Two Systems, One Student
From a young age my parents instilled in me the importance of education, a tool and resource they didn’t have growing up. They sent me to the closest elementary and middle school to us, which both happened to be charter schools. It didn’t take long for both my parents and myself to realize how inequitable the school was. Starting off the bat, the enrollment process for the school was based on a lottery process, so parents just hoped that students would be able to be enrolled in the school that was closest to them. I somehow got off the waiting list and was able to enroll in time for kindergarten.
Throughout the next 9 years, I attended these charter schools that shared campuses with public schools – schools which not only took funding from the school district, but even space. I was taught with iPads and computers, in small classes, with teachers who could cater to everyone. I also learned that if you weren’t considered “smart” enough then you weren’t given as much attention in classes, or you wouldn't be rewarded with fun things like more recess time. I learned that the reason each grade had two teachers was to ensure that “bad” students stayed with the “bad” and that the “good” students would stay with their own to better promote their test scores.
When it was time for high school, my parents decided that they didn’t like how these schools were structured anymore, specifically the way they taught and disciplined us. So they decided to move me to a public school in Boyle Heights, near my mom’s work, so she could drop me off and pick me up. Almost immediately I noted the vast difference between the schools. I noticed how these classes were under-funded, and had a lack of resources such as not enough chairs and tables for our classes. I noticed the way in which our teachers were overworked, and had more students than they could handle. I understood that there was a lack of resources on all ends. The biggest thing I noticed was that despite the funding issues, public school students were seen as people and not just test scores. My teachers, even though they were underpaid and overworked, tried everything to truly make an impact on their students.
For me that was the biggest difference. The way in which we were treated and we were taught. In my public high school is where my love and interest for ethnic studies started. It allowed me to understand that there was a systemic issue that was at the root of most of public education’s issues. I understand now how a lack of resources comes from the negative effects of prop 13. Which is why reform is needed. No school should have to face a lack of funding and resources that doesn’t allow students to reach their full potential.
