Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Hapiness

As we approach our independence day, celebrating the freedom we have as a country it is sad to think there are places in our country where people are not really free.  To not be able to walk on the sidewalk, but have to walk down the middle of the street to be safe (or at least be able to see danger) and all of the challenges the kids at Harper High face is not what we would define as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  The sad fact is that many students across our county live in unsafe situations or have had to endure unimaginable tragedy, death and violence on a daily basis.  Coming from rural Idaho we do not face the same struggles daily.  The most traumatic things our students have faced have been watching school shootings in the news ad we did have one student die this year.  This one incident impacted most all of the students in our school.  There was grieving and crying from the moment they walked in the door to school.  Even a month or two later I could still see the effects of the trauma my students experienced by losing another student in our school (not even our class or grade).  I had so many students who needed counseling, hugs and time to process their loss.  I cannot imagine being in a school where this kind of tragedy was a regular occurrence and students were accustomed to dealing with danger and gang violence incessantly. 

My husband and I listed to the podcast on the way to and from McCall and he asked me why the turnaround money was ending.  That is the question of the hour.  Why are states cutting money for education when clearly the alternative is spending more money on incarceration?  Lapwai is in school improvement and there are so many requirements to meet in order to comply with the turnaround plan, but it seems these are expected with no additional resources. 

The University of Chicago, one of the most prestigious universities in our country is located in the mist of all of the gangs, but it has a very safe campus.  This is due to a security army and they actually pay the gangs to keep their students safe.  As the policeman described how every child is in a gang just based on where they live, I wondered how a school in this area can keep its students safe.  They really must spend a lot of money ensuring the safety of their students at the University of Chicago.   I wonder what will happen to Harper when the turnaround money ends?

Harper High had some amazing counselors and staff who were truly devoted to making school a safe place and helping their students cope with the losses they’ve experienced and ongoing struggle to survive.   I am hopeful that our commitment to my students and giving them a quality education will help them rise above any struggles they face.  This podcast was shocking, but inspirational and my take away is WOW!  This is crazy, but if they can do it I have no excuses!