SVP aider moi
A SCHOOL IN HARLEM

Emmanuel Kostakis is the principal of a junior High School in Harlem, in a neighborhood with drug, unemployment problems and block after block of uninhabited buildings.
10% of the students are Asian, 70% are Hispanic and 20% are Black.
This is an interview:
How long have you been principal of this school?
Since the very beginning! 12 years ago there was nothing here, just an empty building that used to be a High School with such a terrible reputation that the City Hall decided to close it down. “What a great opportunity” I thought to set up something different! And we did.
Is Harlem really different from the rest of the city?
It’s a world apart! Harlem is in Manhattan and yet downtown Manhattan is such a different and inaccessible world! There are so many things that kids here can’t have! That’s why they feel a lot of anger and frustration.
How do they show this anger?
They fight. Fighting is part of their culture. Even parents say: “don’t hesitate to fight if you feel threatened.” When they get touched, they have to touch back.
What do you mean?
Let’s take an example: you are in a crowded corridor, someone bumps into you or looks at you, it can be just a glance. You want to show you are tougher and not afraid, so does he. You don’t want to lose face, neither does he. So you fight! It’s the only way they know to resolve their conflicts. They don’t listen, they react.
But your school has an excellent reputation. How do you explain it?
Yes we are in Harlem and yet this school has become a magnet school. First, we specialize in what kids here need most: technology and computer science. Secondly, we have zero tolerance for weapons or petty weapons, drugs (including cigarettes) and fighting. Any student who breaks the rule gets an automatic suspension. Thirdly, the students know we are there for them. We understand that their attitude is often a sign of painful personal problems.
Do you feel you have succeeded?
Yes I do. It’s the first time that a school located in Harlem has attracted students from all over the city. There are very few drop-outs and many of our students have continued their studies and finished college. Many of them can say “I’ve come a long way”.
READING COMPREHENSION

• Say whether these sentences are true or false and in both cases justify by quoting from the text.

• Harlem is in downtown Manhattan.
-
• The population of Harlem is multiracial.
-
• There are many drug addicts and unemployed people in the neighborhood.
-
• The school has been settled for over 12 years.
-
• The new junior High School moved into an empty building.
-
• Students from all parts of the city want to come to this school.
-
• Teenagers in Harlem have as many things as teens living in other parts of the city.
-
• Fights only take place after long discussions.
-
• Drugs are not tolerated.
-
• If a student carries a weapon of any kind, he / she is suspended.
-
• If a student gets into a fight, he / she can still go to class.
-
• Many students from this school have succeeded in their professional lives.
-




• Complete the following sentences.

• The students feel a lot of anger and frustration because…
-
• They fight because…
-
• If a student brings a gun…
-

VOCABULARY

Find the equivalent of these words or expressions in the text.

• A hallway -
• Squats -
• Full of people -
• Someone makes you feel you are in danger -
• A school that attracts -
• Strong and resolute (determined) -
• Have a look at -
• A world reserved for others that you can’t be part of -
• I have overcome many problems -
• Act of stopping for a while -
• People who give up / give in -