Teacher Educates Preschoolers On Avoiding Gang Violence
By Marcus Gilmer in News on May 19, 2008 5:53PM
With the dramatic uptick of Chicago Public Schools students caught in the crossfire of violence and the approach of summer, worries about the safety of students remains high across the city. One teacher, Marisol Sierra of McKinley Park Elementary, is taking a proactive approach by teaching her preschool class on how to stay safe in these dangerous times and is being rewarded for her efforts on June 3 as one of five recipients of the 2008 Kohl McCormick Early Childhood Teaching Award. While, on the surface, educating four- and five-year-olds about gang violence may seem a bit extreme, the children sadly have no lack of first-hand experience. Five-year-old Aldo Gonzalez related, "I was riding by my home and I saw some gangbangers on my street and they were fighting. I got on my bike and I ride fast and then I got back to my home and I got inside."
Administrators are supportive of Sierra's approach. Lou Bank, vice president of the Dolores Kohl Education Foundation, was impressed by the way Sierra has handled the touchy subject. "You don't want children scared for their lives, they need to feel safe. She makes them feel safe and still lets them know there are concerns." Parents of Sierra's students have been equally supportive.
Andres Zepeda, a Chicago police officer whose son Joshua is in the class, said he has noticed that gang members are getting younger; he has arrested some as young as 12. Parents and teachers have an obligation to talk about crime earlier, before students distance themselves from their parents, he said."She's teaching them something that we should be teaching kids now at a younger age," he said. "You get them now and I don't have to deal with them later."
Photo courtesy of Insomnia Jones, J.D.