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A New Pathway: Perceptions and Reality
A few months ago, Torontoist was invited to take part in Pathways to Education, a program that helps students in disadvantaged neighbourhoods stay in school, graduate, and pursue post-secondary education. As part of the Group Mentoring component this winter, Torontoist writers Karen Aagaard, Hamutal Dotan, and Suzannah Showler conducted a workshop in online journalism for some Pathways students in Lawrence Heights; another group meeting concurrently learned about photography from staff photographer Nick Kozak. We invited the students to share stories about their neighbourhood and their experiences with Pathways with you.
Photo by Wares Fazelyar.
Hi, my name is Daneil and I am in a Pathways program. Pathways is a program where people in high school come to get extra help when needed, and where groups of students come together every week. We also have mentors to help and guide us.
I’ve been in the Pathways program for two years now. For the past five weeks, my group has been learning about journalism. This is my first opportunity to explore journalism, and I am very excited for this project. At first I thought that journalism was a bunch of people that sit around and write what they’re told to write, but over the past five weeks I have learned that journalism is also about expressing yourself and being able to write what is on your mind. So now I’ll write what’s on my mind…
Photo by Wares Fazelyar.
Often people look at me and assume I’m “ghetto” because of the way I dress, act, and talk. But really I’m just me. I just like to be myself around people. Being me is just being real. Sometimes, I’ll be walking down the street and people will just stare at me. When people do that, I don’t feel any particular way about it. I don’t think they think I’m dangerous, but they might think I’m rude.
Usually when people see me they think that I’m not the type of person to get mad quickly so they try and be rude to me. I am the type of person to get mad quickly, so I get rude back with them, but not in a disrespectful way to the point where they feel bad.
I respect people who respect me, because in order to get respect, you have to give respect.
I’m well-mannered, and I look out for a lot of people. I go to school at Central Technical School and I am in Grade 10. I like sports, such as track and field, basketball, soccer, and softball. My hobbies are dancing and going out with friends. I live in the Neptune Community in Lawrence Heights, Toronto. I have four brothers and one sister. I only live with my mom, my sister, and two of my brothers. We live in a low-rise building. In my neighbourhood everybody knows each other and gets along with one another—it’s like we are all family.
Getting the opportunity to do this journalism project was interesting and fun for me because not that many students get to do something like this, so I am very lucky.