Imagine your child returning to their classroom, once it is safe again to do so. How does the room look? How does it feel? How does it sound?
Now imagine the child you love walking into a classroom with air conditioning that barely works. The failing air conditioning is not solely responsible for the extreme temperature of the classroom. Forty-two students and a teacher add their body heat to the hot, sticky air. The students have difficulty hearing the lesson because the teacher must run two fans to get some movement of the hot, humid air. The three classroom windows do not open.
It is now lunch time. There is only water to wash the students’ hands. No soap. During the walk to the cafeteria a student screams, the line goes silent, and you hear a “crunch.” A huge cockroach just scurried past. It was met by the sole of a third-grader’s shoe. Next week the creature interrupting the line will be a mouse. After lunch, there is no recess. The playground is too small for such a large class size. There are no swings. The slide is broken. There isn’t enough room for the children to run.
After lunch it is time for computer class. However, several students cannot participate in the computer lesson because there are not enough devices. They must watch their friends. If they have patience and behave well while sitting on the floor, they might get a chance to take a turn. There is a small library about the size of a classroom, but it is not staffed. Therefore, students may not check out any materials. After computer class, the teacher collects her students.
Because of the extreme heat in the building, all of the students are parched. The school has run out of water in the water coolers and won’t get another delivery for two days. Students must rely on water coolers. Water from the fountains is simply too dangerous to drink. Some students already suffer from lead poisoning, from the water in their homes. Had the teacher needed to call out sick, there might not have been a substitute available to teach her class. If that were the case, her 42 students would be divided among her colleagues, probably placed in different grade levels.
Four years ago, I was hired to teach in the Maryland school depicted above, in Baltimore City.
I was not a certified teacher when I was conditionally hired. I am now certified. How did I teach and get my certification? Many American, urban school systems struggle with staffing and with retention of staff, and therefore they are desperate. They hire well-intentioned, hardworking people who want to become teachers. These teachers practice teaching with actual students. Becoming a teacher while teaching, is no easy task. I’ve never worked so hard in my life. Teaching under extreme conditions while completing the required certification program is challenging. I’m proud of the work I’ve done, but my students deserved a teacher who was certified from the start.
This is where I taught in the great state of Maryland, the wealthiest state in the United States. That school is not unique. Schools just like that can be found in any major city across our country.
Many of these decrepit schools serve a majority of Black and Latinx students. You can wag your finger at government waste; you can shame politicians and their parties. But the plain and simple truth is that this has been happening for generations and their families have become accustomed to these conditions.
We all care deeply about our own children’s education. Shouldn’t we care deeply about the education of our children’s future fellow community members; the future voters who will help elect our children’s political leaders? Shouldn’t we care about the treatment of and quality of the education all of our fellow American receive?
Black lives matter, and so does the education of Black children. These children should have access to equitable education. It is all of our responsibility to advocate for that, whether or not we live in these districts. Keep this in mind while voting in November. You can make a difference. Will you?
Anne Stoner, a member of the Carroll County Democratic Central Committee, writes from Hampstead.
For any member of the community who would like to submit a guest community voices column for publication consideration, it should be approximately 700 words and sent to bob.blubaugh@carrollcountytimes.com.