It is true that noones enters the classroom completey free of bias. Coming from a suburban town and being educated in a middle class public school I found it difficult to relate to some of the kids in the low income public elementary school of a city. When I first walked into the classroom and began interacting with the students I quickly realized that this environment is much different than I am used to. I live with both my parents in a small quiet town with very litte crime and a predominantly white population. The public scools I went to were part of a small district and hand strong education systems. The students I have worked with come from a very diverse neighborhood and have been exposed to a much more harsh environment then I grew up in. They are used to a large school district with very diverse classrooms.
Because of our very different lifestyles while growing up it is hard for me to relate to the student sometimes. Many come from families with seperated parents in which education is not always a priority. Because some of their parents are divorced or seperated it seems harder for them to find time to get the work done, and many times they are unprepared for class. It was hard for me because when I would give the students advice to get their homework completed they would still struggle to get it done.
With the students I worked with it didn't seem like the struggle was that much of an issue at this point in their lives, but I can definately see it getting worse as they get older and this struggle will become a larger part of their life. When these students are at the highschool level they will be given much more resposibilty and be much more effected by the struggles of their environment. The students race and genfer plays a very small role in their education compared to the factors of their environment.
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I feel that this plays greatly into Brown's ideal of the differences in societies. The divisions that exist between what you have experienced and what these kids go through can be alot. The way students interact with one another, the teacher, and even how they learn can contrast your own experience. Being a priviledged student set you up with certain perspectives and biases. This should not be seen as "wrong". Everyone develops biases. I'm sure the students have looked to your class and race at times and thought negatively. While this will inevitably occur, there needs to be a key factor. Both sides must accept that each holds bias. Yet, these biases should not be the controlling factor when it comes to different decisions. It should not be assumed that because you are privileged you get everything you want. While I have been middle class most my life I have lived in a trailer before. Conversely it should not be assumed that these students have conditions that are so unlike our own. Some students may even be middle class. While you yourself may not think any of these things, there is a potential your students might and therefore a tolerance needs to be taught in the class room.
ReplyDeleteMike, you had mentioned that you find it difficult to relate to your students because you grew up in a completely different environment, but I think the fact that you are aware of the difference as a teacher, puts you at a great advantage. There are educators who refuse to acknowledge that they are different from their students and tend to think because they have gone through some struggle that they can relate to any student who is going through a struggle as well. But that is a very big misconception. When you consider the struggles of an inner city student compared to a white suburban adult most of the time the child’s struggle seems unbearable to that adult. As a future teacher, from the providence school system, it is rewarding, maybe even comforting, to know that there is someone who realizes the difference and is eager to do something about it. I honor your honesty! In your blog you spoke a lot about your personal experience and to anyone else this may not be such a big deal or so moving but because of MY personal experience it is. I have been that student that is misunderstood, and over looked because the teacher didn’t genuinely understand or care about my “inner city” issues. I hope that you will not only continue to aware of the social difference between yourself and your students but that you will begin to close that social gap between yourself and your students.
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