on being a school kid

for the last month or so i've been volunteering at a berkeley public school as a classroom helper. i'm considering becoming a school teacher (come on, you get summers off!), but really i was curious to know what it was like in public schools. as a kid, i lucked out--i was able to attend private schools k-12, though i'm not sure how my parents finagled it.

some of what i'm seeing is inspiring. there are conscientious teachers, there are smart, earnest students, there is a city that really cares about their kids. unlike other school districts, berkeley unified is funded, except for the admin section (and don't quote me on this without doing your own research), on local city props, not state money. berkeley is the home of the edible schoolyard, thanks to alice waters, and has one of the highest number of volunteers out of the state school system.

but, of course, there's the days when the teacher is frustrated, because year after year it feels like trying to elevate cement. i was taken aback my first day in class at how he spoke to some of the students, disrespectfully. since then i've seen his good side, where he really strives to help these kids, and i understand some of his frustration, because some kids you could bonk on the head and they won't get it, and they won't even try. they've checked out, at least for now. he says sometimes he's seen remarkable turnarounds, when the kids come back to visit years later.

the biggest struggle for public schools seems to be huge disparity in kids' abilities. some kids can already read and write decently for their grade level. others probably shouldn't have graduated 2nd grade. it's heart breaking, and i see what the teachers have to do: do their best, and hope it's enough. to a certain extent, society is cutting their losses on the bottom-of-the-barrel kids. it hurts, but it's the reality. public school is their last stop.

i know oakland has it much, much rougher, and if i were really brave, i'd go volunteer there. i knew a woman who taught in oakland for two years before she felt her spirit was broken. she's an incredible activist, someone who tries so hard to work for her ideals, but she said it was too depressing. oakland, apparently, has very strict rules on what you teach and when. according to her, every oakland school must be on the same page of the same curriculum on the same day (again, don't quote me on this!). berkeley, at least, doesn't seem to matter how you teach, as long as you get the required material across.