In this class, I learned that the education system is screwed up beyond repair, the deck is stacked against any one outside of the suburbs, and I better pray nightly to make sure I don't end up getting placed in an urban school...
Obviously, I'm joking. This class was very interesting overall, and perhaps the thing I'll take away most is all of the encouraging stories of students from urban areas. I know the system is flawed. I hadn't really looked at it from an educational standpoint, but as an Economics major, I studied a lot of public finance, and the inequity is pretty blatant. But I really enjoyed hearing stories of people who overcome those inequities and are able to make the most of their academic opportunities. Because honestly, that's what life is about. We're never going to have an equal system. There are the "haves," and there are the "have nots," and it will always be like that. All we can do is try to make the most with what we're given. I don't want to use the "when life gives you lemons..." cliche, but the point is, we do what we can.
Granted, it's frustrating how little we can actually do. Anyon's book, which I loved (I'm a numbers guy), called for a total revolution. Fructher pointed out how to integrate educational and community movements. The sad reality is, I really don't think there are enough people with influence who want to fight this battle. I don't see much changing. But that isn't an excuse to get downhearted. People in urban areas may have disadvantages from a socioeconomic and educational standpoint, but they can be overcome. I look at my father, who grew up poor in Burlington, and how he managed to make it to an Ivy League school and provide a great life for his family. It's certainly not easy, but it's doable, and if educators have the proper mindset and can instill confidence in their students, we'll see more success stories from the poorest of districts.
As for what could have been done differently... honestly, I can't even assess a class that's crammed into 4 weeks. It's just so different from a normal class. I will say, though, that I was a bit disappointed we never got to go on that field trip to an urban high school. It's understandable, considering the time of year, but I was looking forward to that.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Final Project Reflection
After completing our project on school funding and student achievement, I'm left with a pretty empty feeling. The districts we compared are not even close to the differences in other districts. I keep thinking back to my old school giving laptops to each student, and how about 10-12 miles from my high school, in the same county, is Garfield, which is an Abbott District.
The funding inequities are mind boggling. But realistically, it's not a surprise. That's how our country is. We're capitalist, after all. We don't subscribe to making everything equal. That's Socialist... that's been evil for 60 years. We're bound to find inequality everywhere we look in America.
I'm not even going to try and understand the underlying political issues. Bottom line is, I'm not a very political person. Every administration is imperfect, because every human is imperfect. The concept of education being a "zero-sum" game, which was mentioned in the Fructher book, is kind of a microcosm of our entire society. It seems like for every gain, there is an equal loss somewhere else. So, I don't think politicians are actively trying to ruin education in urban areas. They just choose not to fight those battles. I'm sure part of the reason is the "zero sum" analysis (afraid of taking resources away from the economically elite), but I'm sure there are other underlying issues. It's not as simple as "free up more money for education." Nothing in this system is that simple.
Anyon's proposals of revenue sharing, increased taxes, etc., are great in theory. Who knows how they will work in practice? Heck, when I was studying Economics as an undergraduate at Boston College, a lot of things sounded great in theory, whether it was monetary or fiscal policy changes, environmental policy, or many other things. The fact is, we don't know how any of this will turn out, if ever implemented. But again, that's kind of the way this system works. We're too big a country to perfectly predict how any political action will resonate throughout the country. And factor in the probability of something working over a long period of time... it's downright impossible to know how anything will turn out.
But the sad thing is, we're playing with the lives of children. There have been a lot of changes in school funding, many seeming rather experimental, and that's the way most economic policy works. But when the stakes are the future of America's children, it makes the uncertainty so much more unbearable.
The funding inequities are mind boggling. But realistically, it's not a surprise. That's how our country is. We're capitalist, after all. We don't subscribe to making everything equal. That's Socialist... that's been evil for 60 years. We're bound to find inequality everywhere we look in America.
I'm not even going to try and understand the underlying political issues. Bottom line is, I'm not a very political person. Every administration is imperfect, because every human is imperfect. The concept of education being a "zero-sum" game, which was mentioned in the Fructher book, is kind of a microcosm of our entire society. It seems like for every gain, there is an equal loss somewhere else. So, I don't think politicians are actively trying to ruin education in urban areas. They just choose not to fight those battles. I'm sure part of the reason is the "zero sum" analysis (afraid of taking resources away from the economically elite), but I'm sure there are other underlying issues. It's not as simple as "free up more money for education." Nothing in this system is that simple.
