Dealing with Race and Standardization

I thought Jervis' article on dealing with race posed some interesting points to take into consideration before becoming a teacher. Too often people worry about how awkward or inappropriate discussing racial issues is going to be. I think if racial issues or concerns are talked about, especially within a classroom or school community, the issues can be talked about and improved. This article does a good job pointing out the fact that if the staff would have interjected during certain points some issues could have been resolved before they were escalated. Race issues are out there and it is important that the staff in a school discusses issues or problems and deals with it instead of ignoring problems in order not to create even bigger problems.

Reading about standardization is really very frustrating for me. It also makes me think of No Child Left Behind Act. I think it is very risky to teach students to a test. It is also implying that if a student can't perform well on a test and didn't know that exact information they are not smart enough. Although I understand the pupose of standardizing education and making sure that students are receiving the education they deserve and need to function in our world, standardized tests is not the best route to ensure this. Personally I have always done pretty well on standardized tests but I have had friends that I know are very smart not do well. The scores that they get back on those tests often make them feel stupid. There has to be better ways to distinguish if students are meeting necessary requirements besides a random test.

Student differences that can have an impract on their education

I thought both Chapters 22 and 25 focused on students that are often excluded in schools. One of the most interesting points in “Lesbian and Gay Adolescents: Social and Developmental Considerations” is the lack of lesbian and gay adults in the school environment that can help mentor and support gay and bisexual students. At an elementary school in my local school district many parents were concerned about the principal because he was supposedly gay. This should not even be an issue as far as I’m concerned. A person’s sexual orientation does not affect their ability to be a good principal or any career choice. Although everyone likes to say they are supportive of people’s own sexual decisions, it is obvious that there is a still an issue with it in mainstream America and society. The classroom should be an environment where gays and lesbians are comfortable with themselves. This could be difficult however, since many are uncomfortable with themselves to begin with. I don’t think it would be that hard to create an environment where everyone was equal. It is really easy however to exclude groups of students if their subculture does not align with mainstream society.
“English Only: The Tongue-Tying of America” really stressed how unfair the educational system in America is for non-English speaking students. I am not really sure how I feel about this situation. Of course I feel that every student should have the right to the same education and by in this case it means that non-English speaking students need assistance in their language in order to receive that education. I do not necessarily agree with this because I do think that English is the language that is used within this country (even though that Spanish is definitely creeping up there) and now we put it up as the school’s responsibility to help teach it and of course pay for it. I think it’s a tough situation. Everyone should have that same opportunity at education but should responsibility be put on anyone else (maybe parents) instead of the schools to help children and themselves learn English. ESL is not a decreasing trend and it will be interesting to see how our schools change as the number of non-English speakers increases.