29 Matching Annotations
  1. Oct 2024
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    1. "You guys are no help. Literally no help. Why do you guys have me in here?" she protested. Sofia's step-grandfather was so angry with the school administrators (and perhaps intimidated by them) that Lola tried to intervene. (He tells us that when he was growing up here in the 1950s, all the parents were involved in the schools, but now they are completely uninterested. "They would rather let others do it, but then no one gets involved."

      Nowadays, I think that's the case for a lot of schools in the U.S.. Many parents aren't involved in school affairs as back in the day. parents actually cared about their children's education and the material they're being taught, but now parents just send kids to these schools and are not involved whatsoever.

    2. "It's a lot of pressure for them. It's the one thing my husband and I don't like about this school. Academically, you have to [work hard] to get into top schools, unfortunately, [but] they're taking the fun out of it."

      I like this quote because it tells people the drawback of having a school with lots of opportunities. kids don't have time to be kids and that's something that they can't get back. they work hard to compete against one another, striving to be better than on another that they forget to be themselves and do the things that they want to do. In another class that i was in, we talked about how competition has a certain limit and eventually everyone will be trying to reach goals that are impossible for someone to achieve. If every kid have these good grades and extracurricular activities, the disparity between people from these students and everyone else competing for top school admission will continue to grow.

    3. owever, many upwardly mobile middle-class Latinos (mostly second-or third-generation descendants of immigrants) are moving rap-idly from impoverished Latino areas in Los Angeles and Orange County into formerly white Orange County communities.

      As a first generation student, I think that it was harder for my parents to adjust to life here and that caused a lot of shortcomings in their lives. latino families that have been here are more likely to be successful because they have adjusted to life here and can make a decent living compared to first generation families.

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    1. It is when these two come together that we see how poverty and race intermingle to marginalize students. Low-income students are more likely to achieve positive educational outcomes (e.g., passing test scores or graduating) once their strengths are recognized, affirmed, and rewarded to the same degree that their middle-class peers' are. Because I was respectful and did not disagree with or challenge other students or educators, teachers accepted me. I was one of the "good ones." My compliance and obedience were rewarded with good grades.

      low-income students that have their natural skills recognized and affirmed, are often able to produce favorable academic results—that is, pass tests or graduate—like their high income counterparts. But for children from poor families especially, the educational system sometimes ignores and undervalues their strengths in favor of compliance and conformity. The author's own experience of being called one of the "good ones" due of conformity shows how frequently schools reward behavior that conforms with dominant standards. This hinders the ability of other low income student because they aren't promoting intellect or creativity.

    2. I believe my lack of books contributed to my below average reading test scores

      I agree with this. In low income households, kids don't have access to books generally because they can't afford them or the parents have poor reading skills. this negatively affects the children and hinders their ability to improve their reading skills.

    3. I was shaped and nurtured by my mother and grandmother. My mother gradu-ated from a Mississippi high school, and while she eventually earned a certifi-cate in early childhood education from a community college in Milwaukee, she primarily worked at jobs that paid minimum wage.

      I can relate to this as I was also raised by my mother and I adopted her values and motivations. she worked many hours and I would be alone with my brother a lot. I understood from a young age that we had to be good and work hard if we wanted to be successful in life. I think that is what drove me to come to college and get a higher education

    4. students reveal to me that they grew up poor, and often they tell me that they are the first person from their family to go to college

      I feel like this is common among low income students. As a low income student as well, I feel pride in knowing I am studying here and proving that anyone can get an education.

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    1. Under this system, college-bound students, often under the guidance of their parents, seek out and choose teachers known for interesting and challcng-,,,. ing classes. In contrast, poor student<; from flatland neighborhoods often use the process to ci}.oose teachers who arc known for being less demanding-teachers who show videos every day and arc easy graders. Students who are new to Berkeley High and have no circle of adults or peers co advise them often wind up with the teachers whom few others choose.

      The approach benefits those with more resources like college-bound kids from richer home, and disparaging lower-income students by letting students choose their own courses with little or no assistance from counselors. Often advised by informed and involved parents, the children from wealthy homes are better able to negotiate the process and select challenging and interesting courses with tough teachers. Poorer students, especially those from underprivileged "flatland" neighborhoods, are more prone to choose simpler courses or teachers with less demands, therefore reducing their academic development and future possibilities.

