Poverty in America: The Dragon Meets the Hawk

Some people like NY Times columnist Nick Kristof think America can't be saved unless all the teachers have a degree from Harvard.  He's never met the Hawk.  Of course not, the elites who think  it's their privilege to tell us how to live our lives don't send their children to inner-city Title 1 public schools.  Most wouldn't know what a Title 1 school is even if they'd been near one... other than thinking as they drove by when the students were arriving that it would be best to check if the car doors are locked.

The Hawk comes to mind this morning because he was directing traffic when I dropped my daughter off for school.  His traffic theatrics make you wonder if he's related to the famous Pittsburgh cop, Vic Cianca.

The Hawk went to work as a janitor at the Rose Lane School because he needed job.  When you spend high school perfecting your skateboard maneuvers, your career options are limited.

The school principal took a shine to the Hawk and encouraged him go to college and get a job teaching.  "You do very well with the children.  They love you."

And so it came to pass, that my little Jimmy, the bane of elementary school teachers, walked into the Hawk's fourth grade class and went from being an average student to having one of the very highest math test scores in the school district.  Maybe the key to success was that little Jimmy loves fishing and the kid who did the best that day got to feed live minnows to the bass the Hawk kept in a big tank in the room. 

Sit in on his class and you'd discover that the Hawk was the frickin' original Pied Piper.  He'd say the magic word and 30 kids would clap three times in unison and then there'd be complete silence and rapt attention.

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The basic principles of Title 1 [federal assistance] state that schools with large concentrations of low-income students will receive supplemental funds to assist in meeting students' educational goals. Low-income students are determined by the number of students enrolled in the free and reduced lunch program. For an entire school to qualify for Title 1 funds, at least 40% of students must enroll in the free and reduced lunch program.