If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know that I have pulled my children out of the ridiculous school 1/2 block from our house and I am sending them to a public school a few miles down the road in The Metropolis.
The public school is a breath of fresh air. The teachers are kind and loving. The Principal is awesome. The small school has a "children are little people too" kind of feel to it. My kids are really enjoying it!
And if you have been reading my blog for a while, you also know that I live in Way Down In Mayberry. It has its pros and cons, but one thing you can't deny is that it is a "Fancy Smancy" neighborhood. Most of our states population could not afford to buy a home and live in Mayberry.
Many parents come up and talk to me asking about our little public school down the hill. They want other choices besides the Mayberry school because they have either A. heard nightmare stories about it or B. don't want to send their children to a gestapo. I always have great things to say about our public school and encourage them to make a visit and spend some time talking with the Principal. What amazes me.....what truly drops my jaw to the ground and leaves me absolutely speechless, is how many Mayberry residents actually tell me that "they really would consider the public school if the demographics of the school weren't so poor." In other words, they don't want their kids being friendly or hanging out around poor kids or possibly (gasp!), children of another color.
I'm not sure why people think that it's okay to say things like this out loud. In our lilly-white neighborhood full of doctors and lawyers and more CCR's than you could possibly count, I'm getting the impression that some people think that unless you have adopted a baby from China, there really is no need to have a lot of mixed races going on. What makes people think that because they have money that they can ignore diversity and look down upon people that have less than they do.
I literally feel sick to my stomach today.
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7 comments:
Sadly, we as a nation (world?) can see that racism (among other -isms) is still alive and breeding.
Interestingly, we have opted against moving to a fancy schmancy town outside of the city we live in for the very reason that I want my girls to experience more diversity (aka Real World).
How can our children learn to live in a world that grows smaller by the day if we create a bubble when they are small and most impressionable? What a shocking reality when those kids go off to college, get a job, or just live in the Real World.
Whew. Guess this is a sore spot with me too :)
My favorite reason for people not sending their kids to the regular public school at the bottom of the hill? Yeah, it's an old building. That's it. It's an old building, so they assume the schooling going on inside sucks.
As a resident of Way Down in Mayberry, I am becoming more and more disillusioned by our surroundings. Several years ago, it was a nice place to live where kids could walk to school, you knew all your neighbors and you felt privledged to live so close to many friends. However, and I am not alone in this, the feeling has changed and now I feel like I live in a snob neighborhood where I'm supposed to change everything about myself. Urghhhh.
And, for the record. My oldest child when to a school down the hill and is currently going to the jr. high down the hill. He loves it. He is a smart kid with lots of opportunities and a great bunch of friends - of all economic background and color. And I'm proud to say that he doesn't see a difference.
Jenn-if you and I lived in the same neighborhood, I KNOW we would definitely be coffee buddies!
Analyzer - An old building? I had no idea that you needed new bricks surrounding you to learn!
dannogal - Other people in Way Down In Mayberry read my blog besides Ms. Analyzer? I'm not sure which Way Down In Mayberry resident you are, but my hat is off to you for going against the grain!
I'm the one who wants the tat on the back of her neck as well and gave you the third degree at the post office! :)
Sigh, at least you have that option. We live in a town who is having a major hispanic explosion and the only city employee that speaks Spanish is/was my husband, although they called him daily to translate at some area or another, they didn't feel it was really a needed skill and so refused to pay him for the services... so he quite! LOL Ignoring the issue does not make it not be there but many seem to want to try this route!
My sister-in-law and I have this arguement all the time, she would love your neighborhood, her hubby works three frigging jobs so she can be a SAHM, they have almost lost their house because she quite the one job she had because her kids didn't like the day care (it was kind of ghetto you know)... sigh, sorry I started to vent on your blog. We are already saving up to send our daughter to a private school 30 minutes away that... gasp and whisper... has half "poor" children and half paying so that she one get's a good education and a little diversity. The school here is brand spanking new and can't seem to get it's kids to read a first grade level... but it is NEW!
I hear this a lot from my neighbors in Mayberry as well (yes a few of us read your blog). I don't have children so I carry no credibility with the size 2 mothering set. But I agree with dannogall that this neighborhood has a nasty way of getting under my size 10 skin. Ironically enough, if I had any children I would NOT have moved to Mayberry. I applaud those of you with children who search for something more than a bouncy castle. It gives me hope that I might actually find a friend or two out here.
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