irmly committed to freedom and social change that we were able to motivate students to develop sophisticated academic literacies
Literacy is a huge part of developing social skills, if not, better learning skills. Something about schools is that teaching is supposed to better one's students' skills in order to help and motivate themselves through life. With the motivation, one would be able to learn to make a better change in life.
During my research I witnessed subtle and overt acts of racism and racial conflict. I heard African American and White American students make fun of the smell of food that Hmong American students brought to school as part of projects. Students were sexist and homo-phobic (Ngo, 2003) and segregated themselves along racia
There would always be subtle hints of racism, even I have experienced it, but something wrong with subtle racism, not many people know that they are doing it. Honestly, sometimes I also look at past remarks and noticed that I said something offensive without realizing. Thankfully, I catch myself now and try to think about my words before saying them.
In conclusion, if we do not intentionally unveil the hidden advantages that middle-class and upper-class students have over their low-income peers, we run the risk of indirectly reinforcing these inequalities in our classrooms.
A very insightful read. Something that needs to be more aware of yet not many people pay attention to. Hopefully, in the near future, we would live in an equitable society were everyone has an equal chance of chasing their dreams.
was left vulnerable to a teacher who had seemed to understand me
What a devastating feeling! I would have been super depressed because of that. Considering how it was a teacher you greatly looked up to, it will feel like a betrayal after the actions that she took. At least the author took something from this experience and was able to learn of better ways to manage this situation if it were able to rise up again.
Ms. Hill's face and neck were red, and her eyes were full of disappointment and anger. I did not know why she was angry with me.
What an upsetting issue. I would have been mad and uncomfortable considering that there is a few amounts of colored people in the classroom. Just watching the stares of each person after they used the N-word would be unsettling to see. Also, it must have felt like betrayal seeing your teacher, who accepted you, disregard your statement and continue on with the lecture.
Although I socialized with both Black and White students, I self-identified as "Black."
how sad that it's normalized to label a certain group of people just because of stereotypes. Sometimes I wonder if I am stereotyped just because I act a certain way. Makes you wonder about hidden racism too. Although someone may tell you something with a different intention, it is just hidden racism.
I was taught by my mother to stand up for myself when people used racial slurs.
Slurs are a common thing if you grew up low-income. Something that a lot of people use without knowing the true effect of one's word usage. Honestly, some people agree with it while others have trouble accepting the common language. Being born low-income, one just doesn't know until they get out of their neighborhood and experience well-off neighborhoods.
This is what I brought to school: the support of a strong, persistent mother and grandmother.
What a thoughtful way to support one's children. Really love how the guardian's tried their best to maintain a decent education for their child. I wonder what type of books the author was reading.
Their teachers and college professors rarely reward them for their diversity of attitudes, preferences, tastes, mannerisms, and abilities or encourage them to draw on their own experiences to achieve in schoo
I feel like a lot of people don't like to point out the struggles one faces most likely due to being embarrassed about being raised a certain way. It would be nice to hear encouragement from teachers but only to a certain extent.
They tell me they often hang out with other poor students to avoid being reminded of what they simply don't have. Many low-income students do not own cars. They are less likely to dine at off-campus restaurants or to have an entire wardrobe of brand-name clothes. They do not go to vacation resorts on spring break. They get tired of being reminded of these differences when they are with wealthier students
Honestly could relate to this. I grew up low income and have struggled to maintain myself from the little money I earn while also helping my mom with her own problems. It is sad that many necessities are not within reach for those who are struggling financially. It is such a shock that people actually go places during their breaks rather than stay at home.
Single-parent family structures have become the norm for low-income children
I wonder why? Is it due to the fact that because you are born in a low-income family that it develops into mental issues that create issues amongst family members or is it that one just can't help being together with another person.
Thus the strongest research evidence appears to indicate that money matters, in a variety of ways, for children's long-term success in school.21
Money does provide relief in mind from paying rent to essential items in the house. Without this worry, it gives room for improving one aspect and having more free time to do and develop hobbies and interests. Although, it is sad that our society is primarily run by the economic state of one's being. Hopefully, in the future, we develop a way that benefits all.
By 2005-2006, low-income families had increased their expenditures to about $1,400, but high-income families had increased theirs much more, to more than $9,300 per chil
What an insane amount of difference! Who knew people spent so much on the necessities for their children? Honestly, reading this really surprised me. I wonder what the majority of the money is used for. Clothes? Food? Devices? Who knows.
