My Baby Chicks are Leaving the Nest

Yesterday was graduation . . . such an emotional day for everyone 'round these parts.  The tears started for me at our annual "Move Up" assembly (where the juniors become seniors, etc.).  I actually made it through the graduation ceremony okay, thanks to a hilarious coworker who made me giggle through the whole thing.  Here are some pics:

me and my sweet former student, RR

 excited lil FH!

I can hardly talk about this . . .

I've taught EM for 3 years and he has come so far.

I am so proud.  And teary-eyed! 

I love this pic of my girl, D.  I'm gonna miss her something fierce.

  post-graduation celebration in front of the school

What a day!  And to top everything off . . . as I was driving home yesterday afternoon, I got a call from my boss with some exciting news: we magically got the funding for the 2011-2012 school year, which means that I have a job (!!!) and Balboa's kids with incarcerated family members will still have this program to support them.  Yay for justice!  And happy Friday to all of you. :)

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So I have this student.

Teaching is supposed to be about recognizing and appreciating other viewpoints, yeah yeah yeah.  To some extent, I'm all about that.  I like to encourage my little monsters to think critically and analytically, and to propose alternatives to systems in our country that aren't working.  It's the crux of teaching social justice, I think.

But then what do you do when their opinion is just  WACK?


JJ is a shock-and-awe type of kid.  So it should not have surprised me when I was teaching alternatives to incarceration/restorative justice today and the following dialogue occurred.  


I was explaining how investing money and resources into rehabilitation would benefit taxpayers financially.  


JJ:  I don't wanna spend money on them.  They committed a crime.  They should be treated like dogs. (Important to note that I teach children of incarcerated parents--JJ's dad has been in jail and her mother is an addict).


me:  I understand your point of view.  But if we don't do anything to help, or rehabilitate these people after they've committed their crimes, then statistics show that when they are released, they will just commit the same crimes again.  And then we're spending even more money on them.


JJ:  That's why I believe we should euthanize them.


me:  Come again?


JJ:  We should just euthanize them.


me:  Huh.  So you believe we should just kill all people who commit crimes?


JJ:  Yep.  Why should they get free services when people who haven't committed crimes don't?


me:  People who haven't committed crimes do get free services.  Public health clinics, government assistance, disability, etc.  See, most people who commit crimes are empty (I draw a twinkie-like shape on the board that is empty/uncolored).  Most of them have been damaged due to abuse, neglect, overexposure to crime.  I believe it is our job as a society to help fix them.  They deserve to be whole.  So if instead of throwing them in jail or prison, where they will be brutalized and come out even more likely to commit crimes, we treat them with rehabilitation, therapy, counseling, training, etc.?   Then, upon release, they are far more likely to become contributing members of society (I draw a twinkie-like shape on the board that has been colored in: full).  


JJ:  That doesn't work.

me:  Actually, empirical data shows that recidivism rates plummet when an inmate has completed a rehabilitative/therapeutic program while incarcerated.  If we give them the tools to address the harm that they have caused, learn to speak an emotional language, and give them the training necessary to be hirable members of society, then a vast number of them, according to statistics, succeed without returning to prison.  As of now, over 60% of people who are released from prison come right back after their release.  Which means we're spending 30K per year on these people indefinitely.  If we'd just invest in rehabilitative programs for two years, we could eliminate that cost.

JJ:  Why is it 30K?

me:  Housing, food, guards--

JJ:  See they don't deserve all that.  They are in prison!

me:  They don't deserve food?

JJ:  Nope.

me:  Well, JJ, that's unrealistic.  Do you believe we should starve people to death who have committed crimes?  What about Three Strikes inmates who are in for theft/robbery/assualt?

JJ:  All it would take is one bullet.

Ay yay yay.  I don't know what to do with this one!  I'm used to fostering different viewpoints but daaaaaamn.  This girl's talkin' some wacked out dystopian novel shit.  Not really sure how to handle her. Gonna have to ponder this one for a while.  Or maybe figure out how to inject her with a dose of empathy. ;)

High School Claire

Had a teacher asked High School Claire to write a story about the most difficult thing that had ever happened to her and read it in front of 250+ people, she would have scoffed! (and then possibly scampered off to write a very melodramatic story, but damned if she would have read it aloud in front of anyone).

1999: two of my senior portraits, heehee

But miraculously, my high school students are very different than High School Claire, cause man did they blow me (and everyone else) away when they took on that very task.  

Over the course of the semester, my ROOTS students have been writing stories and poems about their incarcerated family members.  Some were present for their parent's arrest, others spent much of their childhood visiting their fathers or mothers in state prison, some have been incarcerated themselves.

