So, I'm traveling with my entire family to the beach last week and an interesting conversation/argument arises about the inclusion of "bad" kids in "good" schools. To give you a little background about my family... my parents lived in a very nice neighborhood while we were growing up. I attended "good" schools throughout my educational career. My older sister is the mother of five children and lives outside of Atlanta in a primarily middle class neighborhood. Thus, her children attend a "good" school. My younger brother lives outside of Charlotte, NC with his wife and two children. He lives in an affluent location, therefore his children also attend a "good" school. However, the interesting thing about my brother is that he is married to a middle school teacher. She works at a primarily "good" school in southwest Charlotte.
I am a middle class mother of three. My husband is a school librarian. Both of us have chosen to teach in high poverty schools, as this is where we feel we have the most impact. Our children have all attended "good" schools, with the exception of those "bad" kids from other neighborhoods. Let me explain why I say that...
So, we are at the beach and my brother and sister-in-law are discussing the "bad" kids at her school that are "bussed" in from other neighborhoods- not good neighborhoods, undesirable neighborhoods. Obviously this strikes a chord with me, as they are basically stating that THOSE kids-the ones that I have spent my life reaching out to, encouraging to go beyond societal expectations, expecting them to succeed- THOSE kids do not deserve to be at the "good" schools.
Incredulously I ask my family where they do belong. Their unanimous response knocked me to the floor. THOSE kids should be at their own schools with their own people. Their parents chose to move them to THAT neighborhood, therefore they should stay in THAT neighborhood. We do not want them at our "good" schools with our "good" kids.
Holy guacamole Batman! If my family feels this way, how do we change the mindset of the rest of the country?
Where I live we have school of choice so it doesn't matter where you live as to which school you can attend. We get ALL kids: tall, short, black, white, rich, poor, good and bad. For me, school is school and whoever wishes to enter my classroom to learn is very welcome. It takes all kinds to run this world and if I can have a positive effect on ANYONE to make their life easier or better, well, that's what makes teaching the best job ever!
ReplyDeleteIn my district, we have open enrollment which means that parents can "apply" to go to any of the thirteen elementary schools in our district. This is great for those families that are trying to give their children a great school experience. This issue that I have with this is that they tend not to deny anyone so that means that our class sizes (since my school is one of the top choices) have skyrocketed from 18 to 25-30. I have no problem with students/parents having a choice but I feel that there needs to be a limit so it doesn't take away from everyone's school experience.
ReplyDeleteClass size is a huge problem! In one respect, the kids are in a good school where they can make the most of educational opportunities. In another respect, the mass influx of kids is limiting the effectiveness of teachers, causing budget strains, and lack of space/materials. It's a catch 22 in a sense.
DeleteWow! What a response. I know that is the mindset of many people, but I also know there there are a lot of people out there who support equal access for all children. I think the mindset of "they don't belong here" just stems from ignorance of the children, their families, their background, and their situation. Many cannot empathize with immigrant families struggling to make their way in a new country, single parents trying to raise their kids and hold a job, or other situations that cause the kids to be where they are. In a sense we are fortunate to be in our "good neighborhoods" but we are also so prone to believe stereotypes and be narrow-minded. I applaud your work with these kids and can't wait to read more!
ReplyDeleteNebraska has open enrollment, so students can attend any school. We actually have smaller schools fighting to get students who live in other districts because if they enroll in their school, the state tax dollars that would have gone to the student's home school district follow them instead to the new district. Omaha and Lincoln might have more of the issues you describe, though.
ReplyDeleteThis is what bothers me; even with an application process or open enrollment or whatever...I hate that one school can be better than the next. My district is HUGE. We have 26 elementary schools that range from affluent to poverty. This is based 100% on location and zoning, there is no open enrollment. If there were, you can bet your bottom dollar that parents would not be making a fuss about their kids going to MY school. We have a school of AMAZING teachers, but because of the location, it is not desirable. I wish (and have no idea how to make this happen) that each school in my district was desirable. I wish that even if there were open enrollment, parents and families would be proud to have their students attend any one of the schools in district because there wasn't huge differentiation or the idea of "good" and "bad" schools. We're the "greatest" country in the world, and we have this problem?
ReplyDeleteRebecca, I have been thinking about your story for days and my heart is sad that you are left feeling misunderstood and under appreciated. My opinion is that you deserve this opportunity to articulate to yourself and those that support you just exactly why you teach the population you do. Keep your chin up! Finding purpose is different for everyone! You are inspiring and I thought that even before I knew you taught in a low SES district. Draw your strength from those that fill your bucket! **I originally posted this to our class discussion board and realized I should have posted it here**
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