I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. And quite honestly stressing. Very likely what led to my brief stay in the ER the other day. I am trying to stay calm and peaceful, I am. My brain flows between my family and their well being, a personal financial burden, financial burdens of Waukesha seniors, school shootings, racism, people's ignorance of their neighbors and lack of ability to see beyond themselves, loss. Someone asked me recently how I became this way---someone who speaks up, pursues justice and is okay standing alone. I let them know that I have no clue. I've been that way for a long time.
It's much sometimes.
What's been monopolizing a lot of my mind and heart lately is the new stance Waukesha South School District is planning to enforce this year. If a senior student owes any fees to the district, they will not be allowed to participate in their graduation ceremony. I guess one of the three high schools has already been doing this, but now all three will be doing so. Since a news interview a mom and I did for TV and a local grass roots newspaper ran an article, the district is doing a little dance through their PR person by saying 'oh, no, no...nobody has ever not crossed the stage'....but the bottom line is that I am aware of ACTUAL families, living and breathing humans who have not been told this isn't so. They've been told, and in written form in March 2018, that if they owe fees their senior will not cross the stage.
I don't understand it.
I'm not surprised by it. But I don't understand it.
And I understand even less, how so many folks do not think that this is an issue.
In fact, there's some folks that say this is a good lesson for the student to have to face the real world.
What the actual fuck.
I don't have the positivity to say that at some point we lost our way. I'm not convinced we ever had it.
This country and even this local community pretends to be for the people. Pretends like a 6 year old playing make believe. It's so real to them that at some point others might even begin to buy in.
I don't want to ramble anymore than I already have while try to spell out a cohesive argument with eloquent words...so I'm just going to assemble my thoughts in a list. Maybe you already agree with the idea that high school seniors should be allowed to participate in their graduation ceremonies regardless if their families are unable to pay all of their fees prior to the ceremony. Maybe you can't understand why so many of us would pool our resources together so that we can make a way for these same students to cross the stage. Either way, I hope this list might make you stop and think.
1. The first FREE tax payer public school began in 1639. By 1870, all northern states had tax funded public elementary schools. Read up on what happened to public schools during the depression. No Child Left (NCLB) was signed into law in 2002 but by 2012 more than half of the states were granted waivers because they were unable to successfully meet the requirements of NCLB as it was. Since then, from what I've read and experienced and seen...things have been a mess. This does not fall fully on the schools of course. Budget cuts and states refusal to value education tie the hands of the districts. Tax payers want lower taxes. And so that is often at the expense of the school. Ask any out of work teacher or current teacher who is using their own money to supply their classroom. How great is the divide in this country that there are some states that public education is free and other's where the fees are incredibly high.
2. We've made human issues into partisan issues. I understand that on a 'ideology level' there are partisan differences in how we might tackle education and the great divide that currently exists in our country. But. If we all stop for a moment and just think. With both our heart and head....how could anyone say that they didn't want a child to receive a quality education? How could anyone say that they didn't want their neighbor to achieve and grow and have? How could anyone say that a child should be financially responsible for their own primary and secondary education? (that's roughly K5-8th grade for those that aren't aware) I've read comments that the seniors at Waukesha high schools will learn a good lesson if they have to pay for their school. I can agree with that for college. I don't care how many ways you try to spin it---it is unacceptable in this country with the resources and money we have---to suggest that a 18 year old whose family might have financial struggles, should then become responsible for debt that occurred when they were a child.
3. This is not a race issue. This is an economic issue. Because there are struggling folks of all colors. When the news station or a news paper questions might this be an issue of discrimination the answer is yes. But not racial discrimination. I saw a comment on a social media site telling people to stop making it a race issue. Um. Nobody was. There is a lot of ways to discriminate. So that tells me that person didn't read the article and is assuming what it's about or that tells me that person might think the only folks that financially struggle are non white. So if we are saying it's discrimination we must be saying it's racially discriminatory. No.
4. There are all kinds of reasons that families might struggle to pay school fees. This does not make them freeloaders or 'bad' people. Having financial fluidity and freedom is not the only marker of character. If you have never struggled--then you might not be able to understand how it might happen that a student's fees might accumulate. But I can tell you first hand that they can. And sometimes you are in the position to make the payments so that you catch up. And sometimes you can't. It's easy to toss out judgement and interrogation. It's harder to give what you might have to give when you want to keep it for yourself. It's harder to see need and want to do something about it. It's harder to decide that even if it's not your responsibility--you are going to step in and step up and not just help, but handle. It is truly carrying someone else's burden. So all ya'll Jesus lovers should REALLY be all over that.
Somehow I feel better spelling it all out, clearing it out of my heart and head. Hopefully this will help me sleep a little better.
Tomorrow is a new day.
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