HONY post shows there’s still hope for American education

As the semester begins to pick up, life with the flurry of papers, midterms and lab reports seems to move at an accelerated pace. But when things get so busy (and stressful), it’s important to remember that there are others who struggle to obtain the same education that we often take for granted.

On Jan. 19, photographer Brandon Stanton posted a photo and a caption of Vidal, a student at middle school Mott Hall Bridges Academy, on his popular humanitarian blog Humans of New York, or HONY. In the post, Vidal described his school principal, Ms. Lopez, as the person who has most influenced him. According to Vidal, “When we get in trouble, she doesn’t suspend us…and she tells us that each time somebody fails out of school, a new jail cell gets built. And one time she made every student stand up, one at a time, and she told each one of us that we matter.”

That was the post that started it all. Stanton went on to profile other students, teachers, administrators, and of course, Ms. Lopez, who each shared their experiences and visions for the students and also for the school, which is located in an “under-served” neighborhood in Brooklyn. HONY states that in the weeks that followed over one million dollars were raised to create annual trips to Harvard University and start a scholarship fund and summer programs for students of the school. The fundraiser was certainly a success, and the story of Vidal and his school is nothing short of heartwarming. The students at Mott Hall Bridges will certainly benefit from these newfound resources.

While reading these posts, however, I couldn’t stop thinking about the educational privilege that many of us assume is ours for the taking. It is so easy to disregard the importance of the skills we obtain and the resources available to us in elementary and middle schools, the foundational years for high school and beyond.

Education has long been an issue in the United States; public schools are often under-funded, the achievement gap persists and many families struggle to pay for college. Despite the political progress that has been made, particularly through Obama’s proposal to make two-year colleges more accessible to all students, we must realize that education reform will not happen until we acknowledge that there are both problems with the current system and ways we can all contribute to finding a solution. Whether it be donating money, campaigning for new bills, or volunteering at a local school, we must remember that change starts with us. As an educated community, it is our responsibility to ensure others are afforded similar rights and opportunities that will help them succeed in the future. We cannot rely on politics alone to initiate revisions: Just as Stanton illustrates, change starts from the bottom up. HONY and the story of the Mott Hall Bridges Academy is a testament to the strength of our worldly community.

Call me an idealist, but reform is possible. We just have to make it happen.

Megan Chun is a freshman majoring in environmental studies and political science. Her column, “A Day in the Life,” runs on Fridays every other week.