Rough Ideas for Question to Explore for Community Inquiry Project

I'm having some trouble formulating a question/topic to explore for the Community Inquiry project, but I have a few rough ideas.

I would say that, over the course of the readings, I am most interested in NCLB and its impact on local urban schools in Paterson or Newark. I am getting the impression simply that punishment is not equally progress. If it appears like this initiative is falling apart, what could we do to change it OR better implement it? What do these schools need in terms of resources that they're not getting? What resources do they have? What do they need that would help them achieve and meet the goals? How do the teachers feel? How much of their time is spent away from other subjects as a means of laying groundwork that will lead to higher AYP and higher test scores? What would need to be done so that hitting these marks would be possible? I thought interviewing teachers was the way to go and I'd be interested in attempting to do that myself.

A second topic involves a poster I saw from a project from last year involving teacher prejudice involving urban education and urban schools. It appears as if teachers coming into an urban school to teach are severely limited by their "frames of reference" regarding what the experience will be like. This limits their effectiveness as teachers- and I would consider exploring a topic similar to the one I saw in class.

I'm also interested in ESL programs at urban schools and the process of integrating non-English speaking children into English speaking classrooms. I'm also interested in the idea that Fruchter proposes that suggests that if a student's culture is integrated into the classroom, then it personalizes their commitment to what they are learning. As a future English teacher, I wonder if I will found myself teaching MORE than just English and more than just BASIC literature. What about literature that incorporates the culture of students in urban areas? Does this personalize education? Are there other schools incorporating a diversified curriculum that includes Latin and African American literature? What changes are being put into place- curriculum wise- to involve and inspire children that are being educated in urban areas? What policies/ideas are putting into place to do something out of the norm?

I've also heard from other teachers working in urban areas that they are serving a population of students who do not speak English in the classroom or need help with English and the only route to reach them is through speaking both English and Spanish. With only an operational knowledge of Spanish, they are finding it very difficult to teach them the topics they need to know, let alone being able to teach it in both languages. I would like to possibly look at the impact this has on urban teachers, what is being put in place to help both the children and the teachers, and perhaps even how these outside factors may impact NCLB restrictions. I plan on taking a look at the pressures of the classroom coupled with pressures enforced by various policies. I'm not sure if Paterson or Newark could afford me this opportunity, however. I wonder if teachers receive outside professional development or services that help them to teach and impact children whose first language isn't English. I have given some thought to obtaining an ESL certificate on top of my Master's- so I'm curious if it this extra work is as needed as I often hear it is.

I am still mulling over topics/questions for the project and will post more- whenever I think of any. Comments and suggestions would help!

-Danielle

Reaction to a Portion of the Haberman Reading

The section of the Haberman reading that I was particularly drawn to dealt with the teacher education programs that prepare teachers. Haberman's main issue seemed to lie within the age group of students that are looking to become teachers. This was particularly disheartening as each of us, myself included, are within this early to mid twenties age bracket. It appears as though Haberman is setting us up for failure. I have to admit that I cringed a little while reading some of this. My frames of reference for wanting to teach stem from my own education and the teachers who taught me along the way. I guess I have hopes to "continue the legacy" and, at some point, I'd like to work in the high school I went to. But, this is not an immediate goal.

When I think about the roadblocks I will meet at the schools I was "schooled" in- I don't imagine that there will be too much difficulty. I grew up in Ramsey, a small, affluent suburb and the teachers all knew that and the occasional issues it could bring to the classroom. A lot of kids there had access to money and were reasonably bored- which led to a few rumors of drug use and drug problems. This wasn't an immediate issue for the teachers, but I'm sure they knew a lot of the "population" of students that they were serving. I remember a lot of these kids being lazy, not wanting to listen, not wanting to be preached too, and a occasionally, even rude. I have a problem with laziness and a problem with bad attitudes and a lack of respect. But it appears that, as an urban teacher, I would have to deal with the above issues and then some. While I always saw myself as giving back to my own community that gave so much to ME, I've never singled out urban communities as places I was unwilling to work in. This portion of Haberman's reading, at first, didn't give me much hope that I would be able to contribute there. It appears that if you're a creative teacher who cares about the population of students you are serving, then you can make an impact. I'm hoping that commitment and drive have something to do with success. Every area and every district, in my experience, seems to produce some sort of problem whether it's the bureaucracy Haberman described or endless paperwork and preparing for state tests.

