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Remembering My Adult Education Students
The Learning Place
Northwest (1990-1993)
By Rudolph Lewis When one reaches my years, one has
more memories than hopes. Maybe sharing these memories of life lived
has its wisdom. During my life I have held numerous
positions, had many jobs, donned many a mask—from
farm hand to construction worker, from community worker
to coal analyzer, from library aide and health
care worker to educator. There are times I envy those
who have just had one occupation, who have held onto the
same job for thirty years. I have not been so blessed (or so cursed).
One blessing in moving about is that one gets to know
all kinds of people, gather all kinds of perspectives on
the world.
The
longest I have held one job was four years and that was
a part-time job. I have quit jobs when they no
longer satisfied me when I felt in my gut it was time to
move on, to hop another train, and ride the rails on
down the line. I've found it helpful in singing the
blues. So you can imagine what my social
security check is going to look like, in a few years, if I live long
enough to collect. But variety in experience has its
rewards. The sun has been beautiful coming around the
bend. Though I am looking back, I am also looking
forward, too.
After I quit Local 1199, a union for
Baltimore health care workers, for the last time, I
worked in Mayor Kurt Schmoke's Baltimore Reads program
as an adult education teacher. For about six
years at several universities, I had taught freshman
composition and sophomore literature. These were mostly young middle-class adults and mostly white. So
teaching in an urban adult education program, that is,
teaching black adults without a high school diploma, was
a novel experience, and, in many ways, much more
rewarding.
In this program, I taught reading,
writing, and arithmetic. I also taught the Constitution
and an awareness of citizen responsibility. For the
first time, I also made use of computer assisted
instruction. That was not so significant as the
extensiveness of the personal involvement in the life
experiences of my students and their views of the world
they inherited.
Much of this teaching occurred during
the Republican great push for "accountability"
in government spending,
the nomination of Clarence Thomas for the Supreme Court
to replace Thurgood Marshall, and the election of Bill
Clinton as president. The Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas
controversy contributed to numerous citizen
responsibility discussions I had with my students. I
encouraged them to write letters to Paul Sarbanes and
Barbara Mikulski to express their views on the
nomination. As I recall, there was a split down the
middle of those students who supported Thomas and those
who did not support his nomination. I kept a scrapbook
of their work, which included letters.
Here are two samples of those student letters:
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2912 Wynham Road Apt. B
Baltimore, MD 21216
July, 22, 1991
Honorable Paul Sarbanes
Senator U.S. Congress
Washington, D.C. 20006
Dear Senator Sarbanes:
I am a registered voter
in the 7th Congressional District; my
Representative is Kweisi Mfume. I am writing
to make my view clear on the nomination of
Judge Clarence Thomas for the Supreme Court.
I am pleased that
President Bush chose to nominate a black man
to replace Thurgood Marshall. I do not think
that Judge Thomas is the right man to
replace Justice Marshall. I urge you as my
Senator from Maryland not to vote for
affirming President Bush's nominee.
I have made this decision
after a careful consideration of Clarence
Thomas' views on civil rights, abortion, and
the government's role in social welfare.
Again please vote No against Judge
Thomas
Sincerely yours,
Teena Richburg
* *
* * *
3508 Forest Park Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21216
July 23, 1991
Honorable Barbara Mikulski
Senator, U.S. Congress
Washington, D.C. 2001
Dear Senator Mikulski:
I am a registered voter
in the 7th Congressional District; my
representative is Kweisi Mfume. I am writing
to make my view clear on the nomination of
Judge Clarence Thomas for the Supreme Court.
I am pleased that
President Bush chose to nominate a black man
to replace Thurgood Marshall. I do think
that Judge Thomas is the right man to
replace Justice Marshall. I urge you to vote
for affirming President Bush's nominee.
I have made this decision
after a careful examination of Clarence
Thomas' views on civil rights, abortion, and
the government's role in social welfare.
Again please vote yes for Judge
Thomas.
Sincerely yours,
Lorraine Peitt |
Paul Sarbanes and Barbara Mikulski wrote back to my
students with standardized responses:
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United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510-2002
August 9, 1991
Ms. Linda
Willie
630 Carey
Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21217
Dear Ms. Willie:
Thank you for getting in
touch with me about the nomination of
Clarence Thomas to become an Associate
Justice of the Supreme Court. As you know,
under the Constitution, the President must
submit the nomination to the U.S. Senate for
its advice and consent. Prior to debate on
the nomination by the full Senate, thorough
hearings will be held in the Senate
Committee on the Judiciary. The public
record established there will provide the
basis for a reasoned and informed judgement.
