Hearing about the vandalism at School of the Arts, handiwork by mostly
school seniors, many of people probably shook their heads and thought, “What
can you do? Kids will be kids.”
SOTA’s principal, Brenda Pacheco, said she was saddened by what appeared to
begin as a prank escalated to damaging the school.
But I couldn’t help thinking about a young Mexican girl living in Chicago
featured on MSNBC’s Morning Joe early Monday. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, in a
conversation about that city’s education issues, praised the girl for being the
top student in her graduating class. Her parents sell oranges on the roadside
in Mexico. Their daughter, however, has seized an opportunity to climb out of
poverty. In the fall, she’ll join the ranks of freshmen at Northwestern, one of
the country’s finest universities.
There are children like this young girl in schools all across this country,
including here in Rochester. One of the top performing students in city schools
this year is a young girl whose family is still living in one of the poorest
countries in Africa. She seized an opportunity, too.
Rochester has been struggling to find the key to educational success for its
students for years, with little progress to show for it. Our graduation rate
lumbers around 50 percent. Still, these young women and thousands of youngsters
like them have often experienced poverty and witnessed unimaginable atrocities.
But they recognized the value of receiving a free public education in this
country. And their achievements are a stark contrast to so many American
students who ignore the opportunities in front of them. While thousands of city
students decide not to attend school, there are millions of children around the
world that would gladly fill their seats
This article appears in 2012 Jazz Fest Guide.
