Here Akins, who is an assistant principal with Miami-Dade County Public Schools, offers a few tips on how to use your voice to better the experience of others.
Be Proactive
If we are able to show young people the right way to do things, it’ll be easier for them in the future. Once they make bad choices, it’s hard for them to turn their lives around. I want to fill individuals with more positive images, more positive self-concepts, more positive ways of thinking. I know I want to leave the world a better place based on what I have seen, heard, and experienced working in inner-city schools for so long. So if I can give back, and if I can show anyone I encounter a better way to reach children, it’s going to produce better outcomes for us as a total population in the future.
Stand Up
Stand up for others who can’t stand up for themselves: Most students who are attending inner-city schools are fending for themselves. This creates a number of challenges, including mental health concerns and educational issues. For example, our kids are coming into kindergarten with no reading skills whatsoever. They need that formal preschool education or education at home. But if there’s nobody there who can take the time to show them the phonics or phonetic awareness, they’re already behind. Their success hinges on their ability to read. If you look at reading scores of children in inner-city schools, the vast majority of the students in third through fifth grade are not reading on grade level. We have to do something about that.
Empathize
When kids get in trouble, I close my door and say, “Tell me what’s going on.” I make them feel really comfortable. You’d be amazed at the things that they share with me. Sometimes if we take a moment to find out what’s going on with people, then we can relate and better understand their behavior. Then we can help each other heal, because sometimes I understand what they’re going through, because I went through it already.
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