And Still We Rise

Crenshaw High School & Mililani High School Comparisons

Community:
I don't find the communities of Crenshaw and Mililani that similar. Crenshaw's community environment is not very compact. Members of the community are too busy and preoccupied just trying to live. Because of the hardships and sufferings all individuals suffer, the agencies that provide help are weak. For instance, none of the foster care homes for Olivia were good which causes her to leave to live by herself numberous times. There is nobody to check if the home is a nice environment for Olivia to live -"The foster mother locked the girls in their rooms all day". Because there is a lack of community support, Crenshaw high school students end up joining gangs which only worsens the community environment. Students encountering near-death incidents, or death. Sadi decided to transform his life "seeing the flash of the gun, just inches away..." (pg 35)How can students at Crenshaw focus on succeeding in school if they live in shabby places and have to focus on basic sustenance? Even the teacher Ms. Little in class even claims "THE STUPIDITY!" she shouts, 'Not one teacher is an activist here. I stand alone. The conditions for teaching here are becoming intolerable." (pg 45)

Mililani, on the other hand has a more stable, compact community. Because the community environment is peaceful and calm, individuals don't have to put all their strength into trying to live so local agencies such as foster care, hospitals, community service work are abundant. This in effect, allows students in high schools to stay in school and live a normal life.

School Environment/Students/Faculty:
Although the Miliani's school environment isn't as extreme as Crenshaw's there are some similarities that can be found.

1. There is a distinct division between the students who want to succeed and the students who are 'laid back.' The students who want to go to college and become successful take AP Classes which is like the magnet program of Crenshaw High. Taking those classes, already distinguishes the students because students who take APs basically (mostly) only see other AP students in other classes. And of course, the AP students are the "minority" of the school.

2. There is also a clear distinction between AP teachers and non AP teachers (or non AP higher level courses such as Physics and Calculus that most students do not end up taking in high school). The AP teachers are like the Crenshaw's Little and Braxton, the teachers who fight and go out of their way to make sure the students' talents are well demonstrated. Little and Braxton are lone voices though as the quote above from Ms. Little shows. Maybe it is becasue the magnet and AP teachers are motivated working with inspring, motivating students, but the teachers who teach non-challenging courses sometimes lead many to doubt their capability to teach.

3. In a school where most of the people tend to be "laid back," the popularity most likely falls under them. Not only do Mililani High School students want to have some sort of "status" but all high school students virtually want the same kind of attention and respect. In "And Still We Rise" most students in the the challenging courses are not in gangs which is a big part of Crenshaw. There is a different social interest. Just like Crenshaw, you would find fewer AP students who would do drugs or drink alcohol than the other students in Mililani.

4. Because there is a lack of AP teachers, the AP teachers of one subject are often overloaded with students and work just like Braxton and Little. In the book, Little gets very frustrated when she finds herself teaching a class crowded with students and how the administration is indifferent to Little. The adminitsration fails to understand what the AP Lit class environment needs to be like in order for students to effecitvely learn. "Little pounds a fist on her desk and quiets the class. 'This class is too damn big. I can't believe they dumped all of you on me. I can't properly teach AP English with so many students. She rolls her eyes and sighs heavily." (pg 22)

There are a lot of similarities with the division among students and teachers in the school just like Crenshaw. Although Mililani may not be a gang ridden community, the school systems can still appear to be the same but of course with far less extremity.