11-06-2008, 11:58 PM
Filed under: Kids 5-7, Kids 8-11, In the news, Education
I wasn't going to write about it. Really. I was going to write about other things--how I've been missing here for two weeks because sometimes life takes over, and when you're pregnant and teaching and you have a three year old, life can really take over.
But then children came into the classroom this morning bubbling with wonder, with questions, with excitement, and it was inevitable.
"Obama won!" some shouted, giddy.
"My mom cried," another shared.
At morning circle we talked about why this election was historic. About how not so very long ago at all, Martin Luther King Jr. marched on
Washington
with a dream of equality that now, in this election became a reality in a whole new way.
But for them, history--even recent history--is far away; almost inconceivably far from their present context. They've grown up in the social environment that made this election possible. And our classroom is a testament to this: with its wide sampling of color, belief, disability and economic status. Huge leaps of progress have been made over the past forty years to procure equity in education for all students.
Yet there are still huge discrepancies between schools and districts. The way public schools are funded is inherently unequal-and even while all children are now protected by rights promising equal opportunity in education, individual classrooms, schools and districts are vastly disparate in the ways that they are able to meet the needs of their students.
Classroom equity no longer means race alone. In fact the issue of classroom equity in most schools today is defined more by the inclusion of students with high needs-from Downs Syndrome and Autism, to those severe behavioral disturbances and learning disabilities--than it is by race.
Equity today means meeting the needs of children with all types of learning styles and preferences. It has to do with differentiation, and individualization of instruction.
On paper anyway.
In actuality, equity in education is still extremely limited because of critical thing: funding.
While the children in my classroom can hardly imagine a world where blacks and whites were separated in schools and on buses, they are still being educated within a system that is inherently unequal because of funding.
Many schools do not have the resources to provided meaningful education for all the students who are now legally allowed and required to attend . As a result, children with higher needs often receive a higher percentage of support and services, and children with fewer needs receive fewer services as a result.
The quiet child who never acts out and needs only minimal help learning new concepts, is less likely to get one-on-one time with the teacher than the child who is aggressive, or needs extra support to complete daily tasks.
Hence the question must be asked. Is this really equity?
What do you believe about equity in education? How do you think this new administration might address policies to change the current disparities between high income districts and low income districts? What would your child's school look like if there were really enough resources, and class sizes were limited to under 20? How would it be different or the same?
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Posted on Thu, 06 Nov 2008 08:00:00 EST at http://www.parentdish.com/2008/11/06/equ...classroom/
Comments: http://www.parentdish.com/2008/11/06/equ.../#comments
I wasn't going to write about it. Really. I was going to write about other things--how I've been missing here for two weeks because sometimes life takes over, and when you're pregnant and teaching and you have a three year old, life can really take over.
But then children came into the classroom this morning bubbling with wonder, with questions, with excitement, and it was inevitable.
"Obama won!" some shouted, giddy.
"My mom cried," another shared.
At morning circle we talked about why this election was historic. About how not so very long ago at all, Martin Luther King Jr. marched on
Washington
with a dream of equality that now, in this election became a reality in a whole new way.
But for them, history--even recent history--is far away; almost inconceivably far from their present context. They've grown up in the social environment that made this election possible. And our classroom is a testament to this: with its wide sampling of color, belief, disability and economic status. Huge leaps of progress have been made over the past forty years to procure equity in education for all students.
Yet there are still huge discrepancies between schools and districts. The way public schools are funded is inherently unequal-and even while all children are now protected by rights promising equal opportunity in education, individual classrooms, schools and districts are vastly disparate in the ways that they are able to meet the needs of their students.
Classroom equity no longer means race alone. In fact the issue of classroom equity in most schools today is defined more by the inclusion of students with high needs-from Downs Syndrome and Autism, to those severe behavioral disturbances and learning disabilities--than it is by race.
Equity today means meeting the needs of children with all types of learning styles and preferences. It has to do with differentiation, and individualization of instruction.
On paper anyway.
In actuality, equity in education is still extremely limited because of critical thing: funding.
While the children in my classroom can hardly imagine a world where blacks and whites were separated in schools and on buses, they are still being educated within a system that is inherently unequal because of funding.
Many schools do not have the resources to provided meaningful education for all the students who are now legally allowed and required to attend . As a result, children with higher needs often receive a higher percentage of support and services, and children with fewer needs receive fewer services as a result.
The quiet child who never acts out and needs only minimal help learning new concepts, is less likely to get one-on-one time with the teacher than the child who is aggressive, or needs extra support to complete daily tasks.
Hence the question must be asked. Is this really equity?
What do you believe about equity in education? How do you think this new administration might address policies to change the current disparities between high income districts and low income districts? What would your child's school look like if there were really enough resources, and class sizes were limited to under 20? How would it be different or the same?
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Posted on Thu, 06 Nov 2008 08:00:00 EST at http://www.parentdish.com/2008/11/06/equ...classroom/
Comments: http://www.parentdish.com/2008/11/06/equ.../#comments