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.
