o my own surprise, I raised my hand the next day. Ms. Hill smiled. She appreciated my remarks and agreed with many of my comments.
This shows that sometimes students/individuals need a push or someone along side them to advocate and notice their potential. After this experience, the student was more willing to participate and expressed more encouragement, resulting in higher grades and positive feedback.
Fortunately for him, within weeks his algebra backup teacher real-ized that he did not belong in the class, and the following year, his teacher recommended him for Honors Geometry.
This is very fortunate for this student. If the teacher had not recognized this or even turned a blind eye, this student would have remained on the suggested academic track the counselors had improperly placed him in.
However, she was not placed in the higher-level courses as a ninth grader, and she did not challenge her counselor and struggle to be placed more appropriately. "It's okay," she said. "Hey, I'm getting A's." By starting high school in intro-ductory courses, however, this academically oriented student was going to be limited in re::--iching the highest course levels by her senior year. le is equally distressing that in the lower-level courses, she experienced a lower quality of teaching and learning. For ninth graders, who are new to the high school, these differ-ences were striking. Nacay and other case study students noticed the difference in the racial demographics of their low-level classe as compared to their detracked freshman core classes, which were racially mixed. Mike, a white student, declared that he was the only white student in his Math A class. Leticia, an African American student, noted that the only all-black class she ever attended at Berkeley High was not in African American studies but was Math A. When researchers from the Diversity Project asked members of the Srudent Outreach Committee to document classroom segrega-tion in photographs, the students picked up their disposable cam-eras and fanned out across the school, snapping photos of predominantly white AP classes and predominantly black and brown math and English "backup" classes, which provide extra time for homework and tutoring. ~~ells and Serna ( 1996) argue that this academic segregation across classrooms discourage higher-achieving students of color from elecring higher-cracked classes when given the chance, because rhey do not want to be i ·olatcd as "rhe only one." It is also likely to act as a deterrent to academically struggling white students enrolling in classes de ignc I to provide remediation and support.
It is unfortunate that a student is being discouraged considered the already high grades and strong minded position she takes. This goes to show how direction and mentorship play a role in academic success. If she would had consulted parents who are supportive or even had a school counselor that advocated for her to prospoer in higher and more demanding classes, Natay may have been more confident in acknowledging her skills.
here is relatively little that the school can do to address the inequalities in the backgrounds of students like Jennifer and Chantelle
It is apparent that the education system understands the conditions students go through as a result of low-income households. Yet this doesn’t mean that they cannot assist in leveling the playing field when it comes to inclusive environments, counseling, and academic resources. Schools can still provide smaller steps to ensure all students have access to preparation for higher education regardless if their parents received high education, or are more affluent than others. Of course, the reading mentions that social, cultural and economic capital play a role however I believe the education system still holds some responsibility.
Indeed, another national data set focusing on eighth graders in 1988 shows that 95 percent of students from families in the top quarter of the income distribution graduated from high school, as compared with only 64 percent of those from the bottom quarter.
This example shows that higher income households that children grew up in has a correlation with academic success. The initial question asked in the beginning of the reading truly highlights the essence of this. At this point of the reading, is it considerable to think that household income is the most powerful factor in child’s success in school?
Which of these factors are most powerful in determining a child's s Uc-cess in school?
-To start reading with such a complex question after providing several answers that impact a student’s success is really thought provoking. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly which are the most powerful factors to success for a student in school. After reading about the two students, I believe household income and parental guidance/support are the most powerful factors. The financial aspect has a larger impact overall due to the direct association income having to quality resources (public education, neighborhoods, healthcare, etc.) which are not easily attainable to schools and locations that cannot pay for those resources. Next, parental guidance plays a significant role in guidance. If the child is taught the value of academic and work ethic expressed by the parents in a positive sense, it is more likely that the child is willing to reflect this in their life.
or example, a novel is re ad by a Korean American author. White students turn to the one student from a Korean background to explain what they do not understand
You would think that actions or comments like this example would be innappropriate in an educational setting yet these kinds of situations happen entirely too often.
ansforming these classrooms is as great a challenge as learning how to teach well in the setting of diversity
Learning how to teach and interact when it comes to diversity is so important. As we know, the system evolves around and for the white population. As America grows and becomes more open to immigration as well as inclusion of people of seprate ethnic backgrounds, accepting and understanding diversity is necessary.
is difficult for many educators in the United States to conceptualize how the classroom willlook when they are confronted with the demographics which indicate that ''whiteness" may cease to be the norm ethnicity in classroom settings on all levels. Hence, educators are poorly prepared when we actually confront diversity
This is interesting to read coming from an educator. Growing up as a minority of race in a majority white community, it was not uncommon to have educators that are also use to this experience. It makes it difficult to thrive in an environment where "whiteness" is the norm and teaching strategies cater to such., however understanding this from the writers perspective offers more insight on this experience to me.
any professors have con-veyed to me their feeling that the classroom should be a "safe" place; that usually translates to mean that the professor lectures to a group of quiet students who respond only when they are called on.
