My new job
BART whistles and dives in the dark. From Embarcadero to Dublin Pleasanton, in a few minutes, I reach Lake Merritt station. Tens of Chinese people practice tai-chi in front of the BART station, strange morning vision. Further away, Laney college, deserted yesterday today. An ageless crowd is bustling about. Blacks caps on the side, grills, chains around their necks, hat on the head, trousers lown down on the butt. Chinese, handicapped, obese in their wheelchair, mothers with the child they have not be able to unload to anyone, a homeless guy with his huge backpack.Everyone is here in pursuit of education. One to learn how to read, one to read another to learn arithmetics.
After a quick stop at my office, yes, I am entitled to an office that I share with Judith, it is randomly organized, a broken lamp, no internet connection, there should be one, but there isn't one.
In a corner, piles of sheets, a mess that my exchange partner has carefully left in a bulk, a doll which probably belong to her granddaughter. The desk drawers are full of paper napkins, plastic spoons, bags of salt and pepper, one dollar notes.
So I grab my stuff, students rooster and I go, map in hands, to my classroom. My students are there, waiting with anticipation. A list of thirty students enrolled, but more want to join in. Today we get to know each other. I introduce myself, they try to pronounce my name, I show them where Switzerland on a world map, no one knew where it was. They are surprized by the distance and very interested. They ask me thousands of questions, what's the speed limit in Switzerland? How much is gas? If I have any children or how long I have been in the US.
I have been struck by Johnny Gamez, I think there is a mistake in his name, it should be Gomez and he agrees with me. He came to class with his house, a huge bag, leaves and dried grass on his clothes, reeking a putrid odor. In the class, no real desks, broken chairs individual desks. The students take a seat, young, old, some clean others much dirtier of various ethnicities. Runder an obese African American student has to bent on to a chair next to her wheel chair to write, she can't put her notebook on her knees. Johnny is in the first row, alone. It is true that his smell is kind of repulsive. Finally a young African American student will volunteer to kindly start a discussion with him. He keeps calling me each time he has to write a word. He tells me how happy he is, he feels the words are coming. It is very touching to see the energy he puts to do well. He has taken a dirty sheet of paper from his bag, it is brown where his wrist has rested. I also have to take care of the others, Calvin, Precious.. but they seem to have fun. At the end of class, some come, shake hand, thank me.
I am touched by what I see, I feel I am in a different world, a world where it doesn't feel good to be black and where it doesn't
feel good to loose your job or to be sick and where the family stucture doesn't exist anymore.
Laney in numbers
Number of students : 27’022
Enrollement by age :
Below 15 1%
16-18 8%
19-24 31%
25-29 15%
30-34 11%
35-54 26%
55-64 5%
65+ 3%
Men 40%
Women 60%
Average age 32
Enrollement by ethnicities
African Americans 29%
Asian Americans 24%
Caucasians 20%
Philippinos 3%
Hispanic 13%
Indians 1%
Others 10%
Number of students per class 30 +
In the neighbor college the teachers have discovered on the first day of school that their salary had been reduced 15%, tough knowing that last year it had already been reduced 7%.
Apart from that I discover this fantastic city whipped by the winds and wrapped in the fog, I get used to my dark bedroom, to the subway and to the visions of madness and misery which haunt the town, I stand on my head at yoga to find my balance.
After a quick stop at my office, yes, I am entitled to an office that I share with Judith, it is randomly organized, a broken lamp, no internet connection, there should be one, but there isn't one.
In a corner, piles of sheets, a mess that my exchange partner has carefully left in a bulk, a doll which probably belong to her granddaughter. The desk drawers are full of paper napkins, plastic spoons, bags of salt and pepper, one dollar notes.
So I grab my stuff, students rooster and I go, map in hands, to my classroom. My students are there, waiting with anticipation. A list of thirty students enrolled, but more want to join in. Today we get to know each other. I introduce myself, they try to pronounce my name, I show them where Switzerland on a world map, no one knew where it was. They are surprized by the distance and very interested. They ask me thousands of questions, what's the speed limit in Switzerland? How much is gas? If I have any children or how long I have been in the US.
I have been struck by Johnny Gamez, I think there is a mistake in his name, it should be Gomez and he agrees with me. He came to class with his house, a huge bag, leaves and dried grass on his clothes, reeking a putrid odor. In the class, no real desks, broken chairs individual desks. The students take a seat, young, old, some clean others much dirtier of various ethnicities. Runder an obese African American student has to bent on to a chair next to her wheel chair to write, she can't put her notebook on her knees. Johnny is in the first row, alone. It is true that his smell is kind of repulsive. Finally a young African American student will volunteer to kindly start a discussion with him. He keeps calling me each time he has to write a word. He tells me how happy he is, he feels the words are coming. It is very touching to see the energy he puts to do well. He has taken a dirty sheet of paper from his bag, it is brown where his wrist has rested. I also have to take care of the others, Calvin, Precious.. but they seem to have fun. At the end of class, some come, shake hand, thank me.
I am touched by what I see, I feel I am in a different world, a world where it doesn't feel good to be black and where it doesn't
feel good to loose your job or to be sick and where the family stucture doesn't exist anymore.
Laney in numbers
Number of students : 27’022
Enrollement by age :
Below 15 1%
16-18 8%
19-24 31%
25-29 15%
30-34 11%
35-54 26%
55-64 5%
65+ 3%
Men 40%
Women 60%
Average age 32
Enrollement by ethnicities
African Americans 29%
Asian Americans 24%
Caucasians 20%
Philippinos 3%
Hispanic 13%
Indians 1%
Others 10%
Number of students per class 30 +
In the neighbor college the teachers have discovered on the first day of school that their salary had been reduced 15%, tough knowing that last year it had already been reduced 7%.
Apart from that I discover this fantastic city whipped by the winds and wrapped in the fog, I get used to my dark bedroom, to the subway and to the visions of madness and misery which haunt the town, I stand on my head at yoga to find my balance.
posted by nat at 11:48 AM
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