I am in a book club that meets every month or two. Recently, several of us gathered to discuss The Other Wes Moore, by Wes Moore. The book itself, which I'd definitely recommend, discusses the lives of two young men with the same name who grew up in very similar, difficult circumstances, but had drastically different outcomes in their lives. One of the topics discussed at length in the book (and among our group last night) was the educational experiences the two boys encountered. Both boys started at very rough, poor schools, and moved around to other schools as their parents tried to provide them with better educations and better chances at life.
I grew up in Arkansas. As a state in general, Arkansas has never enjoyed a very favorable reputation in other states. For those of you who grew up in this area, you are familiar with the "well, at least we aren't Mississippi" refrain that is often repeated. I'm sure Mississippi probably says the same thing about us. The two states often compete for who will come in last versus next to last of the 50 states in many different categories (population below the poverty line, number of people with advanced degrees in the state, median income). True or not, the education system is often looped into this notion that our state is fighting a battle to avoid last place, be it with Mississippi or some other state.
For as long as I can remember (since it started before I was born), the schools in the central Arkansas area have been under "deseg" - orders to desegregate supervised by the federal court system. From what I understand - and I'm sure that is very little of the entire picture - schools in our area still receive millions of dollars of federal funding from the government each year to assist with desegregation efforts. This money provides schools with programs and funding that the schools wouldn't otherwise receive; whether these funds could be replaced by other means is questionable.
Speaking from what I feel is an outsider's perspective, the idea that our schools still need desegregation, still need to be under a court's supervision, initially feels ludicrous. It has been around 50 years since Central High was integrated; shouldn't the school boards and the legislators have figured out how to stabilize the education system by this point in time? Should the federal government still provide what appears to be an 'incentive' to continue operations under court supervision? Deseg was discussed a great deal when I was in high school 15 or more years ago; I did not follow Arkansas education after high school or after I left the state, so it caught me off guard when I returned and found it just as much a hot button topic as it was when I left.
There were several women last night who had definite opinions on deseg and the education system - and all knew much more than I do about how the Arkansas education system works, where the funds are needed and whether deseg is still necessary. They seemed to think it is certainly still a necessity, and I'm not inclined to argue, as I know so little at this point. However, I think what bothers me the most about the whole thing is that it falls under the label of desegregation, but I wonder if now it isn't a case of socioeconomics as much as race. I guess maybe the two are so intermingled that it is naive to think about one without the other...?
Someone made the point that when it is your child that you are worried about, and you are forced to narrow your focus from a broader good to your child, your decision is practically made for you. Perhaps that is the crux of the problem. For those with kids, we all want the best for them; some folks are in circumstances where they have the luxury of choices - which neighborhood to live in for which public school, which private school to choose, etc. Sometimes that means ignoring the situations of other families and children who do not have the luxury of choice, or the ability to have their voice heard.
I'm not sure what the solution is - or if there even is one, apart from breaking the system down and starting from scratch (more than one person suggested that). I do know that I want my kids to experience people from all different backgrounds and all different cultures. I feel that public school is more likely to give them that experience, something that I think will be invaluable as the world continues to shrink. But I'm not sure how you fix a system where there is apparently not even enough money to buy books for high schoolers to take home for homework each night.
My oldest is not yet in grade school, so I guess I have a pass for now - but it's a very short-lived pass.
No comments:
Post a Comment