continued from earlier...
The heat in this city does not lower as the sun lowers. Last night at 9 pm, it was still 91 degrees! I guess I had forgotten how intense heat is when there is a high humidity involved as well. But complaining doesn't make it any better, so on to more important topics.
Today was the first day that I felt truly inspired to embark on the journey that I will in the next two years. We took the metro this morning to Central High School in Prince George's County to see more or less what we will be working with/ in. The high school that we visited was not too shabby-- the gym and classrooms were intact and utilitarian. Nothing nice about them, but at the same time, nothing bad about them either. A solid facility. But of course we are not in these places because they have poor facilities, but because the students who attend them are not achieving to the levels that they should. Prince George's county is an interesting county in terms of demographics. Many immigrants who in the past have moved to DC are now finding respite in PG County, as gentrification of DC neighborhoods have pushed them out the of the district. This has also happened with many Black families in DC throughout the past 30 or so years. It's great for us whities and wealthy folk who come to DC for vacation because it means that more places in DC are suitable to our preferences- bars, restaurants, apartments, specialty grocery stores, etc. However the high cost of living has pushed former residents into surrounding areas. Gentrification does not mean a overall improvement for everyone, but instead just for the people who invest money into the area and for those who reap the benefits of these commercial ventures.
Nonetheless, we have many families in PG county who are very wealthy. In fact it is the wealthiest majority African American county in the United States. However these wealthy families are not always spending their money in PG County because of other, more prestigious institutions in the vicinity, but outside of the county. Thus, the schools are not receiving the attention that they need and deserve. One PG community member told us today that she moved her family to PG county so that they could be in a more diverse community, but then did not feel comfortable sending her students to the schools there because they were so sub-standard. The truth of the matter was that no one cared about the children at these schools enough to fight for their educational rights.
In the last few decades this has been changing in the DC region. TFA and other programs which bring education to the forefront have emerged and are pushing school districts, leaders and politicians to invest not only money, but time and attention into the school areas and districts which need it most. Especially in DC it has been proven that failing or successful schools are not defined not by the students, but by the integrity of the teachers. This is demonstrated by several DC schools which are close in proximity to one another, but just because of the presence of several strong and encouraging teachers, the students are achieving at higher rates. In this situation, the students are not the variables. Instead what varies from school to school is the teachers.
Chancellor of DC public schools Michelle Rhee has taken this as her charge and revolutionized the way that schools are run in DCPS (Public Schools)-- or rather, the way in which these schools will be run in the future. She, and other advocates of strong, quality educations for DC youth regardless of their upbringing focus on the progress of the teacher in the classroom when it comes to compensation. No longer will the eldest teacher be paid the most and have the most job security. These teachers are equally welcome to prove their successes in the classroom but will not automatically be grandfathered into the system (and as you can imagine, cause quite an uproar in this movement.) But when you consider this, I'd like you to think of what career in the whole world allows its employees to lose money, fail or fall short year after year, but allow them to still stay on board as a part of the business. I personally can't think of any. And when you further consider the raises that teachers will receive for setting and achieving goals with their students, it only makes sense that when salaries are raised, other, equally bright and intelligent teachers will be attracted to doing the same job.
Time for bed yall.
besitos
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