So, apparently Chicago and Pennsylvania (specifically Philadelphia are closing down dozens and dozens of public schools. Having gone to high school in Philly, this hits close to home. I have a few friends whose younger siblings are now being pushed into even more overcrowded classrooms in schools that are in dangerous neighborhoods. Thankfully Philadelphia has a public transit system, albeit a slightly unreliable one, but they still have quite a journey on their hands.
According to past studies, students in this situation rarely, if ever go to a better school. A lucky few will go to a comparable one, but the rest are herded into a school in worse condition.
I can't imagine that. See, I spent K-8th grade in different schools around Louisiana and Texas. In those schools, it felt like the teachers truly cared about the students in an almost parental way. I felt about just as bad in disappointing a teacher as I did my parents.
Then, I moved up to Philadelphia. I remember my first day in public school up in the good ole' northeast. The teachers were lackluster and didn't seem to care whether students did well or not. None of them seemed interested in unlocking any potential in students, just moving them along to the next grade. Also, when I went to lunch that day, I got a slice of pizza. Now, at least at the schools I went to, the lunch ladies came in every morning and began cooking what we were going to be having for lunch that day, usually some sort of well balanced meal. The piece of cardboard with expired spaghetti sauce on it was more disappointing than the teachers.
I feel like I got off topic. The point of all this was supposed to be that public schools can be a valuable place of learning and growth, even if they're in less than desirable locales, it simply starts with what the teachers make of it. (Though, good food never hurts anything, either.)
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ReplyDeleteI can relate to what you wrote about, as a former Pittsburgh city school student. When I graduated that was probably the last good year that was at my school, after that everything changed and in my opinion for the worst. I think there are only four city schools open in Pittsburgh and the ones that closed were combined with the ones that are left. So this is becoming a major problem, since there are too many students for the schools, which leaves the schools overcrowded. I did not mind going to a city school, you just have to learn to avoid things that might distract you from learning and just focus on your studies. Although my high school was not in too bad of an area, most of the cities schools were, so my experience might not have been as bad as others who went to a different school. No matter what area your high school is located in, you should not let that effect what you are at school to do, learn and move on to higher education.
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