I Am a Promise

The movie, I Am a Promise directed by Susan and Alan Raymond is a documentary about Stanton Elementary School in Philadelphia. It is an eye-opening story, showing an area where 90% of the students are living way below the poverty line. This film showcases what some of the nations poorest school conditions consist of. Some of the conditions shown are the all to common behavior difficulties, under funded, under staffed, and unsafe conditions, that each of these children are being raised in. It was produced in 1993, and won an Oscar.

Seeing scenes of abject poverty are not anything that I have not seen. I have seen areas in America that are very poor. I have also seen poverty in nations such as Mexico and The Congo. Even thought it would seem like having already seen these types of things, that it would still have the same sort of effect to see it. But every time I am confronted with the realness of other people’s lives and the life that they live it cultivates a response in me. Some of this has to do with me specifically, in that I am a very compassionate person and hope to pour out my life working with people in some sort of need. I also think that seeing the “quality” of some peoples lives we feel an empathy towards them and it touches us inside too. It is the depravity in human nature that sometimes has the deepest affect on us. For example, a few years ago I went to Washington DC. One of the places that we went was the Holocaust Memorial. This is a four story building, filled with graphic, audio visual and kinesthetic accounts of the Nazi genocide of the Jewish people. When we left the museum, after spending the majority of a day and not covering more then 1/3 of the total memorial, and our group was exhausted and down trodden. It affected the different members of our group in different ways to various degrees, but everybody was affected. These types of extreme displays of human depravity are experiences that stick with the experiencer, and can even become a driving force in the viewer’s life.

One of the many possible emotional responses to viewing a film such as this one is anger. Some believe that anger is not a good emotion or a feeling that should be embraced. Although, it is an overly used and abused emotion it is a valid and necessary one. Anger is generally a problem when it is maliciously directed at an individual and not used for a productive purpose. Viewing a little girl named Nadia that was born to drug addicts living on the streets definitely invokes anger. It is not anger that should be taken out against her parents, but one that is moving to create change. When injustice is seen, anger can be the appropriate response. So, when I rhetorically ask myself the question “What should I get from this,” which happens to be a good question ask after almost anything. What came to mind is a passion for people who are in such difficult circumstances not by their own fault.

There were a number of things that are notable. One such instance is looking at how Deanna Burney (the schools principle) carries herself. It is very apparent that she either has a lot of experience and or is shaped to work in that sort of situation. It is amazing how she just walks onto the playground and has interactions with at least 20 kids, a number wanting attention from her. I was struck by the thought that if all the other staff operated at the same level as Deanna, then maybe they could really reach the kids. Deanna was amazing dealing with the young children, constantly affirming, confronting problems, and working extra hours. In thinking though the thought that “if only all the teachers at Stanton Elementary were as dedicated and good as Deanna, then they would be able to really bring about change in these young peoples lives.” This is true to a point, that if the rest of the staff was of the same caliber it would help. I started to change my thinking about this as I have been reading our book, One Nation Underprivileged by Robert Rank. Even if they had enough staff, and staff that would not every be short of new students needing help. They also have no real control over the student’s home life and or where they go after leaving Stanton.