Saturday, April 14, 2012
Dreamkeepers
The first thing that I thought upon beginning Gloria Ladson-Billings book was something that I have struggled with for a while. Are the struggles of minority students because of poor education or are they receiving a poor education because of the socioeconomic conditions that they face? Is it a never ending cycle?
Many of the ideas presented in the book posed a challenge to my preconceptions and opinions. What kind of effect would separate schools have on our society? Certainly minority students have different needs and often vastly different life experiences than do white students, but isn't there a way to get everyone the education that they need without segregating schools again? I truly feel that minority students should get the help that they need in schools, but I do not believe that separate schools are the way to go.
This then leads in to chapter 2. Do African American students deserve harsher punishments or less harsh punishments in school? I think that both situations paint African American students in a "civilized savages" light. Arguments such as the idea that they "don't know any better" or that they "need a break" echo the idea of the white man's burden. They do not show cultural sensitivity and certainly don't lend themselves to culturally relevant teaching. If teachers cannot realize the innate racism of these arguments, there is little chance of them honestly reaching their African American students.
I think that teachers like Ms Hilliard who connects learning to life are truly the types of people that can reach minority students. When students are invested in their learning and are enjoying it, they get so much more out of it. My students enjoyed designing their own enzymes. They got to pick the medium in which they wanted to "advertise" their product and got to decide what they would want their enzyme to do. It was fun and got them interested. In the end, students learned so much from it. When students (minority or majority) can connect to the topic or activity at hand,they take that much more from it.
In conclusion, I think that separating minorities and white students is the wrong answer to the dilemma. Instead teachers need to focus on embracing difference. A quote that I truly love, by Dr Adela A Allen states that "We should acknowledge difference, we should greet difference, until difference makes no difference anymore."
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Eric,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree when you say “is it a never ending cycle?” because I feel the same exact way. Like you, I also assumed that the desegregation of schools was a good thing – a great move in the right direction for equality. Yet in many instances the book pointed out that a separate school for African American boys was extremely beneficial to them and their unique learning needs. It seems to go against what people have worked so hard for. I remember last semester we read a book in our history methods class about the desegregation of Boston Public Schools and how it was such a long, hard-fought battle for the people involved. It was such a huge victory for everyone – both black and white. It seems strange that after all of these years of trying to move in the “right” direction that people are now saying it might not be right after all. I suppose there are always going to be critics though.
Sadly, I think that it is a never ending cycle because there are too many people who do not care to change it. Sure they say that they are trying to change it and they make things different for our minority students but nothing has changed for them. They still sit in horrible classrooms with horrible teaching conditions. They still struggle to learn English and feel out of place and unwanted. We as new teachers will have the challenge to continue fighting to change this for our students! After all, by 2050 white people will be the minority right? Will things be different then?
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Eric, I would not want schools to be purposefully seperated either. It does make me disheartened that many schools are segregated regardless due to the low socioeconomic status of many minority students. My favorite part of this reading was how culturally relevant teachers will encourage their students to challenge the status quo. It is important for us as teachers to do this, and it is also essential to our future students that we push them to do the same.
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