Early on in my "quest" to teach, I interviewed at NYC Teaching Fellowship. It was an event that lasted from about 4pm to close to 11pm at night that included a model lesson and two interviews. I knew nothing about teaching, did not major in Education, and knew very little about modeling lessons. At the time, I was closer to the post-college age group that Haberman is describing- a twenty something struggling with self-identity and the "Will I"s and "Why"s of life. However, I fancy myself as more grown up than what's described in the reading. I think I've been through enough in my early twenties to set myself apart. Here's hoping. But, in terms of the teaching fellowship, I wasn't ready and my performance and my extreme nervousness at the interview proved that. While I used manipulatives in my lesson and sought the get the other participants posing as "children" involved in the lesson- I figured out that a 5 minute long lesson just isn't enough time to prove that you can serve populations of kids in high-need schools. Now I have a much better idea of what high need means and the type of commitment that those children need. I think that I can offer commitment and compassion, the other parts of the job will need to fall into place. I will have to admit that my parents didn't support my decision to interview for the fellowship. I will also have to admit that the fact that the program would pay for my Master's degree was a huge reason that I considered it. I was at odds with my mother about what the job would involve and whether or not I could do it. Even by eventually working as a paraprofessional/ teacher's aide in one of the most affluent towns in the entire country, I saw my fair share of emotional problems, almost all stemming from divorce and struggling to make ends meet afterwards. Even by living in a perfect town, you will imperfections and plenty of examples of "bad parenting." Teaching is an emotional field no matter where you go- but I wonder about my ability not to overly internalize all of it and still be able to do my job. However, Haberman makes it seem that we're doomed from the get-go by factors that are outside of control like life experience, age, ideals, and strength of character. It appears like the make of a good teacher was given an age bracket in the reading and, if you happen not to fit, you might as well just wait around until you do. This poses a difficulty for me as I want to work with middle school age- high school age children and occasionally wonder if I can hack it.

I found it interesting in the Haberman reading that the majority of students who graduate and are certified to teacher end up not pursuing classroom teaching. I know of a few- most of whom looked at their statuses as Education majors as reason to brag or to hang the fact that "no one knows how much work we have to do" over everyone's heads. Perhaps they are now scared of being unprepared for the work they originally wanted to do- as Haberman expressed. This is disconcerting now that I am in the position of staring down a career in education that I'm not entirely unprepared for, but there will be challenges around the corner. I'm worried about coming out of school with a Master's degree, but very little experience. I'm worried about appearing like a strong "fully qualified" candidate for populations of students that need help, guidance, and an education more than any other. The statistics for success are definitely disturbing and discouraging.

However, in closing, Haberman describes the following, "In our classroom observations of failing teachers we have never found an exception to this condition: if there is a disconnect between the teacher and the students no mentoring, coaching, workshop, or class on discipline and classroom management can provide the teacher with the magic to control children she/he does not genuinely respect and care about." So, perhaps, if a teacher connects with and cares for the students he or she is to teaching, that is one aspect that can cut through all the negative aspects. If you have passion for what you're doing, you can connect with the kids and shape their lives. Excuse my romanticized notion of teaching here, but I think there are people within the ill-prepared, early to mid twenties population that can do this. It's refreshing to read the above excerpt and know that maybe commitment is all it takes. Caring for all populations of children, including disadvantaged diverse children spoken about in the article, is half the battle.

What Are The Major Influences That Shape Urban Schools - continued.

