Breaking Through - A Compton High School Teacher Discovers a Way to Bridge Toxic Divides - Part 2 (Ep. 19)

Courageous Conversations About Our Schools

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In Part 2 of this story, high school students and a parent discuss their experiences participating in an innovative program called SEND (Student Empathy Network for Diversity) designed by Compton High School teacher, Jason Morgan, to strengthen relationships among students and parents from different parts of Los Angeles. (Listen to Part 1)

Aaron Butler, a recent graduate from a high school in Compton, describes one of the first SEND activities with people from another community. “My mom and my dad came and we all met up and went on this hike. And it was honestly a beautiful experience going up the mountain and talking to new people from different backgrounds. It was just honestly new to me…You could see everybody getting like their little groups and talking to other people. And it was honestly an amazing experience.”

And this is what Catherine Borek, a parent of one of the SEND students (and also a teacher in Compton), said about the hike that Aaron describes and the value of moving together: “The pattern I'm seeing right now is nature-movement, nature-movement. We do things together when we move together, when we're in nature together. There's this sort of awe that comes of that, and it's really hard to not see yourself as part of a Grand Collective. And not just me, me, me. It's all about that community. And that's what I really love about this program- how it inspires this sort of awe of the world.

At the end of this episode, participants offer advice for people who might want to create programs like SEND in their communities.