Savage Inequalities is continuing to teach me so much. It is revealing different aspects of teaching that have always recognized but never really paid attention to. In these two chapters I have read for this past week, they both discussed a lot about very obvious aspects of educating in different schools that we may not notice. In "Other People's Children", Kozol discusses different situations; but the main discussion is about a teacher named Corla Hawkins who teaches a fifth and sixth grade combined classroom. "Public Education in New York" discusses the difficulties teaching in New York.
"Kindergarten classes almost anywhere are cheerful places, and whatever damage may already have been done to children here is not initially apparent to a visitor" (43). This is one reminder that I really appreciated in this chapter. Young children are so innocent and naive; no matter what is going on at home they still seem so happy and cheerful when you see them in school. I can definitely relate to this because last semester I was in a placement where a young boy lost his grandmother. It was a kindergarten class and he was absolutely torn up about it; but once he got back into the routine with the other students he had a completely different attitude. He was able to play and laugh with the other students after about five minutes of being back at school. Young children have such a free spirit about them and are easy-going.
"The rationale behind much of this writing is that pedagogic problems in our cities are not chiefly matters of injustice, inequality or segregation, but of insufficient information about teaching strategies: If we could simply learn what works in Corla Hawkins's room, we'd then be in a position to repeat this all over Chicago and in every other system" (51). In this part of the chapter, Kozol argues that teachers aren't being educated enough with the situations around them. He talks about how difficult it is for teachers to understand lives that they have never experienced before; and how impossible it is to teach to a student you don't understand. Corla does her best to understand and know her students background before teaching. I think this is an excellent example of what all educators need to do. It's important to understand our students and their needs before we try overwhelming them with instruction. So, one aspect that is important to take away from this is the fact that this isn't just a problem of segregation or injustice, but also the fact that teachers are not getting the proper training on how to approach these students.
"It is part of our faith, as Americans, that there is potential in all children" (67). Kozol discusses how most of the teachers have given up in different areas because they are unable to reach the students. We need to remember, as educators, that all children have the ability to learn. Although some may be quicker than others, or may be able to learn different aspects more in depth; we need to remember that it is our responsibility to work with these students. We need to do our best to help them achieve their best. Without having faith in our students, they will not have faith in themselves. Unfortunately, the different situations we will find ourselves in may include our student's parents not believing in them. Especially if this is happening at home, it is our job to make sure we instill confidence in our students.
"It's amazing to me that these children ever make it with the obstacles they face. Many do care and they do try, but there's a feeling of despair" (90). This is a sad truth that we may find in our students. Especially for me, I plan on teaching in Chicago Public Schools, I know many of my students will have to deal with a lot on a day to day basis. For example, some of them may be responsible for younger siblings, others may have to help work to put food on the table. The students that have to deal with all of that stress outside of school with have a very difficult time focusing on doing their best in school. Although they may be doing their best, they may still have an attitude of despair. We need to recognize this in our students and possibly make accommodations for those that have to be a mother or father to a younger sibling when they leave from school.
I really appreciate Kozol's honesty in his writing. So many of these situations seem ridiculous and unbelievable, but it's important to see that these situations do exist and need to be addressed. I am excited to be able to start working in schools like this where I may be able to help, in the same way that Mrs. Hawkins did. She was discussed in the first chapter, and she did everything she could to accommodate for her students and try to ensure success in every single one of them. She took time to work with them individuality, but focused on their main needs first. I really admire teachers like this, and I hope I will be able to be that inspiration for my students as well.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Life on the Mississippi
I am genuinely happy and excited I chose to read this book. Throughout my time reading, I find myself wanting to quote everything that was happening. The reason not necessarily being that it was encouraging, this chapter was actually very discouraging; but I really want to have this experience make a lasting impression. As I said in my earlier post, this book is about the inequalities that are still so deeply rooted in our education systems. Jonathon Kozol takes us into "Life on the Mississippi", which is the title of the chapter. More specifically, we learn about the schools of East St. Louis. What I want to do is take you through some of the most memorable moments of this chapter that stuck out to me and I have been forcing myself to reflect on this past week.
