Costa Rica Here We Come!

Welp it's been quite a long time, but we're back and have much to tell you. For the last couple of months I've been trying to raise funds for my students' study abroad trip to beautiful Costa Rica.

Please check out the website:

http://paulhscostaricatrip.weebly.com/

School Closings a Civil Rights Issue

I'm glad somebody said it....

It's Not Always the Right Choice to Close a Failing School

We Need to Talk About Injustice

Economic status determines a lot for our children especially with the public school to prison pipeline being a very prevalent problem here in America. On the video above, Bryan Stevenson has a frank discussion about injustice in America.

How does our justice system reflect the inequalities of the public education system?

How can a true investment in a child's education change the likelihood of them being found on the wrong side of justice?

While School Doors Close, Prison Cells Open

Four major cities are closing several schools next year: Philadelphia (23), New York City (23), The District of Columbia (15) and Chicago (54). I've often wondered what the ramifications might be for so many school closings aside from larger class sizes and already overwhelmed resources such as wrap around services (social workers, resource teachers, etc) being abused, and I found an article that outlined many more problems for districts in the future. Here, Education Week argues why closing so many schools only temporarily saves district budgets.  

Closing Schools and the Consequences: Ed Weekly

I also watched, "The House I Live In: Takes a Hard Look at the War on Drugs" yesterday on PBS and found that so much money goes into the war on drugs. With the privatization of the prison system, prisons in this country are looked at as more of an asset while our schools are considered liabilities. Convicting felons is a business that turns a profit. Hence why while the U.S. contains only 5% of the global population we have more 25% of the world's prisoners.  More money is invested in convicting non-violent offenders than educating our children. The lack of investment in education causes the overpopulation of our prisons. When are our priorities going to change?

The House I Live In Preview

It is important to put a proper workforce engaged in keeping our streets safe, but do you think there is a disproportionate amount of money and human captial invested in the war on drugs versus what is spent on schools? Why or why not?

In what ways can law enforcement work with and within schools to decrease the number of convicted felons in the future?

According to the documentary, the drug problem in America is only a symptom of larger problems related to social structure, public health, and economic issues. In your opinion, what are these problems and how can community organizations (schools, law enforcement, religious organizations, social workers, etc) ban together to find a resolution? 

180 Days: American High School

PBS follows one struggling District of Columbia school's journey to redemption. This is probably one of the more realistic depictions of what really goes on in urban schools across the nation. Here, you get to hear from the CHILDREN, teachers, parents, and community leaders who all come together to support the school. There aren't any assessment companies, sponsors, or politicos recording this to insert propaganda or political agendas. They instead delve into the lives of the people interact with the children the most. I've seen this story play out in so many places. Parents, teachers, and communities do in fact care for their youth...I'm just glad someone caught this on camera for a more accurate picture. 

180 Days: American High School Part 1

and

180 Days: American High School Part 2