After 5 years of teaching in an inner-city, Title 1 school, I decided it was time for a change. Fortunately, I've had a lot of success, and I've won several awards, so I had some real choice in schools, so I looked far and wide to see what might appeal most to me. I would like to share with you what I saw:
Inner-City
I visited three inner-city schools, all of which were really interested in me because I've had success in Title 1. All three offered the same things: 1.) High Tech -- All the schools sent home iPads, Laptops, and had the latest and greatest tech to use in the classroom. 2.) The downside was that the schools were dirty and torn down, morale amongst teachers was generally low, and 3.) Many of the students I met were just not interested in learning. This was not typical of all students and inner-city schools I've been to through the years, but the environments are so suffocating sometimes that one feels as if there is a Principal constantly looking over your shoulder while the kids are always trying to find a way to "get you."
Private
I spent quite a bit of time talking with the Principal of a local private school while touring the place. The school had corporate sponsorship, but also charged a great deal for students to attend. 1.) Beyond High Tech -- This school had the latest and greatest, and if it didn't have something, it could get it for you. Every student worked through iPads and laptops at nearly all times. In fact, I didn't recall seeing any teachers teaching, everyone was working through technology. 2.) School was brand new and spotless. Big, wide classrooms that only had about 10-15 students at most. Students were allowed to sit where they wanted in nice, big rocking chairs, had plug-ins at their desks for their electronics, and were encouraged to take time each day (about an hour or so) to work on their own or just breathe and not worry about school work. THIS is the way all schools should be. These students and teachers didn't have to worry about standardized testing, so they took their time and studied what they wanted and built all kinds of projects. Very light, calm atmosphere.
Rural
I went to two rural schools, and both were almost exactly the same: 1.) Almost no technology. The computer in the classroom I first visited was still on Windows 2003. No tech goes home, and no new textbooks since 2003 (County will not raise taxes to cover teacher pay, much less stuff for the classroom). Copiers were extraordinarily slow, and because we have no budget for books, teachers had to copy and print out books for students to use to annotate text. 3.) Students were full of joy, and happy to see each other, but they were not at all pushed to excel. Whereas the Inner-city students are pushed and pushed and the Private Schools aren't pushed, but expected to do big things, these students had neither high expectations nor were they driven to succeed. I was actually told that the culture of this school was to give Honors students A's and B's, and that if they get C's, this could hurt them from being in clubs, so you don't want to be that teacher that keeps them from that.
So....an interesting look at the schools of America. I offer no judgements, just a look into what I've seen.