Teacher: I see the difference in educational privilege every day. I live it. I am disgusted by it.

The Washington Post's Answer Sheet Blog ^ | January 29, 2015 | Valerie Strauss

[2ndDivisionVet]

Here is a post by a Colorado teacher who vividly explains the difference in the lives of fortunate students and the less fortunate students whom she teaches. Her last post on this blog was a nuanced look into the psyche of some students of color who live in poverty, which you can read here. This public school teacher often blogs anonymously under the name Shakespeare’s Sister at Daily Kos. She teaches 11th grade AP Language and Composition in the Denver area.

Here is Shakespeare’s Sister newest post for this blog:

Recently, events in Ferguson and New York have reminded us there are still two very different Americas. What I wish more people were talking about is that there are two American educations: One for the affluent, and one for students living in poverty.

Many of the reports focus on numbers for free and reduced lunches, which is, some say, a “rough proxy for poverty,” but those labeling it in such a way have probably never set foot in a classroom.

Almost every day, I slip food to one of my students. Both of his parents are in prison. Or, one of his parents is in prison and the other is dead. We can’t quite get the full story from him. He lives with his older sister, whom he refers to as his mother because he doesn’t want to explain anything. Or he doesn’t live with her. He won’t say where he’s staying. We’ve attempted home visits but can never get anyone to answer the door....

[Zeppo]

My comments about the teacher have everything to do with the fact that she blogs at Daily Kos and nothing to do with the content of her post.

I agree that the failures of education in this country portend ill for our future.

[SaraJohnson]

It’s not about privilege, it’s about morality.

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And morality stems from the culture in which you are raised. “Don’t act white” is a big mistake the civil rights racists pounded into the black community. They badger black children who are mannerly, good at school and care about achieving.

So all this finger pointing and all the false solutions proposed won’t change a thing. The Black culture needs to change. If they want to perform like whites, they have to think and behave like whites. Better yet, Asians.