Charles Hien Blog #3: Jonathan Kozol: Amazing Grace (Quotes).

    In his writings, Kozol speaks of an area of the South Bronx (Mott Haven) that he calls one of the poorest and most dangerous areas in the United States. Your heart and mind can feel nothing but awful when reading of the conditions and experiences that the people of this area live in. The question is, do the people live in this area because they want to, because they have to, because they have no where else to go, or because they are influenced by the power of the drug dealers? The area is made up of two minority groups. Two-thirds are black and one-third is Hispanic, making it one of the largest racially segregated area in the United States. Mott Haven is filled with sick people, drugs, prostitutes, violence and crime.

Kozol is a writer that sheds light on situations that he finds in different communities throughout the United States. This is the story of Mott Haven, the people of this community were originally the homeless people of Manhattan that were moved down the line by police and society until they landed in the area of Mott Haven. This writers blog is to show how the drug dealers are in a position of power and how they influence this poor community. Mott Haven is a community with a median household income of $7600, making Mott Haven's population of 48,000 the poorest in the South Bronx.

Kozol talks of a story where a cocaine dealer from Mott haven let a women borrow $500. The dealer would wait on the first of the month by the check cashing line to collect. By the time she was done paying the drug dealer had collected $1000 on the $500 loan. The drug dealers that loan money are in charge of a large portion of the money in Mott Haven. 

"Crack-cocaine addiction and the intravenous use of heroine, which children I have met here call the needle drug, are woven into the texture of existence in Mott Haven". Like in the first quote where the drug dealers control a large portion of the money, they also control the illegal substances that are woven into Mott Haven's society. The drug dealers push their product on locals of all ages and get them hooked on drugs from an early age.

"Quite a few times when I have had to go down St. Anne's Ave. the dealers open their hands when I go by. You try not to look at them but you can feel the hatred in their eyes as you go by." This quote comes from Cliffie's response about the drug dealers and how they treat people walking down the road. Cliffie is the boy that shows Kozol around the community explaining the lay of the land.

The drug dealers use tactics to shame the locals shame people walking down the roads into using drugs. In this writers opinion, the drug dealers use these tactics as a form of gaining power to control the people of Mott Haven. They show no shame or mercy on all the locals no matter what their age is.  They coax them into using drugs, then let them borrow money to pay for drugs, then charge them heavy prices to pay them back. This is a vicious cycle that the locals get caught up in.  

Charles Hien Blog post week 2 Argument of Lisa Delpit's article on Cultural Conflict in the Classroom

     Lisa Delpit in this article argues that teachers who are successful in educating black and poor children are able to use multiple approaches to teaching. She talks about teachers not allowing themselves to be caught teaching with just a skills or process approach. Successful teachers of these groups are able to adapt to the style of the classroom. Delpit refers to communication as a key concept. Whereas some students take to a style where they are told what to do with an egalitarian style. This type of student needs a stern approach and appreciates when the teacher is in control of the classroom. Other students may need to be coaxed in a direction where they are part of the decision making. The most successful educators are able to determine which approach works best with which student. 

    Delpit also believes that students need to be heard in their own voice. She uses an example where a Native American teacher uses a large board and separates "Village English" from "Standard English". This educator teaches her students the usefulness of both. Another word this educator uses for her students is "Heritage Language" and teaches her students where and when this will be useful. At the same time she points out how "Standard English" will also benefit in gaining power in other circumstances. 

    The article ties in the concept of how schooling is related to "Power". Culture of power is referred to as the way a student writes, dresses and talks. The people that have the power are not always of the same class, race or religion of those they are teaching. When teachers are operating from a different cultural perspective, maybe they are not the best person to be teaching that particular group.

Week 1 Charles Hien Blog Post Reflection on Allen Johnson article: Privilege Power and Difference

    I am taking a class on schooling for social justice. Our first reading was a very interesting short (3 chapters) reading by Allen Johnson on privilege, power and difference. These are terms that the author uses to describe a society that has developed in the United States and how "social injustices" were derived. I found many of his points very powerful and right on point. He starts out with an introduction that points out the trouble our society. He states "that we are both individually and a society as a whole stuck in a paralysis that perpetuates the trouble of its human consequences". I find this quote particularly poignant because it puts the burden of what we have become as a society on society as a whole. I never really thought of social injustice in that manner.

     I grew up in Lincoln RI, where my parents went to Lincoln high school, I went to Lincoln High School and my daughter went to Lincoln High School. I never even realized that I was privileged, a term Johnson calls "epistemic privilege". I am a white heterosexual male with a good education that went to college. That checks all the boxes of being privileged. This has definitely helped me with opportunities throughout my life. I can thankfully say that I have never been fired from a job. I have also been hired by every job that I have ever applied for. Is that because I was the best candidate, or because I am privileged? Looking back at my life it is probably because I grew up privileged. I have always tried to treat anyone and everyone I come into contact with with respect no matter their race, ethnicity, religion, skin color or sexual preference. But I can see from reading this piece that just is not good enough. I would like to make a difference in this battle that our society is in with social justice, but I just don't know how to go about it. I am hoping this class enlightens me and broadens my mindset so that I can make a difference and help pass a better social mindset to generations of the future.

    Johnson goes on to talk about the three terms and their relevance to society. He starts with difference. In my opinion we are all different, to me that is what makes our society so interesting. But because of where I grew up, I never quite realized how being different could effect a person's societal status until I got older and grew with my life experiences. Johnson feels like difference has the least effect on societal injustice. Whereas privilege and power has created most of the injustices we have in society today. These two terms prey on the differences in people. Like in my case, privilege has allowed me to get every job I wanted in my work history. Johnson goes on to say how in our society today, people of privilege are predominantly the people who are in a position of power. 

    I have attached a link to Youtube. I typed in "why are their not more women in positions of power". When I typed this quote into Youtube a series of videos popped up. Some of them were absolutely ludicrous and demeaning to women. Others were actually interesting and talked about changing our societal mindset on gender discrimination. This is part of the problem with our society. 

Question for class discussion

Do you feel that the media (social and otherwise) has an effect on what norms in today's society are and should be? 

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=why+arent+there+more+women+in+positions+of+power

Charles Hien first blog

Hello my name is Charles Hien I am a school nurse in the Pawtucket school department. I work at Curvin McCabe elementary school. I love to coach baseball and play golf. Over the vacation I joined a golf league at Louisquissett golf club. My career began in the hospitality industry where my father and I owned a night club in Providence RI called the Ling Room. I have been married twice both very successful marriages. My first marriage produced my daughter Haley Hien She is 24 years old, you can see her in the pics below. My second marriage produced my dog Tommie (also below) and most importantly led me to becoming a nurse. I love what I do and plan on being a nurse for the rest of my life. Looking forward to this class and what it will bring my professional career.