This trailer for the upcoming film Waiting for Superman, a documentary about the tragic state of the American education system, really struck a chord in me. Education is on my mind and the decisions I have to make are putting a lump in my throat. Dread, disappointment, failure, fear. These are the words I use to describe how I feel about the education I am providing for my children. The only education I can afford – a public one.
For my children, in our present district, there are truly no good public school options. There aren’t even so-so options. Overcrowding, corruption, budget cuts, political and religious agendas… The cracks are so big you could fit a whole subculture in there. It’s hard enough at our impacted elementary and middle schools for an average student. But it’s a disaster for a gifted student, or one with any sort of learning disability. Homeschooling terrifies me. I cannot afford the time off work. I don’t think I am qualified. But then I think about the alternatives and I am sick to my stomach.
Education was always something I took for granted. A basic right. A given. Not something we’d have to fight, and fight hard for. But here we are.
My options are bad but I know that for others, it’s even worse. My heart goes out. I fear for our children and I wonder how did we let this happen? How can we keep fooling ourselves into thinking what we are doing is acceptable?
There is a fictional Yiddish town where all the idiots lived. They call it “Chelm” which is a real town in Poland, but the tales told about Chelm by authors like Isaac Bashevis Singer and Sholom Aleichem are the stuff of fictional lore. There are a hundred stories about the citizens of Chelm and all their backwards ways. The one most notable characteristic of Chelmies was their complete confidence in themselves. Sound familiar?
Little did I know, when I chuckled at these tales as a child, that such a place would someday exist. And we’d all send our kids to school there.
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