I've been teaching for 14 years, and I've learned there is always more to learn. Some trends in education come back around over the years, and others disappear as new research brings forth new ideas. You have to be a very flexible person to be a teacher, able to bend with the times, the changing landscape of education, and the changing demands of the job. It's not easy, but it's never boring. I always tell people that a teaching career is a long-distance race, not a sprint - you have to pace yourself. It's a fantastic career, but not a job you should consider as a fall-back position (as in, "If nothing else, I can always teach"). If it's not in your heart to be a teacher as your life's work, you probably shouldn't do it.
The field of education is getting more complex by the minute. Federal and state laws and regulations, district requirements, etc... are always changing. Public education is very diverse in its opportunities for teachers and students. It's not equal for all, or even adequate for all, that's for sure. But there are so many reasons to believe in public education and to be a part of a teaching staff that reaches out to students to help them find themselves in this world.
Sometimes I am tired. Sometimes I get disgusted. That's the nature of the job. It's tough. But sometimes I have those moments in the classroom that make it all worthwhile.
I live for those moments. They keep me going.
I am always proud to say I am a public school teacher. (Don't I sound like an ad for NJEA?).
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Abstract and Final Summary
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this project was to examine how Social Justice Math can help students in urban school districts make real-world connections between the mandated curriculum and issues and topics of need and concern in their own communities. The goal of Social Justice Math is to help students not only become more aware of the needs of their community through units of study such as this, but to become agents of change themselves. We selected Newark as our target community, and began our project with a walking tour of the city and neighborhoods encompassing several of its public high schools. Our tour, recorded in the form of field notes, revealed that the type of stores, businesses and services readily available to Newark citizens was severely limited in the poorer neighborhoods. This particular disparity between the poorer and more affluent neighborhoods gave rise to a lesson plan and unit analyzing community businesses and services in poorer neighborhoods of Newark, and drawing comparisons to more affluent communities. Using SJM can enable students to “read their world” and develop creative solutions to real problems.
SUMMARY
As we wrapped up our project, I realized that I had learned quite a bit about Social Justice Math, but even more about teaching. I knew nothing about SJM, and basically assumed it was another way to teach what I would call “life-skills math.” As I researched I discovered it is more than playing with baseball statistics or converting a recipe from 4 servings to 6 servings. As a starting point, SJM is a method to analyze an area of concern or current issue and come up with potential solutions. But way beyond that basic starting point, SJM can provide students with a way to “read the world” and empower them to become activists to change what is wrong in their worlds. Social Justice Math can bring real solutions to community problems, not just teacher-created problems for the classroom. Most importantly, SJM can bring equity to a world in which one’s race, ethnic background, religion, socioeconomic status, etc. often determines the boundaries and limitations of one’s existence.
What I learned that surprised me was that many teachers are against this innovative form of mathematics because it cannot be easily compartmentalized in little lesson plan boxes in a teacher’s plan book. On that note, SJM also cannot easily be compartmentalized in the little lesson plan boxes in a teacher’s head. I believe SJM is met with resistance because it is open-ended in the direction it will take once it has begun, and clear-cut goals and outcomes are not necessarily easy to construct at the outset. Goals and outcomes evolve as the work project begins. This is counter to what teachers are used to, counter to how we are trained to plan ahead, counter to how we logically plan something from start to finish.
Another reason why SJM may be met with resistance by teachers is because it is more student-directed than teacher-directed. This is also counter to the traditional methods of teaching in which we are generally trained. Of course we learn to create literature circles, cooperative groups, pair-share situations in the classroom, etc. But primarily we are taught to take charge, take control, and run the room. SJM throws off that balance of power for the adult in charge.
This project was definitely a learning experience!
The purpose of this project was to examine how Social Justice Math can help students in urban school districts make real-world connections between the mandated curriculum and issues and topics of need and concern in their own communities. The goal of Social Justice Math is to help students not only become more aware of the needs of their community through units of study such as this, but to become agents of change themselves. We selected Newark as our target community, and began our project with a walking tour of the city and neighborhoods encompassing several of its public high schools. Our tour, recorded in the form of field notes, revealed that the type of stores, businesses and services readily available to Newark citizens was severely limited in the poorer neighborhoods. This particular disparity between the poorer and more affluent neighborhoods gave rise to a lesson plan and unit analyzing community businesses and services in poorer neighborhoods of Newark, and drawing comparisons to more affluent communities. Using SJM can enable students to “read their world” and develop creative solutions to real problems.
SUMMARY
As we wrapped up our project, I realized that I had learned quite a bit about Social Justice Math, but even more about teaching. I knew nothing about SJM, and basically assumed it was another way to teach what I would call “life-skills math.” As I researched I discovered it is more than playing with baseball statistics or converting a recipe from 4 servings to 6 servings. As a starting point, SJM is a method to analyze an area of concern or current issue and come up with potential solutions. But way beyond that basic starting point, SJM can provide students with a way to “read the world” and empower them to become activists to change what is wrong in their worlds. Social Justice Math can bring real solutions to community problems, not just teacher-created problems for the classroom. Most importantly, SJM can bring equity to a world in which one’s race, ethnic background, religion, socioeconomic status, etc. often determines the boundaries and limitations of one’s existence.
What I learned that surprised me was that many teachers are against this innovative form of mathematics because it cannot be easily compartmentalized in little lesson plan boxes in a teacher’s plan book. On that note, SJM also cannot easily be compartmentalized in the little lesson plan boxes in a teacher’s head. I believe SJM is met with resistance because it is open-ended in the direction it will take once it has begun, and clear-cut goals and outcomes are not necessarily easy to construct at the outset. Goals and outcomes evolve as the work project begins. This is counter to what teachers are used to, counter to how we are trained to plan ahead, counter to how we logically plan something from start to finish.
Another reason why SJM may be met with resistance by teachers is because it is more student-directed than teacher-directed. This is also counter to the traditional methods of teaching in which we are generally trained. Of course we learn to create literature circles, cooperative groups, pair-share situations in the classroom, etc. But primarily we are taught to take charge, take control, and run the room. SJM throws off that balance of power for the adult in charge.
This project was definitely a learning experience!
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Summary of Project Findings
Our inquiry project led us to explore how Social Justice Math can connect curriculum to the community for students in urban districts. As we wrap up our research and synthesize our findings, I am struck by the connection between the disaster of No Child Left Behind, “teaching to the test” and the struggles of inner city districts. The lower the scores on so-called high-stakes tests in a district, the more that district’s curriculum is hyper-focused on teaching to the test. This limits, and often eliminates, possibilities for creative curriculum, project-based learning, and genuine student-directed inquiry and exploration. “Teaching to the test” is NEVER student-driven. It is completely teacher-directed.
By exploring the neighborhoods surrounding several of the public high schools in Newark, we began to notice something we would never have seen had we never left the classroom (or the computer). We saw a pattern of types of businesses clustered in certain areas: check cashing, fast food, flat tire fix, mom-and-pop grocery store… As one of my project partners put it, “rinse and repeat.”
What started out as something peculiar and funny to us developed into a concern for the availability of certain businesses in poorer urban areas. Our lesson/unit was built upon developing awareness of this pattern, documentation of specifics through math applications, and comparisons with more affluent areas. The ultimate goal of this unit of lessons, and any social justice curriculum, is to empower students to act upon what they learn.
I learned that real-world curriculum is just a starting point. Social justice math is one way to bring the real world into the curriculum. Social justice-oriented teaching inverts the curriculum, as the author of "Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way" stated. It takes the emphasis off improving standardized test scores and puts the emphasis on the needs and interests of the students. Students can delve into issues in their own communities that impact directly upon their lives, with the ultimate goal of agency. What did we learn? What changes need to be made? How can we become a part of that change?
Back in the olden days, there was a saying: If you are not a part of the solution, you are part of the problem.
By exploring the neighborhoods surrounding several of the public high schools in Newark, we began to notice something we would never have seen had we never left the classroom (or the computer). We saw a pattern of types of businesses clustered in certain areas: check cashing, fast food, flat tire fix, mom-and-pop grocery store… As one of my project partners put it, “rinse and repeat.”
What started out as something peculiar and funny to us developed into a concern for the availability of certain businesses in poorer urban areas. Our lesson/unit was built upon developing awareness of this pattern, documentation of specifics through math applications, and comparisons with more affluent areas. The ultimate goal of this unit of lessons, and any social justice curriculum, is to empower students to act upon what they learn.
I learned that real-world curriculum is just a starting point. Social justice math is one way to bring the real world into the curriculum. Social justice-oriented teaching inverts the curriculum, as the author of "Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way" stated. It takes the emphasis off improving standardized test scores and puts the emphasis on the needs and interests of the students. Students can delve into issues in their own communities that impact directly upon their lives, with the ultimate goal of agency. What did we learn? What changes need to be made? How can we become a part of that change?
Back in the olden days, there was a saying: If you are not a part of the solution, you are part of the problem.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Online assignment: the families of "Unequal Childhoods"
1. Review the families in Unequal Childhoods, and see if you can create a chart that reflects the following demographic and cultural information: Race/ethnicity, Language, Religion, Economics and employment, Housing, Geography, Food, Norms and values, Politics, Relationship with local geography, Formal Education and level/type of education, Structures and Institutions You may not be able to fill out the columns at this time.
Bringing chart to class
2. Turn to the NJRCL report and pay specific attention to the information provided about Essex County, and the concerns, challenges, and recommendations in the report. Review the six families in Unequal Childhoods, and make connections between the NJRCL report and the realities these families might face if they lived in Essex County, NJ.
The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Essex County 2008 sets a minimum self-sufficiency wage of $32,184 for one adult and one school age child. With two adults and one child, that minimum is raised to $53,722 per adult; with two adults and two children, $50,716 per adult. The only families that would survive in this county would be the Tallingers, the Williamses, the Handlons and the Marshalls. Even among these middle class families, there is a difference in the ability to live comfortably. The Williams would live the most comfortably, given the fact that they have only one child and a yearly income of over $200,000. The Tallingers, with two working adults and three children, make about $175,000, would also live comfortably, but with considerably higher expenses due to their larger family of three children.
The other two middle class families, the Marshalls and the Handlons, would certainly survive but would probably have to cut back on things that are not necessities for living. As the Self-Sufficiency Standard for Essex County sets the two-adult plus children income at over $100,000, I believe the Marshalls would be okay given their annual income of $100,000 and the fact that they have two school-age children. However, they are constantly concerned about the future, due to the rising cost of just about everything and the lack of job security. The Handlons, however with an annual income of $85,000-$95,000 and three children to care for, may have more of a struggle for survival in Essex County. Both families would probably have to cut back on the extras, such as vacations and extra-curricular activities.
I don’t believe the working class families (Taylor, Driver, and Yanelli) or the poor families (McAllister and Brindle) would survive in Essex County. Within the working class families, the Taylors have one adult and two children and are living on approximately $20,000 a year; the Drivers have two adults and three children, and live on $35,000-$45,000 a year, and the Yanellis have two adults and two children, working off the books in manual labor jobs. None of these three families is even close to what the Self-Sufficiency Standard sets as a minimum for families of their size, given the high cost of housing, food and transportation alone in Essex County.
The outlook for the poor families (McAllister and Brindle) would be even grimmer. These families depend on public assistance, food stamps and Medicare for their survival. They would also struggle to find adequate affordable housing given the size of their families and people who depend on them. Ms. McAllister is the head of her household; she receives public assistance, and cares for four children, two nephews and her twin sister. Ms. Brindle also receives public assistance, and cares for a family of three children.
3. Look at the two reports from the LSNJ on living in poverty. What further information can you glean from the reports regarding the struggles the poor families in Unequal Childhoods might face if they lived in NJ?
In “The Real Cost of Living in 2008: The Self-Sufficiency Standard for New Jersey,” a comparison of Jersey City, NJ and 11 other cities across the country ranks this Hudson County city as the 4th highest in hourly self-sufficiency Wage needed for one adult with one preschooler and one schoolage child; that figure, $22.61 per hour, is particularly noteworthy when you consider that the minimum wage in New Jersey is only $7.15 per hour.
There are several interesting findings in “Not Enough to Live On: Characteristics of Households Below the Real Cost of Living in New Jersey.” They are: employment is necessary for self-sufficiency, although it doesn’t guarantee it; income inadequacy rates are higher in families with children than those without, and disproportionately higher among families headed by single mothers; a high percentage of households with no working adults have incomes well below adequate levels (100 to 200 percent of the federal poverty level); education is directly correlated with income adequacy for all demographic groups; and the difference in the rates of income inadequacy among different demographic groups varies with gender, race and ethnicity.
