Learning From Garfield
Regarding Garfield High School, Principal Susan Dersé said that "this is a place you could lose yourself" ["Pastimes at Garfield High," April 14]. I disagree. It is the place I found myself, and from it I continue to draw inspiration. Garfield is not an easy or simple place, but as a graduate of last year's senior class, I have to take offense at this article. What from the outside may appear an "out- of-control student culture" was, from my inside perspective, a generally harmonious experience.
It's true that Garfield is not perfect and there are far fewer opportunities for African-American students than for white students. Obviously, there should be no such disparity. Yet to suggest that the only solution is de-integration is ludicrous. Co-existing with people unlike one's self opens minds and doors. The students know this, as do many teachers. The quoted Ms. Laura Strentz is one such teacher who took pains to integrate her AP classes and offer help and guidance to African-American students hoping to achieve in this supposedly whites-only environment. Student groups work to open the lines of communication and actively promote change and interaction amongst disparate racial and interest groups. If anyone is to blame for this racial antagonism, it is the school administration and the district.
Regarding the drama program, the article seems prejudiced toward finding any hint of purported racism. Ms. Carole Ross may be claiming the reason for the drama club breakdown was her supposed attempt to integrate the program, but this is not necessarily the truth. Other incidents fostered an environment of resentment and unease, especially as Ms. Dersé attempted to appropriate many of the rights and responsibilities traditionally held by drama club members. In my experience, dramatic productions were among the most integrated experiences I had at Garfield. There is nothing wrong with that program that communication and compromise could not solve.
Ms. Dersé was unable to handle the pressures of the situation—fine. My class saw three principals, a sexual misconduct case, a teacher's suicide, a counselor fistfight, arsons, a slew of bomb threats, and an earthquake. Every time we returned, even when some of the teachers and principals did not. Every time we went back to our classes, to our clubs, to our futures. Gary Thomas was right: There is not enough being done to bridge the achievement gap. More will be done with someone who is able to empathize, and especially to act. The students have been waiting for this person and, if need be, will continue to wait. Garfield is not a place where hope is stamped out of young people. It is taught, and learned. So Dersé wants to leave? She can go ahead, Garfield doesn't need her.
Liz Bokan
New York, NY
Impressive, Depressing
Thanks for Nina Shapiro's article on the circumstances faced by Garfield High School—it was an impressive one. However, I was a little despondent after reading it. Even after seeking out many sources in the Garfield community, it is unfortunate that Ms. Shapiro's article could not avoid what seems to be present in so many news stories on Garfield: an attitude of intense, unchangeable pessimism, which, paired with negative facts and sound bites, presents the idea that the school and those within it are in a doomed position.
There are many things about Garfield that need fixing, but I wholly believe that the positive outweighs the negative tenfold. Administrative, financial, and racial issues aside, Garfield's student body is an incredible source of enthusiasm and diversity. Though Ms. Shapiro describes a "leadership vacuum," the Garfield I know is bursting with teachers who devote not only their class time but also much of their outside time and energy to creating a positive, meaningful environment. Perhaps most discouraging is the idea somewhat present that Principal Susan Dersé has, by announcing her resignation from Garfield, failed us. It is agreed upon by most that Garfield is a very difficult school to completely control, but in her three years here, Dersé has done an amazing job and seen our school through many obstacles with dignity and grace. Because of all this, we are a vibrant, promising place, and hopefully it will not be long before that is appreciated by those not already a part of it.
Mae Chevrette
Student, Garfield High School, Seattle
Shapiro's Class Assignment
Thank you to Nina Shapiro for diligent work in trying to sort out the complexities of Garfield High School ["Pastimes at Garfield High," April 14]. However, her article furthered the unfortunate mythology that racial tensions are boiling at Garfield and that its achievement gap between black and white students is evidence of poor administrative leadership.
Shapiro writes, "Such a dramatic difference in the level of achievement between groups at the same school is bound to create tension, and it has for some time at Garfield, with little district intervention." I'm now in my fourth year as a teacher at Garfield, and everyone I've ever heard talk about racial tension at Garfield has been an adult. Race relations among students, however, seem healthy. Every year for more than a decade, in a student-run program called Cultural Relations, more than 100 students of all races go on a weekend retreat where they engage in workshops to deepen their understanding of institutionalized racism. The students describe the experience as life-changing, and return to lead a weeklong series of workshops for the remaining student body examining race. Next year, Garfield's student newspaper, The Garfield Messenger, will be launching an antiracist initiative that will engage the Garfield community in a dialogue around race, power, and privilege. The collective attitude of Garfield students on race is overwhelmingly progressive. The myth that it has "racial tension" is furthered by adults with a political agenda.
