Urbanity Insanity

Online Assignment

2009-04-20T08:58:00.000-07:00

2. Turn to the NJRCL report and pay specific attention to the information provided about Essex County, and the concerns, challenges, and recommendations in the report. Review the six families in Unequal Childhoods, and make connections between the NJRCL report and the realities these families might face if they lived in Essex County, NJ.

According to the NJRCL report, the Self-Sufficiency Standard for Essex County 2008 ranges from $20,732, for an individual, to $61,017 for a single adult with three children. If the six families I outlined for part one of this online assignment were subjected to the standards required for Sussex county, many of their situations would change dramatically. The higher wage families like the Tallingers, Williams, and the Marshalls still have excellent chances of survival. The Tallingers especially so with a combined income of $175,000, disregarding their recent economic woes. Less fortunate families such as the McAllisters, Taylors, and the Drivers would be having even more remarkably difficult times. Ms. Taylor’s $20,000 per year secretarial salary would have to be stretched beyond imagination to support her household—even beyond the means to which it is currently stretched, supporting nontraditional family members. The facts may be that the poor family may not at all be able to habitate in Sussex County and to be honest that is a disturbing reality, or at least a harsh one. However, it is a reality that is dealt with every day in the state of New Jersey and all around the country. It is disturbing to think of Ms. Driver, and her boyfriend, pooling their resources of about $20,000 apiece annually and still not being able to support their family.

3. Look at the two reports from the LSNJ on living in poverty. What further information can you glean from the reports regarding the struggles the poor families in Unequal Childhoods might face if they lived in NJ?

On rereading the LSNJ reports the results are no less shocking. The disparity between the lives of people in affluent counties as opposed to poorer counties could not be more different. I was surprised and the difference in economics, not just the obvious differences in income but the rates of change in salary and adjustment for inflation. The change in real income for residents of Hunterdon County rose by almost $9,000 the change in real income for residents of Essex County only rose $114. This is a truly shocking disparity. On page five of the LSNJ report states that families are facing short falls at higher income levels, a portentous statement. How about we forget, for the moment, about the families suffering at higher levels of income and concentrate, for a moment, on the families like the McAllisters, Taylor, and the Drivers?

Well, income stagnation seems to be an extreme in poorer communities—maxing out pay while working full time as a secretary at $20,000 annually after working in the same office for almost fifteen years. There is little opportunity in positions like these, as the Taylors and Drivers are fully aware. Besides facing income stagnation the ability to receive continuing education, as detailed by the LSNJ as a necessary intervention, is not a viable opportunity for many of the families detailed by Lareau. Saddle these ideas with extraordinary housing rates, taxes, and an inability associated with their area for occupational advancement, and we begin to see a picture of why so many families are living in poverty and how difficult it will be to alter these situations.

4. Finally, turn inward and think about who you are as a budding urban educator. In what ways is this information useful (or not) for you? In terms of better understanding a community? What do you need to learn, or what skills and dispositions (frames of mind) do you need to develop related to demographics and economics to be a successful urban educator?

The information in Annette Lareau’s book Unequal Childhoods, the LSNJ reports, and the NJRCL add up to a harrowing stream of evidence about the inequalities and disparities prevalent in our society. To be perfectly truthful, it makes me feel less hopeful about my ability to change things. Whether or not this condition is permanent remains to be seen, but my sense of outrage at the disparity is enflamed. But to what I end, I often wonder? The information is useful to bring awareness to issues and problems outlined in Lareau’s book and the LSNJ and NJRCL reports. So, in that way I will be better able to work with my students. I will understand that there is no homogeneous student-set that I will be teaching. I will have to understand that some students in my class are sitting there hungry, attention-starved, desperately in need of nurturing compassion, and possibly without having ever been read to.

I heard a story about a third grade teacher that had a student who was constantly absent and she found out that the reason was because he didn’t have enough clean undergarments (shirts, underwear, socks). She went out and bought the student those undergarments and during lunch one day covertly stuffed the students backpack with them. Now that is a beautiful story, and I think the gift was well received, but let’s say we are in an inner city and half of our class doesn’t have adequate clothing. What then? How much can we really affect? I think what really needs to change is our ability to provide feedback for parents and information on how to access the programs that they are applicable for and how to ensure social justice through policy change. They need to know when PTA and school board meetings are and they need to speak up and be heard about their needs and problems.