It appears that one of the factors that shapes urban schools in particular is culture- and using or understanding that culture as a means of teaching effectively. Along with that, it appears that we also have to take into account the stigmas and stereotypes of urban schools that influence how much people care about them as an institution and the children in them and their subsequent opinions. I took Norm Fruchter's chapter on the achievement gap and the culture of schooling to heart. I felt like there was a lot of truth there in terms of the cultural pre-sets that we bring to the classroom and to anything else we do. All of these things need to be taken into account and it appears that culture is a major influence within urban schools because, according to Fruchter, it shapes how diverse children learn. He writes, "The culture of schooling is what results from how a society structures, organizes, and implements its educational system." (26) He explains that to change the education of children in urban centers, we have to change the traditional system to meet their needs. This is a major factor in creating schools that work for all children as, in urban areas, we, no doubt, as educators have to take in cultural pre-sets, language, customs, and opinions formed by all three. Not to say this couldn't occur in the suburbs, but teachers may be battling more of these unique outside influences in an urban center. Curriculum, the schooling organization, primary languages, instructional tactics, the accountability system, and the discipline system differs in urban areas. These children have different needs and need to be reached by creative, committed teachers who think outside of the box.In turn, children can be shaped by their teachers as much as they are shaped by outside influences if done correctly. Again, there is little statistics and data wise separating suburban schools from urban schools, yet they are seen as different. It appears that changing parent culture, school culture, and child culture is a huge undertaking- but shifting it will shift the achievement gap.

Secondly, information communicated from Perry's Young, Gifted, and Black stands out in terms of how urban schools could be changed and the struggles of the children being taught there. Fruchter explains, "Since many black students come to the culture of American schooling shaped by histories, beliefs, and language use that is differ from those white students and white teachers, Perry argues, black students are often perceived as having little familiarity with the kinds of cultural capital that schools use and value." Again, the culture and other factors that students bring to the table is a definite aspect that influence and shapes urban schools. These factors should be worked with. Urban schools and urban centers should work with these differences in order to use cultural capital to shape a schooling system that works along the experiences of urban children.

On top of that- and perhaps a bit off topic- I found the story about John Edgar Wideman's brother, Robby, to be very interesting. Additionally, it was a good jump off point in terms of explaining what diverse children need and the fact that there may be more than one avenue to reach them and that other ways to teach certain children may have to be explored. I think this idea also shapes urban schools in that since it appears to be such a different, culturally diverse environment shaped on outside influences then it would be worthwhile to understand what may be pulling on a child and keeping him or her from succeeding. Knowing this would be a way to reexamine how to reach a particular child- often before it's too late.

What Are The Major Influences That Shape Schools In Urban Centers?

Based on the reading, urban schools seem to be shaped by environment, both inside the school and outside of it, interests of the educators as well as the administration, beliefs on what the school is or should be, policy, curriculum, techniques, and various other "hoop-jumping" that stops education and furthers the bureaucracy of the situation. These factors influence schools in that legislation can impede them from moving forward and integrating with different populations.

On top of this, the influence of class size and crime, as evidenced in Anderson and Summerfield's exploration of urban, suburban, and rural schools proves that there is little separating urban schools from suburban schools in terms of proximity to violence or even something as benign as class size. Parents seem to appear as if they want the best education for their child and that this is determined by outside factors such as violence or crime and internal factors like class size. However, when one sees that there is little difference between them, one is conditioned to believe that perhaps stereotypes and racial beliefs also influence and impact whether parent chooses for their child to attend a suburban school or an urban school. Therefore, these far-reaching stereotypes seem to influence and shape schools in urban centers by giving them a poor reputation and making them appear as if the schools are not taking steps to combat things like violence or large class size.

However, in fact, these factors within urban schools and suburban schools are the same.
It appears as though many things, including aspects parents may not want to admit to themselves, judges whether or not a school is better or worse for a child. What doesn't seem to factor into these decisions is the types of educators or programs available to the student doing the learning but rather where is the school? And, will the child be safe? According to the Anderson and Summerfield reading, violence and crime appear to be relative. To Fruchter, "changing parent, family, and community cultures is far more difficult than changing schooling cultures." (Fruchter, 27)

Norm Fruchter, in the section of Chapter 2 labeled urban schooling, suggests that "The culture of schooling is what results from how a society structures, organizes, and implements its educational system." If the culture of a school appears to be different in an urban environment than in a suburban or rural environment, then it appears like the urban school has to work twice as hard to establish itself. Fruchter cites curriculum, the school organization, the primary languages of the students, the accountability system, or what sets the standards for the students, and the discipline system as aspects of the "culture of schooling." But, other aspects like policies, standards, teacher certification, and legislation also impact a school.

