In an interview that lasted a little over an hour I had the privilege of seeing the uncensored side of a teacher I had two years in high school.
For around twelve years now Jason Kurek has been teaching English at Laurel Highlands High School, a public school in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. Within the hour, we were able to address many issues that plague our public education, future dangers we may face, what he is doing to help and what other teachers, parents, and students can do to help.
We very easily concluded that not only do socioeconomics influence students’ lives in education, but their future in general as well. The future of America is in our youth and we are failing at encouraging, educating, and giving them equal opportunities so they CAN achieve whatever they desire and hopefully improve the state of the country.
Kurek grew up in a household where education was emphasized. He and his brother were rarely allowed to miss school, and not allowed to do anything until their homework was done. He has a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a minor in business and going back to school is not out of the picture.
After many years of teaching Honors English, he now teaches Academic English and Remedial English so patience was one of the first things he stressed when explaining his processes in teaching both. Clearly passionate about the subject pertaining to his students, Kurek expressed that the capitalist ideal “if you want better you should just work harder” is totally unfair. “I think socioeconomics is directly related to opportunities, so when you tell the kids that don’t have these resources presented to them (usually lower class) that they should just work harder, they can’t even comprehend what that means.”
After the interview, I ended up taking away knowledge that I hadn’t possessed prior- the problems that were previously in the school system are still very much present, and they are increasing and spreading at a rapid rate. Because they are intertwined with other things in school systems such as bullying and success rates with grades, the consequences are all around us and are worsening with the issues themselves.
Whether this speaks to one person or one hundred, education is the most essential element in success in America and I think I speak for Mr. Kurek, and many others when I say that socioeconomics is the biggest influencer in academics when it should be miniscule. Our parents’ economic status hovering over us as growing children essentially plans our education for us.
THE PROBLEM: The first I asked him about was how these students in remediation got to where they are, and the chances they would go to/be able to afford college. He responded with an approximate “20%. MAYBE two out of every ten kids aspire to go to college, even less would be able to afford it most likely”.
THE REASONING: He explained that a lot of these kids go to the technical school, they were raised not really seeing education as a priority for a career, so they’re going straight into a career. A lot of low income families and even middle class families tend to push their children into jobs to support themselves or support the household, so when they rely on paychecks, their education certainly must take a back seat. Kurek gave an example of one of his students frequently sleeping in his class. When he confronted the student, the student told him that he worked all night, and does often. Things like this are becoming more and more common with poverty rising. “The poor have the weakest voice, students with more financial or parental support have more proficient schoolwork.”
THE PROBLEM: I asked about budget cuts- one of the first things that pops into my mind when questioning the economics of public schools. Particularly if he had witnessed any effects, and if so, what they were. He scoffed “of course”.
Apparently, he has seen numerous. From the smallest being the school cutting supplies and resources like providing pencils for students, to things on a larger scale like the fact that two English teachers had retired/resigned and their positions were never filled. What that led to was larger and more classes on the remaining English teachers.
Larger and more classes on teachers eliminates one on one time with students, the time used to help those that need the special attention or help, the time to ensure that each student was getting a fair opportunity to succeed in the class. Kurek mentioned a newer inclusivity plan that conjoined a lot of different students (grade-wise) into the same classes. So, teaching a class of 30 with multiple students that learn at a slower pace and need extra attention, a few kids that should have accelerated teaching, and some in between has become a reality for him as well as other teachers now. And what can this all stem from? Those same budget cuts.
THE REASONING: “Simply the government.” For whatever reason, although millions of students attend public schools and the education they receive at these public schools may define the rest of their lives, the government doesn’t see a problem taking away their money to have engaging activities like field trips. They’re fine with taking away the money that buys supplies some students may rely on, or programs like art and music that make students happy and some students may have sought a career in.
THE PROBLEM: As mentioned before, we concluded that most of these problems are intertwined. Socioeconomics in public education leads to more than just your grade outcome. It leads to cliques, cliques lead to bullying- and it’s not just the students encouraging it. We discussed clothing- students tend to be very materialistic and when the lower class can’t afford expensive clothing, they’re picked on. When students in poverty can’t shower as much as they should, they’re made fun of. Kurek reflected on a time he witnessed a fellow teacher mocking a student for smelling bad, “instead of making fun of them and saying, ‘yeah, we should get them a bar of soap’ we should be saying ‘yeah, this student needs help, what can we do to improve the situation’ it’s ridiculous.” We agreed that this too can lead to a downward spiral in how students perceive school and how successful and involved they are.
THE REASONING: An overwhelming plague of negativity. Instead of spreading love and tolerance, we're hateful. "Having that mindset encourages others to do the same." Instead of helping, we mock. We don't take a second to acknowledge that issues like the example above aren't anyone's fault, these students can't do anything about this.
SOLUTIONS: On a piece of notebook paper he used for brainstorming answers to my questions, Kurek wrote “We can help students by changing the culture of thinking and by making a campaign of tolerance.” In speaking he elaborated that if we educate the public on what’s really happening, we can teach people to be more understanding and accepting of their peers. We can encourage education through this. He also wrote “The government needs to increase the budget and provide the resources and technology for student improvement.” He stressed that we need to use kindness more frequently. Instead of mocking students without, lend a helping hand. Give compliments, smile more.
With an extensive list of problems and only a few spitballs at correcting them- parents, students, and teachers I leave you with a few tasks. Do what you can to put education as a top priority. Work on empathy, understanding, and compassion. Understand that the youth is our future, the country’s future, and the world’s future and our well being may just one day depend on them. Finally, most importantly, believe the statement that KNOWLEDGE IS POWER.
