Andrade Video Response

First I'd like to start off by expressing how beautiful I think it is is when a flower grows from the concrete. The kids who go to school in conflicted areas of Oakland were able to accomplish so much with assistance that most of us already receive and take for granted. Andrade displays the homicide map of Oakland with the title of it being "The Plague." It really has become a sort of epidemic. Like a plague it spreads and kills off the weak. Violence, drug usage, and school drop out rates are quite remarkable and, I find Andrade's work very needed and endearing. But hopefully with the few roses Andrade has created those roses will help Andrade with his work, because like he said, "A rose that grew in the concrete creates rose gardens." I find that quote very powerful and, it makes me wonder if all people are willing to help like that. What I'm really asking is does it really take someone to go through the same struggle to feel empathy for someone going through that struggle? Or can we feel empathy without having to go through the same experiences?

A rose that grew from the concrete feels a great desire to help people that were just like him. They can definitely relate to those currently going through that struggle because they themselves have experienced that same struggle. Because they've experienced that same struggle they are able to help them more than any one else would be able to. That's why a rose that grows from the concrete will create a rose garden.

Another thing my girlfriend and I talked about after watching this video several times was the role of government in education. High school educators are not completely at fault for providing a lousy or irrelevant education. The different educational standards that our government gives our schools make it very difficult for teachers to teach anything else that isn't related to what's on the standardized tests. Also because the results of the test scores determines how much a school gets funded it makes educators make the tests their top priority. That makes our education dry and emotionless. Instead of teaching things we could apply in life they teach us what will be on the test.

I think our government should reform how they distribute educational funding. It's really unfair how they divide up the money. I volunteer for reading partners which is a non-profit organization that works with title 1 schools to bridge the learning gap for kids who have literacy problems. What a title 1 school is, is basically a school in a low-income community that isn't funded enough because it is in a low-income community. The reason why these schools aren't being funded enough is because since the schools are in a low-income community the residents of that community don't pay the same amount of taxes as a community like Piedmont for example. I find that disgustingly unfair and unjust. Education in America should be an equal opportunity for everyone regardless of income.

The three questions I came up with about the video are the following:

1. Why is the situation the way it is in Oakland? Why is there drug usage, violence, poverty, high drop out rates, etc.?

2. What are the reasons/causes that make roses that grew from concrete create rose gardens?

3. What are possible solutions for Oakland? Andrade has mentioned several, but can we do better? Should we do better? Why?

4. How can and how should government change in order to level the playing field in educational funding?