Brown vs. Board of Education Article

The article, "Landing on the Wrong Note; The Price We Payed for Brown" by Gloria Ladson-Billings, was very informational for me because I do not know a great deal about the judicial cases surrounding American education or the how these cases have affected our school systems. Though the content was interesting, I had a hard time pushing myself to finish the article because I am not one to spend a lot of time studying or being actively involved in political matters. I did although find it particularly disturbing that so many African-Americans had in the tried to fight for their rights to equal educational opportunities in court before Brown vs. Education in 1954, but their attempts failed most likely because of their race. HOW UNFAIR!! I know that times have changed substantially since these cases were brought to trial, but still were our court systems not always “supposed” to be “fair and just” to ALL, regardless of race, religion, or any other differences???...(Even back then?) Isn’t our country supposed to be built on a “democracy”?? According to Encarta Dictionary online “democracy” means,” the free and equal right of every person to participate in a system of government, often practiced by electing representatives of the people by the majority of the people.” When I looked at synonyms for the word democracy, I came across the term Egalitarian, meaning “maintaining, relating to, or based on a belief that all people are, in principle, equal and should enjoy equal social, political, and economic rights and opportunities.” It made me wonder if our country is just now starting to realize the meaning of and purpose for our constitution. Although we have a better appreciation and understanding of our governing laws and values, I am still not sure we properly enforce them!



I particularly liked the statements made by Charles Lawrence in this article relating to a major flaw of Brown and how the courts promoted a “way of thinking about segregation” that tolerated the political and social systems to ignore the “reality of race in America” (Ladson-Billings, 2004, 3). The author of this article, then goes on to explain how Lawrence felt we should combat the problem of segregation beyond our classroom. I could not agree with Lawrence more when he says that desegregation of schools cannot be the entire solution to the problem and that we need to start to thinking of ways to desegregate SOCIETY as a whole. When our students leave their school each day they are still walking into a world where they are separated by or disadvantaged because of their race. Brown was definitely a step in the right direction, but there are so many other issues within our now “desegregated” educational systems and the daily lives of our students that need to be dealt with further!! After reading this article I would agree that the case of Brown vs. Board of Education came with many costs, but without it the a change in our education systems in terms of facing prejudices in school may never have begun!

A MUST Read for all teachers and teachers to-be...“Turnaround Teachers and Schools,” by Bonnie Benard

The article “Turnaround Teachers and Schools,” by Bonnie Benard was by far the most inspiration article I feel we have read all semester long!! I agreed with many points made in the article and was intrigued by so many of Benard’s arguments I do not know where to begin. The article discusses the issue of “closing the achievement gap” and uses several cases about real-life teachers and schools as examples of those that go above and beyond in the quality of teaching, with aims of reaching out to all students regardless of their background or struggles in school. These “Turnaround Teachers and Schools” provide beneficial educational strategies and programs that are built on “resilience,” providing 3 basic “protective factors” (as called in this article), that are “critical to healthy development and school success: caring relationships, high expectations, and opportunities for participation/contribution” (Benard, 1991, 1996). I could not agree more that these three factors can “turnaround” almost any struggling student! Reading this encouraging article has contributed to several additions I will be making to my own teaching philosophy. I am a firm believer that once you show someone you care about their lives and treat them with genuine respect they will feel equal to you in value and importance. Through the process of creating these caring relationships with your students you can encourage them to excel when they are feeling doubtful of themselves. Oftentimes children do not have the support they need from someone at home or even have the necessities to live healthy lives, especially those living in poor conditions and low-income areas. As teachers to these “at-risk” students, we often do not realize how strong a leader we can become in their lives or the impact we can have upon them. This is the “POWER OF A TEACHER” that Benard talks about. I thought further about how my teachers have impacted me in my life also. Other than my close family and friends, my teachers have been the people who have shaped who I am today and believed in my abilities as an artist and a student, in and outside of school. I thought about how in our teacher (Ms. Boyer;-)), told us how much she cared about us and how comfortable she felt being around us and teaching us. She also explained that she does not view us as merely her students, but as if we are equal to her and that she learned just as much from us as we did from her! This is a perfect example of how a teacher can show compassion for her students and express that she enjoys actively listening and getting to know them as people.

