"When I asked a group of fifth grade boys who Thurgood Marshall was and what he did to have a school named after him, most of the boys had no idea at all." (Kozol 23)
This quote seems to speak to a real disconnect between what should be taught and what is actually taught. First of all, I wonder why the students are not taught about Thurgood Marshall. Do teachers simply stick to a bad curriculum year after year that does not cover his contributions? Or is there a more deceptive reasoning behind this - namely that learning about his contributions would highlight the poor conditions of the school - as if they aren't already aware of the inherent unfairness. I don't think the intent of the administrators is sinister in any way, but it may be simply misguided good intentions. Whatever the reasoning, the students are being done a great disservice. Even disregarding race, it strikes me as a very targetted glossing over of history and a very poor educational practice. Even if knowing Thurgood Marshall's contributions would make students aware of the unfair conditions, it is something that should be taught, for the first step to solving any problem is awareness of the problem.
"One of the reasons for these incantations in the schools that serve black and Hispanic children is what is believed to be the children's loss of willingness 'to try,' their failure to believe they have the same abilities as do white children in more privileged communities." (Kozol 35)
I feel that the issue touched upon here is one of the central issues to understanding racial tensions in this country, and a point that many even on the liberal left do not quite understand. I myself have argued with my father over this, who can hold very old-fashioned views. From my experiences in schools, it's true that the non-white students often do not try as hard or can often be troublemakers. But their unwillingness to try should not be blamed on their personal choices. They live within a system that keeps them down, treats them as inferior. That these students are expected to rise above this is absurd. When placed within a harsh system and presented with hardship after hardship, it should come as no surprise that the children lose faith in their own abilities or even develop a bitterness. To act in such a way is basic human nature regardless of race. As a future teacher, I will need to accept that many minority students may enter the classroom already feeling bitter or experiencing a loss of faith in their own abilities. It will be my job to ask myself how I can begin to reverse such a degredation of self-confidence.
"'I don't bear any guilt for knowing how to write a grant,' he said, a statement that undoubtedly made sense to some but skirted the entire issue of endemic underbudgeting of public schools attended by children of poor people who did not enjoy his money-raising skills or possible connections to grant makers." (Kozol 49)
The context in which Kozol placed this makes the PTA leader seem very uncaring of the larger societal issue, and perhaps he is, though I am unable to judge based on one quote. But he touches upon an issue I feel the need to address, namely the issue of guilt. I do not disagree that society favors whites over non-whites, but the solution should not and cannot involve making people feel guilty for whether or not they are privileged. This feeling becomes more apparent reading any of Tim Wise's articles. I do not disagree with anything he says, but I walk away from it feeling guilty simply for being white. And a feeling like that is not, in any sense, constructive. In the case of public school grants, administrators of predominantly white schools should not feel guilty for wanting more funding for their students. After all, they just want what's best for their students, and that cannot in any sense be a bad thing. The guilt, to me at least, should fall on the grant foundations and policy makers who should be able to look at the history of grants they write and see a clear disregard for funding segregated schools. But the blame for this cannot be placed squarely on the parents and administrators, be ause they have little influence on the larger system.
To respond to the quote from Kozol (35), I also have heard about studies done to measure the brain capability and intelligence of a Black or othe Minority against that of a Caucasian person and it comes from racist ideas put forth by Nazism. Nazi scientists would show their findings to prove that Caucasians are superior biologically. Even on the show The Real World, season one which was in the 1990s, a white roomate was saying how he believed that Blacks were better at sports and entertainment occupations than their Caucasian counterparts and therefore more 'intellectual' jobs were more suited for white persons. And this guy was not racist and seemed really nice and sweet- he honestly did not realize the impact of what he was saying. When we limot people as a society to a certain niche, then as teachers we really must rally against that. We are there to grow minds and enrich lives- not to pigeon hole students!
ReplyDeleteIn regards to Kozol (49) quote- I agree with you Steve. Parents cannot be held squarely to blame and quilt is not the answer to anything and can stifle change! This may seem naive and dumb, but maybe schools should get equal funding and their budgets should be collected and distributed federally by population numbers or some other more equal means. Does that make sense? Some people might get upset, but I believe that having a well educated and prepared working middle class will benefit every American. Having hugely segregated classes of privelege and untrained and poorly educated people will drag down our economy and create a need for more social welfare programs which means higher taxes for all. Policy makers and politicians need to worry more about policy and improving things and lesss about being re-elected and recieving donations for their campaigns and popularity.
ReplyDeleteI've heard about studies such as The Bell Curve (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bell_Curve) that argue that intelligence is a heritable trait. By extension, intelligence is said to be linked to race. Interestingly enough, this was one study I looked at in an earlier genetics course (I'm a biologist, I love genetics). There are MANY problems with the study, both statistically and scientifically. The study itself is, in my opinion, a sham. And it's very unfortunate that many people actually take it at face value without even thinking about the basic and frankly obvious faults of the argument. To elaborate, the study ignores environmental influences all together, something we know influences performance and education. The study also makes a jump to saying intelligence is linked to race, when in fact the data never suggests race is a factor. It's important to approach any study, especially one with a provocative conclusion, with a skeptical mindset.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the quick solution is equal funding. I didn't mention it, but that's what I was thinking when reading that quote. The reason these segregated schools are so awful is NOT that they're full of minority students - it's that they have no money. It's just that society generally doesn't care about giving money to schools with predominantly minority populations. The solution in the end is to even out the financial distribution so that each school is receiving an equal amount of funding from the government, but that involves confronting an ingrained racism that says it's not worth funding these schools. We as a society say that we shouldn't throw money at a bad school, but in reality the schools are bad because we don't give them the financial support they need to be good.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Steve. I wasn't aware of many of these things being so devastating until reading Kozol. That different towns and individuals can personally hire extra teachers and do crazy fundraising events- those are terrific, but the students in other towns are very disadvantaged then. All students deserve books, desks, and these simple things. And I think a gym would be a good idea for every school- kids need exercise and not only is it good for total wellness, but healthy habits are good to form early in an era where childhood obesity is so prevalent! Its also good to have scientists like you who are knowledgable enough to dispell quack studies like the Bell Curve. The thought that race is linked to intelligence is so wrong and immoral. Nurture has so much more to do with development than nature- thats why teachers do what they do- because we can help develop all young minds!
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