Why do students drop out of school? We asked that question to four of our teen writers at our annual November roundtable for community leaders, policy wonks, business folks and others. The conversation was moderated by L.A. Times reporter Mitchell Landsberg and Compton School District Principal Dr. Sophia Theoharopoulus.
The unanimous answer to the question was overcrowded classrooms and disengaged teachers. Ernesto spoke with enthusiasm about his charter school with 20-25 students in a class. Locke, his neighborhood high school, has a history of campus violence, alarming drop-out rate and constant turnover of teachers and administrators. Charmaine described moving from Gahr to Cerritos High School, both within blocks of each other. She said there’s less “drama” at Cerritos. I interpreted that to mean fewer fights, smaller classes, students eager to learn and college bound. Patricia dropped out of Compton High school when she struggled with algebra and no one offered her assistance. Her parents weren’t contacted by the district for 40 days. Now, Patricia is successfully completing high school at the small, well run Cesar Chavez Continuation High School and a teacher is providing guidance in her algebra class.
The education crisis will get worse in the next few years. State budget cuts mean larger classes, teacher lay-offs and a dismal future for students on the edge of dropping out. Where will teens without a diploma find a job? How will they pay rent, buy food? Will crime increase in our communities?
For teens to succeed it requires a partnership between parents, teachers and students. Everyone needs to take responsibility.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Homeless for the Holidays
A former Microsoft executive is building hundreds of libraries in Africa. A group of dentists are volunteering services in Mexico. An outdoor recreation company is shipping dozens of tents to hurricane-ravaged areas in Southeast Asia. It all sounds benevolent.
What about the families who lost their homes in foreclosure? Or the children who don’t qualify for Healthy Families or Medical because the single parent makes a few dollars over the financial limit? And what happens to the emancipating 18-year-old growing up in foster care who had a minor infraction and can’t move into transitional housing?
We all make choices re donating time and money but the images from abroad tug at Americans with rapid fire response faster than portraits of friends and neighbors in dire circumstances.
The holidays are upon us with food and clothing drives for the needy. Outside every Starbuck’s and restaurant someone is rattling coins in a paper cup. Do we turn away from disheveled, sour-smelling folks sitting on the sidewalk because it’s easier to send a gift to a faceless man, woman or child? I don’t have the answer. Do you?
What about the families who lost their homes in foreclosure? Or the children who don’t qualify for Healthy Families or Medical because the single parent makes a few dollars over the financial limit? And what happens to the emancipating 18-year-old growing up in foster care who had a minor infraction and can’t move into transitional housing?
We all make choices re donating time and money but the images from abroad tug at Americans with rapid fire response faster than portraits of friends and neighbors in dire circumstances.
The holidays are upon us with food and clothing drives for the needy. Outside every Starbuck’s and restaurant someone is rattling coins in a paper cup. Do we turn away from disheveled, sour-smelling folks sitting on the sidewalk because it’s easier to send a gift to a faceless man, woman or child? I don’t have the answer. Do you?
Monday, November 9, 2009
No "Safety Net" for Teens
We’re closing pages for the November issue. Presses roll on the 14th. A remarkable young woman wrote the cover story, “My American Dream,” the struggles of an undocumented immigrant and her extraordinary achievement, a scholarship to Loyola Marymount College in Los Angeles.
The health care debate in Congress and across the country (more accurately, called, the ugly fight!) told from a teen’s perspective will blow you away. If you ask a teenager, “What’s your health insurance”? the response is, “ask my mom.” Well, 16-year-old Serli Portalogu takes the reader through her journey of health insurance, on and off for the past 13 years. She clearly describes being part of Healthy Families, a healthcare plan subsidized by the state of California for minors, the family’s years with Kaiser Permanente, the paperwork and financial challenges to have access to care and the lack of a “safety net” when her family doesn’t have health coverage.
