is not education. At least not in its current form. As luck would have it, I am instructing in a school that is serving students who were not being served elsewhere. The vast majority of my students are recent immigrants with overwhelmingly limited English-speaking abilities, teenage parents, and individuals who have been through the juvenile justice system after being expelled from “traditional” schools. Thus, the minimum goal of our program is for every student to earn their GED. For student who are over 18, this may be a reasonable alternative. One that may allow them to get their lives on track. Unfortunately, in the process of serving these students, one encounters many exceptional cases, for whom this expectation is not nearly sufficient.
One student, in particular, comes to mind because today we had a heart-to-heart. In the future, I will probably reflect on this conversation as the first one in which I was a legitimate male role model, and went out of my way to be such. This individual is a talented student, and I have known this since my demonstration lesson, when he did the majority of the participation. Gifted in science and mathematics, husky in stature, and with weathered eyes of an journeyman, I could never have guessed him to be fifteen. However, upon finding this out, I was determined to reach him, despite his outbursts of foul language, chronic pacing of the room, and occasional attendance under the influence of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol. Nevertheless, his attendance wasn’t that bad, he worked hard probably despite ADHD, or some other cognitive deficit, and he, like all of my students, is a good kid. At fifteen, he certainly had more than enough time to get enrolled in a traditional high school, finish on-time, and continue with his goal of becoming an mechanical engineer. To my chagrin, though, this student has decided to settle for his GED when he turns sixteen. I have almost no doubt that he could pass the GED now, but fortunately, the law prohibits individuals under the age of sixteen from taking the test. Moreover, he just informed me that his fourteen year old girlfriend is pregnant (the reason for the heart-to-heart).
During our trip to Starbucks during the last period, we discussed everything: his family, how he came to be at this school, where he was previously, problems he’s had, drugs he’s used, his P.O. (parole officer), how expensive Starbucks is, his internship at an auto shop, and finally, his girlfriend’s pregnancy. Although I have known about this pregnancy since he announced it in class a few days ago, I could not bring myself to have this conversation because all I wanted to say was, “GET A FUCKING ABORTION! WTF?!!!!” However, my peers counseled me against an outright counseling of abortion. Most of my friends actually told me not to speak with him at all. Fortunately, I had the blessing of two other teachers who have him in their classes, and being his only male instructor, I had to step up to the plate. Although the conversation was constructive, and allowed me to get to know him as the insightful individual that he is, I cannot say for certain whether I conveyed my point of view to the extent that he will run with his girlfriend to Planned Parenthood for an abortion, because an explicit endorsement like that probably would have been lost in generational and cultural translation. However, I feel that I may have at least convinced him to visit Planned Parenthood for help in managing the birth of his child. Maybe that will open other doors.
So, my school does not provide the equality that the educational system of the country alleges. In fact, it may even be creating a culture of failure and measured/lowered expectations that is unacceptable, but the necessary result of a pragmatic approach to the education of our students. On the other hand, we do have teachers that care sincerely about the welfare of these students, and while that is not enough to overcome situational factors that have brought them to our doors, it is a start. But the system, as it stands, is no social equalizer, for all of my students will never be lab partners with the next Arthur Holly Compton. They may never take a course from Cornel West. They may not be in a book club with Isabel Allende. That is the essence of equality and equity in access to education. But they could very easily share a restroom with any one of the aforementioned individuals, with only a stall wall in-between. Public amenities such as these are the great equalizers of society. Everyone has to poo. And it always smells like shit.
