Empowering Education

            The reading Empowering Education by Ira Shor talks about what an empowered student really is. In many classrooms that I have been in, the teacher stands up in front of the classroom and talks for the good majority of the class, not engaging the students at all, most of them not even paying attention to what the teacher is saying. I personally cannot classify this as learning, if a teacher really wants to make the class understand a subject, it is important for students to be able to make real life connections to the things that they are learning in school in order for them to really retain information. “…A curriculum that does not challenge the standard syllabus and conditions in society informs students that knowledge and the world are fixed and are find the way they are, with no role for students to play in transforming them, and no need for change.” This quote really stuck out to me, because it is completely true. If students are learning things in the classroom, and having no chance to voice their opinions, they may think that it is never necessary to voice their opinions, which in turn would allow for change to never occur in society.                                                           

           In the classes I attend where I sit and listen to the professor talk at me for an hour and fifty minutes, I dread going. “Students learn to be passive or cynical in classes that transfer facts, skills, or values without meaningful connection to their needs, interest, or community cultures.” I think that this relates to The Freedom Writers, when the students first entered Mrs. G’s classroom, they had only been talked to all their life. No personal connections were ever made in any of the things that they were learning, until Mrs. G changed this for them. All of the students were able to excel when the work they were doing actually had meaning to them, allowing them to become successful and have a chance to make something out of themselves. 

          The author talks about one of his own classroom experiences, he was teaching a freshmen English class about mass media. He had the students write down their definition of what mass media was and then he gave them his own rendition of mass media. He allowed for the students to compare thoughts and ideas in small groups and then they would discuss their thoughts as a whole class. The teacher states that “the students in that mass media class learned subject matter through student-centered problem-posing in a critical dialogue, not through my lecturing them in a banking fashion.” This completely relates to our FNED class, we always have the ability to talk in small groups to get our thoughts together and then come together as a class and bounce different ideas off of each other gaining different knowledge and ideas. We do not sit through the whole class and get told what we are supposed to think and believe, there is a chance for us to pose our own ideas and thoughts which is very important for students to be able to do.

          I chose a video of a fourth and fifth grade teacher explaining that she gives her students individual time to think through problems, then gives them a chance to discuss with their peers how to think through problems. This allows for children to get their own idea together, and then build off of other thoughts as well: https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/independent-and-group-work

 

The social justice event that I attended was the speech given by Shirley Wilcher, she is an affirmative action specialist and has directed the American Association for Affirmative Action. Affirmative action has a vast number of relations to the things that we have read and discussed in class. Affirmative action provides equal opportunities to people of different races, sexual orientation, disability etc; affirmative action not only takes place in the work force, but in education as well, at the college level.

During her talk she touched on a wide variety of topics, and talked about how she still experiences racism today. This is something that truly surprises me because I personally grew up accepting people of different races, I do not think twice about talking to someone who is of a different race than I am. Shirley is an African American woman, and she gave many examples of how she has witnessed and experienced racism still today’s. The example that I really found shocking was the story she told about when she was in Washington D.C. She was with a white co-worker, and they flagged down a cab for her. When Shirley put her hand on the door handle to get into the cab, the cab driver drove away. I was amazed when she told this story because society has come such a long way, and I think that in this day in age everyone should be accepting. There is no reason for racism or discrimination, but people still believe in it today.

           We have done a lot of readings in class that relate to racism. I connected her talk to the readings White Privilege by McIntosh, Privilege, Power, and Difference by Johnson, and lastly SCWAMP by Grinner. In all of these articles they touch on the fact that whiteness is valued in our society. The main point of affirmative action is to value not only whiteness, but every race, every gender, social class, ability, age and sexual orientation.

           This can connect to things that happen in our society today, in the workplace companies are required to have written affirmative action plans in order to prevent any type of discrimination. Through affirmative action, everyone gets a fair and equal opportunity to obtain a job, it also creates a more diverse environment in the workplace that may not have been established if affirmative action was not necessary. An affirmative action case that is very widely known is the Fisher v. University of Texas case; Fisher applied to the University of Texas and felt that she was denied because she was white, and that some of her classmates of color got accepted to the college, having lower grades then she did. The equal opportunity and affirmative action at RIC, can relate to us all. It states that the college “does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, national or ethic origin, gender, religion, disability, age, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity.” This policy is not only used for applications, but for loans and scholarships, and also is relevant is the process of hiring new workers and professors.

Citizenship in School

The article “Citizenship in School: Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome” by Christopher Kliewer talks about the importance of having students with special needs in the same classroom with students who do not have special needs.

