September is kind of bipolar. On one side, school is back in session and the party is over for children. On the other, the party is on for parents! And on one side, it is tough to see your children grow-up from sweet little bundles and it all feels like it is going by so fast, but on the other side it is just as tough not to ship the little body-snatched door slamming monsters off to boarding school or lock them up in the basement! Thank god for school!
As a student my experiences in school were traumatic. I begged my parents to enroll in home school. They weren’t having it. It wasn’t until college that I felt I had control over my education and safety at school.
Now as a parent I don’t blame my parents for not enrolling me in home school. I’d probably say “no” to my kids if they asked. But that is because they go to an amazing charter school that was founded by a lesbian couple, so they’ll never have the experiences I had as an effeminate chubby kid in public school. It also helps that most of us parents are extremely involved at the school.
The climate in many schools is improving or it’s getting worse, depending on who you ask. This month in our Spotlight profile, Former PCC VP never shies away from a fight for education or equality, you’ll meet educator, innovator, scientist and overall tough cookie, Jackie Jacobs. Her work and experiences as a black female educator are inspiring and scary; from running for a position on the school board in newly desegregated Alabama and marching with Martin Luther King to working as the only woman on a research team at JPL and being named Woman of the Year by then senator, Jack Scott. Through it all, her work has been to break down barriers and give people of all races and backgrounds the opportunity to get an education. And she has no intentions of stopping.
California has seen some tough times in public schools and the state is planning a make-over based on the findings of a report called, Greatness by Design. Our report, State task force designs an education overhaul, takes a look at the what experts think might rescue the state’s and perhaps the country’s educational system.
And later this month we’ll find out from children and teenagers what school is like for them today. And, we’ll try to have them help us understand why 80’s fashion has flashed back to us. Thanks a lot H&M! We had all hoped we’d never see anyone make the same fashion mistakes we made back then. Thank god it’s only the fashion and not the mentality that is back!
And of course, you know we like to tell you what to do, so take a look at our September Events Calendar to find out what all the Rad and Kool kids will be doing when they aren’t in school or at work.
F. E. Cornejo
Editor-in-chief
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