Our group visited Martin Luther King Park, on Skyline near 65th Street. The park is fairly large, with a swimming pool, baseball diamond, tennis courts, and large, rolling grass fields. There is also a recreation center, consisting of several large classrooms. At the rec center, young children could engage in many activities, such as gymnastics and craft making.
We observed many children in swimming, gymnastics, tennis, and other classes. They were usually accompanied by parents or other family members. All the people in the park were there because of an park-organized activity. For example, we saw no pickup baseball or soccor games. The people visiting the park were ethnically diverse, including Latinos, African-Americans, and whites. Latinos spoke Spanish and English; the other visitors spoke English.
The people seemed relaxed. They clearly enjoyed the park. Some people told us that gangs considered the park "neutral" territory, and there were few if any gang problems at the park.
We interviewed three visitors: a white firefighter, an African-American mother, and a local mother who was also a teacher's aide at O'Farrell. The people we interviewed expresses a wide variety of views on the community, as well as O'Farrell and Morse schools. The African-American mother had been a volunteer instructional aide at O'Farrell and Morse. She stated that the majority of students were good people, but that there was a higher proportion of gang activity at Morse than other high schools. For that reason, she was going to send her two elementary age students to other schools. She described the Morse and O'Farrell students as generally good, but afraid of gangs. She thought that Morse and O'Farrell were going in the right direction with the emphasis on technology, but thought that gang problems plagued Morse. She believes it is difficult to live in the community because of the crime problem. Other than the park and the many local churches, there are few areas for people to congregate. They pay high prices if they shop at some of the local stores, and often leave the local area to shop. Her advice to us: keep in mind that factors outside the school will affect how the students act and perform.
Others were more optimistic about the O'Farrell youth. Bernadette has been a Teacher's Aide at O'Farrell for the past year and a parent volunteer for the past three. Bernadette, whose husband is a teacher at O'Farrell, stated that the students at this middle school are at an age when they are trying to find themselves. Because of this period of massive discovery, the students act out in defiance as a means to assert their independence. Bernadette believes that the students have not entered the middle school academically prepared and are therefore at a disadvantage. As a result, she believes that they leave O'Farrell ill-prepared for high school courses. Bernadette believes that the O'Farrell "dream" is possible but believes that the school needs to stop changing the structure. She strongly agrees with the school's philosophy that all children can learn, and she appreciates O'Farrell's practice of this philosophy. Of Morse, Bernadette believes that the high school has a good program. She believes that most teachers have been there more than 20 years because of the supportive environment of the school. Bernadette believes that happy, satisfied teachers make for good educators.
Bernadette has lived in the community for 13 years and plans on remaining because of the strong sense of community that exists. She stated that the number one problem is the tagging of buildings and walls.
Bernadette offered a lot of advice to us as incoming teachers. Her best advice was that we need to set our expectations of students and stand firm in these. She warned that if we failed to keep in control of our students and of ourselves, we would fail.
Finally, the firefighter commented on the community in which he worked. He did not live in the area, but everyday he enters the residents' homes. He had mixed feelings about the area. He spoke kindly of the hard working people whom he serviced. He observed on many occasions that they had work-related medical insurance (namely Kaiser). He emphasized their community awareness. For example, during emergencies, the residents allow the fire engines to pass through the streets more easily than wealthier communities. He advised us, as students teachers, to be aware of the community's diverse cultures.
On the other hand, we disagreed with many of the interviewees' comments about gang problems. Certainly, some of the students, especially at Morse, were at least sympathetic to certain gangs. In fact, in early March a major gang fight occurred on campus. As a whole, however, gangs are not a fundamental problem at O'Farrell or Morse. Teachers do not have to deal with gang problems, except on a very occasional basis.