It states that “the challenge is to erase negative attitudes about people with developmental disabilities, get rid of stereotypes and break the barriers for people with disabilities.” I think that this quote is very true, some people have very negative views of people with disabilities, when in reality there is no reason to have such a negative connotation. Some people with disabilities can have such vast knowledge on certain subjects; for example, there was a boy in my high school who had some sort of disability, but he loved reading. He was constantly reading and was able to excel far beyond anyone in our English class, because he could retain the information he read immediately and genuinely loved every book we would read. I think it is important for classes to have disabled and non-disabled students because “many of us have a certain level of control over who we meet and interact with, none of us can come close to claiming complete control.” If children never have the experience of having and working with disabled children in their classrooms, they could have false ideas about people with disabilities. If a child is able to have experience with someone with disabilities at a young age, later in their lives I think that they are more likely to be accepting and have a better understanding about people with disabilities. The article stated that “acceptance is the aim when children with Down syndrome join their nondisabled peers in classrooms, and many school and individual teachers have entered into this effort.” One school I know of that does this is the Meeting Street School in Providence they have all inclusive classrooms. I learned about this school a couple of years ago and it was something that really interested me because in the schools that I had attended never had disabled students in the same classroom as nondisabled students. The link tells a little bit more about Meeting Street School and what they aim to do: http://www.meetingstreet.org/AboutUs/AboutMeetingStreet/tabid/142/Default.aspx

Literacy with an Attitude:

In the reading Literacy with an Attitude by Patrick J. Finn, the part I found most interesting was when he touched on the topic of the working-class, middle class and elite schools.

 The working class students were viewed as students who did not care about school, or succeeding. They were expected to work at low-paying jobs that no one else wanted. However, these are false depictions of these students it is stated that the students don’t care about school, are lazy and stupid but “you have to keep reminding yourself that these children did not have low IQ scores. They were working-class children with average intelligence, some with better than average intelligence.” The work that they were expected to do in school was easy, and could have been boring for them. “In the working-class schools, social studies instruction typically consisted of copying teachers’ notes, writing answers to textbook questions, and craft projects.” I think it’s hard for students to be interested in learning when they are just copying notes and not making any real life connections or having hands on activities especially in elementary school. The working-class students learned to how to follow directions, aspire to get low-paying jobs, and learned to resist authority. The middle-class students learned to follow orders, perform the jobs that kept society running smoothly. They learned that if the cooperated they would get well-paid middle class jobs. The students in the middle-class schools did not have much excitement for school, they believed that going to school would equal good grades, which would lead to college and then in the future acquiring a middle-class job. Lastly, the elite schools were the schools that set students up for success. “The dominant theme in the executive elite school was excellence- preparation for being the best, for top-quality performance.” In these schools, students were taught how to be creative and they were expected to find the rewards work. They were taught to be “masters of the universe.” I find this interesting because I feel that every school should want their students to be successful; they should not be classified because of where they come from, they should each get an equal opportunity to be prosperous. This is an article of schools in Perth's poorest area, they are trying to make changes and advances in their schools to help their students, which I think all school districts should do if they have students that struggle, or are not in the best areas. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-11/disadvantaged-perth-schools-benefit-from-leadership-program/6355770

Becoming Something Different: Learning from Esme

      

The reading Becoming Something Different: Learning from Esme by Fairbanks, Crooks and Ariail tells a story of three professors who studied Esme, a Mexican girl living in the United States, from grades six to eleven. They studied how she assimilated into American culture, through school, friends and family life. I found this particular article very interesting because it brought up many ideas that we have discussed in class. In the beginning of the article it touches on the fact that “these researchers argue that perceptions of Latina/o students as lacking English proficiency, adequate motivation, and parental support, combined with the school’s devaluing of cultural practices different from the mainstream, too often position Latina/o students as deficient (Gonzalez, 2001)”. Throughout this whole reading, all I could think about was the Kozol and Rodriguez readings that we did earlier in the semester. In one of Esme’s interviews it stated that “Esme positioned Spanish-language dominance and her family’s traditional ways as obstacles to be overcome in school in order to fit into the social life at school.” For example, she knew English, but found that she was not completely proficient putting her at a disadvantage in the classroom, she was also not allowed to go to the mall after school with her friends without supervision, she was not allowed to date boys and at times she was requited to come home right after school to take care of her younger brothers and sisters, instead of joining an after school clubs or activities. This reminds me of the article An Indian Father’s Plea, when Wind-Wolf was embarrassed to his long hair and did not want to be a part of the Indian traditions any longer. The pressure to fit in at school can be a lot for someone to handle. Middle and high school can be difficult enough as it is, standing out can make things even more complicated. Esme said that “she identified herself as an American of Mexican heritage rather than a Mexican girl living in the United States, as her parents saw her”. Esme viewed herself as American because she grew up here most of her life, this is where all her friends are and the thought of going back to Mexico scared her because in her mind she viewed it as a scary place.

