Compton is one of the poorest areas of Los Angeles County, and in a good news story, some high-schoolers from Palos Verdes, one of the wealthiest areas of the County are helping Compton adults attain their high school equivalency diplomas (GED's).
Why does this matter? Because Compton has numerous high school dropouts and in many cases, their careers have floundered from a lack of education and some have wound up in prison.
But a group of those adults are determined to get their GED certificates, while others would simply like a better education. Success at this level could encourage them to pursue higher educational goals and it would build self-esteem.
For the Palos Verdes kids, although Compton is only about 20 miles away, it might as well be on another planet. But now these kids can have a better sense for Compton and understand some of the problems of those confronted by crime and poverty.
If these kids could help even one person further him or herself, they will have provided a valuable service, for just as evil has a ripple affect, so does kindness.
And if those kids remember some of the people they met, and the community they saw, it could create a higher level of understanding and compassion for those who live on the underside of a society.
It's a nice real life story of mutual learning, and if you would like to read more, please visit: "At Compton school, teen tutors and adult students learn from each other," http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-exit-exam22-2010mar22,0,5838436.story?page=1&track=rss
Dick
2 comments:
As someone who went to HS in Palos Verdes and taught in the heart of the hood that is South Central LA, I will offer that this is a great education for both parties.
For the kids that grew up in Palos Verdes, they will see first hand that life is cheaper in Compton, more shootings, more murder investigations with helicopters being a normal part of the night sky. The kids are much more likely to battle things before and after school (poverty, hunger, single parent household, lack of education in that household, dangerous neighborhood with gang influences) that the kids in affluent cities don't deal with.
Many of the kids in Palos Verdes have very high expectations put upon them. Pressure to excel in school, sports and other extra curricular activities so that they can follow their parents' footsteps and go to a "good college."
It is safe to say that being exposed to the other "planet" is good for both parties. They can each decided what is most important in life and can each teach the other about their world.
It is safe to say that both will never go home again the same as they were before they met.
I think the GED (General Education Development) program is one of the best things the government has ever done. Begun to give a second chance to people whose high school education was interrupted by armed service, it was eventually expanded to include any adult past high school age. Everything else being equal, I would hire a person with a GED rather than one with a high school diploma because one must be earned while the other can be aquired by seat time.
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