Working at a high school has its perks, its cons, and its very close-view of youth culture. At Lincoln High, as in most schools, the students are by-and-large cut by ethnic lines; mainly Latinos, Asians, and some Black students. It is also composed of different cliques. The cholos, the wanna-be cholos, the recent arrivals (whom don’t fit into their own ethnic groups because they’re not as assimilated, or don’t speak English), the metal-heads, the skaters, the punks, the stoners, and the more geeky among them.

Watching the kids everyday you realize how much technology is imbued into their lives. Most kids almost always have headphones on, inside or outside the classroom. Some do have the real iPods and others have the $50 ones you can get in the alleys in Downtown LA. There are kids that may not read well in class but always know the newest website to bypass the LAUSD proxy that blocks MySpace and Email sites. I still don’t know how they do it.

Another observation is how poorly funded schools really are. During summer school the LAUSD claimed it didn’t have any money to rent a bus for a field trip for my ESL, yet they recently spent $95 million on a payroll system that doesn’t work (plus I only make $10/hr as a TA).Though through all of this I enjoy being at LHS. It has a long history in Los Angeles: my parents, and many friends have gone there. It also has, inside, some great artwork from the 30s & 40s. And it’s not a super-alienating job like all of my previous ones. There’s a real connection with kids that grew up in the same neighborhood as I, though it has changed since my own childhood. Before there wasn’t any Carl’s Jr., Hollywood Video, Autozone, Subway, CVS, or McDonalds. And the dangerous streets may have switched places with other streets, and some things have gotten better.

And of course I love zipping around Lincoln Heights on my bike. I’m not absolutely petrified for my life biking there (except for Daly St. & San Fernando Rd.) All those wide streets south of Broadway and the great ride up Griffin.