It was refreshing and yet concerning to hear Veronique Mintz, age 13, describe how much more she is learning online vs. her experiences in a NYC public school classroom. Her NYT op-ed began like this:
Talking out of turn. Destroying classroom materials. Disrespecting teachers. Blurting out answers during tests. Students pushing, kicking, hitting one another and even rolling on the ground. This is what happens in my school every single day. You may think I’m joking, but I swear I’m not… The fact that I am learning so much better away from the classroom shows that something is wrong with our system.
The article was reminiscent of posts that circulated about a year ago. The subject was school discipline and a “chicken or the egg” idea. Had policies about suspension hindered classroom management? Who is to blame for unruly classrooms? Are the kids completely unmanageable? Are the teachers lazy or are they not well-equipped to control the classroom?
Although we may not be able to answer the question of what is the exact cause or which came first, we do know a lot about the schools and the children embedded in high poverty neighborhood neighborhoods.
First, we know that families, concerned about their children receiving a quality education, will move away from struggling schools if they have the means to do so. In other words, some families escape the classroom disruptions and violence described above. The NY Post describes how parents expressed feelings of helplessness and frustration as they sought safety for their children. Many have been forced to seek safety transfers to send their kids to other schools if they cannot afford other options (like private schools or new neighborhoods).
Here’s the even more concerning element. As families with financial means move away, economic prosperity and hope for that same neighborhood dissipate. Businesses and jobs follow the middle-class families, and concentrated poverty is left behind. It is no secret that this type of poverty takes a toll on children. Growing up in concentrated poverty includes all sorts of negative impacts from developmental delays to poor emotional and physical health to exposure to numerous social ills and tough home life.
So, thinking back to the issue of classroom management, the students that are suffering from the effects of concentrated poverty are also the ones filing into these classrooms. It is no wonder classrooms are in chaos with all the invisible burdens these students are carrying. We feel for Veronique Mintz and other students who have been left behind in NYC’s public school system and in other high-poverty schools. We hope and pray that classrooms are once again safe spaces for learning. But a major part of fixing what happens in the classroom will require fixing what’s happening outside the classroom. Financially diverse communities breed more opportunity inside and outside the classroom.
Let’s think beyond the in-the-moment classroom management issues and dream big as we take a break from schools. Let’s reimagine the context the schools are embedded in. Here’s how we would do it.