Teaching in the Hood: A Memoir

By Marion R. Shapiro

From the time she was a little girl, author Marion R. Shapiro had wanted to become a teacher. But that didnt become a reality until after she spent twenty-nine years in the business world. In 1994, Shapiro was afforded the opportunity to earn her credentials while teaching full time in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Her second career at age forty-six, Shapiro was no spring chicken when she entered the teaching profession.

In Teaching in the Hood, she shares many of her experiences during her twenty-year journey teaching in the heart of poverty and gang life. Shapiro communicates the joy, frustration, anger, and sorrow she and other teachers felt and feel in and out of the classroom. She tells of a few of the many children she was privileged to teach and the lessons she learned from themthe triumphs and heartbreaks, the ups and downs, the successes and failures Shapiro experienced daily.

Offering insight into the classroom, Teaching in the Hood gives supportive understanding to new and seasoned teachers and encourages those considering entering the teaching profession.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Mar 21, 2017
• ISBN: 9781532013393

Marion R. Shapiro

Marion R. Shapiro was raised in Brooklyn, New York. After working twenty-nine years in the business world, she, at age forty-six, was accepted into the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Intern Program. Shapiro earned her teaching credential and taught at the Ascot Avenue Elementary School from 1994 until her retirement in 2014.

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Copyright © 2017 Marion R. Shapiro.

Author Photo taken by Joshua Spiro.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-5320-1338-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-1339-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017902508

iUniverse rev. date: 3/21/2017

CONTENTS

Introduction

1. My Philosophy of Education

2. Why Write A Memoir?

3. Forty-Six: What An Age To Begin Teaching

4. Who Inspired Me?

5. My First Day

6. Year One

7. Adele – My Savior, Mentor, Friend

8. An Awesome Transformation

9. Averting a Potential Disaster

10 History Through Literature

11. Children Speak Their Minds

12. Changed Attitudes

13. Equality For All

14. Memory Into Action

15. Sensitive Situations

16. Mark Can Do It

17. A+ Student

18. Academic Butterfly

19. To Work Or Not To Work

20. Thanksgiving At Its Best

21. Like Dorothy To The Scarecrow

22. Right Place; Right Time

23. Winner Extraordinaire

24. Dream Class

25. Bullying Stopped

26. Gut Instincts Pays Off

27. Reading Innovations

28. Broadway-Hood Style

29. A Star Is Born

30. The President Answers

31. Joys of Thematic Teaching

32. Classroom Environment A Must

33. A New Year For All

34. A Special Visitor

35. Time To Retire

To all the wonderful teachers I was blessed to have had. To all the children I have been privileged to serve. And to Debbie Friedman who continues to teach me from heaven above!!

Introduction

Ever since I was a little girl I’ve wanted to teach. In 1994 I was afforded the opportunity to get my credential while teaching full time in the Los Angeles Unified School District. As this my second career, I was no spring chicken when I entered the teaching profession.

The school which hired me was in the middle of South Central Los Angeles; right in the heart of poverty and gang life. This book is part of the many experiences I was to have during my twenty year journey. What I have tried to convey in each of the stories I tell, is the joy, frustration, anger, and sorrow that I and all the other teachers I know felt and feel on a daily basis, in and out of the classroom.

Many people feel that teaching is not an honorable profession. Others feel that teaching is not a profession at all; a step down in the working world. I, on the other hand, know that without the dedicated teachers in this overworked, underpaid, and unappreciated profession, none of the other occupations, professions or careers could be filled. Some people feel that teaching is an easy way to earn a living. I am living proof that it is the hardest job there is on earth, but at the same time, bar none, the most rewarding.

This book tells of a few of the many children that I was privileged to have taught and the lessons that I learned from them. It tells of the triumphs and heartbreaks, the ups and downs, the successes and failures that I got to experience daily. Each child that I interacted with added to my growth as a teacher and human being.

I believe that a teacher’s role is to teach curriculum content, help children develop imagination and creativity, and to mold their students into productive members of society.

My goal is to help enlighten the public, give supportive understanding to new and seasoned teachers, and to encourage those considering entering the teaching profession. I hope that after people finish reading this book, they will walk away with a glimpse of what teachers go through each and every day they step foot into a classroom.

Chapter One

My Philosophy of Education

As a teacher, I believe that it is my responsibility first and foremost to create a safe, uninhibited environment, which will inspire in each of my students a desire to learn. It is also imperative that I teach not only the required academic subjects, but instill within them behaviors and values that will enable them to become productive and successful members of society. All children have the right to acquire an education that will allow them to learn to the best of their individual abilities.

Building self-esteem and creating an atmosphere of camaraderie amongst children are tough but very realistic goals. As their teacher the only thing I can give my students are the tools by which they can learn these things by themselves. They need to experience life in and out of the classroom by themselves. No one can experience life for them. I can only serve as a role model.

Since I believe that people can and do learn till the day they die, I feel that effective teaching allows both the student and the teacher to learn from one another. This can only happen if all parties are willing to share and experience things together. Therefore, I must encourage my students to bring their own experiences into the classroom. I too, must share with them my own memories and traditions. These experiences can offer opportunities as steppingstones for creating and expanding new learning horizons for all.

For me teaching is my way of giving back to society, what I have been privileged to have and enjoy. (written7/1994)

I can proudly say that looking back on my teaching career, I adhered to what I truly believed back in 1994.

Chapter Two

Why