Monday, February 19, 2007
6 blocks
i drove a different way home from school today. i went by a school that i'd never seen before, so after searching and searching through all the district elementary schools, i finally figured out it was Iles Elementary. Iles is on the same street as Feitshan's Academy and six blocks down 15th street.
six blocks
six blocks is what separates a 95% low-income rate from a 24% low-income rate. Iles' low-income rate is smaller than my dinky po-dunk little hometown. and it's six blocks away from a school where 95 out of 100 students are at a disadvantage because they can't get their hands on materials that would aid them in being successful in school.
today was President's Day. most schools in the nation didn't meet today and teachers and students alike enjoyed their day off thanks to the honoring of our nation's presidents. however, i'm student teaching at a school in Springfield...so we got last Monday off, instead, honoring Abe Lincoln's birthday. today, we got to go to school and sit through some professional development. it was a pretty amazing day, really.
one thing we talked about today was classroom libraries and the importance of having one adequate for our kids to become successful readers. we talked about how some kids don't have the opportunity to read at home, and that makes it that much more important for them to be reading at school. we also talked about how good it is to have the opportunity for children to take home books, if for a period of time (1 or 2 weeks) or for them to have. it was stated that sometimes the books the children receive at Feitshan's may be the only book they have to call their own.
this astounds me.
as i was driving home, i was considering how many books i had growing up. my library was probably bigger than the library in the classroom where i am now. no joke. and these kids might not have one book to call their own.
it made me want to cry and throw up all at the same time.
we also talked about culture today. we were presented with two family situations. i won't type them out here, but they were vastly different, i can tell you that much. one was a middle class, American family. the other originated from Brazil where mothers basically choose which of their children will live or die because their living conditions are so poor that the babies that they have who are weak will not survive. they deploy what's called "maternal detachment" so it doesn't hurt as much and is essentially a survival strategy. this story also made me sick, to a point.
why are people living in conditions such as these when i'm living in wealth? i have more than i need - more really than i want. i get frustrated that i have so much and that i don't know what to do with it. i know i can't change the world and equal the playing field for the entire world on my own, but i wish some days that i could.
ok, so i'm done for tonight. it's almost my bedtime (it's not even 10 pm...). that's a whole nother story, though...it's weird to be old and have to get up early every morning. oh well, such is life. :)
~peace.
six blocks
six blocks is what separates a 95% low-income rate from a 24% low-income rate. Iles' low-income rate is smaller than my dinky po-dunk little hometown. and it's six blocks away from a school where 95 out of 100 students are at a disadvantage because they can't get their hands on materials that would aid them in being successful in school.
today was President's Day. most schools in the nation didn't meet today and teachers and students alike enjoyed their day off thanks to the honoring of our nation's presidents. however, i'm student teaching at a school in Springfield...so we got last Monday off, instead, honoring Abe Lincoln's birthday. today, we got to go to school and sit through some professional development. it was a pretty amazing day, really.
one thing we talked about today was classroom libraries and the importance of having one adequate for our kids to become successful readers. we talked about how some kids don't have the opportunity to read at home, and that makes it that much more important for them to be reading at school. we also talked about how good it is to have the opportunity for children to take home books, if for a period of time (1 or 2 weeks) or for them to have. it was stated that sometimes the books the children receive at Feitshan's may be the only book they have to call their own.
this astounds me.
as i was driving home, i was considering how many books i had growing up. my library was probably bigger than the library in the classroom where i am now. no joke. and these kids might not have one book to call their own.
it made me want to cry and throw up all at the same time.
we also talked about culture today. we were presented with two family situations. i won't type them out here, but they were vastly different, i can tell you that much. one was a middle class, American family. the other originated from Brazil where mothers basically choose which of their children will live or die because their living conditions are so poor that the babies that they have who are weak will not survive. they deploy what's called "maternal detachment" so it doesn't hurt as much and is essentially a survival strategy. this story also made me sick, to a point.
why are people living in conditions such as these when i'm living in wealth? i have more than i need - more really than i want. i get frustrated that i have so much and that i don't know what to do with it. i know i can't change the world and equal the playing field for the entire world on my own, but i wish some days that i could.
ok, so i'm done for tonight. it's almost my bedtime (it's not even 10 pm...). that's a whole nother story, though...it's weird to be old and have to get up early every morning. oh well, such is life. :)
~peace.
// posted by erinlizabeth @ 9:36 PM 
