This was quite different from any elementary holiday day than I know, from my own school experience or those of my siblings. I noticed that there wasn't a room mother throwing a party, which is all I know, and it wasn't until I went to visit my family and talked to my mom about this observation that I started to think. The school I work in is title one, serving a diverse economic population. Where I went to elementary school, there was never a shortage of volunteers, supplies, etc. I doubt that my teachers ever had to worry about paying a lot out-of-pocket for extras around the classroom. We had class lists of supplies that they asked parents to contribute, and parties or extra things are funded by volunteers. I have yet to ask Ms. Brown about the logistics of this, but I'm guessing that that type of thing doesn't happen at Washington.
I know there is a lot of money funneled into title one schools, for extra programs to help kids with reading, etc., which I think does help, but I think there's something to be said about parental involvement. It's sad to me that some parents don't have time to care (working multiple jobs, etc.), or just don't care at all by their own choosing. For the reading intervention part of my TESOL practicum with Mrs. Hlady, there's more evidence of this. It's heart-breaking to work with a kid who struggles with reading and is getting NO help at home. There's only so much time that can spent with them in a day! I know I'm not a teacher yet, but the little time I've spent in classrooms have made me desperate to be able to fit in as much time and as many exercises as possible. It makes me...stress! because I'm becoming attached(! that didn't take long at all--wonder what I'll be like with my own kids) and want what's best for them, and I also wish there was some way I could make time for their parents to spend time working on subjects where they are struggling. For me and peers who grew up with similar backgrounds, we learned to read at home and the classroom work was more supplemental. The situation I'm dealing with now couldn't be more opposite. I can't imagine how teachers who see this year in and year out feel! I think it'd be a little crazy, unless you learn to desensitize from it a tiny bit.
Then there is the interesting discussion of how property taxes are distributed across the school district.We've talked about this a little bit in my education class and people have some very interesting viewpoints. It's hard to solidify an opinion because there is so much information to take in. Sometimes I think, yes, I do want my money that I pay from living in a certain area to go to their schools. Other times, I think that it would be better if things were more evenly spread. When my family lived in Layton, our school boundaries changed (just as we were moving over to Kaysville) and we were assigned to a school that most people thought was inferior(?) because a portion of the population was very low-income and that the mixing wouldn't be as good as the current elementary that students were attending. It's a completely different school district, but there is also the example of East and West High. A lot of my friends who were in East boundaries went to West because of the academic opportunities that are there! There are great things offered there, I see it every day with my job. Granted, I've never looked into things that East does or does not have, but a lot of material I've read on West says that it is very well known for its programs and people want their kids to go there. So this example isn't really based on location/surrounding demographics. I'm trying to wrap my head around all of this. It's a lot to think about, but I like hearing what people have to say. Thoughts??
xoxox,
ash
PS. I think this is up next on my to-read list:
Has anyone read it? We should start a bookclub!
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