Change Will Do You Good

I want to take this opportunity to talk about change. I once heard the phrase "Life is change and change is life," and I think it is a good way to sum up life. My life has been going through a great deal of change as of recent months. I never thought I would be taking 18 units, teaching literature to 11th graders, mentoring a group of college freshman, and holding down a job and an internship. I have a lot on my plate, and I couldn't be happier. I absolutely love my new internship, and I am in the process of getting a new on-campus job where I make more money.


Some of these changes allow me to see things in a different light. For example, today I had my first day of Humanities Out There, a program where college students teach small groups of high schools students in the low-income Santa Ana school district. This opportunity allowed me to see the stark differences in education that are dictated by class. I attended high school in a wealthy area of Orange County, then transferred to a private Catholic high school. The curriculum in the schools I attended compared with the curriculum in low income areas is like night and day. While the schools I went to had a curriculum where we read and analyzed novels in the literary canon, these students have never read a novel; they are only learning basic grammar. The difference is frustrating and unfair to me; I feel that these kids could do well if society had higher expectations of them. It makes me realize that "equal opportunity" isn't so equal, and that needs to change.