Well, school has started and the County where my kid attends school, has gotten off to a grand start. We made National News due to the mask mandate; which was put in place to protect the students and teachers. Imagine if the County had made “Critical Race Theory” a requirement in schools…the parents of the County may have burned the School Board down!
With the start of a new year, I was extremely excited to see more black students attending my son’s school, but the devastating part is that he remains the only black kid in his grade level. If you’re going to fight for something. Let it be inclusion! Now before you come for me about the school we chose for him to attend, consider the many factors that contributed to our decision. The biggest factor was keeping Brian’s childhood family home, in the family.
One guarantee with being married to a Coach is that relocating is part of the deal. If you are a family with children, the safety of the neighborhood and performance of the schools, are major factors when selecting a home. I am a researcher when it comes to these things. When History hit school age, we originally thought he would be attending Kindergarten in Illinois, but things quickly changed because we relocated back to our home town (Nashville, TN). Our move required us to make some major decisions, pertaining to his education.
While doing our research, my Husband and I quickly discovered that Davidson County Schools were underperforming. We went back and forth with the idea of purchasing a home in Davidson County and sending History to Private School; which, at the time, was the cheaper option. While in the decision phase, we were presented with the opportunity to keep Brian’s family home; which belonged to his late Grandmother. Not only is the home positioned in the best school district in the Nashville area, but it also placed my Husband within 15 to 20 minutes of his job. We do not take for granted, the options we were presented with because not all Basketball Wives have options. Homeschool was also considered, but our son is far too sociable to not be around other kids. And let’s just be real, I AM NOT the Homeschool type of parent. I know my strengths. As I researched his current school, I appreciated the positive reviews, the parent involvement and the pleasant staff. These are things that can’t confidently be said about other schools and their administration.
Though the performance of the schools weighed heavily in our decision, please understand that we are well-rounded parents and we do not expect his school to educate History on everything. What I do expect, is for them to provide clear and honest details when it comes to History lessons. They should learn far more than the history on Presidents, the Christopher Columbus lie, and Martin Luther King’s “I have a Dream,” spill. Provide the students with rich History by embarking on a journey around the World, while educating them on different Cultures and Cultural experiences.
Some say that choosing to put our son in a non-diverse school setting, may be traumatic for him later in life. Though I wish his school was more diverse, he understands that even when he enters rooms filled with individuals that do not look like him, he should always stand tall and be confident. My mother has also educated him on the differences between high and low socioeconomic areas and as his parents, it is our job to ensure that he never treats people differently because of their status. I’ve also had the pleasure of meeting many parents that have the same parenting style as our family, and that is refreshing. Unfortunately, most schools that have a larger African American population, are either in the low socioeconomic areas or are Charter or Private School.
In Nashville, African American parents have to go through extreme measures in order for their children to receive quality education. Though I want my son to be exposed to other kids of his race, it is difficult to find quality education, quality care and safe living environments for the price of one. As the Wife of a Coach, we’ve chosen to make the best decision for our family.