Seeing IS Believing

I took the Seeing is Believing Bus Tour on Tuesday Feb. 17th which was sponsored by the Junior League of Athens. I have to say that I did learn a lot about the Clarke County School District. There are many programs offered for students, as well as access to a very well qualified staff. As with all school systems, test scores, great stories and high achieving students as well as talented students were stressed throughout the morning. Sometimes it would be nice to know the challenges that schools deal with as well as the many successes. As long as we continue to sing the praises of those who excel, we will continue to give up on those who don’t. Education should not be a competition for trophies or acceptance letters; but that’s for another blog. After we loaded the bus to attend our designated school site, we were shown about the school by the principal. I had the pleasure of visiting Classic City High School. The instructional design of the school is very impressive. It’s nice to see people take an interest in their education. I have always been a firm believer in offering different educational routes for students. Though I couldn’t help but notice that the overwhelming majority of the students were black or Hispanic. Being a political scientist, I know that even though these students have the means to become productive members of society, they may never gain the political or economic success as their well educated classmates…but that’s for another blog as well. Overall, I was impressed with my experience at Classic City High School. Yet, my experience may have been different had I gone to another school. I guess seeing is believing. However what you believe depends on what you see.