What would this mean for the McAllisters and Brindles of Unequal Childhoods? Given some of the survival statistics for New Jersey families, it is not difficult to imagine why these families would struggle to live in New Jersey. Many of the findings listed above (employment, education, providing for children, and demographic issues such as gender, race and ethnicity) speak directly to the difficulties both families experience. Both families are single-parent homes headed by a female (mother), receive public assistance, live in poor, racially segregated communities, and have family members who have struggled with alcohol and drug addiction. The McAllisters are African American, and described as living in “formidable economic constraints,” including inadequate and dangerous housing in the Lower Richmond public housing projects, barely enough food to get by, and marginal medical and dental care. The Brindles are white, living in run-down, inadequate housing, and are on public assistance, food stamps and Medicare. Often the Brindles let the bills go to provide for a few extras, and are in danger of losing their housing.
Both families are marginally existing, and considering that the cost of living is much higher in New Jersey than in most of the country, would likely find life much more difficult in this state.
4. Finally, turn inward and think about who you are as a budding urban educator. In what ways is this information useful (or not) for you? In terms of better understanding a community? What do you need to learn, or what skills and dispositions do you need to develop related to demographics and economics to be a successful urban educator?
As a working teacher, I feel it is essential to know as much as you can about the community and its people. Before I began my teaching career in my school district, I worked for the same town but in another job. I was able to become familiar with the town’s neighborhoods, the diversity of its population, and the politics of the community. I learned that things are not always what they appear to be on the outside. It does seem ridiculous to think it’s useful to know what religion your students are, how their parents vote or what kinds of jobs they have, but it is so important. You can’t teach a child unless you know where he is coming from and what baggage he brings to the classroom every day. Much of this information is so personal and private (and sometimes embarrassing) to the families, but it always helps me have a better picture of the child with whom I’m working. The more you know as an educator, the better equipped you will be to deal with situations as they arise and hopefully come up with creative solutions and strategies.
Why is the politics of a community important? You need to understand, or at least be aware of, the sentiment of parents toward the field of education, teachers in general, their own educational experiences and that of their children. Parents – often unknowingly – view their children’s school experiences through the lens of their own memories of school. NEVER forget that these parents will also be your fellow teachers, administrators AND board of education members. It doesn’t get more political than that!
In general, I think the most important skills a teacher needs to develop are persistence, compassion, and good observational and listening skills. These skills will help teachers learn about their students and their community, as well as plan creative educational experiences that may actually be based in their student’s world.
Bringing chart to class
2. Turn to the NJRCL report and pay specific attention to the information provided about Essex County, and the concerns, challenges, and recommendations in the report. Review the six families in Unequal Childhoods, and make connections between the NJRCL report and the realities these families might face if they lived in Essex County, NJ.
The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Essex County 2008 sets a minimum self-sufficiency wage of $32,184 for one adult and one school age child. With two adults and one child, that minimum is raised to $53,722 per adult; with two adults and two children, $50,716 per adult. The only families that would survive in this county would be the Tallingers, the Williamses, the Handlons and the Marshalls. Even among these middle class families, there is a difference in the ability to live comfortably. The Williams would live the most comfortably, given the fact that they have only one child and a yearly income of over $200,000. The Tallingers, with two working adults and three children, make about $175,000, would also live comfortably, but with considerably higher expenses due to their larger family of three children.
The other two middle class families, the Marshalls and the Handlons, would certainly survive but would probably have to cut back on things that are not necessities for living. As the Self-Sufficiency Standard for Essex County sets the two-adult plus children income at over $100,000, I believe the Marshalls would be okay given their annual income of $100,000 and the fact that they have two school-age children. However, they are constantly concerned about the future, due to the rising cost of just about everything and the lack of job security. The Handlons, however with an annual income of $85,000-$95,000 and three children to care for, may have more of a struggle for survival in Essex County. Both families would probably have to cut back on the extras, such as vacations and extra-curricular activities.
I don’t believe the working class families (Taylor, Driver, and Yanelli) or the poor families (McAllister and Brindle) would survive in Essex County. Within the working class families, the Taylors have one adult and two children and are living on approximately $20,000 a year; the Drivers have two adults and three children, and live on $35,000-$45,000 a year, and the Yanellis have two adults and two children, working off the books in manual labor jobs. None of these three families is even close to what the Self-Sufficiency Standard sets as a minimum for families of their size, given the high cost of housing, food and transportation alone in Essex County.
The outlook for the poor families (McAllister and Brindle) would be even grimmer. These families depend on public assistance, food stamps and Medicare for their survival. They would also struggle to find adequate affordable housing given the size of their families and people who depend on them. Ms. McAllister is the head of her household; she receives public assistance, and cares for four children, two nephews and her twin sister. Ms. Brindle also receives public assistance, and cares for a family of three children.
3. Look at the two reports from the LSNJ on living in poverty. What further information can you glean from the reports regarding the struggles the poor families in Unequal Childhoods might face if they lived in NJ?
In “The Real Cost of Living in 2008: The Self-Sufficiency Standard for New Jersey,” a comparison of Jersey City, NJ and 11 other cities across the country ranks this Hudson County city as the 4th highest in hourly self-sufficiency Wage needed for one adult with one preschooler and one schoolage child; that figure, $22.61 per hour, is particularly noteworthy when you consider that the minimum wage in New Jersey is only $7.15 per hour.
There are several interesting findings in “Not Enough to Live On: Characteristics of Households Below the Real Cost of Living in New Jersey.” They are: employment is necessary for self-sufficiency, although it doesn’t guarantee it; income inadequacy rates are higher in families with children than those without, and disproportionately higher among families headed by single mothers; a high percentage of households with no working adults have incomes well below adequate levels (100 to 200 percent of the federal poverty level); education is directly correlated with income adequacy for all demographic groups; and the difference in the rates of income inadequacy among different demographic groups varies with gender, race and ethnicity.
What would this mean for the McAllisters and Brindles of Unequal Childhoods? Given some of the survival statistics for New Jersey families, it is not difficult to imagine why these families would struggle to live in New Jersey. Many of the findings listed above (employment, education, providing for children, and demographic issues such as gender, race and ethnicity) speak directly to the difficulties both families experience. Both families are single-parent homes headed by a female (mother), receive public assistance, live in poor, racially segregated communities, and have family members who have struggled with alcohol and drug addiction. The McAllisters are African American, and described as living in “formidable economic constraints,” including inadequate and dangerous housing in the Lower Richmond public housing projects, barely enough food to get by, and marginal medical and dental care. The Brindles are white, living in run-down, inadequate housing, and are on public assistance, food stamps and Medicare. Often the Brindles let the bills go to provide for a few extras, and are in danger of losing their housing.
Both families are marginally existing, and considering that the cost of living is much higher in New Jersey than in most of the country, would likely find life much more difficult in this state.
4. Finally, turn inward and think about who you are as a budding urban educator. In what ways is this information useful (or not) for you? In terms of better understanding a community? What do you need to learn, or what skills and dispositions do you need to develop related to demographics and economics to be a successful urban educator?
As a working teacher, I feel it is essential to know as much as you can about the community and its people. Before I began my teaching career in my school district, I worked for the same town but in another job. I was able to become familiar with the town’s neighborhoods, the diversity of its population, and the politics of the community. I learned that things are not always what they appear to be on the outside. It does seem ridiculous to think it’s useful to know what religion your students are, how their parents vote or what kinds of jobs they have, but it is so important. You can’t teach a child unless you know where he is coming from and what baggage he brings to the classroom every day. Much of this information is so personal and private (and sometimes embarrassing) to the families, but it always helps me have a better picture of the child with whom I’m working. The more you know as an educator, the better equipped you will be to deal with situations as they arise and hopefully come up with creative solutions and strategies.
Why is the politics of a community important? You need to understand, or at least be aware of, the sentiment of parents toward the field of education, teachers in general, their own educational experiences and that of their children. Parents – often unknowingly – view their children’s school experiences through the lens of their own memories of school. NEVER forget that these parents will also be your fellow teachers, administrators AND board of education members. It doesn’t get more political than that!
In general, I think the most important skills a teacher needs to develop are persistence, compassion, and good observational and listening skills. These skills will help teachers learn about their students and their community, as well as plan creative educational experiences that may actually be based in their student’s world.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
What I'm Learning About My Inquiry Question
After beginning our reading and trying to hone down the topic of social justice math to make it pertinent to an urban district, we have settled upon the question that now drives our research and data collection: How can social justice math help connect curriculum to community for students in urban school districts? Specifically, our urban school district of focus is the Newark public schools. Our group took a walking tour of the city, and specifically focused on four high schools, three of which are poor performers in the NCLB arena, and one which is a top performer.
We are beginning our research paper with a discussion of NCLB and its impact upon students, teachers and schools. We tie this discussion in to the Newark schools and their struggles with low test scores and failure to make AYP (adequate yearly progress). The city of Newark is an old city but has a young population compared to the state average. As is the city, its school district is huge and diverse. Its schools run the gamut from high performing to low performing, no matter which benchmarks of performance are applied. The district has been under state takeover for years, and though scores and graduation rates have risen, it’s not enough. Most recently the superintendent of the Newark schools has announced that two poor-performing middle schools will be shut down.
We then discuss the teach-to-the-test curriculum that is driving the Newark Public Schools and other urban districts. The number one goal in the Newark school district’s two-year strategic plan is the improvement of student achievement, defined as “improved test scores.” We have found quite a bit of research that has pinpointed how teach-to-the-test curriculum leaves many students feeling disconnected from and discouraged about the purpose of their classroom efforts.
This leads us to the topic of social justice math, which can help students both “read the world,” in Paulo Freire’s words, as well as become activists for change. I had never heard of social justice math before, and as I read more about it, I feel strongly that it holds great possibilities for giving disenfranchised students a sense of empowerment to understand the world and change it. It is so much more than what we used to call consumer math or life skills math. It’s about looking around and tackling something within the community that affects its residents, attempting to define and analyze it, and look for ways to improve upon the status quo.
I outline this paper on my blog tonight to help me get a clear sense of where we are going. I tend to want to jump right into the topic, but I have learned from my project partners that we can draw connections to important issues in education, such as NCLB, to build our case for using social justice math in the classroom.
So, what have I learned so far? I’ve learned that I have closed my eyes to the real disaster that NCLB is for urban districts such as Newark. Granted NCLB has had an impact in the school district I work in – we were cited for not making yearly adequate progress on test scores and were monitored for two years to bring up those scores. Math in particular always seems to be the biggest struggle in standardized testing. But like good little soldiers we taught to the test, did god knows what to raise the scores, and achieved what our superintendent touts on the website as “high performing school district.”
But ever since reading Jonathan Kozol in my Critical Thinking class at MSU, I am completely convinced that the issue and problem that does not go away in our urban centers is poverty. It’s very hard to deal with day-to-day school issues when kids come to school hungry, live in unsafe neighborhoods and carry the heavy burden of emotional baggage with them every day.
At this point in our research and data collection, I believe that we as teachers need to come out of that ivory tower and teach our students to make real-world connections with their own communities. Why would students care about the theory without the practical application to something they can put their hands on? They need to make that emotional connection. People don’t learn what they don’t care about.
We are beginning our research paper with a discussion of NCLB and its impact upon students, teachers and schools. We tie this discussion in to the Newark schools and their struggles with low test scores and failure to make AYP (adequate yearly progress). The city of Newark is an old city but has a young population compared to the state average. As is the city, its school district is huge and diverse. Its schools run the gamut from high performing to low performing, no matter which benchmarks of performance are applied. The district has been under state takeover for years, and though scores and graduation rates have risen, it’s not enough. Most recently the superintendent of the Newark schools has announced that two poor-performing middle schools will be shut down.
We then discuss the teach-to-the-test curriculum that is driving the Newark Public Schools and other urban districts. The number one goal in the Newark school district’s two-year strategic plan is the improvement of student achievement, defined as “improved test scores.” We have found quite a bit of research that has pinpointed how teach-to-the-test curriculum leaves many students feeling disconnected from and discouraged about the purpose of their classroom efforts.
