to have and to have not.

No park today.
Today the sun is out but we can’t go to the park. We have to get homework and studying and stuff done. Next week is standardized tests for the oldest, so at least there won’t be homework. I hope that the sun is still out. Spring cleaning is in full effect. I’m on the verge of just getting a dumpster and clearing stuff out. My closet is going to take longer that I thought at first. I’m thinking about cleaning out all of the closets, but that is going to take time. I can’t believe that Easter is Sunday. I got the baby a cute yellow dress and I’ll probably get ties and slacks for the boys. Al likes ties and stuff, but his younger brother doesn’t like them at all. Must get that from his father.
Education: The Great Equalizer?
I guess that it is typical in a place like the United States, you would have stratified education, too. It really doesn’t seem fair, though, in a country where justice for all is a part of our woven fabric, or at least a pledge of allegiance to our woven fabric.
Yesterday, I saw something that was really sad. Two groups of kids changed schools. One group came from an affluent suburb and the other from the city of Chicago. It was a really sad thing to behold, because these young people (mostly black) got the message loud and clear that the children of the suburban school (mostly white) mean more to their community, and to the educational system of the state of Illinois than they do.
What also stunned me was the shock that the parents of the city kids appeared to have. I mean, they didn’t know that their kids schools were raggedy and totally lacking in curriculum? That surprised me the most. I’m the type of parent who, when we were shopping for our first home, was all like, “That’s a nice price, but what are the schools like? AP courses in high school? Student-teacher ratio?” I thought everybody was like that until I would ask and people would give me this blank stare, as if to say, I don’t know, and I don’t care.
I’m really concerned, cause if things aren’t taken care of on the education end, they will be taken care of on the incarceration end.