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RACINE - At 8, he knew he wanted to be a drug dealer when he grew up.

When he was 13, his mother got him real drugs to sell so he wouldn't be killed for selling licked-off Lemonheads crushed to look like crack.

Back then, he didn't think he'd live past 16, but on Saturday, at age 31, he graduated from college.

Anton House has, at times, wanted to hide his past from his peers at school. Now, he wants to tell his story of gang member turned college graduate to show others they, too, can change.

The former drug dealer graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside with a bachelor of arts degree in history. This summer, he'll be saving up for graduate school and checking books off his reading list, including "The Black History of the White House." Then he'll be bound for Washington, D.C.

A Racine native, House grew up on 11th Street, throwing the Gangster Disciples' pitchfork sign and shuffling from one relative's house to another, as was typical for a child with a drug-addicted parent.

As a boy, he saw the dealers going in and out of a drug house across the street from his grandmother's, flaunting big gold chains, leather outfits and adidas track suits.

"Seeing this, every kid wanted (that lifestyle)," House said. "We identified what represented wealth."

He was 13 when he came up with the idea to sell licked-off Lemonheads for $20 each. After that, his mom got him some real drugs, knowing what addicts would do to him when he got caught selling fakes. To him, that was her way of loving him: "If you're going to do it, do it. Don't play because people will kill you."

He had kept a big gun since he was 13, wore a bulletproof vest around the 'hood and dropped out of Case High School at 16. He was turned off from school, House said, because all he heard about being black was that his ancestors were slaves.

His first encounter with "juvie" was at 15, after getting caught with a sawed-off shotgun. A year later, he was back on the streets, where nothing had changed.

He became so numb to the lifestyle, he said, that he didn't care if he sold drugs to pregnant women, robbed people or shot them.

"I was so negative that if there was someone positive around me, I'd try to influence them, get them drunk, get them high, 'Here, take my pistol,' " House said. "I'd try to corrupt them because I was so miserable myself."

House went to prison for the first time in 1998, at age 18, for possession of cocaine.

By the time he got out, after two years, he had an 18-month-old son to support. But he had no luck finding jobs with a felony on his record.

"I had no money; I had nothing. But now I had a son," House said. "After that, I was back selling crack."

He got caught selling drugs again in 2001, and this time went to prison for five years.

It was in prison that he came across "The Destruction of Black Civilization," recommended by a man who was serving a life sentence.

After that he read every day - books on black history, philosophy and more, in his search for his identity, driven by a desire to change and a natural penchant for learning.

House had received his high school equivalency diploma while in prison, and found motivation and accountability in the Community Re-entry Program once he got out.

He entered Parkside in 2007 as a full-time student after being rejected from jobs with no work experience and two felonies on his record.

While studying came naturally, House said it was harder to get used to the university culture.

He got worried when a letter arrived saying he was on the dean's list: "I thought it was something bad."

But he overcame the initial challenges, and later became the president of the Black Student Union.

House defied the high recidivism rate for prisoners through his inquisitive and hard-working nature, said Parkside Associate Provost Dennis Rome, former chair of the university's Criminal Justice Department.

"I was struck by his willingness to learn," Rome said. "For him to have that insight and say, 'Hey, I want to change my life,' it's unusual."

House has been accepted into Howard University in Washington for its two-year master's program in African diaspora studies.

There are many things he wants to learn about, including the creation of gangs, the Black Panther Party movement, the rise of crack in inner cities and the assassination of black political figures.

His goal is to become a professor, to write books about positive cultural identity, helping educate black youths to value themselves and rise above the reality of not having.

The new graduate said: "As a kid, I would've never seen myself in this position."

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From gang life to grad school -- 'I would've never seen myself in this position'

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RACINE - At 8, he knew he wanted to be a drug dealer when he grew up. When he was 13, his mother got him real drugs to sell so he wouldn't be killed for selling licked-off Lemonheads crushed to look like crack.

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1. Once House made his final decision about college, was it easy? What challenges do you think he faced?

2. Was he reformed following his first time in jail? Why do you think he made the choices that he did following his jail sentence? Was he reformed? Why do you think he was or was not reformed?

3. When other children aspire to be doctors, lawyers, teachers, etc., what did House want to be? Why do you think this was the choice he made?

4. What similarities do you see between Anton House and the characters in The Outsiders?

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Reflect on what you saw in the video. You may discuss specific stereotypes addressed in the video and/or discuss other stereotypes that have affected you or someone you know. Lastly, how many stereotypes have you seen so far in The Outsiders (be specific).

