The inner core: City within a city; Part 1 of 4

W H A. The University of Wisconsin presents the first of four programs drawn from a special week of broadcasting focusing on the problems of Milwaukee's inner core city within a city. The materials for these programs came from the comments and writings of Milwaukee NS. However the issues they raise have significance and meaning for us all. Good morning Kiran. And that could be. Well so begins a day in school a day at Lincoln High in Milwaukee. Several weeks ago three of us with tape recorders arranged to visit him. We know that the building drab on the outside. Amazingly well-equipped inside. We met a principal respected by almost all his students. We heard teachers praised and condemned. We learned about problem specific only to Lincoln and problems common to all schools. In addition to the comments of some of the teachers and students of Lincoln High School we

recorded the songs of its halls and its classrooms its choir and band in rehearsal and its basketball team as they practiced the day of our Face it there was a student demonstration and its occurrence permeated the atmosphere of the whole day. There was even a hint of the issue in the principals morning announcements. I'm very happy to announce this following I'd been notified by the socialist studies department from the main office that a companion textbook will be given to each of the students in each of the United States history classes. Now this is going to be an additional book to the one that you have in your possession at the present time. The book title is the American Negro. I will background the new world experience that we should be absorbing much in todays visit not of figures and percentages and subjects but of people and personalities and problems of songs and feelings and impressions and we discovered that there is much to be learned

by even one day in school. The end being here for 21 years I've been through a transition because the transition were gradual. It's pretty hard for me to say that any particular time. Something dramatic has taken place in just emphasizes ensuring there are a lot of teachers were our kids if this was happening about four or five years ago. Substitute teacher came into a room to talk to a teacher who had to be his friend and said see you lose it it's amazing all of your children are earning through this with the minnows Western a teacher looked up and says Well I'll be done. You're right. He never even knew this was the translation that I'm talking about. I cannot say that any specific time that there is a dramatic change in society it is it's a gradual thing.

But if I were to compare that which took place today or that with a great faith with way back in 1946 there has been some changes and no question about it. But I've grown along with them and I couldn't specifically say that at this certain time certain things took place. There is a feel here. There is a very nice warm among the people. And while you do have difference in personalities I don't think there is one person here who wouldn't go out of his way to help the fella next to him. You see the children. I don't know if they can be beat. I don't know if you could go any place and find a nicer group. No matter where you ride there are always going to be some disagreements but there is a very nice warm I like making I was crazy about you. I'll be like my prince but I like my life and who I would call a human to smile that I like that the last period of the school. FFS

EKN and. I would say to. The last couple of months are our night. Now today of course with an abnormal situation. As are noisier than they have any had when. Other people come in from out of the building they think I might your home be on their own no noisier than any one of. The as we are securing it. It's a great point but with the mobility it would take on any specific date roughly about five hundred forty thirty or twelve graders and the rest there are special classes special education special Spanish class and I think these

kids move move now we may have a child who is in school in September and he will pull out of here in November and maybe in March you'll be back again and in May he may go. Now this sometimes happens with some of the white children who used to come from North and South Carolina but the fact that a trial starts here in ninth grade and leave someplace along the way does not mean that he has necessarily discontinued school. That's the point. And you would have to fire each one individually to discover. Because especially as some of the families become more affluent they will move to what they think is a more socially acceptable neighborhood from what they have been living in. For instance we start out in September and we will have an exchange of kids not reporting and when they do report from we didn't program close to 400 students. Of course this represents a tremendous amount of work we've got to do in

programming. And the accompanying situation in terms of ept absenteeism is they're also looking at the statistics and so forth we're about a third from the bottom are about the number that are present about 80 to 83 percent. But you notice that we are not all the way at the bottom. It's interesting to note that this is not a Negro problem this is a problem which you can trace to the low social economic situation that prevails because we make comparisons with an all white school and we buy for about the same position. And we have to talk in terms of low social economic conditions. I think the thing that is the least satisfying is we have if you've seen our building it's well maintained it's not than it was but it's a nice building. It's fresh it's claim working. We have I think a pretty good faculty. These people are interested. And how do you draw

disinterested children from the street into coming every day staying on the. I'm trying to learn something while they're here. If you look at our absentee list and in our senior division where we count our nine to 12 as a senior in seventh and eighth grade in the other area. If you have children consistently absent that we are running about 15 hundred now. That would mean about 900 or 900 in the high school area. Ivy's at least 200 are absent every day. It may not be the same ones. Where are they. What are they doing. This I think is the better part here is a plant. The person the equipment everything for an education. But how do you draw demand and educate them. That is the most frustrating thing I ask in school because I don't agree with teachers in a student at school.

