IN RE JAMES
I was moved to tears reading about "James" in relation to his Lanier Middle School teacher--organizer, civil rights activist and author--Robert P. Moses, whose 2001 book RADICAL EQUATIONS; CIVIL RIGHTS FROM MISSISSIPPI TO THE ALGEBRA PROJECT was written with Charles E. Cobb, Jr.
Robert (Bob) Moses had a student named James, who was seemingly disinterested in algebra class. But one day, James asked Bob Moses if he would buy him and his friend, April, something to eat. After obtaining consents from their parents , Bob took them for pizza.
While they were eating Bob asked James why he had approached him about a meal, when in class he had been so distantly disinterested in taking on the challenge of learning?
James, a 7th grader, said he acted like that in all of his classes . "Why is that? I wanted to know and asked him." James told Bob directly with a hint of anger that his father had been murdered by the mother of his "brother" whom he had never met. From this fact, Bob may have further inferred, as I have, that he was becoming James' substituted father, by necessary implication.
From the pizza dinner forward , James became a changed young man, as April had told Bob earlier, that James would become. In fact, he became a popular peer leader among the algebra students in due course, as his competence and his confidence increased with James' efforts, interest and self-initiatives.
James represented a solution to the "demand side of the problem;" when students assert themselves upon and into the subject matter by virtue of desire to learn, to grow.
I related to the taciturn issue posed by James by reason of having worked with some students, and some adults, who, though lacking initiative to begin, later went on to become very adept in carrying out our agenda , most satisfactorily!
A number of lessons are prevalent here . Each may draw his own. I prefer to go with Bob 's . He wrote:
"With James there was a deep level of satisfaction for me. Yet, even now I sometimes remind myself, 'Bob, there are levels of this work that are not completely in your control.' Take James; I still do not exactly know what triggered James into coming around, although I recognize that I am a part of whatever it was. Even James isn't completely clear. "Mr. Moses said he knew I could do better and that I needed to come out of myself. You wanna hear but at the same time you're sayin', 'Why you talkin' to me?' Then it started clickin' in my brain. I am smart. I can do things! And the next day I started to do more stuff.'"
P. 130, 132.

Friday, June 8, 2018
JAMES
IN RE JAMES
I was moved to tears reading about "James" in relation to his Lanier Middle School teacher--organizer, civil rights activist and author--Robert P. Moses, whose 2001 book RADICAL EQUATIONS; CIVIL RIGHTS FROM MISSISSIPPI TO THE ALGEBRA PROJECT was written with Charles E. Cobb, Jr.
Robert (Bob) Moses had a student named James, who was seemingly disinterested in algebra class. But one day, James asked Bob Moses if he would buy him and his friend, April, something to eat. After obtaining consents from their parents , Bob took them for pizza.
While they were eating Bob asked James why he had approached him about a meal, when in class he had been so distantly disinterested in taking on the challenge of learning?
James, a 7th grader, said he acted like that in all of his classes . "Why is that? I wanted to know and asked him." James told Bob directly with a hint of anger that his father had been murdered by the mother of his "brother" whom he had never met. From this fact, Bob may have further inferred, as I have, that he was becoming James' substituted father, by necessary implication.
From the pizza dinner forward , James became a changed young man, as April had told Bob earlier, that James would become. In fact, he became a popular peer leader among the algebra students in due course, as his competence and his confidence increased with James' efforts, interest and self-initiatives.
James represented a solution to the "demand side of the problem;" when students assert themselves upon and into the subject matter by virtue of desire to learn, to grow.
I related to the taciturn issue posed by James by reason of having worked with some students, and some adults, who, though lacking initiative to begin, later went on to become very adept in carrying out our agenda , most satisfactorily!
A number of lessons are prevalent here . Each may draw his own. I prefer to go with Bob 's . He wrote:
"With James there was a deep level of satisfaction for me. Yet, even now I sometimes remind myself, 'Bob, there are levels of this work that are not completely in your control.' Take James; I still do not exactly know what triggered James into coming around, although I recognize that I am a part of whatever it was. Even James isn't completely clear. "Mr. Moses said he knew I could do better and that I needed to come out of myself. You wanna hear but at the same time you're sayin', 'Why you talkin' to me?' Then it started clickin' in my brain. I am smart. I can do things! And the next day I started to do more stuff.'"
P. 130, 132.