Furthermore, these aspects impact an urban school because it can set it back from other schools. These aspects influence and shape urban schools because they either work for them or against them. The commonly accepted view is that these aspects act against them. For example, if teacher certification policies are lax and allow a teacher to teach in an urban center through a specific fellowship program, like Teach For America or NYC Teaching Fellows, then we are opening up our urban students to teachers will little to no experience, but a ton of drive and motivation. The lack of desire to formulate principles that work and a set group of rules seems to hurt the students and the urban school in the end. Some of the aforementioned road blocks influence and shape the school by perpetuating the "bad name" and disallowing for any real change or change in policy to take place. As Fruchter says, "Ultimately, the culture of schooling reflects, and embodies, the dominant values of each society's hegemonic class and race." The better school is going to dominate over the school that is perceived as lower.

Urban schools are already viewed as "different." (Summerfield and Anderson) This is another aspect that shapes the school. The idea that techniques have to be different, the policies have to be different, and the teachers and the teaching has to be different in order for the urban school to succeed is continued. This could influence the school to be better and to use its diversity to its advantage, but in some ways it continues to set urban education apart by making it appear difficult and bogged down by issues.

Monday's Assignment- Urban, Suburban, and Rural Education in the Media

Movies

URBAN: Dangerous Minds

Dangerous Minds takes place in a high school in urban Los Angeles. It represents the perception of urban education because the movie deals with a lot of the issues that we all referenced on our first day of class like student motivation, self-esteem, under-funding, poverty, gangs, and apathy on the part of most of the educators, with exception to Michelle Pfeifer’s character. The other teachers and the principal in the school system seem to do just the bare minimum to help the students. The students lack motivation and drive to engage in schoolwork and the classroom is rife with behavioral issues and roadblocks that prevent Pfeifer’s character from teaching the class. This movie shapes the perception of education in the urban environment as a situation where the effort is not worth the product, wherein the teacher wants to help a group of students that doesn’t want help. However, by refocusing her efforts, Pfeifer does reach these students, so it does communicate the perception that it is possible to reach students in an urban environment where everything else is against you, but that it is not easy.

SUBURBAN: Mean Girls

This example of suburban teachers, students, and schools is just too good to pass up. There are tons of examples of suburban schools in film, but this film fits the public perception very well in that it encapsulates the influence of cliques, sexual discovery, alcohol, partying and bullying have on the suburban school environment. Education is still enforced, but amid a very tangible social influence. Mean Girls also includes stereotypes like The Math Nerd, the Good Girl, the Jock, the Misfit, the Blonde, the Goth, and the Closeted Gay Teenager all into one film, similar to movies like The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Better Off Dead, and Fast Times At Ridgemont High that started the genre. The perception of suburban schools is perpetuated in Mean Girls because, as far as depicting what it's like to be a girl in high school, it's dead on. It explains and furthers the perception of "girl world" by suggesting that female high schoolers lack confidence, both in schoolwork (as in Lohan's character denying she's a math ace to fit in) and in their ability to stand up to high school cliques who make them feel inferior. It also furthers the perception of suburban teachers and their connection to their jobs by driving home that teachers are members of the community, role models first and real people second. The scene where Lohan and her friends see Tina Fey's character outside of school is hilarious because it's true. Any suburban teacher who has worked in a close knit school system knows how embarrassing and strange it is to run into students OUTSIDE of school. It also furthers the perception that suburban teachers don't make good money and choose a career where they can impact the child, but are berated by their students behind their backs.

RURAL: Dead Poet’s Society

There are other movies that take place at private schools in rural areas, like School Ties, and Outside, Providence. But, Dead Poet’s Society is set in a more rural, New England-type environment where the students have little else to engage them other than difficult schoolwork prescribed by rigid, pompous instructors. Since the environment is so rigid and the rural area is so commonplace that Mr. Keating is a major figure in their lives, perhaps enhancing the perception that rural education lends itself more to actual learning, discussing, and furthering of one's own education because there is less to distract the student like in urban or suburban schools.


