Oppression Of Seth's Parents, Tercel And Latoya Martin

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While there are a variety of obvious signs of abuse and neglect in this article, there are also a variety of underlying issues of oppression that readers can see in the article. One of the first things that stood out as less obvious oppression is when teachers and adults assumed that Seth’s parents, Tercel and Latoya Martin, were bad people or parents solely because of how their child behaved. While a poor homelife can play a factor in bad behavior in children, this is not the case in this article. The parents moved multiple times, saw numerous doctors and professionals, and even tried to educate Seth at home (Aviv). His parents went above and beyond to help Seth’s development as a child, however others assumed differently. For example, in …show more content…

She feared that if she was unable to get her son, the school could call the police, assuming that she is a bad parent (Aviv). Latoya spent most of her time looking for a new job because the schools refused to put up with Seth’s behavior (Aviv). This is just one of the many examples of the less obvious oppression that Seth and his family faced during his childhood. Additionally, it was nearly impossible for Seth and the students that went to GNETS to attempt to learn because of the conditions of the school. For example, the first school he attended had very few staff members and an unqualified teacher (Aviv). Seth and the children were never given the chance to learn, due to the horrible circumstances of the GNETS school. Seth and his family were oppressed by the education system and the people around them for assuming Seth’s behavior could change based on his education conditions at the GNETS school. Society owes more debt than what can be paid back to Seth’s family and the victims of GNETS …show more content…

This is something that needs to be exposed and heard of in order for it to not happen again. There is no reason that a child should be denied an education because of conditions that they are unable to control. After moving back to Atlanta, Latoya was finally able to find the perfect place for Seth. In fact, the director of Lionheart School stated a wonderful quote that emphasizes the importance of never giving up on a child as a teacher. He stated, “‘If the child is punished for screaming, then we’ve missed an opportunity to get to know this child and what he is telling us”’ (Aviv). As a future teacher, it is vital to be aware of the past mistakes that were made in the education system and learn from them. No family or child should have to go through what GNETS families did, therefore it is so important that educators give every child a fair chance at an education. A big part of a teacher’s job is to try and understand or relate to each student, that way they are able to serve and provide the specific things that each child needs to be successful and gain an

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