The other day i went to pick up Oscar and noticed an unusual amount of energy in the air, which is quite a statement when considering how much energy there is to begin with at the end of a day in an elementary school in West Oakland. I walked through the hall and found Oscar, who was scheduled to be in an after school gardening program though i had gone to make sure he remembered to go. He told me it was cancelled, "because of what happened."
Well, what happened, Oscar?
"They found a body in the garden."
...
At this point i recall what we were told in orientation, "Under no circumstances are you to react with noticeable shock or discomfort at the things our families may tell you. They are very sensitive to our reactions and we need to take every thing with a grain of salt."
...
"Oh."
"Yeah there was no head on it, it was just a body.."
"oh really?"
"Yeah, can i ask Marshon's grandma if he can come over after i finish my homework?"
"yeah sure Oscar."
Suddenly everything just becomes very surreal. We walk out the back door of the school and past the garden where the body was found. The moment we hit the sidewalk a nicely dressed young woman with a steno pad approaches, "Hi i'm Gina from the San Francisco Chronicle, i was wondering if you wouldn't mind a short comment on what happened..."
i sort of mumbled something about how i was just Oscar's tutor but i think that it is the responsibility of the upper classes to ensure that the lower class has adequate access to help resources and quality education. I checked with her on the decapitation aspect of the story, which thankfully was the product of a pack of 3rd graders with rampant imaginations. We walked a few paces up and a latin guy in a white button-up with the top two buttons undone starts speaking
Spanish to me. he is followed closely by a camera man. The first latin guy is holding a microphone. i explain the whole i don't speak spanish and i'm just his tutor thing and he asked if i would be willing to comment as well. In my strange, dreamlike state i agreed to comment, though i pray whatever i managed to say didn't make it to air. I felt it was an important issue and i wanted to make my thoughs known, unfortunately my thoughts had been given a maximum of 2 minutes to coagulate. Another tragic instance stupidity in the media.
It turns out the woman was in or near her 40s. The moment the children discovered her, they were all called inside and the police were notified. She had a history of abuse, (both inflicted and substance,) as well as struggles with mental health though was thought to have been doing better recently according to her friends. The article referred to her body as having been 'battered', though as yet no cause of death has been announced. Programs were cancelled for the day, but would resume the following week. In the garden would appear a single white candle and handwritten card that said, "Garden Angel: May her soul rest".
And the next morning i'm sitting on the 'bus' (stairs) with a bunch of little kids and singing, "the wheels..."
Well, what happened, Oscar?
"They found a body in the garden."
...
At this point i recall what we were told in orientation, "Under no circumstances are you to react with noticeable shock or discomfort at the things our families may tell you. They are very sensitive to our reactions and we need to take every thing with a grain of salt."
...
"Oh."
"Yeah there was no head on it, it was just a body.."
"oh really?"
"Yeah, can i ask Marshon's grandma if he can come over after i finish my homework?"
"yeah sure Oscar."
Suddenly everything just becomes very surreal. We walk out the back door of the school and past the garden where the body was found. The moment we hit the sidewalk a nicely dressed young woman with a steno pad approaches, "Hi i'm Gina from the San Francisco Chronicle, i was wondering if you wouldn't mind a short comment on what happened..."
i sort of mumbled something about how i was just Oscar's tutor but i think that it is the responsibility of the upper classes to ensure that the lower class has adequate access to help resources and quality education. I checked with her on the decapitation aspect of the story, which thankfully was the product of a pack of 3rd graders with rampant imaginations. We walked a few paces up and a latin guy in a white button-up with the top two buttons undone starts speaking
Spanish to me. he is followed closely by a camera man. The first latin guy is holding a microphone. i explain the whole i don't speak spanish and i'm just his tutor thing and he asked if i would be willing to comment as well. In my strange, dreamlike state i agreed to comment, though i pray whatever i managed to say didn't make it to air. I felt it was an important issue and i wanted to make my thoughs known, unfortunately my thoughts had been given a maximum of 2 minutes to coagulate. Another tragic instance stupidity in the media.
It turns out the woman was in or near her 40s. The moment the children discovered her, they were all called inside and the police were notified. She had a history of abuse, (both inflicted and substance,) as well as struggles with mental health though was thought to have been doing better recently according to her friends. The article referred to her body as having been 'battered', though as yet no cause of death has been announced. Programs were cancelled for the day, but would resume the following week. In the garden would appear a single white candle and handwritten card that said, "Garden Angel: May her soul rest".
And the next morning i'm sitting on the 'bus' (stairs) with a bunch of little kids and singing, "the wheels..."
posted by derek | 7:52 PM
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