Winter vacation is officially over? How do I know? My school was broken into over the holidays and a large amount of technology (TV/DVD players, etc.) was stolen. Those of you who know me may remember back in 2003 when my Oakland classroom was broken into for similar reasons. When taking a job in Berkeley this year, I assumed that I would be escaping much of the crime which plagues urban schools. Think again. The craziest part, though, is the similarity in the crimes. All schools have alarm systems which custodians are sure to remind you of if you're working there in the evening. My Oakland school was once burglarized at least half a dozen times within the span of only a few months. Each time, the alarm was supposedly set, but either it wasn't triggered when the burglers came or if it was the police didn't respond.
Speaking with my current principal in Berkeley on Friday, he reports the exact same scenario...he had no idea of whether the alarm simply didn't go off or whether it did and the police didn't respond. Apparently the police department didn't have this information either.
Huh? You can come up with all sorts of conspiracy theories for this. We certainly do. And yet, it happens again and again (and again) in urban schools. As my principal said as I was leaving on Friday, "The saddest part is that we just come to expect it." I wish we could leave the solving of crimes to the police, but in my experience, that hasn't been their priority when it comes to urban schools.
2 comments:
Probably the custodians setting things up nicely for their cousins and friends. Get some Rotweillers.
While that stuff helped you teach hundreds of kids to have a better life, maybe some goals, and is truly priceless to you, it will be worth pennies on the street.
Communities destroying themselves= deeply frustrating to me.
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