Frigid Baltimore City schools: The racism we haven't confronted

[SummerMadness]

Frigid Baltimore City schools: The racism we haven't confronted

Earlier this week, amid freezing temperatures, students across Baltimore City returned from winter break to face unheated classrooms. About 60 schools -- nearly one-third of the entire system -- reported issues, leading to the closure of four schools on Wednesday and early dismissal in two others. The teacher's union condemned the conditions as "unfair and inhumane." And teachers quickly took to social media to post images of shivering students and thermostats registering harsh temperatures.

With a closer look at the images, it was hard to miss the color of the children -- almost every single one black or brown. Classrooms of freezing children of color is the epitome of systemic racism, laid bare.

 

[Liza B.]

Frigid Baltimore City schools: The racism we haven't confronted

First of all, this is horrible. No learning can take place in classrooms that are 30 and 40 degrees...obviously.

But I note in the article that the same issues seem to plague Baltimore that have plagued the largest school district in my state: years and years of fiscal mismanagement. You might even say corruption. Okay, I'm going to say it: corruption. Fatcats at the top stealing money from children.

In a better world, these children would have equal schooling as public schools in other places. But it's difficult to equalize when the money doesn't filter down, for starters.

 

[Dave-W]

But it's difficult to equalize when the money doesn't filter down, for starters.

I agree.

 

[Liza B.]

Frigid Baltimore City schools: The racism we haven't confronted

Here's a quote from the article:

There are many, structural layers shaping unequal educational opportunity in this country -- disparate access to technology, high-quality curriculum and teachers,

I'm a teacher. When I came out of university many many years ago, I was offered many teaching positions in various places. Had I been offered one in an urban school with lots of challenges, what would prompt me to take it? What would prompt me to take a job in a school infested with rats, with students who have a history of violent physical fights, who I am expected to basically parent and, if I can't, I am held accountable by the state up to and including losing my job?

You might say, well you should. You should be altruistic, especially since you're a Christian. I might decide that. But my husband, if he's a Christian too, might like to have children. He might not want his wife driving into a situation like that every day, and putting her very life and limb at risk. I get physically attacked at my job NOW, and I'm at a supposedly "good" public school. This is the level of behavioral challenges we see.

Why should people sign up for this?

Who is going to incentivize them to do so in the future?

 

[Norbert L]

Here's a quote from the article:



I'm a teacher. When I came out of university many many years ago, I was offered many teaching positions in various places. Had I been offered one in an urban school with lots of challenges, what would prompt me to take it? What would prompt me to take a job in a school infested with rats, with students who have a history of violent physical fights, who I am expected to basically parent and, if I can't, I am held accountable by the state up to and including losing my job?

You might say, well you should. You should be altruistic, especially since you're a Christian. I might decide that. But my husband, if he's a Christian too, might like to have children. He might not want his wife driving into a situation like that every day, and putting her very life and limb at risk. I get physically attacked at my job NOW, and I'm at a supposedly "good" public school. This is the level of behavioral challenges we see.

Why should people sign up for this?

Who is going to incentivize them to do so in the future?

Interesting perspective, I don't see much if anything being said about dealing with entire groups of the people. What should be done when the society in large is corrupt, that the citizenry too are part of the problem?

When mentioning the rat problem, it reminded me of some commentary about the school system in Japan. They don't hire janitors, time is made available during the school day for the students to clean their school.

 

[Liza B.]

Interesting perspective, I don't see much if anything being said about dealing with entire groups of the people. What should be done when the society in large is corrupt, that the citizenry too are part of the problem?

When mentioning the rat problem, it reminded me of some commentary about the school system in Japan. They don't hire janitors, time is made available during the school day for the students to clean their school.

This is it.

For some reason, people have it that schools operate largely separately from society. Of course they do not. You might say schools are a reflection of society--and they are getting worse. I don't just say that because I've been teaching a long time and I'm tired and jaded. I love my profession, I truly do. But things have changed, drastically. Teachers are talking about it coast to coast, and the profession reflects this in the teacher shortage, which in some cases is crippling.

More to the point: as society continues to devolve, society expects teachers to raise children more and more. But of course, we cannot. But if we don't, we are blamed for being lazy and ineffective. And the cycle downward continues apace.

 

[Rion]

Children without heat is a legitimate problem and absolutely should be addressed. It isn't, however, freakin' racist. There's poor and/or mismanaged districts with white children who suffer the same situation. To start whinging about it being about racism is to distract from the very real issue and to ultimately get nothing done. It's incorrect, it's counterproductive and, quite frankly, it's just dumb. The author needs to learn to look past their own bigoted world view.

 

[TLK Valentine]

First of all, this is horrible. No learning can take place in classrooms that are 30 and 40 degrees...obviously.

But I note in the article that the same issues seem to plague Baltimore that have plagued the largest school district in my state: years and years of fiscal mismanagement. You might even say corruption. Okay, I'm going to say it: corruption. Fatcats at the top stealing money from children.

