bad education

Abandoned high school in Detroit, Michigan. I won't say exactly where this is to prevent it from being further inundated by scrappers and visitors (if I know you and you're curious feel free to send me a FlickrMail). Note the interesting Postal Service labels turned into pinwheel art next to the door.

I won't delve any further into my frustration with the state of public education here in Michigan except to say that we need to start in our inner cities. Detroit Public Schools are suffering perhaps more than any other school system in the country. Thankfully there are those out there fighting to make things, including some of my close friends. Let's hope for a better future for Detroit's children, and for the schools they attend.

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Comments

kelley girl says:

How sad! So much money lost!
Unfortunately, the district continues to waste money renting high rent space when they have plenty of buildings that are vacant and would be more accessible to their employees. Everyday, I pray that the district will get better at managing money, keeping schools safe and clean and bringing more children back to the schools. I love my job, love my school, but the district needs to budget wisely.
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

jlewkow says:

what lens are you using?
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

Caryn Tayeh says:

I like the color. It's inappropriately cheery for an abandoned place.
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

smartee_martee says:

Love the wonderful yellow tones znd the research!
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

Patrick Austin says:

It's ridiculous. The school district faces such huge, huge hurdles. Infrastructure in Detroit is a complete mess in every way...

With (fewer than?) half the students it had back in the 60's, they've got two times more property than they need. Reusing these old buildings is probably more expensive than using newer ones once you factor in environmental remediation for all the asbestos and lead paint that has to be removed and the structural improvements. Add those problems into the problems facing any big urban school district and all of a sudden you don't have the resources to do anything.

That seems like the problem facing the whole city, though. Half the population needed to create the economy the city needs . Twice the area for cops to patrol means twice the number of cops needed. Twice as many miles traveled by garbage trucks. And so on...

Man this is bumming me out.
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

postpurchase says:

interesting and well captured image. i think patrick's response is sound. the reality is in the numbers detroit had 1,849,568 citizens in 1950 today it has around 870,000. there is simply too much infrastructure to be supported; even if the city had a functioning taxbase and government these structures could not all be saved. i hope for better days.
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

g. s. george says:

thanks for the interesting discussion guys. I think you're all spot-on. We're a city of 800,000 built for two to three million. There's a major source of the problem right there. I don't know the solution.... It's hard to say, there are no easy solutions. I'm reminded again of Detroit's motto--

Speramus Meliora, Resurget Cineribus
We hope for better things; it shall rise from the ashes.
Posted 27 months ago. ( permalink )

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Taken on September 22, 2007
Viewed 867 times

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