    2. Tl1c process is called "self-scheduling" and is done with little or no counselor guidance.

      I've experienced self-scheduling to a lesser extent. we were allowed to choose elective courses for our next year but we still had our GE courses assigned to us. This process seems unfair to students who have no guidance.

    3. How, in a progressive community like Berkeley and in a high school that appears to revel in its commitment to diversity-with its African American Studies Department and freshman ethnic studies requirement-does the structure of the school lend itself to repro<lucing the racial achievement gap?

      The chapter asks an important question regarding the dichotomy between Berkeley High's progressive values and their contribution in growing the racial achievement gap. The school's structural policies still reflect racial disparities despite the fact it is in a community that values diversity and provides courses in African American studies and ethnic studies. Could it be due to to systematic racism? Or could it be due to cultural and social expectations?

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    1. Single-parent family structures have become the norm for low-income children but are still quite rare among children in high-income families.

      I can relate to this because for the first couple of years growing up, my mother was the only parent in my life. me and my brother watched our mother struggle on her own to provide for us. their would be moments where my brother and i were home alone for most of the day because my mother would be working late. when my mother married my step-father, her burden was reduced and she was more happy.

    2. Another factor that affects school achievement is the quality of family re-lationships. When families are free from persistent strain, relationships are easier and less fraught with tension.14 When parent-child relationships are warm, children respond well. When children respond well, harsh parenting practices are less common.

      This is a great point! Family dynamics and academic success are strongly related; children who grow up in a stable, encouraging home often show better behavioral and emotional control, which helps them to succeed academically. Parent-child relationships can become tense regardless of their socio-economic background. Under such circumstances, parents could find it difficult to keep warmth and patience, which would result in more severe methods of raising children. These dynamics might compromise children's well-being, therefore affecting their ability to focus and thrive in the classroom.

    3. Why might growing gaps in family income cause an increasing gap between the school success of low-income and higher-income children? According to economic theory, families with higher incomes are better able to purchase or produce important "inputs" into their young chil-dren's development-for example, nutritious meals, enriched home learn-ing environments and child-care settings outside the home, and safe and stimulating neighborhood environments.4 Alternatively, psychologists and sociologists focus on how economic disadvantage impairs the quality of family relationships.

      This makes sense to me. Families who are financially well-off may afford to make investments in healthy food, better child care, and better learning conditions. Lower-income households sometimes lack these tools, which lays a solid foundation for academic achievement. Having access to safe environments and great early childhood education will help a child be ready for school and succeed academically in the long run. Families experiencing financial difficulties may cause parents to be more prone to suffer with stress, sadness, or exhaustion, which may impact their interactions with their children and reduce the time available for assistance, educational involvement, and nurturing. Children from low-income homes suffer a doubled strain from these emotional dynamics and lack of financial means, which limits their school performance relative to their higher-income counterparts.

    4. Which of these factors are most powerful in determining a child's s Uc-cess in school?

      This chapter raises a quite interesting subject. The success of a child in school depends on many variables. The example of Alexander and Anthony provides an excellent illustration of the students' socioeconomic background as well as their parents' educational history, which helps to influence the academic success of the children.

    5. It is easy to imagine how the childhood circumstances of these two young men may have shaped their fates. Alexander lived in the suburbs while Anthony lived in the city center. Most of Alexander's suburban neighbors lived in families with incomes above the $125,000 that now sep-arates the richest 20 percent of children from the rest. Anthony Mears's school served pupils from families whose incomes were near or below the $27,000 threshold separating the bottom 20 percent (see figure 2.4). With an income of more than $300,000, Alexander's family was able to spend far more money on Alexander's education, lessons, and other enrichment activities than Anthony's parents could devote to their son's needs. Both of Alexander's parents had professional degrees, so they knew all about what Alexander needed to do to prepare himself for college. An-thony's mother completed some classes after graduating from high school, but his father, a high school dropout, struggled even to read. And in con-trast to Anthony, Alexander lived with both of his parents, which not only added to family income but also increased the amount of time available for a parent to spend with Alexander.

