5.2.5 Conclusion / Appendix


Remember that the big picture today is something that is called the forgotten half. The bias is that there are a large number of students that the schools are not serving very well. I hope that I have at least convinced you of why I have that bias even if you haven't accepted it. The biggest job is not providing people with the vocational skills to make money, it's providing them with the decision making skills with which to make a life. Remember we are talking about the poverty of decision making and the poverty of support systems that have more to do with the poverty of life than simple economic conditions.

Poverty is the poverty of aspiration, the poverty of purpose, the poverty of decision-making, the poverty of support systems. As teachers, we need to help kids see beyond the dollar sign, beyond the fancy clothes they want to get when they are thirteen, beyond the fancy car they want to get when they're sixteen, beyond all the material badges of society. What we need to give them are the tools to ensure them a successful life. I hope that you understand from this discussion how complex our job is. There is no simple answer.

No Parrot Question
Mr. Wilder is an honors biology teacher at a suburban high school in Virginia. Most of the kids in his class are well off financially and could afford to do any project that he would assign with no problems whatsoever. However, he teaches one male student named John in this class. The state board of education (SOLs) state that anyone enrolled in an honors-level science course must conduct a science fair experiment and present it in a certain way that involves purchasing a backboard, markers, and supplies for the experiment out-of-pocket for the students. John is a very capable student and signed up for the class despite his financial difficulty. He works constantly in order to help his parents with his younger siblings, and has no money left for himself. How can Mr. Wilder help John and other students like him in his future classes?