FNED 502 Blog

Talking Points Students in working class schools were not held to high standards (mechanical and routine) by teachers; seen as lazy; not challenged just because they were from working class families; Knowledge not connected to the lives and experiences of students. Working class school – dominant theme --> resistance Students middle class schools, knowledge was not connected to the students' lives and experiences.  Students have some decision making, some figuring; The work rarely called for  creativity. Middle class school – dominant theme --> possibility Students in affluent professional schools, creativity and personal development were important goals; a lot of current events; Open to discovery; School knowledge as having relevance to life’s problems. Affluent professional school – dominant theme --> individualism with minor theme of humanitarianism Students in executive elite schools, knowledge was academic, intellectual, and rigorous....

  This week's reading/listening was a podcast by Nikole Hannah-Jones on the integration of poor black children into white, higher achieving schools as a means to close the achievement gap between poor and black children and upper/middle class white children.  The prologue of the podcast is Nikole Hannah-Jones arguing that integration is one of the most effective ways to close the achievement gap of black students and white students.  She mentions how at the peak of integration of schools in the U.S. in 1988, the achievement gap was cut in half; it dropped from a 40 point difference, to an 18 point difference ( More details ). To back her argument she also discusses why this is the case.  She claims that when poor black children are integrated with white children, they then have access to the same facilities, including quality teachers and quality instruction.  Connections There are many connections between this reading and the other readings that we have don...

Talking Points People of color feel silenced when it comes to their opinions and  experiences  about educating children.  White people nod and listen, but don’t actually hear. People of color do end up just stopping talking because they don’t feel like what they are saying is being valued. If you are not already a participant in the culture of power, being told explicitly the rules of that culture makes acquired power easier   Explicit telling of “rules” of the culture is much easier for someone not in the culture of power, to learn the rules. Immersion is a difficult way to learn. Students need a mixture of direct (structured) instruction (academic and behavioral expectations) as well as  time  where they are allowed to show their own expert knowledge Argument Statement “Students must be  taught  the codes needed to participate fully in the mainstream of American life, not by being force to attend to hollow, inane, and ...

In Armstrong and Wildman’s 2013 article  Colorblindness is the New Racism, the authors argue that colorblindness is an ineffective way to view the issues of race in the United States.  The term colorblindness works for Whites because their race is the assumptive norm.  I understand how the term colorblindness on the surface might seem to some Whites like a positive thing; that they are colorblind meaning they don’t see race and they see everyone as humans and believe that everyone should be treated equally. However, saying you are ‘colorblind’ just enforces the privilege that Whites have, not having to think about race. “The failure to acknowledge racial reality in the United States reinforces and solidifies existing racial inequality and white privilege. So seeing race for Whites must mean more than merely noticing whiteness; Whites need to learn about its accompanying privilege” (Armstrong & Wildman, 2013, p. 67). Armstrong and Wildman (2013)...

Talking Points Privilege exists even if you don't feel like it does.  People can get defensive when their privileged status is made known to them, but it is of no fault to them the categories that they fall within. The "categories" we place people in are socially constructed. "Unless you live in a culture that recognizes those differences as significant and meaningful, they are socially irrelevant and therefore do not exist” (Johnson, p. 21). The problem is that we think the way our (American) culture categorizes people and gives privilege to people based on race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. is just how it is. It isn’t that we are afraid of what is different from us, what we are actually afraid of is losing the power we hold by having a certain privileged status.   Argument Statement Johnson (2001) argues that privilege exists and in order to work towards dismantling it, we need to first recognize it exists and recognize the ...

Hi Everyone! I'm Erin!  I am currently a 3rd grade teacher in Providence.  I have been teaching for 3 years now. I graduated last Saturday with my M.Ed. in early childhood education (but not actually 😩 since this is my last class to actually get my diploma). In my spare time (which I haven't had in 2 years due to grad school, working full time, and babysitting on the weekends) I LOVE to go to the beach. I also go to the gym pretty regularly.  To relax, I like to hang out with my friends, go out to eat, watch TV, and sleep.  I look forward to talking about social issues in education with all of you! -Erin