"Many people seemed to view the segregation issue as a 'past injustice' that had been sufficiently addressed" (3). I will be the first to admit that I considered myself one of these people. Since segregation was made illegal after the Brown v. Board of Education case, I assumed that was the end of it. As we will see throughout this chapter, that is not the case at all. There are so many disheartening and bone-chilling moments that Kozol discusses throughout the chapter.
"Smokey says his sister was raped and murdered and then dumped behind his school. Other children add more details: Smokey's sister was 11 years old. She was beaten with a brick until she died" (13). Just stopping and thinking about the situation of these students I feel is important. When we learned about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, safety is one of the top ones mentioned. How do we expect to teach our children if they don't feel safe? This young boys sister was murdered, and her body was dumped behind the school he attends every day. Since I have never experienced anything like this, I can't say how that little boy feels. It is just another sobering reminder that we need to take the time to get to know our students. My desire is to teach in a low-income area, similar to the ones I will be reading about. It is important for me to learn about their fears and how different my students' lives are and will be from my own situation growing up.
"Assemble all the worst things in America - gambling, liquor, cigarettes and toxic fumes, sewage, waste disposal, prostitution - put it all together" (17). This isn't an over-exaggeration of the events happening in East St. Louis. As I read, I learned more about the schools that Kozol was visiting. In one district, they had sewage back up into the food preparation area; school was cancelled until they were able to get the mess cleaned up and get everything back to code. As he said this quote, he also encouraged the reader to think about where those activities happen in America. In the end, he came to the conclusion that it was mainly in the predominately African American schools. I continued thinking about this and realized he had a really good point. Honestly, I can't think of any predominately white schools that any of this would happen in; at least not that I have been in.
The school I am working in now is Hoover Elementary, and it is a predominately black population of students. This past week they were having a sewage problem as well. The floors of the girls bathroom was covered in water, and the boys bathroom was having issues too. It's disappointing to realize that the education system has failed in a lot of ways. We are unable to give teachers the pay they need, the supplies they need, and a reasonable number of students to try and manage. This is a reality that I need to accept because I have a desire to teach in these schools; even though sometimes I wish that desire would go away, especially after reading some of these situations!
I never really thought about the inequalities there were in education. There were always obvious differences when it came to funding; some schools had more books, nice facilities, good equipment for labs. However, I never considered the fact that predominately black schools usually ended up on the worse end of the bargain. It makes you wonder: is segregation gone, or just ignored? Do we turn the other way because we don't want to make that realization that there is something deeply rooted in our society that needs to be changed? Are we supposed to change it? These are questions I have been wrestling with all week as I have been going to my placement at Hoover and thinking about my future teaching job.
Although this was a difficult chapter to read, I'm oddly very encouraged and excited for my future job as a teacher. I also realize I have a lot to learn about the different schools I may be encountering. Even if I don't work in a school exactly like this one, it's important to be informed about what is out there. I'm excited to continue reading and learning about the different schools we will be visiting on this journey.
"Many people seemed to view the segregation issue as a 'past injustice' that had been sufficiently addressed" (3). I will be the first to admit that I considered myself one of these people. Since segregation was made illegal after the Brown v. Board of Education case, I assumed that was the end of it. As we will see throughout this chapter, that is not the case at all. There are so many disheartening and bone-chilling moments that Kozol discusses throughout the chapter.
"Smokey says his sister was raped and murdered and then dumped behind his school. Other children add more details: Smokey's sister was 11 years old. She was beaten with a brick until she died" (13). Just stopping and thinking about the situation of these students I feel is important. When we learned about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, safety is one of the top ones mentioned. How do we expect to teach our children if they don't feel safe? This young boys sister was murdered, and her body was dumped behind the school he attends every day. Since I have never experienced anything like this, I can't say how that little boy feels. It is just another sobering reminder that we need to take the time to get to know our students. My desire is to teach in a low-income area, similar to the ones I will be reading about. It is important for me to learn about their fears and how different my students' lives are and will be from my own situation growing up.
