Separate but Equal, Right?

I grew up in a town called Chalfont, Pennsylvania, which is nestled in the heart of historic Bucks County. Growing up, I never realized how much of a bubble I lived in. Mainly everyone in my town was middle class, mainly everyone was white, and most things like education were not ever questioned. People had their family secrets but for the most part no one went "without". We were the epitome of the American Dream- our parents worked hard to give us all the opportunities we could ever want. Granted, people were different: not everyone drove a Mercedes to school, some of us had Mini-Vans, some had old Jeeps, others (the poorer ones) had cars passed on to us from our grandparents; it was rare, however, if someone was without their own car. We went on trips, traveled the world, were involved in any/every after school activity our parents could think of; looking back, there’s rarely a time where I feel like I missed out on any aspect of life.

I attended Central Bucks School District (CBSD) and our public schools were (are) some of the best in the state, so until I came to Pittsburgh I had never even heard of a charter school. We had the best facilities, had all the resources we could dream of and, once again, were never “without” when it came to class choices, teacher quality, etc. The only reason why someone went somewhere other than public school was either a) because their parents were really religious (and/or Italian) and wanted them in Catholic school or b) if they were really good at sports and wanted a better chance of getting recruited they would go to private school. When (not if) we all graduated it was up to us if we wanted to go to college or not (although almost everyone went) and everyone had at least 2 or 3 options. Never, did our parents have to worry about our education, any aspect of it. Growing up there, it was easy to hear and believe the sentiments that you can do anything you want, achieve anything you want, and be whoever you want. Growing up there, it made sense that people thought that it was through hard work that people got where they are. Growing up there, it made sense that people thought that others had the exact same opportunities that we did. Why wouldn’t they? It wasn’t until I got to Pittsburgh and started working closely with Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) that I realized how much of a bubble I grew up in.

I’m not saying that bubble was a bad thing but it does severely alter your perceptions and allows you to have preconceived notions about things you can’t understand until you live in somebody else’s shoes. Now, I’m not sure if I could look any person in the eye while they tell me that we have equal opportunities in this country, including education. The fact that something so different can be happening in the same state is mind-blowing. Pittsburgh Public has schools shutting down left and right, schools failing and not meeting AYP (which is another debate), low PPSA scores (also another debate), an abundant amount of kids who are chronically absent, losing kids to charter schools, many schools who do not have a proper support staff, insufficient funds, etc.

For a comparison of the two districts you can check out:

CBSD http://www.cbsd.org/communityrelations/Documents/CBSD_InfoPacket%20_2011.pdf

PPS

http://www.aplusschools.org/wp-content/uploads/pdf/cspr12/A+2012-front.pdf

To add to all of this CBSD, who does not need a lot of extra money, is benefitting from No Child Left Behind while PPS, who does need a lot of extra money, is suffering because of No Child Left Behind. I’m not saying that failing schools should be rewarded but why are the schools that are suffering the most being given more and more barriers to succeeding?

Even bigger than money, I think that public schools and education play a big role in how you view yourself, your community, and society as a whole. When you go to a failing school, you lose out on precious social capital. You’re also basically socialized to think that you don’t matter. How could you think otherwise when the neighborhood you live in is considered trash, your school is considered trash, and there’s not one “government” institution that is investing in you and your future? Do I think that education outside of the classroom is important? Absolutely. However, I will not settle for kids having a second-class education and second-class opportunities simply because of their geographic location. That’s not America.

This video discussing the growing education gap in America pretty much sums up my sentiments:

What do you think? Do you think that this is true? Or do you think that school education is just a piece of the pie and that people can succeed even without the best education/opportunities?

I think that this can be remedied but I think it will take a holistic effort; one that encourages both changes in the system and encourages communities to acknowledge the abundance that McKnight discusses, one that takes environmental factors into account and one that doesn't ignore implementation barriers when making policy, and one that does not make policy just for a quick fix. The book, Learning to Liberate: Community-Based Solutions to the Crisis in Urban Education by Vajra Watson looks at ethnographic research and gives strategies as to how this community-based reform could be accomplished.