The auditorium was overflowing, and there were at least 40 people standing.  I can hardly conceive of the bravery it must have taken for these teenagers to share their words.  I wish you all could have been there, but here are some short clips to give you an idea of what it was like:

Can you see why I'm such a proud mama hen?

Hoping to return to normalcy soon . . .

Right now, all my time & energies are wrapped up in this:

My students will be sharing their stories and poems about their experiences with arrest and incarceration at this event on Thursday night.  It will be incredible (we do it every year--it always is), but let me tell you it is so much work.  Between preparing them, arranging transportation, calling parents/guardians, rehearsing their stories, and promoting the event (if you live in the Bay Area, come!), there isn't much time for anything else.

Except that 6 week grades are due today and I am working every night this week.

Wish me grace and luck and a few extra hours each day. :)

Shivers & Goosebumps

I know videos can be tedious to watch.  I often start watching a video someone's posted on facebook or a blog, and then skip to the next thing after about 30 seconds (my attention span is that of a flea's).

But as a person who teaches kids of incarcerated parents, I find this video so moving.  It made me get teary toward the end and my legs got goosebumps!  Most of my students are all too familiar with what this guy is saying in his brilliant & haunting poem.

Not to be preachy, but there are 2.4 million children in this country with a parent who is incarcerated.  If we don't intervene/step up/embrace them, it's all too clear that they're gonna slip through the cracks.

Friday I'm in Love!

Summergirl

1.  These giveaways:

**Meghan (whom I adore and whose blog I always look forward to reading) at The Perfect Compilation Tape is giving away your choice of Rhianne's prints!

**Neely at A Complete Waste of Makeup is giving away a $50 gift certificate to your choice: Target, Starbucks, Sephora, Anthropologie, Lululemon, or Banana Republic.  WHAT?!  Go enter!

2. Lunch with my dearie former student & her babykid:

3. One of my besties had her baby!!!  
Perhaps you know who I'm referring to. :)  I'll give you more deets as soon as she gives me the okay, but let's just say I can't wait to meet my lil nephew!

4. Scoutmob

If you live in San Francisco, Atlanta, or New York City and you don't have Scoutmob, get with the program.  Every other day or so you get a 50% off coupon (on your phone) to a restaurant/store/etc. around town.  Last Friday night I had dinner with some of my faves at Andalu for half off (three of us had dinner & a pitcher of sangria for $30-something!).  Sweeeeeeet.  

Not loving:

Sammi, go home already!  Last night was such a tease!

Happy Friday!

The Bluebird

from

me:  Okay, so as you are writing your stories, imagine there is a bluebird perched on your head and he is chirping "Imagery, imagery!"  He is reminding you to use visual images and lots of details in your story.  

DS:  Maaaaaaannnn, forget the bluebird.  F*** that ni**a.  He ain't helpin' me.

me:  Did you just say "f*** that n**a" about the bluebird?

DS:  Yep.

Monster Pride

Soooooo since the other day I talked about how crazy they are, I figured I better also give credit where credit is due.  I have talked about the absolutely mind-boggling (and infuriating) West Memphis Three case before, and I just gotta brag on my lil monsters that they've seriously rocked the project I assigned around the case.

They've written letters to the Arkansas Supreme Court voicing their opinions about the case . . .

expressed themselves through poetry . . .

created posters to educate others about the West Memphis Three . . .

proven that the mixtape is far from dead . . . 

as well as created pamphlets and "business cards" to hand out to folks, written newspaper articles about the WM3's new hearing, made phone calls to the state Supreme Court, and written letters to each of the three wrongfully incarcerated young men (Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley).  I'm a proud mama hen!

Also:  My student Eddy has a blog for the independent study he's doing with me around capital punishment.  He only posts once a week, and he's excited to be learning (and teaching!) about the death penalty.  But when I nudge him to post more often and put more effort into his blog, he says "But Ms. Kiefer, you're my only follower!"  What do you say we fix that?  Care to follow a teenager's journey to learn about capital punishment in the U.S.?  He'd appreciate it. :)

here's his blog:  Death Row in America

Thanks, y'all!

Jerry! Jerry!

Today's episode of 5th period was outta control!  Sometimes when my kids act like they drank a little crazy in their milk carton, I get crazy right back at 'em (call security, write referrals, raise my voice, etc.)


But today I just sat back and enjoyed the show . . .

