Linda Brown: An imagined dinner table conversation
By Maggie Donovan

One night Linda Brown sat down to dinner with her father, her mother and her sister.

Father: Linda, how was your day? How was school today?
Linda: I had a good day daddy. I got all my spelling words right.

Father: Good, that’s good.
Linda: I remembered my multiplication facts.

Father: Good, that’s good.
Linda: I jumped rope with Ruby and Grace.

Father: Good, that’s good.
Linda: I like school. I like my teacher. I like my friends. I love to read. I love to learn.

Father: Linda, that’s very good.
Linda: But Daddy, some things about school aren’t so good.

Father: Not so good? Tell me about those things.
Linda: Well, Daddy, the building is old. The paint is chipped, the halls are dirty, the classroom is cold, the windows are broken, the ceiling is leaky, the playground is cracked, the fence is rusty, the yard is just dirt, the bathroom lights are out.

Father: That’s not good. No, that’s not good.
Linda: And, Daddy, the chalkboards are chipped, there are no erasers, the books are torn, there’s hardly any paper, there are no crayons, there’s only two rulers, there is no glue and hardly any paint. We have to share math books and markers and there’s hardly any soap to wash our hands and no paper towels to dry them.

Father: That’s not good. No, that’s not good.
Linda: And Daddy, the school is down five blocks, across three more, over a bridge, and cross the tracks. And that’s just to get to the bus..Sometimes a train is coming when we cross the tracks. Then I get scared.

Father: That’s not good. No, that’s not good.
Linda: And Daddy, right down the street on the next block, there is a new school. It has fresh paint, shiny windows, clean walks, a smooth playground, slides and swings and a grassy yard. Why can’t I go to that school Daddy?

Father: I don’t know, Linda, but I’m going to find out.

Dialogue developed by Maggie Donovan