This leads us to the topic of social justice math, which can help students both “read the world,” in Paulo Freire’s words, as well as become activists for change. I had never heard of social justice math before, and as I read more about it, I feel strongly that it holds great possibilities for giving disenfranchised students a sense of empowerment to understand the world and change it. It is so much more than what we used to call consumer math or life skills math. It’s about looking around and tackling something within the community that affects its residents, attempting to define and analyze it, and look for ways to improve upon the status quo.
I outline this paper on my blog tonight to help me get a clear sense of where we are going. I tend to want to jump right into the topic, but I have learned from my project partners that we can draw connections to important issues in education, such as NCLB, to build our case for using social justice math in the classroom.
So, what have I learned so far? I’ve learned that I have closed my eyes to the real disaster that NCLB is for urban districts such as Newark. Granted NCLB has had an impact in the school district I work in – we were cited for not making yearly adequate progress on test scores and were monitored for two years to bring up those scores. Math in particular always seems to be the biggest struggle in standardized testing. But like good little soldiers we taught to the test, did god knows what to raise the scores, and achieved what our superintendent touts on the website as “high performing school district.”
But ever since reading Jonathan Kozol in my Critical Thinking class at MSU, I am completely convinced that the issue and problem that does not go away in our urban centers is poverty. It’s very hard to deal with day-to-day school issues when kids come to school hungry, live in unsafe neighborhoods and carry the heavy burden of emotional baggage with them every day.
At this point in our research and data collection, I believe that we as teachers need to come out of that ivory tower and teach our students to make real-world connections with their own communities. Why would students care about the theory without the practical application to something they can put their hands on? They need to make that emotional connection. People don’t learn what they don’t care about.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
And So It Begins
As we begin to gather research and refine our project goals, we have tweaked our topic. Here it is, once again: How can social justice math help connect curriculum to community for students in urban school districts?
We targeted Newark for our urban center, and decided we would research social justice math, tour the city to come up with issues and ideas upon which a lesson plan/unit incorporating social justice math could be built. On Friday, April 3, Mark, Jin and I did a walking tour of Newark. We crisscrossed Newark several times, getting a feel for the downtown and the surrounding wards and taking lots of pictures. We specifically targeted the following high schools and their neighborhoods: Shabazz, East Side, Barringer, and Science Park High.
I was amazed at the size of Shabazz, and the beautiful, modern looking addition (main building?). Shabazz had a lot of wide open space around it, and a great field and field house across the street – more like a small college campus feel than a high school. Shabazz was the nicest structure in the neighborhood.
East Side reminded me of Hoboken. The school is right in the middle of a city block, with a nicely design city park across the street. The building itself was unremarkable, kind of mundane looking. The neighborhood was old, small single and multi-family homes, but did not have a closed in feeling thanks to the open space across the street from the school. There were many school-age kids playing ball in the park.
Barringer was kind of tucked into the end of a block. This was a formidable looking school. The first thing you see is a gigantic model airplane in front of the building, denoting its air and space studies. If you walk the length of Barringer, you run right smack into the parking lot of a beautiful cathedral that looks more like it belongs in Italy than in Newark, NJ. The neighborhood was tightly packing in with older small homes and small corner stores.
Science Park High was a modern, interesting looking building. The neighborhood had larger, older homes, and was fairly well kept up. Kids lingered on the steps of the schools, talking. This was the only school we saw kids just hanging out in front of the building.
We also walked through and photographed some areas of obvious gentrification. Some of the developments were gated communities. Many of the buildings were low 1- and 2-story townhouses, and were very pretty and well kept. Some of the townhomes were surrounded by construction and gutted buildings. Not many felt like settled communities. They looked a bit lonely and desolate.
One thing we kept bringing up on our walking tour was that we kept seeing the same conglomeration of stores: fried chicken, check cashing, flat tire repair, mom and pop corner store, liquor store. We began to wonder about city planning in general. Why so few banks, so few large supermarkets, so much fast food and few sit-down restaurants? How does this affect residents’ daily lives? As we talked it over, we began to formulate some ideas for possible lesson plans to incorporate social justice math. Mark laid out a rough draft of a lesson idea (below).
INTRODUCTION:
What is social justice math?
History of...
Where is it being used? Urban/suburban/rural schools?
Advantages/disadvantages, concerns
BODY:
demographics of Newark, NJ
discussion of walking tour, photos - impressions of the downtown, neighborhoods, gentrification, high
schools (Shabazz, East Side, Barringer, Science Park High)
unit of outlined lessons teachers in Newark high schools could implement to connect local
projects/issues/concerns to math curriculum
One possible lesson plan:
CITY PLANNING/For a potential lesson/unit, have students go to each of the different wards in Newark (with parental supervision and I guess a car unless they're seniors) and canvas one square mile. Different groups could go to different square miles. In their drive around, they would list and tally the different types of stores (auto place, fast food place, mom & pop grocery, liquor store, etc). They would then bring these stats back to class and determine a class average amongst the groups. Next they would learn of pick's theorem and use that to calculate the square mileage of each ward. Then using proportions and maybe excel, students can predict the number of each type of store in each ward.From here, students could compare and contrast the different wards. Then have students participate in a similar survey of several suburban areas (like Ridgewood or Summit), and have them use similar store-groupings to list and tally types. Using pick's theorem again and proportions, they could compare a suburban area to an urban area. Maybe they could also use some of the stats listed on that webpage to compare populations, average incomes, and people per square mile out of which they could ask and think through critical questions concerning equity.
CONCLUSION:
Summary of what we learned about SJM
SJM's usefulness in urban classrooms
How SJM can be applied to Newark high school math classrooms
QUANTITATIVE DATA:
statistics, demographics of Newark, NJ
statistics, demographics of schools
QUALITATIVE DATA:
interviews with professors familiar with/using SJM
walking tour of Newark neighborhoods surrounding several high schools, photos
research on SJM and related topics: ethnomathematics
We targeted Newark for our urban center, and decided we would research social justice math, tour the city to come up with issues and ideas upon which a lesson plan/unit incorporating social justice math could be built. On Friday, April 3, Mark, Jin and I did a walking tour of Newark. We crisscrossed Newark several times, getting a feel for the downtown and the surrounding wards and taking lots of pictures. We specifically targeted the following high schools and their neighborhoods: Shabazz, East Side, Barringer, and Science Park High.
I was amazed at the size of Shabazz, and the beautiful, modern looking addition (main building?). Shabazz had a lot of wide open space around it, and a great field and field house across the street – more like a small college campus feel than a high school. Shabazz was the nicest structure in the neighborhood.
East Side reminded me of Hoboken. The school is right in the middle of a city block, with a nicely design city park across the street. The building itself was unremarkable, kind of mundane looking. The neighborhood was old, small single and multi-family homes, but did not have a closed in feeling thanks to the open space across the street from the school. There were many school-age kids playing ball in the park.
Barringer was kind of tucked into the end of a block. This was a formidable looking school. The first thing you see is a gigantic model airplane in front of the building, denoting its air and space studies. If you walk the length of Barringer, you run right smack into the parking lot of a beautiful cathedral that looks more like it belongs in Italy than in Newark, NJ. The neighborhood was tightly packing in with older small homes and small corner stores.
Science Park High was a modern, interesting looking building. The neighborhood had larger, older homes, and was fairly well kept up. Kids lingered on the steps of the schools, talking. This was the only school we saw kids just hanging out in front of the building.
We also walked through and photographed some areas of obvious gentrification. Some of the developments were gated communities. Many of the buildings were low 1- and 2-story townhouses, and were very pretty and well kept. Some of the townhomes were surrounded by construction and gutted buildings. Not many felt like settled communities. They looked a bit lonely and desolate.
One thing we kept bringing up on our walking tour was that we kept seeing the same conglomeration of stores: fried chicken, check cashing, flat tire repair, mom and pop corner store, liquor store. We began to wonder about city planning in general. Why so few banks, so few large supermarkets, so much fast food and few sit-down restaurants? How does this affect residents’ daily lives? As we talked it over, we began to formulate some ideas for possible lesson plans to incorporate social justice math. Mark laid out a rough draft of a lesson idea (below).
INTRODUCTION:
What is social justice math?
History of...
Where is it being used? Urban/suburban/rural schools?
Advantages/disadvantages, concerns
BODY:
demographics of Newark, NJ
discussion of walking tour, photos - impressions of the downtown, neighborhoods, gentrification, high
schools (Shabazz, East Side, Barringer, Science Park High)
unit of outlined lessons teachers in Newark high schools could implement to connect local
projects/issues/concerns to math curriculum
One possible lesson plan:
CITY PLANNING/For a potential lesson/unit, have students go to each of the different wards in Newark (with parental supervision and I guess a car unless they're seniors) and canvas one square mile. Different groups could go to different square miles. In their drive around, they would list and tally the different types of stores (auto place, fast food place, mom & pop grocery, liquor store, etc). They would then bring these stats back to class and determine a class average amongst the groups. Next they would learn of pick's theorem and use that to calculate the square mileage of each ward. Then using proportions and maybe excel, students can predict the number of each type of store in each ward.From here, students could compare and contrast the different wards. Then have students participate in a similar survey of several suburban areas (like Ridgewood or Summit), and have them use similar store-groupings to list and tally types. Using pick's theorem again and proportions, they could compare a suburban area to an urban area. Maybe they could also use some of the stats listed on that webpage to compare populations, average incomes, and people per square mile out of which they could ask and think through critical questions concerning equity.
CONCLUSION:
Summary of what we learned about SJM
SJM's usefulness in urban classrooms
How SJM can be applied to Newark high school math classrooms
QUANTITATIVE DATA:
statistics, demographics of Newark, NJ
statistics, demographics of schools
QUALITATIVE DATA:
interviews with professors familiar with/using SJM
walking tour of Newark neighborhoods surrounding several high schools, photos
research on SJM and related topics: ethnomathematics
Some Thoughts on "Unequal Childhoods"
As I was reading the last few vignettes of the students in the author’s study, a few thoughts came to mind. As teachers and educational administrators, we send a mixed message to the parents. On the one hand we want them to be involved, active participants in their child’s education. But on the other hand we want them to defer to the wisdom of educators. “Parent participation” is like a slogan on a bumper sticker – everyone believes in it because it’s the right thing to do. We absolutely want the parents at our parent-teacher conferences, our special programs, our trips, and actively involved in the PTA. We want their assistance in the classroom, their follow-up at home to our specific requests and concerns regarding their child. What we don’t want is for them to cross the line and intervene. Remember that old saying, “Children should be seen and not heard”? Well, that’s almost the position we take with parents. As the author states, in a perfect world the parent is energetic and takes a leadership role in monitoring his/her child, but stops considerably short of intervention.
I have to admit, that would be my perfect scenario, too. That’s my favorite kind of parent, the one who is easy to reach out to, responds to calls and emails, monitors his/her child’s progress, takes well to our recommendations and basically doesn’t meddle farther than that. They are the easiest parent to work with. The underlying premise, of course, is that the school system is doing the right thing by this child to begin with.
However, in reality, we are empowering both students and parents in the educational system. And that’s a good thing. The educational system fosters concerted cultivation. We are reasoning with the students, explaining the whys and the hows, not just feeding them information for digestion and regurgitation. We encourage our classified students with disabilities to be advocates for themselves at the high school level, and get involved in the planning of their school career, job training, and their adult life. And we encourage our parents to be actively involved in their children’s academic careers. In my district, and in many others, parents are offered “transparency” – an online look at up-to-date grades their children have earned so far on quizzes, tests, projects, homework, etc. All these things are good. But we want students and their parents to advocate on their behalf only so far, before stopping short of the point of no return.
There is a fine line between a helpful, concerned parent and a helicopter parent who constantly flies overhead, constantly dipping into the educational scene to intervene on behalf of his/her child. Sometimes the empowered parent makes a situation far worse than it needs to be, and at the same time creates a helpless child who cannot advocate for himself. Scenarios laid out by the author remind me of a few of my own personal experiences with parents. We call those parents “well-meaning but misguided.” That’s actually a polite way of putting how we really feel at times.
Connected to this empowerment of parents and students through concerted cultivation is the notion of “code switching.” I think this is related to the difficulties we often have in dealing with well-meaning parents who give directives to their children that are at odds with the school’s rules and culture. Often parents, under stress to help their kids get through difficult situations, direct them to do something that is against the school’s rules, such as standing up for one’s self by hitting another. We all – parents, teachers, students and administrators - need a lesson in code switching, navigating the varying discourses of one’s life, from home to work to school. This is a tremendous life lesson we can help our students learn, one of the most important skills they need to acquire to survive and thrive in the world. Our parents need to understand that the culture of their home may be very different than the culture of school. As teachers and administrators we have to have understanding of the cultural practices of our student’s home lives.
