Diversity in the Classroom (Entry #5)

When you enter the field of teaching, you have to be realistic about the income you earn.  It was comparable to my income at the time, so I had no issues with the pay.  As I taught longer and started looking into other counties in TN, I was surprised to find out Shelby County’s (Memphis) salary for a first year teacher compared to Davidson County. No matter what county you teach in, most teachers would say that they should earn more.

The “Educating the Children of Katrina” article took me back to my first year as a teacher.  I had a young man who family had been displaced because of Hurricane Katrina.  He was one of my class clowns, but I quickly realized he was just trying to fit in.  Once he got acclimated to the new school, he settled in just fine. 

In Metro Nashville Public Schools we have a high school that was built environmentally friendly. Cane Ridge High School was built with a geothermal heating and air system, energy-efficient windows, solar sun shades and high-efficiency fluorescent lights. Since “Green Schools Don’t Make the Grade”, didn’t yield the return that was promised.  Maybe environmentally friendly is a compromise that might show more promising results. 

The “Hidden Problems of Child Farmworkers” article found it hard to estimate how many children farmworkers there are under 18.  Many of the child farmworkers, work long hours and are exposed to dangerous chemicals.  Unfortunately, it is all perfectly legal.

Diversity (Entry #4)

Diversity was something that up until 3rd grade I had always had at school.  Once I moved to a completely different area of town, it was a huge culture shock to me.  I had to adjust to a new school, new neighborhood and a predominately black school. I really missed that diversity from 3rd grade through 12th grade.  I currently teach in a school full of diversity and absolutely love it. Because of my lack of diversity through majority of my schooling years, I seek to help my students understand  and learn about diversity and different cultures.  In the “New Immigration” article I really liked that the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights organization wanted to ensure a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants that work hard and should be rewarded.  Immigrants deserve a chance at the American Dream too.

In the "Toward a Centrist Curriculum" article, I took strong notice to, “In the United States the academic gap between privileged and disadvantaged children grows ever wider as children move onward through early grades, whereas in other developed countries, the opposite occurs: the learning gap between haves and have-nots grows smaller as children advance in school.” My first thought after reading that was, “Did I read that correctly?” After reading the sentence again, it only confirmed what I read the first time. As an educator, sometimes I feel backed into a wall. You have a curriculum that must be taught, but not nearly enough time to get to all in within the school year.  The policies and structure of school reinforces that pressure of getting that curriculum taught.  Maybe a cosmopolitan, centrist core curriculum is what schools should be striving towards.

Multiculturalism (Entry #3)

After reading the Challenge of Multiculturalism, Pitthissippi Burning and Why Multiculturalism is Wrong, there is clear division of views in these articles. There was this feeling of no support for embracing the multiculturalism of America. I find it hard to understand. In the “Why Multiculturalism is Wrong” article, multicultural is used as equality’s opposite.  Meaning that the multicultural immigrants are the custodians and the natives are the doctors and lawyers.  If you walk into a school today, you will find a classroom full of diversity.

I love the diversity of my students and what I learn from them.  In the very diverse classroom that I have, some of my students struggle to adjust to multiculturalism.  I have assigned seats in my classroom and since I have trapezoid tables, two students sit at a table. To break up genders, normally there’s a male and a female at a table and I try to diversify ethnicities at the tables as well.  They change every grading period (every nine weeks).  Some tell me, I don’t want to sit here and I tell them in another nine weeks you won’t have to worry about sitting there. Then, I give my speech about you have to learn how to work with everyone.  When hired for a job, it’s not an option of whether you would like to work on a team or not. If the employer says you are to work with a team, then that is what you do.

Religion in Schools (Entry #2)

The subject of the separation of church and state will always be a debatable topic.  In a world with several different religions, you have to learn that just because someone does not share the same faith as you, doesn’t make their faith any less important.

In the Religion and Schools article, the judge ruled against the law requiring public school students to observe a moment of silence. The decision was surprising to me.  Since you aren’t telling students to pray during that time, I really don’t feel like it infringes upon the First Amendment.  Now the “strengths and weaknesses” of scientific theories, is a different can of worms.  If the science curriculum requires this standard, then that is what should be taught.  Which only means that you should not interject with any of your personal views.

The U.S. Supreme Court, in 1940, overturned the ruling of two lower courts and ruled that the government had the authority to require respect for the flag as a key symbol of national unity, in the Liberty of Congress artifact. In 1943, after revisiting the case the U.S. Supreme reconsidered its decision and ruled that the First Amendment denies the government the authority to require the saluting of the American flag or the recitation of the pledge of allegiance. Both of the cases in the First Amendment to the Constitution denies the government the authority to compel the saluting of the American flag or the recitation of the pledge of allegiance. article definitely imposed on the students’ First Amendment.

I go back and forth with this subject.  Agreeing that the First amendment should be acknowledged, I find it hard not to honor my country during the pledge of allegiance and moment of silence.  As an educator, I do not require my students to stand during the pledge, but I do ask them to be respectful and be quiet if they choose not to participate and the same for the moment of silence.

As for myself, I say the pledge of allegiance and pray during the moment of silence. I was raised to never be ashamed to pray, no matter where you are.

Historical Perspectives (Entry #1)

After reviewing the material on “innovators” and “makers”, I thought about the difference between the two. At first glance they seem to be the same.  Once I really thought about it, it was clear the difference between the two.  Innovators are the men and women who had an impact on education through reform and transformation.  The makers dreamed beyond the imaginable and made the impossible possible.

Linda Brown Thompson is the innovator I selected.  While obtaining my M.Ed., I was given the assignment to research the Brown vs. The Board of Education. After researching and dissecting the case, I was amazed at the volume of information I was not cognizant of.  For example, I did not know that four additional cases were combined with the Brown v. Board of Education case before being heard in the Supreme Court. “Separate but equal” has no place in public education.  Education has made major strides since May 17, 1954.

J.P. Morgan was a maker whose power was not defined by the millions he had, but by the billions he controlled.  He took over his dad’s company and built an empire.  J.P. Morgan covered the entire salary of the U.S. Army while Congress was deadlocked.  This mentality separates the ordinary from extraordinary.