Inquiry Outline

2009-03-30T11:04:00.001-07:00

What role does anxiety play in high stakes test performance?

The purpose of my inquiry project is to discover as much as possible about anxiety and stress brought on by high-stakes testing. Numerous studies have found causal relationships between outside factors, such as socioeconomic status and academic preparation, and test performance. However, some research has shown that with all outside factors equal, or to a reasonable facsimile of equality, there is still a profound achievement gap between races. One facet of my project will be to explore the role of the stereotype threat in urban settings. This will be accomplished by evaluating students using the Stereotype Vulnerability Scale (SVS), an 8-item Likert-like scaled self-report assessment. The stereotype threat theory reports that the mere hint of a test being biased against a certain group will make it so, the tail wagging the dog so to speak.
My project aims to seek out roots of academic stress and to monitor what steps are taken, if any, to curb stressors from affecting student performance. There are many programs throughout this country hoping to do just that, to provide students the means of protecting themselves from stress, one goal of my inquiry project is to determine the palatiblility of some such programs.

Annotated Bibliography

2009-03-23T11:38:00.000-07:00

Annotate Bibliography

Burggraf, S., & Grossenbacher, P. (2007). Contemplative modes of inquiry in liberal arts education, Liberal Arts Online (pp. 1-8): Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts at Wabash College.
This short article serves as a surface introduction to basic method of mindfulness and works towards created a standardized language for contemplative modes and their educational benefits, as well as providing authors for further reading.

Though, only a passing reference, Grossenbacher iterates the pressing need to make certain that the “particular method is appropriate to the course’s pedagogical goals.” Aside from these attributes the main benefit of this piece may be its list of references and suggested further readings into spirituality, contemplation, and mindfulness.

Haynes, D. J. Contemplative practice and the education of the whole person. Retrieved 2/9/09, 2009, from http://www.contemplativemind.org

This short essay seeks to explicate some of the basic terms and ideas associated with contemplative education. Haynes draws from her experience as a professor of art and religion and discusses why she chooses to incorporate contemplative practices into her work. She discusses many of the same modes of contemplation that Burggraf and Grossenbacher illustrate,

Though missing references to any research, the essay seems to be an effective summary of all anecdotal effects that support contemplative education. Like “Healthy Schools, Healthy Minds” , this article draws a correlation between the hectic speed, stress, and constant flow of information that must be processed because of the 21st century and the importance of taking time to slow down, to be mindful of the present.

Miller, J. P. (2006). Educating for wisdom and compassion: Creating conditions for timeless learning. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press.

This book is an important and fundamental text in approaching an understanding mindfulness and contemplation. Focusing specifically on timeless learning, Miller focuses on multiple methods to achieve moments of timeless learning, when “learning sticks” and “through the processes of letting go, attention, compassion and contemplation” can develop joy and wholeness, both as students and individuals. Miller focuses heavily on the well-researched medical benefits of mindfulness and meditation, and works effectively to link the benefits seen in other mediums to benefits of using these techniques in educational arenas.

Miller draws from decades of experience as both a teacher and as a practitioner of meditation and other contemplative practices. He draws on his knowledge of “wisdom traditions” and spiritually based education experiences in order to explore a revision of what students require developmentally. He works to expand the scope of education to encompass the spirit, and exhibits the value of this type of education.

Schoeberlein, D., Koffler, T, & Jha, A. (2005). Garrison institute report: Contemplation and education- current status of programs using contemplative techniques in k-12 educational settings; a mapping report: The Garrison Institute.

This report comprehensively, though not exhaustively, examines a wide breadth of programs that utilize in some fashion contemplative techniques. It is based on survey responses and exhibits much unintentional unity between programs separated by lack of communication and long distances. The authors focus on a large variety of programs and the individual goals and techniques of said programs. One overarching concern with the application of contemplative teaching is its adaptability to secular schools.

While focusing on the anecdotal strength of these programs the authors do not shy away from the dearth of objective research. The authors focus their critical lenses on topics that need to be addressed in further scholarship and research. These include, but are in no way limited to, picking developmentally appropriate approaches to contemplative teaching, seamlessly incorporating mindful approaches within core subjects, and making sure these techniques are palatable to secular public schools.