Anyon's proposals of revenue sharing, increased taxes, etc., are great in theory. Who knows how they will work in practice? Heck, when I was studying Economics as an undergraduate at Boston College, a lot of things sounded great in theory, whether it was monetary or fiscal policy changes, environmental policy, or many other things. The fact is, we don't know how any of this will turn out, if ever implemented. But again, that's kind of the way this system works. We're too big a country to perfectly predict how any political action will resonate throughout the country. And factor in the probability of something working over a long period of time... it's downright impossible to know how anything will turn out.
But the sad thing is, we're playing with the lives of children. There have been a lot of changes in school funding, many seeming rather experimental, and that's the way most economic policy works. But when the stakes are the future of America's children, it makes the uncertainty so much more unbearable.
Blackness in 5th Grade
In Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way, a lot of the abilities of the children surprised me. I'm sure it surprised most readers. The type of information they collected, the way they analyzed it... all of these things are very impressive for 5th graders. But it wasn't their ability to perform these tasks that jumped out at me the most. It was their insight.
One of the students, when the class was preparing questions for an interview with a Reverend, wondered if he would be allowed to ask whether the students' "blackness" was a reason they did not get a new school. That kind of social critique is incredibly profound for a 5th grader.
I know when I was growing up, issues of race or class were never discussed in class. We were happy in our affluent, predominately White neighborhood, and never mentioned class differences until at least freshman year of high school. My sister and I were the only black kids in our middle school, and we never wondered why. It never occurred to us that our father made more money than most African Americans. We never connected race to class or opportunity. It just wasn't how we thought... and it sure wasn't going to be brought up in an actual lesson plan.
It's interesting to see a 10 year old already making connections to race and privilege. And according to the author, that mentality was commonplace in class. That kind of mature perspective is impressive, but I have to wonder if it's a positive thing. On one hand, I find it disturbing that children so young are already connecting their misfortune with the color of their skin. On the other hand, why shield them from a harsh truth that they will have to learn eventually? I guess I still have mixed feelings about it.
One of the students, when the class was preparing questions for an interview with a Reverend, wondered if he would be allowed to ask whether the students' "blackness" was a reason they did not get a new school. That kind of social critique is incredibly profound for a 5th grader.
I know when I was growing up, issues of race or class were never discussed in class. We were happy in our affluent, predominately White neighborhood, and never mentioned class differences until at least freshman year of high school. My sister and I were the only black kids in our middle school, and we never wondered why. It never occurred to us that our father made more money than most African Americans. We never connected race to class or opportunity. It just wasn't how we thought... and it sure wasn't going to be brought up in an actual lesson plan.
It's interesting to see a 10 year old already making connections to race and privilege. And according to the author, that mentality was commonplace in class. That kind of mature perspective is impressive, but I have to wonder if it's a positive thing. On one hand, I find it disturbing that children so young are already connecting their misfortune with the color of their skin. On the other hand, why shield them from a harsh truth that they will have to learn eventually? I guess I still have mixed feelings about it.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Culturally Relevant Curriculum
Initially, the research topic my group wanted to investigate for our project was implementing a culturally responsive and relevant curriculum. When our group fist met in class, not everyone knew what we were talking about. After all, it was a group of 6, about double the size that we initially thought. The best way to explain what we were trying to do was to reference the song "They School" by Dead Prez that we had just heard in class a few days prior. Specifically, the section where the rappers talk about why they aren't learning things that could benefit their community, such as how to combat the drug problem in the streets. Eventually, we changed topics, believing that a topic so vast was not conducive to the 4 week class session.
The first chapter of Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way certainly would have been pertinent to that project. I can picture how lively the students were when naming problems with their community and school... much more enthusiastic than they probably would have been if they were naming English monarchs. Allowing these students to discuss issues they have actual experience with and knowledge about instills immeasurable confidence in them. The idea that the students were looking forward to continuing that discussion in future class periods alone is a testament to the effectiveness of the lesson. Their involvement in the project itself, which included them writing letters to school officials and even reading books that were "beyond their reading level and aptitude" was very encouraging.
