[A quick programming note: In case you’re interested and missed it because of the storms—and we all pretty much did—here’s my appearance on Jaki’s Buzz with the totally awesome Grimm Generation, which you can listen to.]
As a few of you already know, my wife and I are in an unusual position when it comes to the education of our two sons in that they are currently in separate public school systems. One is enrolled in Shelton while the other goes to an arts magnet school in New Haven. And while both school districts are clearly—and rightly—focused on education first, the way they approach it is quite different.
[Disclaimer: To all my friends and family out there who work in education, please don’t take what you’re about to read personally. I’m just making some observations from what I’ve seen personally, so continue to be aggravated with me for other reasons, of which we all know there are plenty.]
Obviously, any big city school system is going to have some fundamental differences from a suburban one, especially in terms of logistics, resources and the caliber of students. It’s not fair, but that’s just the way it is currently. What I have been intrigued by is the attitude.
You may have heard about this already, but recently Connecticut sustained a bit of damage as a result of Hurricane Sandy, which for some reason is now “a SUPERSTORM”—I assume that’s derived from the insatiable media need to make whatever is happening NOW sound like IT’S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN FOREVER TO HAPPEN!!!
[For the record, although this storm would turn out to be historically destructive, it was a bit oversold: Before Sandy hit, Gov. Malloy here in Connecticut dove headfirst deep into the hype and proclaimed: “Think of the worst occurrence you’ve ever seen in your area, and assume it’s going to be worse than that.” The hurricane that struck the state in 1938 packed winds in excess of 150 mph and killed more than 600 people! This one, unless it was going to have fire, brimstone and sharks with frickin’ lasers on their heads, was not going to be anything remotely reaching that. Please, we get that it will be bad, but try to keep the historically excessive descriptions under control. You’re supposed to be calm and in control in a situation like this, not inciting panic.]
Anyway, many towns and cities lost power, which not only affected individual homes but public buildings such as schools.
In Shelton, the board of education kept all the students in the city home the entire week of the storm, partially because of the damage to the town, but mainly because one of its schools did not have power.
In New Haven, schools re-opened Thursday and stayed open Friday, even though my son’s school didn’t have power either day. What they did have, however, was a plan—when the kids arrived, they were bussed to different schools around the city for the day, then brought back at the end of the day for dismissal. Yes, it was chaotic, but it was organized chaos. When I arrived to pick my son up, the school principal was calmly directing (with a bullhorn and walkie talkies to his assistant principals) the numerous buses dropping off and picking up kids, and marshaling his students to where they needed to be.
I find it especially interesting because you can’t tell me that the city schools have more resources available to them than the suburban schools. They just have a better attitude, as far as I’m concerned.
Another example:
Last year, I went to “Back to School” nights for both schools. In Shelton, I sat there quietly with all the other mute parents and listened to the principal read her Powerpoint presentation to us from the big screen in front of us, neatly outlining all her and the school district’s goals for the upcoming year.
In New Haven, the principal stood up at the lectern, and proceeded to passionately tell the parents exactly what he expected from the students in terms of dress and behavior. He left no question to how serious he was about sending children home who were not attired properly and ready to learn. The parents, for their part, were enthusiastic—in fact, it reminded me a bit of a revival, with parents around me muttering, “That’s right!” and “Absolutely.” I almost expected him to end the presentation with, “Can I get an amen?!”
I’m an atheist, but even I would’ve stood up and cried, “Amen!”
And one more another example:
This past week was the big “Nor’easter” that surprised much of the area with an accumulation of snow. Although the forecast was wrong for Wednesday, much warmer temperatures were forecast for Thursday and Friday.
Shelton cancelled school on Thursday; New Haven had a two-hour delay. As most of you who live here know, the forecast was right and the roads everywhere were clear by 10 am, at the latest.
Now I’m sure there are argument that will be made for Shelton about having hills, and that making for potentially treacherous driving, but I can personally attest that the majority of roads in New Haven weren’t even plowed, hills or not. So sorry, that’s a wash.
So why the difference?
I know it’s only anecdotal evidence, but I’m an ignorant blogger and I’ll dare to say it: The city teachers, administrations and students are tougher than the precious snowflakes that populate the school boards and classrooms of the suburbs.
Now, I’m not talking about quality of or commitment to education here—I think it’s been historically proven that the suburbs can dedicate more and better resources to education, and usually end up with higher test scores as a result. I’m just saying that I appreciate the mental fortitude of the New Haven Public School system. Maybe it’s a result of necessity, as I’m sure the teachers in the inner city have had to deal with things teachers in the more peaceful and less turbulent suburbs have never had to contend with. Or maybe it’s just part of the natural toughness that comes with scraping by in a city as opposed to living peacefully out in the country.
Part of me also wonders if the parents are responsible—I’ve been witness to plenty of suburban parents overreacting to the slightest change in school policy. Heck, I saw the locals here in Shelton get bent out of shape over the possibility of adding a community garden (you know, because nothing spells t-r-o-u-b-l-e like dirt-lovin’ gardeners), so I can only imagine the challenges from parents that local educators face on any given day.
Ultimately, it’d be great if we could meld the two mindsets together, taking that discipline and toughness and support it with the financial resources. Then again, I might have a better chance of getting into clown college than having various school districts—and the parents involved—agree about anything.