The Other Three R's

       I watched the video The Other Three R’s with Gloria Ladson-Billings, Michael Lomax, and Gary Orfield, they stated that the Brown v Board of Edu created equal opportunities for all students in schools as well as colleges. At the college level work study became available as did financial aid and scholarships. However, in the 1990s, it was said that the desegregation was temporary and things began to go back to the way they were before.

 

       Gloria Ladson-Billings stated that there were two major issues that have never fully been solved in society; the first is that schools were never fully segregated and the second was that there was never funding to allow them to run properly. Schools are mostly segregated by race and poverty levels. The video states that in the early ages African Americans and Latino students were deemed unable to participate in society, it was even illegal for them to learn how to read and write. Without knowing how to read and write makes it impossible to go to school. Without schooling and today, without a college degree it is very difficult for someone to obtain a job. For low income, high performing students of color the chances of going to college are one in ten, but for high income moderate performing white students they have a 90% chance. The top schools consist of mostly white and Asian students, and the lower tier schools are mostly black, and at these schools it is harder to graduate. This is a great example of white privilege.

       The other point they touched on was the fact that some of the teachers that teach in these low income areas, are not specifically certified to be teachers. Teachers that are teaching in high performing schools are certified and understand the importance of teaching. Some teachers in the lower performing schools do not have a certification. For example, there could be a chemistry teacher, but they could only have a degree in chemistry, not a teaching degree. In school, teaching to the test is something that is being done more and more, however, teaching to the test allows no room for creativity or fun in the classroom. Since the test scores have a direct effect on teachers, most teachers main priority is to teach in a place that they will be able to survive and keep their jobs. In most cases this means teaching in a high performing school. The low performing schools get stuck with teachers that are new to the teaching world and may not know how to handle the situations they are forced into. If teaching to the test was not such a big aspect, more teachers would want to teach in these places where kids are in need of a good quality teacher willing to do everything in their power to help the students understand the material. There has to be a way to figure out how to make disadvantaged schools become advantaged. The students at these disadvantaged schools are not unintelligent in any way, they are just so deep in poverty and the schools do not have enough resources, so they are fighting against a vast amount of problems.

 

        

In today’s society, the act of completing a certain amount of community service hours, or performing some form of community service is very prominent. The article “In the Service of What” by Kahne and Westheimer, touches on that fact that at times students may not understand the point of completing this community service; they know it is required so they complete it not really taking into consideration the point of it. Not only are students helping others when they perform community service but “service activities should develop students’ abilities at ‘public speaking, recruiting other students, organizing meetings, analyzing problems, developing action plans and conducting evaluations’”. I think that the idea of community service is a great thing, it teaches students at a young age that giving back to the community is important, and it can also open their eyes to see things differently than they had before. The article touches upon a story about middle class students were playing a concert for a lower class elementary school and the students as well as the parents were concerned. The parents thought it would be dangerous and the students thought that the elementary school children would be “rude, tough, and noisy”. After the students played their concert they realized that they had a misperception of what the young children were going to be like, most of the students were very attentive and paid attention through the whole concert. This is a perfect example of stereotypes, just because the elementary school was in a bad area does not mean that all the children attending the school were going to misbehave. I think this relates to our work in the Providence Elementary Schools, when I first went into it I was apprehensive because most of the children come from different backgrounds then I am used to, so I was unsure as to how the children would act and how I would react to it. It turns out that I had a false conception as well, every student that I have worked with was more than friendly and willing to do all their work and really enjoyed the one on one time they receive.
          It’s important for children to start to appreciate volunteer work at a young age, “by engaging in meaningful service- whether tutoring children whom English is their second language, helping patients in a hospital, doing difficult chores for the elderly, or supervising younger children’s recreational activities, students will have opportunities to experience what David Hornbeck, former Maryland state superintendent, referred to as ‘the joy of reaching out to others’”.  Regardless of the type of “service” someone is performing, the most important aspect I think is understanding and talking about why you’re doing it, I don’t think that writing an essay about it is beneficial. It should be discussed and what was gained out of the experience and how it changed your opinion on a specific topic, person, or group of people. Most high schools require at least a few hours of community service in order to graduate. Here is a link from debate.org that discusses different people's opinions whether it should be required or not: http://www.debate.org/opinions/should-community-service-be-required-to-graduate-high-school