Whitney Houston once sang, “The children are our future, let them lead the way.” If this is so, then why does seem that Newark lacks the drive to make this happen?
Educational achievements in the inner city of Newark are low. Newark’s public schools have been under state control since 1995, but this has failed to transform Newark’s education system. Still, Newarkers are hoping for a change.
Jaray Harvey, a 30-year-old native Newarker who grew up in the Newark public school system, addresses her concerns for the future of Newark. She is a little skeptical about putting her 2-year-old son in public school. In a discussion in her office in the Office of Housing and Residence Life on the Rutgers University-Newark campus, she says she was “never impressed” by the school system. “I feel like some teachers gave up on most, if not all, students because of the frustrations with the problematic students. There were a few good teachers that made sure you learned, but most of them taught the minimum.”
Harvey worries about the lack of learning in Newark public schools: “Students are not taught how to be lifelong learners and apply the knowledge received to the world it will work in. The gangs really scare me as well. Also, even if your child is excelling in a Newark public school, when they get to college, they will struggle because of the lower level of expectations for Newark public school students.” She does believe that there are a few exceptions to the pattern, like herself, but there should be more.
Harvey would like to see mayor-elect Cory Booker make improvements by recruiting dedicated teachers who are willing to create relationships with the students and teach them. Harvey would also like to see a change in higher level administrators, focusing on classroom management techniques, so that the teachers don’t have to spend most of the class time getting students to focus or pay attention. In addition, she thinks there should be effective security and extracurricular activities for students, to bring a more positive school environment. She is also hoping for a much more diverse curriculum that includes the history of Newark and New Jersey, so that students have pride in their hometown and state.
Despite the fact that there will be a new mayor coming into office, he will have limited influence in the educational system because the schools are under state control. So what can be done in efforts to resolve the issues?
Under state control since 1995, Newark public schools have had some improvements, along with significant struggles. Students in the fourth grade are placing where they need to be yet have low achievements in the eighth grade. Perhaps this is because children make efforts or take pride in themselves only when they know they are receiving support, and I can say that from personal experience.
A Newarker whose family has lived here for four generations, Jerry Drinkard has seen the transformation of Newark. Drinkard, who is a part of the Future Leaders of Tomorrow, recalls when the present mayor, Sharpe James, came into office, “While he was in office, there have been many changes brought into Newark, but there is so much more that he could have been done by now also.”
As an activist and participant in community organizations, Drinkard feels that the schools should be more organized. Like Harvey, he would like to see quality teachers in the future of Newark schools. He hopes that the educational system finds ways to fight the illiteracy rate and keep the attention of the kids. He hopes that the new mayor works with the system to reevaluate the curriculum. Drinkard feels that “it’s not complete, it’s not adventurous, it is not preparing [students] for the world we are facing.” He also believes the reason the curriculum has not changed is because the people in the community have not put enough pressure on the Board of Education to make that change. The only change that has come out of the educational system is the placement of charter schools. Even with the emergence of charter schools, there are still issues of proficiency and the problem of schools becoming segregated.
There is no telling how the transformation of education will take place in the future of Newark. With limited power, the upcoming mayor can go only so far. The real fight for a better education has to come from the home. If the parents and guardians of these children cannot find the faults in their children’s education, then no one else is going to fight for them. Relationships must be made, and active participation for change must be displayed. The children are our future, and if they don’t have people supporting them and showing them that they care for their well-being, then why should they care?
Denise Pardo is a Rutgers-Newark student. Posted July 2006.
