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Lisa Lee

Differences in learning for high and low levels of SES students - 14 views

Very cool. There's a study that found the greatest in-school predictor of academic success/learning gains is teacher quality, which seems to be backed up by the study you found. Some reformers take...

Crystal-Divine Magpantay

Racial Comment Lands S. Fla. Teacher In Principal's Office « CBS Miami - 2 views

  • “Racial discrimination should not even be thought about in today’s society,” he said. “When you think about what happened back in the old days and how they did things back then, I don’t think it should be tolerated.”
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    I couldn't believe a teacher actually said this to one of her students!
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    Here are my immediate reactions... If you read some of the students' responses, it's interesting. They really support their school and the teacher. When I saw what the comment actually was, I did think it was dumb and inappropriate, but in my mind it's open to the realm of stupid but unintentional things people say- it's hard to be sure. I somehow doubt the teacher actually meant the student shouldn't participate in the service as is implied. I've heard friends make comments or jokes similar to this one- but I agree it's not something a teacher should say to a young student in front of a classroom. That is not appropriate for that relationship, and it is still questionable among friendly peers. Also, in response to the quote, I think racial discrimination SHOULD be thought about in today's society- in order to be aware of where racism and discrimination do still exist, if subtly sometimes. Pretending it's not there won't help. But oversensitivity without compassion for people learning to accept and be understanding of others also chokes us with the confusion of excessive political-correctness. When we're afraid to do the wrong thing for fear of punishment at every turn, we can too easily stop genuinely interacting at all to avoid that, which does us no real good and further divides us.
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    I understand why people may have deemed it inappropriate for the teacher to have made the comment, despite the fact that it seems to have had light-hearted intentions. However, I agree with the above comment that we cannot simply shut our eyes and pretend racial discrimination doesn't exist anymore, because it does whether we like it or not. I would like to see this situation in the reverse, with a black teacher talking to a white student. My guess is that the consequences for the teacher would be much less severe considering I have seen this happen first hand here at UF. Without mentioning names, I will say that there is at least one black professor at our very own school who makes comments far worse than this to her white students with no repercussions. Our society has a built in double standard that permits such behaviors, and to punish this South Florida teacher is hypocritical.
Caitlyn Cozart

