Multicultural Education Mar 22-Mar. 28: Culture and Power

This week in my Multiculturalism and Practice of Schooling class, [Prof. I got it right this time...:)] we took a quiz measuring our knowledge on equity and diversity in the United States. As I was taking the quiz, I undoubtedly felt confident about some of the answers and not as confident about other answers. One of the questions, that stood out in my mind, was question #1. It asked, "According to the National Center for Education Statistics, what is the percentage of U.S. schools with no teachers of color on staff?" The choices were...a) 0%, b) 20%, c) 40%, or d) 60%. My answer was 60%, and I was pleasantly surprised to find out I was wrong. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 40% of schools in the U.S. have no teachers of color on staff. This caused me to question the reasoning behind this statistic. Is this because there aren't a equal amount of qualified teachers of color? Or perhaps they aren't applying for these teaching jobs at the same rate as their white counterparts? Or is this because our country is still discriminating against people of color?

In an idealistic society, we would just like to think that the only reason why they are not being hired is because they merely are not interested in the teaching profession. I would hope that it's not because they aren't being denied these jobs. However, while I argue the importance of having teachers of colors, I feel it's important to make even more of an effort to hire high quality teachers. Schools need to find a way to do both. We need the high qualified teachers coming from all races, all to help students do well academically and educate them on multiculturalism.

Interacting with people of other races and cultures promotes the goals of the Human Relations approach, which is to create positive feelings among students in order to reduce stereotypes and develop a deep feeling of respect and unity. Just as when a school hires good teachers...their students do better academically, which is in important; so too, when a school makes an effort to have a diverse staff of teachers coming from all ethnicities, races, and cultures... multicultural education is better implemented. We need both...qualified teachers...AND teachers of color...and as our education system and schools become more progressive, hopefully, we will have an equal amount of qualified teachers coming from all races and cultures.

I have posted a link to the Equity & Diversity Awareness quiz :

After taking this quiz, I realized that there is so much about equity and diversity that I am unaware of. Seeing my shocking results (only 7 correct out of 15), I am now even more motivated and committed to educate myself on issues regarding equality in our education system.

http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/quiz/quizNEW.pdf

In regards to this week's class discussion on Ebonics, the question that was posed was-should Ebonics be an accepted and specific language and should we offer it in schools. I am of the opinion that Ebonics should not be taught in schools because it is not yet an accepted language and because it can be construed as degrading. Ebonics is language dialect that was developed by Africans living in the U.S., which means the United States is the only place where people speak it. Since the purpose of schooling is to prepare children for their future employers, teaching Ebonics would not be beneficial. Why teach someone a language that will keep the geographically limited?I think it would be a good idea for a teacher to learn Ebonics if he or she is going to go into a community where the students speak it so they can relate to them better. But going into a school teaching and it to the students, I think is not a good idea and I believe it will limit them.

Multicultural Education Mar 15-Mar. 21: The Achievement Gap

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, was originally proposed to ensure that each student across the nation is at his or her appropriate reading level by the year 2014. A question Kat proposed in class on Monday was is the No Child Left Behind Act actually helping to minimize the achievement gap? I am of the opinion it is not. The initial premise of No Child Left Behind, which was to hold schools and teachers accountable, is a positive thing; however the method by which it is being handled does not seem to be effective.

There are many reasons as to why our achievement gap is at an all time high. While I do agree with the opinion brought up in class that there is a lack of funding in many communities, I do not think that is the core of the problem. The lack of high-quality teachers is the real problem. Schools need to be putting an emphasis on finding caring teachers and principals who have high expectations of their students. While many continue to argue that the root of the problem is money, when we have programs such as "Teach for America", which seeks out individuals with good leaderships skills, that are successful, despite the difficulties they face with in the classrooms.

