Apparently unrelated

I'm changing this format. I'm now just going to straight out blog about crap and possibly attach a photo if you are lucky. I've obviously lost all of my marbles...and it happened right here at a hardcore high school on Chicago's near west side. That's right...I'm working night school tonight. It's highly 'Welcome Back Kotter" except for Vinnie Barbarino and Horshack were quite innocent comparatively. What I can't understand about CPS schools is why they don't provide the necessities, as it were...no handsoap, no paper towels, you have to get an allotment of toilet paper before entering the stall (what if things don't go as planned?! what if you drop it on the filthy floor whilst hovering?). If we cannot provide for such basic needs, how can we provide an effective education that might 'stick'. I'm a huge proponent of the idea that our environments greatly influence our moods, achievement levels and productivity. If I'm constantly on the look out for the classroom mouse or worrying about what to do if I don't bring just the 'right' amount of toilet paper into the bathroom, then how can I focus on learning the uses of the pythagorean theorem or complete a character analysis of Hamlet? (let alone learn how to function as a productive member of society, but then that's not really the point of education in the U.S. is it?)The inequalities among the neighbourhood schools here are drastic. Some schools provide laptops for each student in a certain grade while others don't provide paper for making photocopies. I wonder if this could possibly be indicative of or a manifestation of our increasing fragmentation in society or the claims that the mediocrity of our education system is directly effecting the mediocrity of our economy. For example.

Well, I got sidetracked by helping students complete complex algebraic equations...and much to my amazement, it really is like riding a bike...