(Enter S, a teeny little volatile thing with an ice-breaking attitude).
S:  J, I HEARD you talked to the counselor about me.  You snitch!  You act like a lil ass kid!
J:  Whatever!  F--- you!  I don't give a f--- about you!  (commences singing)
S:  Grow up!  You snitch!  No one likes you!  I don't give an f--- about YOU!  I swear Ms. Kiefer I'm gonna slap him.
J:  Do I look like I care?  Do I look like I care?  Do I look like I care?  Do I look like I care?  Do I--
(Enter V, a girl who suffers from a total lack of a FILTER).
V:  GROW A D--- and THEN talk to us!
J:  I'll go outside and show it to you right now.  (starts undoing his belt). Come on!  Let's go!
V:  ACT LIKE A N----!  ACT LIKE A N----!  ACT LIKE A N----!
J:  You got me f----- up.  F---.

etc, etc.  I just had to take a deep breath and practice calm, positive thinking.

Afterwards, I told them they were all being ridiculous.  And then we went on with our activity about racial profiling.  Winter break, where art thou???

Friday I'm in love with Central America

Summergirl

It is Friday and I am very much in love with three things:

1. These shoes

from

I first saw them on this blog and my heart skipped a beat . . . I looked them up immediately, and am now mustering all the justifications I can for spending $178 on a pair of shoes right before Christmas (when I should be saving my money for gifts!).  I cannot get these shoes outta my head!  Just imagine them with black tights and a gray ballerina-esque skirt!  They are perfect.  They are exquisite.  I have to find a way . . .

2. My students' reactions to the West Memphis Three case

In class we read Damien Echols's memoir, Almost Home, and then watched the HBO documentary, Paradise Lost, about the West Memphis Three case.  My students are so into it, and it makes me happy, because trust me . . . this case is worth getting to know.  It's crazy to think that blatant injustice is still happening in our "civilized" country.

click here

3. Leaving for Guatemala tonight!

 Freeman, his parents, and I are hittin' the road tonight and catching a flight to LA at 9:30, immediately followed by a flight to Guatemala City!  We'll head to Antigua bright & early tomorrow morning, and will stay there for the next few days.  We're all gonna be exhausted (hello, international red-eye with a toddler!), but it will be well worth it.  I've been battling wanderlust for quite some time now, and I think this trip might just take care of it.  For a while, anyway. :)  Check out these pics of Antigua, known for its volcanoes!

three images from

I'll be back Wednesday morning, so in the meantime, have a fantastic weekend!  

Have any of you been to Antigua, or Guatemala in general?

Proposition 19: "i was gonna go to church, but then i got hiiiiigh"

Yesterday, when I walked into school with my "I Voted" sticker, I saw one of my students in the main office, and he immediately said:

"Ms. Kiefer, did you vote for that marijuana thing???"

Many of y'all non-Californians know about the proposition on our ballots yesterday that would have legalized (an ounce or less) of marijuana in limited settings (in private homes, or in designated spots for marijuana, such as cannabis clubs).

from

Now, I don't smoke weed.  I hate the smell, I hate it when my students come in with glazed red eyes, and I hate smoking anything.  Ugh, just makes me cough and gives me a headache.  And I have to confess that I think stoners are kinda lame, especially when they're over the age of 17.  I mean come on, dude.  I have no problem with people who smoke weed occasionally (I do live in California after all), but I'm a little judgey about those whose lives revolve around the ganja.

That said, I voted for Prop 19, cause I figure, if people are gonna smoke it, we might as well regulate and tax it, cause Lord knows our state could use the money!  I mean, public schools have four furlough days this year.  WTF?!  

But it didn't pass.  In any case, I was talking to my 5th period about the issue yesterday, when GM said this:

"I was in this Big Brother Big Sister program & I had this white dude & I went through his stuff while he was in the shower, & I found some marijuana in this pill bottle up in his drawer.  And he try to tell me he use it for MEDICINE, he be lyin' like hell! I took a piece of it and I gave it to my brother!"

HA!  Tooooo funny.  I mean, it's not legalizing marijuana in limited forms would mean that the world would come to this:

from

Geez.

Braggin' on my Hooligans

Check out what my lil monsters have been working on in class:

After learning about the disparities among different groups of people when it comes to arrest and incarceration, they created satirical "how to" booklets based on facts about likelihood of imprisonment based on race, gender, poverty, level of education, etc.

pre-project

some of my 5th period students

post-project: they created masks based on how concepts of self-identity change upon imprisonment

I just gotta show them off once in a while.  Since they make me laugh every day and all. ;)

p.s.  go here to learn about what we're reading/studying in class.  The most egregious miscarriage of "justice" I've ever known.  

Facebook.