It’s all about creating a peaceful, respectful environment in which we all feel empowered yet connected to each other. In that perfect world, I guess we are just looking for good judgment and reason to take hold before insanity prevails, as well as a faith in the school system to do the right thing.
I have to admit, that would be my perfect scenario, too. That’s my favorite kind of parent, the one who is easy to reach out to, responds to calls and emails, monitors his/her child’s progress, takes well to our recommendations and basically doesn’t meddle farther than that. They are the easiest parent to work with. The underlying premise, of course, is that the school system is doing the right thing by this child to begin with.
However, in reality, we are empowering both students and parents in the educational system. And that’s a good thing. The educational system fosters concerted cultivation. We are reasoning with the students, explaining the whys and the hows, not just feeding them information for digestion and regurgitation. We encourage our classified students with disabilities to be advocates for themselves at the high school level, and get involved in the planning of their school career, job training, and their adult life. And we encourage our parents to be actively involved in their children’s academic careers. In my district, and in many others, parents are offered “transparency” – an online look at up-to-date grades their children have earned so far on quizzes, tests, projects, homework, etc. All these things are good. But we want students and their parents to advocate on their behalf only so far, before stopping short of the point of no return.
There is a fine line between a helpful, concerned parent and a helicopter parent who constantly flies overhead, constantly dipping into the educational scene to intervene on behalf of his/her child. Sometimes the empowered parent makes a situation far worse than it needs to be, and at the same time creates a helpless child who cannot advocate for himself. Scenarios laid out by the author remind me of a few of my own personal experiences with parents. We call those parents “well-meaning but misguided.” That’s actually a polite way of putting how we really feel at times.
Connected to this empowerment of parents and students through concerted cultivation is the notion of “code switching.” I think this is related to the difficulties we often have in dealing with well-meaning parents who give directives to their children that are at odds with the school’s rules and culture. Often parents, under stress to help their kids get through difficult situations, direct them to do something that is against the school’s rules, such as standing up for one’s self by hitting another. We all – parents, teachers, students and administrators - need a lesson in code switching, navigating the varying discourses of one’s life, from home to work to school. This is a tremendous life lesson we can help our students learn, one of the most important skills they need to acquire to survive and thrive in the world. Our parents need to understand that the culture of their home may be very different than the culture of school. As teachers and administrators we have to have understanding of the cultural practices of our student’s home lives.
It’s all about creating a peaceful, respectful environment in which we all feel empowered yet connected to each other. In that perfect world, I guess we are just looking for good judgment and reason to take hold before insanity prevails, as well as a faith in the school system to do the right thing.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Community Inquiry Project
I am doing my community inquiry project with Mark Perry and Jin Lee. Our topic question is:
Can social justice math be an effective teaching method in urban school districts?
Some of our subtopics include:
1. Using actual data or statistics, what can educators infer from sjm's implementation in the classroom?
2. Is sjm an effective form of teaching?
3. To gauge its effectiveness:
Does it raise student motivation and achievement?
What data illustrates/refutes this claim?
Which school districts employ sjm in the classroom?
4. Why do some districts choose not to employ sjm?
5. How do teachers feel toward using sjm in the classroom?
6. Can it help students deal with standardized testing?
Some of our qualitative date include interviews with professors and school teachers:
Eliza Leszczynski
Brian Miller
Rick Mcnamee (tentatively)
Teachers at Harvey Milk HS (East Village), New York City Algebra Project (Brooklyn), Acorn High School for Social Justice (Brooklyn), Bushwick School for Social Justice (Brooklyn)
Additionally, we will survey students through Brian Miller, Rick Mcnamee, Harvey Milk HS (tentatively), New York City Algebra Project.
QUESTIONS (for students):
1. What does the term "social justice math" mean to you?
2. Do you feel that math should incorporate social,political and economic issues into its instruction, such as with a social justice math curriculum? Why/why not?
3. Is it important for students to have an understanding of social, political and economic issues locally and around the world?
4. Should developing a "social consciousness" be an important part of your educational experiences?
4. Can math empower students to analyze and potentially change the world?
5. Do you think higher-level thinking about the larger mathematical ideas is important? Why/why not?
6. Could incorporating social justice math motivate more students to learn math?
7. Do you think math would be more engaging if it was "real world" rather than "theory"?
8. If you were given the opportunity, would you choose to participate in actual community problem-solving projects?
QUESTIONS (for teachers):
1. Do you currently use social justice math in your classes?
2. How would you summarize its basic purpose?
3. What do you feel are the positive outcomes of using sjm in a classroom?
4. What do you feel are the negative aspects to using sjm in a classroom?
5. Can you describe your personal experiences using sjm in the classroom?
6. Can you give examples of lessons you have brought to the classroom incorporating sjm?
7. Rate the following on a scale of 1 (least likely) to 5 (most likely):
- Sjm can help me differentiate the curriculum more easily.
- Sjm can help me create interdisciplinary and thematic units.
- Smj can help me learn about my students' families and their communities.
- Sjm can help me assess learning within a meaningful context.
Some of our qualitative research includes:
The real World as We Have Seen It: Latino/a Parents' Voices on Teaching Mathematics for Social Justice
a qualitative study of Latino/a parents who supported social justic math in their children's 7th grade classroom in the Chicago public schools
http://www.radicalmath/
a chart of possible topics for sjm classroom use; how to implement sjm into the
classroom; advantages and disadvantages to using sjm in the classroom
Integrating social justice with mathematics and science: an analysis of student
teacher lessons
Barbara Garii, Audrey C. Rule
a qualitative analysis of how student teachers incorporate social justice into math and science classes
Some of our quantitative data includes:
Infusing Mathematics with Culture: Teaching Technical Subjects for Social Justice
Dale Winter
a quantitative study that provides statistical data demonstrating that social and cultural learning can be infused into technical courses without negatively affecting content area learning
Can social justice math be an effective teaching method in urban school districts?
Some of our subtopics include:
1. Using actual data or statistics, what can educators infer from sjm's implementation in the classroom?
2. Is sjm an effective form of teaching?
3. To gauge its effectiveness:
Does it raise student motivation and achievement?
What data illustrates/refutes this claim?
Which school districts employ sjm in the classroom?
4. Why do some districts choose not to employ sjm?
5. How do teachers feel toward using sjm in the classroom?
6. Can it help students deal with standardized testing?
Some of our qualitative date include interviews with professors and school teachers:
Eliza Leszczynski
Brian Miller
Rick Mcnamee (tentatively)
Teachers at Harvey Milk HS (East Village), New York City Algebra Project (Brooklyn), Acorn High School for Social Justice (Brooklyn), Bushwick School for Social Justice (Brooklyn)
Additionally, we will survey students through Brian Miller, Rick Mcnamee, Harvey Milk HS (tentatively), New York City Algebra Project.
QUESTIONS (for students):
1. What does the term "social justice math" mean to you?
2. Do you feel that math should incorporate social,political and economic issues into its instruction, such as with a social justice math curriculum? Why/why not?
3. Is it important for students to have an understanding of social, political and economic issues locally and around the world?
4. Should developing a "social consciousness" be an important part of your educational experiences?
4. Can math empower students to analyze and potentially change the world?
5. Do you think higher-level thinking about the larger mathematical ideas is important? Why/why not?
6. Could incorporating social justice math motivate more students to learn math?
7. Do you think math would be more engaging if it was "real world" rather than "theory"?
8. If you were given the opportunity, would you choose to participate in actual community problem-solving projects?
QUESTIONS (for teachers):
1. Do you currently use social justice math in your classes?
2. How would you summarize its basic purpose?
3. What do you feel are the positive outcomes of using sjm in a classroom?
4. What do you feel are the negative aspects to using sjm in a classroom?
5. Can you describe your personal experiences using sjm in the classroom?
6. Can you give examples of lessons you have brought to the classroom incorporating sjm?
7. Rate the following on a scale of 1 (least likely) to 5 (most likely):
- Sjm can help me differentiate the curriculum more easily.
- Sjm can help me create interdisciplinary and thematic units.
- Smj can help me learn about my students' families and their communities.
- Sjm can help me assess learning within a meaningful context.
Some of our qualitative research includes:
The real World as We Have Seen It: Latino/a Parents' Voices on Teaching Mathematics for Social Justice
a qualitative study of Latino/a parents who supported social justic math in their children's 7th grade classroom in the Chicago public schools
http://www.radicalmath/
a chart of possible topics for sjm classroom use; how to implement sjm into the
classroom; advantages and disadvantages to using sjm in the classroom
Integrating social justice with mathematics and science: an analysis of student
teacher lessons
Barbara Garii, Audrey C. Rule
a qualitative analysis of how student teachers incorporate social justice into math and science classes
Some of our quantitative data includes:
Infusing Mathematics with Culture: Teaching Technical Subjects for Social Justice
Dale Winter
a quantitative study that provides statistical data demonstrating that social and cultural learning can be infused into technical courses without negatively affecting content area learning
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Annotated Bibliography
D’Ambrosio. (2007). Peace, Social Justice, and Ethnomathematics. The Montana Mathematics Enthusiast, Monograph 1(2007), 25-34.
The authors believe in two universal ideas: that survival with dignity is the most universal problem facing mankind, and that mathematics is the most universal mode of thought. As mathematicians and math educators explore connections between these two ideas, they must pursue a civilization that values equality for all and pathways to world peace. The program Ethnomathematics is a set of tools for such a pursuit, incorporating literacy, the capacity to process information, including our modern literacies; matheracy, the capacity to infer, propose hypotheses and draw conclusions from data and to reflect about man and society; and technoracy, the critical familiarity with technology, particularly regarding the ethics and values related to technological progress. This program demystifies math, gives access to all, and demonstrates the intellectual achievement of civilizations, cultures and peoples around the world.
This article takes a very global position, viewing the connection between sociocultural issues and mathematics as a path to equality and world peace.
Garii, B., & Rule, A. (2009, April). Integrating social justice with mathematics and science: An analysis of student teacher lessons. Teaching & Teacher Education, 25(3), 490-499.
Today’s teachers are likely to teach students with different backgrounds than themselves. While most teachers are trained to foster a sense of community in their classrooms, they have little exposure to the pedagogy of social justice. Social justice is considered difficult to incorporate into math and science, and is mostly embraced by humanities teachers. This study is a qualitative analysis of the mathematics and science lessons of primary and secondary student teachers. The author concluded that preservice teachers need more knowledge of content areas, training in the integration of social justice into academic planning, and opportunities in the classroom to incorporate social justice.
It’s a great idea to look at social justice math from a starting point such as the preservice teacher’s experiences. I liked that the author emphasized the difficulty in bringing social justice into math and science classes. It takes knowledge and planning. It can’t just be applied like a band aid to a curriculum.
Sriraman, B. (2007). On the Origins of Social Justice: Darwin, Freire, Marx and Vivekananda. The Montana Mathematics Enthusiast, Monograph 1(2007), 1-6.
The author ponders the question of why we need social justice by examining the philosophies of Charles Darwin, Paolo Freire, Karl Marx and Vedanta. A strictly Darwinian explanation is that inequity is a natural mechanism in our society, and that it is natural that certain groups will perish because they cannot cope with changes in the environment. Freire believed the key to liberation is through political movements and political struggle. Karl Marx’s writings addressed issues such as exploitation of workers within a capitalistic economic system. Hindu philosopher Vivekananda belonged to a branch of Hindu philosophy called Vedana, which believes no individual could be free unless all are free.
This article was an interesting summary of the evolution of social justice philosophy. I’m not sure how useful this article is to me, but I’m fascinated by Freire, who believed pedagogies that pose problems are crucial if the goal of education is to challenge inequality.
Gutstein, E. (2006, July). The Real World As We Have Seen It: Latino/a Parents' Voices On Teaching Mathematics For Social Justice. Mathematical Thinking & Learning, 8(3), 331-358.
