More than a third of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education.
Support his classroom with a gift that fosters learning.
Monthly
One-time
Support Mr. Kearns' classroom with a gift that fosters learning.
Monthly
One-time
Make a donation Mr. Kearns can use on his next classroom project.
Our first writing unit of Senior Year is the Personal Statement, where students use UC application writing prompts to write about an experience in their lives. I would like my students to read Brian Copeland's "Not a Genuine Black Man" so that they have a model of effective autobiographical writing from a local writer-of-color.
Copland's memoir involves dealing with racism, bigotry, and the challenges of a single-parent household, which many of my students have unfortunately experienced in their lives. However engaging the classic literature we teach can be, it often does not involve characters that look and sound like our students. Reading about the experiences of someone with a shared background, growing up in the East Bay like they are, facing obstacles that they encounter, is very powerful for a young reader.
College admissions readers are deluged with personal statements to evaluate. Prospective students need their autobiographical writing to stand out from the other hundreds or thousands of applicants. "Not a Genuine Black Man" then will serve as an example of humor and pathos that students can apply to their writing, so that admissions departments will see the distinctive character of my students that I see on a daily basis.
About my class
Our first writing unit of Senior Year is the Personal Statement, where students use UC application writing prompts to write about an experience in their lives. I would like my students to read Brian Copeland's "Not a Genuine Black Man" so that they have a model of effective autobiographical writing from a local writer-of-color.
Copland's memoir involves dealing with racism, bigotry, and the challenges of a single-parent household, which many of my students have unfortunately experienced in their lives. However engaging the classic literature we teach can be, it often does not involve characters that look and sound like our students. Reading about the experiences of someone with a shared background, growing up in the East Bay like they are, facing obstacles that they encounter, is very powerful for a young reader.
College admissions readers are deluged with personal statements to evaluate. Prospective students need their autobiographical writing to stand out from the other hundreds or thousands of applicants. "Not a Genuine Black Man" then will serve as an example of humor and pathos that students can apply to their writing, so that admissions departments will see the distinctive character of my students that I see on a daily basis.