"Still Separate, Still Unequal" by Jonathan Kozol is an article that illustrates how segregation still exists in schools. As I read the article, I was surprised by how segregation still continues to be an issue in parts of our country. Part of my assignment was to analyze my school and school district and how it compares to the ones mentioned in the article. I took note of the physical environment, school climate, resources for students, and attitudes of faculty and students. I am very fortunate to be working in a district where our school building is in fairly good condition and resources are available at my request. I found it very unfortunate that some schools have poor conditions and are finding creative ways to teach students with out a lot of resources. This article helped open my eyes to the misfortunes of some schools. The expectations for students to learn is still there, but so many factors are hindering learners. As I continued to compare and contrast my school to other schools, I found that socioeconomic status has a huge impact (negative or positive) on the resources and conditions of schools. Certain schools do not receive funding due to the status of the community. To me, this seems backwards. I strongly feel that these are the schools that the government needs to step in and help. In my article, I addressed a variety of issues that impact education. I realized that segregation will continue in schools as long as communities continue to be segregated.
My Project:
As our society becomes a more diverse
population, our schools are becoming more diverse as well. However,
socioeconomic status has a great impact on the inequality and re-segregation of
the make- up of schools and school districts. The article, “Still Separate,
Still Unequal: America’s Educational Apartheid” by Jonathan Kozol illustrates
the realities of segregation within major cities. In his article, Kozol
described the conditions several schools, where the enrollment of black or
Hispanic students was at least 80 percent or higher in large cities such as:
Chicago, Washington, D.C., St. Louis, Cleveland, Baltimore, Detroit, Los
Angeles, and New York (Kozol, 2005). As I read through this article, the
physical environments, aesthetics, school climate, resources for students, and
attitudes of staff and students vary greatly from the school district in which
I teach.
When I was reading through the article, I began
comparing and contrasting my school and school district with many of the ones
that the author mentioned. My school building is sixty years old. As I look at
physical condition of the building, it is in pretty good shape, compared to
most. My building is very fortunate to have air conditioning. The only noticeable
physical problem is that the roof leaks when it rains. Our school district’s
building engineers are amazing at repairing the issues within a matter of a few
hours. Unfortunately, not a lot of preventative actions are taken to ensure
that the leaks will not happen again. So when it does rain, one can expect a
leak somewhere in the building. Kozol visited a high school in New York several
times and observed that on a raining day, “a stream of water flowed down on of
the main stairwells” and “barrels were positioned to collect rain-water coming
through the ceiling” (2005). When I read this section in the article, I was
shocked by the decrepit physical structure of the school. “Fungus molds were
growing in the office,” which is unhealthy and unsafe for the students and
faculty (2005). The conditions of the school buildings that Kozol visited
several years are poor and unsanitary. One building lacked working restrooms
and failed to provide the required number of restrooms in the building. The
bathrooms were “unclean and lacked basic supplies” (2005). My building has six
large, five- stall bathrooms for students and six single bathrooms for teachers.
My custodians check the bathrooms several times a day to ensure that the cleanliness
of the bathrooms is kept as well as basic supplies (toilet paper and paper
towels).
In
my school, thirty percent of the students enrolled are from minority groups. My
school has programs available to New Americans (immigrants from other
countries) to help transition them into the general education classrooms
smoothly. Roughly sixty percent of the students enrolled receive free or
reduced lunch. Most of the families in my school would fall in the lower class
of socioeconomic status. The author visited schools, where ninety-five percent
or more of the students were black or Hispanic. The majority of the families
are low income (2005).
Resources
available for my teaching use as well as student use are very abundant. In the
special education department, I have 1:1 ratio of student to iPod as well as a
hand full of computers in my classroom for student use. If I need curriculum
material, I am able to get those materials for my students. It was very
disheartening to read in the article that several schools in New York City were
without materials. One student wrote a letter to the author stating that “you
[author] have all the things and we [students] do not have all the things”
(2005). She was referring to materials, supplies, and class activities. The
student continued to describe how her school did not have an Art, Music, or Gym
class. The school does not have a playground for recess. The school does not
have access to a library (2005). As I look at my school, my students are given
a wide variety of opportunities. The library has an abundant supply of books,
encyclopedias, online reference sites, magazines, and newspapers. It is very
unfortunate that schools are not given the same resources to enhance student
learning.
The
attitudes of the students and teachers in my school are most always positive
and nurturing. Our staff have been training in the Nurtured Heart approach and
work on establishing healthy, safe relationships with students. My school has a
positive behavior policy in place and classrooms set their own rules for
appropriate, expected behaviors. As I observe teachers walking their students
down the hall, the students are always led by the teacher in a row. Although
the students have a certain way to walk down the hall, they are allowed to have
whispers with their neighbor. The teachers use positive comments to address
student behaviors, and appear compassionate and dedicated to their students.
Unlike some of the schools visited Kozol, my school allows students to be
individuals and express themselves. The idea of “Taylorism” was used in one
school that Kozol visited. Teachers operated their classrooms using management
techniques, and students were expected to act the same, sit the same, and walk
the same. Teachers would give a salute when students were not following the
“zero-noise” policy (2005). In another school, a Skinnerian curriculum was
used. Students were being trained to behave just like dogs and rats in
Skinner’s approach. The school was
trying to train the students to “develop productive citizens” (2005).
In
conclusion, I did not realize how much an area’s socioeconomic status affected
the schools in that area. In my educational experience, I have always been
fortunate with the classes and resources available for my students and me. My
school buildings have always been in satisfactory condition. It is very
unfortunate that there are a number of schools with poor conditions and lacking
resources. I do not agree with the approaches that some of the schools were
using to “create” uniformed students. Although the achievement gap between
white and black students has slightly decreased over the years, schools are
starting to be more segregated. The issue of resegregration is going to be a
continued problem, as long as communities within cities continue to be
segregated. The solution for strengthening school conditions and curriculum in
low- income school districts is one that I cannot solve. I would hope that
individuals who can make a difference will visit those schools to make the
education as valuable as mine continue to be.
References
Kozol, J. (2005). Still separate, still
unequal. Harper’s Magazine, 311(1864). Retrieved from
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