There was the problem with homework: The little boy attended a school in the city, and there was a shortage of textbooks and duplicating supplies.
So, every day the boy's teacher put homework assignments on the blackboard and it was the class' responsibility to copy the assignment.
When the little boy came home from school his parents would ask, "Did you copy your assignment down?"
And the boy would reply, "I forgot," or, "I didn't have time to get it all."
And the little boy's parents would scold him or cajole him -- all in an attempt to encourage him to work harder. The boy was miserable. So were his parents.
Then there was the issue of restlessness: The little boy's teacher complained that he had developed the habit of wandering about the classroom during lessons.
"Why can't you sit in your chair?" demanded the boy's parents.
"I don't know," he answered.
But when the parents visited the class, they discovered that there was a shortage of desks at the school and that the little boy had been assigned to a table that was far too tall for him to sit and work comfortably. The boy had to stand to work. From there it was a short step for him to forget himself and begin wandering around.
"You are absolutely right. I hadn't even thought of that," exclaimed the little boy's teacher. But it was several days before the teacher could locate a suitable desk for the little boy.
I could go on and on: The point to these stories is that the parents cared about education and the child worked hard. But an awful lot of their energy was spent compensating for the poverty of the city system -- its inability to afford the basics.
I know this because the little boy in question is my son. Three years ago he was a student at Roland Park Elementary School, one of the best-run schools in the city system. Yet, when we moved to Howard County we discovered that the disparity in resources between even the best city schools and suburban schools is profound.
That is why I applaud the city's decision to challenge Maryland's school funding system in state court. Baltimore and the American Civil Liberties Union are expected to file suit against the state this week, arguing that the inequity in school funding denies city children an "adequate or basic education" and is therefore unconstitutional.
The city can call me as a witness if it likes. I can testify from personal experience that the disparity touches every aspect of the educational experience; it cheats city children from A to Z. For instance, once my son attended a school with the resources to provide a disposable workbook to every child, we could devote our energies to helping him think creatively, rather than making sure he copied material from the blackboard. There were more class trips, a broader range of what teachers call "specials" -- art, music, physical education. Learning became fun.
The case may hinge on the legal definition of an "adequate" or "basic" education, and that could be tough terrain. What is adequate for somebody else's child often is totally unacceptable for one's own. But the persistent gap in test scores between city and suburbs shows that the funding disparity places city children at a disadvantage -- one they may never overcome.
It is a pattern of inequity that is repeated nationwide, despite decades of federal aid to impoverished school districts. Moreover, the disparity between urban and suburban school districts may resemble the system of separate and unequal education for blacks and whites that Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP successfully challenged before the Supreme Court in 1954.
I might add that the Maryland legislature has shown no interest in correcting the situation -- not even some delegates from urban areas who should know better. Several years ago, a study by the A.S. Abell Foundation demonstrated that every time the legislature tried to address the funding disparities, the gap between rich and poor jurisdictions actually widened.
The situation is so maddening that city parents would be justified if they took to the streets in non-violent protest. Filing suit, I suppose, is a more civilized form of anger.