School Rules

"School rules operate along with other elements of the formal curriculum such as standardized tests and grades to produce this ordered difference among children." (312). While I do agree that this is occurring within schools and I do think that this isn't very beneficial to any of the students, I feel as though this has become a norm in our society, an accepted norm, and therefore is what we will be entering into when we start teaching at whatever school we end up at. Because of that, it will be difficult for us, if we don't agree with these norms, to do anything to change this in our classroom. We can do as little of these things as possible, but eventually we will have to give into these norms or else we will be seen as some sort of rebel that doesn't play by the rules, and therefore doesn't belong in that district.

However, in regards to "...how manners, style, body language, and oral expressiveness influence the application of school rules and ultimately come to define and label African American students and condemn them to the bottom rung of the social order." (312). Unfortunately in our society today, it is still easy for us to apply stereotypes to any group of people. We tend to fall back on these stereotypes, whether it is due to a bad first impression or because we might have seen these stereotypes first hand. But it is important to remember that these stereotypes don't apply to everyone. Or, that just because our initial impression of someone was bad, that doesn't mean that that person will always live up to that negative view we had of them. At least we are aware of this, and can put a stop to how we view and treat people after we have been misguided. My cooperating teacher for CURRINS 100 would always get so upset and force her anger on some of the black male students (in second grade) when they weren't following the rules, getting out of line, talking back, etc. I hated to see her react this way to those young boys, and I hated that the other students had to be in that environment, but I felt that she and the school were setting these boys up for failure. There was very little these boys could do that would not get them into trouble. But there were times when I sided with the teacher because the school rules she was abiding by were ones that I had grown up with and have come to accept as the norm, and that simply that is the way it is. However, most of the time she got carried away. She looked at every little thing those boys did, and felt she had to punish them in some way. Even if we can't escape these school rules, the best thing to do is not get carried away by any little thing we see as disobedient. Also, the anger she exhibited did nothing to help their behavior, but only made it worse. That is also something to always be aware of, that our reactions can only escalate the problem that might not have been there to begin with, or could have been avoided.

Because these school rules have become the norm, will there ever be a point in our society for every school where these rules can change to set the students up for success, and that these school rules will not be defining and labeling students so they are set up for failure before we really get to know them?

Inequality in Education

Chapter 18 gave some good insights as to how schools don't provide the same type of environment for a good education that each student deserves. But from what I have witnessed in Milwaukee, particularly with doing field work for CURRINS 100 at an urban school, I wasn't too surprised when I read about Groundview Technical High School, though the school I went to wasn't as extreme as Groundview. But what I found most interesting about both Groundview and Mountainview Township High School was that both schools environment, educational opportunities, and so on catered to the type of future the students at either school were to expect after graduating (which was more likely to happen at Mountainview). It is upsetting to me that these schools, particularly Groundview, are setting these kids up for what could be either a success or a failure at life. What does that say to those students at Groundview? I have a feeling that if I was a student there, I would learn early on that I would be restricted to this type of lifestyle, one that limits me to only a lower class way of life, because that is what I would be surrounded by within the community.

But what intrigues me about Mountainview, a Utopian paradise that I never had the opportunity to experience (nor do I think I would want to), is the affect is has on the students. How are they viewing themselves in this "culture of privilege"? Do they truly appreciate what so few students throughout the country can afford to have? I feel as if this would do more harm than good. Yes, they get an ideal education and experience, but what have they done to earn it? Just because they are wealthy does that mean they deserve it more? And what happens when they get out into the real world--which will probably never happen for most of them as it seems they will just move on to the next stage of this Utopian education and go to a college that provides the same experience--because it seems to me that if they don't experience what it is like to know that success is a rarity, then schools like Groundview may never get the chance to improve for the benefit of the students. I only say this on the possibility that privileged students understand what it is like to live with failure as their future, and then will want to do something so that every student gets the best education they deserve, which I feel should be the same for every student. Also, it seems the only hope schools like Groundview have for changing for the better is if they get the money to help them do so, which likely won't happen unless policies change.

For me, though, the most interesting contrast between the two types of schools was what was occurring within the classroom. Groundview provided "...more stringent, standardized forms of rote education...", whereas Mountainview was "...equipped with state-of-the-art facilities in comfortable, resource-rich environs that encourage the freedom of mobility and thought to discover, problem-solve, and create." and "...promote independent thought, analysis, and creativity." Since I will probably end up teaching at an urban school, and therefore will be having to work with the stringent, standardized forms of rote education, but I would like to think that I won't always have to give into that way of teaching and will encourage a critical thinking that will promote independent thought, analysis, and creativity in my students. Maybe then the students will develop some optimism, push themselves harder than they thought they were capable of, and realize that they have a successful future outside of a school like Groundview.

A question to consider: if we end up working at a school like Groudview, what are our responsibilities as teachers to provide the best education for our students, and how can we achieve this if school and the resources provided are limiting?

Building a Classroom Community...

My group is focusing on building a classroom community while trying to meet the needs of all the various students we will encounter. I am focusing on students that come from racially and culturally diverse backgrounds. Upon doing my research, I only thought about the minorities I will be teaching, therefore closing myself off from the idea of what it means to come from either a racially or culturally diverse background. As my research broadened, it occurred to me that this isn't just about race or culture, and that "diverse" isn't limiting to only the minorities. We are all diverse. We all come from different backgrounds. Just because a student is white or male or middle-class or whatever, that doesn't mean that they are at more of an advantage at attaining a good grade and meeting our stereotypical expectations of good student performance in the classroom. All of our students will be coming in with their own various strengths and weaknesses, and it is up to us as the teachers to recognize this in our individual students to influence our teaching. Which also serves as a good wake up call--it is extremely important that when we ask our students a question in regards to the content we are teaching, we can't expect the students to know what the "correct" response is. Just because what we have learned to be the answer, doesn't mean it is the only answer. Students, and everyone else, think differently because they come from different backgrounds. Therefore, we all get something different out of what we learn. This may pose a challenge for when students are required to take standardized tests (and that is a whole other issue at hand), but that doesn't mean that the students didn't learn something when they were taught in the classroom. And, it may be very difficult for most of us to understand how some of our students are learning, but if we are patient enough and pay close attention to all of our students, we will be able to pick up on the strengths and weaknesses of our diverse, individual students.