The health care debate in Congress and across the country (more accurately, called, the ugly fight!) told from a teen’s perspective will blow you away. If you ask a teenager, “What’s your health insurance”? the response is, “ask my mom.” Well, 16-year-old Serli Portalogu takes the reader through her journey of health insurance, on and off for the past 13 years. She clearly describes being part of Healthy Families, a healthcare plan subsidized by the state of California for minors, the family’s years with Kaiser Permanente, the paperwork and financial challenges to have access to care and the lack of a “safety net” when her family doesn’t have health coverage.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Courageous Women Journalists
Last night the International Women’s Media Foundation held its annual dinner at the Beverly Hills Hotel. It’s quite a gala, celebrity journalists from TV, Internet and print. Major L.A. philanthropists, j-school students, community leaders and other guests schmoozed re the demise of American media institutions.
The organization honored four women journalists who have courageously reported on oppressive political leaders, political upheaval, abuse of women and other human rights issues in their countries. The reporters from Belarus and Cameroon were arrested for writing unflattering stories about the government. Armed soldiers destroyed their equipment and production studios and dragged them from their homes. The plea from the honorees was unanimous – American media must keep its eye on the globe not just when there’s a coup or assassination of a political leader. The Iranian journalist could not attend the event as she was recently released from jail and waiting for her husband to be released. The Israeli reporter travels in dangerous territory, from Jerusalem to Gaza and the West Bank, decades of reporting both sides -- the Palestinians and the Israelis.
We hear little news about Belarus and Cameroon. The networks, cable stations, newspapers and radio send their correspondents to “hot spots,” where there’s gunfire, suicide bombers and kidnappings. Senior executives at media companies claim budget constraints prevent them from posting reporters in less volatile places. The “bean counters” control the flow of information to Americans and will continue to reduce the coverage of global events. No wonder we’re all turning to the Internet for timely information.
The organization honored four women journalists who have courageously reported on oppressive political leaders, political upheaval, abuse of women and other human rights issues in their countries. The reporters from Belarus and Cameroon were arrested for writing unflattering stories about the government. Armed soldiers destroyed their equipment and production studios and dragged them from their homes. The plea from the honorees was unanimous – American media must keep its eye on the globe not just when there’s a coup or assassination of a political leader. The Iranian journalist could not attend the event as she was recently released from jail and waiting for her husband to be released. The Israeli reporter travels in dangerous territory, from Jerusalem to Gaza and the West Bank, decades of reporting both sides -- the Palestinians and the Israelis.
We hear little news about Belarus and Cameroon. The networks, cable stations, newspapers and radio send their correspondents to “hot spots,” where there’s gunfire, suicide bombers and kidnappings. Senior executives at media companies claim budget constraints prevent them from posting reporters in less volatile places. The “bean counters” control the flow of information to Americans and will continue to reduce the coverage of global events. No wonder we’re all turning to the Internet for timely information.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Cops and Teens: Can We Talk?
Los Angeles will have a new police chief this week. Chief Bratton is leaving Los Angeles to pursue other opportunities. Tensions between teenagers and cops are a familiar story. Teens are highly critical of police practices, from curfew enforcement to traffic stops and racial profiling. We’ve hosted sit-downs between teens and LAPD and teens and the Sheriff’s Dept. Transcripts from the sessions were published in L.A. Youth and posted on our website.
The conversations don’t magically bridge the gap between our teen writers and readers but we like to think they at least humanize the participants on both sides. Several years ago L.A. Youth writer Richard Kwon interviewed then-Police Chief Bernard Parks. The conversation turned from teens’ driving habits to a personal tragedy that the chief had experienced. His 20-year-old granddaughter, Lori, had been the victim of a homicide. Richard reflected on their discourse:
I thought police officers pretended to be tough guys, but he was really honest with his answers. He’s still in pain about her death and haunted by it. His face showed signs of weariness but he was still smiling in the end. And so was I.
We tried contacting Chief Bratton but he never responded to our request for an interview. Perhaps the next chief will reach out to teens and dialogue with us.
