$4.50

There's an array of differences between a high need school like the one I teach in, and a better-off school in the suburbs or the Upper West Side. But it's often the simple, minor details that bring the juxtaposition into focus. For example, the field trip the third grade has planned to the Bronx Botanical Gardens. The school's subsidizing the cost for the kids, so each only has to pay $4.50. Still, I cringed giving them only a week's notice to turn it in, knowing it may be impossible for some of them. We're all feeling acutely aware of the economy these days, but it's still hard to grasp the reality of a situation where $4.50 isn't readily available. It's a humbling reminder of the world my students inhabit outside of the community I've tried to create in my classroom.

Comments

jonathan said…
It's a good point.

But something else bothers me: why isn't the school footing the complete bill? This is a small trip, they are 3rd graders... Does your administration think it is making a point about responsibility?

I'd have an issue with that.

Jonathan
jd2718
I work in a district where we received $67 worth of supplies for the year--that's every piece of paper, pencil, overhead marker, whiteboard marker, kleenex, staple, paperclip, post-it that we would need for 180 kids for 180 days. $67. I think it's a Christmas Miracle that your kids get to go somewhere for $4.50. Jonathan may live in North Dakota--or Connecticut--things are different there.

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