I mean seriously, who comes up with these things you "like"?  Apparently any old Joe can make up things to "like," cause these are literally some of the things I've been seeing on my news feed lately:


Courtnee likes I hate when you're nice to the weird kid, then BOOM stalked for life! 

Courtnee likes Dear God, Please bring back Bob Marley, In return you can have Justin Bieber. Amen. 

Courtnee likes ‎/\_/\_____________this would be my heartbeat if i ever lost you. I love you to death

Courtnee likes Can I Have A Sip? Sure! *Glug, Glug, Glug* WTF Man!?

Courtnee likes We text 24/7, but when we meet.......AWKWARD! 

Courtnee likes Pardon me, sir gangster, but I believe your trousers are descending. 




And speaking of facebook.  I won't be friends with my students (duh), but there are a select few former students who have graduated that I'm friends with.  One of them is decidedly not Davell Joiner.  Here is a glimpse of his recent status updates to illustrate why:

Davell Joiner hahahahahahahahahahaha summer jam was mosdef poppn to all the pussy a nigga could ever want lol there was some lil nastys in that bitch but it dont matter cuz i was too dam high to even trip of any pussy lol

Davell Joiner pussy money weed is all a brother knos

Davell Joiner woke up this morning wit pussy on my mind

Davell Joiner MANN I NEED A FAT ASSSSSSSSS CHOP

Davell Joiner mann im soo sleepy i need too smoke and get some pussy....mannn i cant trust noo BITCH OR NIGGA

Davell Joiner i need a bad yellow bone,,long hair dont care,,wit a ass dats fatt...but she gota be nasty never afraid too take a dick,,and love too get her pussy licked ...lil nasty

Davell Joiner she told the whole world!!!!... i got a big dick and i kno how to use it lol

Now isn't that a lesson in the depressing--when you see THAT on a former student's wall???  Ay yay yay.  God bless his p----- obsessed soul.

Sequel: 2nd period 2010

Today in class:

5th period 2010

Today in class:

Friday I'm in Love!

Today's done a number on me (who wants to have to guide a teenager through a pregnancy test on her lunch break . . . especially when said teenager already has a 6 month old!???), but I'm gonna will myself chipper by doing a Friday I'm in Love post:

summergirl!

So while I'm tempted to focus on all the things I'm most decidedly not in love with (teenage pregnancy, my headache, throwing up my lunch, etc.), here's a list of things that are striking my fancy and making it all a little bit cheerier . . .

1. CHEAT DAY

In one blissful hour I'm heading over to Zero Zero in San Francisco's SOMA district to:

a) celebrate the birthdays of two wonderful co-workers, and then

b) meet up with my friend Doro for a dinner

Zero Zero's margherita pizza with buffalo mozzarella

their famous organic soft serve with olive oil and sea salt

Being really strict about what I eat makes me all the more grateful for good food, wine, and cocktails on my weekly cheat days. So excited for Zero Zero's old school cocktails and heirloom tomato salad!

2. FUNNY STUDENTS

I walk into 2nd period today and my student E.M. says to me:

"Whatsup, Snowflake?"

HA! "White girl" = offensive. "Snowflake" = hilarious.

. . .

Okay I think that's pretty much it. Sorry. Can't eke out anything else . . . maybe tomorrow. Ha.

9 am is Too Early

for a student to announce to class:

"My phone is vibrating! It's vibrating on my penis! I swear to God!"

At least let me have my coffee first.

If you feel so inclined . . .

As most of you know, the funding for my job has been cut entirely for next year. San Francisco's Department of Children, Youth, and Families--our primary funders--are currently revising their budget proposal, which means that they're literally in the process of deciding which programs to reconsider funding. So crucial!

The chairman of the Board of Supervisors is John Avalos, SF City Supervisor for District 11 (the district my high school's in!). Imagine my surprise when I walked into our graduation ceremony today and the program said:

Keynote Speaker: John Avalos

Avalos speaking at our graduation today

I immediately texted one of my 5th period rascals and asked if he was still in the neighborhood. When he confirmed that he was, I snuck him in the back door of graduation and we planned a sneak attack. When Avalos was done speaking, MP and I bombarded him on the way out the side door paparazzi-style. MP said "Can I please have five minutes of your time?" Avalos nodded and we gathered in the hall, where Matt and I serenaded him with all the reasons he needs to rally for funding for ROOTS! Avalos gave me a business card with two email addresses on it, and suggested I send another "mini proposal" to each of them.

