Nothing against (insert parent name here), but yes against (insert parent name here), considering I’ve been to that school several times before to tutor high school students in literacy, only to work with a 10th grade student reading on a 3rd grade level. I remember feeling shocked over the achievement gap then, and now I feel even more scared that two of my lower-literacy leveled students are going to transfer there next year!
The news makes me feel so helpless and angry because their parents want to change schools, and the students want to try something else but somehow I feel like our school is the best place they could be (especially when compared with insert poor performing school here) because teachers actually care about them where they are! Ugh. I don’t understand the appeal of attending a bigger public high school, that has scored low-performing year-after-year… a place where there are more likely to run up against gangs and more overwhelmed teachers who don’t know them at all. I want to know WHY?! And this is where self-righteous-attitudes surface…
As a teacher, I sometimes think I’m better than parents. Sure, in some cases it could be argued yes or no, but the point is – I’m not their parent. I don’t know what’s best (even though I feel like I do and should have a say in these students’ academic careers).
Still I fear for these two students and really do want them to succeed – to read – to love what I love… and yet it does take a community (not just me) to support a child. Just because I personally interact with around 130 students a day in my classroom doesn’t mean I can be a ‘Superman’ to them all… that’s a tough truth to face when often teaching’s inspiration is “to make a difference,” and no doubt I do… but at the same time, it’s not just me who has the potential to screw up a kid… thus, I can’t be the only one to save him either.
Destiny is bigger than that. Sovereignty doesn’t answers questions of race, class, gender,
orientation, or cultural influence.
So I could ask ‘why’ until I’m a hyperventilating mess of tears (which I’ve done) but the frustration doesn’t answer anything, other than – Life happens. We choose somethings, but we don’t choose everything. We are pre-determined characters thrown into worlds created. May we each respond with out best for every student, every day.