CNN Pennsylvania school experiments with 'segregation' - 9 views

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    "In the 1960s and 1970s, noted The Times, the boundaries of school attendance zones had sometimes been redrawn "to promote racial integration," but the schools where this had taken place, the paper said, had "lost their distinct neighborhood character" and many "produced lackluster academic results"- which, if this seemingly direct connection was correct, appeared to indicate that school desegregation had not been in the best interests of the children of New York." - This is a quote from Shame of the Nation by Jonathan Kozol. Our group feels that this article successfully links this book to our education systems today. This article is about a Pennsylvania high school experimenting with segregation and the outcomes of it. Shame of the Nation focuses on the ongoing segregation in our school systems.
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    Shame of the Nation presents many examples of the sad fact that many New York schools are segregated by race and class, and how students are negatively affected by this. While this Pennsylvania study is ridiculous, it might be interesting to spotlight student achievement if emphasis was placed on segregating genders, rather than focusing on racial differences. The following quote presents an interesting idea about single-gender classrooms: "A national study from UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies claims to show that girls from single-sex schools have an edge over their co-ed peers. 'Single-sex education appears to produce favorable outcomes for female students, especially in terms of their confidence, engagement and aspirations, most notably in areas related to math and science,' the 2008 study said." However, segregating seems ineffective all together, because society is not segregated by gender once students reach the real world in adulthood. Moreover, it is important for the development of males to grow and mature with the presence of female peers.
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    This article was extremely interesting and I could see how segregation could really benefit the students, as long as it is done in a minimal way. A huge issue in the education system is the clash of cultures between teachers and students. Many teachers are white; middle-class women while the students come from all sorts of backgrounds. Therefore, I can see how, "Educators immediately noticed strong bonds being formed between all students and mentor teachers." It is much easier for students to relate to a teacher/mentor that is a lot like them. Our schools today center around a very white, "Christian" curriculum and this may not be the best learning style for minority students. With this said, I think "rolling the clock back to the time before Brown vs. the Board of Education," is not the answer. Segregating students for, "six minutes each day and 20 minutes twice a month," though could help solve the clash of cultures crisis. It is interesting to note the national study from the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information studies, which claims that, "girls from single-sex schools have an edge over their co-ed peers." It is especially interesting that the girls became more confident in areas related to math and science. In a typical co-ed classroom girls may get discouraged since boys usually pick up math and science with more ease. The same could be true with minority groups; sometimes they might be discouraged with the "whiteness" of the curriculum. I think this idea of "segregation" as long as it is minimal could produce results.
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    I found the idea behind the article quite surprising. At the end of the article it states that this school might be on the right track because of the single-sex research that is mentioned in the two previous posts. I do not think this is a remotely similar comparison. Single sex schools actually exist. Multiple races can be in the same sex school. The idea of segregating by race is not acceptable. This can have so many negative repercussions that it is not worth the risk. There are many things I think the article should have elaborated on because the program was not described that well. This was one of them: "They plan to replace the policy with a 'neighborhood schools system' that critics say will establish real segregation." I wanted to see more information on this because it was wondering how it would be done. Separating by zones (which are primarily determined by SES) would be interesting and not necessarily race discrimination. Poor white people and poor black people would live in the same area so it would not be completely separated by race. However, even this form of separation may make poor students feel inferior and like they will never go anywhere in life because of their SES. I do not think that separation is a good idea; however, I am interested to know the outcome of this experiment.
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    The article states that, "Educators immediately noticed strong bonds being formed between all students and mentor teachers." This initially sounds positive, however, it also sounds that as the individual groups grow closer, the bonds of the class as a whole may grow weaker as their differences are focused on, instead of their similarities. I understand that the administrators of the school are experimenting with the implementation of recently supported research, but as briefly mentioned in the article, I think they are playing with the fine line that separates individuals who can handle segregation for academic purposes and individuals who will take this application of segregating students to an inappropriate level.
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    This article was shocking to me. I think it's always good to look for ways to help students achieve more in school but I don't think it should be separated by race. It might be a good idea to separate students according to gender, or interests, but separating children by race is taking a step in the wrong direction. I think that education should be color blind, I don't think race should be considered in any decisions and I think everyone should have the same opportunities. I know that the intentions behind this experiment are good, but I don't think this will help the students in the long run. I think that this might encourage unconscious prejudice.
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    This article experiments with segregating high school students by gender, race, and language to see if this separation improves academic success. I feel that this article is absurd and experiments like this should not even be considered for they are unconstitutional. I agree that studies comparing the academic success of single-sex education verses co-ed education can be conducted, for single-sex schools exist. However, separating students based on race is wrong. In the real world, a person will always be exposed to others of differing races, so they need to learn to coexist and work together.
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    While reading this article I could definitely see how separation could be beneficial to students, for it could create a comfort in schools that previously was not there. The quote "single-sex education appears to produce favorable outcomes for female students, especially in terms of their confidence, engagement and aspirations, most notably in areas related to math and science" made me think about how race could also be like that. If certain races are feeling inferior to another, separation could allow the students to work better. However, the problem I see with it is that if races are separated into another school, then most likely problems of achievement will still occur and there will be a gap of achievement in the school whether it is all black or white or gender specific. I do not really think that this should be done formally, a lot of times cliques are formed in schools, and I think that is quite enough separation. I think that if the gaps were filled, not dwelt upon, and there was no emphasis on race or gender mattering in school, there would be no one even talking about how one race is different, let alone how they can achieve better.
