Educational Injustices

After reading the article, "Locating the School-To-Prison Pipeline", I have learned in greater detail the educational injustices in schools. I had the privilege to be able to attend private schools, so I had limited knowledge on this subject before reading this article. I knew some about the zero-tolerance policies and Acts such as No Child Left Behind, but while reading, I was shocked at the number of ways schools marginalized already at risk youth. Zero tolerance policy is when schools will give strict punishments without regards on individual circumstances. Some of the circumstances for children being expelled under the zero tolerance policy are reddiculous; bringing scissors for an art project and giving Midol to a classmate are just a few of these examples. The amount of arrests at schools are now even more numerous, especially with the increase in police as enforcers of school policies. The biggest problem, which is the one I know the most about, is the "high-stakes" testing. This is where teachers and schools are pressured to reach cirtain scores on standardized tests, so they have "an incentive to push out low-performing students" in order to keep up or improve their overall test scores. This is the most abbhorent to me because these are laws coming from the government to condone such acts. Another statistic that I found suprising and upsetting was the amount of children with disabilities in jail are four times as many than ones in school. After I was finished reading I felt very angry at the lack of justice in our education system. America should have one of the best education systems in the world, not one where children have to struggle, even against the government, to stay in school.


The video we watched, entitled "Black Males, Black Dreams", was a personal and serious, but positive video on the specific struggles of African American males to finish school. It told the story of one black male who struggled to finish school, at one point was homeless, but finished school and became a teacher. Some people interviewed were the key adults in his life who pushed him to try his best academically; his last foster parents, and a high school teacher were the three most important people that kept him on track. Like one person said in the video, "it is not the depth of your condition that determines your destiny, it is your desire and willingness to be successful." I believe this accurately sums up the video. The man should be a positive example for black male students struggling to finish school. As for public figures, I think Obama could be considered one of the biggest modern day role models for African American males trying to complete higher education.

As a STARS leader I hope to talk to students about these inequalities. I wish to listen to their points of view on the topic, to hear a different perspective. I will support them in their struggles against educational inequalities. I will practice servant leadership by encouraging their personal growth, listening to them, and being aware of the current struggles in the education system.

By working with the students throught the empowerment pipeline, I will learn to develop my servent leadership skills. I will develop my listening, healing, and commitment to the growth of people on an even deeper level through my interactions with the students. I can show them what it means to be a college student, encourage them to persue their passions, and challenge them to do their best work.

I am excited and a little nervous to meet the students from Tilden on Friday. I am excited to share my experiences and what college is like with them. I believe the student panel will be beneficial to the students to better understand college life. I am interested to see what questions they will ask and how they will respond to our responses. One-on-ones may be more beneficial if they have specific questions pertaining more to one of us, or if they are quieter. I am looking forward to meeting the students on Friday!

Servant Leader

"I wish to do something great and wonderful, but I must start by doing the little things like they are great and wonderful"~ Albert Einstein

I think this quote is very profound and best describes the way I view my leadership. I am extremely ambitious; I feel like I want to take on the world, to seek out every injustice and correct it. However, I know that I must do small things that will eventually add up to a greater action. Small everyday actions, such as saying hi to people I met through various clubs, holding the door for someone a few steps behind me, supporting friends in their various cultural clubs, and standing up for someone being bullied all are small but important actions I take be a leader on campus or the community in general.

Social justice is a term used so regularly by religious groups and politicians that it sometimes looses its meaning. It may get stretched and skewed so as to spread their beliefs and further their agendas. Meanwhile nameless humanitarians live out the term through their actions. I was taught the meaning of social justice since the beginning of  middle school through my various religion classes. Social justice to me means the equal treatment of ALL people in society. It means solidarity with others and fighting for basic human rights within a society. My class last semester, Service and Social Justice, showed how service is pertinent to taking action towards social justice. Even if it is focusing on an immediate need, it leads people to question why the need is there and what can be done to combat that in the community. Here is a clip of one musician that comes to mind when I think of social justice. 

I really liked the servant leadership workshop put on by Dr. Green of the Center for Experiential Learning. I thought the exercises he had us do were enlightening; it showed us that a leader has developed qualities and does not have to be a famous figure. The activity where we had to answer questions about ourselves really surprised me. I had seven out of ten characteristics of a servant leader! When we turned the page and read the description by Robert Greenleaf, the person who first coined the term servant leader, the first two sentences resonated with me. "Servant-leadership begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. The conscience choice brings one to aspire to lead." This is how I feel on a daily basis, and how many others would describe my personality, putting others before myself.

