Headline in today's Los Angeles TimesSchools Call Roll at a Border Crossing
"Children who are U.S. citizens or legal immigrants but live in Mexico cross every morning to get a better education for free in Arizona, breaking the law that requires them to live within the boundaries of the district. To many of their parents, who have ties in both countries, not living in the district is the educational equivalent of jaywalking."
Obviously there are always at least two sides to every story, but this one in particular got me thinking. What would I give to have students who broke the law in order to be in my class? Students who actually want to be there. Students who will chance arrest in order to secure what they believe is a quality education.
We're so damn spoiled in this country (pardon my French)! All we do is complain that what we have is just not good enough; our children are truant; our teachers underpaid; a society that wants everything - without paying for it.
I guess in a way these Mexican Americans are no different. They want the quality education, but they don't want to have to pay for it. No one does. Yet, it costs.
Amazing.
And yet I'm enthralled with these students who know the value of an American education, and will cross whatever line has been drawn in the sand to get it.
What line am I willing to cross to give my students what they need? The ground at my feet looks like graph paper there are so many lines. It doesn't take much to cross a line in education.
What line are you willing to cross to get your child the education they need?