All students, teachers, and schools are different. School rules and policies, where the students come from… no two schools are the same. That being said, there is a type of school that gets a bad reputation no matter what. They could be amazing, filled with amazing students and staff (which they are) and still get told that they need help and they aren’t good enough. Urban schools.

“They are so poor.”

“Are there even any white students?”

“Are you going to be safe there?”

First off, let me just say urban schools are still just schools. They are schools filled with hard working students, amazing staff and just an overall great community. Yes, these schools are sometimes more diverse than other schools. Yes, sometimes these schools have way less money and are in areas in a low socioeconomic area, but that in no way makes the school any less effective. The teachers still put in just as much work. They are there to teach the students and that is exactly what they do. Do they have to spend their own money sometimes on supplies? Yes. But just because the schools can’t afford an abundance of supplies does not mean urban schools should have a bad name.

Second, the people that ask me if I’m going to be safe and question the students’ abilities to behave…you need to stop. Students in urban schools sometimes happen to be the ones that have had hard family lives. While that may be true, what isn’t true are people calling them bad kids. These are some children that have gone through a lot in their short lives so far and are having trouble dealing with all of their emotions correctly. I have had a student come up to me and tell me his mom has told him to run away so he can be taken away. I have had another student come up to me and tell me his dad is in jail and he never gets to see him. One girl came up to me and cried and told me she didn’t want the year to end because she didn’t want to go home and she would miss being at school. These students are not bad, they have gone through some crazy times. They just need love and support from someone, and if that someone is me I’m happy.

Being a teacher is amazing. It doesn’t matter what district I am in. Urban, suburban, it doesn’t matter. There are so many different things about it that just makes my heart melt daily. I get to literally see students grow and learn so much over a year, and to know that I’m part of the reason they are smarter is a very rewarding feeling. Not only that, but I get to build relationships with these students and become a part of their life. I will forever be their teacher they had that one year…hopefully one that made a positive influence on them. Urban schools need to stop getting a bad reputation. The staff is great, and the students are amazing, kind hearted, smart, and just all around amazing.