Personally, if I know my teacher truly cares about my success in their class and beyond, I cannot help but want to do well. I cannot explain it, but I almost feel that I must do well in these teachers’ classes because I know they have invested their time and personal energy into helping and guiding me. I think that a teachers’ compassion for her students makes a huge difference in a student’s success because it motivates them to do their best and try to prove what they are capable of. My favorite quote from this text related to how “turnaround teachers” use lessons that are “student-centered” and focus on the understanding the “whole child” in all of their facets, moving beyond cognitive skills. Benard then states that these special teachers “also understand that student motivation is driven by needs of love and belonging, respect, autonomy/power, mastery, challenge, fun, and meaning, and that successful learning experiences are designed to meet as many of these needs as possible…”. I feel this is very important because I too want to be a teacher that tries to fulfill the needs of my students to the best of my ability, becoming more than just their teacher who teaches them information.



Along with my comments on Benard’s article, I also wanted to try to empower others to do the same with their students. I challenge my classmates and other teachers to-be to REALLY consider the affect and impact you have on the children in your classroom. As teachers we not only impact their education, but their lives and the person they will become after they leave our classroom. It is a rather strange comparison to make but as I was driving back from school after reading this uplifting article, I began to think of the relationship between the effects we have as teachers on our students to that of the decisions we make while driving on the highway. The decisions we make while driving consciously and subconsciously (like the decision to let my mind wander away from the road right nowJ), effect all other drivers on the road. I can either choose to make reckless decisions or “thoughtful” decisions that will affect those around me whether I know it or not. Not concentrating on the job at hand (driving), could cause me to wreck, ruining someone’s life or my own. I can also choose which direction I want to go, leading me in either the right or wrong direction.


These decisions we make during driving are much the same as those we make when we are teaching. We are always influencing our students and setting examples for them whether we realize it or not; just as we make decisions on the road affecting the other cars around us to act accordingly (I.e. Changing lanes without noticing the car next to you causes the other driver to make a split-second decision also). As a teacher I can either decide to make “thoughtful” decisions about my teaching and my students or I can be uncaring and “reckless” with the way I teach them. A non-resilient teacher is a reckless one and can have negative effects on the students, just as our careless decisions can while driving. We must be aware of our students and try to predict how they may need help. This means being actively involved in our students’ lives and paying attention to their words and actions. Just as we should ideally be doing on the road…we should constantly be re-evaluating our surroundings and all other cars on the road. Lastly, when driving we can choose to go the “right” way on the road, similar to how we can also choose to lead our students in the right or wrong direction. Ignoring our students individual situations and the specific help they might need beyond academics, could only lead them in the wrong direction. If I could choose one thing that I wish for you all to take away from my comments here (and Benard’s article), it would be for all teachers to TRULY consider the impact you can and WILL have on your students and to NOT take it lightly! Helping your students to the best of your abilities and making them feel good about themselves can only in turn make you feel better about yourself also right??! It’s a win-win situation!!

History books...allll lies??

After reading the Christopher Columbus article by James Loewen, I began to question all the information I was taught in history classes I have taken and even other subjects too. It seems that many things we are taught in textbooks, are not the truth or actual facts we need to know, but instead a set of facts or ideas that “someone” or some group of people want us to know. Perhaps it is our govt. or educational leaders because they want us to grow up having certain similar values. I went through as I read the story about Christopher Columbus and wrote down thoughts or questions I had about why I thought our educators or govt. groups might do this....and for what reasons they believe it is their responsibility to do so. (instead of teaching the truth or other possibilities for what has happened throughout history). For one, books try to humanize Columbus in order to make his story more appealing to the public and less controversial. There are so many inconsistencies between books and also large amounts of information that disprove the accounts that are in our books, I find it incredible that we all believe anything that we read. It is almost as if schools or the govt…or whoever chooses to feed us these half true stories is out to trick us and force us to all believe as they do. Isn’t the point of education to teach us what is true…or how to determine the difference? Quite ironic isn’t it. It is also almost like the writers of textbooks are just too lazy to take the time to try to explain the facts, as unruly or shocking as they are. Not all of the true stories of history are that bad! They just need to be backed by substantial evidence in order to prove their relativeness and impact on our current society. I feel cheated though, thinking that there is probably soooo much more that I have been taught in school that is false or only half-true!

