I'm Getting Into Trouble in D.C.

The Crazy Thing About It Is…

I was just going to this event to see what this alumnae organization would be about and how I could also learn some great tips on how to mobilize my community and get behind a cause, make my legislators and representatives more accountable. I not only walked out feeling empowered, but also a member of a coalition that evolved out of a group exercise.

You gotta love Deltas.

It’s called PASS Our Kids – People Against Sub-par Standards for Our Kids. The organization has evolved as a result of the failing D.C. public school system. It has not only failed parents and teachers, but also the students, who are unable to graduate with the ability to compete. Talk about taking a bite out of urban policy. I can’t wait to dig in and find out what exactly is going on here. The test scores are low, the resources are not effective, and the curriculum is terribly flawed; members of the community believe that it is designed to pass a test – a test that these children can’t seem to pass anyway. And when they don’t, the teachers are fired. So we have a few issues within issues here. I think that by firing a teacher as a result of low test scores coerces them to teach only what is required to master the test. I also think that we reduce resources by firing the teacher, rather than providing or implementing special professional development programs so that they are able to address the needs of these children. Why strip them of the few resources they have left? If we take better care of the teachers, they can take better care of the children. I also think that by firing the teachers, the District of Columbia Public School System is saying that these teachers are to be held accountable , wholly accountable, when in fact the burden rests upon everyone in the community. Here are a few reasons, just off the top of my head, that could possibly be a factor:
1. Bullying – Children can be a bit cruel. Just the other day, my friend Katrine and I went to Color Me Mine, where a birthday party for a little girl was taking place. One of the girls who attended this little 8 person party was teased most of the time she was there. They asked her why she wears the same thing to every birthday party, why does she hug people all of the time, no one wants her to hug them, this birthday party would be better if you didn’t come back to the table. I mean these kids had to be about 8. The little girl took it without rebuttal, allowing them to pick on her. By the way, I hope she’s a genius or someone who becomes incredible, and I wonder what those little kids will say about her then. It was sad, me and Katrine thought, “Aw, (girl’s name) she could come and sit with us! We let everyone sit here.” Anyway the point is that children often do not want to go to school because they are being teased, or bullied. Both parties suffer the same consequence; they are so distracted by one another (the bully and the bullied) that they aren’t focused or in a comfortable environment where they can learn.

2. Parents – Sometimes the people that teachers have to fight against are the parents, who may not have the capacity to help their children, as they have limited education themselves, and sometimes these parents do not see their child’s homework or progress in school a priority. It’s a grand statement to make, so please understand that these are just conjectures or ideas that I think may contribute to the problem at hand. Who can help them? In impoverished neighborhoods where education is limited, so are jobs for the people who have this limited education with mouths to feed. So these parents may find that figuring out how to pay the rent or stretch the pay check for expenses may be a more demanding priority.

3. Administrative Politics – Lack of funds, or funds that are delegated by a method that continues to support the fortunate at the expense of the less fortunate. I know that in Philadelphia, which is where I originally come from, the schools with the most money always had the best of everything, and the schools that really needed improvement wouldn’t get MORE money because they were in need. In fact, they’d get less. The funds would continue to support and motivate those schools that were excelling. It’s almost as if the rich are getting richer while the poor gets poorer. It’s just like that, only in education.

These are three very interesting observations that are worth looking into, and I have only been here for 3 months. If anyone needs to get fired, perhaps it’s the mastermind behind this failing teaching strategy in the school system. I wonder if these people actually walked into these neighborhoods, sat in these classrooms, if for just one week, and see what these people have to live with each day. Children come to school with burdens from home, children with learning disabilities as a result of their parents’ drug abuse prior to their birth, or children with health problems, children whose expectations don’t really exceed beyond the street they live on, because no one has really shown them what is beyond it and how to get there. Some of them don’t even know that it’s there.

And quite honestly, I don’t think a silly test score can reveal these issues or aid those who need the help. I even heard that schools were being shut down as a result of failure to adhere to these test standards. It’s almost as if the system has given up on these children, and their communities. Education is a beacon of hope and light for kids, the best armor against what they will face when they leave the school yard or enter the work force, and for some, college. These kids cannot compete, and that, coupled with the fact that there is no official representative on the federal level to address these needs, plays a much larger role in the big picture here. In fact, I don’t know that the teachers are really the problem. Either way, PASS Our Kids will seek to have the D.C. community’s voices heard, present solutions and hold the district and the community responsible. It is a right to every citizen of this country to receive adequate education. And to think this is the nation’s capitol!

I wonder how often a legislator looks out the window of the metro train when coming from their safe suburban homes in Maryland and Virginia. I wonder if they see the same things that these residents have to see when they wake up every morning and live through it, as opposed to riding through it to go to work each day. Hmm…