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* Close-read the article "From Gang Life to Grad School"; discuss reactions to the article in your group.
*Complete the Snowstorm activity (practice for upcoming closures) with the text analysis questions below.
*Read Ch. 2-3 of The Outsiders
*Finish the pre-reading anticipation guide by completing a Socratic Seminar. Use the sentence starters and appropriate speaking/listening skills.

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May 12, 2014

Rick ReillyColumnist, ESPN.com

Close

11-time National Sportswriter of the Year

Author of "Tiger Meet My Sister ... And Other Things I Probably Shouldn't Have Said."

2014 Inductee: National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame

They played the oddest game in high school football history last month down in Grapevine, Texas.

It was Grapevine Faith vs. Gainesville State School and everything about it was upside down. For instance, when Gainesville came out to take the field, the Faith fans made a 40-yard spirit line for them to run through.

Did you hear that? The other team's fans?

They even made a banner for players to crash through at the end. It said, "Go Tornadoes!" Which is also weird, because Faith is the Lions.

It was rivers running uphill and cats petting dogs. More than 200 Faith fans sat on the Gainesville side and kept cheering the Gainesville players on-by name.

"I never in my life thought I'd hear people cheering for us to hit their kids," recalls Gainesville's QB and middle linebacker, Isaiah. "I wouldn't expect another parent to tell somebody to hit their kids. But they wanted us to!"

And even though Faith walloped them 33-14, the Gainesville kids were so happy that after the game they gave head coach Mark Williams a sideline squirt-bottle shower like he'd just won state. Gotta be the first Gatorade bath in history for an 0-9 coach.

But then you saw the 12 uniformed officers escorting the 14 Gainesville players off the field and two and two started to make four. They lined the players up in groups of five-handcuffs ready in their back pockets-and marched them to the team bus. That's because Gainesville is a maximum-security correctional facility 75 miles north of Dallas. Every game it plays is on the road.

This all started when Faith's head coach, Kris Hogan, wanted to do something kind for the Gainesville team. Faith had never played Gainesville, but he already knew the score. After all, Faith was 7-2 going into the game, Gainesville 0-8 with 2 TDs all year. Faith has 70 kids, 11 coaches, the latest equipment and involved parents. Gainesville has a lot of kids with convictions for drugs, assault and robbery-many of whose families had disowned them-wearing seven-year-old shoulder pads and ancient helmets.

So Hogan had this idea. What if half of our fans-for one night only-cheered for the other team? He sent out an email asking the Faithful to do just that. "Here's the message I want you to send:" Hogan wrote. "You are just as valuable as any other person on planet Earth."

Some people were naturally confused. One Faith player walked into Hogan's office and asked, "Coach, why are we doing this?"

And Hogan said, "Imagine if you didn't have a home life. Imagine if everybody had pretty much given up on you. Now imagine what it would mean for hundreds of people to suddenly believe in you."

Next thing you know, the Gainesville Tornadoes were turning around on their bench to see something they never had before. Hundreds of fans. And actual cheerleaders!

"I thought maybe they were confused," said Alex, a Gainesville lineman (only first names are released by the prison). "They started yelling 'DEE-fense!' when their team had the ball. I said, 'What? Why they cheerin' for us?'"

It was a strange experience for boys who most people cross the street to avoid. "We can tell people are a little afraid of us when we come to the games," says Gerald, a lineman who will wind up doing more than three years. "You can see it in their eyes. They're lookin' at us like we're criminals. But these people, they were yellin' for us! By our names!"

Maybe it figures that Gainesville played better than it had all season, scoring the game's last two touchdowns. Of course, this might be because Hogan put his third-string nose guard at safety and his third-string cornerback at defensive end. Still.

After the game, both teams gathered in the middle of the field to pray and that's when Isaiah surprised everybody by asking to lead. "We had no idea what the kid was going to say," remembers Coach Hogan. But Isaiah said this: "Lord, I don't know how this happened, so I don't know how to say thank You, but I never would've known there was so many people in the world that cared about us."

And it was a good thing everybody's heads were bowed because they might've seen Hogan wiping away tears.

As the Tornadoes walked back to their bus under guard, they each were handed a bag for the ride home-a burger, some fries, a soda, some candy, a Bible and an encouraging letter from a Faith player.

The Gainesville coach saw Hogan, grabbed him hard by the shoulders and said, "You'll never know what your people did for these kids tonight. You'll never, ever know."

