What Counts as Educational Policy- by Jean Anyon.

 Jean Anyon's article "What Counts as Educational Policy?" resonated with me very much because it highlighted how education cannot be separated from larger economic and social forces that help shape and create communities. Anyon argues that housing, labor, healthcare etc are JUST as much "educational policy" as testing or even curriculum decisions because if you think about it they directly impact what happens in schools! Growing up in Providence, RI for just about my entire life I was able to see how those connections played out. I drew a line between the reading and my personal life because I was raised in different neighborhoods that leaned slightly more toward the poverty end sometimes. Many families around me faced different challenges everyday like unstable housing, low-paying jobs and sometimes just limited access to resources. 

According to Anyon, the things I previously mentioned were not just "background conditions" they were policies and structures that affected students' abilities to succeed in schools. For example, if a family struggles with rent for one month or struggles with transportation, then that would affect their child or the students' attendance or their focus. For some, it may affect their ability to get the school supplies that they may need for specific classes. Providence schools among with others have faced (and may currently be facing) funding and/or resource issues. I was fortunate enough that despite my own troubles I was given the opportunity and ability to succeed throughout my schooling which makes me think about a point that Anyon had brought up that while schools schools and teachers/professors on a more individual level may be able to make a difference, the system wont be fair for all until the inequality aspects of it are addressed and changed! 

Ending off, after reading Anyon's argument, I feel like it helped me to better understand just exactly how my own experiences with the schooling systems affected me and the impact they had. Also, it helped me realize that it wasn't necessarily the school(s) fault, but the systems in place with the schools and the structures that they had to follow.