First, I have no doubt in my mind that these teachers are pretty much doing the assessments correctly. One session dealt with testing and protocols. Their responses and questions revealed that they are knowledgeable and more than competent. In conversation with these educators, I learned more about their individual situations. Many are housed in old facilities. Some have no budgets. One teacher has cones for equipment. That’s it. Most get by with cones and some balls that the athletic teams can no longer use. But they are doing the best that they can. My knee jerk reaction was to say “apply for grants” which is an easy way to get some resources. However, we could hardly pick up an internet signal at the school site and when we did, it failed to load pages that we were looking to share. How can you find the grants when you can’t look?
As with many presentations, I learned a lot from the people I was supposed to teach. This area of the state is among the poorest I have seen in a while. The main industry is farming pecans, peanuts, and cotton. Our host told us that the town we were in cannot afford to turn on the streetlights in the downtown area, so it sits dark at night. To call it a food desert, is an understatement. Most of the dining establishments were fast food. There were limited grocery stores and the ones available had small supplies of fresh produce.
As we drove around the area, I tried to evaluate the situation and come up with solutions to the conundrum. How can we get these kids, teachers, and schools the resources needed to allow them to become physically literate, healthy, and productive? The students can only eat the foods that are around them. Teachers can only work with their resources and try to get more. The schools are working on limited income and resources. In one situation, the assistant superintendent is also the basketball coach! Unfortunately, as we headed home, I realized that I could not come up with a solution. While the situation seems to be helpless, I am not going to give up. Maybe one day I will figure something out to help these kids and teachers. For now, I am going to make sure I answer their questions and try to assist as much as I can with input and resources.
Do you have any answers?