Blog 2-Chapters 1, 4, and 12

I read these articles in the order that they were assigned meaning I read chapter 4 first, entitled, "Educational Vision," by Henry A. Giroux. The idea of a teacher's vision seems to be a common subject among my education and even art education classes here at UNCG. I enjoyed this article specifically because the author seems to realize that teacher's need visions to guide them in their teaching, but he focuses on what aspects of our educational systems, that hender us from doing so... even though ultimately our goals for educators are to be critical thinkers that "struggle for principles of equality, freedom, and justice"(Giroux, 2009, 30). Does this not seem like a contradiction? I felt that several issues the author discussed here related to our class discussions directly also! For instance, he talks about how our govt. cuts spending for public schools and how this directly effects the poorest of our societies and keeps those students behind.. often being the people that need help and education the most! He also discusses President Reagan's program,the "Reagan commitment," and how he implemented topics like patriotism using the "cold war ideology of military preparedness" and concentrating on indv. achievement for the greater good of all(Giroux, 2009, 30). I wanted to pose several questions for you all from this perspective. Because these implementations on our systems have obviously not led us into a nation of peace, Why don't we teach classes on peace rather then war...or the benefits of togetherness and working in groups to create positive impacts on our society? It seems more logical to me, but does not seem to the case. Giroux goes on to discuss the 1990s and how our educational programs should ultimately be responsible for creating a better workforce in our country, but what about everything else our students need to be equip to do in order to survive and think for themselves? I often wonder if our educational aims, are too centered around problems facing the country currently and not the bigger picture of what theses programs will do in the long run!

Blog One-01/27/2010

After reading," Why Go To School?", by Steven Wolk, I found very few thoughts that I did not agree with in terms of his overall opinion of what U.S. schools are NOT doing(or not enough), and SHOULD be doing. I often found myself saying YAH!!..THEY ARENT AND WHY NOT?? I also wonder with pieces of writings out there like this, why do they never seem to fall into the right hands of someone who could do something about it? Not saying I could not, or will not at least try to do my part to do something about it, but I mean NOW! Sooo many of his thoughts seem so obvious that it is silly they are not already crucial parts of our educational systems!! For example, why are so many of our young Americans not educated about current political issues ...especially when these generations are the ones that will soon be voteing for our future leaders. I sound ignorant in saying so, but I too have voted in not 1, or 2, but 3 elections, knowing little about the candidates I am voteing for. To be totally honest when I voted the first time, I voted on the premise that my dad was democratic and always supported them so it must be the right decision across the board..I marked straight democratic ticket...not even taking the time to weigh the options. Why first of all, if we want an educated youth ''politically,'' and to develope "better and more democratic citizens" with our school systems, are we not teaching them about these facts when the time comes for them to vote?? (Preferably before) If we ever want to start making some right decisions in this country...WE NEED TO START EDUCATING OUR STUDENTS ABOUT ISSUES SUCH AS THIS, THAT REALLY MATTER!!..like our environment for instance... one of the topics Wolk feels we exclude. Here I am speaking about the environment beyond the study of rocks and landforms which we do do, but about we how can start to change the environment before we kill our ozone and all fry to death. Yes.. we teach about conservation and pollution, but if I remember correctly, there might have been one chapter about conservation in my science books throughout my 12 years in school...and it was at the end mind you... Still now, the only effects that I feel our generation learned from this one chapter was to recycle and turn the lites out when you leave a room. it just doesnt make sense! Wolk names many other issues that are important, that we are just NOT including, or at least not enough. These included topics like peace, global awareness, and media literacy.
I also feel that our current school systems tend to use many instructional methods of assessment or "teaching" that can in some ways deter a child from learning rather then help. Some of these tools such as "fill-in the blank" worksheets, unrealisticly long reading assignments, and of course, the grueling copying of definitions are intended (I think at least)to engrain enormous amounts of information in our students heads. They are not challenging them to think and expand. Instead these processes are numbing our childrens minds and taking the fun out of learning. Taking away special activities like field-trips and interactive lessons...or furthermore whole programs, such as art and music, are simply causing our children to lose interest in going to school. This thought leads me into my next post, surrounding the article, "The Goals of Education, by Richard Rothstein and Rebecca Jacobson...to be continued...