Students discuss expectations and inspiration at Manual Arts High School



imageFrom left: Henry Pineda, Nestor Nunez, Kerlie Medina and Gisela Bats.

“We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aid, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn.”

– Henry David Thoreau


Sometimes it’s hard to keep awake, especially at seven thirty in the morning.

Most of us rely on a cup of coffee or a cold splash of water to the face. But Thoreau was right. Nothing works quite as well as true inspiration.

Tom Roddy’s journalism class at Manual Arts High School explored recently what keeps them awake to their own aspirations. Where does inspiration come from, and why do some find it and others fail? How do students establish the expectations they have for themselves? And what happens when they are faced with low expectations from others?

“People outside the school think Manual Arts is like prison,” said senior Nestor Nunez.

Listen to Nestor Nunez:

imageKerlie Medina is a senior who says that low expectations from others only encourage her to break them.

“Those negative things that people think about us makes me actually want to try more,” said Medina. “People may say that just because we live here in South Central Los Angeles, they probably think that we’re not as smart as other students. I think it’s wrong. I think there are smart people here.”

Medina added that supportive families can make a difference in a student’s life. “[Parents] should support their children,” said Medina. “If they don’t, then who else is going to support them?”

Listen to Kerlie Medina:

Henry Pineda says he noticed a difference in attitudes toward students during a field trip with Community Coalition to Beverly Hills High School.

“Students over there are actually expected to achieve,” said Pineda. “They’re actually expected to be the doctors of the future, the presidents, the senators and all that.”

Listen to Henry Pineda:

While the students at Manual Arts may receive support from their peers, teachers and families, Pineda says that negative perceptions come from outside the community.

“People from everywhere else except South Central L.A., they don’t have those expectations of us,” said Pineda. “They probably feel like we’re going to take the lower jobs. That makes me feel like they’re kind of just putting us down on purpose.”

But where do these perceptions come from? According to Medina, the root of the problem is stereotyping.

“I think it’s because of all the stereotypes people form of difference races,” said Medina. “They believe so much in these stereotypes, they judge you without even knowing you.”

The environment the students face at school also plays a large part in forming their own expectations, as well as influencing the views held by others, according to the students. One problem the group brought up in their discussion was littering.

“Other schools are really clean,” said Pineda. “When we come over here we’re walking through trash and it makes us feel down, like we live in this poverty that we just see every day.”

Listen to the students discussing the problem of litter at Manual Arts High School:

Inspiration, according to the students, begins at home.

“My parents expect a lot from me, which is a good thing because it makes me want to do better,” said junior Carlos Guerrero. “I think it all depends on the person. If you let it bother you then it’s going to affect you. It’s all up to you.”

Listen to Carlos Guerrero:

“My inspiration comes from my mom, ” said Jose Cornejo, who explained that his mother was an intelligent student but dropped out when she became pregnant. “She always tells me to do good in schools because she doesn’t want me to work hard.”

Listen to Jose Cornejo:

Junior Mariana Ruiz says that her father encourages her to work hard in school so that she won’t have to face the harsh terrain he experienced himself.

Listen to Mariana Ruiz:

The motivation to succeed also includes the desire to alleviate the burden their parents carry, said the students.

Listen to the students discuss the importance of being able to help their families:

In the end, self-determination can be the strongest motivating force in a student’s life. “Sometimes, I inspire myself,” said Nunez. “When I have bad grades on my report card, I put it right at my bed at the wall so every time I wake up I see the grades, I’m like, I’ve got to do better than that.”