poorly funded public schools

There are many outside influences that come into play on having a bad school. For example, in the book it explores how some schools in Chicago areas are surrounded by many influences such as drugs and adult entertainment. Another example would be even from my very own community. Tennyson high school, located in what some call ‘South Hayward.” Tennyson is heavily influenced by its outside community, and it reminded me of some schools in the book. Students know its community and see that no one really cares about school so they get sucked into the norm of selling drugs, being a gang member, or even becoming a prostitute which results in dropping out. Students see their community selling drugs and all, and think its ok to do so, so they drop out to earn quick money. They get so used to this lifestyle that they never want to achieve real education.

As I did research on Tennyson I came upon a website called “Greatschools.org.” I read some reviews and one really stood out to me. A student from its own school commented saying “…..Tennyson  is low in cash no offence but it’s mostly beacuae of the ethniticy that exists most around the area which is latinos.” This showed me many things. The students know they are affected by its community there because the school is near poor places, and that this student could barely spell. This brings me to my next point, and it is that bad communities can result in even worse schools. It was unfortunate to read this students post because I can only imagine what type of teaching goes on in that school.

The environment of the school also has a great impact on having a bad school or not. Imagine walking into a small school the roof almost falling apart, about 30 or more kids into a crowded class room, and in some cases the teacher doesn’t even know your name. I would not like to come back to that school if I was a student because the ambiance in the school is just so depressing and unappreciated. For example in the book, a school in East St. Louis was so packed that they had to hold classes in the cafeteria. There were probably 4-5 classes being held at the same time in there. At the same time the sewage system was messed up allowing raw sewage to get inside the school, because of this students did not want to attend school which resulted in drop outs.