I mean I just stay out for 20 minutes and then come back in the class. They cannot escape and so I guess the scheme which is really when you have been in school we didn't have any. I know a lot of girls. Who came you know when they came over and they were talking about how they would go to college and I was about 13 of us and 13 as all of us left from school. You see there are so many opportunities for these youngsters to go out

and get something and make something of themselves and of course you see the boys who come back from service. The ones who have been in the forces and they want a diploma or certificate so they can get a better job or even get a job because many things demand a high school diploma are the equivalency and some of them stand here. Nobody ever told me. And I will come in and they'll say oh if only I had listened. And one of our boys was in last year and I thought I was who you're going to say nobody told me he didn't. I can remember the day that I quit. Mr showers kept me locked in his office all morning long and talked to me and encouraged me talked about my problems what I wanted to be what I wanted to do but he was me. I couldn't hear him I couldn't hear a word he said. And now I wish I had listened. And those are the good you feel sorry for.

With his entire life. Between the students purposes they'll sit on the bench maybe one period who knows how perfectly lovely as this can be. We're not expecting all of them. A classroom teacher where there would be lack of communication. I don't know I think I don't necessarily feel it is for want of a desire to communicate on the part of the teachers. Because we hear some very fine people young and older and I think that they do have this genuine desire to reach the kids.

Some kids can't be reached. My education is good enough to get me into the right. Because they more or less gave me what was required for a certain grade. Get it it's not my fault because they can't make me take it again. They can put all of the poor. So if I don't get it it's my fault. We talk about our college bound only a third of them. What's happening to the other. Two thirds. Those other two thirds. Really I think we try to take care of them we began in the fall. With our child tricks. And our job fairs. And our career day career day we had. I believe 20 some people I can get it out of the files from what he was sent to

us by Kiwanis Club. We do it in cooperation with them. They send us these speakers. These people from industry. And from. The professionals schools also to speak to those students and we have the students sign up for whichever part they would like to go to. If you want to be an auto mechanic we have the people in there. They want to be a lawyer. We also had a group that they could go to hear a speaker. That they could hear. We had it all the way up up and down this year I went I talked to the person at the Columbus club I try to stress the fact. Please send us somebody that's real practical. Will tell you if you don't have this and you don't have that. You better find another field. Don't let them think. Don't give the ideas that are going to be white collar workers. And alike.

Be a lawyer or actor that those are two big professions. There are people like Ted B or thinks that they're going to be when they are ninth graders. And when the business caused to become a designer be a secretary I want to be a teacher I want to be a housewife. You're going to be dead anyway. Here are graduating two I'm going into the poly and what I'm going to the police department the police say and I want to go to school and they get me majors degree and ima major degree in psychology. I would be a pool also. So before I became a Lincoln I was a Plymouth skipping school for the boys correctional and I got out and I had one of the best of all of those I think in a business and a good game good game a lot of breaks and he showed me where I was right where I was wrong there was a lot of a lot of guys don't get the benefit of a pro-lifer

like I have you know the main reason I want to be a pro I was because I got the help I want to see if somebody else can give you some you know give someone some people that were like me that's the same after I get the rehab. I have. That want to go to college and say that they do. But they make no move to do anything about it. We publish the bulletins. We report to the homeowners last call. Get your easy t get your safety. Get your parent financial or confidential statement. And last call of this last call has been since before Christmas but the last last call was last Friday. Because that has to be on to the statement center by the 15th by the 15th. The takes the parents quite some time to fill them out. This student loan isn't hard to draw. But we're still having. To go

to them and beg them and plead them and push them and pull them. To get them in here to get their forms for these various things. There have all been accustomed to. People approaching them and asking them don't you want to do this. They want a little praise. And then. That is our greatest problem. The apathy. With which they approach all of their problems I guess is the apathy. Last year especially you get well I thought discussions were particularly hard now. I would ask a question which I thought was a good discussion question then you get 30 blank stares or possibly you could you can get something out of out of one person but I think that was that was the and still is the biggest. Disappointment here the lack of interest in anything and especially the lack of interest in what's going on. You know in the news too.

