There are many problems with high school. It’s hard to know where to begin. I’ll begin with my own experience: It was terrible. I went to a public school in the Bronx: Theodore Roosevelt High School. It was not a great school. Long story short, I got zoned into that school - easily, one of the greatest blunders of my entire life. It was, and probably still is, almost entirely black and Hispanic. One interesting thing about that school, by the way, is the juxtaposition of Fordham University’s Rose Hill campus, a great school, and where, unimaginable to me at the time, I would go to get my bachelor’s, is right across the street. Very little learning happened at Roosevelt. And I was interested. My freshman year I was taking math a year ahead of everyone else and got good grades. But the place rubbed off on me, I guess. My friends didn’t seem to care about academics - just girls - and I had this dream of becoming a professional wrestler, which didn’t require a high school diploma. (As you might be able to tell, that dream was never realized.) I took school less and less seriously. And once the ball got rolling, I found it harder and harder to keep up. 

There were other issues. The was an antagonistic relationship we had with the school security - or, rather, that my black friends had. The former would often suspect the latter of some wrongdoing, leading the former to become defensive. And, of course, we’d spend every morning in a long line to pass through metal detectors on our way in. It seemed to us more than just that the grown-ups didn’t care; they expected to fail and, some of us, to go to jail. And that has a powerful effect on kids. I’m thinking of the infamous “Blue Eyes - Brown Eyes” experiment.

So the problem of inner-city high schools is complicated. It almost always starts at home: lack of nutrition, resources, and knowledge of how things work are but a few of the many issues associated with being a minority in the inner city and going to a public school.  In my own case, I had immigrant parents who barely spoke English and didn’t know much about education, which is largely why I got zoned in the first place. These problems are like starting a race many feet behind everyone else.

Part of the problem is also what others think of you, and the subsequent actions they and you take. Teachers, administrators, and even parents give up on kids. A learning disorder that would be discovered in a good school, which would then help the student with appropriate resources, would just further convince grown-ups in the inner city that you, a poor black or brown kid from the Bronx, really are stupid. At least one person has to believe in you for you to learn to believe in yourself. In the inner city, that can take some time. And, sometimes, a mom isn’t enough to quiet all the naysayers. I had a fifth grade teacher who said, in front of everyone, that I would be going back to kindergarten. The stigma also relates to how law enforcement interact with such communities. If we’re expected to be criminals, they’re more likely to act in such a way that leads to more kids getting locked up. And that can make it harder and harder to succeed in life.

Surely, part of the problem is also the limited resources. Not only do inner-city kids typically have less but having less often makes them feel like they are less. It’s easy to see how all this can snowball. It’s also easy to see why so many young people think it’s hopeless. You add a literal transformation happening inside their own bodies and raging hormones and you have a recipe for chaos. I had a very difficult time in my teens and considered suicide. Luckily, through friendship and a loving mother and time, I course corrected.

Understanding the problem is the first step. Understanding it isn’t hopeless is the next; we are all capable of learning and of changing. And having a plan is the third.

Firstly, pedagogy has to consider the student population and adjust its approach as needed. Inner-city minority students are different students. They tend to have more obstacles. Teaching to them has to take on a more sensitive, empathetic, and encouraging approach. It might seem like babying to some. But it’s vital to keep the world from crashing down on these young minds. 

Second, we need to invest more in our schools. This is well known. I need write little more on the need and significance of this.

Third, we need more means to support these communities. Free breakfasts and lunches are critical. Starting high school an hour later is another idea I like; most young people don’t usually wake up before 8am. I remember taking an hour-long bus ride to school, often skipping breakfast, and feeling tired and unfocused. More mental health counseling and other such resources are also crucial because of all of the challenges, and a dearth of known solutions. Sex eduction, too, helps for similar reasons. Physical education, I’d argue, is incredibly important because, as I believe, it is in our genes, especially when we’re young, to move. I understand many schools do this, but it has to be incorporated in a way that takes place throughout the day and in a way that students have more of a choice in the matter. At Roosevelt, there was just basketball, which I hated because I sucked at it. It was an easy track for bullying to start. Perhaps incorporating standing desks for some classes and moving a student’s next class further away could work. 

Lastly, to keep this relatively short, we, as educators, need to show students why they should care by connecting what they study more to the real world in a way that prepares them for future employment and the management of money. For better or for worse, we live in a capitalist society; money is needed for most things that keep us alive and well. It’s important that young people at least understand the rules before deciding how they’re going to play the game. That’s why I advocate for more financial education and vocational training in high school. This isn’t a new idea. Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, and Meet Kevin, one of the most popular financial education YouTubers, often talk about this. Personally, I’m sure I would’ve ended up in a much better place had I realized the importance of, say, budgeting, investing, and saving at an earlier age, instead of, say, trigonometry and chemistry - valuable things, but less valuable to most people most of the time. I love science and think we should study critical thinking more, as Neil deGrasse Tyson often advocates. But we can’t teach everything. Some things are more important, or useful, than others. High school is still a project humanity has not yet gotten right. Clearly, some schools are doing better than others. I’m advocating on behalf of schools in the inner city. They need more help. 

Public high schools tend to be places where students lose their love of learning, their childish wonder. And in the inner-city high school often becomes a place where students “learn” that they are not so good at the whole learning thing. Learning, instead of being naturally fun and self-fulfilling, turns into something pedantic, boring, and done to be good at school and make grown-ups happy. I still have hope that we can change that. It’s uphill. But I’m not giving up on our youth.