I think one overriding question in class was whether students need other races, or ethnic groups to learn. As I said in class, it depends on your definition of learning. Any child can be taught the basics of education, reading, writing, math, etc, though the debate on how well they are taught is ongoing. We know that students who are home schooled, effectively put in an environment where they have minimal interaction with with a variety other students in the classroom, learn their subjects quite well. However, I stand by the idea that the social environment is as important as the educational environment in a school. It is this interaction, even on a basic level, that enables us to move beyond simple tolerance to acceptance of people who are different than us. As Patricia said in class, when we first come to an atmosphere beyond our high school, we know that there is a tendency for those not exposed to different cultures to stereotype the people they encounter. I went to an all white rural high school. I was successful, learned what I needed to, graduated and went on to college. There wasn't a "need" for different races to be present for me to do all that. However, that doesn't mean I didn't miss out on valuable lessons that could have been taught outside the classroom. At the time, I didn't recognize that my school was segregated, that was just our community. But, I have to wonder what the perspective of my fellow students, many of who still live in that same community, would be if they had regular exposure to different perspectives. Our nation, undoubtedly has many racial issues both in education and beyond. I firmly believe that integration in school, can go along way toward fixing some of these issues in society. By continuing to segregate our schools, we are doing a disservice to the students, both in education and when they finish with school. In class we found a possible solution in segregation by individuals choosing to educate themselves multiculturally, making an effort to learn about others. This article (http://www.hollandsentinel.com/stories/101707/local_20071017012.shtml) shows how a group of students from several different schools did just that. Not only did they learn more about each other, but helped to educate the community as well. We may not be able to generalize this case to all, but it would be hard to argue that everyone involved did not benefit from interaction and education of, with and by many different races and cultures.
Another idea I wanted to touch on was the idea of adequate versus equal education. I'm not sure that if I were a parent and was asked if it was okay that my child was received an adequate education, that my answer would be positive. I would want my child to receive the best possible education. I think this can only be done through equalization. If we simply settle for adequate education for our children, we are not decreasing that ever present racial and economic gap. One child with limited resources may get adequate education that meets the required standards while another, wealthier student may get the best education possible. That gap still remains, one child is still further ahead in learning than the other. By equalizing education we are hopefully, ensuring that all students move well beyond an adequate education, which would be our goal. Certainly the wealthy will not settle for an education that is below adequate. Of course this is much more difficult to do than assuring adequate education, but I think it is necessary to give the best possible education and in turn opportunities to all students, and not simply settle for a lesser goal simply because it is easier to achieve. Equal education will in all likelihood ensure education that is well beyond adequate.
4 comments:
I really enjoyed the "Calling All Colors" article because it shows the impact of external resources on the school. Had the community (in this case, the local college) not offered such a program, than the high school students may not have been as motivated to put forth a similar plan of action.
I often think about this in regards to Binghamton University and it's interaction with the local schools and other community programs. In my opinion, I think the university can do so much more than it does, but it seems isolate itself from the community, even with our new UDC center. (With UDC, I now feel isolated from the university as well because there is no real integration at this point.)
That being said, how we can incorporate something similar into schools/areas with little diversity? The school mentioned in the article had a larger diversity than say a rural or urban school. So what elements can be included in this case so that students/schools, AND the communities, will feel more multi-culturally motivated? We'll have to consider the stronger presence of parental prejudices and such that strongly shape policies now. I still think it's very possible to do and have a few "maybe we could..." sort of thought about it. But you usually have good insight on suggesting some other things that can be done so I thought I'd throw it at you and see what you thought.
Oh yeah... now to comment on the adequate/equitable education part...
As I was trying (unsuccessfully) to say in class, I think adequate education is only a small step towards equitable education, the latter obviously being what I think is the more important of the two.
I think right now, they focus more on the adequate part -- and have obviously fallen short of that. But, some have also succeeded with it and they are now in position to carry on towards pursuing equitable education. Each small victory, in this sense, is a step towards something greater. I'm not an advocate for a solely adequate education; what I'm saying is that we can strive to obtain that now as we work towards the equitable education. Adequate education is a step towards empowerment and that greater empowerment is a step, I think, towards bringing about equitable education. I don't think adequate ed is the goal; I think it's a step towards the goal of equitable education.
As long as our society maintains such an extreme view of capitalism, I think it will be hard to achieve the goal of equitable anything, especially socio-economically and educationally. How can you have equitable education when the resources affecting education extend to a societal level, which itself is filled with numerous inequities? Just a thought.
I agree with your view that in educational settings students don't need other students of other races in order to learn. However, as you say there is that distinction that it seems as though if they don't they are divorcing them. So many times we hear not only in class, but in the kozol readings that people once they go to another area where they are the minority, they don't feel comfortable around other races. It seems that by not having integrated schools it is doing a dysfunction to society as a whole.
I agree with you and Josh in that not integrating schools cultivates further social dysfunctions. However, I also think in some situations we might learn more academically by integrating classrooms -- not just by race but also by social class, etc., incorporating as many different backgrounds as possible. This may not change a lot of the "facts" -- like mathematical equations, but it may change the "facts" that are taught in humanities, social studies, history, government, and other classes because it should take a more multi-cultural approach. This integration should also change the way the teachers design their lessons which does affect what you learn and how you learn it. As we've discussed, people learn differently -- so it would seem that the greater the diversity of students, the more likely you'll have a teacher who can cater to the different learning styles, I think, which can then influence the education of all races.
In a way, I can see why Patricia thinks she doesn't need to be in a class with white students to learn, when it comes to the social benefits, I think white people could benefit more from integration because they learn more about the other cultures to which they've not been exposed. But, when considering how this impacts their perceptions and thinking, this may benefit people of other colors if these white people are later put into positions of power. So again, this goes back to the long-term socialization that you and Josh talk about.
Maybe racial integration doesn't impact how we learn academically, but it should impact what we learn. (Ideally, this of course should not be dependent on integration, but with our society and political processes, it unfortunately is.)
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