Explain why urban education is so important.
There are two distinct, unequal societies in the United States. The widening gap between the two - the "haves" and the "have-nots"- is one of our most critical national problems. There also is an alarming academic achievement gap. Even after decades of intensifying national effort, from desegregation in the 1960s to the No Child Left Behind program of today, there has been inadequate progress in narrowing the gaps. Not surprisingly, there's plenty of finger-pointing when it comes to the problems that plague urban education. Schools and teachers aren't completely blameless, even though they are forced to accommodate cultural, language, social and demographic differences, while grappling with high dropout rates. Students are culpable, too, for not valuing education over their involvement in gangs, drugs and disruptive behavior. And parents are presumed guilty of not being good role models.
How do we narrow the achievement gap between income and racial groups?
Some suggest that it begins with closing the income gap. If that were the case, government actions such as modifying our tax system, hiking the minimum wage or providing health insurance for the poor would narrow the division. Such steps may help in the short term, but I contend that working to create greater educational equality will in the long run do more than anything to permanently cut the size of the income gap. Our public schools were intended to be engines that lift the poor into the middle class.
How can schools focus on what you describe as character education?
I am convinced that it's not enough for schools to simply teach core subjects. They must also teach core values, if only to help offset the corrosive aspects of our larger culture. One class per week won't cut it; the effort must involve every science, art, physical education, language arts, foreign language, history and math class. As a teacher (in Kansas City, Mo.), I try to model character traits and life skills, while also teaching algebra. Each week, we focus on one trait or skill - for example, empathy, teamwork, self-respect, honesty or fairness. We talk about how cheating undermines one's self-respect, as well as respect for others. I try to emphasize that our classroom is a community and that each of us has a moral obligation to treat each other as a valued member of this community.
Describe how inner-city teachers can be agents of personal and social transformation.
Of all the professions in our society, none can create a more powerful legacy than teaching. Of course, the challenges of urban teaching require a rare breed of teacher. They must be multitalented and multitasking. They must be professional managers and law enforcers. They must be surrogate parents, therapists, mediators, cheerleaders, caregivers, judges and more. And, yes, they must be educators, too. I have a word for those who manage not only to endure but actually to thrive in this environment. That word is hero.
- Dawn House