And as the bus pulled away, all the Gainesville players crammed to one side and pressed their hands to the window, staring at these people they'd never met before, watching their waves and smiles disappearing into the night.

Anyway, with the economy six feet under and Christmas running on about three and a half reindeer, it's nice to know that one of the best presents you can give is still absolutely free.

Hope.
Love the column, hate the column, got a better idea? Go here.
Want more Life of Reilly? Thencheck out the archive.

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Rick Reilly: Gainesville State high school football gets the best gift of all: hope

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May 12, 2014 Rick ReillyColumnist, ESPN.com Close 11-time National Sportswriter of the Year Author of "Tiger Meet My Sister ... And Other Things I Probably Shouldn't Have Said." 2014 Inductee: National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame They played the oddest game in high school football history last month down in Grapevine, Texas.

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*Continue discussing our theme from the first couple of chapters by close-reading the ESPN article; then, complete the gallery walk questions. Discuss in whole group.
*Continue the pre-reading anticipation activity with 3-corners, and/or read/discuss SE Hinton's Bio.
*Read Ch. 2-3 in whole group while completing think-aloud.

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Analyze the video for today. How does this video relate to the theme we have been discussing? What was the message?

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Want To See Some Adorable Kids Unlearn Some Not-So-Adorable Stereotypes?

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Answer the questions along with the kids and you might learn something about your thought process too.

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Analyze the attached video. What do you think is the purpose/intent of this commercial? What message is the creator trying to get across to viewers?

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WDAM video/article

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A homeless man has become a Facebook sensation not for a viral video, but for doing the right thing.

When a store clerk left a convenience station without notice around 11 p.m. Wednesday, it took less than 40 minutes for looting to start. Video surveillance caught the thieves in action.

"We got into the office, looked at the video and saw everybody having a free for all," Versiga said. "Coming in stealing beer, cigarettes, candy. Ridiculous things. It was really disheartening."

The most surprising part, Versiga says, was that the people stealing from the store appeared to be well off.

"I saw people just helping themselves...you know...with stuff that they really needed like beer and cigarettes. Now I saw these people drive up in $20, $30, $40,000 dollar cars, trucks, and SUV's. I watched them steal just about anything they wanted," Versiga's post said.

But out of the 10 people who ripped off the store, there was one person who didn't. Jessie Harris, Jr.

"Through this whole thing, the homeless guy walking up with a backpack. I thought, 'Well, he's going to load up.' Basically misjudged him, and he didn't even go into the store. Just stood right at the door watching everybody come out. I walked across the street over at Murphy's saw him over there after everything was done and asked him why, and he said it's not my thing," Versiga posted.

Harris says he was surprised at what he was seeing.

"At first I thought it was the cashier that was working so fast," Harris said. "People was coming out there putting stuff in bags and I thought the cashier, I said, she's good. I walked in there and there wasn't no cashier there."

Afterward, Versiga decided to treat Harris to a meal, then took him to his house and got him a pair of his own shoes. Others have come up to Harris on the street and simply gave him supplies or money.

Harris, who doesn't even know what Facebook is, says it's a fundamental lesson for everyone.

"Not to take what don't belong to them or whatever. Be honest, be faithful and you will get your blessing."

Pascagoula police have arrested one of the suspects, and are actively seeking the others. Anyone with information is ask to submit an anonymous tip to Mississippi Coast Crime Stoppers.
Copyright 2016 WLOX. All Rights Reserved.

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Acts of kindness pour in for Pascagoula homeless man

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A homeless man has become a Facebook sensation not for a viral video, but for doing the right thing. When a store clerk left a convenience station without notice around 11 p.m. Wednesday, it took less than 40 minutes for looting to start. Video surveillance caught the thieves in action.

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*Writing portion of the CRWP pre-assessment
*Create a cartoon or comic strip highlighting the themes and character dynamics we've analyzed in the book thus far.

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*Reading portion of the CRWP pre-assessment
*Read The Outsiders, Ch. 102
*Discuss themes, figurative language, jargon, etc.

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* Discuss the theme of stereotypes as it relates to our society.
*Watch the WDAM video about a local situation involving stereotypes; close-read the article in small group and discuss the question, "Have you ever been affected by stereotypes?" Each table select a rep to share what was discussed in whole group.
* Complete the pre-reading anticipation guide by using the 3-corners strategy.
*Close-read Ch. 1-2 of The Outsiders.