Escalante 1

Jesus Escalante
Professor Malvin
English 114B
March 22, 2015
No Spayce Place
In the city of Los Angeles, California, the distinct races and ethnicities make up a society
where things such as culture, sexual orientation, social economic class, and knowledge can label
you as a disenfranchised or marginalized community and/or individual. Los Angeles, known for
its high poverty rate, contains a community whose inhabitants are marginalized and commonly
judged through their common acts of violence and low social economic standing. A program
aimed to educate math and science as well as moral principles is what the No Spayce Place is all
about. The No Spayce Place Program can benefit communities where violence and corruption
deprive their society of education; an education essential that can benefit children of such
marginalized community, resulting in knowledge, courage, and ambition from which society as a
whole can be beneficial from.
Education should not have any complications. Most young children and teenagers are
slipping down the wrong path, a path in which the society around them encourages them to be a
part of daily. Gangs and crews as most of the teenagers call them, are constantly in search of
more members to recruit, and often it is the young teenagers of the community who are targeted.
B2 As a result, violence runs through the streets and the reality of education and the knowledge it
provides seems to be overlooked. As stated in the journal issue, Children Youth and Gun
Violence, by The Future of Children Foundation, youth living in violent communities may

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experience [mental adaptations] such as hopelessness, fatalistic thoughts, [undermined] violence,
and [diminished] moral development. These youth often participate in high risk behaviors such
asdrug abuse [and associate] with dangerous people. This violence, as seen in Los Angeles,
is caused by the same people who make up its society, and obliterates the chance for others to
succeed. Often many are labeled wrongly, in Los Angeles alone, the minorities are judged and
racially oppressed simply by their economic standing and/or skin color. As a result, the
community as a whole, becomes disenfranchised and deprived of their power to not only defend
themselves and who they are, but are also deprived of their power to succeed. This power can be
otherwise known as knowledge, and it is important and should be taken more into consideration.
Apart from violence within the community, corruption by those in positions of power still
exists today. Corruption, dating back before the L.A. riots, often leads an individual to lose
courage in what they do, and the violent acts that take place throughout the community sets fear
in its inhabitants. As stated by an anonymous student of the University of Southern California in
the book Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, Ive never felt as scared, as frightened, in my life
(156). When times of commotion are present, even education is affected. Violence leads many to
wrong doings, and with education, teenagers and children might oppose to such practice, and in
return consider it useless. But really understanding education and the opportunities it provides
can be of an asset. Eventually what is being provided is a chance for a better life, and it is up for
grabs. In a community where diverse social classes compete to succeed, despite of violence and
corruption, education can be the only way to unite what is now a marginalized and divided
society.
The No Spayce Placeis a program free at cost, which grants students with hands on
methods to enhance knowledge in science and math. Alongside NASA, the program works to get

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kids off the streets and into programs that will benefit them in the future. With a facility as big as
a three story warehouse, the center welcomes many students ranging from the age of 12 to the
age of 18. As opposed to other centers, the No Spayce Place is fond of a mixture of races,
culture, or ethnicity, and welcomes anyone who is willing and eager to continue striving for
excellence. Running Monday-Friday with events on Saturday and Sunday, the education center
will ensure most of the students time will be spent learning in their environment, rather than
being victims of it. To fully ensure success, the center portrays actual facilities designed to
educate a distinct aspect of math and science. Since the center is big on hands on activities, many
of those facilities allow students to take the knowledge being learned and incorporate it hands on
right away. Apart from the facilities, in most cases success is achieved simply by how the center
is built. Constructed to resemble our very own solar system, the center is round in shape with the
facilities surrounding the common room, or tutoring lab, just as the planets that orbit the sun,
depending on it. As students orbit, or move around to distinct facilities, these students will
depend on the facilities that will ensure that they will not learn the same things everyday.
Despite being a great place, some people might oppose the ideas provided by the No
Spayce Place program. Since many families are aware that most education is free, some of those
families might find it a bit overboard with having their children go to school and attend this
program afterschool. Although the ideas of the program are great, many families might oppose
due to the sole fact that their childrens work load might be too much. As stated by Jessica
Peterson in the article, Longer school day may be too much for children, posted in the Chicano
Tribune, parents such as Peterson find the hours kids normally spend in school to be a bit too
much. physically exhausted when he gets off the bus, Peterson stated. Also apart from such
heavy work load and long hours, some parents might also deny the ideas of the program due to

