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26.12.2024 |
A day of a public educator in a poor school
You wake up on a Monday morning, already thinking about the challenges the day might bring. Arriving at school before the students, you prepare the materials for the day and unlock the door to your classroom…
As the kids shuffle in, their moods are as varied as the weather—some still groggy, while others are bursting with energy. The bell rings, signaling it’s time to begin the lesson. But teaching in an overcrowded classroom in poor districts comes with its own set of hurdles. The noise never quite settles, and the students are far from ready to engage. Some show no interest in learning, while others don’t even bring the basics: no paper, pencils, or notebooks. You need to provide these materials daily that will help them to develop a sense of responsibility?
You raise your voice to cut through side conversations, trying to redirect attention. But when you scan the room, you notice only a handful of students have opened their notebooks or seem even slightly engaged. The rest are distracted or indifferent.
Adding to the chaos, students continue trickling in late—30 or 40 minutes into the period. Each new arrival disrupts the fragile rhythm of teaching and learning. Many students are off task, glued to their smartphones or engaging in disruptive behavior. To them, school feels like just another meaningless chore…
The restroom becomes a haven for students seeking to escape class. They disappear for 30 or 40 minutes at a time, gathering there to smoke, chat, and hang out. For some, the restroom is a far more appealing space than the classroom.
As you prepare to transition to another activity in class, chaos breaks out. Two students begin yelling or throwing things at each other, immediately diverting attentions, and creating an environment that’s anything but conducive to learning… some students leave the class without permission some still come in without any pass or excuse…
You call the office for help, and if you’re lucky, a member of the admin team shows up to remove the disruptive students. But you know how this story ends—within 10 minutes, those same students are back in class, facing no real consequences for their actions. Filing a disciplinary report would only inflate the school’s discipline data, something administrators are keen to avoid. But you often here them saying “we are a community with a shared motivation and goal” … Really? I am Not sure… it is hard to believe that we are a community.
Between classes, you face another challenge—finding a restroom. Teachers are human, too, but with only five minutes between periods, it’s a race. The staff restroom is far from your classroom and often occupied. If you attempt to use the student restroom, it’s either locked, out of order, or filled with students smoking and socializing.
During your prep time, walking to printing room, you see groups of students wondering around… they just wonder around with a golden pass; no rules apply them… sometimes you see deans of students, or a member of the admin team begs kids to go to their class which makes you questions where you are and what you are doing here!
This routine repeat period after period, and finally, the day comes to an end. But there’s little relief. You may have a staff meeting, professional development, or a collaboration session after school where teachers’ voices are suppressed and a set of irrelevant narratives, information’s, agendas are top-down imposed.
When you finally head to the parking lot, the weight of the day’s stress feels suffocating. Your energy is drained, and your spirit feels depleted. Another day has ended, but you know tomorrow will bring the same challenges… Some images of YouTube videos you watched recently cross your mind; public school teachers who recently quitted their job say that teaching in poor schools is no more than “a glorified baby seating job… everything else is just a deception and decoration” … Could they be right?
Having worked in schools across three major states in the U.S., I’ve come to realize that if you want to understand a society—its values, struggles, and priorities—there’s no better place to look than its public schools.
To be continued…
Edward Allen
Public Educator / California, 2024