The author examines Latino parents’ views toward a social justice mathematics curriculum in their children’s 7th grade Chicago public school classroom. Two sets of overlapping pedagogical goals when teaching mathematics are: social justice goals such as developing sociopolitical consciousness and a sense of social agency; and mathematics goals, which include developing mathematical power to read and write the world. Recurring themes in parent interviews are: oppression and resistance are related and a part of life; and mathematics is a central part of life, utilitarian and critical views. The author emphasized that more parent-teacher collaboration is needed in the development of any social justice curriculum.
I think this article will be useful to me because it directly addresses an urban classroom’s experiences with a social justice math curriculum. I liked that the parents supported social justice math because they knew from their own experiences facing oppression and that education prepares children to face and fight social injustice.
Winter, D. (2007, Fall 2007). Infusing mathematics with culture: Teaching technical subjects for social justice. New Directions for Teaching & Learning, 97-106.
Although math tools of logic, reasoning and quantitative analysis make it possible to make sound judgments in everyday situations, social and cultural issues have not generally tackled in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). However, over the past 20 years the pedagogies of introductory math courses have begun to change, incorporating the use of math techniques to solve problems in the world outside the classroom. The author created a model of instruction based on the principles of Marilyn Frankenstein, who pioneered the use of math education through the study of sociocultural phenomena. The model intertwines technical learning characteristics of STEM disciplines with experiences and information to help students understand problems facing other peoples and cultures.
Some criticisms of social justice math are the trivialization of social content by merely attaching the issue to a math lesson in a superficial manner; the interaction with too much controversial material in the classroom; and an increased amount of class time devoted to cultural and social issues less time devoted to mathematical tasks. The author’s classroom experiment revealed that technical courses can indeed be infused with social and cultural learning without sacrificing STEM learning. Results showed significant gains in cognitive learning. Additionally, more female students and students of minority groups participated in the experiment, possibly because the model made the math class more appealing or more accessible to those who would have otherwise stayed away from such a class or failed it.
Not being a “math person,” I operate on a fairly basic mathematical level. So I was naturally unsure of how math and social problems would connect. After reading about Winter’s model, I could actually visualize how social justice math could be incorporated into the curriculum. This model is clear cut, almost an instruction manual for how to put social justice into play in a math class.
The authors believe in two universal ideas: that survival with dignity is the most universal problem facing mankind, and that mathematics is the most universal mode of thought. As mathematicians and math educators explore connections between these two ideas, they must pursue a civilization that values equality for all and pathways to world peace. The program Ethnomathematics is a set of tools for such a pursuit, incorporating literacy, the capacity to process information, including our modern literacies; matheracy, the capacity to infer, propose hypotheses and draw conclusions from data and to reflect about man and society; and technoracy, the critical familiarity with technology, particularly regarding the ethics and values related to technological progress. This program demystifies math, gives access to all, and demonstrates the intellectual achievement of civilizations, cultures and peoples around the world.
This article takes a very global position, viewing the connection between sociocultural issues and mathematics as a path to equality and world peace.
Garii, B., & Rule, A. (2009, April). Integrating social justice with mathematics and science: An analysis of student teacher lessons. Teaching & Teacher Education, 25(3), 490-499.
Today’s teachers are likely to teach students with different backgrounds than themselves. While most teachers are trained to foster a sense of community in their classrooms, they have little exposure to the pedagogy of social justice. Social justice is considered difficult to incorporate into math and science, and is mostly embraced by humanities teachers. This study is a qualitative analysis of the mathematics and science lessons of primary and secondary student teachers. The author concluded that preservice teachers need more knowledge of content areas, training in the integration of social justice into academic planning, and opportunities in the classroom to incorporate social justice.
It’s a great idea to look at social justice math from a starting point such as the preservice teacher’s experiences. I liked that the author emphasized the difficulty in bringing social justice into math and science classes. It takes knowledge and planning. It can’t just be applied like a band aid to a curriculum.
Sriraman, B. (2007). On the Origins of Social Justice: Darwin, Freire, Marx and Vivekananda. The Montana Mathematics Enthusiast, Monograph 1(2007), 1-6.
The author ponders the question of why we need social justice by examining the philosophies of Charles Darwin, Paolo Freire, Karl Marx and Vedanta. A strictly Darwinian explanation is that inequity is a natural mechanism in our society, and that it is natural that certain groups will perish because they cannot cope with changes in the environment. Freire believed the key to liberation is through political movements and political struggle. Karl Marx’s writings addressed issues such as exploitation of workers within a capitalistic economic system. Hindu philosopher Vivekananda belonged to a branch of Hindu philosophy called Vedana, which believes no individual could be free unless all are free.
This article was an interesting summary of the evolution of social justice philosophy. I’m not sure how useful this article is to me, but I’m fascinated by Freire, who believed pedagogies that pose problems are crucial if the goal of education is to challenge inequality.
Gutstein, E. (2006, July). The Real World As We Have Seen It: Latino/a Parents' Voices On Teaching Mathematics For Social Justice. Mathematical Thinking & Learning, 8(3), 331-358.
The author examines Latino parents’ views toward a social justice mathematics curriculum in their children’s 7th grade Chicago public school classroom. Two sets of overlapping pedagogical goals when teaching mathematics are: social justice goals such as developing sociopolitical consciousness and a sense of social agency; and mathematics goals, which include developing mathematical power to read and write the world. Recurring themes in parent interviews are: oppression and resistance are related and a part of life; and mathematics is a central part of life, utilitarian and critical views. The author emphasized that more parent-teacher collaboration is needed in the development of any social justice curriculum.
I think this article will be useful to me because it directly addresses an urban classroom’s experiences with a social justice math curriculum. I liked that the parents supported social justice math because they knew from their own experiences facing oppression and that education prepares children to face and fight social injustice.
Winter, D. (2007, Fall 2007). Infusing mathematics with culture: Teaching technical subjects for social justice. New Directions for Teaching & Learning, 97-106.
Although math tools of logic, reasoning and quantitative analysis make it possible to make sound judgments in everyday situations, social and cultural issues have not generally tackled in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). However, over the past 20 years the pedagogies of introductory math courses have begun to change, incorporating the use of math techniques to solve problems in the world outside the classroom. The author created a model of instruction based on the principles of Marilyn Frankenstein, who pioneered the use of math education through the study of sociocultural phenomena. The model intertwines technical learning characteristics of STEM disciplines with experiences and information to help students understand problems facing other peoples and cultures.
Some criticisms of social justice math are the trivialization of social content by merely attaching the issue to a math lesson in a superficial manner; the interaction with too much controversial material in the classroom; and an increased amount of class time devoted to cultural and social issues less time devoted to mathematical tasks. The author’s classroom experiment revealed that technical courses can indeed be infused with social and cultural learning without sacrificing STEM learning. Results showed significant gains in cognitive learning. Additionally, more female students and students of minority groups participated in the experiment, possibly because the model made the math class more appealing or more accessible to those who would have otherwise stayed away from such a class or failed it.
Not being a “math person,” I operate on a fairly basic mathematical level. So I was naturally unsure of how math and social problems would connect. After reading about Winter’s model, I could actually visualize how social justice math could be incorporated into the curriculum. This model is clear cut, almost an instruction manual for how to put social justice into play in a math class.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Culture of Self
To me, culture is everything I am, everything I think and everything I feel. It is physical, psychological and emotional. It’s like the old argument of “Nature vs. Nurture” – which has the greatest influence on who we are? The physical element of your culture is like the DNA, the genetic makeup of who you are. I am Caucasian, and a combination of Greek and Turkish Jews on my mother’s side, and Polish and Russian Jews on my father’s side. I am also female and heterosexual. The psychological and emotional elements are my primary discourse, my first “language,” my home culture. I was raised in baby-boomer suburbia in a close-knit two-parent household with two loving parents and two brothers. As children of immigrant parents, my own parents pushed education. College was mandatory, not optional. Religion was more culturally present than formally observed. All of these factors continuously shape my culture and mold me into who I am. It is the eternal tug-of-war.
Who I am naturally shapes how I view the world. Even if I attempt to be objective or nonjudgmental about certain issues or events, which I do, I am always viewing the world through the lens of my culture. It’s not possible to view and interpret outside of your frame of reference. Now, I believe you can train yourself, educate yourself and change yourself, to be different than how you are ingrained by your culture, but I really think your first glimpse, your first impressions and thoughts on everything, are shaped by your culture.
In my culture, what I was born into and how I was brought up, esteem-building was huge. A strong sense of self was a priority in my parents’ handbook for how to bring up baby. The environment in which I grew up molded my sense of self. My brothers and I were raised as individuals who shared a strong cultural connection to religion and “the old country.” My parents had one foot in the old world and one foot in the new, kind of like part Flintstone and part Jetson. They imparted an old-world sense of pride in family, family name and background. My grandmother on my mother’s side lived with us, and we loved and revered her. She was a model hard-working immigrant who came to the new world to build a better life for herself and her family. It was a great example to me of how you need to love, respect and sometimes take care of your parents. That’s the stage I’m at now, helping to take care of my mother.
But on the other hand, my parents were very modern. They were extremely liberal, very involved in local politics, especially my father. For their generation, and the times, they were lefty. My father was a true “women’s libber” who believed in equality for all. I love thinking back to when he cast his vote for Shirley Chisholm in the 1972 presidential primary. As I was going to cast my first vote that November, this was a monumental moment. My father told me, and showed me, that you vote for the person, regardless of race, gender, religion... From this lesson, I took away the idea that nothing is impossible, that the world is filled with promise and I can do anything I set my mind to, as long as I am willing to work for it. I am strong because of the culture of my home.
Because of the emphasis on education in my household, and a sort of drive that was apparently hardwired into my family tree, I grew up believing in the importance of being a lifelong learner. My grandmother came to the new world as a teenager, and went from her factory job to night school, where she learned English and prepped for the citizenship test (which she passed). She was so proud of her accomplishments in this country, and always tried to learn more. At the kitchen table, I had to share my math and spelling lessons with her so that she could learn through me. My mother is a college graduate who flew through the school system and graduated high school at 16, college at 19. My father chose not to go to college, but was very intent, even more so than my mother, on putting his kids through college.
As a teacher I believe we are shaped by our culture but not limited by it. Culture is our lens into the world. I think it’s vital to learn about and honor my students’ individual and unique backgrounds and cultures. There is so much we can learn from each other in the classroom. By making those connections with my students, and letting them see that I have true interest in and respect for their cultural perspectives on the world, I continue to learn and grow. I let them into my world, and am honored to be given a glimpse, if not a long look, into their world. To me, teaching is not only about being an imparter of information. It’s so much more than that. It’s about community-building. I try to build a learning community in which all are welcome and share in the learning process. I am both a teacher and student in my classroom. It’s the only way.
Who I am naturally shapes how I view the world. Even if I attempt to be objective or nonjudgmental about certain issues or events, which I do, I am always viewing the world through the lens of my culture. It’s not possible to view and interpret outside of your frame of reference. Now, I believe you can train yourself, educate yourself and change yourself, to be different than how you are ingrained by your culture, but I really think your first glimpse, your first impressions and thoughts on everything, are shaped by your culture.
In my culture, what I was born into and how I was brought up, esteem-building was huge. A strong sense of self was a priority in my parents’ handbook for how to bring up baby. The environment in which I grew up molded my sense of self. My brothers and I were raised as individuals who shared a strong cultural connection to religion and “the old country.” My parents had one foot in the old world and one foot in the new, kind of like part Flintstone and part Jetson. They imparted an old-world sense of pride in family, family name and background. My grandmother on my mother’s side lived with us, and we loved and revered her. She was a model hard-working immigrant who came to the new world to build a better life for herself and her family. It was a great example to me of how you need to love, respect and sometimes take care of your parents. That’s the stage I’m at now, helping to take care of my mother.
But on the other hand, my parents were very modern. They were extremely liberal, very involved in local politics, especially my father. For their generation, and the times, they were lefty. My father was a true “women’s libber” who believed in equality for all. I love thinking back to when he cast his vote for Shirley Chisholm in the 1972 presidential primary. As I was going to cast my first vote that November, this was a monumental moment. My father told me, and showed me, that you vote for the person, regardless of race, gender, religion... From this lesson, I took away the idea that nothing is impossible, that the world is filled with promise and I can do anything I set my mind to, as long as I am willing to work for it. I am strong because of the culture of my home.
