Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
roompipewouldfreezeeverywinter.Thebasementwaslikeacave.Itwasreally
bad but I was so desperate to move out of East Boston. I took it.
Despite these challenges, Theresa and her family remained in Dedham for five years
for the safety, educational, and social resources it provided.
Like many women, Theresa chose the suburbs because it would provide a better life
for her children. Quality public education was critical to achieving this goal. Theresa
states,
Ididn'twanttoraisetheminanyoftheBostonschoolssowemovedtoDedham.
[Why not Boston Public Schools?] Because Boston Schools is no education.…
I went to Boston Schools and I never finished. You know, there is just so much
that goes on that it's hard for a kid to focus on their learning when you've gotta
go through a metal detector just to get into school. You have to worry about the
next person jumping you. You have to worry about gangs. There is so much to
worry about in Boston schools where in the suburbs you don't have that.
Describingtheeducationalservicesherson,Mark,receivesasaspecialneedsstudent,
Theresa states,
Hewasinaverytinyclass.Theremighthavebeentwelveorfourteenkids.They
had a teacher, an assistant teacher, plus three aids. So he had one on one a lot.
Also they allowed him, because he couldn't sit still, to stand up by the window
if he wanted to as long as he wasn't disturbing the class. As long as he wasn't
disrupting the class, he was allowed to do things that the Boston public schools
wouldn't have never allowed him to do. So it made it a little easier for him in
school.
Unlike most special needs students in the Boston Public School system, Theresa's
son receives superior educational and emotional resources through her suburban public
schoolsystem.AccesstotheseserviceswouldnothavebeenpossibleifTheresawasun-
able to capitalize on her whiteness to gain entrée into a highly racially segregated hous-
ing market.
Becca: Safety and High Quality Education as Privileged Emotional Resources
Becca, a low-income, welfare dependent mother, gains access to a variety of material
benefits from residing in a white suburban, middle class community. These benefits
included physical safety and improved educational resources. Describing her current
safety level in Newton, Massachusetts, Becca states,