In addition to the achievement gap being high due to the lack of good teachers, I believe the gap is also high because of the method in which students are being assessed. Many people do not do well on achievement tests (myself included). Testing a child's knowledge based on a linear and often culturally biased test is unfair. We are placing our students in a 'box' based on results from a single test that cannot truly measure intelligence. I know personally that I have always done well in school, but that I don't do well on standardized tests. If someone were to see my results he or she might think my teachers weren't doing a good job. However, if they were to see my school work through out the year they would realize I am mastering the material and making progress. There must be another way to assess children on their academic progress. As it was talked about in the Hammond article, we need to find another way to assess students. I agree, however, I am unsure of what an effective nationwide method would be.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100313/ap_on_re_us/us_obama_education

Above is a link to an article that came out this past Saturday. The article focuses on President Obama's emphasis on getting kids into college. In the article, it talks about reforming the No Child Left Behind Act by instead of focusing on grade-level proficiency, there would be more of a focus on college and careers. Reading this reminded me of the Human Capital Theory talked about in one of our earlier readings. I realize the importance of preparing our youth for the economy, and as I have said multiple times I do believe that schools should be preparing kids for their future employers. However I also believe that there is too much of an emphasis on this. Whatever happened to learning for the sake of learning? When I decided to take Multicultural Schooling and Practice at the end of last semester, it had nothing to do with preparing me for our global economy. I took it to educate myself on other cultures and sub-cultures. It is now, after taking this class, that I can use what I learned for my career. The order of the priorities is the problem. Let us first learn to learn, and then see how we can translate it into the work world.

Nonetheless I still support President Obama in trying to find a way to reform NCLB.

Multicultural Education Mar. 8-Mar. 14: Schooling and Culture

In class this past Monday we took on a very taboo issue...the issue of race. What does the term race even mean? While race can be defined differently by different people, when I think of the term race I think of someone's skin color. Right now I am sure many people (mostly whites) like to think that we live in an equal opportunity society. However this is far from true. Prof. KM Smith went around the class and asked each of us what we thought it meant to be black and what we thought it meant to be white. Through this exercise, I think many of us became more aware of stereotypes they had about other cultures. We began to realize that while our nation has become more equalized over time, it is still very far from where it can be.

One interesting thing I realized from Monday's activity, was that I barely had any stereotypes. The only thing I could think of when thinking of a black person was basketball. Whereas that might seem like a positive thing I saw it as the exact opposite. I had no biases toward blacks because until coming to Binghamton I had almost no interactions with black people. I went to an all white, all girls, private school since I was eight years old. I had never learned about black people (except in history class when we learned about the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement, which in my opinion does not really count). However, even if I had learned about other cultures I do not think it would have had the same impact on me as attending Binghamton has had. I'm aware Binghamton tries to diversify its campus but it is not completely successful, since most of the students and faculty are mostly white. Nonetheless, I feel that I am becoming immersed in other cultures and learning about different backgrounds. I am actually beginning to realize that I have better chemistry with some black people then I do with some white people.

I definitely believe that stereotypes and prejudgments are a negative thing, but at the same time I think having those thoughts shows that one is thinking about the other cultures and ethnicities. I know writing this blog I felt embarrassed to say that I had not really been exposed to other cultures before (and for that matter wasn't really exposed to the opposite gender either). Taking this course has encouraged me to think about unconscious thoughts I might have and talk about them openly in class in order to change the misguided or nonexistent thoughts into accurate ones.

In last's week's reading, there was a section titled "Exploring Race Relations" from the book Rethinking Multicultural Education by Wayne Au. The section focused on the importance of teaching about other cultures and diversity because one thing is certain in our society: racism exists and it affects all our lives. Whether someone goes to a school that is all black, all white, all boys, all girls, or mixed - it is imperative to experience multiculturalism. The ability to understand other cultures and accept the differences as not being a bad thing but being a good thing, can only help one to grow to be better person. Integrating classrooms is a good idea, however I don't think it is feasible nor do I think it wealthier Americans are going to send their children into poorer neighborhoods. Since I don't believe that those outside a community can rescue the disadvantage within a community...I think it is the responsibility of the parents, teachers, and that community. Whether our schools are integrated or segregated, the schooling of multiculturalism is imperative.

