- who would like to see Verizon offer cable TV in Phila?
- Council Committee Passed the Freeze
- Carol Campbell Passes Away
- My first trip to the public library
- Fight digital exclusion
- What if half of Philadelphia didn't have roads?
- You know, let's not even worry about the City Commissioners office messing up voter registration processing
- Bold ideas to fix the budget
- Mayor Nutter's Town Hall Meeting Schedule
- City Releases Library Information to City Council
Why I Am Proud of Going to Temple (And Penn, Not So Much)
Submitted by jennifer on Fri, 02/09/2007 - 5:37pm.
I want to resurrect a few threads of discussion.
Here, Dan posed questions about the evolving role of Temple University, as it expands and fuels redevelopment of the North Broad corridor and as it evolves towards a more selective institution.
And this thread ended up sparking debate over when and how you intervene to improve the city's youth as a workforce.
Dan ended up unsure whether Temple even had the capacity to serve many of the city's youth, were its inclusivity preserved:
But, given the state of Philly schools, we can agree that there are some kids who are not ready to be thrown to the sharks? I dont think we can expect Temple professors to make up for 13 years of public school failings, and I think it hurts a lot of other students, many of whom are also supposed to be served by the Temple charter.
***
I got my undergraduate degree from Temple, though I was only there for just over a year.
My job at Temple was the best and most meaningful job that I've yet had (and not just compared to the popcorn wagon by the carousel). I "tutored" other students.
The students I worked with were part of a program where they'd be conditionally admitted to Temple (their grades and scores being otherwise too low) if they completed a preparatory summer class and went for frequent individual tutoring in a center above the law bookstore at Cecil B. Moore Avenue.
Each of them was from Pennsylvania (it was state money that paid for me, the computers, and the fast internet to watch Kelis videos) and they were all first generation college students. Many of them were second-generation immigrants.
They came in with dismal skills. Hell, most of them left with pretty dismal skills, technically speaking. They could barely write, even colloquially. Much worse, they did not know how to read in the way that you have to in college. They couldn't extract ideas, couldn't analyze, and had no idea where to begin with the essay questions (a perversely brilliant one analyzed "Bartleby the Scrivener" in relation to her friend's experiences managing a store in the Gallery).
But the climate was amazingly egalitarian, and the kids really wanted to be there. The loved being college students.
What I saw in the course of working with them through Intellectual History and First Year Writing (n.b., some of the texts and assignments given by hyper-intellectual grad students were truly cruel; someone had their students applying theories of visuality in the post-colonial context) was a bunch of kids starting to see themselves differently. This was about identity. It was really beautiful.
***
I fully want to believe that places like Temple can leverage people up in profound ways. That's why I am proud of that school's mission and worried that if it stops playing that role--of a top notch, and accessible, school--no one will in the Philadelphia area.
And articles like this one a few months ago in the New York Times are deeply troubling.
The article summarizes a study tracking Chicago public school graduates that entered college: two of the city's public unversities have six-year graduation rates of 16-17% (8% among African-Americans). And:
As dismal as those rates seem, the universities are not unique. About 50 colleges across the country have a six-year graduation rate below 20 percent, according to the Education Trust, a nonprofit research group. Many of the institutions serve low-income and minority students.
The article reveals a system where entering higher education is more and more of a norm--it is greased by the accessibility of at least some federal loans, and the expansion of private credit--without graduation keeping pace.
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Is Temple giving back to the HOOD???
I commend all the work that Temple U has done for the North Broad area. From the Movie Theater to the apartments around the area , Temple is trying to revive a once dead neighborhood that the city could have cared less about. But at what cost is this coming to, is this good for our neighborhoods? I have said time after time that Temple isn't giving a damn about North Philly and could care less about the surround neighborhood that they call home. I thought that all the construction going on would be good for the neighborhood and Philly. But will the hood be called the hood in the next 10 years. All the things that I have grownup to see is gone, new homes , apartments, stores , even a Foot Locker but who is this all for us or them. Do Temple really care about the HOOD or just making everything accessible to their students.
Temple as like other schools have had the problem of losing students and staff to other colleges and cities. No enough room, violence, and tuition costs has killed enrollment for years. Temple grads have obtained their education in the HOOD but are too good to live in the hood and bring back to the community. So I see the new homes and condos forming to bring the students back ,but what about the residents that live there already? What do we do about them, its won't be long until Temple buys Ramon Rosen Projects, demolish, and turn into luxury town homes. Is this good for us or them?????
Junior Williams
juniorwililams007@earthlink.net
http://mycityscapephily.eponym.com/blog
What should Temple be doing?
What should Temple be doing?
Thats simple!!
Just look out your window. Instead of trying to build around the hood, try to bring the hood together in a union with the University. You can't act like the hood don't exist and build around it . There is a need for community involvement for years with Temple and North Philly. Its like sisters that can't stand each other but have to live in the same home until one leaves.
Junior Williams
juniorwililams007@earthlink.net
http://mycityscapephily.eponym.com/blog
I'm not sure what you're
I'm not sure what you're saying. How does Temple bring the hood together in a union? It sounds good, but what does it mean?
