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VUE Number 7, Spring 2005
| VUE Home | Archives | Order Print Copy |
EXCERPT:
Expanding Education Opportunities in Birmingham: A New Kind of Urban Community
By Dennie Palmer Wolf
Dennie Palmer Wolf is a Senior Scholar at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform.
> Complete Biography
> Full article pdf
With a federal grant, community and education leaders in Birmingham, Alabama, have developed a bold plan to revitalize a twelve-block neighborhood in the city's center by expanding educational opportunities in the area.
Throughout the nation, advocates for children and youth are describing the guarantee of high-quality public education as a civil right. All children, regardless of who they are or where they live, deserve the kind of education that ensures they can live productive lives as individuals, family members, workers, and members of a community.
But, even as we have gained clarity about the absolute necessity of equitable schooling, we have come up against a second realization: it is unlikely that schools alone, powerful and important as they are, can provide the full range of opportunities to learn that all children need. To meet increasingly high standards, to understand how to gain and apply knowledge in the world outside the classroom, and to learn how to pursue an interest, talent, or gift, regardless of circumstances, children also need extended learning opportunities of the kinds that occur in after-school programs, clubs, teams, apprenticeships, and supervised free time.
Rethinking Equitable Opportunity to Learn
When it is of high quality, extended learning can be a major source of the cultural and social capital that often divides historically underserved children from their more privileged peers. But, like access to high-quality public schools, extended learning opportunities are often unevenly available to children.
Most cities have a substantial number of learning opportunities to offer: after-school programs, clubs, libraries, science centers, museums, Boys and Girls Clubs, Y's, parks and recreation programs operating yearround, all-city band and orchestra, church youth groups, and more. But these supplementary programs, while technically available, can be hard to actually participate in — unless someone in a family has disposable time, connections, a car, and the money for fees and materials. If a child gets excited about science or music or athletics, linking him or her to opportunities to develop interests and skills demands know-how, grit, and resources. As one city parent put it, “Oh, there's opportunities all right, just try getting to them.”
To understand how this system plays out, it is helpful to look at “diary days” (see opposite page) from two fourth-grade girls growing up in typical large city in the United States.1 The girls live in the same neighborhood and both attend public school. Both are capable and energetic. Either could grow up to be a doctor, school board member, theater director, or mayor — depending on the opportunities she has.
Archives
Community Partners
VUE Number 7, Spring 2005
| VUE Home | Archives | Order Print Copy |
EXCERPT:Expanding Education Opportunities in Birmingham: A New Kind of Urban Community
By Dennie Palmer Wolf
Dennie Palmer Wolf is a Senior Scholar at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform.
> Complete Biography
> Full article pdf
With a federal grant, community and education leaders in Birmingham, Alabama, have developed a bold plan to revitalize a twelve-block neighborhood in the city's center by expanding educational opportunities in the area.
Throughout the nation, advocates for children and youth are describing the guarantee of high-quality public education as a civil right. All children, regardless of who they are or where they live, deserve the kind of education that ensures they can live productive lives as individuals, family members, workers, and members of a community.
But, even as we have gained clarity about the absolute necessity of equitable schooling, we have come up against a second realization: it is unlikely that schools alone, powerful and important as they are, can provide the full range of opportunities to learn that all children need. To meet increasingly high standards, to understand how to gain and apply knowledge in the world outside the classroom, and to learn how to pursue an interest, talent, or gift, regardless of circumstances, children also need extended learning opportunities of the kinds that occur in after-school programs, clubs, teams, apprenticeships, and supervised free time.
Rethinking Equitable Opportunity to Learn
When it is of high quality, extended learning can be a major source of the cultural and social capital that often divides historically underserved children from their more privileged peers. But, like access to high-quality public schools, extended learning opportunities are often unevenly available to children.
Most cities have a substantial number of learning opportunities to offer: after-school programs, clubs, libraries, science centers, museums, Boys and Girls Clubs, Y's, parks and recreation programs operating yearround, all-city band and orchestra, church youth groups, and more. But these supplementary programs, while technically available, can be hard to actually participate in — unless someone in a family has disposable time, connections, a car, and the money for fees and materials. If a child gets excited about science or music or athletics, linking him or her to opportunities to develop interests and skills demands know-how, grit, and resources. As one city parent put it, “Oh, there's opportunities all right, just try getting to them.”
To understand how this system plays out, it is helpful to look at “diary days” (see opposite page) from two fourth-grade girls growing up in typical large city in the United States.1 The girls live in the same neighborhood and both attend public school. Both are capable and energetic. Either could grow up to be a doctor, school board member, theater director, or mayor — depending on the opportunities she has.
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