My Hope for the Graduates
I went to an elementary school graduation a few days ago in the Bronx, New York. The student we went to see graduate is the child of a friend and a beautiful and an intelligent child. After about 40 years at all levels of education from kindergarten through college, I liked being in a public school setting again despite some of the negative experiences along the way.
The graduation ceremony was done really well with songs, a video program highlighting the graduates, who sat, sang, and sometimes danced on the stage of the auditorium. The school did a great job with the event. The school building itself is immaculate and well-maintained.
A few things stood out during the program. Urban schools are more segregated than ever and this is in light of the 1954 Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Board of Education that found segregated schools illegal under the Constitution. Ninety-nine percent of the kids in the graduating class were from minority groups. The story or history of how schools became more segregated following Brown is one of so-called white flight, academies, and charter schools. Urban schools were left to fend for themselves, the antithesis of Brown’s intent. Small programs that seek to enroll city children in suburban schools have been miniscule. Busing saw its demise on the streets of Boston, Massachusetts in the early 1970s. Busing was ferociously countered by hate!
Many of the suggestions for the graduating class were about achieving and not giving up. These kids, and especially the boys in the two graduating classes, face roadblocks that are reflected in the daunting statistics about success or failure. That there is a school to prison pipeline lurking outside of the doors of this beautiful school building, with its dedicated staff, is obvious. The parents here want the best for their children.
I know from firsthand experiences at every level of education the barriers facing kids from some demographic groups and the socio-economic obstacles that face the majority of these innocent and beautiful kids.
We went out into the heat of the day as a heatwave was just settling in over the city. The cloudless sky was blue and the day was full of hope.
My Hope for the Graduates