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 Savage - My parents lost trip to East St. Louis 
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Joined: Thu Jan 16, 2003 12:35 pm
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Location: Maiden Elementary
In 1997, my parents took a trip out west. They traveled where they wanted, when they wanted. As they were visiting St. Louis, they got "lost" in East St. Louis, during the day. They had an uneasy feeling because they could not find their way back into the main part of St. Louis. Eventually they found their way back and spent the night. The next morning my parents heard on the news that five "5" people had been murdered in East St. Louis during the night. My mother reminded me about this part of her trip as I was talking to her about the school conditions in East St. Louis. Of course, she did not see all of the bad conditions mentioned in the book, but it was obvious to her that East St. Louis was not nearly as wealthy as St. Louis. Cindy :roll:


Last edited by Cindy on Sat Jan 25, 2003 4:56 pm, edited 2 times in total.



Sun Jan 19, 2003 8:33 pm
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When I read the part in the book about taxis not going into the city after certain hours I thought of a movie I saw years ago. I can't remember the name of it, but it was about a mother and daughter who get off the interstate for gas in some city and can't find their way back on. It is a pretty brutal movie because they must fight for their lives and when I watched it I found it hard to believe that something so awful could really happen. After reading the book and your message I am beginning to think the movie wasn't so far fetched after all.


Mon Jan 20, 2003 9:02 am
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Cindy, I'm glad your parents made it out. After reading the book, I wish all the children in East St. Louis could make it out. Those that want to try to do better for their children don't have a chance. I was really disgusted by what these children have to live through everyday, not just at home, but at school as well; the one place we tell children they are safe and can be taken care of.
Kim :(


Mon Jan 20, 2003 3:51 pm
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:?: i wonder what happened to the people who wrote these books. what is lisa delpit doing now? where is she teaching? did she follow up on her work? did kozol get a grant or start a rescue project? was there a rumble when these books hit the academic community? the info is not new and is sadly, repeated again and again in many schools across america but what is being done?
when i first came to burke county i taught in a school where the sky was easily viewed thru the holes in the roof or walls. the building had asbestos everything. the stairs were so old the brick was worn in a curve in the middle where thousands of listless feet had trudged. the wooden floors were in some strange stage of half rot. we had very little furniture and not enough books. i was shocked. the piece d'resistance was the year i taught in a burned out trailer. there was no underpining and all the walls had been ripped out. conduit pipe was on the ceiling carrying the "new" wiring. they put in a plywood floor which they threw some indoor/outdoor carpeting on. we had two temperatures... .too hot and too cold.
one of my math lessons was an estimation of the time it would take for the roof to cave in before a leak broke the sheet rock tape on the ceiling.
(our estimates were pretty close).

when the wind blew, the door went with it, trying to break free from its squeaky old hinges. one tiny little girl opened the door on a windy day and was lifted literally off the ground, hanging on by the door knob. one of my more humorous students suggested we write about the day candice blew to alabama. we did and it was a wonderful story.

the final drama came on testing week. (love those eog tests). a wild dog made its home under the trailer and had a litter of, naturally, untouchable ferral pups. i informed the principal. nothing happened. the mother dog got very protective about the pups and started growling anytime we entered the trailer. parents complained that i was keeping dogs. yep. intentionally i was harboring wild dogs under my trailer. gosh darn crazy woman from the big city.

finally the principal, on the day of testing where complete quiet is required, called the animal control people. they showed up just as i was passing out the pencils. about the time we started part one we could hear 'bodacious swearin' on the part of the officers and ferocious growling on the part of the mother dog.

the children were horrified. then a huge fight, the sounds of more swearing, growling, barking, biting and finally a gunshot. yep. one little girl whimpered" they are hurting our puppies. i can't work." enough is enough. i marched outside to confront the aggressors.

things have changed.i have solid walls, furntiture, heating and cooling, books, computers, and a tv vcr( which i bought with the pennies and nickels my children saved for a year). i feel like i now live in the land of plenty but what about these other places? what happened?

does anyone have a contact address for these two authors? writing the books was an excellent way to reach many people but WHAT NOW?


Tue Jan 21, 2003 11:36 am
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Airlie, I also have taught in other school districts and was very surprised when I moved to Iredell County. The condition of part of our school is deplorable. The cafeteria is an embarrassment. The new part of the school has a sidewalk section that floods and comes into the building whenever we get a heavy rain. Aren't the builders resposible and accountable. Maybe we are too passive. My husband tells me all the time to "say no", walk out of dumb meetings, etc. Wouldn't it save money in the long run to take care of our schools and not let them get to the shape that you were describing?


Tue Jan 21, 2003 9:15 pm
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part of the problem with our schools deteriorating is very political. the county commissioners are responsiblie for making up the "difference" in state funding. my county pays a very minimal sum per student and an extrememly low "bonus". charlotte mecklenberg teachers get something along the line of 8% of their pay for their bonus. we get about 800$ before taxes. our county recently voted down a 3rd high school because we don't want to pay taxes for a new one. we don't mind there being 2000 to 3000 kids per high school but we do mind spending money.

to answer your question should we take a stance? yes. we nuture, doctor, counsel, advise, advocate, teach morals, arbitrate fights, fix zippers and broken book bags handles, check for head lice and scarlet fever why not go the rest of the way and advocate for decent buildings, adequate funding for materials, more school nurses, counselors and social workers. yes we should speak up. to whom and when we speak is the issue.

i am reminded of friends of mine seeking funding 20 years ago for autistic children's programs. after begging at their local school system and county one bright soul hit upon the ultimate plan. they got themselves invited to a breakfast of senators and legislators in raleigh. they seated the autistic children between every other legislator and senator. the breakfast began and right after the invocation one man stood up and said. "i have no idea what autism is nor what needs to be done for these kids, but it is by GOd clear to me, they need help and they need it now. let's fund them." and the TEEACH program was born.

the senators were uncomfortable for 5 mintues with children who rock and sway, hum and flip their straw papers 100 times a minute. the key question is who can we make uncomfortable?


Wed Jan 22, 2003 9:33 am
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