Chicagoland

CNN just came out with a documentary entitled Chicagoland a week or so ago.  It's a eight part documentary series on the Chicago Public School closings in 2013.  After watching the pilot I was just blown away by how truthful the entire thing was.  The feelings of the students, parents, and teachers was all true.  The problems with having students walk from one neighborhood to the other, crossing gang lines, and everything else that came along with this intense school closure is so true.  As an outsider, I didn't really think much of it when it was happening.  I mean I understood that closing down 50 schools was definitely going to cause a dilemma for everyone involved, but I understand it a whole lot better now because I can relate to it.  I'm currently teaching students whose school closed down last year due to this change.  I 'm currently teaching students who cross through those same gang lines everyday to come to school.  At the beginning of the school year our students were provided a bus that would pick up the students from the old building to bring them to the new building.  We are now down to one bus.  Next year (if there is a next year) they are saying that this bus service will no longer be available due to monetary issues.  This is just my school, I wonder if this is currently happening with the other schools that were closed down.  What about those students who moved to welcoming schools?  Are they getting this bus service?  What is going on with those students? 

I had a student ask me for a ride home after school.  I asked him why.  He said he was scared to walk home because there were some crazy people out there that he didn't want to deal with.  At first I thought he was joking around.  For a minute I forgot where I was teaching and I told him to stop making things up.  He looked back at me and I realized he was being dead serious.  

There's a problem.  When will we realize? 

Chicagoland Link

-Ms. P