An Oakland Public School Parent's Lessons Learned

[Note: We're pleased to feature our first parent voice on this space with this post by Sharon Higgins, whose Perimeter Primate is well worth the read. Stay tuned for more, and welcome aboard, Sharon. - Eds.]

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Lessons Learned at Public Schools in Oakland*

Ten years ago, when our older daughter finished elementary school, my husband and I deviated from our peers. At this point, most parents like us would head for private school, use a false address to get into a "better" public school, or uproot their homes and move out of Oakland. Instead, we decided to join a few other parents and "reclaim" our local middle school.

The demographics and culture of that Title 1-funded school were quite different from the more affluent elementary school we had known. The transition was an adjustment.

Today, our older daughter is in college and our younger daughter attends the local public high school. Staying with the public schools hasn't always been easy, but our daughters have thrived and we have learned a great deal.

For instance:

• Children from families with sufficient resources will do well at almost any school they attend. The kids with stable families and educated parents have an enormous advantage. Parents who "go private" could be saving their money; most of their children would do just fine in the public schools.
• Many well-intentioned parents praise diversity, but they also want to avoid it. They convince themselves that myths and rumors are true, and end up with a set of excuses which justify their avoidance of the public schools.
• Experiencing diversity has its pros and cons. We develop a deeper understanding of humanity when we are stretched to learn about, and tolerate, people outside our normal group. However, the stretching can definitely feel uncomfortable.
• It is completely unfair to call a school "good" or "bad" depending on its average test scores. Within every school, some students are more difficult to educate than others. There are large numbers of students at "bad" schools who have language, economic, social, emotional, and other barriers to learning. If we are going to expect schools to help children overcome those barriers, more resources will need to be provided.
• It is heartbreaking to witness the amount of social neglect of children in cities such as Oakland. A tremendous amount of human potential is being lost everyday. Unfortunately, most people are either oblivious or insensitive to the deep suffering of these children. The level of ignorance is extreme.
• That same ignorance causes some people to concoct unrealistic and simplistic "solutions" they believe will fix the problems. Their "solutions" which have become current reform notions and educational policies are simply ineffective, inadequate and destructive.
• Many people claim to care about the education of children, but very few will turn their words into actions. Unfortunately, this includes too many parents.
• Teachers practicing in urban public schools are especially worthy of support and understanding, rather than suspicion and criticism. Their practice is extremely challenging and complicated. Our family has learned that most of these teachers are highly skilled, dedicated and hardworking.
• Strong families who shun these public schools are contributing to the problems in those schools. The schools would immediately improve with an increased enrollment of stable children who have skilled parents with high standards.
• My school district needs to work harder on acknowledging and broadcasting the positive accomplishments of its students. Many students are succeeding, but the community is kept unaware.

As our family continues on this learning curve, our daughters are doing well. They have become hard working, successful, and savvy students. They are individuals who understand a dimension of our society which many other young people in this country never even get to see.

The public needs to stop condemning the public schools. To make them better, parents should just use the schools and join together to improve them one classroom at a time.

*This essay is an updated and slightly revised version of one which was originally published in the Oakland Tribune in March 2005.

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Sharon Higgins has been an active public school parent in Oakland, California, since 1993. For seven eye-opening years she was employed as a parent coordinator at her local - labeled by some as "failing" - public middle school. Today she spends time researching, reading, thinking and writing about certain school and social issues. She posts the product of those efforts on a blog called "The Perimeter Primate."

Oakland photo by satanslaundromat