Teaching at Jefferson

So, for the next few weeks, I will be teaching children with autism, mental retardation, and cerebral palsy. The kids are great...the administration of the school sucks. Because the kids I teach require so much, the administration restricts them to two classrooms only. The students travel between my classroom and another teacher's class all day. It has been requested that my students no longer visit the school library because they are distracting to the other teachers. Plainly stated: this is discrimination. Children who have significant behavioral challenges are thrusted into special education without regard to their academic capabilities. Jeff HS is 93% latino, 6% African-American, and 1% other. The publicized "race riots" that have occurred at Jefferson in the past year have been exaggerated by the mass media. What has in fact occurred is a cultural shift in population. Dorothy Dandridge, Alvin Ailey, and Ralph Bunche are among Jefferson HS alumni. The school was historically an all black school in formerly all black South Central LA. Now, the school auditorium is the only place to find the black faces of esteemed alumni and many of the current students are unfamiliar with the legacy of the school. In the homecoming court race there are no black students. The school newspaper does not show one black face. The teachers fear the students to the point that reprimanding a child for using poor language (swearing in the presence of an adult) is unheard of. The students smell fear in the teachers and I truly believe that this will continue because the administration is resistant to change. I search myself for a place to begin my journey at Jefferson...so much to be done.