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    This article describes a school in Pennsylvania that tried to decrease the separation of students by race, gender, and language, so the administrators decided to create a purpose and goal in the classroom to target only African-American students. This experiment started problems with parents, NAACP members, and educators. I believe this is completely biased to the entire school because if the administrators wanted to truly close the separation of race, gender, and language at the school, the administrators should had focus on all races and cultures. I chose a quote from our readings that correlates with this article "Educators often failed to see that many problems children faced in school were sociological and economic in character and were, in C. Wright Mills's term, "public issues" rather than "personal troubles." from The One Best System: A History of American Urban Education by David B. Tyack (page 181).
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    After reading this article, I can see how segregation could improve student performance. The article stated that students were place in the classroom with a strong academic role model. I believe that this can improve student performance because students may find this academic role model more relatable or someone who's level of success they would like to reach. Students me also so that the role model understands them better than their teachers and can give them guidance for educational success. A quote in the article that supports this is, "Single-sex education appears to produce favorable outcomes for female students, especially in terms of their confidence, engagement and aspirations, most notably in areas related to math and science."
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    The junior class at McCaskey East is voluntarily segregated by the students, who organize themselves "by gender, race and/or language," said school spokeswoman Kelly Burkholder. Segregating students will not solve problems with low test scores. Research shows that students from different races, ethnicities, and genders actually score better on tests when they are integrated in the same classroom. Regardless of what level students are on it is best for them to learn in the same classroom as their peers. Research says that if you pair a student who makes good grades with one that makes poor grades both students will do well. The student with higher grades will have practice recalling information and the student with lower grades will have the benefit of working with someone who is doing well in class.
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    As great as this article likes to make this "segregation" sound, there is NO ethical way of practicing this separation. I do believe that all races need to see someone that looks like them doing well in life, but this may be a bit overboard. If they can find a way to make this work then kudos, but this is a touchy subject. There needs to be more proof that it is effective, if not then these studies should stop before it gets carried away.
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    This idea of modern segregation is appalling. Schools need to focus of the fact that race is a social construct in which we created and can diminish. The article talks about statistics and outcomes but forget that our social lens that is creating these outcomes. Maybe we should be looking at ways to improve testing and teaching methods that will help bridge the gap between races and gender instead of ways to reinforce them. I wonder if any civil right groups have jumped on this since last year.
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    I really thought this article was powerful in the face that many people would not believe in this. I thought it was interesting when they stated that they believe "that shows grouping black students by gender with a strong role model can help boost their academic achievement and self esteem." I agree with Cassandra in the fact that they are not focusing on what is really important. I personally do not agree with this article or this idea.
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    When reading this article, I honestly felt like I was going back in time. The fact that the high school was going to be segregated shocked me. I think that the means of this experiment originally meant well, but not everyone saw it that way. When it stated that "the principal defended it", I felt like the school would continue to conduct their experiment as long as possible.
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    "A national study from UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies claims to show that girls from single-sex schools have an edge over their co-ed peers. Single-sex education appears to produce favorable outcomes for female students, especially in terms of their confidence, engagement and aspirations, most notably in areas related to math and science," the 2008 study said. I believe this statement can possibly be truer as it relates to college level education. Just based on my experiences in public school there were always boys that were smarter than girls but felt as though they couldn't perform to their highest achievement because they were concerned with how they might be perceived by their peers. Also in inner city schools it is evident that the drop-out rates of males are extremely high, leaving room for more female competitiveness.
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    I firmly disagree that schools should be segregated or even temporarily segregated on basis of race. I feel that there is absolutely no difference between races at our core, and that it is our environment that makes us different. Thus, an integrated school will allow students to share an environment and have the same beneficial upbringing. I do agree that schools can segregate based on gender. Although I can learn a lot from men, I agree that there are enough genetic differences in the sexes and the way each gender learns to precipitate some segregation. Sexual tension can take away from education, and girls and boys may both learn better in an uninhibited environment. Girls have proven to do well in similar subjects and on similar exams (such as the ACT) showing that there is some commonality within genders. Therefore I feel that segregating on gender is an okay idea, although it should be voluntary and not mandatory.
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    This may sound really oblivious of me but I never thought something like this still existed in the U.S. since we've all been so liberal about equality rights and such. I do understand how they could argue a research "that shows grouping black students by gender with a strong role model can help boost their academic achievement and self esteem." I think it unleashes social hindrance that won't stop them from expressing who they really are. Even though we've tried hard become united in the society, we cannot neglect the way students are brought up in the society.
Elise Costa

Lies My Teacher Told Me: Racial divide runs deep in U.S. schools, study finds - 23 views

I had a similar reaction to Lindsay's reaction. You do hear about racial disparities in the CJ system but not so much schools. I figured there would be a slightly higher rate for getting suspended ...

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Lauren Tripp

The Good Behavior Game - 0 views

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    This is one of Jessica Ross' sources, and I think it's really an interesting connection to the idea of school as a game and the possibility of creating reward junkies vs. the benefits of instant feedback. Here's the quote she liked from it: "Clearly,verbally identifying misbehaving students by name, publicly stating specific transgressions, and the provision of team debits on a blackboard may have acted as a discriminative stimulus for appropriate conduct (Salend, Reynolds, & Coyle, 1989) and provided a source of immediate feedback."
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