Sports

My 6 year old daughter has just started Spring soccer.  Last season was her first season and although she's my pride and joy, she's no Mia Hamm!  Although it's probably quite certain that she won't make a career out of playing soccer, her excitement is fascinating to watch.  Additionally, the friendships she is building and the team work she is learning is wonderful.  So, you might ask what this has to do with Urban students?  If I had a dollar for every student that I've taught that wants to be a professional NBA or NFL player, I would actually be able to survive on my teacher's salary. (I don't hear you laughing, but that was supposed to be a joke).

Seriously, when a student tells us of such future desires, we cringe a bit because we know they probably have a better chance of hitting the lottery than acutally making it into the pro's.  Instead of giving students like this a dose of reality, I think we need to learn to work with what motivates them.  If a student is motivated by football, an effective teacher can use that motivation as a means to help that student perform in the classroom.  Sure, we'd all love for students to be instrinsically motivated to learn and grow, but that doesn't always happen.  Hopefully we can use sports as a way to encourage the same team building and frienship created on the field in the classroom and provide some students who may not have had the opportunity otherwise, to attend college.

So my daughter will stay on the soccer field and even if she never scores a goal I think that what she'll learn on the field can help her achieve her goals.

Will Superman Ever Rescue Us?

For my Science Curriculum class this week, we were asked to watch the film Waiting for Superman.  For those who haven't seen the film, it was created by Davis Guggenheim’s and begins with Geoffrey Canada’s recollection of the 1938 superhero.  You may have seen Canada on CNN speaking of educating lower income children in Harlem.  Canada is held in high regard as a social activist, educational reformer and successful charter school CEO and he opens the documentary through a description of his less than adequate childhood school and neighborhood.  For Canada, his poor upbringing in the Bronx, NY did not become problematic until realizing that his fictional superhero Superman, would not rescue him from his failing school and crime ridden neighborhood.  Knowing that the wait for superman would be indefinite, Canada’s family took matters into their own hands and sent him to a more successful school. 

            If every American parent had this option, the ability to situate their child in a highly successful school, there would be no need for films like Waiting for Superman and educational reformers would probably have already seen many of their desires for education realized.  In reality, great disparities in education exist and a gap in achievement between less affluent and more affluent children continues to persist.  Unlike Superman, the American educational system has been unable to dodge bullets nor has it successfully shattered the mountain of troubles that plague us all.  Instead, bureaucracy and poor decisions have acted more like kryptonite allowing the arch-nemesis of poor achievement to win the battle. 

As an answer to the problems stifling the education of our American children, the director of the film offers the charter school concept and effectively puts the spotlight on a few that have been highly successful.  Canada’s Harlem Children’s Zone and the KIPP School are just two examples of numerous charter schools throughout the country that have defied the odds and provided to children educational readiness and experiences necessary for high achievement beyond the K-12 setting.  Additionally, the documentary highlights parents very engaged in their children’s education and eager to place them in schools that will “guarantee” their success.  All of these tactics drew me into the film and I resonated with the desire to want the best experiences, opportunities and schools for my own children.  What is stated but not emphasized in the film is that most charter schools are no better than the public schools they set out to replace.  In some cases, they are in fact worst.  On the same token, the rates of success rightfully celebrated by effective charter schools represent but a fraction of students across the country.  Although the film does an excellent job of bringing awareness to the inadequacies of American Education and offering charter schools as an appropriate alternative for some students, the charter school concept is holistically an unrealistic fix and as evidenced by students in the film who did not gain admittance to the charter schools for which they applied, is not a viable option for most American families.  For the film Waiting for Superman to shift beyond a mere topic of conversation at the water cooler, I argue that public schools themselves must be strengthened by cutting through red tape, and focusing on teacher quality and curriculum. 

Can Young African American Males Be Reached?

I hope the answer to that question is yes.  I have a two year old son and I often wonder what he will grow to become.  After I had my son, I remember feeling anxiety that I didn't feel with my daughter.  Although I know several successful African American males, we cannot deny the difficulty that some African American males face in this society.  Although the abundance of African American males in the justice system is not the only hurdle they must cross, it alone is enough to cause others to develop perceptions about their educational attainment, work ethic and even patrotism. 

Let's face it.  When we think about African American males in the classroom, the words high achiever don't come to mind.  How will I help my son overcome these labels and how can I keep him stay motivated even when he is doubted by teachers, other African American males and even himself?

If teachers subscribe to these notions about the African American male and therefore use sterotypes to make jugements about them, will the cycle ever be broken? 

Classroom Observation

Whenever I told people that I taught middle school science, I would always get such responses as "Oh you poor thing" or "You must really be brave."  I guess people who decided to teach America's children have to be somewhat courageous.  Now that I've left the classroom, some of my family members think I've finally come to my senses.  I've just realized that I have a new mission. 

Just to give you a bit of information about me, my name is Jennifer and I have decided to go on leave from my middle school teaching job to pursue a PhD in Science Education.  As part of my responsibilities, I supervise student teachings and that landed me in an Orlando classroom earlier today.  When I walked into the class, the teacher I was observing apologized profusely for what I would soon witness.  "Houston, we will soon have a problem!"  As the class came in completely off task, I knew this teacher and lesson were headed for trouble.  Don't get me wrong, the teacher really, really tried and his lesson was actually great.  These kids were turned off from the beginning.

As I sat watching the classroom (Boy A was combing his hair, Boy B sneaking chips out of his book bag, Boy C fixing his new outfit and shoes, Girl D talking to her group mate) my mind really begin to wonder . . . How can these kids not just be brought into this lesson but become more engaged in their total educational experience.  Somewhere along the lines we have lost an entire group of children.  It's easy to point fingers and say things like "It's their parents, they don't care" or " These kids are so low; they can't even read."  The bigger question is will we have the courage to save them.