I have posted a video that focuses on segregation in U.S. public schools. The video talks about how even 50 years after the Brown vs. Board of Education case, schools today are still segregated. The video also discusses the difference between the segregation in the race range and the segregation in the class range. I found this very interesting and saw a correlation to the point made in Monday's class about trying to redistribute the funding for public schools.

Since our communities are divided between economic class, some schools will have better resources than others...this is why it comes back to the point about the responsibility being on the teachers, the parents and the community. Similarly to the point I made earlier, we can only blame the government so much before we begin to take personal responsibility for the success of our youth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxiqGLZ9BWE

The second video is short and it is just something I found interesting which I thought you all might enjoy. It focuses on stereotypes and how many people form judgments from just looking at someone. I hope that after watching this video we can stop judging people based on their race or ethnicity but as an individual.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOZd11Mcej4

Multicultural Education Mar. 1-Mar 7: Facing Difference

Fifty years ago the primary thought of school was that all children respond to the same method of instruction, which was essentially lecture, the use of a text book and a test. But as time has progressed, educational philosophers, educational psychologists and educational theorists have realized that all people learn differently. There are three primary learning styles: visual, auditory and kinesthetic. Classrooms today have approximately 30 students and each student learns differently. I believe it is the responsibility of the teacher to make sure that he or she is meeting the learning needs of their students. One way to ensure that as a teacher you are meeting the needs of your students is by beginning the year with a 'Learning Style Test'. Every teacher wants his or her students to be successful and when relying on one method of instruction (whether it be lecture or discussion) one will not be catering to their diverse needs. It is best to expand what is done in the classroom: mix it up a little and incorporate lecture, discussion, experiments, role playing, debates, group work, and videos. These approaches cater to the many different learning styles that are in the classroom.

In the book Making Choices for Multicultural Education by Christine E. Sleeter and Carl A. Grant and according to Reverend Jeremiah Wright, learning styles are culturally dependent. This means a black child learns differently than a white child. Studies have proven that black children use the right side of their brain more, which is the creative side. While white children, use the left side of the brain more, which is more the logical and cognitive style of understanding information. Reading this in the text and hearing Rev. Wright talk about it in the video really made me think long and hard. Does one's cultural background actually have an impact in the way one learns? I know black children who use their left side of the brain and I know a lot of white children who use their right side of the brain. To say that this is a hard core fact I think is untrue, no matter what psychologists may believe. I think someone's learning style is based upon a number of factors (including environment and chemical make up) but I don't think that one's ethnic background has as much as an effect as Rev. Wright contends.

Something else that was mentioned in another book, Rethinking Multicultural Education by Wayne Au and talked about in class today, was the method in which a teacher can teach multiculturalism and the differences which are represented in the classroom. One activity I thought that would be very successful in teaching multiculturalism (and individualism) is the "Me Pockets". "Me Pockets" is ac activity where each child takes home a letter-size, clear, plastic sleeve, and fills it with photos, pictures, drawing, and anything else they can find that represents them and what is important in their lives. By doing this type of process and then sharing it with the class, is helpful in allowing students to learn about their classmates and to recognize that just because someone has a different colored skin doesn't mean there aren't similarities. In fact a white child may even have more in common with another black child then they do with a white child.

From this past week's reading and from our discussion in class this week, I am becoming more aware that race is merely a social construct to form economic classes. In this article that I have posted, it discusses diversity in public schools vs. diversity in private schools. After reading the it I am more conscious of the idea that multicultural education is not just about immersing oneself in another ethnic culture but also in another economic culture. In addition to be divided by skin color, neighborhoods also reflect the size of one's house, the type of car someone owns, and the style of clothing one wears. To me this is another form of avoiding the opportunity for constructive interaction. I am seeking an appreciation for the depth of an individual that transcends their socioeconomic status. I think it is the responsibility of the parents, the community and the teachers to proactively ensure that they guide our youth to the wonderful benefits that a multi layered cultural experience allows.

http://ethnoblog.newamericamedia.org/2009/08/public-vs-private-what-diversity-in-high-school-really-teaches-us.php