      This shows how greatly family income and socioeconomic background affect school results. From access to better schools to lots of resources for extracurricular activities, Alexander's family wealth and suburban surroundings give him major benefits that help him succeed in his academics and in life. Anthony's family, on the other hand, battles lower educational achievement and financial uncertainty, which reduces chances for academic excellence and parental participation in his schooling. The disparity in family structure is also quite important since Alexander gains from the presence of both parents, which not only raises household income but also improves the availability of parental time and support.

    1. Students taught me, too, that it is necessary to practice com-passion in these new learning settings. I bave not forgotten the day a student came to class and told me: 'We take your class. We learn to look at the world from a critica! standpoint, one that considers race, sex, and class. And we can't enjoy life anymore."

      This is a good statement. Multicultural education is teaching students about diversity and making all feel welcome. It is a great way to make education equal for everyone and giving people the tools they need to exceed in life.

    2. Making the classroom a democratic setting where everyone feels a responsibility to contribute is a central goa! of trans-formative pedagogy.

      I agree with this statement. Making an environment that makes everyone feel like they can contribute is the ideal setting for every teacher. It not only makes the students feel more welcome and invites them to think critically, but it also helps them think collaboratively. This promotes the American Dream as stated in our previous readings.

    3. The unwillingness to approach teaching from a standpoint that includes awareness o f race, sex, and class is often rooted in the fear that classrooms will be uncontrollable, that emotions and passions will not be contained. To some extent, we all know that whenever we address in the classroom subjects that stu-dents are passionate about there is always a possibility of con-frontation, forceful expression of ideas, or even conflict

      I think that in primary education, these topics are very much avoided or talked about minimally. In universities, there is a healthy amount of discourse and discussion about these topics. Many people challenge these ideas and I believe that this is a good thing. We need to challenge the ideas and not fear talking about them

    4. hen the meetings concluded, Chandra and I initially felt a tremendous sense of disappointment. We had not realized how much faculty would need to unlearn racism to learn about col-onization and decolonization and to fully appreciate the neces-sity for creating a democratic liberal arts learning experience. All too often we found a will to include those considere

      This is interesting to hear. A lot of these systems work in the world today are inherently racism because of the people who made them. We need to take these systems apart and put them back together in a way that is open to everyone if we want multicultural education to work.

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    1. When a student who is poor makes it to college, it is unlikely that he or she is a "legacy admit." These are applicants whose parents or relatives have attended, have contributed to, or are in some way affiliated with the university. As a Harvard alumna and admissions interviewer, I can verify that the application includes an inquiry about any person you are related to who went to Harvard. And there is consideration for that.

      I've never heard of legacy admits until i actually came to UCI. I discovered this and realized that universities like having legacy admits. I feel like this increasing your chances of being admitted is unfair because there are students that have worked hard to get into this university and have probably been rejected due to their spot being taken by a legacy admit.

    2. "Take a shot. Go for it. Take a risk. Get the education. Borrow money if you have to from your parents. Start a business." Just like that. By the time students-especially poor students-enter high school, one of the most crucial forms of cultural capital they will need is the ability to pay for . a college education.

      People oblivious to the reality that not everybody can do this always amazes me. Many Americans barely have any money to save; they are living in poverty. More than 1/4th of Americans have less than $1,000 in their savings. Being from a low income background, I had to work to afford the items I have right now, and I still work to pay my groceries and rent.

    3. Racial minorities (better phrased, "global majorities") are dispro h f . d. d por-tionately represented in poverty. T ere ore, an mor mate an overwhelmingly fewer number of people of color have access to ~enerational wealth based on their recognition as only three-fifths of a human bemg and the subsequent denial of property ownership as a direct result of being property themselves. Masses of people of color who have been denied personhood, rights to stolen lands citizenship, and any number of basic human freedoms based solely on race hav; also been denied generational access to wealth in the form of inherited property and assets.

      By looking at our nations history, we can see the many times we have dehumanized and discriminated minorities. Blacks and Native Americans are the minorities that have been affected the most in our nation and the generational trauma is still seen in today's society as Native and African americans make up a majority of our nations poverty.

