 |
| Photo Credit: Tom Wang via Shutterstock.com |
Rebuilding the Village: What Our Schools, and Our Society, Need Now
By Sabrina Stevens, AlterNet
Posted on July 17, 2012
http://www.alternet.org/story/
"It takes a village to raise a child.” -- African proverb
As a teacher turned education advocate, I often wonder what America would be like if we actually took our responsibility to the future seriously; if we embraced the idea of being a “village” that collectively supports its children, and each other.
In that America, I see communities full of healthy children supported by secure families, because the adults in their lives are paid fair salaries and benefits for their contributions to the community, and work in humane circumstances that allow enough time off-the-clock to care for their kids and replenish themselves. Because they and their families breathe clean air, drink clean water, eat actual food, and live in safe surroundings, these kids usually develop as they’re supposed to, and don’t experience undue stress or pain. And when these children arrive at school (fully staffed, of course), they’re alert and ready to learn -- which means their teachers can focus exclusively on teaching and learning, using their knowledge and expertise to develop each student’s full potential.
Unfortunately, for most American communities, such a world is pure imagination. Instead, our reality is one of a physical