Giving Compass' Take:

• In this Chalkbeat story, Caroline Bauman interviews Memphis elementary school teacher Angelique Hines about why she became a teacher and what challenges her students face.

• How can teachers help students transition from "fun" classrooms where little work gets done to "boring" classrooms where they can actually recieve a rigorous education?

• To learn why racial diversity among teachers is important, click here.

“This system is hindering kids in ways they are oblivious to,” [fourth and fifth grade teacher Angelique Hines] said. “Knowledge like this makes my job difficult because a zip code can determine whether you get a real education or a ‘fun’ one.”

We talked with Hines about why she became a teacher, how she gets to know her students, and why she can’t teach without a highlighter.

What part of your job is most difficult?

The most difficult part about my job is the knowledge I hold about the real world and the injustices that my children have faced in their lives. I remember speaking to a student who admitted that he “hated this school” and missed his “old teacher.” I prompted him by asking “what made her your favorite teacher and memorable?”

He went on to add that she allowed the students to watch movies, allowed them to do “fun” activities in class, and class wasn’t so “boring” and “full of classwork.” He came in reading on a second-grade level as a fourth-grader. And while I didn’t demean his teacher in front of him, it further expressed that this system that they’re in is hindering them, and they don’t even know it. He felt like if we were doing classwork, something was wrong.

This system is hindering kids in ways they are oblivious to. Knowledge like this makes my job difficult because a zip code can determine whether you get a real education or a “fun” one. A zip code determines if you will have strong work ethic. A zip code determines how well you can make inferences or comprehend. It lights a fire under me and pressures me to work hard not just for myself but for my kids to ensure that a zip code doesn’t define them.

Read the full article about inequity in education by Caroline Bauman at Chalkbeat