27 students at Harper High School were shot in one year. Do you think it is possible to focus on seemingly "trivial" things like math, science and reading when survival is a real every day issue? This reminds me of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. If physiological needs aren't first met it is impossible to get to the top of the pyramid where higher level and more privileged thinking takes place. Do you think it is possible to educate kids living in such violent areas?
There is a lot of discussion about why schools are failing students, especially schools like Harper High School in Chicago. However, do you think that it is really the fault of the school that students are struggling? If not, where is the problem? On the street? In the family? In the government? Laws? In people's views and perceptions and stereotypes? I listen to this episode of This American Life and I hear a lot of good things that are being done inside Harper High School. So, do you think it is an education issue or a problem on a larger scale?
"Do you know what it's like to carry weight?" was a question that was asked in episode one. A lot of these students are carrying baggage that weighs on their lives, minds and mental and physical health. I teach in a private high school and I wonder if a lot of the kids in my school know what it is like to carry weight when they complain about going to bed late because of too much homework or their mom packed the wrong lunch. I wonder what the right amount of weight to carry is. Is there a balance and why is it that some kids, like the ones at Harper, seem to be carrying so much more than kids in other places?
-Tim Broderick
Tim, I think you bring up some great points. I believe it is possible to educate students whose lives seem to be saturated with violence. But they have different needs and require different strategies than students in the suburbs, or private schools. We undermine education by using a homogenized, equal opportunity, approach. I think Harper High really demonstrates that inner city schools are not failing, they are succeeding in spite of ridged systematic inequalities.
ReplyDelete"Hello. You are a person, OK. You are valuable. And you matter. Mwah, mwah, mwah. OK, go."
And this is a great article:
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/27/no-rich-child-left-behind/?emc=eta1