School Resources - Nine Paragraphs

Clark 1

Brenda Clark

Professor Monique Williams

English 1A

Section:  014

03 October 2013

 

Poorly Funded Public Schools – Nine Paragraphs Regarding School Resources

            Materials are not as important as having a competent individual who is passionate about teaching in the classroom, to provide a quality education to students.  Certain materials such as pens or pencils and paper are necessary to provide students with the ability to take notes on the material that is taught by the teacher, although students can do without other materials such as crayons, backpacks, or pencil boxes, while materials such as books, rulers, etc. can be shared if there is not a sufficient supply for each student. In my experience, modern elementary school teachers typically request that students provide many of their own supplies including crayons, markers and colored pencils.  Realistically, these three items are not all necessary.  Only one of these items is necessary, in order to add color to a project or assignment. As a parent of an elementary school student myself, I would much rather know that my child is being taught by a competent teacher who is passionate about teaching than not know much about the teachers’ qualifications although know that my child is sitting at a desk that is full of unnecessary supplies. With the economic crisis that exists in this generation, most parents would rather pay their bills and if possible have a little bit of money left over as a cushion if necessary than invest their money in school supplies that may not even need to be used.

            Having proper materials for educational purposes is very important when teaching certain types of classes such as science, music, or physical education. Science classrooms such as those that teach chemistry require materials including bunsen burners, flasks, chemicals, etc.  Music classes that teach instrumental music require instruments, while physical education classes require equipment such as balls, exercise equipment, sports equipment, etc. in order to provide variety to students. If these classes do not have proper equipment, students will not receive proper education.  Schools will end up like Goudy, as described in Savage Inequalities “where there are no science labs, no music or art classes and no playground” (Kozol 80). These classes provide students with the opportunity to be creative and use their imagination, and often times are the only inspiration that students have to continue their education or to inspire them to look forward to attending school. They are the classes which require the most supplies; therefore everything possible should be done to assure that these classes have sufficient supplies available to them.

            Basic materials such as toilet paper, paper towels, Kleenex, soap, etc. are materials that really matter, although are not thought about as often, as they are not always used in the classroom but rather are used in other areas of the school campus. They are basic materials that we use on a daily basis at home and almost everywhere we go.  In my experience many schools have Kleenex listed on the suggested supply list requested from parents at the beginning of the school year. Typically in my experience with schools in the Bay Area toilet paper is not requested, although it was requested from me by an elementary school in Mexico. At the time I thought that it was a ridiculous request, although now that I have thought it through I realize that it is a necessity that cannot be eliminated. As described in Savage Inequalities, in schools like Goudy, “the two bathrooms, lacking toilet paper, fill the building with their stench” (Kozol 80). In this particular situation, lacking a basic supply such as toilet paper, contributes to an unhealthy environment which nobody, especially children, should be exposed to.  As a parent I will do everything that I can to be certain that my child is not without necessary supplies, as I was fortunate to grow up with the supplies that I needed, and thankful to still be able to  provide the basic necessities for myself and my family.

            Children feel embarrassed and experience hurt feelings when they do not have the materials that other children have. Children are innocent and should be treated equally. They should not feel inferior to any other child or be made fun of due to not having something simple such as a pencil, paper, backpack, etc. To prevent this from happening, schools should provide necessary materials to students rather than requesting that materials be provided by the students themselves, as some families are not financially able to do so. Children seem to find any reason to make fun of other children, whether because they do not have materials at all or if the materials that one has are better than what the other has. In this respect, I agree with schools that have a policy which requires students to wear uniforms, as this provides no opportunity for children to make fun of what other children are wearing. In terms of cost, uniforms do not necessarily cost more than any other clothing.  I have even seen them being sold at discount retailers such as Wal-Mart. Children are highly susceptible to emotional trauma and should not put in any position that allows for their self-esteem to be lowered.

