Bill Strickland’s life changed and began anew on a Wednesday afternoon in Pittsb

Question

Bill Strickland’s life changed and began anew on a
Wednesday afternoon in Pittsburgh in 1963. Strickland,
then a 16-year-old African American, was bored with
high school and felt hemmed in by life in this decaying
neighborhood. Looking through a classroom door,
Strickland saw something he had never seen before: a rotating
mound of clay being shaped into a vessel by a man
absorbed in his work. He stated, “I saw a radiant and
hopeful image of how the world ought to be. It opened up
a portal that suggested that there might be a whole range
of possibilities and experiences that I had not explored.”
Strickland walked into the classroom introduced himself
to ceramics teacher Frank Ross, the man at the potter’s
wheel, and said, “I’d like to learn whatever that is.”
Ross became his mentor, and Strickland took an entirely
new path in life that led to earning a college degree.
Today Strickland applies his potter’s hands and is involved
in social change. People work with him and come
to his programs at the Manchester Craftsmen Guild
(MCG) and at the Bidwell Training Center Inc. For
nearly three decades, Strickland has worked at his craft
back in the same Pittsburgh neighborhood he grew up
in—creating a model for turning people with dead-end
lives into productive workers. The source of Strickland’s
unique gift is, according to him, that Wednesday afternoon
in 1963. “You start with the perception that the
world is an unlimited opportunity. Then the question becomes,
how are we going to rebuild the planet?”
Strickland has brought all of his talents, aspirations,
and thinking as an artist and applied them to make a
change in the neighborhood where he lives. The use of art
to change students’ attitudes is at the heart of Strickland’s
vision of education. The goal is not to produce artists or
potters. It’s to find an individually tailored approach to
learning that will redirect young people who are searching
for goals and get them interested in education.
Strickland’s story and life provide an example of
how each person is unique. His background environment
certainly had an impact on his individual characteristics.
Strickland speaks with a moral authority that
should ring true with struggling college students.

Question-

(1) What environmental factors could Bill Strickland have changed in his life?

(2) What moral authority does Bill Strickland speak from to struggling college students?

(3)  What impact did Strickland’s mentor (Frank Ross) have on his goals, self-efficacy, and values?

Explanation / Answer

1. African-American neighborhoods were decaying because of mass exodus, crime, and, poverty. Only a small majority entered the middle-class. He could have changed the environmental factors through the Church, mentorship programs for African-Americans. He could also have used education to move out of a decaying historic black neighborhood. He started learning new skills and saw the world as an unlimited opportunity. Later on, he used his talent, aspirations, and, thinking to change students' lives and neighborhood.

2. Bill Strickland's moral authority

The society that is not marked by compassion, justice, honesty, respect for human dignity, and, integrity will survive. Those who do not protest against wrongdoing by a member of the society are accountable. Individuals should speak with moral authority about themselves, a city, and, the country. Bill is drawing from his vision for an impassioned call to action.

3. Mentoring relationships support academic and personal outcomes. At-risk youth are more likely to have academic struggles. Frank Ross provided academic and developmental support to Bill. This would have helped him stay motivated, follow the right path, and, make the right decisions. This was an intervention in college. Early interventions can help get students back on track. This was structured, and, formal mentoring for skills, training, and, education. This does help an individual set and meet one's goals. The efficacy of the mentoring is seen in his behavioral, social, emotional, and, economic development. This was a non-familial adult relationship for a decrease in truancy, and, scholastic efficacy.

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