Because of the emphasis on education in my household, and a sort of drive that was apparently hardwired into my family tree, I grew up believing in the importance of being a lifelong learner. My grandmother came to the new world as a teenager, and went from her factory job to night school, where she learned English and prepped for the citizenship test (which she passed). She was so proud of her accomplishments in this country, and always tried to learn more. At the kitchen table, I had to share my math and spelling lessons with her so that she could learn through me. My mother is a college graduate who flew through the school system and graduated high school at 16, college at 19. My father chose not to go to college, but was very intent, even more so than my mother, on putting his kids through college.
As a teacher I believe we are shaped by our culture but not limited by it. Culture is our lens into the world. I think it’s vital to learn about and honor my students’ individual and unique backgrounds and cultures. There is so much we can learn from each other in the classroom. By making those connections with my students, and letting them see that I have true interest in and respect for their cultural perspectives on the world, I continue to learn and grow. I let them into my world, and am honored to be given a glimpse, if not a long look, into their world. To me, teaching is not only about being an imparter of information. It’s so much more than that. It’s about community-building. I try to build a learning community in which all are welcome and share in the learning process. I am both a teacher and student in my classroom. It’s the only way.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
A Topic I'd Like to Explore: Social Justice Math
As a special education teacher in a math inclusion classroom, I have often wondered about the thought process (in the minds of teachers) that goes into the design of hands-on projects for students. I do like the idea of incorporating project-based learning into the curriculum. Many students work best with activities beyond paper and pencil. With hands-on projects, they get the opportunity to use their other “intelligences,” such as tactile, kinesthetic and intrapersonal. Students also can see “real-life” applications of their classroom lessons. My problem, however, is that often the project itself is rather shallow and meaningless.
Now, I am all for fun projects that engage my students. For example, in math, let’s create a cookbook using what we’ve learned about ratios to convert recipes to the serving sizes we need. Let’s create a “Sim” life in which we use basic math operations as well as higher-level thinking skills to balance a checkbook, pay our bills and negotiate shortages in our monthly budgets and brainstorm temporary and long-term solutions to those shortfalls. Let’s interpret distance and scale on a map to plan a virtual trip. These are all clever ways to encourage full engagement of students.
But why can’t math be used to interpret the world? Why can’t it change the world or the least the way we view it? Aren’t we taught that change is good?
Buzz words of the past – “crossing the curriculum” come to my mind at this point. When we cross the curriculum, we are attempting to bring in a variety of curriculum areas for thematic learning. I will never forget the HORRIBLE attempt at crossing the curriculum I witnessed at a middle school several years ago. A grade-level team of teachers created a series of projects centered on the Holocaust. They attempted to have students apply their knowledge of graphing to Holocaust statistics. Students were given the task of creating a variety of graphs using statistical information such as deaths per camp, methods of death, and other information. These young middle-schoolers created happy little bar graphs, pie charts and, worst of all, pictograms with this grim information. The charts were plastered on the hallway walls as a fine presentation of thematic learning. Only after a teacher brought it to the team leader’s attention did anyone consider the insensitive way this information was used, to say nothing of the complete lack of critical thinking skills that went into the completion of this project.
But that is a bad example. What are good examples of using math to interpret the world and affect positive change?
Here’s a term I’d never heard of until last week, when a fellow student in our class suggested an area to explore for our inquiry project. SOCIAL JUSTICE MATH: the integrating of political, economical and social justice into math classes. It is a “political lens” through which we can teach, learn and apply mathematical concepts.
In exploring social justice math through various websites, several questions come to mind:
-How can math be used to analyze and change the world?
-How can math encourage higher-level thinking skills?
-How can social justice issues be integrated into a math curriculum without sacrificing math content?
-How can math help deepen students’ understanding of social and economic issues, at home and afar?
-How can math empower students to be active citizens in their communities and beyond?
-In what ways can math be used to problem-solve local issues and projects?
-How has math literacy been a gatekeeper to educational and personal success?
-How do race and class issues affect the teaching and learning of math?
I am very interested in how social justice math can be incorporated into urban education to enliven math and empower students to connect to the world. The main goal, in my estimation? Firing up young minds to get out there and make change happen.
Now, I am all for fun projects that engage my students. For example, in math, let’s create a cookbook using what we’ve learned about ratios to convert recipes to the serving sizes we need. Let’s create a “Sim” life in which we use basic math operations as well as higher-level thinking skills to balance a checkbook, pay our bills and negotiate shortages in our monthly budgets and brainstorm temporary and long-term solutions to those shortfalls. Let’s interpret distance and scale on a map to plan a virtual trip. These are all clever ways to encourage full engagement of students.
But why can’t math be used to interpret the world? Why can’t it change the world or the least the way we view it? Aren’t we taught that change is good?
Buzz words of the past – “crossing the curriculum” come to my mind at this point. When we cross the curriculum, we are attempting to bring in a variety of curriculum areas for thematic learning. I will never forget the HORRIBLE attempt at crossing the curriculum I witnessed at a middle school several years ago. A grade-level team of teachers created a series of projects centered on the Holocaust. They attempted to have students apply their knowledge of graphing to Holocaust statistics. Students were given the task of creating a variety of graphs using statistical information such as deaths per camp, methods of death, and other information. These young middle-schoolers created happy little bar graphs, pie charts and, worst of all, pictograms with this grim information. The charts were plastered on the hallway walls as a fine presentation of thematic learning. Only after a teacher brought it to the team leader’s attention did anyone consider the insensitive way this information was used, to say nothing of the complete lack of critical thinking skills that went into the completion of this project.
But that is a bad example. What are good examples of using math to interpret the world and affect positive change?
Here’s a term I’d never heard of until last week, when a fellow student in our class suggested an area to explore for our inquiry project. SOCIAL JUSTICE MATH: the integrating of political, economical and social justice into math classes. It is a “political lens” through which we can teach, learn and apply mathematical concepts.
In exploring social justice math through various websites, several questions come to mind:
-How can math be used to analyze and change the world?
-How can math encourage higher-level thinking skills?
-How can social justice issues be integrated into a math curriculum without sacrificing math content?
-How can math help deepen students’ understanding of social and economic issues, at home and afar?
-How can math empower students to be active citizens in their communities and beyond?
-In what ways can math be used to problem-solve local issues and projects?
-How has math literacy been a gatekeeper to educational and personal success?
-How do race and class issues affect the teaching and learning of math?
I am very interested in how social justice math can be incorporated into urban education to enliven math and empower students to connect to the world. The main goal, in my estimation? Firing up young minds to get out there and make change happen.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
What No Child Left Behind Means to Me
NCLB is an interesting concept but is poorly designed and orchestrated, and has become a tangled mess of laws, assessment requirements and bumbling classroom implementations. It has actually had the opposite effect of its original intent, to put the most qualified teachers into the classrooms. Apparently the word "qualified" has many meanings and is an easily manipulated term.
Here is what NCLB means to me:
As a special education teacher, I have paperwork (completed by my supervisor and on file with the district and state) that awards me the dubious distinction of "Highly Qualified Teacher" (HQT) in math, science, social studies and english. Now, I have a degree in journalism and a reading specialist certification, among other state teaching licenses. Wouldn't you think I would be best qualified to teach language arts in a special education setting?
NCLB says "not necessarily so."
Of course, I am not teaching language arts. Here's the reason why - brand new teachers, and those teaching a few years, are not generally HQT in all subject areas. This is especially problematic in special education, where we have to teach ALL subjects. Because my coworkers are not HQT in certain subject areas, I am now teaching math and science, both in resource and inclusion settings. I do enjoy these subject areas and feel I am learning and doing a good job, but they are not my preference nor my field of expertise.
That's just one example of a real-life application of NCLB.
I'm generally not a whiner and complainer in my district. I try to fly under the radar most of the time. One of my principals calls me "low maintenance," a compliment of sorts if you consider not causing much trouble a tremendous distinction.
Not to scare pre-service teachers, but just be aware of NCLB and what it could mean for you in the classroom, particularly in K-8 classrooms and in special education settings. Many districts are asking for HQT in subject areas even in the lower elementary classrooms.
Here is what NCLB means to me:
As a special education teacher, I have paperwork (completed by my supervisor and on file with the district and state) that awards me the dubious distinction of "Highly Qualified Teacher" (HQT) in math, science, social studies and english. Now, I have a degree in journalism and a reading specialist certification, among other state teaching licenses. Wouldn't you think I would be best qualified to teach language arts in a special education setting?
NCLB says "not necessarily so."
Of course, I am not teaching language arts. Here's the reason why - brand new teachers, and those teaching a few years, are not generally HQT in all subject areas. This is especially problematic in special education, where we have to teach ALL subjects. Because my coworkers are not HQT in certain subject areas, I am now teaching math and science, both in resource and inclusion settings. I do enjoy these subject areas and feel I am learning and doing a good job, but they are not my preference nor my field of expertise.
That's just one example of a real-life application of NCLB.
I'm generally not a whiner and complainer in my district. I try to fly under the radar most of the time. One of my principals calls me "low maintenance," a compliment of sorts if you consider not causing much trouble a tremendous distinction.
Not to scare pre-service teachers, but just be aware of NCLB and what it could mean for you in the classroom, particularly in K-8 classrooms and in special education settings. Many districts are asking for HQT in subject areas even in the lower elementary classrooms.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Major Influences That Shape Schools
What are the major influences that shape schools, those in urban centers in particular?
I live in a small suburban town with a tiny K-12 school system, from which my son and daughter graduated. I work in a semi-suburban semi-urban K-12 school district, also small.
I think there are many influences that are common to urban, suburban and rural school districts. For example, demographics: where I grew up and where I live, the populations are very homogenous, very little cultural variety. I believe this has a tremendous effect on the shaping of these suburban schools, just as a diverse population has a tremendous effect upon the shaping of urban schools.
Here's my hit list of the biggest influences/shapers of schools:
*Demographics of the community/city
Cultural background, race, educational level, income level...
*Demographics of the teaching staff
Do they reflect the racial/cultural/religious make-up of the schools, or is the staff predominantly white and not reflective of the student population?
*Political ideology of the community/city
Is the party in power conservative, liberal or something in between?
*Reform movements/models (whether successful or unsuccessful)
Reforms put into place in the educational system, whether mandated by the state or voluntary
*Financing
Funding or lack there of; financial support of the schools; federal, state, county, local monies
*Legislation
No Child Left Behind and states' responses
*Media portrayal of schools
Greatly influences the citizens of a community, which in turn influences their votes on key school issues.
I live in a small suburban town with a tiny K-12 school system, from which my son and daughter graduated. I work in a semi-suburban semi-urban K-12 school district, also small.
I think there are many influences that are common to urban, suburban and rural school districts. For example, demographics: where I grew up and where I live, the populations are very homogenous, very little cultural variety. I believe this has a tremendous effect on the shaping of these suburban schools, just as a diverse population has a tremendous effect upon the shaping of urban schools.
Here's my hit list of the biggest influences/shapers of schools:
*Demographics of the community/city
Cultural background, race, educational level, income level...
*Demographics of the teaching staff
Do they reflect the racial/cultural/religious make-up of the schools, or is the staff predominantly white and not reflective of the student population?
*Political ideology of the community/city
Is the party in power conservative, liberal or something in between?
*Reform movements/models (whether successful or unsuccessful)
Reforms put into place in the educational system, whether mandated by the state or voluntary
*Financing
Funding or lack there of; financial support of the schools; federal, state, county, local monies
*Legislation
No Child Left Behind and states' responses
*Media portrayal of schools
Greatly influences the citizens of a community, which in turn influences their votes on key school issues.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
How the Media Portray Schools
Boy, some of these are really going to date me!
FILMS
Urban: TO SIR WITH LOVE
There was nothing better than this movie. It was very big when I was growing up. Sidney Poitier played the reluctant teacher in an inner city school in London (1967). There were so many deep themes in this movie – racial conflict, socioeconomic issues, peer relations, coming of age struggles, sexual issues, to name a few. Also, the whole swinging England, mod, Beatles, Twiggy thing was huge, and the styles/fashions were fun to look at. The best part was Lulu’s song, “To Sir With Love,” which became a top pop tune in the U.S.
Suburban: FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH
A little later in my moving viewing career, this film (1982) was THE burn-out suburban teen movie. It was basically the lives of a group of suburban high school students and their forays into sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Sean Penn was hysterical as a druggy surfer. There were some very “deep” themes under the silliness – teen drug use, teen pregnancy, teen angst, and every coming of age issue you can imagine. It really portrayed the generation gap well.