I ask questions which I think they should know when they have no idea like names in the least. They had never heard me say this. I find that disappointing because I can't I like to talk off the cuff on those things and they don't want talking muscle if I can't. Handle. It well that's it. The apathy I think that any subject can be taught only if and when it's being there. I tell my students that I cannot teach them unless they are learning that they have a responsibility to tell only by their effort. They're taken care. Of First of all you have to come they think from the same background. Number one number two anybody saying who is 24 25 years old even that person is too old. What did he know. You're just you're just not there. The negro student once competency in a class B

negro or B he white. They want competency. And I have already experienced this we are friends and we lost a very good way teacher in his ways we had a negro teacher and there were quite a few students that we'd like to have so-and-so back because this person was a better teacher because I had this business to me and very encouraging us. Only one thing I like about school is. The people at school the teachers have too much power. I really do. See I do figure most of the day. And. I believe that they should have a certain amount of you know status of you that facilitating they have too much power not some new teacher that they absolutely they absolutely despise. I don't really blame you and it's mostly a lot of the younger teachers here. They absolutely despise us. Not because it is where is I mean look they know their job. They

want school for so I guess they're not a job. But here is what they did. They well they weld the power like they have like a look like most do but was do your my you know but you tell me what to do and I got to do it because you told me to do it. In other words this is a thing well the power the world the power to have like a will and it to you if you don't do a must and you downstairs is due to talk to Mr equation was closer to you if you don't do I got to spirit you like this is the only form of discipline that I have you know. Like we are human beings that we got to be this minute and happy has got to be Bonnie and have been for Cray 2058 to tell Nell to tell us the reason why when I want to buy. Did you just go. Back and change so much saying some of that attitude towards you know like. Like you know isn't something you should be there.

Teachers who are dedicated to their work you know like you concerned about whether the child gets an education and and I think I'm with you just like you I think here we have a prayer but we have 40 dedicated places you've been called names by teachers. Because the sounding good. Here my spit up and I came to order and she ran around on a year or so ago. One of our teachers was accused of this. And I am sorry I feel it was a false accusation and rather a bumbling person and I don't feel even under great stress that this person would have called the child the names the child that he was called. I just do not believe it.

Mr. Pratt you got a list of the biggest stories you've ever heard. If they had this feeling of a name I really should come talk to Mr. Glazer or talk to Mr Downer. And sometimes if I would know of something that would be extremely upsetting I certainly feel it would be my duty to come in and talk about it because. The main thing is we need to keep a tightly knit group here. For our associations and for. Our sort of mutual support you know and this is something that has to involve both students and the teachers. And as I say you got to be together in it. I do not doubt but what this must be true in some cases and I think it's most regrettable I think is most regrettable when we have had

for instance a few of the instances that we have had a teacher would call. For instance some teacher would get up in a room and say why are you niggers. Now this is a God awful thing to say this has happened and it has happened particularly with substitute teachers and they have never come back. That our principles have seemed to be If something to reach our children should not be subjected this is a very unfair and very wrong thing. See. Us. Besides our regularly U.S. psychologist we have one that's assigned to us another one me said all bases and he was hit with a major concern of course is to work directly with disadvantaged students. We have a program going on right now

which involves group guidance. And these are the disruptive students that are being counseled by this additional psychologist I am here about two days a week and the other psychoses here when they only see individual kids and I was hired to do quite a bit I was seeing. Some counseling of parents still. The teacher who's. Pretty broad I guess on the main probably behavior. These are the ones that usually come to terms with her. Behavior Problems. Maybe cutting up in class. Well some problems are bigger than two outside the school also with the authorities once in a while we get to go on their own. Something like that. To me Monsieur disrupting. To the teachers and the administration. One problem is that.

There are students who are not willing to accept the authority and the direction of teachers either in their classrooms at that because I've never. Had any serious cases of anybody. Refusing direction in my classroom so an excellent classroom situation. But I as well as many other teachers in the school have had automatic or a reflex action and violent verbal abuse. If I had to start a. Fight at. That. Point. They try to get some direction in the corridors to students to take on other people. Really I believe we're getting in some bases in Syria and Syria education.

Like in English I have I have what I know is a very nice very nice English teacher for a lot of kids who don't like Mr. Panasonic. Responds and gives us gives us what we paid our money for you know I mean in other words you get a nickel's worth of Radio saying I want my locals were well aware you get to Nicholls went out of his Claes easy you get it you're there to get it yes you there till the next message to get it again you know to me I mean this is this is this is I mean like I'm going to book some really outdated. Mostly other schools you think you've used the religious book. Well we're still using outdated lived but because the school board feels this that there are mines out up to the standards of those people out there. And this is what. I do. Feel a bit gutted I more or less be involved in a massive massive attack on me. The problem reading and I know this is something to have to be

done and I'm writing a great work all the way up. I feel that we should get more support material and I know that something is being done along those lines. We do get the advantage of the ESEA Title 1 program this is the elementary secondary Secondary Education Act. To begin with we have. Four teachers assigned to Lincoln High School. One teacher in the 77 a social studies program one in the eighth grade language arts program. Another teacher in the English nine and tenth grade classes and then another teacher in the teaching of American history this is 11th grade.