5 Sentences on the Big Picture
After reading Jonathan Kozol's Shame of the Nation the idea that sticks out most in my mind is the conditions the majority that inner-city schools are in. Kozol's thesis of how unfair the government and citizens of these cities treat the poorer, inner-city schools makes me shudder. I completely agree that the current state in which these schools' are forced to operate should be considered wrong and great strides should be taken to rectify the situations; however I do not agree that the "affluent" parents in the vicinity should be blamed. Each person, including children are responsible for their own decisions and actions; personally I would not want to attend or send my own children to low performing schools regardless of the ethnicity makeup of the school. Instead I believe the government should change the way they spend the tax dollars and the way they judge performance, as well as outlaw the underhanded contributions that parents are now able to make to already high performance schools.
4 Key Passages
"Which of these children will receive the highest test scores-- those who spent the years from two to four in lovely little Montessori schools or other pastel painted settings in which tender and attentive grown-ups read to them from storybooks and introduced them for the first time to the world of numbers, the shapes of letters, and the sizes and varieties of solid objects and perhaps taught them to sort things into groups or to arrange them in a sequence, or to do those many other interesting things that early childhood specialists refer to as prenumeracy skills, or the ones who spent those years at home in front of the TV or sitting by the window of a slum apartment gazing down into the street?...but does not hold the government officials of our government of robbing her of what they gave their own children six or seven years ago." (page 53-54)
"Now with the non promotion rules mandates by a number of our cities and states, many experts are convinced the nongraudation rates among black and Hispanic students will increase." (page 118)
"...banishment of recess from the normal school day...recess has been systematically abandoned to secure more time for test-related programs." (page 120)
"I left with confused emotions that I often feel after a visit to a school or district in which academic levels are disturbing and and the physical conditions of the buildings are degrading to the children but where most of the people teaching in these buildings seem devoted and hard-working, and as best as one can discern from a day's visit, seem to be doing everything within their power and experience to cope with the calamity that has been handed them. The tortured dignity in the eyes of many who welcomed me remained as one of the most stirring memories of the experience." (page 157)
"Now with the non promotion rules mandates by a number of our cities and states, many experts are convinced the nongraudation rates among black and Hispanic students will increase." (page 118)
"...banishment of recess from the normal school day...recess has been systematically abandoned to secure more time for test-related programs." (page 120)
"I left with confused emotions that I often feel after a visit to a school or district in which academic levels are disturbing and and the physical conditions of the buildings are degrading to the children but where most of the people teaching in these buildings seem devoted and hard-working, and as best as one can discern from a day's visit, seem to be doing everything within their power and experience to cope with the calamity that has been handed them. The tortured dignity in the eyes of many who welcomed me remained as one of the most stirring memories of the experience." (page 157)
3 Key Terms
1) segregated: separate schools, based mainly on race and socioeconomic status most self-inflicted by the residents living in a specified area.
2) racial: uses to describe the negative feelings most individuals in the school districts towards people of different ethnicity or races.
3) affluent: anyone above the poverty line
2) racial: uses to describe the negative feelings most individuals in the school districts towards people of different ethnicity or races.
3) affluent: anyone above the poverty line
2 Connections
The No Child Left Behind Act cause for schools to meet standards the government sets. While I do not believe standardized tests should be what teachers teach for I do believe they are necessary. If the government and citizens of America could trust teachers across the country to perform their job to the best of their ability consistently standardized testing would not be needed. I also see what Kozol means by school districts being so close geographically but far apart academically. After being employed for Waco ISD for the past year I have seen firsthand the conditions and abilities students at all three levels work in. Being involved in Midway ISD as well I see the differences. However, just because the Midway ISD parents choose to live there and send their children to Midway schools does not make them wrong.
1 Question
Kozol has a problem with the non promotion rules. My question is, should we as educators then, promote just for the sake of promoting?
Emily,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your 5-4-3-2-1 responses. In particular I appreciated the quote regarding the "banishment of recess" (pg 120). Unfortunately we have removed one of the most important aspects of a child's development from their daily lives. Play is a child work. As for your question, which was well stated, Kozol doesn't promote social promotion. What he does call for is a reorganization of how we structure our schools so that children can move through culturally responsive and developmentally appropriate education at a pace that meets their developing needs.