it is great that he chose not to charge GSU! So even though he does make money for speaking, the money does not appear to be the focus for him, which in my opinion says alot about his character. I think your idea about setting up pen pals is an excellent one. Not only will you help your students make meaningful connections with students who may be different than they are, but you can also use that as a way to increase their writing/reading skills through a “real world” experience.
By: mhammer on March 24, 2008
at 1:56 pm
