I
apologize in advance. This is my
absolute last assignment for this semester and, as so, may not be as involved
or as detailed as any of my previous work. But I’m going to give it a shot.
Ladson-Billings
article: This article was a very interesting read. There were a lot of shocking facts and information
presented, such as the fact that “Chicago public schools spend about $8,482
annually per pupil, while nearby Highland Park spends $17,291 per pupil” (Ladson-Billings,
2009, p. 6). When looking at such
spending rifts between white and black student populations, the question has to
be asked if spending should come from somewhere else other than property
tax. I have worked a short time at
an urban school here in Knoxville, and I have seen how such poverty-stricken
areas can provide such little funding for local schools, and how such little
funding can adversely affect student academic achievement. And it still kills me how, if a school
performs low in overall academic achievement, funds are taken away, rather than
given to them in order to get new technology and highly-qualified teachers into
the school. No doubt, we do have
an educational “debt” that we owe to the minority groups of our country. (Downside of this article: the
“debt/deficit” metaphor. Not an
easily accessible metaphor that people can understand a new concept through,
especially an economically-ignorant person like me.)
My
multiculturalism group read and presented the article “Improving Race Relations
in Schools: From Theory and Research to Practice” by James A. Banks. In a way similar to the Ladson-Billings
article, this article deals with race and the need for racial equality and
acceptance in schools between majority and minority groups. Banks offers some valuable strategies
whereby educators can get their racially diverse students working together,
talking about issues of prejudice together, and, ultimately, appreciating and
accepting one another more. One
strategy that Banks presents which I believe every teacher (especially English
teachers) should follow is to present students with multiethnic readers. In multiethnic readers, the protagonist
of the book is typically of a minority racial group, or hails from a cultural
group outside of the mainstream culture.
It is important for teachers to assign these books to their students and
allow their students to read these multiethnic readers because such books can
offer majority group members a peek into the lifestyle and experience of
someone, in a way, different from themselves. And hopefully, by allowing students to see read about the
life experiences of minority group members, majority group members will realize
that they really aren’t that different from each other, that they both
experience similar struggles/pains/happinesses, that they are both,
essentially, human. (Downside of
this article: the “do-ability” of these strategies. Are teachers really expected to take time out of their
already hectic and structured schedules to conduct in-class “simulations” and “role
plays” in which majority group students can experience and better understand
racial prejudice. Even Banks
(2006) himself acknowledges that “it is often challenging to create these kinds
of conditions for interventions within the context of courses,” and that “teachers
and diversity workshop leaders often use didactic lectures and other kinds of
informational presentations…because they are more convenient and practical” (p.
610-611). And they do, to me, seem more practical and ideal for the reality of a classroom
schedule.)
