Reflection Paper-Chapter 2

Educational inequality as focused on in Chapter 2, builds upon statistics raised on educational funding and lack of, socioeconomics of low, medium and high income families, and the affect of teacher qualities in student academic success or thereof. The educational gap created through all these factors has existed for many years and through many american educational systems. The United States has probably spent the most on its educational system as anywhere else, yet still juggles rationales and explanations as to why student achievements have yet to increase to an even appropriate level. Without a doubt, economics plays a role in the success of student achievement. A family of poverty would likely be more concerned whether there is food on the table or that their power and water are still on before they worry if their child had a poster board he/she needed to complete a project. With the increase of technology use, I am almost certain a student with access to a working computer and internet, may receive higher level learning than one without. Is it then safe to assume a student living under a low income community is any less able to succeed than one with internet access? Which brings us to our educational gap or inquality of learning opportunities. Most of our educational inequality is greatly determined on economics. A subject with an enormous amount of facts and opinions. However, is safe too say plays a significant role in student achivement. As educators, we are constantly spotlighted through our student's success. The quality of our teaching abilities are microspically viewed through standardized test scores in which our student's educational successes are based upon. Indeed our teaching criteria, experience and knowledge play huge roles in teaching and learning. As educators, we need to continue to look forward on a positive note and take every critism and belief as ways to learn and build. We have to remember that educational inequality has existed and continues to exist. It may be apparent at different levels, but we must build on knowldge and experience and work to do the best we can for the success of all students rich or poor. Chapter 2 brought many questions and relations to me as an educator. It has opened my mnd to just how, more than ever, my students are my utmost importance in my career no matter big or small.

Reflection Paper-Waiting For Superman

                                                                                                            April Juarez

                                                                                                            ED615: Diversity in Education
                                                                                                            February 2, 2013
                                                                                                           Reflection Paper - Waiting For Superman

 

                My first experience with the documentary of Waiting for Superman was back in 2011. I had heard many opinions of the documentary and wanted to see what all the fuss was about.  After watching the documentary, I had come to understand why it was the topic in our faculty lounge for many weeks.  Most were opinionated while other discussions were supported through test scores and student academic levels within our school. In my opinion, if it was worth discussing, it had to have been close to home.

                Being a product of our public school system, and now an educator who has faith in it, I appreciate the truth this documentary lays out. Diversity stems anywhere from being of another race or ethnicity, society level, to the different learning styles a child can possess.  In most cases, diversity is to blame for the low academic level of a child.  However, in my opinion, diversity can be the exact opposite should we be knowledgeable, aware and appreciative of each other’s culture and inheritance.  Diversity has been documented as promoting a personal growth in what we wish in a healthy society. It also may strengthen communities and enrich educational experiences though shared experiences, beliefs and perspectives.  In the documentary, Waiting for Superman, diversity is depicted in the form of poverty playing a major role in the success of a child’s academic success. The documentary suggest that reform programs, in which does not seem to be offered to those not able to afford them, other than through lottery,  are the key to a child’s academic success and extent of a successful future.  In my opinion, that should not be the case.  Every child should be allowed to experience an adequate education, without weighing so heavily on these reform schools.   I am aware that the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act was set for this purpose.  However, the NCLB initiation continues a need to blame low test scores on the not so American people.    

 There is no doubt in my mind that low and middle class society children have a greater chance of falling through the cracks of our already not so perfect education system.  I have seen the so called drop out factories as I visited my mother’s hometown. But as the documentary had suggested, “Great schools come from great people”.  And I firmly believe that if we truly had the compassion most of us expressed we did as we completed our bachelor’s degree in education, we can be those great people.  Our students are long overdue this commitment we had all used as our reason of care for their future or our future as educators.

Chapter 2

I think I struggle with how our society has accepted these inequalities since the 1800's.  It appears that it will take a system that is not based on democracy and rights, but on a system based on what is right.

Waiting for Superman

Now what do you do when you've put the response on email and are having trouble finding it.  I know I sent it, so it will be forthcoming.

Chapter 2 Review

                Obviously, our schools need help.  The major thought that keeps coming to mind from chapter two is how students do not receive the same amount of funding per student for their education.   The book discusses how in “white” neighborhoods students get X amount of money, while minorities get less even though they live a few blocks or few miles away.  I might not make friends here, but I am tired of this being a white/minority problem.   Yes, “white” schools get more money because their property taxes are higher.  It is not because they are white that they get more money.  It is because the value of their home is more.  This is 2013, we have a "black" preisident.  I am sure his home in Chicago is in a nice neighborhood and they have nice schools.  I am sure the students in his neighborhood get more funding for their educations than the students who live is what many would call the "ghetto."   We have to stop looking at this a race issues. 

           I own a house in St. George, Utah and every year I get a statement telling me how much of my money goes towards the schools in the county.  Yes, the majority of the people are white, but there are many, many other different races that make up the population.  These people of the community value education.   The people of that community put real value in being able to provide for themselves.  They don’t want to depend on the government.   The schools in this area have beautiful buildings. 

I can see that say you live in South Central, Los Angeles your property taxes are not going to be the same as Beverly Hills.  Though they are only miles apart the schools are going to be funded differently.  So the real question is how do we mandate that the schools get even funding?  When do we stop saying this is not a minority/white person problem and look at the problem as it should be looked at? 

This is a huge problem on Guam.  Every day I drop my children off at school and yes, they do go to a public school and their school is so run down.  They don’t have the resources that other schools have like computers, ELMOS and electronic white boards.  I am always asking myself what can be done to improve the schools.   Again, it goes back to what I mentioned earlier…property taxes.  Are we helping our children enough on our own island?