Music

URBAN: KRS-ONE and Human Education Against Lies - Heal Yourself

While choosing hip hop is definitely a stereotypical example, I tried to find hip hop music/groups that were preaching change in the educational system and the youth reaction to education and school in general. In the early 90’s, hip hop artists communicated social change by empowering young children and encouraging them to back the best of their surroundings, protect themselves, and get an education. The beginning of the song shapes the common perception of urban education as the first verse is about the availability of drugs in city schools. However, as with film centered on urban education, the main idea of the song is that the teacher and the student can make the best of the environment, especially in MC Lyte and KRS One’s verses below:
In Elementary, Lyte had the Jordache look
Like me and any other kid who cared about books
But then I got wise and I begin to listen
To the wack teachers and the wick-wack system
And there is where I learned black history
And how to be the best that I can be
I went back and now the school is closed
There is nowhere for black youth to go


Human Education Against Lies tries
To open the eyes of humanity before it dies
Black and white ain't the real fight
That's the only thing the media hypes
The real fight are these major corporations
Holding back on real education
Before you're a color, first you're human
Teaching humanity is what we're doing

SUBURBAN: Pink Floyd - Another Brick in the Wall

This song shapes the perception of suburban teachers and students more so than suburban schools. It shapes the perception of suburban students because it could give a window into the opinion of the students, especially when chanting "We don't need no education" and "We don't need no thought control," which is perhaps similar to the apathetic, "so what?" that suburban students have of their teachers in a suburban school. The commonly accepted view by high school age children in that school is a waste of time. This song shapes the perception of suburban teachers during the dialogue at the end of the song (Wrong, do it again, wrong, do it again. If you don't eat your meat,etc.) in that it demonstrates suburban teachers sticklers that tell their students that they can't get good grades without work.

RURAL: Bob Dylan – Blowing In The Wind

Choosing this example is perhaps a bit of a reach as it doesn’t really explain rural education, but to me it communicates how education or “deeper thought” may be conveyed in area devoid of urban examples or urban culture. The perception of rural schools are perhaps seen as more basic and more down-to-earth and simple. Blowin’ In The Wind communicates a way of asking questions that is simple, but open-ended. I guess I see rural teachers and rural students as being similar to the above ideas.

Television

Television

URBAN: Boston Public

Boston Public takes place in an urban,diverse Boston high school and seems to deal with every instance under the sun that stereotypically may occur in a typical high school in an urban setting: violence, trouble makers, disciplinary problems, funding and policy issues, racism, bullying, rape, teenage pregnancy, etc. and therefore fits the public’s perception of what an urban school is like. Furthermore, the viewer sees the teacher’s struggle to fit in, adjust, and do their job as well as the student’s. This fits the public perception that teaching in an urban environment is difficult and the actual teaching and learning are displaced by these other issues.

SUBURBAN: The Secret Life of the American Teenager

The Secret Life of the American Teenager reinforces similar perceptions of suburban schools, teachers, and students as in Mean Girls. The plot of the show centers around a young girl who finds out she is pregnant. It reinforces the perception that suburban youth get a good education, are taught by passionate teachers, and have more resources available to them than students in an urban environment, but perhaps occasionally fall short in common sense. The show also includes aspects of suburban schools like the prevalence of sex and peer pressure, divorce, and the stress of being popular or in an "in" crowd.

RURAL : High School Confidential
High School Confidential, while essentially a reality show that follows 12 girls through high school, depicts rural education in Overland Park, Kansas. It definitely accurately depicts students growing up in a rural environment. The female students struggle with the same issues that suburban female students do. However, often times, the girls describe their towns as desolate and boring, which may or may not fuel their interest in anything that isn’t ordinary. It seems like a few of the “characters” are either stuck in a rut in their education or starved for more. The teachers in the show shape perceptions of rural education in that, though not directly interviewed, they are similar to what you would find in a rural environment in that they have been a part of the faculty, every student has had experience in a classroom setting with these teachers, and they appear to teach across the curriculum, as there seems to be little underlying issues that would cause them to change their teaching methods. The females pictured on the show also seem to fit “rural” stereotypes: Jessi, the Christian girl who survives a miscarriage, Sara, who gets married during her senior year, and other students who get pregnant during the course of the show. This show may reinforce the perception that students in rural schools don't get a quality education or access to sex education classes.

