Tinkerings

When I was finally able to board the first plan of 4 on my way to and from Denver for ISTE 2010, I was immediately struck by the differences between the majority of us and the select few in the boarding line.  You know what I’m talking about.  You sit there in the airport longer than some, much longer than most, and yet when they make that call for First Class and Zone 1 passengers, the ones that have been there the least get up to board.

It was the same in security.  There is a shorter line for those with a better status than the average traveler.

I sat there in this little podunk airport in Chattanooga (beautiful, but small) and attempted to analyze my feelings as I watched the chosen few marching onto the plane.  They even had their own side of the line to enter through the exact same door as everyone else.  They weren’t really any different than me.  I could rationalize that in my head pretty easily.  And yet, for some reason, I thought I glimpsed a look of smugness on their faces as they sought diligently to ignore all other passengers save for their own kind.

Immediately, I wondered what the majority of students at my school feel when they walk past those kids that are in the “advanced” classes.  Those thoughts stayed with  me as I boarded the plane and walked through the midst of First Class and Zone 1 passengers like so much cattle through a shoot leading to slaughter.  Those already seated would not look at the rest of us.  We were like flies buzzing around their world.  Necessary, but annoying.  I’m sure that was all in my head, but it was there nonetheless.

When we elevate one group of students to “advanced” status, by default we are telling all the rest they don’t quite measure up.

No one knows the simple truth of that statement more than me.

When I moved to Wynne, AR, at the beginning of my 11th grade year, the local high school was divided into three groups of students: H (advanced), M (middle), and K (low).  Each of these groups had classes together, and they were never mixed in an academic setting.  As a new student, I was placed in the M section by default in the 11th grade.  I had two cousins in the H group, so I never saw them at school.  In fact, there were about 25 to 30 students in the H group, and they had pretty much been together since kindergarten.  I wasn’t really a part of that group.

In my senior year I was promoted to the H group.  My teachers felt I needed to be challenged more.  However, most of the kids in the H group didn’t really accept me into the inner sanctum.  And the kids I knew in the M group thought I was now better than them in some way and stopped talking to me.  It was a very lonely year.

All those feelings came rushing back to me as I boarded that plane for ISTE.  I knew I should be past it all.  I’m 51 years old for goodness sakes.  Painful high school memories shouldn’t haunt me now.  But they do.

And they will for the students we have today as well, unless we find a way to make all students feel welcome, valued, and equal.  That is the lesson for teachers, administrators, and parents.  And the airlines as well.