Giving our children across the country a quality education is hard!  I believe there are many things that this country needs to look at and face.  And sometimes I feel we don’t really want to change how things are done.  For example, weeding out the teachers who don’t do their jobs, but get to keep a pay check because they have been in the system for so long.  When talking about money everyone seems to have an opinion, especially when it deals with our youth. 

Waiting for Superman

Candace Sandstrom

February 5, 2013

Dr. Una

Diversity in Education

Observation of “Waiting for Superman”

            Waiting for Superman was a great insight into the life of students and their families who dream of a better education.  What I think the movie failed to mention is that these “drop-out” factories all around the country have students whose parents and/or guardians that just don’t care about their child’s education.   The movie failed to show how do we as a nation, as teachers, make a difference in the schools where all the students know if failure?  How do we teach students that dropping out of school is not an option?  Is it the moral decay of the nation that is part of the problem?

Ms. Rhee was something to watch.  She was full of fire.  I wish more people had that kind of courage.  She had the student’s best interest at heart.  I loved how she came in and fired principals and teachers and there was real success happening. She was met with opposition at every turn.  But how do we get the teachers in the unions to teach?  How do we get teacher’s to put the student’s best interest first?  It was so typical how when Ms. Rhee gave a good comprise to the teachers to abolish their unions and not one teacher would vote on it. 

The movie left me asking many questions of why is education the way it is.  It also made me feel like the problem is so big.  It almost feels overwhelming.

Chapter 2 review

This topic gets me heated. When social economic assistance impedes the goals of education the perpetuation of low educational expectations due to a lack of need creates a cycle of dependency on the rest of society.  The attitude of entitlement by some people and the mindset that education is not the way to a better life seems to be a great part of the problem.  Only when we truly struggle can we know what we will be missing in some cases.

  I agree that educational opportunity for all is the key to a stronger nation but the reality is that inequality exists in most areas of life. The issues aren’t new and the solutions are not working because we are overwhelmed with variables (i.e. resources, class sizes, certified/quality teachers, training, rigor, esl, SpEd, learning environments, and motivation).   Even when we try to correct these inequalities someone is going to be shortchanged but we must continue to persevere (I know that sounds redundant).

  Contrary to what many will say money is not the answer. The desire to teach and learn is based on the value each individual places on education.  Remember we did not grow up together, we did not have the same teachers, we vary in culture and values, we are of different generations and economic backgrounds, and we weren’t all given the same educational opportunities.  Yet we are all here… in the same class today.

Chapter Two Reflection

Throughout chapter two of our readings, two main points stuck out to me the most.  Funnily enough, they were two points also brought up in our class' documentary, "Waiting for Superman."  The first discusses the amount of money the government spends per student, comparing that and the country's overall lack of financial support to other countries.  This is not the first time I have heard of such statistics, but this is definitely the first time I've seen the numbers.  It's amazing to me that our government can spend so much on our prisoners (nearly twice the amount, if I recall correctly from the documentary) when our children continue to suffer from lack of resources.  Term after term we hear of politicians appealing to the public for their money and support, promising to better our children's education, but what do any of us have to show for it?  Our prisoners are still getting better meals, better facilities, better recreational activities than our students have.  Working at one of the oldest high schools on Guam, it's very easy for me to see how poorly the money is being allocated within the government.  Simon A. Sanchez continues to stand as a school of mostly a solitary building of three floors (though only two are accessible) with no windows and a labyrinth of classrooms packed into small spaces with multiple exists and not enough staff to fully cover them all.  The rest of the campus stretches out into classrooms made of butler tin and wood with a cafeteria that is shared with the middle school right next door.  Every day is a struggle against the elements - if it rains heavily, I can expect my ceiling to leak (if not completely cave in from the water that somehow accumulates on the ceiling of the second floor when the building has three); if the airconditioning breaks down we have no source of air since there are no windows; and if a class gets too rowdy or loud next door, my class has no choice but to suffer through it because the walls are so thin.

Overall, it's the system that seems to be bringing us down.  It's the system, too, that is partly (perhaps mostly) responsible for the second point I'd like to bring up - the lack of student access to quality teachers.  Part of this is due to the fact that too many of the older, unqualified teachers remain in their spots, taking up space.  The system keeps them there and protects them, making it difficult to get rid of them.  While watching the documentary and reading this section in the chapter, I already easily listed five teachers that I knew of that fit into this category.  It's a shame how some people's stubbornness comes with the price of the future generations' learning.

Chapter 2 Reflection

The anatomy of inequality in chapter two that I found very intriguing and whole-heartedly agree with is the fact that there is a huge lack of social support for children in low income areas of the United States. Poverty rates and social supports in the U.S. are one of the highest of all industrialized nations. The mere fact that we can't support these children breeds the inability to educate them at the same level as children in higher economic areas. Most states use property taxes to fund education and when there is a low income area, the money they receive is much less than a high income school receives. I agree this fact makes it harder to support education in these poverty stricken areas of the U.S. How can parents focus on their child's education when they cannot feed, house, or provide proper medical their children. It is a shame that such a so-called great nation like the U.S. can't provide the environment where families can focus on their child's education. We are making it harder for these low poverty area students to succeed. We see this when we look at statistics where children where parents are trying to depend on governmental assistance are more likely to rely on the same programs when they get older. A great deal of these kids don't see a future for them when it comes to their education also. I totally agree that the environment we put these low income kids in has a direct result on their failure in our education system too.