My boss (who is working tirelessly to save ROOTS) says that what we need to be doing right now is overwhelming the Board of Supervisors and Maria Su--the head of DCYF (our funders!)--pleading that they add back our program. This means that we need to get in as many calls and emails as possible! Those of you know me or my students, and/or who have any personal connection with the effects of incarceration . . . if you have just two minutes to leave a message with Supervisor Avalos or Maria Su (the head honcho at DCYF), I'd be eternally grateful:

John Avalos

San Francisco City Supervisor, District 11

(415) 554-6975

john.avalos@sfgov.org

Maria Su

Director, Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF)

(415) 554-3547

maria@dcyf.org

Here is the email I just sent off to John Avalos:

Hi Supervisor Avalos,

Just wanted to thank you for taking the time to talk to my student, MP, and me this afternoon at Balboa's graduation. I know that it's a frenzied time of year, and everyone's pressed for time (and money!), but it meant so much to us to have your ear for a few minutes to chat about Community Works' ROOTS program.

I've taught ROOTS, a program at Balboa High School for children of incarcerated parents, for the past four years. Honestly, there are far more students at Balboa who've been impacted by incarceration than I can serve. I've been so fortunate to teach as many of them as possible for the past four years, and I beg you to rally for Community Works to get the necessary funding to keep us going for another year.

Most of my students are classified Special Education, many have severe emotional disturbances, and all have been wrecked by the prison system (their family members have been incarcerated, and many of them have been incarcerated in juvenile hall themselves). I wish you could have seen them pile into the auditorium at CIIS last month, and read their brave, eloquent stories about witnessing their parents' arrest and incarceration in front of 200 people. It was moving, to say the least. They have such a capacity to shine; they just need individualized attention and special accommodations to access their feelings about incarceration. I believe with all my heart that programs like ROOTS are the most successful tools in interrupting the cycle of incarceration that plagues our society (and specifically, our young people in District 11).

Please encourage DCYF to fund Community Works' ROOTS program at Balboa High School. The amount of money we are requesting is marginal, comparatively, and it would earn four times its value in success and heart--I promise.

I will send a "mini proposal" to Peter Masiak and Raquel Redondiez, as you requested. Thank you again!

Claire Kiefer

Community Works ROOTS Teacher

Balboa High School

Please keep your fingers crossed that we get good news. I just can't bear the thought of not being here next year, teaching my little monsters. It's unimaginable. :(

Thank you!

None of these things have anything in common with each other:

1. So everyone's putting on facebook that Dennis Hopper died, but not knowing who on earth he was meant that I had to do a google image search. I found a few pics of Dennis Hopper (still don't recognize him), but this is what caught my eye . . . a picture titled "Paul Newman by Dennis Hopper, 1964." No idea if the photographer is the same Dennis Hopper, but it's one of the HOTTEST, most gorgeous photos I've ever freakin' seen:

seriously! can't stop staring!

2. After having now seen Sex and the City 2 twice, I still haven't conclusively decided on a favorite outfit (Carrie's cream/blue accented, long, flowy nightgown? Miranda's dress at Stanford's wedding? The gray, rope-waisted, mid-calf dress Carrie wore on the airplane to Abu Dhabi? The light pink billowy one shoulder dress with sequined turban? Carrie's Dior ensemble when she sees Aiden at the spice market?). The only thing I can say definitively was that my favorite thing worn in the movie were Carrie's gold glitter Louboutins from the opening scene. What was your favorite? Although it's always fun to look at SATC fashion, I'll admit that I was more stunned by the outfits in the first movie.

3. This morning I'm lazily drinking coffee and grading finals at my kitchen's bistro table when I get to ZT's final (some of you may remember ZT from here or here or here). Here are two (of many hilarious) answers to questions on his final exam:

I don't know how to rotate them, so you'll have to click on them to really see. The question in the first picture says: "In your opinion, what are some of the problems with the prison system in the U.S.? Use examples from things we've discussed in class." I was looking for answers such as: high recidivism rates, disproportionate incarceration of people of color, over 200 people exonerated from Death Row in the past 30 years, racial segregation and violence, and/or billions of dollars spent on the prison system that could be going to education, etc. Instead, I got ZT's answer. Notice how he switched up each "gang rape" with inverted/upside down letters, symbols, etc.

In the second picture, the question states the Miranda Rights as they currently are, and then asks the students to, considering what they've learned about arrest and incarceration, rewrite the Miranda warning to best protect the rights of arrested people. ZT's response:

You have the right to shut the fuck up. Any fucking thing you say will be used in court. You have the right to speak to a cracker. You will get a cracker if you can't afford one.

What do y'all think I should give him on his final? ;) Happy weekend!