    4. Racial minorities (better phrased, "global majorities") are dispro h f . d. d por-tionately represented in poverty. T ere ore, an mor mate an overwhelmingly fewer number of people of color have access to ~enerational wealth based on their recognition as only three-fifths of a human bemg and the subsequent denial of property ownership as a direct result of being property themselves. Masses of people of color who have been denied personhood, rights to stolen lands citizenship, and any number of basic human freedoms based solely on race hav; also been denied generational access to wealth in the form of inherited property and assets

      Looking at our countries' past reveals the several times we have disregarded and oppressed minorities. The minorities most impacted in our country are Blacks and Native Americans; generational trauma still exists in modern society since Native and African Americans have greater rates of poverty than other minorities. Also, it has prevented Black and Native Americans from generational wealth and better opportunities because of the denial of property ownership rights to minorities.

    5. When I begin discussions about poverty and achievement in public schools, my students often ask, "Why do poor students perform poorly?" The question is not about poor students and why they underperform in a system purportedly designed to elevate their opportunities and outcomes. The question is, "Why are people poor?"

      This makes sense to me. Many students from underprivileged families perform differently depending on many elements outside the classroom. Poverty frequently corresponds with restricted access to resources, like stable housing, healthy food, healthcare, and parental support—factors that greatly affect a child's capacity to achieve academically.

    6. Horace Mann was on to something. When he witnessed an angry street riot in New England, his conviction that "the educated, the wealthy, the intelligent" had gone morally astray by abandoning the public was fortified {Johnson, 2002, p. 79). Mann chided the economic elite for shirking obligations to their fellow man by favoring private education over common schools. He conceptualized public education as "the great equalizer," or the most powerful mechanism for abating class-based "prejudice and hatred," and, most important, the only means by which those without economic privilege or generational wealth could experience any hope of equal footing.

      I agree with Mann's argument. His argument was founded on the theory that public education may act as "the great equalizer," a tool to close economic gaps and lower class-based discrimination. Mann thought that public education was essential for creating social harmony and democracy as much as for intellectual development. He wanted to establish environments where students from various social origins could learn together, foster mutual understanding, and have equal chances to achieve in life, independent of their financial background.

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    1. Public schools are essential to make the American dream work, but schools are also the arena in which many Americans first fail.

      This line shows us the double-edged sword that public schools play in American society. On one hand, the American Dream depends on public schooling. They are establishments meant to give every child, from all backgrounds, the knowledge and tools they need to follow equitable opportunities, upward mobility, and success. On the other hand, many Americans find failure in this very system. Some students suffer or are left behind for a variety of reasons, including systematic inequality, unfair access to resources, and different quality of education.

    2. Hispanics and inner city residents still drop out much more frequently than others,

      Being Hispanic, I really believe this to be a real issue. From a personal standpoint, I have seen this as just a small number of my graduating class members attended college. Additionally, I was the first person in my family to start college. Funding and people in these areas not being able to put greater resources because of their financial discrepancies define the issue: lack of resources to provide us what we need to succeed.

    3. People who succeed get to keep the fruits of their labor and use them as they see fit; if they buy a home in a place where the schools are better, or use their superior resources to make the schools in their neighborhood better, their chil-dren will have a head start and other children will fall behind through no fault of their own. The paradox lies in the fact that schools are supposed to equal-ize opportunities across generations and to create democratic citizens out of each generation, but people naturally wish to give their own children an ad-vantage in attaining wealth or power, and some can do it. When they do, every-one does not start equally, politically or economically. This circle cannot be squared

      This makes sense to me. The discrepancy compromises the concept of equal opportunity since everyone begins from different political or financial standpoint. The "circle cannot be squared" since the system lets parents offer their children benefits while simultaneously supporting education as a means for equality, rather than leveling the playing field.

    4. We have a great national opportunity-to ensure that every child, in every school, is challenged by high standards, ... to build a culture of achievement that matches the optimism and aspirations of our country. -President George W Bush, 2000

      In this quote by the former president, he describes the main idea of this reading. The American Dream is what drives people to pursue success and makes people want an education to become a better American citizen