As the author brought out early in the book, many times the media focuses only on the dangers of these areas: the poverty, the drugs, the violence, etc. The story of the children is rarely told. Cases like this are reminders of why the topic of culturally relevant curriculum interested me in the first place.
The first chapter of Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way certainly would have been pertinent to that project. I can picture how lively the students were when naming problems with their community and school... much more enthusiastic than they probably would have been if they were naming English monarchs. Allowing these students to discuss issues they have actual experience with and knowledge about instills immeasurable confidence in them. The idea that the students were looking forward to continuing that discussion in future class periods alone is a testament to the effectiveness of the lesson. Their involvement in the project itself, which included them writing letters to school officials and even reading books that were "beyond their reading level and aptitude" was very encouraging.
As the author brought out early in the book, many times the media focuses only on the dangers of these areas: the poverty, the drugs, the violence, etc. The story of the children is rarely told. Cases like this are reminders of why the topic of culturally relevant curriculum interested me in the first place.
Homer's Philosophy on Statistics
"People can come up with statistics to prove anything, Kent. Forty percent of all people know that." - Homer Simpson
When Homer said that, he was trying to combat the evidence that the neighborhood watch program he was in charge of was having a negative impact on Springfield. It was obviously meant as a joke. It was a line that was supposed to be vintage Homer stupidity and ignorance. But the more studies I read, the more I realize how accurate it is. People can come up with statistics to prove anything. If they make certain assumptions and ignore certain variables, it's easy for people to design studies that validate whatever they want.
At the end of the article School Resources and Student Achievement, the authors, after analyzing data that positively correlates resources to achievement, make the observation that their data may be seen as "merely confirming the obvious." And honestly, I'm one of those people who thought that. I thought it was clear that school resources have an impact on student achievement, and this study was just confirming that.
However, there are studies out there that contradict this evidence. Several studies done by Eric Hanushek concluded that there was no impact, and statistically, these studies were sound. Those who have since criticized Hanushek's work have noted that flaws in Hanushek's logic or data collection have created conclusions that are not actually true.
We've all heard the notion that "numbers don't lie," but in fact, when put in certain contexts, it's pretty easy to have two (or even more) completely contradictory studies on the same topic. It's a reminder that we shouldn't be swayed simply by numbers. We have to fully understand and question the methodology behind them.
When Homer said that, he was trying to combat the evidence that the neighborhood watch program he was in charge of was having a negative impact on Springfield. It was obviously meant as a joke. It was a line that was supposed to be vintage Homer stupidity and ignorance. But the more studies I read, the more I realize how accurate it is. People can come up with statistics to prove anything. If they make certain assumptions and ignore certain variables, it's easy for people to design studies that validate whatever they want.
At the end of the article School Resources and Student Achievement, the authors, after analyzing data that positively correlates resources to achievement, make the observation that their data may be seen as "merely confirming the obvious." And honestly, I'm one of those people who thought that. I thought it was clear that school resources have an impact on student achievement, and this study was just confirming that.
However, there are studies out there that contradict this evidence. Several studies done by Eric Hanushek concluded that there was no impact, and statistically, these studies were sound. Those who have since criticized Hanushek's work have noted that flaws in Hanushek's logic or data collection have created conclusions that are not actually true.
We've all heard the notion that "numbers don't lie," but in fact, when put in certain contexts, it's pretty easy to have two (or even more) completely contradictory studies on the same topic. It's a reminder that we shouldn't be swayed simply by numbers. We have to fully understand and question the methodology behind them.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Rod Paige: Behaviorist?
When we discussed Rod Paige's comments about how "all children can learn," putting blame for failure entirely on teachers not doing their jobs, I couldn't help but think of some of BF Skinner's work on behaviorism.
