True Heroes
True Heroes
Who are the real heroes? In today’s society it is hard to tell, because our perspective of who deserves a goal medal is distorted. America rewards war “heroes.” We celebrate when we kill people through war, but the true heroes are those people who work, spend time, and dedicate their lives to the children who are future.
Examples of these heroes are the faculty members at Garrison Elementary school, named Hassan Abdullah and Darryll Vann. Garrison Elementary is one of the poorest elementary in Washington DC, yet these teachers continue to strive for a vision of excellence. They both say that they do what they do, not for the money, but for the reward of morality. This is their way of giving back to their community what had been given to them and that is an opportunity to an education. Each day, they continue to come in to these classrooms inside this poor school, right down the street from the White House, because they feel they have a personal responsibility to these students. This is the truth of Washington DC, but this is the part that is often not shown to the tourist, this is the not so glamorous part of DC. Yet, it is the truth forgotten.
They continue their struggle in the school because they know that for many of the children who attend their school, these men are the only positive role models. For many cases, these teachers are the only males in these kids lives. As Colman McCarthy states in the article , True Heroes: Black Male Teachers, more than 90 % of these children come from single parent households.
The reason why I believe these teachers deserve to be considered “heroes” is because they are the only positive and pro-active intervention from making sure these students become a product of their environment. This is light to a past of darkness. Just as the articles mentioned on racism in the book Strength through Peace, many times our young black men are told who they are and they begin to identify themselves with the negative stereotype that is placed on their lives. Teachers like Vann, and Abdullah, are a clear example of the positivism that exists in the African American community. American society has to learn how to save, and prevent versus discipline and punish. The future begins today, and that means we can not dismiss our children until tomorrow, but the true heroes make all the difference now for future generations.