I believe I have traits of a servant leader. I have good listening skills; I always make sure I listen and take into account everyone's opinions. I believe I strive to help people when they need it and make sure they are alright. For example, just the other night I saw a friend doing homework in the laundry room and she was crying. I stopped in; even though she said she didn't want to talk I sat there with her and eventually she told me what was wrong. I believe this also showed empathy in a way because I told her of a similar circumstance that happened to me. I believe I have awareness; I can tell when people are feeling judging on their actions. Even though I feel I have many important traits of a servant leader, there are many that I still wish to develop.

A few traits I would like to develop are conceptualization, persuasion, and foresight. I would like to be able to find a balance of being a dreamer and being realistic about goals; I feel like I either shoot too high or low. I would also like to develop an ability to persuade people rather than using authority to make them do something. A third trait I would like to develop is my foresight of major events and the possible consequences. By knowing the consequences, both negative and positive, I could then make a decision if the positive would be worth the risk of the negative consequences.

Finally, my dream job has changed already from what I originally came into college wanting to do. I originally wanted to be a marine biologist and move to a Spanish speaking country to do research. Now, I would like to either be a research scientist helping to find solutions to pollution, or a math teacher. Either job, I believe, directly serves others. By researching pollution I would be able to make the world a cleaner place for people to live healthier lives. If I were a teacher, I would be able to help shape future generations by teaching them and sparking their interest math.

Leadership quote

"Leadership and learning are indespensable to eachother."- John F. Kennedy
I tried finding many different quotes, all of which I thought were very relevant to what leadership means, but I believe that this one pertains to my experiences the most. Over the course of my leadership opportunities I have learned more from the people around me than they have from me. For example, by being a part of hall council I am learning all about the amount of work that goes into planning events and running a building. We deal with anything from acts of vandalism to fundraising for charities. I also believe that through my education I have learned and developed some skills necessary to be an effective leader. I have learned not only to let others speak, but to really listen to what they have to say. I have also learned to think about all possible sides of a situation. By doing so, I make a more well-adjusted decision. I have found that through my leadership experiences I learn by doing and listening.

I learned valuable things about an e-portfolio during the information session last Friday. I did not know that an e-portfolio could be used for potential employers and it is generally used to market yourself for different programs. It is similar to a blog, but can keep even more information about yourself there. It is a way to display your best coursework to show that you can actually do and have done what you say you can. Using the e-portfolio I would like to highlight my service, leadership, and job experiences because I feel like those would show my diverse interests, dedication to others and work ethic. I believe that it is important for a leader to serve others to gain trust of their followers and the ability to see from a different perspective. It shows that they care for others and truly want what is right or just. People look to actions, rather than words as to how they should act.

As I try to think of what I am most passionate about, I find it hard to narrow my seemingly endless list. I love art, math, science, history; find social injustice, global warming/pollution, and poverty all appalling.  There are even more I could list off, but the things I am most passionate about are social injustices, math, education, art and service. These may all seem unconnected at first glance, but I have come to incorporate them all together. I volunteer at Free Street Theater which was founded on the basis for social change; their mission is to bring theater to more people. They now empower under privileged youth by teaching them to express there beliefs on social issues through theater. I helped them with fundraisers, paid their bills and itemized receipts. This does not sound like the best job, but I believe it was because I incorporated my math skills to support a really important mission. I believe my passions relate to my leadership by showing my true character. They also help me to lead because when I am passionate about something, people can sense the enthusiasm.

My Definition of a leader

The STARS LEAD program interests me in a variety of ways, but I am most looking forward to our work with the Empowerment Pipeline. It is a program created by students at Loyola to empower under privileged youth by giving them tools to reach for higher education. Teaching and helping youth is a passion of mine that has evolved since starting here at Loyola University. I am interested to see the specific workshops we will be doing with the current juniors or seniors in high school, and their reactions to the workshops. I am looking forward to building a mentoring relationship with them. The Empowerment Pipeline is the part of the lead program that I am most interested in. I hope to have a successful mentor-ship, form new friendships, find my true passions, and acquire and develop key leadership skills by the end of the program.

I enjoyed our first meeting as part of the lead program. It was nice to get to know new people in STARS and learn about how they define themselves. As Joe pointed out, it was interesting that it never came to our minds to identify ourselves as leaders. We all are in some ways a leader, we had to show that in order to be a part of the LEAD program. My personal definition of a leader is one who serves others in a way that inspires people and a person who carries themselves in a respectful, positive, and ethical manner. They follow what they believe is right even if no one is watching or even against it.
I hope to gain public speaking skills and confidence in communicating my thoughts with others. I usually get nervous talking in front of a large group of people and forget parts of what I am going to say. I would like to learn how to overcome this. I would also like to learn to be a quick decision maker, while still making well-informed decisions. My ability to see both sides of a situation makes it difficult to make a quick decision. I hope some skills I acquire are ones that I might not necessarily think of, but are important to being a good leader.