Daily Sustenance
Something very exciting happened recently that I would like to share with you all: the Daily Show came to Mexico. In my frenzy of excitement, I binge-watched two weeks worth of episodes. While each one made me chuckle and cringe at America’s myriad fallacies, the most recent touched on a topic I think is often underrepresented when discussing education, which is, as Jon said, “the environment around the school.”
In the episode he interviews Diane Ravitch (which you can see here: Diane Ravitch Interview), an NYU professor with a new book out about America’s school system. Ms. Ravitch points out that “where we have intense poverty and racial isolation…you’ll find low test scores because kids are hungry, they’re homeless, they’re sick and not getting any medical care. Those things matter.”
In high school I preferred to sleep in rather than do any sort of morning routine. I would get out of bed at 7:23, get dressed and leave the house at 7:30, without having breakfast. By the time 4th period rolled around (almost lunch time) all I could think about was food and getting my ass over to the cafeteria. I certainly wasn’t thinking about the accusative case or Romeo and Juliet’s woes anymore. But my 10 to 12 hour fasts were nothing compared to true hunger. Or to being homeless. Or to being sick without the prospect of medical care.
When people think about the cost of school, they usually think of tuition and textbooks, but there are many expenses that go into educating a child. When you look at the breakdown on a student profile at Givology of where your money goes, you see the usual tuition and textbook categories, but you’ll also see transportation and room and board. These categories aren’t the most recognizable, but they’re just as necessary. Even more to the point are the feeding projects at Givology, such as the Monthly Feeding Program at the Kibera School for Girls in Nairobi, Kenya, which (as the title rather obviously suggests) is dedicated to feeding about a hundred students and teachers every month.
After all, the chance at an education is pretty useless if you can’t get to the school. Or, you know, if you have no food.
In the episode he interviews Diane Ravitch (which you can see here: Diane Ravitch Interview), an NYU professor with a new book out about America’s school system. Ms. Ravitch points out that “where we have intense poverty and racial isolation…you’ll find low test scores because kids are hungry, they’re homeless, they’re sick and not getting any medical care. Those things matter.”
In high school I preferred to sleep in rather than do any sort of morning routine. I would get out of bed at 7:23, get dressed and leave the house at 7:30, without having breakfast. By the time 4th period rolled around (almost lunch time) all I could think about was food and getting my ass over to the cafeteria. I certainly wasn’t thinking about the accusative case or Romeo and Juliet’s woes anymore. But my 10 to 12 hour fasts were nothing compared to true hunger. Or to being homeless. Or to being sick without the prospect of medical care.
When people think about the cost of school, they usually think of tuition and textbooks, but there are many expenses that go into educating a child. When you look at the breakdown on a student profile at Givology of where your money goes, you see the usual tuition and textbook categories, but you’ll also see transportation and room and board. These categories aren’t the most recognizable, but they’re just as necessary. Even more to the point are the feeding projects at Givology, such as the Monthly Feeding Program at the Kibera School for Girls in Nairobi, Kenya, which (as the title rather obviously suggests) is dedicated to feeding about a hundred students and teachers every month.
After all, the chance at an education is pretty useless if you can’t get to the school. Or, you know, if you have no food.