I was completely flattered when D.L. Mayfield invited me to write something about downward mobility and education. That lasted about five minutes, after that I was nervous and a little manic as I tried to sort out all the thoughts I have about this particular subject.

It turns out I have a roughly 37 million separate thoughts about education that can tumble out in a jumble, tangled mess any time I open my mouth. Just ask my husband’s colleagues who came over for sangria a few days ago and were treated to about half a million of these thoughts when they politely asked how my writing was going. Thanks guys!

It is hard to talk about something that I am sure I don’t have the answers to. If 6 years in the classroom didn’t, parenting has surely taught me that theoretical solutions and what actually happens are often not at all the same. But I can’t help but dream of a day when the christian families in communities all over the country decide to invest in their neighborhood schools. I can’t help dream of a time when public school teachers who don’t love Jesus, surely praise the church who loves their students so well. I think the church could be the answer to public education, if we would just love it well. I don’t know how we could get there, but I do know that the thought of it brings me to tears.

So, without further ado, here is my heart:

Last year in Atlanta, the most prestigious middle school needed to be redistricted. It was overflowing with kids while the next closest school was half empty. One of the largest neighborhoods, which pushed the school to overflowing, was actually closer to the half-empty school. It was a no brainer –except it wasn’t. The overflowing neighborhood was also one of the most affluent. Many of the parents had moved into that neighborhood before their thirteen and fourteen year olds were even born because it was districted for the prestigious middle school. Those lines would not be redrawn without a fight.

You can read the rest here.