In a better world, these children would have equal schooling as public schools in other places. But it's difficult to equalize when the money doesn't filter down, for starters.

If the white children in the schools in the more affluent neighborhoods aren't shivering, then it would appear that some of the money is filtering down...

 

[iluvatar5150]

The Sun had an article today that teased at a few more details:

Baltimore schools have returned millions in state funds for heating repairs

They don't go into depth about it, but from what I've gleaned from others commenting on the subject is that at least part of the problem stems from the way in which the state of MD funds certain kinds of projects and policies they have in place to combat wasteful spending and poor planning. My understanding is that if a project fails to meet certain deadlines and/or grows over budget, then the funding gets denied altogether and the city has to apply for it again the next year. As the article points out, the city is caught in a catch 22, in that, they don't have the cash reserves to self-fund the projects and wait for the state to reimbursement (the way the counties do), but they also don't have enough maintenance staff to go the up-front planning needed to get the projects approved in a way that fits with the state system.

It isn't, however, freakin' racist. There's poor and/or mismanaged districts with white children who suffer the same situation. To start whinging about it being about racism is to distract from the very real issue and to ultimately get nothing done. It's incorrect, it's counterproductive and, quite frankly, it's just dumb. The author needs to learn to look past their own bigoted world view.

You know this how?

Yes, there are white kids caught up in this - one of the schools that had a cancelled project is Roland Park Elementary. Roland Park is the rich white neighborhood. However, the city overall is (I believe) majority black and has always had a sizeable non-white population. The surrounding counties, however, and Annapolis in particular, are very white and the state legislature, from where this money comes, is much less of a rainbow than Baltimore City.

It's conventional wisdom around here that Annapolis has long resented and starved Baltimore. Race probably isn't the only factor at play, but you can't dismiss it out of hand, either.

 

[Rion]

The Sun had an article today that teased at a few more details:

Baltimore schools have returned millions in state funds for heating repairs

They don't go into depth about it, but from what I've gleaned from others commenting on the subject is that at least part of the problem stems from the way in which the state of MD funds certain kinds of projects and policies they have in place to combat wasteful spending and poor planning. My understanding is that if a project fails to meet certain deadlines and/or grows over budget, then the funding gets denied altogether and the city has to apply for it again the next year. As the article points out, the city is caught in a catch 22, in that, they don't have the cash reserves to self-fund the projects and wait for the state to reimbursement (the way the counties do), but they also don't have enough maintenance staff to go the up-front planning needed to get the projects approved in a way that fits with the state system.



You know this how?

Yes, there are white kids caught up in this - one of the schools that had a cancelled project is Roland Park Elementary. Roland Park is the rich white neighborhood. However, the city overall is (I believe) majority black and has always had a sizeable non-white population. The surrounding counties, however, and Annapolis in particular, are very white and the state legislature, from where this money comes, is much less of a rainbow than Baltimore City.

It's conventional wisdom around here that Annapolis has long resented and starved Baltimore. Race probably isn't the only factor at play, but you can't dismiss it out of hand, either.

I am not talking about Baltimore in particular, and I don't trust "conventional wisdom" in things like this, either. I deal with facts when it comes to accusations of misconduct. I also know that other schools around the country have had heating failure situations, and the snow wasn't the only thing white there. If you can provide actual proof of wrong doing, by all means, produce it. I'm just not going to assume that people are evil or something just because I am told that it is conventional wisdom. It was conventional wisdom that led to things like witch trials, after all.

 

[Liza B.]

If the white children in the schools in the more affluent neighborhoods aren't shivering, then it would appear that some of the money is filtering down...

You obviously don't understand how school systems in American districts work.

 

[Babe Ruth]

Had I been offered one in an urban school with lots of challenges, what would prompt me to take it?

Why should people sign up for this?
Who is going to incentivize them to do so in the future?

Liza, hi..
My wife has been teaching in an inner city school for about a decade.. the method used to recruit teachers in to the 'hood is typically some degree of student loan forgiveness.
Teacher signs a multi-year contract and state, or other institution, helps subsidize college loans.
Even w/this financial incentive, a lot of beginning teachers don't make it thru their contracts (in her district). It's tough. And even as more & more $ is focused on urban school districts, test scores flatline and/or falter.
Personally, I wish my wife would find a saner school system, but she values her tenure, has thick skin, & basically likes her job.
The never-ending indictment of White institutional racism is unfair to the majority White staffs teaching in a lot of these dangerous districts. They're not all necessarily motivated by altruism, but they're doing a job others can't even be bribed (a la loan forgiveness) to do. Peace

 

[Liza B.]

