Personal Perspective

Recently, I have been discussing the sufferings of people in inner-city neighborhoods; the closing of factories, unemployment, accompanying poverty, crime and the like. I have tried to make the point that neighborhood public schools need to be helped not shuttered.

Let's try to put ourselves in the position of a parent of school-age children. Imagine that you are a parent who has witnessed the exodus of jobs and who has felt the effects of home values plummeting. Try to put yourself in a position where you see homes boarded up and you look out the window each day, worried about the safety of your children.

You live in an area of L.A., Chicago, NYC or Washington where the perception of your community is negative, whether true or not, for all sorts of reasons.

These are but a few of the issues a parent has to cope with on a daily basis.

Now you get the news that, in addition to all of the above problems, the city government wants to close your neighborhood school. Can you see that a parent looks at this as one more slap in the face, one more opportunity lost, one less viable asset in the community, and one less chance to make it in 'the land of opportunity?' I can!

Reasonable people can agree that there are different ways to improve and assist schools but I can't believe that all those same folks can't also agree that losing aneighborhood public school just adds to the misery of those who suffer the most.

Just put yourself in their place and I think you'll see what I mean.

Thanks,
Dick