In the Meantime, Across Town

keepingwarmI have been subbing in financially-privileged areas often lately. Yesterday, I ventured back into my old stomping grounds. I quickly noticed the clothing wrapped around the window air-conditioning unit. I had had one of those units. In winter, they leaked heat and my seating-charts were rearranged to keep students from freezing. That air-conditioner owned its little bubble of the classroom.

I liked my former coworkers fashion-forward, Christmas-colored attack on the problem, complete with chilled dictionaries. Overall, he keeps an artistic classroom, carefully decorated with bright colors and learning potential scattered across his walls.  But the duct tape on the door stopped me. Was it still there? Or was this new duct tape?

doorknobI remember the duct tape from almost two years ago before I retired. He had gotten stuck in a classroom (Or was it me? I know I got trapped in that room briefly.) due to a faulty connection between the knob and its latch bolt. The whole ordeal was amusing at the time, an intractable door to a first floor classroom with windows.

Eduhonesty: We are looking at another intangible here. How much does it matter when a school looks run down and ill-kept? I am sure that the effect varies from child to child. But I am also sure that most people take better care of books, buildings, and bric-a-brac that seem new and pristine. My old district should do better maintenance than this.

Another major consideration: In a lockdown drill, this classroom cannot be secured except by stacking items in front of the door, a door that opens outward. Irony #2,395: Districts that rarely lock down have intact, functional blinds and doors. Districts more likely to lock down, schools in areas with gang activity, for example, may not even be able to close their door, much lock that door, and damaged blinds take years to replace. I’m not sure mine were ever replaced.