The conversations don’t magically bridge the gap between our teen writers and readers but we like to think they at least humanize the participants on both sides. Several years ago L.A. Youth writer Richard Kwon interviewed then-Police Chief Bernard Parks. The conversation turned from teens’ driving habits to a personal tragedy that the chief had experienced. His 20-year-old granddaughter, Lori, had been the victim of a homicide. Richard reflected on their discourse:
I thought police officers pretended to be tough guys, but he was really honest with his answers. He’s still in pain about her death and haunted by it. His face showed signs of weariness but he was still smiling in the end. And so was I.
We tried contacting Chief Bratton but he never responded to our request for an interview. Perhaps the next chief will reach out to teens and dialogue with us.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Challenges
Life is a constant challenge.
Deal or No Deal is a challenge for TV contestants to guess how much money is in a box. Last year’s Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire was a million dollar challenge to a young man to guess the right answer on a popular TV show in order to leave his impoverished life in the slums of India.
L.A. Youth is invited to apply for a challenge grant funded by three major foundations. We have to raise money from new contributors, then the foundations will match it between 100 and 200 percent. Board members and I chatted about the invitation this morning after a discussion re the obstacles and opportunities in a downturn economy. They accepted the challenge. We’re applying for the grant.
Every day there’s a different challenge managing the administrative and programmatic tasks of a non-profit organization. Yesterday I learned that one of our long-time donors has ended their support for youth media groups. The challenge is to find another foundation to take their place.
Our teen writers in the foster care system face dire challenges when they emancipate at 18. High school seniors face the challenge of securing college loans and scholarships. Parents on the verge of home foreclosure are challenged with finding shelter for the family and fear of becoming homeless.
I take the challenges one at a time.
Deal or No Deal is a challenge for TV contestants to guess how much money is in a box. Last year’s Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire was a million dollar challenge to a young man to guess the right answer on a popular TV show in order to leave his impoverished life in the slums of India.
L.A. Youth is invited to apply for a challenge grant funded by three major foundations. We have to raise money from new contributors, then the foundations will match it between 100 and 200 percent. Board members and I chatted about the invitation this morning after a discussion re the obstacles and opportunities in a downturn economy. They accepted the challenge. We’re applying for the grant.
Every day there’s a different challenge managing the administrative and programmatic tasks of a non-profit organization. Yesterday I learned that one of our long-time donors has ended their support for youth media groups. The challenge is to find another foundation to take their place.
Our teen writers in the foster care system face dire challenges when they emancipate at 18. High school seniors face the challenge of securing college loans and scholarships. Parents on the verge of home foreclosure are challenged with finding shelter for the family and fear of becoming homeless.
I take the challenges one at a time.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Captive Voices
Jack Nelson was known as a hard driving, dedicated reporter and bureau chief in the Washington bureau of the Los Angeles Times. To me, he led the seminal work that brought the problems of the high school press to the fore when few were paying attention. Captive Voices was published in 1974 by the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial, a Washington, D.C.-based foundation established to continue the pursuit of societal change that marked Kennedy’s life.
In 1973 Senator Edward Kennedy announced the plans of the foundation and created a commission to study the potential of high school journalism in America. The commission focused on censorship of the high school press, lack of participation of minority students on high school press staffs and other issues. Hearings were held across the country and Jack studied 1,725 pages of hearing testimony to write the final report that became Captive Voices.
That report led to the creation of the Student Press Law Center and New Expression, an independent teen-written newspaper in Chicago. Jack was pleased when I launched L.A. Youth in 1988 and over the years he continued to be supportive of our newspaper and the potential of high school journalism in America.
In 1973 Senator Edward Kennedy announced the plans of the foundation and created a commission to study the potential of high school journalism in America. The commission focused on censorship of the high school press, lack of participation of minority students on high school press staffs and other issues. Hearings were held across the country and Jack studied 1,725 pages of hearing testimony to write the final report that became Captive Voices.
That report led to the creation of the Student Press Law Center and New Expression, an independent teen-written newspaper in Chicago. Jack was pleased when I launched L.A. Youth in 1988 and over the years he continued to be supportive of our newspaper and the potential of high school journalism in America.
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