Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Kids from Baltimore
I was very upset when I watching the Boys of Baraka video tape. Those kids deserved to be at schools with similar programs here in the United States. Why they send them so far away (Africa). This is a shame; they are children of US citizens. Yes, their parents have some problems and cannot provide a good learning environment for them, but the government should build similar schools with a good environment and good teachers for those children here in US. It could be in California near to the ocean, they could have activities for them such as swimming, snorkeling, surfing and get a good education. Poor kids didn’t see good lifestyles at home and after all that, they were sent to what appeared to be a worse place then they had before. Maybe they taught them there how to behave discipline, stay focused. They couldn’t escape but I think those kids could live in the boys scouts camps in California and have still learned discipline and good manners too. Richard said; “Life is not fair. They keep us like in prison. They lied to us.” Those 20 suspended students had the “privilege” in Baltimore of getting a diploma in Africa. What about other students in Baltimore who live in high crime areas? I think the government should spend more money in building programs for children like Richard, Devon, and Daniel here in US.
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Watching “boys of Baraka” was an interesting; heart warming, and yet heart-wrenching experience. I understand as a concept that even within the U.S. there are children who live in poverty and dangerous neighborhoods. It was painful to watch the children talk about the drug dealing and other “options” that other people do in their area. While it was great to see these kids fight against this power, in the back of my mind, all I could think about was the other children who did not feel strongly opposed to these options, and how even the kids in the videos could change their minds in the future when their options become even less. (I hope to eventually get a chance to see the where the kids are now section).
ReplyDeleteThe video made me wonder however, why the children needed to go all the way to Africa to get an education. In my mind, it reminded me of cocaine addicts. My professor in a psych class talked about how environments can trigger old habits, so for instance if a former cocaine user were to smell a particular smell from their old apartment for example where they used to use drugs, they could relapse due to the association in their mind with the drug. I wondered if maybe by going to a completely different location the children could start fresh with limited connections to the other “options” in their neighborhood. I hope that all the kids were able to stay on the right track after their program…