Salvation

Salvation is a powerful word to have in mind while watching Boys of Baraka. According to dictionary.com, one of the definitions of salvation is “a source, cause, or means of being saved or protected from harm, risk, etc.” These boys and their families were looking for salvation. They wanted something, anything, to get those boys through high school and out of the projects. Education was the way to a better life and the odds were stacked against them if something or someone didn’t come along to help them. At the thought of having only one of her songs attend Baraka, Romesh and Richard’s mom said “Don’t make one a king and the other a killer.” Those are strong words and she was obviously putting all of her hope in education as being the key to her boys’ success.

I can’t help but think back on our readings in Delpit and McIntosh, our classroom discussions, and the workshop that Katie and her group led us in. How far behind the starting line would these boys already be at such a young age?! It’s interesting that someone started this great school with fantastic intensions, but why was it in Africa? Why not somewhere far removed in the States? Why was the project abandoned instead of moved when the students were unable to return? I’m sure there was more too it, but some of the parents asked the latter question as well. Our boys’ salvation is leaving them high and dry after only one year. They saw that both years were needed to make a change in their boys. But was it? Look at the change we saw in just one year! Romesh, or maybe Richard, said when he found out that he would not be returning that “It changed part of our lives” and his brother said “I think all our lives are going to be bad now.” I think that statement tore at all of our hearts to hear that these boys had seen hope for their futures, and now they were starting to lose sight of that hope. They were letting it slip away and had not figured out that they could take charge of their futures. They did not have to leave it up to their current surroundings.

I was thinking about Erikson’s stages in connection with these boys. Our book didn’t go in to later stages, but the website I’m looking at (learningplaceonline.com) sums up the school age (6-12) and adolescence (12-18) stages well. The school age is “a very social stage of development and if we experience unresolved feelings of inadequacy and inferiority among our peers, we can have serious problems in terms of competence and self-esteem.” How could these boys not feel inadequate or inferior when they are told that only 25% of them are going to graduate high school! In the Adolescent stage, “development depends primarily upon what we do” (as opposed to what is done to us). These boys are trying to figure out where they belong in the world. Most of them know they want out of their current situation, but are trying to figure out how to get there.

(sorry for the long post!)