In view of the importance
of the nomination, I greatly appreciate your
taking the time to share your views with me.
With best regards,
Sincerely,
Paul S. Sarbanes
United States Senator
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* * *
United States Senate
Washington, D.C.
August 22, 1991
Ms. Bernadette Morant
1502 Division St.
Baltimore, Maryland 21217
Dear Ms. Morant:
Thank you for contacting
me with your thoughts on the nomination of
Judge Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court.
I appreciate hearing from you on this
important issue.
I will be evaluating
Judge Thomas' suitability to sit on the
Court based on three criteria: one, is he
competent? Two, does he possess the highest
personal and professional integrity? And
three, will he protect and preserve the core
constitutional values and guarantees that
are central to our system of government,
such as freedom of speech and religion, the
right to privacy and equal protection of the
law?
The confirmation hearings
are scheduled to begin following the
Senate's August recess. I assure you that I
will be following the confirmation hearings
closely, considering his record along with
my three criteria, listening to the
Judiciary Committee's recommendation, and
then making a decision.
I am grateful to have your
thoughts on this matter, and I will remember
them as the confirmation process moves
forward.
Sincerely,
Barbara A. Mikulski
United States Senator |
I have several other letters: two in which students
express their appreciation for the Baltimore Reads
program; the third a personal note from the fired
director, Rosalind Wilson, fired because her boss
thought the program was not meeting sufficient
accountability goals.
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The Learning Place Northwest
2901 Druid Park Drive
Suite A-201
Baltimore, Maryland 21215
Dear Friend of Literacy,
I am taking this
opportunity to thank you for the support and
concern that you all have been giving the
Learning Place Northwest. Without the funds
and support I would not have been here. I'm
pleased because I have made a lot of
progress in this program and now I feel good
about myself. The Learning Place Northwest
helped me gain confidence in myself.
Sincerely yours,
Bonita Baldwin
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* * *
1512 Eutaw Plaza
Baltimore, MD 21217
July 30, 1991
Ms. Rosalind
Wilson
Director,
LPNW
2701 Druid
Hill Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21215
Dear Ms. Wilson:
I would like to take this time to thank
you and the staff of LPNW for giving me
another chance to better myself.
These last two months have been a
wonderful two months. It's been a very
different, new experience, and a lot of fun.
I really enjoy school this second time
around.
I'm looking forward to brushing up on my
skills, and learning new ones, such as the
computer which is a new skill and a new
experience that I'm now in the process of
learning. It's a lot of fun, and I've
learned a lot from it.
Most of all I'm looking forward to
completing this course so that I can enroll
in another course that will, hopefully, help
me to learn what I need to know, so that I
can be able to get the job I want.
At this present time, I'm happy and
content. I just want to thank you for making
all of this possible. Because without this,
I wouldn't be where I'm at today. Thank you
very much for giving me this chance to make
something out of my life.
Yours truly
Carolyn Bowen
* *
* * *
3-27-92
Rudy,
If a tree falls in the forest and there's
nobody there, does it make a sound?
Stay strong because as you know it takes
a whole village to teach one child, or adult
for that matter. Don't worry about me, God
is in control of my testing. In Peace,
Rosalind
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After Rosalind's release, Learning
Place Northwest did not last long. They appointed a new
director. But he was not the answer. He was an authority
jerk. The last I saw him he was on Baltimore Street
running errands for a lawyer's office. I had just
finished library school, then. Bill Clinton had come into
The
White House with his New Democrat polices. Much of the
federal monies the cities were receiving were redirected
to block grants. The outcome was there was less money
for urban adult education, though there remains a dire
need for it in Baltimore City. For in certain impoverished
areas of the City, fifty percent of the citizens are without a
high school diploma or a G.E.D.
The adult education programs were working. But
policymakers do not want us "happy and content." Their
strategy is to keep us on the run. The work produced by
my students cannot be easily quantified, at least, not
for these fiscally responsible politicians, who count
and pinch pennies when it comes to helping the
black poor and disenfranchised.
I have shared with you letters. But there is much
more, much much more, that will delight and provide
insight to the inner city world of the oppressed, many
of them with children. You will be amazed by their
lively intelligence and humanity.
Poems
Learning to be Black
Heroes of the Hood
Thoughts from the Hood
On
the Future
posted 5 April 2006 |
