Harper High School, Part One (Podcast)

In many ways Harper High School is just like any other high school. It is well kept and the teachers care about their students. What makes this school different from the typical suburban, American high school is that at Harper, there were 27 shootings in a year involving students. The podcast clearly shows how prominent gun violence is in schools like Harper where gangs are the norm. Mr. Adams, the Assistant Principal spoke to a new student in the hall to try and figure out which gang he might be affiliated with. It’s a casual conversation and in the end Adams tells the student to use his head and to tell an adult in the school about any problems he may have before turning to violence. This exchange between a student and the Assistant Principal reveals an interesting relationship between the students and adults at Harper. Obviously the adults encourage students to think and make good choices, but they also understand that being in a gang is simply part of the culture in Chicago and that they can not end all gang activity. They have to be able to talk with their students about gangs to stay informed about what is going on outside of the classroom in order to protect the students while they are in school.

The podcast documented the steps taken to deal with the shooting of a former Harper student. As rumors fly through the school, teachers and officials have to work to give their students a normal high school experience. The shooting was gang related but it was unclear which gangs were involved. All day, teachers gather information from students as the principal has to decided whether or not to cancel the homecoming game and dance the next day. She is put in the difficult decision of hosting a large event and risking another gang related shooting or depriving her students of a normal high school experience.  This is typical of the staff at Harper as they deal with these situations all the time. It is just part of their job, but for many teachers in schools where gun and gang violence is not part of the culture, a shooting in the community could cause chaos as people try to recover. The schools might have grief counselors or even cancel school completely but at schools like Harper, students and faculty are more worried about another shooting.

The goal of the podcast was clearly to give insight to a school overwhelmed by gun and gang violence. It shows how faculty puts in just as much work protecting their students as they do educating them. Teachers have to know which gang the kids are affiliated with and how it might affect their day at school. If teachers know that there was conflict between gangs before school, then they may know why some of their students are distracted and disengaged in the classroom. The faculty at Harper High School is constantly encouraging their students to think first and tell an adult before turning to violence. It is something many schools in America do not have to deal with but an obstacle faced by Harper High School every day.