By Madeline Vosch, Illustration: Holly Stapleton/The Washington Post, The Washington Post, June 10, 2022
I work at a Title I public high school in Texas that is 70 percent Hispanic, and where 60 percent of the students are categorized as economically disadvantaged. There is so little I can do for my students, but so much I’m supposed to do.
Something is wrong with the heating and cooling system. My classroom is always freezing. Some days in winter, it’s 55 degrees inside; even in late May, it’s cold. So I become an HVAC tech: I bring in a space heater. Students stand in front of it, warming their hands as if at a hearth.
Early in the school year, my students tell me they’re hungry. “I’m sorry I’m so out of it, Miss,” one says. “I haven’t eaten since yesterday morning.” I bring snacks, stock my classroom with granola bars and Goldfish. I learn which teachers bring ramen noodle cups, which offices keep oatmeal.
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