4 ms·

I've volunteered in inner city Chicago schools. I coached a middle school debate team there. There were times when I believe I was the only non-black person in

I've volunteered in inner city Chicago schools. I coached a middle school debate team there. There were times when I believe I was the only non-black person in the building. This made the debate topic of racial profiling even more difficult to discuss, but the kids managed it really well. A paraphrased quotation from one student: "On the one hand I don't like racial profiling because the white police come by every half-hour, but on the other hand there are gunshots every two hours." It doesn't even matter how accurate she was, that was her perception of the current state of her life. I thought this article was interesting, because if teaching at a nice "white" school in the suburbs isn't considered super prestigious, what will make inner-city Chicago teaching prestigious in the long term? I've heard Teach for America suggested, and I've had friends who've done it. But TFA teachers are often not in it for "the long haul" because for the "best and brightest" to stay teaching in the inner city isn't prestigious enough to counter the frustration. So while many articles about the US education system are bunk, and this one doesn't seem to focus on the inner city, I think the principles might still apply. EDIT: Please, I don't want anyone to get the impression I think I understand everything about the problems South Side Chicago students face. I did have the privilege of observing some of the challenges they face first-hand, but I still have very little knowledge of the actual state of mind growing up in such places really consists of.

rayiner 14y ago
You can't change the situation in the south side of Chicago with some teachers. It is, unfortunately, a much deeper rooted and more systematic problem. I'm Asian, and one of the things Asian parents tell their kids is: choose your friends very carefully. You will become the kind of person you surround yourself with. So what of a kid on the south side? Surrounded by kids with no fathers, from families with no education or belief in education? Surrounded by drug dealers and gang bangers? These communities will never improve so long as they remain so completely segregated, economically and racially. That's the tough issue nobody wants to address.
- frozenport 14y ago
  The unfortunate part is that many parents do believe in education despite or as a direct consequence of their miserable situation. The answer for these families is often parochial schools, which speaks the deficiencies in Chicago city schools. The real problem is that many of these folks trust the public schools to facilitate health development but it is precisely in Chicago city schools that kids are surrounded with these negative factors: kids see drug dealers, gang bangers and violence in school. Imagine if you left your kid with a baby sitter, only to find him hanging out with a drug dealer?
  - ktsmith 14y ago
    > kids see drug dealers, gang bangers and violence in school Kids that are seeing those things at school are seeing them outside of school as well.
- clicks 14y ago
  You've hit the nail on the head. I think there is one answer: boarding schools. It's not a panacea, it's certainly not going to solve all of the social problems, but it's one way to get significant progress.

rayiner 14y ago

You can't change the situation in the south side of Chicago with some teachers. It is, unfortunately, a much deeper rooted and more systematic problem. I'm Asian, and one of the things Asian parents tell their kids is: choose your friends very carefully. You will become the kind of person you surround yourself with. So what of a kid on the south side? Surrounded by kids with no fathers, from families with no education or belief in education? Surrounded by drug dealers and gang bangers? These communities will never improve so long as they remain so completely segregated, economically and racially. That's the tough issue nobody wants to address.

frozenport 14y ago
The unfortunate part is that many parents do believe in education despite or as a direct consequence of their miserable situation. The answer for these families is often parochial schools, which speaks the deficiencies in Chicago city schools. The real problem is that many of these folks trust the public schools to facilitate health development but it is precisely in Chicago city schools that kids are surrounded with these negative factors: kids see drug dealers, gang bangers and violence in school. Imagine if you left your kid with a baby sitter, only to find him hanging out with a drug dealer?
- ktsmith 14y ago
  > kids see drug dealers, gang bangers and violence in school Kids that are seeing those things at school are seeing them outside of school as well.
clicks 14y ago
You've hit the nail on the head. I think there is one answer: boarding schools. It's not a panacea, it's certainly not going to solve all of the social problems, but it's one way to get significant progress.