"Oh boy! I'd buy my brother, my sister, my uncle, my aunt, my nieces, and my nephews, and my grand-pop, and my grandmom, and my mom, and my dad, and my friends, not my friends, but mostly my best friend-I'd buy them all clothes ... and sneakers ... and I'd buy my mom some food, and I'd get my brothers and my sisters gifts for their birthdays."
It is so sad that a child's ambition reaches only to have clothes and shoes for all her family. Rather than having the usual things a child would want, she thought about the necessities of her family first rather than hers because she grew up watching her family suffer.
Also, children from low-income families are more likely to engage in antisocial behavior and to have mental health problem
Not very surprising, considering what I've just read, I bet that the majority of low-income parents struggle with mental issues that affect their children. Another thing is if parents need to work to provide for their family, how would they be able to pay for babysitters if they are already struggling financially? This situation could make children feel unbeloved by their parents and grow lonely which leads to mental issues.
This difference is nearly twice the size of the gap between the average reading skills of white and both black and Hispanic children at that age, and nearly equal to the amount that the typical child learns during kindergarten
Honestly, I didn't realize how big a difference it affects one child when they are young. Didn't know that being born wealthy affects the grade level of one's intellectual development. How sad it is to see the difference in statistics between the rich and the poor.
ow-income children have grown substantially over the past three decades.
Just shows how the attention paid to low-income children is lacking. Rarely, anyone who wants to help, they rather give them "words of encouragement" rather than understand their circumstance and find a way to help them. Yet, sometimes helping someone who is low-income may be a burden, one could just help them find resources or share resources that one obtains.
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.
Really comes to show how generational wealth comes into play with one's future. Honestly, I find it insane how society only helps those who are well-off rather than those who need support to get through life and into developing ambitions. This scenario really shows how being born in a certain situation greatly contributes to one's situation.
t is easy to imagine how the childhood circumstances of these two young men may have shaped their fates
It is insane how the outcome of one's future solely depends on the situation one is raised in. Each experience contributes to one's result of their own endeavors and goals. With privilege, it increases the choices one has for the future while being born without it, limits the choices one has.
t take inta consideration the t'cars teachers have when asked to shift their paradigms
One of the greatest challenges ever faced. Not many people have the courage to do something when faced with fear. It's interesting that teachers are rarely expressing their worries and having difficulty teaching when in reality they could express their concerns and make their careers better.
we must acknowledge that our styles of teaching may need to chang
"A bad teacher presents the truth, while a good teacher helps to find it" This is a quote that I find true in today's society. It is a wonder of the differences that a good teacher makes and how better achievements they accomplish. While a bad teacher rejects a bad student, a good teacher doesn't mind having one.
n, there is not nearly enough practica! discussion of ways classroom settings can be trans-formed so that the learning experience is inclusive
Something that is easy to achieve yet something no one wants to change. It is a lot simpler to speak about the injustices faced rather than do something to prevent it. It is something that takes great effort that, unfortunately, many people don't have the energy for. This statement is something I agree with. Scrolling through social media, there are a lot of advocates for changing one's education but there are more people who just express their concern rather than providing any aid towards the issue.
preparation for college, and therefore the surest promise of social mobility, does not occur in high schoo
How unfortunate. Although we receive 12 years of education for free, we are not able to be prepared for the actual education that is necessary for us in the future. It makes me wonder, who are the ones who give us assignments and why would they teach something that does not relate to life outside our parent’s homes? What happens when we reach adulthood and do not understand the majority of the information that we need in order to survive?
o prenatal health care plagues far too many women in poverty and, consequent!~, their chil~ren a~d future public school students.
Although I did not experience this, I could really relate to this. Before I was born, my mother had several difficulties during the time she was pregnant with me. She was having a difficult time providing for her checkups and maintaining herself. At some point, she became homeless because she could not afford a place or pay for her check-ups. It’s rather sad, she is an undocumented immigrant who could not work because she had no energy to take care of herself or attend her check-ups. Fortunately, she was able to house with my grandmother but with the condition of doing daily chores. She had to birth me while she was developing a bad health condition, that she could not get rid of due to financial issues, with the risk of birth complications. For sure, health care is such an issue for women who live in poverty.