"Assemble all the worst things in America - gambling, liquor, cigarettes and toxic fumes, sewage, waste disposal, prostitution - put it all together" (17). This isn't an over-exaggeration of the events happening in East St. Louis. As I read, I learned more about the schools that Kozol was visiting. In one district, they had sewage back up into the food preparation area; school was cancelled until they were able to get the mess cleaned up and get everything back to code. As he said this quote, he also encouraged the reader to think about where those activities happen in America. In the end, he came to the conclusion that it was mainly in the predominately African American schools. I continued thinking about this and realized he had a really good point. Honestly, I can't think of any predominately white schools that any of this would happen in; at least not that I have been in.
The school I am working in now is Hoover Elementary, and it is a predominately black population of students. This past week they were having a sewage problem as well. The floors of the girls bathroom was covered in water, and the boys bathroom was having issues too. It's disappointing to realize that the education system has failed in a lot of ways. We are unable to give teachers the pay they need, the supplies they need, and a reasonable number of students to try and manage. This is a reality that I need to accept because I have a desire to teach in these schools; even though sometimes I wish that desire would go away, especially after reading some of these situations!
"'Gifted children,' says Dr. Parks, 'are everywhere in East St. Louis, but their gifts are lost to poverty and turmoil and the damage done by knowing they are written off by their society'" (33-34). It's terrible to think of a gifted student giving up on himself or herself because society doesn't expect enough out of them. I really wanted to reflect on this thought. Am I someone that isn't expecting enough out of a student because of their background? Do I automatically assume that a student is incapable? I would like to think not at all, and throughout this past week I have stopped and asked myself that question at my placement. To be honest with myself, I'm not sure whether I do or not. I know there are very intelligent students in the class. Even if I don't make assumptions about capabilities, I should be encouraging my students to strive for excellence no matter what.
I never really thought about the inequalities there were in education. There were always obvious differences when it came to funding; some schools had more books, nice facilities, good equipment for labs. However, I never considered the fact that predominately black schools usually ended up on the worse end of the bargain. It makes you wonder: is segregation gone, or just ignored? Do we turn the other way because we don't want to make that realization that there is something deeply rooted in our society that needs to be changed? Are we supposed to change it? These are questions I have been wrestling with all week as I have been going to my placement at Hoover and thinking about my future teaching job.
Although this was a difficult chapter to read, I'm oddly very encouraged and excited for my future job as a teacher. I also realize I have a lot to learn about the different schools I may be encountering. Even if I don't work in a school exactly like this one, it's important to be informed about what is out there. I'm excited to continue reading and learning about the different schools we will be visiting on this journey.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Introduction
I was very excited when I heard about this project for class. Over the summer I had the opportunity to read a few books written by other teachers about education practices. However, one thing I never touched on was reading about diversity in schools. It is one thing to talk about diversity in a classroom, but it is entirely different when you read and begin to understand what diversity may look like in my own future classroom. I've chosen Jonathan Kozol's book because it seems that he has had a lot of experience in situations of diversity in a school. In his writings, he looks at the public school system as a place of great inequality. I'm very excited to read this book and be able to take hold of my own growth and learning.
In his book, Jonathon Kozol will be writing about the inequalities in the public school systems. Although we are now decades after segregation ended in this country, Kozol argues that in many ways we are still as segregated now as we were then. Throughout the book, we will be taking a journey through many inner city schools and getting to know some students that are not being given the same opportunities as we would care to believe. Kozol will be arguing as to why we need to recognize the inequalities in our school system; along with taking it into our own hands as educators to learn to be as fair as possible.
I am definitely looking forward to reading this book and learning more about what I may not be able to see myself. In the future, I really want to teach in the Chicago Public School system; but I know I have a lot to learn about the schools and their situation. Reading Savage Inequalities will give me a good start as to what to expect when I begin teaching. I understand reading about something and experiencing them are completely different; but I think this book will give me a good opportunity to grow and have a new understanding of an unfamiliar situation.
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