Rural: BYE BYE BIRDIE
Ann-Margret singing and dancing her way through this kooky movie (1963) – she just ate up the screen. Conrad Birdie was an Elvis-type who got drafted into the army. His promoters created a contest in which the winning small town teenage girl would get to plant a big kiss on Conrad on national TV before he left for the service. Naturally Ann-Margret was chosen. I’d say this movie was kind of a cultural icon of small town high school culture as viewed through the eyes of movie producers of the times. The plot was simple and dopey, and was strictly a vehicle for the music and dancing. But it was the best. I loved it.
MUSIC
Urban: THE NEW GIRL IN TOWN (from the musical “Hairspray”)
This musical (2007) is set in gritty urban Baltimore in the early 1960’s. The plot centers around a young girl’s efforts to integrate a popular local television dance show. This song is about some girls who are nervous about keeping their boyfriends away from the hot new girl in school. The girls warn others about this girl, and threaten to run her over with a moving van and punch her lights out after school. It sends the message: Welcome to my school, hands off my man, and this is how we deal with your type in the big city. I guess she’s not in the suburbs anymore.
Suburban: SEE YOU IN SEPTEMBER
This is a real oldie (1959). It was the classic end-of-school song. A boy and girl were saying goodbye at the train station because school was out and they were going off on vacations with their families for the summer. What a tragedy! Would a summer love break them apart, or would they reunite back at school in September?
What an innocent time, when these were your biggest problems.
Rural: BE TRUE TO YOUR SCHOOL
This Beach Boys song (1963) was written as an idyllic tune about a jock who’s trying to tell kids not to put down their school. It’s all about the small town school happenings – the pep rallies, the football games, cruising, and other rah-rah-rah stuff. For the times in which it was written, it was very cute, catchy and to the point. A teenager’s whole life was supposed to revolve around his school. What he did in school (played football, dated the head cheerleader) gave him his status in that community. Cliché, yes. It’s an idealistic trip down memory lane.
TELEVISION
Urban: WELCOME BACK, KOTTER
This sitcom was the quintessential city school show (1975-1979). It basically centered around a group of tough underachievers called the Sweathogs lead by head hoodlum John Travolta. I guess nowadays this would have been the resource room. The teacher made good connections to the students, showing that educators can have a great impact upon students if they make the effort. Curriculum was secondary to the personal impact a good teacher could have on students. Aside from that, the show was all about the stereotypes: the tough, poor, bad students; the dumb, ineffective, uncaring principal; the idealistic teacher who wanted to give something back to his alma mater.
Suburban: MY SO-CALLED LIFE
This was a short-lived series (1994-1995) about a teenage girl’s personal journey, set mostly in the high school she attended. Claire Danes played the starring role. The show covered many important issues in a teen’s life – parent conflict, sibling conflict, dealing with a variety of friends and their issues, coming of age as a sexual being. It was well-cast, and characters were not flat stereotypes but very well-developed and believable. Perhaps because of this, it was critically acclaimed but not a winner in the ratings.
Rural: THE FACTS OF LIFE
This series had an incredibly long run (1979-1988). The story line centered around a group of young girls and their trials and tribulations at a boarding school out in the countryside. Within the group of seven girls, there was a spoiled rich brat, a tough hood from the city, an overweight girl, a cute and gossipy African American girl, among others. The point of this show was mostly to portray different girls with their own unique personalities and their struggles to fit in to a new school setting as well as live with each other in close quarters. I think the most difficult thing for the producers of this show was that the actresses were actually growing up and changing from young girls to young adults. This show dealt very lightly with some themes such as obesity, cultural differences, and socioeconomic differences. It seemed like it was more intended to entertain and charm the audience rather than delve into anything too deep.
NEWS
All my news stories related to schools seem to be disasters. They are the stories I can’t get out of my head. Sorry about the doom and gloom.
Urban: THE SETON HALL DORM FIRES
I just read a book about the three most seriously injured students in the Seton Hall fires (2000). It was a huge reminder that although this was nine years ago, these lives were lost or changed forever because of a stupid prank gone wrong. At the time the dorm fire happened, my own children were still in public school. But five years later as my daughter set off for college, I remember having a mild panic attack over the thought that I could not keep her safe. It took a tragedy like this to educate America about school fire safety codes.
Suburban: COLUMBINE HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTINGS
The Columbine High School shootings (1999) stand out the most in my mind. It was the school shooting incident in my teaching career, and made me realize how dangerous being in a school facility can be. Being in a suburban school district, this was just not supposed to happen. Students and staff were supposed to be able to come to school and feel safe. This massacre brought to light the “goth” subculture, and the potentially dangerous outcast status many teens experience in school. Another notion that was toyed with by the media was the sheer size of the school. Were enormous regional high schools really a great idea, placing so many students in one building?
Rural: AMISH SCHOOLHOUSE SHOOTINGS
Another school shooting was at the West Nickel Mines School, an Amish school in Pennsylvania (2006). I was always struck by the quiet and simple lives of the Amish. They don’t seem to want anything from the modern world, and simply ask to be allowed to live their lives as their beliefs dictate. It always seemed to me that they were a very protected society that was insulated from the evils of society. But when this incident occurred, it seemed all the more shocking that they were not protected at all, but were actually sitting targets, alone, out in the countryside. I thought the Amish people’s message of forgiveness was a beautiful response, but the tearing down of the schoolhouse said it all.
FILMS
Urban: TO SIR WITH LOVE
There was nothing better than this movie. It was very big when I was growing up. Sidney Poitier played the reluctant teacher in an inner city school in London (1967). There were so many deep themes in this movie – racial conflict, socioeconomic issues, peer relations, coming of age struggles, sexual issues, to name a few. Also, the whole swinging England, mod, Beatles, Twiggy thing was huge, and the styles/fashions were fun to look at. The best part was Lulu’s song, “To Sir With Love,” which became a top pop tune in the U.S.
Suburban: FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH
A little later in my moving viewing career, this film (1982) was THE burn-out suburban teen movie. It was basically the lives of a group of suburban high school students and their forays into sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Sean Penn was hysterical as a druggy surfer. There were some very “deep” themes under the silliness – teen drug use, teen pregnancy, teen angst, and every coming of age issue you can imagine. It really portrayed the generation gap well.
Rural: BYE BYE BIRDIE
Ann-Margret singing and dancing her way through this kooky movie (1963) – she just ate up the screen. Conrad Birdie was an Elvis-type who got drafted into the army. His promoters created a contest in which the winning small town teenage girl would get to plant a big kiss on Conrad on national TV before he left for the service. Naturally Ann-Margret was chosen. I’d say this movie was kind of a cultural icon of small town high school culture as viewed through the eyes of movie producers of the times. The plot was simple and dopey, and was strictly a vehicle for the music and dancing. But it was the best. I loved it.
MUSIC
Urban: THE NEW GIRL IN TOWN (from the musical “Hairspray”)
This musical (2007) is set in gritty urban Baltimore in the early 1960’s. The plot centers around a young girl’s efforts to integrate a popular local television dance show. This song is about some girls who are nervous about keeping their boyfriends away from the hot new girl in school. The girls warn others about this girl, and threaten to run her over with a moving van and punch her lights out after school. It sends the message: Welcome to my school, hands off my man, and this is how we deal with your type in the big city. I guess she’s not in the suburbs anymore.
Suburban: SEE YOU IN SEPTEMBER
This is a real oldie (1959). It was the classic end-of-school song. A boy and girl were saying goodbye at the train station because school was out and they were going off on vacations with their families for the summer. What a tragedy! Would a summer love break them apart, or would they reunite back at school in September?
What an innocent time, when these were your biggest problems.
Rural: BE TRUE TO YOUR SCHOOL
This Beach Boys song (1963) was written as an idyllic tune about a jock who’s trying to tell kids not to put down their school. It’s all about the small town school happenings – the pep rallies, the football games, cruising, and other rah-rah-rah stuff. For the times in which it was written, it was very cute, catchy and to the point. A teenager’s whole life was supposed to revolve around his school. What he did in school (played football, dated the head cheerleader) gave him his status in that community. Cliché, yes. It’s an idealistic trip down memory lane.
TELEVISION
Urban: WELCOME BACK, KOTTER
This sitcom was the quintessential city school show (1975-1979). It basically centered around a group of tough underachievers called the Sweathogs lead by head hoodlum John Travolta. I guess nowadays this would have been the resource room. The teacher made good connections to the students, showing that educators can have a great impact upon students if they make the effort. Curriculum was secondary to the personal impact a good teacher could have on students. Aside from that, the show was all about the stereotypes: the tough, poor, bad students; the dumb, ineffective, uncaring principal; the idealistic teacher who wanted to give something back to his alma mater.
Suburban: MY SO-CALLED LIFE
This was a short-lived series (1994-1995) about a teenage girl’s personal journey, set mostly in the high school she attended. Claire Danes played the starring role. The show covered many important issues in a teen’s life – parent conflict, sibling conflict, dealing with a variety of friends and their issues, coming of age as a sexual being. It was well-cast, and characters were not flat stereotypes but very well-developed and believable. Perhaps because of this, it was critically acclaimed but not a winner in the ratings.
Rural: THE FACTS OF LIFE
This series had an incredibly long run (1979-1988). The story line centered around a group of young girls and their trials and tribulations at a boarding school out in the countryside. Within the group of seven girls, there was a spoiled rich brat, a tough hood from the city, an overweight girl, a cute and gossipy African American girl, among others. The point of this show was mostly to portray different girls with their own unique personalities and their struggles to fit in to a new school setting as well as live with each other in close quarters. I think the most difficult thing for the producers of this show was that the actresses were actually growing up and changing from young girls to young adults. This show dealt very lightly with some themes such as obesity, cultural differences, and socioeconomic differences. It seemed like it was more intended to entertain and charm the audience rather than delve into anything too deep.
NEWS
All my news stories related to schools seem to be disasters. They are the stories I can’t get out of my head. Sorry about the doom and gloom.
Urban: THE SETON HALL DORM FIRES
I just read a book about the three most seriously injured students in the Seton Hall fires (2000). It was a huge reminder that although this was nine years ago, these lives were lost or changed forever because of a stupid prank gone wrong. At the time the dorm fire happened, my own children were still in public school. But five years later as my daughter set off for college, I remember having a mild panic attack over the thought that I could not keep her safe. It took a tragedy like this to educate America about school fire safety codes.
Suburban: COLUMBINE HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTINGS
The Columbine High School shootings (1999) stand out the most in my mind. It was the school shooting incident in my teaching career, and made me realize how dangerous being in a school facility can be. Being in a suburban school district, this was just not supposed to happen. Students and staff were supposed to be able to come to school and feel safe. This massacre brought to light the “goth” subculture, and the potentially dangerous outcast status many teens experience in school. Another notion that was toyed with by the media was the sheer size of the school. Were enormous regional high schools really a great idea, placing so many students in one building?
Rural: AMISH SCHOOLHOUSE SHOOTINGS
Another school shooting was at the West Nickel Mines School, an Amish school in Pennsylvania (2006). I was always struck by the quiet and simple lives of the Amish. They don’t seem to want anything from the modern world, and simply ask to be allowed to live their lives as their beliefs dictate. It always seemed to me that they were a very protected society that was insulated from the evils of society. But when this incident occurred, it seemed all the more shocking that they were not protected at all, but were actually sitting targets, alone, out in the countryside. I thought the Amish people’s message of forgiveness was a beautiful response, but the tearing down of the schoolhouse said it all.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Frames of Reference
My family was a station wagon full of New York transplants. In fact, my entire suburban childhood was spent around children of New Yorkers who escaped the boroughs in a massive white flight to New Jersey communities. Every one of my friends and school mates had a New York connection, foreign-born grandparents, and a story of the decline of their old New York neighborhood, as told to them by their parents. New York City was a cultural mecca, a place to see a Broadway show or a concert, visit a museum, or dine in a fancy restaurant. But it was not a place to raise kids, in our parents’ eyes - Great place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.
I attended a brand new elementary school, fifties-style “modern” surrounded by truck farms, wheat fields and a dirt road that was soon to be paved and named the Garden State Parkway. My teachers were either really old – forty something! – or straight out of college and model-beautiful. One lone male taught in the building, and of course the principal was a man. We were in awe of Sputnik, feared the Russians, hid under our desks in preparation for “the bomb,” and feared the “new math” that never came. My life and my school experiences were suburban easy. My only real difficulty was finding my way home on the winding streets, where every house, car and tree was identical to the next.
