ancient history

I grew up in the 1950’s and 1960’s in the Midwest USA: in Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee, and then southern Ohio from the 4th to 11th grades.

Segregation was a battle in U.S. schools at the time.  For some reason, my school in Lockland, Ohio, a working class suburb of Cincinnati, was integrated before forced bussing. I was told it was because the school in the adjacent segregated black community, Lincoln Heights, had burned down. 

All I can tell you is, racism still existed, and there were plenty of epithets hurled against people based on color. But we also gained talent from that nearby community that took a small high school of around 100 students competing statewide against much larger school systems in basketball competitions.

People were mixed together, and relationships happened that we would never have had going to separate schools. 

Public education for everyone is a pillar of a democratic society. Home-schooling, boarding schools, private schools, even charter schools, separate kids from other kids who are different from them, socio-economically, but also by race, religion and ethnicity.

I have been a substitute teacher in the Hawaii public school system for the last two years. It is challenging to have a diverse population of kids in one classroom: intellectually, emotionally, behaviorally, culturally, developmentally. But every time I feel overwhelmed I find there are always individual kids in the class who step up and help. One kindergardener this morning may as well have been my IT expert showing me how to use their new very smart screens. Other kids will reach out and help the kid who has difficulties with specific things. The kids will always tell you about that that one particular kid that always does that one particular thing.

Based on current events, I don’t have a lot of hope for the future. Based on the behaviors of kindergardeners, and first, second and third graders I encounter in our Hawaiian public schools, I do continue to have hope.