Choosing Basketball

Today at the dismissal gate, I watched the parents of my most academically challenged kindergarten student drive up in a car decorated with Lakers flags. It made me think of all the hours they probably spent in front of the television watching games, when it was clear, because of her incredible absenteeism and limited progress, that they wouldn’t spend a fraction of this time helping their child. It reminded me of the fact that they never once set foot in her classroom through the school year. It made me think of the $15 or $20 they spent on each flag, as opposed to the $1 they would never spend on a folder to carry her homework papers. It made me sad that these adults have expressed more passion about a basketball team than for their daughter’s future. Unfortunately, it also made me think that this child is in no way unique.

Isabel Raymond

Thousand Oaks