Obviously, the focal point of behavioral learning theory deals with reinforcement, but the underlying belief of Skinner's was that students can learn anything. Skinner said something along the lines of "give me a student and I'll shape him into anything" (I can't find the exact quote from my Educational Psychology notes, but I found that quote online), essentially disregarding any innate differences in children and believing they can be shaped into whatever the teacher desires. It is implied that, if a teacher wants their students to learn and apply knowledge, that teacher could get the desired behaviors from their students. If those students do not exhibit the desired behaviors, it was the fault of the teacher. This is what Skinner's most ardent followers believed: if a student wasn't learning, a teacher wasn't teaching.
I wonder if Paige subscribed to Skinner's school of thought. After all, Skinner was a very influential thinker in the 20th century. Although behavioral learning theory, in its purest form, has been criticized severely over the decades, I'm curious if any of the core concepts were sources of inspiration for Paige's beliefs on education.
Obviously, the focal point of behavioral learning theory deals with reinforcement, but the underlying belief of Skinner's was that students can learn anything. Skinner said something along the lines of "give me a student and I'll shape him into anything" (I can't find the exact quote from my Educational Psychology notes, but I found that quote online), essentially disregarding any innate differences in children and believing they can be shaped into whatever the teacher desires. It is implied that, if a teacher wants their students to learn and apply knowledge, that teacher could get the desired behaviors from their students. If those students do not exhibit the desired behaviors, it was the fault of the teacher. This is what Skinner's most ardent followers believed: if a student wasn't learning, a teacher wasn't teaching.
I wonder if Paige subscribed to Skinner's school of thought. After all, Skinner was a very influential thinker in the 20th century. Although behavioral learning theory, in its purest form, has been criticized severely over the decades, I'm curious if any of the core concepts were sources of inspiration for Paige's beliefs on education.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Fruchter and NCLB
Some of the information in Fruchter's book on No Child Left Behind was pretty sobering, such as how the additional funding the law requires has not been allocated. But the part that was most interesting to me was the potential of NCLB to actually widen the achievement gap. The author brings out how students in urban settings tend to perform worse on standardized tests. Since teachers are held accountable, those low test scores could give good teachers more motivation to avoid poor, urban areas, in favor of the more affluent. So diverse schools are left with worse teachers, who can't prepare their students adequately for tests, and less money to provide resources to help their students' achievement. The scores remain low, and the gap never narrows.
Another thing I found interesting was the point about how pressure to reach Adequately Yearly Progress could motivate schools to push students out who are likely to fail. It reminded me of a recent episode of The Simpsons, where Superintendent Chalmers and Principal Skinner concocted an elaborate plan to make sure some of the less intelligent students (Bart, the bullies, Ralph Wiggum) were not around during state mandated standardized tests, so that their probable low scores wouldn't cause Springfield Elementary to lose their federal funding (of course, Simpsons fans are aware of the running gag that Springfield Elementary is very poorly funded, whether it was their cafeteria serving "malk" instead of "milk," or the auditorium being bulldozed into a mini-mart after budget cuts forced them to cancel art, music, and dance). Chalmers' anxiety about the test seemed unreasonable, but The Simpsons tends to satirize with hyperbole. Apparently, those kinds of actions aren't THAT far-fetched, as struggling schools will try desperate measures so that they don't fall further behind. When events in The Simpsons don't seem outrageous any more, I think it's safe to say we're living in scary times.
Another thing I found interesting was the point about how pressure to reach Adequately Yearly Progress could motivate schools to push students out who are likely to fail. It reminded me of a recent episode of The Simpsons, where Superintendent Chalmers and Principal Skinner concocted an elaborate plan to make sure some of the less intelligent students (Bart, the bullies, Ralph Wiggum) were not around during state mandated standardized tests, so that their probable low scores wouldn't cause Springfield Elementary to lose their federal funding (of course, Simpsons fans are aware of the running gag that Springfield Elementary is very poorly funded, whether it was their cafeteria serving "malk" instead of "milk," or the auditorium being bulldozed into a mini-mart after budget cuts forced them to cancel art, music, and dance). Chalmers' anxiety about the test seemed unreasonable, but The Simpsons tends to satirize with hyperbole. Apparently, those kinds of actions aren't THAT far-fetched, as struggling schools will try desperate measures so that they don't fall further behind. When events in The Simpsons don't seem outrageous any more, I think it's safe to say we're living in scary times.
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