A favorite family story is my mother’s elementary school experiences, which she loved to tell and we loved to hear about. Growing up in Greenwich Village, she was the daughter of a night club owner. My grandparents decided that the neighborhood schools were not safe enough, or good enough, so they enrolled her in a nearby Catholic school. Being the only Jewish girl in the school, she attended only the academic classes and was allowed to skip the religious mass and instruction. She graduated at the top of her class, and was the class valedictorian. Of course the moral of the story was that city schools were so bad that a little Jewish girl had to attend a Catholic school to be safe, educated and basically to survive.
My father’s tales of being brought up in Brooklyn and attending city schools were pretty grim. The parents tag-teamed my brothers and me, and we believed with all our heart and soul that suburbia and its safe, clean, homogenized schools were fantastic. Beware the big bad city!
I did grow up just a little bit after high school, traveled and studied around the country and around the world, and found out there was a life beyond my backyard. I was in awe of kids my age who lived so differently from me. I remember being so curious about many of the Native Americans and Mexican immigrants who attended the University of Colorado when I was there. Their lives were difficult, funding was difficult, cultural transitions were difficult. I saw something unique and so different than what I grew up around. My journalism experiences after college took me to small newspapers in the Midwest, where I encountered the rural poor for the first time.
Looking back, I know I had tremendous opportunities, more than others would ever have, but I never really questioned or deeply considered what urban centers, urban life and urban education were like for people. I lived what I lived, had limited exposure to urban life, and was basically hard-wired to believe that the only way to live in an urban area was with a ton of money to pay for private school tuition for my children. City life was only a good thing if you could throw a lot of money at it. It was so much easier – and cheaper - to live in small town New Jersey and put my kids through school systems similar to what I came up through. My husband, who grew up in the rural Midwest, had no city experiences at all, and lined up behind the notion of safe, suburban living.
I didn’t think about the urban educational experience until I began to study in a post-B.A. program for my educational certificates. In a small suburban Catholic college, I was asked to consider what my beliefs were about education - my own educational experiences, preconceived notions and personal feelings regarding urban versus suburban school systems and aspirations for teaching in my own classroom. It was there that I learned that my childhood experiences, my family background and the beliefs I fostered based on my parents’ experiences would actually affect the kind of teacher I would become.
While taking a course at Montclair State University I had the opportunity to work with middle school students from a charter school in Paterson through the Silk City Media Workshop project. We met with a group of boys and girls weekly at the Passaic County Community College satellite in downtown Paterson. Despite my very suburban upbringing I didn’t feel apprehensive at all about entering and working in Paterson. As a child I had spent quite a bit of time visiting family and friends in working class neighborhoods of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and the Lower East Side of Manhattan. I developed strong feelings about urban centers as places where large numbers of people of many cultures, ethnicities, religions and socioeconomic backgrounds live in close proximity. These centers are like human laboratories that foster relationships, interactions and experiences, good and bad.
At the workshop project the children were writing, directing and filming video stories of their own creation. The videos ran the gamut from family issues and difficulties, personal experiences with friends, school and classroom experiences, to fantasy, ghost and horror stories. Working with the children on their videos was the “curriculum,” and learning about the kids and making personal connections with them was the “hidden agenda,” the part that really mattered the most.
The young participants in the Silk City Workshop were motivated students whose families sought to provide a better education and plot a more positive course for their futures by enrolling them in a charter school. I realized these children and their accompanying teachers did not exactly embody a complete picture of urban education. Urban schools are a slice of life. They are educational centers of excellence with many positive experiences to be gained. They are also the underfunded, neglected, corrupted and dangerous schools of impoverished inner cities, where few survive and profit. Urban school teachers can be the most dedicated teachers in the profession, the most burnt-out and cynical teachers or anything in between.
As a pre-service teacher, I had a preconceived set of notions about what the classroom would be like. I was working as a public relations consultant for the same community in which I would soon student teach and eventually be employed as a teacher. In my job as a consultant, I primarily dealt with elected officials and other employees of the borough hall offices. My dealings with the community were very scheduled, structured and proscribed – meetings, events, etc. Based on the people I interacted with on this job, I assumed that the community was very middle class, very comfortable, with basically intact nuclear families – two parents raising children.
I applied to student teach in this community because I had a comfort level here, knowing many of the town’s residents and the social and political structure of the town. My preconceived notions were about to be challenged. Although the community is considered suburban, it has many rental apartments that are (were) reasonably priced, is on the border of Bergen and Hudson counties, has quick access via public transportation to Newark, Jersey City and New York City and has a very diverse population culturally and economically.
Although this community was semi-suburban, many of its residents were from the cities – Queens, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Newark and Jersey City. Not surprisingly many students had attended large urban schools at one time or another in their educational careers, or had parents who attended urban school districts. Many of the district’s students were very street smart and savvy, very oriented to and accustomed to city life. Some were hardened and difficult to connect with and teach. Many had been thrown out of one or more schools, and some had been through the juvenile courts and detention system. I began to feel that these students were a combination of their environment and the way they were hard-wired, as are all human beings. Many fail and many succeed, some because of the advantages or disadvantages they experienced, and some in spite of those.
As a student teacher at the elementary level, I never thought I would hear war stories or see battle scars like I did. I encountered multiple challenges, the most surprising of which were the difficult lives many of my young students led. It was quite an eye-opener for me. This so-called suburbia on the outskirts of a large urban center had its struggles.
At this point in my early teaching career, I began to realize that the child was the sum of his/her entire life’s experiences. These children came into the classroom with everything they were about and everything going on in their lives. Teaching was not just simply working with the curriculum. I had to make human connections with the children, connections which were more important than the academic content.
I also realized that I was going to learn as much if not more from my students than they learned from me. Even now, 14 years into my educational career, I have that moment once in awhile when I am very grateful for being given a glimpse into the inner workings of one of my students. Once in awhile they open the door and let you into their world, their culture, their minds. It’s what makes the job worthwhile – and possible. Every student I’ve ever taught has changed me.
I attended a brand new elementary school, fifties-style “modern” surrounded by truck farms, wheat fields and a dirt road that was soon to be paved and named the Garden State Parkway. My teachers were either really old – forty something! – or straight out of college and model-beautiful. One lone male taught in the building, and of course the principal was a man. We were in awe of Sputnik, feared the Russians, hid under our desks in preparation for “the bomb,” and feared the “new math” that never came. My life and my school experiences were suburban easy. My only real difficulty was finding my way home on the winding streets, where every house, car and tree was identical to the next.
A favorite family story is my mother’s elementary school experiences, which she loved to tell and we loved to hear about. Growing up in Greenwich Village, she was the daughter of a night club owner. My grandparents decided that the neighborhood schools were not safe enough, or good enough, so they enrolled her in a nearby Catholic school. Being the only Jewish girl in the school, she attended only the academic classes and was allowed to skip the religious mass and instruction. She graduated at the top of her class, and was the class valedictorian. Of course the moral of the story was that city schools were so bad that a little Jewish girl had to attend a Catholic school to be safe, educated and basically to survive.
My father’s tales of being brought up in Brooklyn and attending city schools were pretty grim. The parents tag-teamed my brothers and me, and we believed with all our heart and soul that suburbia and its safe, clean, homogenized schools were fantastic. Beware the big bad city!
I did grow up just a little bit after high school, traveled and studied around the country and around the world, and found out there was a life beyond my backyard. I was in awe of kids my age who lived so differently from me. I remember being so curious about many of the Native Americans and Mexican immigrants who attended the University of Colorado when I was there. Their lives were difficult, funding was difficult, cultural transitions were difficult. I saw something unique and so different than what I grew up around. My journalism experiences after college took me to small newspapers in the Midwest, where I encountered the rural poor for the first time.
Looking back, I know I had tremendous opportunities, more than others would ever have, but I never really questioned or deeply considered what urban centers, urban life and urban education were like for people. I lived what I lived, had limited exposure to urban life, and was basically hard-wired to believe that the only way to live in an urban area was with a ton of money to pay for private school tuition for my children. City life was only a good thing if you could throw a lot of money at it. It was so much easier – and cheaper - to live in small town New Jersey and put my kids through school systems similar to what I came up through. My husband, who grew up in the rural Midwest, had no city experiences at all, and lined up behind the notion of safe, suburban living.
I didn’t think about the urban educational experience until I began to study in a post-B.A. program for my educational certificates. In a small suburban Catholic college, I was asked to consider what my beliefs were about education - my own educational experiences, preconceived notions and personal feelings regarding urban versus suburban school systems and aspirations for teaching in my own classroom. It was there that I learned that my childhood experiences, my family background and the beliefs I fostered based on my parents’ experiences would actually affect the kind of teacher I would become.
While taking a course at Montclair State University I had the opportunity to work with middle school students from a charter school in Paterson through the Silk City Media Workshop project. We met with a group of boys and girls weekly at the Passaic County Community College satellite in downtown Paterson. Despite my very suburban upbringing I didn’t feel apprehensive at all about entering and working in Paterson. As a child I had spent quite a bit of time visiting family and friends in working class neighborhoods of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and the Lower East Side of Manhattan. I developed strong feelings about urban centers as places where large numbers of people of many cultures, ethnicities, religions and socioeconomic backgrounds live in close proximity. These centers are like human laboratories that foster relationships, interactions and experiences, good and bad.
At the workshop project the children were writing, directing and filming video stories of their own creation. The videos ran the gamut from family issues and difficulties, personal experiences with friends, school and classroom experiences, to fantasy, ghost and horror stories. Working with the children on their videos was the “curriculum,” and learning about the kids and making personal connections with them was the “hidden agenda,” the part that really mattered the most.
The young participants in the Silk City Workshop were motivated students whose families sought to provide a better education and plot a more positive course for their futures by enrolling them in a charter school. I realized these children and their accompanying teachers did not exactly embody a complete picture of urban education. Urban schools are a slice of life. They are educational centers of excellence with many positive experiences to be gained. They are also the underfunded, neglected, corrupted and dangerous schools of impoverished inner cities, where few survive and profit. Urban school teachers can be the most dedicated teachers in the profession, the most burnt-out and cynical teachers or anything in between.
As a pre-service teacher, I had a preconceived set of notions about what the classroom would be like. I was working as a public relations consultant for the same community in which I would soon student teach and eventually be employed as a teacher. In my job as a consultant, I primarily dealt with elected officials and other employees of the borough hall offices. My dealings with the community were very scheduled, structured and proscribed – meetings, events, etc. Based on the people I interacted with on this job, I assumed that the community was very middle class, very comfortable, with basically intact nuclear families – two parents raising children.
I applied to student teach in this community because I had a comfort level here, knowing many of the town’s residents and the social and political structure of the town. My preconceived notions were about to be challenged. Although the community is considered suburban, it has many rental apartments that are (were) reasonably priced, is on the border of Bergen and Hudson counties, has quick access via public transportation to Newark, Jersey City and New York City and has a very diverse population culturally and economically.
Although this community was semi-suburban, many of its residents were from the cities – Queens, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Newark and Jersey City. Not surprisingly many students had attended large urban schools at one time or another in their educational careers, or had parents who attended urban school districts. Many of the district’s students were very street smart and savvy, very oriented to and accustomed to city life. Some were hardened and difficult to connect with and teach. Many had been thrown out of one or more schools, and some had been through the juvenile courts and detention system. I began to feel that these students were a combination of their environment and the way they were hard-wired, as are all human beings. Many fail and many succeed, some because of the advantages or disadvantages they experienced, and some in spite of those.
As a student teacher at the elementary level, I never thought I would hear war stories or see battle scars like I did. I encountered multiple challenges, the most surprising of which were the difficult lives many of my young students led. It was quite an eye-opener for me. This so-called suburbia on the outskirts of a large urban center had its struggles.
At this point in my early teaching career, I began to realize that the child was the sum of his/her entire life’s experiences. These children came into the classroom with everything they were about and everything going on in their lives. Teaching was not just simply working with the curriculum. I had to make human connections with the children, connections which were more important than the academic content.
I also realized that I was going to learn as much if not more from my students than they learned from me. Even now, 14 years into my educational career, I have that moment once in awhile when I am very grateful for being given a glimpse into the inner workings of one of my students. Once in awhile they open the door and let you into their world, their culture, their minds. It’s what makes the job worthwhile – and possible. Every student I’ve ever taught has changed me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
