Since minute one of teaching at an urban school I have been uncomfortable with the term "at-risk". It is used in schools and across professions as a contrast to those who live in privilege. I never used the term, I never think the term gives justice to those it labels and in many ways I believe those who are truly "at-risk" those who impose the label and not those who are labeled.
Below is a speech I had the opportunity to give to the Class of 2017 and in it I offer a new definition and view of those who are truly "at-risk" in our work today.
When I first got this job I was told “You know Mr. DeRemer that when you start working at Manual it will be filled with those “at-risk’ kids. You know, those kids that come to school with challenges and obstacles. Those kids who are “At-risk” to not graduate, “at-risk” to struggling in school, “at-risk” to get into fights and and “at-risk” of not having bright futures “Good luck,” they said to me, and thank you for your work with those “at-risk” kids.
It was not long after I met you that I began to hate the term “at-risk” and you have taught me that all along this definition of was entirely incorrect.
Class of 2017, one thing you taught me is that the best students are the ones that teach their teachers as much as the teachers instruct them. For years our relationship has been that of reciprocity and equality. I have taught you lessons about the causes of conflicts on distant shores and on the block across the street.Many of us have had hard discussions around race and privilege and around violence and poverty. I taught you vocabulary and writing structure and how to develop clear and powerful arguments but these are merely skills and content; not nearly as the life lessons you have taught me.
We have argued and bickered, I have called you out of your name and you have done the same to me. Some of you, if you were fortunate, caught one of the infamous DeRemer cussing-rampages where I threw a tantrum, cussed you out only to return five minutes later to apologize emphatically. But through all of this we learned together and I am thankful for that. I tell a lot of people that I was a teacher long before I came to Manual but I learned how to teach when I met you. There are ties that will bind us together forever. We have all said goodbye to students, peers, friends and teachers. We have seen times in which we are simply thankful for the doors to open another day and we have seen times in which scholarship money was pouring in and college acceptance celebrations filled the auditorium.
I want you to know, class of 2017, that I am not and will not ever be the same because of you. I believe that one of the truest marks of a human is not their resume, not their bank account or their home but the impact they had on the humans around them during the course of their lives. You are valuable and powerful not because of what you can buy or drive but by the lives you influence. If that is true then I have to tell you all one very distinct thing: you have one person who is sitting in front of you today whom you have uniquely and deeply influenced.
The way you influenced me made me rethink the term “at-risk” and because of the class of 2017 it is essential that that term be redefined and recontextualized. The idea of “at-risk” is a deficit model that labels those who don’t have something against those who do. What I want us all to do is recognize that that term is incorrect. Those who are “at-risk” are not you, they are the people you will soon meet when you walk out of here tomorrow.
Because of you, class of 2017, I would like to offer a new definition of “at-risk” that you, like you have for four years here and will continue to do, have redefined. Those who are truly “at-risk” are those who have not been able to see the beauty, struggle, challenges and victory that you have seen. There are people who are “at-risk” out there and it is your job now to teach them what you have taught me.
Because of you I have learned that there are people out there who are “at-risk” because they did not attend a school that gave students a voice and its community their pride and you must tell them that from your experience that is the only reason school exists.
Because of the class of 2017 I learned that there are people out there who are “at-risk” because they did not sit in class with people who look wholly different than they do but whose experience resonates with them like it is their own truth and you must continue to speak your truth and embolden others to do the same.
There are people out there who are “at-risk” of not knowing how to persevere through trial and loss and it is your job to look them in they eye, shed a tear with them and tell them that their only option is to take a step forward like you all have so many times.
Class of 2017 there are people out there who are “at-risk” of being defined by labels and low-expectations and it is your job to convince them to define themselves and not be restrained by what other people think they will accomplish.
Class of 2017, unlike you, there are people out there who are “at-risk” because they do not know the value of the written word, the spoken word and the read word and you must open their eyes to the power of all three.
My friends, there are people out there who are “at-risk” because they think they have struggled but do not know what it means to balance school, a job, a family and a responsibility to be their first in their family to graduate or to show that undocumented does not mean unqualified.
There are people out there who are “at-risk” because they have not proven that the street name or block number does not predetermine their SAT, GPA or scholarship total and you have to prove to them a zip code does define brilliance.
There are people out there who you will meet soon who are “at-risk” because the do not understand that gender, identity and sexuality can be fluid, personal and a decision made not a title given.
There are people who you will meet soon who are “at-risk” because they have not used their light to shine through darkness and they have not inspired a community to keep fighting even when it seemed that the battle was all but lost and you must lead them in that work because you have done it before at this school.
Simply put, class of 2017, there are people “at-risk” out there because they have not yet met you. Those who are truly “at-risk” are those who have not lived as you have and you have to find them, pursue them, educate them and empower them because that is what you have learned, done and achieved here at Manual.
You see, class of 2017, all along it was not you who was “at-risk” it was me, it was us. The ones who thought we knew what was best for you were actually the very ones who needed a lesson from you and let me affirm that you taught us well.
So my encouragement to you all is to step out into a world full of “at-risk” people because they have not experienced, encountered or overcome what you have. They will be weak in regards to obstacles, they will be resistant to engage in difficult conversations, they will be unwilling to listen, quick to walk from conflict and will often posture as if they know everything while all the while knowing that they need to learn from you. Out there in the world most people are not like you, the do not have the experience, stories, passion or energy that you have.
Be bold, be great and do not live by anyone else's terms. I want to thank you class of 2017 because at one point I was also “at-risk”. I had certain beliefs, core dispositions and a myopic view of the world that was shaken, destroyed and rebuilt by you. I see the world differently because of you. I am better now because of you. It is your job not to go out and do for others what you have done for me. Teach them, inspire them, challenge them, lead them.
So if anyone ever tries to tell you that you are “at-risk” again, take a breath, pause and tell them “ you know my friend, it is not me that it is at-risk it is you and I am so excited to teach you and show you what I have learned.” Your responsibility is significant class of 2017, you won’t let us down because that is not in your character and as I told you at the end of every class “be great, be smart, you are shining stars.” I love you all.
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