            Children also feel hopeless when they do not have the materials needed to succeed in their education. They do not value their education and subsequently have a higher likelihood of dropping out of school. Some of the schools described in Savage Inequalities have high dropout rates due to a scarce amount of teachers and sometimes even no teacher at all in a classroom full of students. A teacher is the number one form of educational material. If this material is missing or lacking in quality, such as the quality of education that the teacher is able to provide to the students, students will not be educated appropriately or have the experiences that they need to open their minds and create goals for their future. We learn from our experiences, therefore if we are without necessary materials, we are learning to expect to be without the materials in the future, giving us no motivation to continue with our education.

The only positive value that children can learn from not having enough materials is appreciation. They can learn to appreciate the few materials that they do have, and/or look for ways to improvise and use other materials to substitute for the materials that are lacking. Many people are materialistic, and are in competition with each other to have something better than the other person, such as a job, car, house, etc. As a young adult, I lived in poverty temporarily while resolving a family issue in Mexico. I noticed that there is a drastic difference between the citizens of the United States of America and those of Mexico. While living in Mexico I had to survive with the bare minimum amount of material. There are not as many jobs available in Mexico and the lifestyle is such that most women do not work outside of their homes. Now that I have returned to California where I was born and raised, I live with a minimum amount of material by choice. I have learned to appreciate my second hand clothing, furniture, etc., as these were things that I had very few of while in Mexico. Being without materialistic items has taught me that many of the amenities and other things that I grew up with are not necessary. For example, I  grew up with cable television, although have learned to live without it, and even view it as a negative influence at times because I have found other means of entertainment that are more valuable to me, such as spending time with my family.

When children have the school resources that they need they feel confident. They do not have to worry about going to school and being without materials that they need to be properly educated and complete their assignments. Having the resources needed at school also makes school feel like a better place than home for some children who do not have sufficient resources available to them at home. With enough resources, children will have a higher likelihood of excelling in their education, which will then result in their desire and determination to continue with their education and create educational and career goals for themselves. I am dedicated to my education and have earned good grades in school throughout my educational experience, which has inspired me to continue with my education and return to college. At times attending school is a challenge because I have an extremely demanding lifestyle as many other students do, although I am thankful that I have had the necessary resources and materials available to me to be able to look beyond the difficult times and look forward to my future goals, without giving up on my education. I am confident that I will reach my goal eventually, as long as the school resources continue to be available to me and I continue to believe in myself.

Children are often careless with the materials when they are not in high demand. They do not have to worry about not having enough; therefore they tend to be wasteful. For example, if a child makes a mistake while beginning to write a paper, they throw the paper away rather than simply erasing the mistake, as they do not have the worry of running out of paper. Children do not learn to appreciate and be grateful for the materials that they do have if they have not ever been without. When I think of this ungratefulness, I think about a time when my daughter was in kindergarten. I was told by her teacher that she was breaking crayons in the classroom. The crayons were originally supplied by the teacher, although in order to teach my daughter a lesson, the teacher required that I supply replacement crayons to the classroom as a punishment for those that she had broken. My daughter was young at the time, only five years old, although was definitely impacted by this incident and learned to respect the classroom materials. Prior to the incident, the crayons were readily available and I can only imagine that because of that my daughter did not ever expect to be without therefore she had not yet learned to appreciate the classroom materials.

Some children feel superior to other children when they have materials that others do not. Their parents may be more financially stable than those of other children, but it is hard for children to comprehend this concept. They just wonder why they do not have as nice of a backpack as another child, or fancy pencils that another child has, for example. The children that have the nice supplies look down on the children that have only basic or no supplies, therefore making the other children feel inferior. It does no good for a child to have too many or fancy materials when only basic materials are needed, as this only causes an increased susceptibility for a materialistic personality as the child grows older. Children need to be taught to be thankful and appreciate the simple things in life.  It is acceptable for some people to have more than others, as this is the nature of society. People have varied educational levels, careers, financial obligations, etc., although if you are fortunate enough to be well off and successful, you should not portray yourself as superior or make others feel inferior towards you.