From what I have been learning as a student and about myself, I believe I can positively impact the current conditions of education by learning all that I can, become knowledgeable about how to teach diversity and acceptance in my classroom, how to my classroom environment welcoming to all, and how to best support my students in a way that helps me learn who they are and what they need individually. I feel this will help with making my students in charge of their learning, motivate them, and give them a role model. This will help me as a teacher/educator to make those important relationships with my students through the bonds we create. This will also create a safe and comforting learning environment to where students will feel open to sharing, participating and engaging in the classroom and with their peers. Nieto mentioned in chapter one on page 12 that school environments do have an impact on both the students and the teachers. Nieto also states that “Policies and procedures enacted in school as a whole and in particular classrooms determines environment” (p. 12). In order for an environment to be welcoming and inviting, as well as comfortable for all learners, classroom rules and behavior needs to be demonstrated and enforced as such. Doing this and helping other teachers along the way can make more classroom welcoming. I believe it starts with making the environment for teachers to collaborate and converse together is where it starts. This will also aid in equalize opportunities for all students. A structural change that can equalize opportunities for all would be to get rid of racialization of ability. Nieto described racialization of ability as, “Results in permanent placements hat are almost impossible to change as the years pass, even if they have been made on the flimsiest of evidence” (p. 13). An example of this was that African American and Latino/a students are offered AP classes, gifted or talented programs at far lower numbers than White and Asian students (Nieto 2013, p. 12). African American students on the other hand are more likely to be placed in special education classes more so than any of their peers. Getting rid of the racialization of ability will provide all students with equal access to these programs and AP classes without being put in programs they do not need to be in. 

 

3 questions:

 

1. What are your thoughts on Racialization of Ability? How do you think it is impacting students who live in poverty?

2. What other ideologies have you come across about students that have an impact on their learning?

3. What is something that frustrated you about the readings this week? This can be new information you learned, a quote you read, etc.

I chose to focus on this quote for a few reasons. First, I agree with the author about the ubiquity of the term ‘achievement gap’. I have heard this term spoken about in formal and informal spaces. I have uttered this term when speaking about education. Of late, given that I just began this graduate program, I have had occasion to write this term and expound upon its meaning. Perhaps due to my position as a student of education, the term never struck my ears as code for blaming students for their failures. I always received the term as it was, perhaps, intended, a way to describe an outcome of our systemic failures. However, I take Nieto’s point. To someone situated outside the field of education, I can see how the term may sound as she describes. Language matters and we may do well to find a better way to describe what we see happening in our schools. 

Which brings me to the second reason I chose the above quote: I really liked the quote immediately following it in which Jacqueline Irvine suggests focusing our language and attention on root causes as opposed to student outcomes. I agree that it is more instructive to speak about the gaps that lead to low achievement among students, such as gaps in teacher training, school funding, economic inequality, and school integration, among others. I am not sure how this list can be fit into a snappy news blurb about our failing schools (which is one of the problems we need to solve) but I like it much better than the omnipresent ‘achievement gap.’ As a single educator, my ability to change the system is negligible but, I can do my best to ‘teach to the gaps,’ so to speak. I can be responsible for the quality and training I bring to my classroom. I can help my students with the nutrition gap. I can fill in some of the digital divide gaps. I can integrate my curriculum even if my school is segregated. Where I am unable to fill gaps, such as income inequality and housing, I can only hope to mitigate damage by arming my students with as many skills as possible, to the best of my ability. 

Finally, I chose this quote because it scratched my persistent brain itch regarding systemic thinking. I see how the term ‘achievement gap’ might be misleading and that we need to be looking at achievement gap root causes. I am drawn to material that makes me consider structural problems. Jacqueline Irvine’s list of ‘gaps’ is on the money and I enjoy thinking about how to start addressing the issues she mentions. One thing that we could do to ease school inequality is to disentangle school funding from property taxes. The property tax system is patently unfair and has inequality built into its foundation. Another step I would like to see taken is to move away from ‘top-down’ reform and policy implementation. I am not sure if the education of this nation’s children should be left to the whims of a presidential cabinet appointment via the Depart of Education. I am not sure what to replace these systems with, but at this point, can it get worse?  

 

My questions for further consideration:

1. If not through property taxes, how should we fund schools?

2. If not the Department of Education, who should oversee the public-school system in this country? Should any one entity oversee all public schooling? 

3. How can we address school segregation? What methods would you propose to create integration?