Economic Edge

My Pregnancy As Mediated By a Taco Truck by Kim Ip

aneducationalwhim — Fri, 17 May 2013 04:22:13 -0400

I had a goal of going to Tacos Sinaloa earlier today to come full circle in my experience with...

Looking young by Diana Arbas

dianaarbas — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 08:01:51 -0400

Security barks HEY! as I push out the front gate during 4th period. I smile at him, wave. His face...

Inside Oakland High School - by Karen Gordon Last week I visited...

radiokg — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 18:05:05 -0400

Inside Oakland High School - by Karen Gordon

Last week I visited Oakland High School for the first time. I parked easily and was taking pictures of the murals along the retaining wall, when I discovered I was on the wrong side of the building. A group of students who were sitting on the steps told me that I had to go around to the other side on MacArthur. This was easier said than done since at this junction, MacArthur Blvd looks like a one-way street going the wrong way. There is nothing clearly marked that shows the uninitiated how to get to there from here. But I had to get there because I was audio-taping the freshman English class of my friend, Diana Arbas.

Diana is student teaching at Oakland High this year. Today she was discussing the book, Warriors Don’t Cry, with her students. This memoir, by one of the nine African American students who desegregated Little Rock Central High School in 1957 Arkansas, deals directly with some concerns of Diana’s students: racism and adolescent school life. I was especially impressed with the thoughtfulness of the students’ reflections on the book, as well as Diana’s ability to cope with an occasionally chaotic class. A certain level of noise and inattention is part of the hum of the classroom, but there was also a great deal of insight and even healthy debate between students over the story. One young woman pointed out that white people have a color, though this point was not picked up for discussion. Diana led the discussion in a very egalitarian manner, one that respected the students as intelligent people with opinions of their own. I had the privilege to be a fly on the wall, a somewhat big fly with a tape recorder and boom mike, but one that was pretty much ignored. I felt that what I was seeing was an authentic day in the classroom, one in which I learned a lot.

Bus banter by Diana Arbas

dianaarbas — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 16:02:00 -0500

Fruitvale BART bus terminal. The 14 bus pulls up, and it’s the end of the line. The driver...

Simple Pleasures by: Moriah McKnight

maraschinomustaches — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 15:50:55 -0500

Walking down International Boulevard, right between an old car lot and a seemingly forgotten...

The Mezmorizing Museum- Lizzy Schultz

lzschultz303 — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 15:49:07 -0500

While on our field trip to discover Oakland, I was reminded of my own field trip just a few weeks...

Deborah Green Wishes for More Time by Kim Ip

aneducationalwhim — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 15:45:53 -0500

As a student, I’m familiar with the phrase—“we could all use a little more...

Homeless with an unwavering faith in God— Priscilla Yuki...

offthewallpyw — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 15:42:04 -0500

Homeless with an unwavering faith in God— Priscilla Yuki Wilson

She was sitting on the corner of 8th and International, just a few businesses down from Cam Huong cafe, the place that our team was having lunch. She kindly asked me for some cash, but I had forgotten my wallet at home. Instead, I offered her a cigarette. She graciously received it. She told me her name was CeCe. She is 58, 100% Native American (Sioux) from South Dakota, and homeless.

I sat comfortably next to her. People passed us by and CeCe would ask some for change. Even though most of them either silently walked by or offered a genuine apology, CeCe smiled and thanked them and told them to have a nice day.

She told me she had three children (all grown men) and became homeless after her mother died in 2008. I asked her why she hand’t reached out to any of her children. She said she used to but hadn’t in awhile because she didn’t want to worry them.

“I’m okay,” she said. “God looks after me.”

An older woman walked by and handed CeCe what looked to be some kind of Asian delicacy wrapped in banana leaves. CeCe excitedly began to peel the leaves off using one hand. She couldn’t use her right hand because she said she had broken her wrist from an unfortunate fall down some stairs. I asked her if she had visited the nearby Native American Health Center. She said, “I have, but I don’t like how they wrap me all up.”

CeCe said she hung around International Blvd. because the neighborhood was active with a lot of people aways passing through. She said people were nice in this neighborhood and she usually gets something to eat, which is enough for her.

CeCe had a strong faith in God and said that being homeless is not as bad or sad as people may often think. She did a little prayer in her native tongue and said, “People are generally nice. I’m happy. I’m good.”

It’s not always so bright in the day— Priscilla...

offthewallpyw — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 15:39:03 -0500

It’s not always so bright in the day— Priscilla Yuki Wilson

If you squint your eyes, you can see that there are two people on the corner of the street. It wasn’t even 11 a.m and it was 50 degrees outside with a slight, chilly breeze blowing through. The young girl, who looked about 20 years old was wearing a skin tight black spaghetti-strap dress and the man was wearing a jacket and what looked to be blue pajama pants patterned with a design of fishes.

