Just something to think about:
The ongoing debate in this country about schools has accumulated some troubling phrases that have been picked up as "truisms". These phrases/ideas are used so reflexively now that I think we often don't even realize how presumptive they are.
I would like to gently suggest that we be very careful/thoughtful in the way in which we speak about the impact of poverty on our public schools. Yes, it is true that poverty has had a significant impact on public education. However, it does not follow that families living in poverty don't care about their childrens' education. Disinterested/neglectful parents can be found across our socio-economic spectrum. Although it is easy to think that dininterest in education goes hand in glove with poverty, in my experience the truth is something quite different. I respectfully suggest we consider that:
*having time to volunteer in school or to come to programs during the school day (or even in the evening)requires some combination of the following: the ability to take unpaid time off; a job with flexible hours; a parent who does not have to work full time in order to keep food on the table; a way to get to and from school quickly and efficiently so as not to double/triple the time needed to visit the classroom (big difference in travel time if you don't have private transportation). When we don't see certain parents in our school buildings it is easy to think they don't care, when in fact there may simply be too many barriers to their being there.
*Allotting time for visiting the school outside of work hours is much easier if you have a neighborhood grocery store and/or onsite laundry (so that you can cook, sleep or clean while it is being accomplished).
*The collective cultural beliefs about race, ethnicity and poverty impact the interactions between staff and families. As has been shared so many times on this forum, it can be difficult to find a receptive audience for our concerns about our children. That is multiplied ten times over when you introduce language barriers, cultural barriers and educational barriers. Many of us hate being treated like "those parents", so we can perhaps easily understand the way in which feeling judged decreases a willingness/desire to be involved. Being considered one of "those parents" means something different when applied to parents who come from impoverished urban neighborhoods. Yet the impact is similar. It is unquestionably a deterrant to school involvement.
Collectively speaking, this isn't a case of good guys/bad guys. There are individuals "proving" and "disproving" the common assumptions on both sides of the system.
Sorry for the long post and please know that this is not a response to any individual comments. I have great faith in the positive intentions of everyone here. I just wanted to offer some thoughts about the way in which the language of the national discussion impacts our understandings of what is happening "on the ground" in our public schools.
