School Districts: Why 3 miles makes a difference

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Glass’s podcast was definitely of better quality than the home-made podcast in a number of ways. The sound quality was much better, and Glass spoke slowly and clearly. I never felt left behind, and was able to follow everything that he was saying. There also wasn’t much education policy jargon, so I wasn’t left trying to guess what he was saying. In addition, there was background music during the transition between speakers, and even while they were speaking, which made it seem very put together and professional.

Although I did find the home-made podcast compelling, Glass’s podcast also had compelling components that were distinct. For example, Glass used a firsthand account from a student and the effect that the different public schools had on her. It was only a 4 minute section, but it was very informative as to differing level of resources given to public schools in different districts. In addition, having an account from a student provided an emotional appeal that seemed to be less present in the home-made podcast.

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By switching from a poorly funded inner-city school to a well-funded suburban school and back, Jada was given a unique perspective on the huge difference between districts. She observed the different resources that students were able to take advantage of, and she experienced the different levels of discipline and treatment of the kids. She also saw differences in the teachers, and how the kids responded to the teachers.

For example, the teachers at Copley-Fairlawn were more serious, while the teachers at Akron found it difficult to get through a lesson, because the kids weren’t paying attention. In addition, it seemed as though the teachers at Copley-Fairlawn were given more freedom, and definitely had more resources, to choose different ways to educate their kids. They were able to go outside to the greenhouse or go to the computer lab, while the teachers at Akron taught straight out of the book. Copley also has a large library, which Jada emphasized had new books.

From Jada’s account of the two schools, it is not surprising that Akron met only 5 of the state’s 24 educational goals. What seems to be a part of the issue is that the school has much less funding, and it is very possible that teachers don’t have as much support or flexibility at Akron. Providing teachers with information and instruction that encourages creative education methods might help give the teachers some ideas on how to reach their kids. Also, flexibility in the instruction method could allow for outside activities, which would help some of the more unruly kids expend some energy, as well as make concepts more physical instead of purely theoretical (like what one would get from a book).

As for the bullying issues that Jada experienced, I doubt that Copley didn’t have any bullying issues, but they could have been either dealt with expediently or been less obvious. In addition, because Copley is in a much richer district, Jada’s accent or grammar probably wasn’t seen as extremely unusual. Going into a poorer district, where parents tend to speak standard English more poorly to their children, the kids at Akron probably thought that Jada’s accent and grammar were “uppity.” One way to help solve this issue might be to invest in early or summer reading and writing programs, which tend to help kids with grammar and vocabulary, so kids like Jada wouldn’t be singled out for how well they speak.