(http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2008-03-09-high-school confidential_N.htm)

News

URBAN: Monitor on Psychology: Desegregating Urban Schools
(http://www.apa.org/monitor/sep04/urban.html)

The first quote of this article furthers the common perceptions of urban schools: "Urban schools, attended by mostly low-income black and Latino students, continue to lag behind suburban, mostly middle- and high-income white schools in student achievement, studies show." The article calls for "more contextural evidence" that looks at student's lives, yet the beginning of the article establishes the perception that race is a major issue in urban schools as well as one that contributes to a majority of the problems of urban schools. The article suggests that teachers have to have an understanding of urban life to teach effectively, furthering the perception that teachers have difficulty reaching a diverse group of students.

SUBURBAN: NJ.com: 2 Suburban Schools Refuse Trips to Newark for football
(http://www.nj.com/newark/index.ssf/2008/10/2_suburban_schools_refuse_trip.html)

This article fuels the perception that suburban schools and their administration don't want to mix together with students and teachers from urban environments because they fear violence. This goes along with the idea that suburban schools do not have the same or similar issues that urban schools have and are "above" them. It also continues the perception that the students aren't tempted to join gangs or do things to fit in and that violence is not an issue within suburban high schools, even though more recent school shootings occurred in the suburban environments.

RURAL: Weak Economy Threatens Rural Schools
(http://www.truthout.org/012209EDA)

This article communicates the plight of rural schools to stay afloat in an economic crisis. It also furthers the perception that rural schools don't offer as comprehensive of an education as suburban schools while completely ignoring reasons why parents may choose to enroll their students at small, rural schools where they can individual attention. This article communicates the struggle of the small rural school and furthers the perception that rural schools don't have the same resources as suburban schools. It also reinforces the perception that rural schools aren't as important. Most people would choose to work in urban or suburban environments and ignore the benefits of rural schools entirely due to salary or location.

Frames of Reference

As we move through the world, there are many instances and experiences that shape our beliefs of our surroundings. Without the opportunity to question what we see on a daily basis, we sometimes allow our beliefs to be shaped on outside influences. One’s upbringing and value system, the media and its influences, our past experiences, and the perpetuation of certain stereotypes all shape our belief system. These aspects shape my beliefs of urban centers, teachers, schools, and students because my beliefs paint a picture of how these aspects should or should not be, based on a sometimes inaccurate set of constructs. Often times, we are pre-disposed to view a situation based on the above criteria. We may not notice the degree to which the media, our upbringing, negative stigmas, and past experiences influence our beliefs.

My beliefs of urban centers or urban environments were very much shaped by the perpetuation of certain stigmas in the media. Dangerous Minds, a movie from the early 90’s, definitely fueled the reputation of urban areas as being dirty, poor, run-down, and separate from the “norm.” The students in this film were depicted as being futureless gang members and druggies from bad families with little promise of certain opportunities that are possible for other populations of people. However, movies like Finding Forrester or Freedom Writers communicated to me that children in urban areas are in need of guidance more than actual learning. One movie depicted a far-reaching stereotype, while the other suggested that these students desperately needed role models and allies in an ever-changing, deeply troubled environment. It also communicated that the teacher could be the element of change that would affect the unchangeable elements of an urban area like poverty, poor building code, drugs, and gang influence.

Stereotypes of urban areas are well defined in our society, especially as they relate to education and the classroom. The media almost never communicated to me the idea that although an area was poor, it didn’t mean that there weren’t good people living there or that the area or the people had promise. I had to attempt to pick up these cues from what the media presented to me. My beliefs that urban areas are poor, under-funded, and unsafe are not a reach, as that is true of some areas. But, I don’t believe this necessarily makes these areas bad, it’s just a few characteristics of many that can effect education.

I believe that children from these areas do have a lot of factors pulling on them at one given time and thus, it can determine their success in school. For children living in an urban environment, the stresses of life can include problems in the neighborhood, violence, self-esteem issues, and ancillary issues stemming from a strained family or home environment. All of these issues can affect performance and motivation, even without considering test scores or school performance.

