I mentioned in my introductory post that I teach at The Brooklyn Latin School, located near the intersection of Bushwick and McKibbin, in the handsome old P.S. 147 building. We are a specialized high school, which means that students must take an exam to gain admission to TBLS. Though this exam has earned the unfortunate nickname of the “Stuy exam,” after Stuyvesant High, the most famous of the specialized high schools, there are actually seven schools on the exam, of which we are the newest. Our “specialty,” you may have guessed, is a classical education. Consequently, our students wear a uniform, take four years of Latin, and practice public speaking along with Socratic debate. I have the honor of teaching Virgil and Homer in my class, whereas at my last school I had students who, quite literally, could not read.
Having a magnet school in Bushwick has been interesting, to say the least. Our students come from all five boroughs, and though a few of them know the neighborhood, most are quite unfamiliar with their surroundings. It should come as no surprise that I’ve met parents who cringe merely at the name “Bushwick” — as if it were still 1977 and Broadway was burning. I could mention that Brooklyn Tech — the other specialized high school in Brooklyn - is a stone’s throw from some fairly notorious projects, or that Bronx Science isn’t exactly on Central Park West, but I’d rather let the things we do at my school — which I think are pretty wonderful — speak for themselves.
At the same time, we are trying to focus on raising awareness about ourselves in the Bushwick community, which is the subject of this post (perhaps you thought it was mere self promotion). From the first, we’ve resisted the label of carpetbaggers who use Bushwick space to offer an elite education to students who come from elsewhere. Quite to the contrary, we’d like to integrate ourselves into the community, and I’d like to get some input from readers of this blog about how Brooklyn Latin can contribute to the improvement of Bushwick for all its residents.
So far, we have a couple of programs, and are looking to do more. For example, a Reading Buddies program that has our students reading to the tykes in PS 147. At the same time, we’d like to start tutoring area middle schoolers for the specialized high school exam. While many privileged students are privately tutored for the exam for 2-3 years, those in disadvantaged neighborhoods rarely get such intense preparation, and are consequently under-represented among those who pass. In addition, since all of our students have a public service requirement, we are thinking of some bigger projects we can do in the community (an oral history of Bushwick, a forum on gentrification, et. al.)
Again, I would love to hear from the opinionated readers of this blog regarding the above. Whether you’re a long-time resident or newcomer, I am sure you have some notion of what we could to make Bushwick a better place. So, by all means, please chime in.
Also, since we’re on the the topic of education, I’d like to plug an excellent blog. Bottom Shelf Books, written by my very close friend Minh Le. It focuses on children’s literature, but is — quite honestly — one of the funniest and most original blogs I’ve read in a while.