While I love Temple and was
While I love Temple and was pissed off that the Apollo was tied up for five years by Street and Community activists, I must admit that Temple never took an interest in the community. They would just buy up lots and let them deteriorate until they could buy more lots and build on them. Both sides were a little full of crap, but I do agree that Temple could have been a better neighbor.
Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young. ~ Mary Schmich
Double Owl
I went to Temple for undergrad and law school and loved it. My recollection was that Temple was very involved in the local community. I pulled this from an article about Tom Anderson's retirement, a former vice president for community relations at Temple:
"The partnership Anderson forged between Temple and Norris Homes includes facilitating an “adoption” agreement signed in 1995; establishing the Temple Health Connection, an on-site health center managed by Temple nurses and providing education, counseling and health screening exams; and enhancing their community center facilities with a computer room and tutoring services. Temple’s Adopt-A-Block and Welcome Wagon programs, in conjunction with the office of Student Affairs, through which Temple students and neighboring residents affirm their shared responsibilities for the community; the letter of understanding signed by Temple University Greek Association members and their neighbors, outlining voluntary regulation of TUGA-sponsored social events and underscoring a commitment to strengthening community relations; the Temple Mile program, which sent students out to work in the community within a one-mile radius of the campus; construction training programs; and jobs on all of the University’s projects."
One Decent Article From Otherwise Dumb NY Times "Class" Series
The College Dropout Boom.
Jennifer
Jennifer wrote about educational mission and this is about devel
about development.
Not that that's a nightmare, I just want to point out that your reply is a different area unrelated to what Jennifer is addressing. Related in theme, I guess, but not on point.
Again, not a nightmare, but it's akin to Jennifer saying, "that guy's suit looks awesome" and you saying "Uh-uhn, his car's a wreck."
---
BradyDale OnLine
The R.I.I.C. Blog
The Philadelphia Unemployment Project
Great post Jen. I loved
Great post Jen. I loved your story . I assume that you are talking about the Summer Bridge Program? Those guys came into the lab a lot where they had computer classes and the likes.
I got Nostalgic when I read my post from that other thread. Temple really is a big part of me. And like I said before, I am both happy and sad about what’s happening. I think that it’s great that they have a better campus life and have more dorms. At the same time, I think that they shouldn’t do this at the expense of the City students in favor of richer students from the suburbs and out of state.
People deserve a chance, whether it’s their first or their second, or whatever. And I think that we need to keep our eye on the ball. The idea that Temple is struggling and/or not living up to its potential has anything to do with its Philadelphia students is a little bit off base. The students who got the most out of it were the ones who may have been less sophisticated and may have been the first one in their family to go to college, trying to break the vicious cycle that that creates. The students who I found were a waste of air were the ones who could afford it most, and thus didn’t take it as seriously.
I know that we get a bad rap, but Temple Owls are everywhere, and we are here to stay.
Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young. ~ Mary Schmich
An interesting post, Jennifer
An interesting post, Jennifer. I was struck by your comment:
"Hell, most of them left with pretty dismal skills, technically speaking. They could barely write, even colloquially. Much worse, they did not know how to read in the way that you have to in college. They couldn't extract ideas, couldn't analyze…"
I’ve been teaching for over 3 decades at CCP. It’s not that hard to get young people interested in ideas and seeing themselves in a new light. The tough part is getting those writing skills up to college level.
There does seem to be an optimal age for learning such prosaic things as spelling, punctuation, the syntactic conventions of the written language. Kids can soak up this kind of thing. It's so much more difficult for adults. Many of us have searched for a magic bullet here and to my knowledge no one has found it.
We’ve just got to invest more in elementary school education. I wish I had some answers as to how to build the political will to do so.
Temple Pride
Temple University changed my life. Honestly, and some of you many not believe this, upon graduating from high school, I didn't even want to go to college! I made a deal with my parents to test it for one year. Well, after a month at Temple, I knew I was in the right place. In my 4 years of college and 3 years of law school there, I saw the campus change, the student body change and the school confidence grow to a tremendous level. I saw 2 elite 8's, watched Pepe Sanchez play, studied at Temple Rome, and learned from great instructors and professors. I would love to say Temple is a hidden jewel, but it is not hidden at all. It is a great anchor on North Broad, and having worked for their police department (not as a cop), I know it is pretty damn safe (and I know why).
Go Temple!
Supporting Michael Nutter in 2007!
Ol Pepe. The year Seton
Ol Pepe.
The year Seton Hall knocked them off early, they really could have won it all.
Ty Shine still haunts my
Ty Shine still haunts my dreams. They were great that year.
Supporting Michael Nutter in 2007!
Temple Rome Was A Beautiful, Beautiful Thing
And they'd price the international programs at the same level as basic in-state tuition. For that, an apartment near the Vatican with little espresso pots and a nearby vegetable market, pizza shops where everything was sold by weight, and the crazy pink-and-white wedding cake sculpture museum where you'd go on class break to get coffee and pastries and be faked out on your change by the old men who thought that sort of thing was hilarious.
Jennifer