"students' test scores are highly correlated with the amount of money their parents make and the zip codes where they live
It’s unfortunate that many brilliant students have to face difficulties just because they have a low-income background. This makes me wonder, how many students are not experiencing their full capacity due to not having enough money? Or, how many people’s lives would change if they had the privilege to be born into wealthy families? It makes me wonder if someone’s life would have been different if they were born with better circumstances. This could also be a factor in developing trauma. If you think about how you failed your grades and put blame on yourself for not being better but in reality, you just had a poor education. With the development of trauma, you develop mental issues which can cause you to release your emotions by doing unhealthy things such as partaking in drugs and violence.
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.
The rejection could be why the majority of people of color suffer from mental issues. It is no secret that with problems, one could develop unhealthy habits and issues. This could be one of the reasons why generational trauma exists. Considering that many years ago, people of color had territory that was stolen because of the greed of those who wanted power and land. Due to this, we could assume many people had fallen into debt or into slavery. This obstacle causes depression to arise which could develop into physical abuse and treating loved ones horribly. Although it happened several years ago, due to this issue, generational trauma has developed, and a cycle is created.
Many of us choose to address the equity gap by struggling to supply universal access to high-quality, free, and appropriate public education. Nearly two centuries later, "the great equalizer" cannot equalize soon enough.
The Equity gap is still a huge factor in today’s society yet several of those who face it have no idea what that is. If the majority of low-income students fail due to the poor education they receive, they most likely won’t know the injustices they face due to the discrimination they experience. The saddest thing is you could distinguish who is facing the equity gap by visiting someone’s neighborhood or house. It’s something out in the open yet not many people realize it.
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.
It really is a shame how the treatment amongst all social classes must differ. Rather than understanding one’s struggles, one would rather focus on their own privileged experience rather than take an account of other people’s experiences. Not only is privilege difficult to be seen by someone who has it, those who have it take advantage of it. Considering how they received the necessary materials and education, the privileged believe that because they have it, everyone else has it too. After reading the passage, I greatly relate to it. I would have not accomplished my achievements if it wasn’t for public school. Rather, I would have to work twice as hard or, most likely, give up on my education and work to support my family.
they do not want those things enough to make them actually happen
Not a surprise. If it took centuries to realize the injustice faced by low-income communities and to make a change. If it doesn’t benefit them, why would one be motivated to do it?
They can send them to schools with wealthier children, or they can, as a reasonable second best, seek to give them an education in their own neighborhood that has the features of school-ing for well-off students.
I would rather have the second option since It’s not really desirable to go somewhere else once you have been in a place for a long time. Also, if they would take them to other schools, how would transportation work if they still live in a different community that would most likely be far from the place they were relocated to?
but equity in funding has depended mostly on the intervention of the courts.
This quote reminds me of my high school situation. I come from a low-income school where we needed a lot of supplies. Recently, my high school received a bigger budget due to the interference and advocacy of several members of the community (me included). Thankfully, we received an equitable budget from several schools and were able to obtain better-quality items. But this would have not happened if it wasn’t for the intervention of the community while the courts do nothing.
and poor students in poor urban schools have dramatically lower rates of literacy and arithmetic or scientific competence.
It is not a surprise to see low-income students do unwell in subjects considering how the majority of their learning materials requires money. The price for a good book, a good teacher, and school supplies surpasses the budget of several low-income schools. This causes an obstacle for students who aren’t well-off to captivate what they learn and have lower intellect due to bad teaching.
. Success is honorable, and failure is not.
What is success if it is not something that is followed by failure? I was always troubled when I failed to achieve the accomplishments that I hope for and thought that I will never succumb to anything better. It wasn’t until I improved my mindset that failure was a part of the path to achieving my goals.
T HE AMERICAN DREAM IS A POWERFUL CONCEPT
The American dream is nothing more than something people idolized. Rather than it being a fact, it's just a fragment of one's true intention and idolization of becoming better rather than being better. This statement is not only a concept but a phrase that barely grazes the majority of the population that inhabits America. Coming from a family of immigrants, and growing up in America, this phrase felt like something I could not reach nor could obtain. I always felt that it only included those who grew up with the opportunity and privilege of being raised by citizens who could help their children rather than rely on them.