I know what your thinking. It's June (now July), not January. For me however, the end of a year is designated by the end of a school year. June 10th 2009 ends the 2008-2009 school year at Northwest Middle School (NWMS). NWMS is an inner city school in the Rosepark, Glendale area of Salt Lake City. Those of you who hail from bigger cities might scoff, but the past two years has taught me that SLC has a dangerous inner city. Everyone has heard of Compton, Longbeach, Watts, and other cities in California that glorify gang life. Up until the late 70's, these gang ridden areas were the cheapest easiest place for illegal immigrants to settle. However, when the violence became too frequent and too intense, these immigrants needed a safer place to go. One of the many places they found was a small quiet neighborhood called Rosepark, in the SLC area. Many people left their families, children, grandparents, and friends to come to a safer place. What they did not leave behind was their gang ties and loyalties. In the 80's SLC was forced to create a Anti-Gang Task Force to help combat the gang problem that had migrated to SLC's north west side. In the early 90's the gang problem became so big that four large gangs picked up and moved to Ogden, Utah. What remains today is a community stuck in termoil. NWMS is comprised of 90% Hispanics (over 80% illegal), 4% Tongan, 4% Polynesian, and 2% other. Despite the hardships, violence, and influences my students face, they want to do the right thing. Doing the right thing is incredibly hard if your everyone around you is making bad decisions. I commend my students for ignoring the "hard looks", name calling, and bullying by other students in order to finish middle school. Cheers to a wonderful 2008-2009 year!
Taisa (2)
At the pool
Taisa playing in the lake
Beach and bucket fun
Our fun at the beach ends
Time for bed!
