Hence, educators are poorly prepared when we actually confront diversity.
It is SUPER important that educators KNOW how to confront diversity. Without properly knowing how to embrace a multicultural classroom, the inequality that exists within the school system continues to thrive as minorities are pushed to the sidelines while white students are embraced. I hope that as more educators learn how to deal with it, these old patterns can finally be phased out.
Students of color and some white women express fear that they will be judged as intellectually inadequate by these peers
Being a woman in computer science, which is an industry mostly dominated by men has definitely brought out these fears that I will be judged or seen as lesser than by my peers. I have often feared that by making a mistake, people would say it's because I am a woman, and that I don't know what I am talking about. However, I have learned to overcome these fears because I think that if I show off what I do know and my confidence in the subject, that I could earn (though I shouldn't have to EARN it, I should already be given it) respect from my peers.
who teaches only work by "great white men IS m -ep . . ing a political decision,
This reminds me of how history books are so often skewed to include only the "white side" of the story, to put it bluntly. History textbooks usually only talk about all the good that white people have done, ignoring all of the great achievements that people of color have also done. This erasure of history is so discouraging because younger generations only have white people to look up to as role models. Without representation of people of color doing great things, often people try so hard to BE white, and reject their own cultures due to the lack of representation, which is extremely sad and harmful.
When a student who is poor makes it to college, it is unlikely that he or she is a "legacy admit."
I've always wondered why the college application made you fill out whether or not your parents attended the college as well or if you have any relatives that work at the college, but now I know. Being a first-generation student, it is so interesting to me to know that you could be admitted to a prestigious university just to "continue a legacy"... It also seems very unfair to those who don't have these connections, who have to get in through writing PIQs and sleepless nights trying to maintain a high GPA. It's crazy how much inequality is embedded at every level of education, even college where I thought that you could only attend if YOU worked really hard, not if your parents worked hard for you.
And there are those who have not a due as to how one might go about "getting the education" in the absence of disposable money
This is the reason why it is so important to provide resources to first-generation students who do not have parents with the knowledge on how to get to and navigate college. Without the proper guidance, it can be really hard to understand where to even start when thinking of college. I am grateful that the high school I attended was really adamant on providing its students these resources as it had a big emphasis on sending them to good colleges despite it being in a "ghetto neighborhood".
"Get the education. Borrow money if you have to from your parents"
I really hate how ignorant this statement is. I hate that there are actual politicians who choose to ignore the fact that having money that can just be borrowed from your parents is a PRIVILEGE that not everyone has. These are the people who are helping write our laws and policies that affect us! We need to elect better informed people to help us write laws, only then will there be change.
This form of early tracking, or dividing children into labeled groups based on the teacher's designation of their skill level, seems innocent. What we know, however, based on mounds of research-most notably among them Rist's (1970/2000) study of same-raced children of various social classes-is that teacher and peer expectations for academic achievement (and their subsequent treatment of students) are based largely on low and negative perceptions of the poor, regardless of their actual ability
This reminds me so much of the model minority myth which has been pushed onto Asian American citizens for decades. For Asian Americans that are attending school, it is the idea that they are 'naturally smarter' or 'are magically gifted in math'. This myth is so harmful because when these students aren't doing so hot in math or performing as well as their peers, there is a lot of pressure that they aren't "living up to their full potential" which causes unnecessary stress. They may be putting 100% effort into doing their best, but still not be accepted by societal standards, because it isn't what they expect from an Asian American who should be the perfect model citizen, and that has caused a lot of mental health problems.
Although the nosy neighbor in our favorite film highlighted the disgustingly expensive extremes to which the wealthy will go to start their children's educational careers off right, the n~tion ~f needing to start every child's education with the highest quality expenences is spot on.
This is so interesting to me because my mom would always push for me to learn beyond school. I think that her always pushing me to do more practice and spend hours in the public library book sale trying to find the perfect textbooks for me to learn from really was a huge contributor to where I am now. Without that extra encouragement, I think that I would have to play the game of "catchup" to even compete in the real world, especially coming from a poor background. I really want to take the time to appreciate my mom for doing this, even though at the time I really hated her for pushing this onto me and not let me do "normal kid things" like go to friends houses or play with toys all day.
The surest way to build wealth-as indicated by the real in real estate-is to own a home.
I actually did some research on this in my Argument and Research class that I took last quarter that was based on the topic of how housing and the lack thereof are deeply embedded into a history of systemic inequality in the United States. I learned how the neighborhood you are in deeply affects you both mentally and physically, as well as can shape your future in a way. If you grew up without stable housing, you were often preoccupied more on your own safety and survival rather than other things such as getting an education. Even more so, if you are unfortunately evicted from your housing, without the proper support to recover from such a traumatic experience, it is sort of gateway-- though not in all cases-- to a life on the streets as well as substance abuse and mental health issues.
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?" I insist that we begin with the lowest "rung" on the diagram because there we unpack the existence of a class of "poor people" who seem not to be living up to their potential in a presumably benevolent public education system that was designed-at least in the spirit of Horace Mann-specifically with them in mind
It's important that we don't use inductive reasoning, such as generalizations or causal reasoning, to answer questions about humanity. Instead we must use empirical evidence that we actually observe, so that we don't make hurtful assumptions. That is why I appreciate the author reframing the question to answer "why people are poor" instead of why "poor students perform poorly". By reframing this question, we are able to get real answers instead of just trying to find evidence to support what we already think.
That is understandable but not acceptable.
There is a quote by Irene Peter, an American writer, that states, "Just because everything's different doesn't mean that anything has changed". I think that currently describes the education system and the American dream. Of course there have been tons of advancements made to the education system such as integrating technology in the classroom, not separating students based on the shade of their skin, and much more. However, at the heart of it all, there is still the issue that it is not, and has never been, an equal playground for all students.
he former has proved so far to be too expensive po-litically, and the latter has often been too expensive financial
My mom was a big believer that what schools I went to would affect how I grew up, and that me attending schools with a more rigorous curriculum would help me succeed later in life. I honestly would agree with her. My mom used to drive me 20 minutes away to go to a better school, however, when my older sister eventually aged out of middle school and had to attend high school, we had to make the decision to find a school in my own city (which wasn't as advanced) so we could all be dropped off on time. Over time, I've seen how my older sister and I differed in education levels, and honestly I think that she turned out a lot smarter than me due to her having completed 8 years of school in a better school district.
Similarly, it helps all children to have peers who take· school seriously, behave in ways that help them learn, and are backed by parents who have the resources to en-sure that schools satisfactorily educate their children.
This reminds me of the saying that you should choose your friends/close circle carefully. A lot can be said about yourself by examining who you are friends with, so if your friends are academic weapons, you likely have the same goals and mindset as them. The same goes for the opposite, if you have friends who don't take school as seriously as you, you may be influenced by their behavior to do the same. Therefore, by allowing students who are not as privileged access to the same education as those who are, you increase their chances of succeeding due to the influence of others.
Success is honorable, and failure is not.
I do not believe that it is healthy for the concept of failure to be thought of in such a way. Sure it might not be an honor, but it is not a disgrace. Former ICS33 Professor, Rich Pattis, would always repeat some wise words of wisdom: "it isn't really failure if you can go on and learn from it and overcome it". There's a book about Harvard University and why it likes to admit athletes: they know how to lose gracefully and keep going (something that non-athletes at Harvard don't often encounter). By understanding that failure is normal part of life, you can go so much farther if you don't let 'losing' weigh you down.