And please don't take this the wrong way. Last time I noticed the 2 class rooms had a number of black girls. As I talked and another black male grad spoke (who grew up w/o money in Oakland) I noticed some of the boys light up, ask questions and really feel a connection. I wish the world and human nature didn't work this way. I had the distinct impression that if we had additionally 2 black or minority women grads with us, those girls would have felt that the Harvard world included them, which it does.
I don't have any (or much) idea who on this list is which race or ethnicity. That is a good thing but forces me to say stuff like this from time to time. Additionally we did not have white guys or Asians with us and that did not feel right either. It was an extremely diverse set of faces sitting in that room in front of me (10-11 yr. olds) and we have a matching set of faces on this list. I need one of each of you to step forward please.
If you are looking for something you can do to make a difference, imagine this. We went and spent two hours out of our time to talk to this class. The teachers tell me to this day they see a noticeable improvement in the homework and test scores years later. I have letters from the kids, they wrote thank you notes. Is that worth your time?
Perry
P.S. And folks from any Harvard grad school program we need you too.
-----Original Message-----
From: harvard-sf@yahoogroups.com [mailto:harvard-sf@yahoogroups.com] On
Behalf Of pg@harvardsf.org
Sent: Friday, June 23, 2006 3:06 PM
To: Harvard-sf@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [harvard-sf] Volunteers For Sept. 5th '06 Oakland Elementary
School Talk
Tuesday 9/5/06 we've been invited back to a gifted but "financially challenged" classroom to share stories about our paths going to Harvard. The teacher said there was a positive impact on the students when we visited last year. In Oakland, it will be 9-11 AM. Anyone interested?
Regards.
Perry