Liza, hi..
My wife has been teaching in an inner city school for about a decade.. the method used to recruit teachers in to the 'hood is typically some degree of student loan forgiveness.
Teacher signs a multi-year contract and state, or other institution, helps subsidize college loans.
Even w/this financial incentive, a lot of beginning teachers don't make it thru their contracts (in her district). It's tough. And even as more & more $ is focused on urban school districts, test scores flatline and/or falter.

It's not just her district. Teaching has a high turnover, even higher in urban settings. And of course test scores in a lot of settings are basically useless. You can't learn if your basic needs go unmet.

Personally, I wish my wife would find a saner school system, but she values her tenure, has thick skin, & basically likes her job.

God bless her. Give her a hug from me today.

The never-ending indictment of White institutional racism is unfair to the majority White staffs teaching in a lot of these dangerous districts. They're not all necessarily motivated by altruism, but they're doing a job others can't even be bribed (a la loan forgiveness) to do. Peace

It is ridiculous. Entire schools, public schools, built on "Social justice" which teach nothing BUT this. Making the jobs of any teachers who will TAKE the job even that much harder. It's all this: even though you have signed up, willingly, to work with all these black students--you must still see us as never anything Other Than Black. All the time. Blackness, all the time, 24/7. And Oppressed Blackness, too. With your incessant White Privilege leading the way.

This. Helps. NOTHING.

 

[TLK Valentine]

You obviously don't understand how school systems in American districts work.

I guess my eighteen years experience in public education doesn't match up to your internet savvy... but please, share your wisdom.

 

[Liza B.]

I guess my eighteen years experience in public education doesn't match up to your internet savvy... but please, share your wisdom.

Would that be in the US?

Okay, I guess I will proceed as if that's a "no". In the US, the state generally gives each district a certain amount of money, and that district then spends it as they see fit (within some guidelines). Each district has a locally-elected school board that oversees the administration. The School Board is made up of community members.

The school board has some latitude to set programs, curriculum, courses, etc, and to allocate how money will be spent. It is then distributed to building level admins through the central office building. THERE is where a lot of "shenanigans" can go on, as you can well imagine.

So yes, in a well managed district of purple children you can have all the purple children getting heat. In a poorly managed district of blue children you can have the blue children sitting in rat-infested buildings with no teaching materials and no heat. But the admin are paying themselves through all kinds of nefarious means. It happens.

When that happens, many times, there is a mechanism by which the state "takes over" the district. But that usually takes time. It might not be the case in every state, however. I'm not entirely sure on that.

 

[TLK Valentine]

Would that be in the US?

Okay, I guess I will proceed as if that's a "no".

You guess incorrectly, but please continue.

In the US, the state generally gives each district a certain amount of money, and that district then spends it as they see fit (within some guidelines). Each district has a locally-elected school board that oversees the administration. The School Board is made up of community members.

So far so good -- Google has served you well.

The school board has some latitude to set programs, curriculum, courses, etc, and to allocate how money will be spent. It is then distributed to building level admins through the central office building. THERE is where a lot of "shenanigans" can go on, as you can well imagine.

I can also imagine that some of those "shenanigans" might be motivated by race.

So yes, in a well managed district of purple children you can have all the purple children getting heat. In a poorly managed district of blue children you can have the blue children sitting in rat-infested buildings with no teaching materials and no heat. But the admin are paying themselves through all kinds of nefarious means. It happens.

How about we drop the "purple" and "blue" and talk in terms of "black" and "white"?

Clearly, this district is not well-managed, as the "black" children aren't getting any heat. My question is simple: are the "white" children getting heat?

 

[Liza B.]

You guess incorrectly, but please continue.



So far so good -- Google has served you well.



I can also imagine that some of those "shenanigans" might be motivated by race.



How about we drop the "purple" and "blue" and talk in terms of "black" and "white"?

Clearly, this district is not well-managed, as the "black" children aren't getting any heat. My question is simple: are the "white" children getting heat?

Okay, I tried. Public school teacher in three districts, two states, and I don't know how many schools since 1992. I tried.

 

[TLK Valentine]

Okay, I tried. Public school teacher in three districts, two states, and I don't know how many schools since 1992. I tried.

And you failed. There is no shame in this; it's how we learn.

Let me try again, as simply as possible:

Do the schools in the predominantly white neighborhoods of Baltimore have working heating systems?

 

[bhsmte]

Children without heat is a legitimate problem and absolutely should be addressed. It isn't, however, freakin' racist. There's poor and/or mismanaged districts with white children who suffer the same situation. To start whinging about it being about racism is to distract from the very real issue and to ultimately get nothing done. It's incorrect, it's counterproductive and, quite frankly, it's just dumb. The author needs to learn to look past their own bigoted world view.

Didn't you know? With some, everything is racist.

 

[Trogdor the Burninator]

I remember in science classes when it got too cold (no heaters), the teacher would just have us light up the bunsen burners for the duration.

Amazing how many things you can set fire too when the teacher's back is turned.

/good times