I feel that a safe space can be viewed in so many different ways. What seems to be safe for some may not be safe for others. For one to feel safe to speak on certain topics is a move of confidence but also can be risky depending on the comments of others. Even though it may be a safe space to share views, does not mean people will accept or respect them in the way that they should be. Some people will show disrespect toward your views regardless if it is a safe space or not.
But brilliance can come from anywhere. If we insist on class equity in schools, it will come from everywhere
I think this excerpt can really speak to some people and even help people be more open minded. There are people out there that may be overlooked, or their capabilities may surprise you. Everyone deserves a chance. We should have a goal as society to make better for all so that recognizing brilliance doesnt come from social advantage.
Why are people poor? Most notably, why do the same groups of people te~d to endure poverty from generation to generation? And ultimately, why do chil-dren of the poor predictably perform poorly in public schools?
I really like to focus on these question. After reading each question, it can help one dive deeper into considering what is really going on here.. To help the average person of these beliefs to step back and realize there may be a bigger picture. It may be thought of based on stereotypes or social constructs that people of certain groups are poor or disadvantaged for several reasons. But taking time to explore the actuality of this helps us step closer to change.
Contrary to popular belief, preparation for college, and therefore the surest promise of social mobility, does not occur in high school. Rather, it is a function of the staffing, teacher qual-ity, curricular offerings, standardized testing capacity, counseling wisdom, and resources at the middle school level. Indeed
Even though during the time of middle school kids are still discovering their self-identity yet programs are highlighted to prep for college. Even in elementary, children are asked what they want to be when they grow up. The idea of higher education and the pathway it takes to get there is reinforced throughout the education system up until highschool. There are small steps that may not be seen that guide students to the preparation or idea into higher education.
acial 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
Specifically in the US, the system has intentionally made it difficult for people of color to thrive or benefit and accumulate generational wealth. Not only that but also making it extrememly challenging to purchasing and keeping homes, also tying into housing segregation, wealth gaps in real estate and education.
Tnh er-. ese teachers of tomorrow are particularly concerned that even after all students h been offered "12 years of free schooling," they are unable to "lift themselv::~ out of poverty. In short, they genuinely wonder how such dismal outcomes f poor children could persist when the great equalizer undoubtedly works andor poverty-ending solution is clearly at hand. Year after year, I continue to observ: that as a result of this flawed, deficit thinking, both pre-and in-service teachers have come to develop and staunchly cling to their disgust at what they perceive to be squandered opportunities. Poor children fail in schools because they are not taking advantage. Poor people exist because they wasted a good, free educa-tion. The poor themselves are the problem.
I can understand why people have these views on groups that are more disadvantaged, doesnt make it okay though. I feel that the focus should be on exploring a purpose and solution for fixing children who are exposed to these predicaments, to better society and improve wealth making in general -rather than reflecting biases into a teaching environment.
Most Americans believe that everyone has the right to pursue success but that only some deserve to win, based on their tal-ent, effort, or ambition.
I always found statements like this interesting because you see this may be true for some and not others. Peoples perspectives on who should be successful, whether they deserve it more than others is reliant on several factors. Just like in sports, some people are natural and can make their way up easier and some people have to work a harder but both are still valuable and worthy.
In the United States, class is connected with race and immigration; the poor are disproportionately African Americans or recent immigrants, especially from Latin America. Legal racial discrimination was abolished in American schooling during the last half century (an amazing ac-complishment in itself), but prejudice and racial hierarchy remain, and racial or ethnic inequities reinforce class disparities. This overlap adds more diffi-culties to the already difficult relationship between individual and collective goals of the American dream, in large part because it adds anxieties about di-versity and citizenship to concerns about opportunity and competition. The fact that class and race or ethnicity are so intertwined and so embedded in the structure of schooling may provide the greatest barrier of all to the achieve-ment of the dream for all Americans, and helps explain much of the contention, confusion, and irrationality in public education.
The gap that exists within attaining the American dream differs based on how you are viewed as a social construct in America. This has developed and changed over time, however difficulties for certain groups or individuals still remain, making it more challenging than others to attain the American dream. It is mentioned that prejudice and racial heirarchy or ethnic inequities reinforce class disparities yet it is already difficult for certain groups to attain it. It can also be seen that race or class as social constructs pose a significant impact or even threat to certain groups which influence their ability to acheive the American dream.
Because most Americans now believe that the American dream should be available to all American citizens, public schools in the United States have made real progress toward enabling everyone to pursue success as they understand it.
-Public schools as mandatory has allowed education for citizens and seems to be constantly altered to fit the needs of all. There are several concerns within the education system however. Education is seen as an American value directly aligned with the American dream.