This is the image of a pimp yelling at his prostitute for something that obviously had angered him. I walked by them several times pretending to be looking for a building. I overheard him saying to her in a really stern, intimidating voice, “what do you think you are doing? You know you won’t be able to get away with that. If you go to LA, you know what’s going to happen.”

I couldn’t help but cringe as the young girl had her head down, clearly scared.
Just a block down on either side of this girl were two other young girls.

I walked into the building next to where all of this had transpired. I talked to the security guard at the Dental and Legal Medical and Professional offices, pictured above. The security guard told me that prostitution has been an ongoing problem that seems to be increasing. According to this security guard, the pimps are very aggressive and they keep coming back to the same locations even though police patrol has also developed in these neighborhoods.

Dialing into a Developing Community - Theresa Soares

theresamsoares — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 08:01:00 -0500

Please Leave a message after the beep: For the past three weeks, I have been trying desperately to...

Disconnected -- Natalie Meier

nataliemeier — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 01:08:00 -0500

International Boulevard is one of the most culturally vibrant streets I’ve ever explored. My radio...

What makes you an outsider? -- Carmen Elster

carmenveronica13 — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 15:02:31 -0500

Is it the way you dress, your hair color, your skin color? Is it the way you walk and look...

World Academy is a charter school located on 28th and Foothill....

offthewallpyw — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 07:14:00 -0500

World Academy is a charter school located on 28th and Foothill. It’s a part of a chain of schools started by the organization “Education for Change Public Schools” or EFCPS.

According to EFCPS’s website, “EFCPS was born through a strategic partnership between the State Administrator of the Oakland Unified School District and the Education Reform community. It was originally designed to become a charter management organization that would focus on converting existing OUSD Program Improvement schools to charter schools to provide the flexibilities and agilities of charter law to existing district public schools.”

World Academy is a K-5 school and has only been around since 2005. My interest in the mental health and well-being of students in Oakland lead me to a bungalow building called Portable 1.

I talked to Alicia Ramirez, the after school coordinator at World Academy. Ramirez works through the organization East Bay Agency for Children or EBAC, and she says she loves her job. She shared with me that the after school activities focuses a lot on artistic cultivation, whether it’s through theatre play, music, or even culinary activity.

The mental health coordinator wasn’t available at the time, but Ramirez suggested I contact Alison Delgado, who is the program director of Hawthorne Family Resource Center. I hope to connect with Delgado soon to understand her work and what kind of mental health and well-being resources are available for the students of World Academy.

No Outlets? Kids Don't Feel Electricity of Knowledge--Natalie Meier

nataliemeier — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 02:28:00 -0500

Kim Ip and I rode the bus from Mills College to San Antonio. We entered a convenience store, near...

Getting to Know the Neighbors--Lizzy Schultz

lzschultz303 — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 03:16:00 -0500

As we approached Oakland High School, we noticed a very quiet campus. Teachers and other staff...

La Estrellita and Poetry Diversify--Lulu Thrower

luluthrower — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 19:12:00 -0500

It was 9:30 in the morning on a Monday when Moriah McKnight and I set out on to talk to business...

La Estrellita -- Moriah McKnight

maraschinomustaches — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 18:05:00 -0500

Walking up a gray street at ten in the morning my friend, Lulu Thrower and I, stopped to go into a...

A Trek to San Antonio Park, Diverted--Kim Ip

aneducationalwhim — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 16:37:00 -0500

Walking downhill from Roosevelt Middle School on 19th St. I had the pleasure of exploring San...

On Tuesday, Feb. 5, I walked down Fruitvale Avenue and came...

offthewallpyw — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 14:29:00 -0500

On Tuesday, Feb. 5, I walked down Fruitvale Avenue and came across a beautiful Victorian home with the (pictured) above banisters hanging from the gates. I’ve come across many places in Oakland advertising psychic readings and have always wondered how these businesses seem to stick around.

I rang the doorbell and a man peered through the side window gesturing for me to wait a moment. Soon I was greeted by a woman named Lisa. Lisa looked like she was in her early 40’s and her face and hands seemed to have suffered from a burning. She gave me a warm smile and asked me what kind of reading I was looking for this afternoon. Apart from my own personal interests in the metaphysical world, I told her about my work as a journalist and how I was interested in how her business was doing in the Fruitvale neighborhood.

To my surprise, she said “business is great. People tend to flow in after the working day seeking all kinds of readings about all kinds of things.”

In fact, Lisa was in the middle of giving a reading when I rang her doorbell, so she gave me her number and told me she’d be happy to tell me all about herself and her work upon another time. I found Lisa very interesting, and was intrigued by her openness; I’m very excited to see what kind of world she’s created in her Fruitvale neighborhood.

Fearless in Fruitvale by Carmen Elster

carmenveronica13 — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 18:45:47 -0500

For the past few days i’ve been thinking about my assignment to go out in the...