Oaktown In The News

Did you know that the Oakland Unified School District is California's most improved urban district over the last six years? That's twenty-six points of Academic Perfrormance Index growth in 2010 alone. Did you know that monster run in the Seahawks - Saints game, described by many as the most impressive ever in the playoffs and the one that set off a seismic disturbance generated by exubarant fans, was made by Marshawn Lynch, a proud graduate of Oakland Tech? The same alma mater as Clint Eastwood, just down the hill from Skyline High where another Academy Award winner graduated, Tom Hanks. That's a whole lot of good news about Oakland schools, right?
That's not the stuff that made national headlines, though. It was the nasty business of stories of lewd and bizzare conduct in an Oakland second grade classroom. The national media has been quick to report the allegations of children removing their clothes and oral sex. While the police and school officials continue to sort through the truth of the matter, Oakland gets its moment in the headlines. Outlets from across the country are running the story, along with the requisite disclaimers about how the matter is still under investigation. And the fact that the male teacher was put on paid administrative leave. No names were given, but considering the relative scarcity of male second grade teachers in Oakland, at that particular school, it's only a matter of time.
Meanwhile, the rest of the community wonders how such a thing could happen. Much in the same way that we all wondered how a BART police officer could shoot a handcuffed suspect in the back. I doubt this one will go any more quietly. "It kind of scares me to know that the teachers aren't really watching them," said Ane Musuva, who has two children at the school. "I don't want my kids growing up in this type of environment."
I understand her concern. I also understand that teaching second grade is a circus act that requires patience and balance and still more patience. Teaching kids to line up for lunch without touching each other is how you spend most of the first month. Reading, writing, and 'rithmatic are what happens when everyone is in their seat, ready to learn. That's the easy part. I have a head full of conflicting opinions about what may or may not have happened in that classroom. I have a ton of experience that informs those opinions, but the bottom line is that I wasn't there. I don't know.
But I do know that there were a whole bunch of kids who walked out of Oakland schools last week with new ideas and information that will help them become actors, directors, football stars, and even second grade teachers. The camera trucks weren't there to catch that.