Justice for All—Is It Worth It? (Guest Post by Kirsten Strand)

Originally published by Kirsten Strand on Sunday, November 28, 2010. Kirsten is on staff at Community Christian Church based in Naperville, Illinois. Several years ago the church began working with the schools of a low-income community next door to Naperville. Kirsten and her husband, Scott, moved their family into the low-income school district to further impact the community and its schools with an incarnational approach. Here she writes about one of the challenges of that move—providing a quality education for her own children.

     It was bound to happen. Questioning whether we made the right decision to move our family from one of the best performing school districts in the state to one of the worst. In three and ? years, I have pondered, but not seriously questioned our decision. This week, I have questioned. Not regretted, but definitely questioned.

     We are blessed that neither of our kids struggles to learn. In Naperville, they both tested as “gifted.”  There is no “gifted” program in East Aurora, but we hoped the general education would be sufficient if we supplemented with some work at home. And through elementary school, that was the case. But now, with a 6th and 7th grader, it’s not that simple. Between the schedule of after-school sports, music, and church activities and the growing desire for cyber and in-person connection with friends, there is little time for much academic “supplementing.”  And after seven hours at school and the bit of homework they have, it is understandable that they would have little tolerance for extra work that isn’t impacting a grade.
     But, in those seven hours at school they seem to be missing something Scott and I believe is core and essential to a solid liberal arts education—analytical reading and writing. There is no reading of the classics, no essays, book reports, or critical analysis about what they read. We believe that critical thinking and learning to formulate thoughts and ideas, both verbally and in writing, is an essential skill. We have become increasingly concerned that they are not learning that skill at school. After doing a little digging into what middle school kids in Naperville are doing and having some discussions with the boys’ current teachers, we are now sure they are not getting that . . .at least to the point we believe is necessary. And that really concerns me. Concern is Satan’s playground, so he is having a jolly time with me. . . causing worry, questioning, doubt.
     We knew we would face challenges when we moved. And going into this, we believed strongly that we couldn’t just think about our own kids’ education. We were moving in part to fight for a more just and equitable educational system in general. But now that our kids are being directly impacted in a noticeable way, the success driven, “upwardly mobile” American mentality is fighting its way back into my thinking. I find myself questioning whether fighting for “justice for all,” is really worth the risk to my own children's success.
     But what if everyone let the concern for their own children dictate the risks they were willing to take for all of God's children?  I don't think there would be any hope for justice. And THAT really concerns me. I'm pretty sure Jesus would say that there are more important lessons for our kids to learn than how to write a critical essay. I'm not going to be satisfied with the status quo. Scott and I definitely have some work to do in addressing this concern--for our boys, and for all of the kids here in East Aurora who dream of going to college and being competitive in our American society. But, I guess it is time to really practice what I preach.
     "Love your neighbor as you love yourself."  I think that means I need to love my neighbors' children as much as I love my own. I know working for "justice for all," is the right thing…even when it means my kids aren't getting the best. That doesn't feel good. But, I guess dying on the cross didn't feel very good either.

You can check out Kirsten's blog here: "Uniting People to Restore Communities."