oh Oak Park
I wish the video would have touched more on the disparities within oak park.
First, there is a clear "blame" put into the neighboring communities like the Chicago Neighborhood right next to Oak Park, Austin.
In this article , we see more of the disparity being blames on members who are "not part of" the community.
Here is a screenshot of how problematic I thought this article was and how much it justified racial disparities within Oak Park's policing practices. This struck to me because in the video we also saw a police officer inside the school.
ON A TOTAL DIFFERENT THOUGHT:
I also thought about Oak Park as a place that you either have to be from there or know people from there to understand it. If you think you know oak park because you have been through North Avenue or drove by Harlem and see the historic homes and places like Whole Foods and immediately think how only rich people can live in this place and that they might have more opportunities than those of us in the south neighboring towns.
But this past Wednesday watching the football game with friends and family we saw a player that said that his hometown was "Oak Park, IL." I didn't think much of it but a lot of the guys that were watching the game said "I can bet you anything that he went to Fenwick." and another saying "Well of course, he's from Oak Park. There is only one school recruiters go to and I do not think it's OPFR."
So, I looked him up. I searched "#14 Patriots." Sure enough there he was Robert Spillane ( Sorry I am linking a Wikipedia page but that'd do), Grew up in Oak Park, Illinois and attended Fenwick High School. He has been in the NFL for a few years, he ain't a household name, at least not for me- someone who clearly is not super into football. Nonetheless, Spillane has a multimillion dollar contract with the Patriots. BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT DREW MY ATTENTION ENOUGH TO MENTION IT HERE.
THIS DID:
His grandfather, Johnny Lattner? He ALSO WENT TO FENWICK along with other several -male- family members! This article kinda mentions it along with his experience with a friend that lived the OPRF experience we saw in the video?
It also made me think about people that come from less resourced neighborhoods and flee their neighborhoods and like we see in the videos move to places where the resources are there for their future generations. We see in the video that Tiara moved in with her sister in order to be able to go to OPRF. While I think that a lot of people make sacrifices for their children I think it also speaks volumes about the disparities in our education overall- especially those that students experience in different parts WITHIN THE SAME CITY! chicago
I saw this a lot growing up, our high school aggressively policed students' addresses to make sure families were not coming from "other neighborhoods" to "take advantage" or "taking away" our resources. They not only checked parents ID's THEY CHECKED rent agreements, leases and even deeds. We were by no means the best school outside of CPS (it was Cicero!!) yet the district still felt the dire need to segregate students and investigate their families.
Anyway, I am very contradicted about Oak Park because I want to have so much faith that there's people that care yet I still feel like this only affirms my opinion about the rich getting richer because of the means that are at their hands reach.
I really liked your point about the different sides of Oak Park that people don’t always see. I especially agree with what you said about people assuming that everyone who lives in Oak Park is wealthy and automatically has the same opportunities. Growing up there, I think it is easy to see how complicated the community actually is compared to the way people from the outside view it. Just because Oak Park has a certain reputation and has access to a lot of resources does not mean everyone who lives there has the same experience. I also thought your point about legacy was really interesting. The example of Spillane and his family all going to Fenwick made me think about how opportunities can kind of build on themselves from one generation to the next. I don't think that means someone is successful only because of their family, but having access to certain schools, connections, and resources definitely gives people advantages that others might not have. I think this connects really well to the video because it shows how where someone lives and the resources available to them can affect their educational opportunities. I also found it interesting that you brought up your own experience with your school checking students' addresses, which is also something Oak Park does as well. It's just something that doesn't sit right with me because it shows how strongly schools can try to protect the resources they have, even when those resources are already unevenly distributed between different communities.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your point about how Oak Park can look very different depending on who is experiencing it. The connection you made between school resources, neighborhood boundaries, and family legacy was especially interesting. I agree that having access to certain schools, connections, and opportunities can create advantages that continue across generations. Your example about students’ addresses also stood out to me because it shows how strongly schools can protect their resources. At the same time, it raises questions about fairness and equal access. I think your post shows that educational inequality can exist even between communities that are very close to each other.
ReplyDeleteThe invisible lines in Chicago is crazy, especially when it comes to resources. I agree when you said that the rich get richer with the means they have, it's an evil world we live in. It made me when cringe when the school in Cicero went through so much to check where the family actually lives. They were probably hoping they caught the family in a lie. I'm not surprised to hear about the NFL player whose family all went to Fenwick, it's a legacy and rich person thing. Rich people will always get the best resources, when he went he probably had the best coaches, training regiments, and food growing up.
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