The View From Sarah’s Classroom

There’s no need to go on the attack—my post is not an idle complaint or a helpless lament about a lack of trees. The school has actually planted some trees and other plants out front, organized by a parent/school beautification committee. My room just doesn’t happen to overlook them. Another thing my view doesn’t happen to include is a view of the mural I painted a few years ago with my students, with funding from our local ANC, speaking of attending ANC meetings and utilizing local resources. The classes on the other side of the school, though, do look out at that mural every day. And though we face away from the mural and trees, I’ve brought plants into my classroom, so we’re doing just fine for green things to look at—they’re just inside our window rather than outside. Additionally, one of the younger grades studies plants and grew some lovely ones in tires up on the roof of the building. I’d say that’s actually doing a fair amount to work with what we’ve got. The fact remains, though, that across the street is a vacant lot, a warehouse, and a Chinese food place. My post is really not a complaint at all. To me, the purpose of the View from Your Classroom project is to document the view out of a variety of classroom windows, to capture the differences. Like with all of the other photos posted, what I see out my classroom window has pros and cons. My photo is unmistakably urban. There are trade-offs to living in a city or living in a suburb or in the country. I appreciate having Chinese food so close, I’ve taken advantage of the 24-hour tire place that’s literally adjacent to our building, and should I ever find myself in need of any HVAC supplies—the industrial supply store on the corner has got me covered. Sprawling green spaces, however, aren’t always close by in a city, and my perspective from a DC window was simply showing that not all landscapes are alike. Let’s just stick with the intent of the Views project and take a minute to appreciate the variety of views.

Hag of beare: Sarah has every right to complain about the lack of greenery in that neighborhood. She's not the charter's CEO, she's just a teacher. What is she supposed to do, quit her job?