But, children in affluent areas can also be affected. The influences and the environment will be different, but I believe children in affluent areas can have just many factors determining what they get out of their education as children from urban areas do. Affluence doesn’t mean children don’t have family or financial issues. The situation in the Daily Kos article from my reading accurately describes the struggle of children in reasonably affluent environments,

“His parents were laid off from a big financial company and a big overnight delivery company. They live in our neighborhood of 200K homes. They are losing their home. Neither has health insurance anymore, and few prospects. They were an upper middle class family who just fell into poverty. Their son is grieving his home, is scared, hungry and crying.” (bkamr, Daily Kos: The State of the Nation, 2008)

In fact, children have to work twice as hard because of the above factors and others like building safety, proper funding, policy, and faculty commitment, all of which make a strained education system increasingly unfair to the child.

My upbringing and set of values played a role in the formation of my beliefs on urban centers as well as teachers. I was raised in affluent areas of Fairfield County, Connecticut and Bergen County, New Jersey. While I was not taught to have prejudices, I was told to avoid the well known “bad areas” of town and to be aware of my surroundings. My father lives in Norwalk, CT, a town with a huge economic disparity. While the town may not be classified as “urban,” it does have its bad areas, usually located in poorer neighborhoods. Growing up, I knew to avoid those places entirely. This perpetuated the idea that if a place was outside my comfort zone and appeared unsafe, be it urban areas or a seedier area of town, it should be avoided. Therefore, I would be more apt to teach in areas that I felt comfortable in or used to.

Past experiences will certainly influence how we judge a situation. My past experiences dictate my opinions of the teachers, the school and the classroom. My belief system could definitely be molded by teachers whose job it was to challenge my thoughts and opinions. But, therefore, I looked at those teachers as models of what a good teacher should be: caring, open, intellectually challenging, tough, but fair. However, the accepted view on urban teachers is that they are apathetic to their students because of the environment they find themselves teaching in. My frame of reference would allow me to believe that, based on my past experiences, teachers are people who care about their students and care about what they do.

My beliefs system will affect my interactions with teacher and students, especially if they are outside my experience. However, by working in an elementary school, I have realized that there are many different types of teachers, teaching styles, and opinions on how a classroom should be run. There are tough teachers and compassionate teachers and both appear create the same means to the same end. We’re all teaching for the same or similar reasons.

Similarly, children’s personalities differ. Therefore, they also learn differently. I previously worked within the Child Study Team as a classroom aide for children with special needs, including autism and Asperger’s. However, I was also exposed to children with remarkably high intelligence and very little learning difficulty. The influences that shape my belief system of urban centers, reinforced by the media and my upbringing, do not seem to factor into my beliefs of the students I have worked with and will work with. I understand that there are many different avenues by which a child learns. You have to be the type of teacher that can reach everyone.

I took away from the experience certain views on how I would want to model my classroom and the kind of professional I want to be. My beliefs, or rather, the decision to change and challenge my belief system, will certainly account for shaping the classroom I hope to create. I hope to create a classroom that is open, accepting, interesting, and, dare I say it, fun. My classroom experience is totally different from the type of classroom experience that is open to children and young adults now. Learning can be fun, engaging, and incorporate the acquisition of critical thinking and problem solving skills without forcing it. I want my classroom to be one of laughs, smiles, and conversations, not dull or drab question and answer sessions. I have learned through teaching and tutoring that it is possible to make children enjoy reading, literature, and even grammar studies if you do it the right way. In terms of the type of professional I want to be, I want to conduct myself with poise, respect, and character. I want to be able to teach what I believe in and in an environment that lends itself to my creativity and my strengths.

In closing, my upbringing, past experiences, relationship to the media, especially film, and the perpetuation of stereotypes of urban environments and education all shape my belief system in one way or another. My past experiences in schools and around teachers, both as a child and as an adult working in a school, shape my beliefs of teachers and students. My main questions about the difference between urban areas and suburban areas, assuming there is a marked difference between the two, lie in how you reach the students and teach them effectively. I find myself asking what the struggles and benefits are in teaching children from both environments. I am always willing to challenge my frames of reference and I wonder which environment would offer me that opportunity.

Works Cited

Daily Kos: The State of the Nation. "Mrs. K I don't have anything to barter." "Mrs. K I don't have any lunch money." Retrieved January 30, 2009 from http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/12/12/19482/679?detail=f .