Developing an Identity: A Student’s Story
Starting with this post, in addition to interviewing and observing teachers, I’m also going to be talking one on one with students in order to hear their stories. Who are our students? What does their education mean to them? What effect do teachers have on them?
Today’s interview is with Leo, a student in Dennis Danziger’s class at Venice High.
Leo is a gangly, extremely friendly 17-year-old white kid with a buzz cut and diamond earrings; he agrees immediately to an interview, shaking my hand and helping me set up chairs outside of class. He lives nearby with his parents and two older sisters. “My mom made me come here,” he says with a shrug when I asked how he chose the school. “It was the closest one, and it’s free.”
He freely admits he was not always a devoted student. “In fifth grade I was the bad kid,” he says. “I’d steal things, candy bars, I was the leader of a little group who’d steal.” But in 6th grade, his parents sent him to a Catholic school, St. Mark’s. “That’s what changed me to who I am now. They whipped me into shape, they set up strict rules and guidelines. In 8th grade I had this teacher who sat me down and said, this isn’t a game any more. You’ve gotta get your stuff together, high school is not a joke. I was like: I’ve gotta be on top of my