Just a year younger than myself by Trent Johnson

Trent Johnson, a student in my class wrote the following reflection just one day after returning from our trip to DC.  Below is his response.

After giving myself some time to ponder all of the information that processed  during this trip, by far the most rewarding experience was to visit Anacostia Senior High in the Anacostia neighborhood of D.C. If anybody has ever seen the movie Lean On Me, starring Morgan Freeman playing as Joe Clark, that is what I expected when I visited the school. Upon entering, I realized that it wasn’t a violent filled factory of intense gang battles, rather it was a place void of hope. Hope of a future, of another world outside of Southeast D.C. that is actually achievable. I found this void in the eyes, the eyes and expressions on the faces of these students just a year younger than myself. What scared me the most wasn’t that students had this look on their eyes, but this expression of no hope was reflected in the values of community by a lack of value and traditional means of advancement. In another community, education would probably have been viewed as a means for advancement and freedom into a more fruitful world. Based on my observations, in Anacostia, that doesn’t seem to be  the case. I overheard a senior, in a biology class, state words to the following effect, “my grandma will be kill me if I don’t graduate this year…she spent $350 on my prom ticket, cap and gown and senior dues.” That statement spoke volumes into the value of education and vacuum of hope in not only the school but the community.

I left with a burning question, how can we fix this? In my opinion, no Teach For America Corps member can bring what they need, its a problem much more advanced than a 5-6 week boot camp during the summer can fix. In order to fix the schools we must bring up the community, and thereby the school, Anacostia needs to be motivated and re-educated socially, economically, mentally, infrastructural and academically. Every facet of the community must be improved in order to improve the school, as the school is just a sample population of the condition of the community. Gentrification threatens to destroy any improvements that can be done to the area. Improves to the physical conditions of the neighborhood will only have a limited effect on the community, the people themselves must be changed for true progress to begin.

If the people are left in the same condition, then no matter if we send these students to the world-renowned “TJ” and live in the plushest of plush houses in Loudon county, the exact same issues will arise. Fix the community to fix the schools, not the other way around.