“What is best for the kids?” (by Thomas Marron)
“What is best for the kids,” he asked.
Instantly, our raucous faculty meeting fell quiet. The sound of silence was deafening.
It lingered for an uncomfortably long, embarrassing moment. No one could answer.
Not even our welding instructor who always had unsolicited, unequivocal commentary
on every topic. Our tech school faculty sat in complete silence. A moment earlier, we
had all been arguing selfishly over money for our individual programs.
“So, what is best for the kids,” our director asked once more.
Who is asking, “what is best for the 280 children at Hope Valley? For the 3,000
students in the District? Is anyone asking? Does anyone have an answer?
Of course! It’s all about the MONEY! Isn’t it? That is the focus of every meeting.
The “FREE” money. The “BONUS” money. The RIDE money. REIMBURSEMENT money.
MAINTENANCE money. BOND money. TAX money. YOUR money. Grandma’s money!
What if the parents shouted out to us, “OUR CHILDREN ARE NOT FOR SALE!”
What if they asked us, “What is best for our kids?”
What if parents insisted on an action plan to rescue the kids who cannot even read at
grade level? Cannot do math at grade level? For math, that’s seventy percent of all our
kids, isn’t it? And for reading, isn’t it fifty percent?
What if each of us took a moment, just a moment, to ask ourselves and each other,
“What is best for our kids?”
That is the bottom line, isn’t it?