I am lucky enough to say that I have been blessed with the privilege of growing up in a loving, supportive family. Although my father passed away when I was nine years old, my mother provided for us, both financially and with the love we needed to prosper. Unfortunately, not all children are afforded the same luxury, and I have realized that I am responsible for taking any differences between my future students and I into account.
In my experiences at Pineapple* Elementary school I have seen students from a socioeconomic and sociocultural background that I was not previously familiar with. Many of the students are below the poverty line, and although I don’t know the specifics of their home lives, I have noticed that several students don’t come in with homework completed and sometimes appear to not have showered recently. Instead of judging the students and their parents for what I would have usually called “neglect”, I took a moment to think deeper about their situations.
Looking back on the article we read by Lisa Delpit, I began to think about the root of the issues that may have lead to the families’ poverty. The blame cannot be placed on the parents because as she points out, “if the parents were members of the culture of power and lived by its rules and codes, then they would transmit those codes to their children”(Delpit 7). Instead of focusing on what the parents could have or should have done to prepare their children for success, we should move on and focus our attention on helping the students understand the material in whatever way they can comprehend it. Even though I don’t understand what their childhood feels like or what experiences they have had to endure, I will know how to reach them and allow them to express their emotions through artwork. The students can easily integrate their own cultures into their artwork so that they understand their individuality is valued and respected.
I wouldn’t have classified my thoughts as “misconceptions”, but I realized I may have had some prejudice against the ethnicities of the students in the classroom when I found myself surprised at their diligence. I guess I expected that the majority of the students would be unfocused, perhaps slightly lazy, but I found that it had nothing to do with a particular ethnicity but with the individual student. I was happy to see one especially focused Latina girl whose eyes lit up when I mentioned her consistent hard work, and encouraged her to keep working hard so that should could go to a school like RIC one day. I realized that just because she may not live in a community with as much privilege as I grew up in, she still values her education and has solid goals. Each student has a unique experience and background, but school should serve as the great equalizer, where each individual deserves and receives the same amount of respect and attention so that they have the same opportunity to prosper.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Prompt #4
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Well Christine I totally have to agree with you on that one. Students underneath the poverty line do have less of a chance to become good students because of those factors. It is not all up to the teachers to make them great students, but also their parents and themselves. It is great that some of the students in your classroom seem to be having great time learning and haven’t missed a beat on their studies. But is there something that is missing. Jonathan Kozol talks about how schools are still unequal, that they are more segregated than ever. As your school is one that is supposed to be of more of a mix of middle class and white students, it seems like all of your students in the class are of the minority and are in the lower class. But from what you are saying it sounds great that students want to learn, no matter what sort of handicap that there is in the schools.
ReplyDeleteHello Christine
ReplyDeleteI think that it is a brilliant idea to allow the students to express their inner thoughts and emotions through the use of artwork. This will engage the students in their work since it allows them to be creative and reflect upon themselves while still completing assignments. I'm glad that you have recognized that just because a student appears neglected that it may not be the exact case. Delpit is correct in stating that many minorites are unaware of the codes of power and are therefore incapable of teaching the tools for success to their children. It will be our responsibility as teachers to introduce the codes of power to the minority students so that they do not fall behind and become oppressed from society. Many parents may have to work two jobs, which may prevent them from having the oppurtunity to make sure that homework is complete andthat their child is showering on a daily basis.
You said that many of the students at Pinneaple Emlementary are below the poverty line and of soiciocultural backgrounds that were new to you. Have you noticed if the schools physical appearanace and neccessary teaching supplies are of lesser qulaity than the elementary school you attended as a child? If so, that would be an example of the reality that children of difficult financial situations are provided schooling that is of lower quality than kids from more priviledged neighborhoods. In Johnathan Kozals article titled, "Still Separate, Still Unequal: America's Educational Apartheid", he speaks about the fact that not all students are getting equal education or being surrounded in equally prospering envornonments. Students from low income communities will attend the local public school that will not be of the same quality as a public school that is located in a wealthy community. A wealthier school will have more books and a nicer environment compared to a low income school that may have leaks in the roof and broken chairs and desks. Although some people may argue that minorities are provided with schooling that is just as valuable and equal to wealthier kids that is unfortunately not the case due to the priviledges that higher classes attain.
Hi Christine,
ReplyDeleteYour connection to Delpit is right on target here. You might also think about the connection to Johnson's idea of privilege. These reflections give a theoretical base to our teacher identity.
Dr. August
Hi Christine
ReplyDeleteI agree as well with the point that you made about the kids valuing their education. Many of the kids we tutored don’t really understand the complete importance of it just yet but I can see the student I tutored is well on their way. Even though these kids are not from a “great” background they still cherish what they learn. They may not be able to apply it to daily life just yet but once again their well on their way. When I first started tutoring my kids were working on adding money, and one of them asked, “what do we need this for?” and the teacher said, “Well you will need this so you know how much money you have or if you have the correct change and whatnot.” And the light bulbs went off in the kids heads. A couple weeks later, one student was playing with her lunch money and I asked how much do you have? And she quickly responded with $1.75. So these kids understand it at a very basic level right now but with math at least you need to know how you can add before you can multiply. The student do cherish their education, just not completely yet. That light bulb will come one in a few years.