Over the past few months, I've been studying the public education system, specifically the effects of national and state policies on the worst performing schools in Florida. These failing schools are given limited resources to improve, then lose the resources once they hit a certain benchmark of "success." Without sustained support, these schools tend to fall right back into the lowest rung of the educational system. Overwhelmingly, and perhaps not surprisingly, the worst performing schools in Florida are located in low-income, high minority areas. The same pattern follows for the rest of the nation. Since public schools are funded primarily through local property taxes, the students who live in the poorest areas also attend the worst schools. The students at these failing schools tend to be surrounded by stories of failure in their families and communities. The cycle of inequality maintained by our educational system cannot be easily fixed by a sweeping national or state-level policy. However, in my opinion, showing individual students that they have what it takes to succeed is something that can be done at the classroom level. Providing teachers with the resources they need to inspire confidence in their students often gets overlooked when the focus is on passing standardized tests.
Sometimes just having the right equipment is all it takes to make a difference for these students. DonorsChoose.org was founded by teachers as a way for the public to directly contribute to public education. The money received by this organization goes straight into classroom projects. I gave $15 to a 5th grade reading project here in Tallahassee. Less than 2 weeks later, I received a personal email from the teacher informing me that the class had reached their $800 goal to purchase new books. Talk about direct results! She said the class gave a standing ovation when she told them the news. The website allows you to search by location or project type (arts, music, reading, science, etc) OR donate directly to the projects with the biggest need.
http://www.donorschoose.org/
I’ve been teaching a class called social problems since June. Some of the topics are so disheartening that I often want to end the class with a debate: "Puppies vs. kittens. Who is cuter?" (Might be an easier topic than gun control, although people can get pretty fired up on the dog vs. cat issue.) The point is that Boo Radley (formerly known as Furby, then Kitten, now just Booey) spent his first few weeks in the pound, but now he might be the most spoiled cat that has ever lived. He is the best furry pal I could ask for. Animals are usually last on the list of things people tend to support, even though a third of American families own at least one pet. I can’t imagine my life for the past ten (!) years without Boo chasing me around and leaving black fuzz everywhere. The ASPCA focuses their resources on pets (cats & dogs), while the Humane Society focuses on wildlife in general. I don’t know how to choose, so here are links to both:
ASPCA
Humane Society
Local animal shelters typically take donations online too. These can usually be found through county/city websites. For example: http://www.tallyasf.org/
I consider myself lucky to have had several years of quality education (how many more!?), a happy, healthy furry friend, and a supportive family. What else do I really need?
