What does money REALLY have to do with it?

 Schools in Texas have been consistently underfunded. In a few articles and media clips we learned that Judges have attempted to overturn the system as unconstitutional. Though it seems that this fight has been a challenging journey, and still continues not to be resolved. The distribution of financial support across schools in Texas will continue to be inequitable until there is legislative change. My opinion about what money has to do with it stems from how we respond to poverty. I think more important than who has money or does not is our perspective. The ability to create a space that is free from judgement and consistently challenging biases as we learn more. Classism is the root of the problem as we see students segregated by income. Since schools are primarily funded by property taxes of course a lower socio-economic area is not going to be funded as well as a neighborhood with higher property values. This is the type of legislation that needs to be looked at. I wonder what it would look like if there was more federal support for public schools. The control we as future teachers have over these problems is to continue writing to our legislators and ask for change. To educate ourselves and others regarding classist biases. One article talked about making sure curriculum was inclusive to the experiences of low-income students. It reminded me of the Ted Talk last week where Christopher Emdin talked about Reality Pedagogy which is based on the student's experience. As teachers if we continue to fight for better legislation, fight for equitable resources in school, and continue to advocate against classism. I think that is a start. We can not change this system overnight, but we can make our voices heard. Property taxes controlling school funding should not be the standard practice. Students deserve better, students deserve equitable learning conditions.