FENNELLY: All things are connected
There used to be a sign that spoke to visitors leaving the Ocmulgee National Monument. "All things are connected," the ancient wisdom read. I haven't seen the sign lately, but the wisdom lingers.
Several weeks ago former UGA President Charles Knapp — who heads up Gov. Nathan Deal's Education Reform Commission — seemed to be on the right track when he showed interest in providing a higher level of funding for school districts with a high level of poverty. We know all too well that 62 percent of our students fit the description.
In this we face a chick-and-egg situation. Educators know that much of student educational success has been pre-ordained even before children enter school. Those who have spent their early years without the advantages enjoyed by the well-off are far less likely to start off with the same level of success. As the Knapp commission points out, it will require a greater investment to catch up those students who are behind even the first day. There is a connection between economic well-being and academic achievement.
This year's United Way brochure reminds donors that research indicates that sixth-grade students who were born into poverty will have spent 6,000 fewer hours in out-of-school learning programs (summer and after school) than their middle class fellows, the equivalent of five classroom years. These students will very likely not have visited America's great cities with their museums and other attractions, nor will they have attended exciting summer camps dealing with such matters as art, computers, robotics and space.
Contrary to the tired old refrain that many legislators like to repeat, more money can help these students catch up, for successful learning requires stimulation both in and out of the classroom. While it will be years, if ever, before we see the fruits of the Knapp commission, there are commonsense steps that Macon-Bibb County can take immediately to ameliorate some of our problems.
As those who live in urban areas have seen, in many — perhaps most — cases, we don't have failing schools as much as we have failing neighborhoods. When we go past the public schools within what were the former city limits, we can't help but notice that most are surrounded by derelict houses, overgrown yards, trash piled on curbs and many houses empty, doors gaping open. I can show you, for example, places around Miller Middle School and Central High School that will curl even my hair. Although these schools offer an excellent education, their surroundings do not inspire confidence. Is it any wonder that many parents select schools in well-kept neighborhoods, often even in neighboring counties?
We talk about blight but fail to see the "connectedness" of this problem. We must give first priority to reducing the frightening properties surrounding our schools. You may not be able to open a liquor store close to a school, but there's nothing to prevent an abandoned property from standing wide open, inviting all manner of illegal, dangerous and unseemly behaviors.
The school system prides itself on the quality of its physical structures, but if the buildings are surrounded by derelict structures, many conscientious parents are going to be afraid, and those who can will avoid placing their children in those schools. That decision will lessen the quality of the student body, which undermines the image of the school, with the result that more parents leave the neighborhood, and on it goes.
It's true that many residents do not have school-age children, or they opt to send their children to one of the Christian schools established during the civil rights movement. Many of these folks who have no contact with public education feel they are not stakeholders in either the inner city neighborhoods or the schools that serve them. They are self-deceived.
Low educational achievements drive away potential employers. They result in a reduction in job choices and poverty, which in turn can lead to limited access to health care, not to mention addiction, mental health problems and a host of other quality of life issues.
I well recall John Donne's renowned "Meditation XVII." Donne, writing in England in the 17th century, suggests that when someone hears funeral bells tolling, there's no need to send a messenger to find out who died. Just as an entire continent is lessened when a portion is washed into the sea, he says, so it is that all of humanity is lessened when our brothers and sisters perish. "Send not to know for whom the bell tolls," he says, "it tolls for thee." Yes, we're all in this together.
Our elected officials have been debating how to spend the city's blight-reduction budget. I urge them to give first priority to reducing the frightening properties surrounding our schools and ratcheting up their enforcement of the housing code in those sensitive areas.
When people yearn to live near the schools, that will benefit the city, and that in turn will benefit the schools — and the schools hold the key to our dreams for the future.
Yes, all things are connected.
Larry Fennelly is arts columnist for The Telegraph. He can be reached at LarryFennelly@avantguild.com.
This story was originally published November 12, 2015 at 10:02 PM with the headline "FENNELLY: All things are connected ."