Reflections of an Author
Submitted by Frank Murphy, October 15, 2012
I just made this comment in response to this post at thenotebook.org. It is well worth repeating here at CitySchoolStories.com.
I worked in high poverty schools for most of my professional career. It was a challenging yet rewarding way of life. I always had the good fortune during this time to find myself a member of fantastic school communities. The teachers I worked with were intelligent, dedicated and hard working individuals. The exceptions to this description were few and far between.
My respect for the many Philadelphia schoolteachers who daily demonstrate in the most positive manner what it means to be a true public servant is enormous. These fine people who struggle to do their best work in a resource-starved district deserve to be commended. Berating and blaming them in order to distract attention from our societies failure to combat the ill effects of poverty on too many of our children is reprehensible.