Shor

Reflection

   The school system is changes with each generation. I even see it now, at MLK the students have Chromebooks to help them learn. I never had a Chromebook in elementary school, or middle school for that matter. I help in the fourth grade and I see some of the methods that they are trying to teach kids multiplication and it's ridiculous. Even the teacher said to me "don't worry about that it's confusing". I never really enjoyed school to begin with to be honest. I always did well because I had to, society says that you have to do good in school and then go to college so you can get a good job and retire someday. That pretty much sums everything up. I was lucky to have vocational education at my school that gave me another path in life but not everyone has those opportunities. Schools, and parents, today seem to really have a push on the kids to go to college like that is the only path. When I was in high school when I wasn't in the carpentry class all I can remember is all of the college prep and getting ready to go to college like it was the only option in the world. The problem is, by doing this the school system has stripped the ability from the students to think for themselves and make their own decisions in life. The problem with school is that its so strict, if you don't follow the rubric word for word you get a bad grade, if you don't show up for class you are frowned upon. School needs to promote more critical thinking and decision making rather than having a constant push all of the time to prepare everybody for college. I know I've said it many times in this class but I am a huge advocate for vocational education in school. It can give students that reliable alternative if they don't want to go to college.

                             

 

   School shouldn't be all about getting to college. School should teach you basic skills early on and then it should be advocated to students that at the end of the day they are the ones that make their own decisions. They decide what they want to do. If that's the case, if we are the ones that make the decisions for ourselves, why are we going to let the adults push us in a directions we might not want to go in. The other problem about schools is that students get way too worked up about the grades they get. Part of this is because they have been convinced that if they do poorly in school they are going to go nowhere in life. There is some societal issue where kids are being taught that if they don't go to school they are going to be bums which isn't true. If you get a C on a paper I highly doubt that that is going to ruin your life forever. Overall, kids need to learn to not get so stressed out about school and that grades aren't everything. At the end of the day its what we do as an individual that determines where we go in life. Teach kids to think for themselves and make their own decisions because that's what life is. Life isn't college.

Brown vs. Board

  

Quotes

 "Standardized reading tests in 1971, black 13 year olds tested 39 points worse than white kids. That dropped to just 18 points by 1988 at the height of desegregation."

Integrating schools so that both black and white students can learn in the same environment is something that has positively impacted scores for young African American adults. The idea is great yet it still seems that it has been tough to do. I think back to my high school career, even my elementary school experience and when I think about it there wasn't many black students that I was working with. Even when I think to my current experience at my service learning project there aren't a lot of students that are white. At Martin Luther King Jr elementary the majority of the students are black and Hispanic and there are probably a handful of white students at the school. I understand that this can be tough to combat because schools are separated by districts and if one district is the majority of black people or Hispanic people, or white on the other hand, that is going to be the majority at that school district. The evidence is clear that integration in schools benefits the students the next major step is to try and make schools more diverse.

"What integration does is it gets black kids in the same facilities as white kids, and therefore it gets them access to the same things that those kids get-- quality teachers and quality instruction."

   This quote couldn't have summed it up any better. I always wondered why black students would perform better in a more diverse environment and now its pretty clear. If black students populate the majority of schools that you would consider poor, or schools that do not have that many resources it is only safe to assume that they wouldn't be able to acquire the same quality of education. The reason the students do better is because they are given the same opportunity as white students in a school setting. The students may have better teachers, better resources, better technology better everything. If a students is able to take advantage of these things then it is only save to assume that the students would be able to have much more successful time during school.

"The US Department of Education put out data in 2014 showing that black and Latino kids in segregated schools have the least qualified teachers, the least experienced teachers. They also get the worst course offerings, the least access to AP and upper level courses, the worst facilities."

   This goes back to what I just said. In 2014 it was basically said that students in segregated schools have the worst schools essentially. In order for all students to succeed in schools all students need a good school to actually go to and accomplish work and goals to gain knowledge. Black students do better in a environment with white students because white students seem to have better schools and resources. Black people do well working with them because they are given the same environment, the same resources to actually work and gain a good education. This quote ties everything together. It explains why the minority don't get a good education and also explains why they do better with white people in a school environment. In order for more students to excel in school they have to be given the same base to work off of. That's the bottom line. If students have more opportunity and resources then it is quite clear more students would do well in school regardless of their race. If students in general are given a good environment to learn, said students will do well.

In the Service of What?

 

     Connections

   Service learning has been a great experience so far. I am in school so I can teach kids some day how to build houses. I thought that the service learning experience was going to be a drag. I never thought that this would be something I would actually enjoy. The kindergartners can be difficult and sometimes it can be difficult to have a conversation with them and teach them things. However, they are quite developed for their age and are much more aware of the world then we anticipate. The service learning experience gave me, and many others, the opportunity to go into schools and work with students and help teach them concepts. It is a win for everybody. The students get to come in and help the teacher, as well as work with kids and get a better understanding of obstacles that may be encountered throughout a career of teaching. The students that I get to help out during my service learning experience are just excited to have you there to help them out and learn.

   I have had the opportunity to work with some great kids so far this semester during my service learning. I really enjoy getting to work with the fourth grade students especially. I enjoy helping the out with their math work and trying different methods to get them to understand the content. It is important to be given the opportunity to work with kids one on one. As a teacher, you are usually working with a large number of students and you aren't going to be able to ensure that everyone knows what is going on throughout the entirety of the lesson. As service learning workers, we are able to give that teacher the little bit of the break that they might need. And at the same time, we get to gain some experience working with kids and helping students in a classroom environment. I think the service learning opportunity is great for aspiring teachers, as well as beneficial for the students that are receiving the extra attentions that they might need.