Recently, I have been helping a co-worker study for her GED in order to gain admission to a nursing program established by Community College of Philadelphia. As I’ve been working in my neighborhood of Olney in North Philadelphia, I have been saddened to see the number of extremely intelligent children who due to lack of parental reinforcement lag behind in reading (and probably other subjects). The other day I asked a child who was in third-grade to read Dr. Seuss’s “Red Fish, Blue Fish” to me. He had trouble and made it through with help. I know he’s a smart kid. He’s great at math and obviously intelligent. But when I questioned him, I realized his mother had her hands full with her six children and generally employed her oldest son as a baby-sitter, rarely doing schoolwork with him.
Still, it is heartening to see those who recognize their inadequacies and seek to empower themselves! There are a lot of young people in Philadelphia succeeding despite difficult situations. Take my GED friend. A father in jail. A mother with a life-long struggle to overcome a strong drug addiction. She dropped out of high-school to support her younger siblings. All that and she’s always cheerful. You never see her without a smile on her face. She’s responsible, holds a steady job, and pays her own bills. And she doesn’t want a handout. She willing to do anything to achieve her educational goals. Take two buses and the subway to Center City for classes. Work extra hours to pay for her rent. She has a strength and maturity I would be hard-pressed to find in her situation.
I think it’s important for residents of Philadelphia who are blessed with an education from magnet and other schools (think Central, Girls’ High, Mastermen) to help others who did not have the same opportunity. Every child should be able to go to a school like mine where there were adequate facilities, excellent teachers, and positive peer-pressure. But not everyone can.
It doesn’t take going to a community service program to help others succeed. Take a look around you. Talk with the people you interact with on a daily basis. Ask them their educational goals. Giving back to our communities in Philadelphia is the only way to ensure this city keeps on growing and getting better in the next ten years…..