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their very own microagressions. Microaggressions are everyday verbal or non-verbal insults,
whether intentional or not, that communicate hostile or derogatory messages to people based
upon their membership in a marginalized group. Although they might not be aware of such
microagressions, some parents might not find the program to be a benefit if their children are
alongside other children from distinct races and/or ethnicities. A barrier between social classes is
created, and most often such parents seclude themselves and their children from other social
classes unlike theirs. It might be simply by the way other children are taught or by how distinct
another parents child dresses from theirs, but such microagressions lead many families to deny
the benefits that this program provides.
However with these microagressions still occurring, the program stands strong. In
communities where violence is eminent, education might be the only solution for children to
seek refuge from the violence that runs in Los Angeles. As violence occurs every day on the
streets of Los Angeles, children are often in search of a place to stay from danger. Apart from
gang violence, the streets are corrupted with drugs and other malicious things that can lead a
child or teenager to follow the same acts that they see. The city of Los Angeles might not be
dangerous in every part of the city, but one thing is certain, crime can occur at any place and any
time. The program, aims to provide a safe place for children to get away from such danger so
innocent children will not be caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. In most cases, people
in these violent parts of the city need change, a change that is vital to a city and its inhabitants
who are constantly witnessing an becoming victims of crime.
The voices of children will shape the future. Providing education to children at a young
age can change a society in the long run. Educating people can have a result worthy in the future
and the No Spayce Place works hard to ensure that their students gain three things, ambition,

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courage, and knowledge. With ambition, students will learn to grow a strong desire to do or to
achieve something. Typically, students know that to acquire ambition requires determination and
hard work, which the program will provide. With guaranteed coursework varying in different
difficulties, the student will attain an ambitious quality and such quality in the character of an
individual can cause changes in society. When a society is in need of change, ambition is what
will drive that desire.
Along with ambition, the program will also ensure students gain courage. As opposed to
ambition, courage is the ability to do something that is frightening. Students might be frightened
by the violent streets that run through Los Angeles, or simply frightened by the subject in which
they are there to learn, but the No Spayce Place program works hard to ensure their students gain
courage to not only tackle what they fear but to also have courage to speak up. The center aims
to create courage in a student by encouraging them to speak up to their local issues. How do
people in Los Angeles or any other community get heard? How can they express their outrage?
What happens when their voices are silenced and concerns discounted? The program is simply
more than just a center to educate a particular subject. Education is the goal, but to make a child
learn about himself is the quest. A man with courage can be the voice to those who dont have
one and that is enormous.
Lastly, the goal of the program is to ensure that every student achieves self-confidence.
Trusting in one's abilities, qualities, and judgment plays an important role in not only ones life,
but also plays an important role in the society that is around them. By creating exhibits that focus
primarily on having the student believe in themselves I just one of the many ways in which the
center will provide ways to achieve self-confidence. In the city of Los Angeles most teenagers
are led to join gangs for their belief in not being to accomplish things on their own. As gangs

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promise protection and money, an uneducated child loses all opportunities. The streets, overrun
with uneducated children are the main reason as to why gangs exist, due to their lack in selfconfidence. Most gangs created or existing are primarily in effect due to their lack of knowledge.
A child who gives up and education, opens a door of malicious deeds waiting to occur.
Incorporating a center where children will absorb to believe in themselves and what they do, is a
big asset to a society who are victims of racism, classism, or other forms of discrimination and
division. As stated by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, As soon as you trust yourself, you will
know how to live. That is the main goal that the No Spayce Place believes in, to educate
children to believe in themselves, so they will learn how to live.
Ultimately, the No Spayce Place will help address the needs of the community by
providing a center where education has no boundaries. The power of education can benefit many
children, from which they can gain knowledge from. The center, which provides exhibits and
hands on methods in a short amount of time, aims to educate many of its students and can be
seen as an example of how other education centers should be. Having places such as this center
would allow many communities, parents in general, to continue to educate their children, who in
return, will contribute and have a voice in the future. At no cost, many of those who take
advantage of it will benefit from the knowledge and learn about courage, to strive for ambition,
and to have self-confidence. Although the center focuses mostly on science and math, having
such a center will inspire other centers focused on other subjects. The majority of the inhabitants
in Los Angeles who aspire an education are low social economic standing minorities. In a society
where most of the community lack knowledge, a center such as No Spayce Place can benefit a
whole community.

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Education is important in communities that depend of such education. Knowledge should
be earned by the choice of an individual who aspires to succeed. Building a center where kids
will continue their education is the goal. Communities strive and succeed as a whole, and most
of those who have succeeded have done so due to education. Why not continue to educate the
young, who will have a say in their communities and society in the future?

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Scholarly Resources
Smith, Anna D. Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992. N.p.: Anchor, n.d. Print.
"The Future of Children, Princeton - Brookings: Providing Research and Analysis to Promote
Effective Policies and Programs for Children." - The Future of Children -. N.p., n.d.
Web. 26 Mar. 2015.
"Summer Camp." California Science Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2015.
"NASA Education for Students." National Aeronautics Space Agency (NASA). N.p., n.d. Web.
26 Mar. 2015.
"CPS' Longer Day a Bit Too Taxing for Some Children." Tribunedigital-chicagotribune. Chicago
Tribune, 24 Jan. 2012. Web. 02 Apr. 2015.