2009-03-09T13:33:00.001-07:00

My Culture/My Community Blog
March 9th 2009

A moment ago I stared at my collage honestly hoped that there was more to me than what is on the paper. I’m sure there is, but I haven’t felt that Gestalt moment where I realize the bigger picture of myself from these scraps, memories, and hopes. It is a terrifying thought that my identity comes down to a few pieces of paper clipped out from Time magazine, but I suppose it is an inescapable conclusion because I feel solemnly complete when I look at the collage. The first thing I noticed is the pervasiveness of school, but that is exactly what school has been so far—18 years of classrooms and soon I will be done with graduate school and headed right back into the classroom Just when I think I am out they pull me back in.
I found some statistics from the high school report card that comes out every year. I realized I was the product of a school system that spends less per student than the state average. I found that the student-to-computer ratio for North Bergen is FAR worse than the state average, and a teacher from North Bergen exclaimed that the actual conditions were not as good as stated on the report. I found that North Bergen also had bloated classrooms compared to the rest of New Jersey. My old grammar school recently had about 40 students in each sixth grade class. Though I am the product of an overcrowded school system I’m not really sure that I was aware of the issue or that there were places that were different.
I was also largely unaware that living in such a diverse community was not something usual. According to the latest reporting 70 percent of my high school’s students speak Spanish at home; it is remarkable that I don’t speak more Spanish than I do, though Rosetta Stone (the language learning software) did make an appearance on the collage as I made a big effort this summer to learn Spanish. Without realizing it I have developed a profound appreciation for cultures other than my own, perhaps because of my placement within a cultural landscape so far removed from my home life. I love South American, Latin American, Mexican, Tapas, and Cuban food—and I dance salsa, but it doesn’t define my culture or myself as a person.
It does, however, inform my interests: all of my girlfriends have been Hispanic and I genuinely wish to learn the language, but more than those reasons I feel that my relationship with the Hispanic community has fueled my passion for travel outside of the United States, which I something that does define me as a multicultural person. This is represented on my collage with several references to places in Europe I have visited or performed. I have been a professional magician for the past 6 years.
That I would say, more than anything else, has shaped my identity and extended my interpersonal skills. I am an entertainer—that is my identity, that is my joy, and to some extent that defines me and who I will become as a teacher. Just a little bit about myself as a magician. Like I stated I have been performing professionally for the past six years, as a hobby for 19 years, and this has really helped me become comfortable speaking to and in front of people—I was debilitating shy as a child. So with the help of scholarships I put myself through my undergraduate years and am working through graduate school now. So it is obvious that magic has played a pivotal role in my identity and what I will become as an educator.
That is what interests me the most, is thinking about what I will become. The word “anxiety” pasted across my Praxis results is how I think about teaching sometimes, but working through my education courses here at Montclair has helped with that tremendously. At the time I passed the Praxis II for English I was going to be doing alternate route and the prospect of facing a classroom of teenagers with a handful of books was genuinely frightening. That is why I am so glad about the M.A.T. program at Montclair, I really feel as though I’m getting the tools to be able to build myself up as an educator rather than merely a spectator and appreciator of literature.
Stress and anxiety have always been great motivators for me. I was afraid to speak in public while doing magic early on, so I spent hours in front of a mirror reciting patter out loud, honing my craft. I think that my fear of being a horrible teacher is motivating me to look at teaching techniques that I never experienced in the classroom and forces me to really examine the choices that I make, not only as a teacher but as a person. That’s why on the far right of the collage it says “Discover your ideal” because I think that my life, to a certain extent, has been about improving and mastering certain things. I think that if you’re not constantly improving than you’re failing as a human, which is probably why school has played such a pivotal role in my experiences to date.

Initial Inquiry Re: Inquiry

2009-02-23T13:48:00.001-08:00

I know it has been said time and time again that this is not a methods class, however one of the essential questions in our syllabus that we are asked to at least contemplate what are the characteristics of successful urban teachers. Narrowing that question a little further would probably be best for finding a clear, concise, topic. Perhaps a combination of the essential questions what characteristics do successful urban teachers embody to cultivate a learning community that can rise beyond myths and preconceptions of urban education. Although, there is a certain naiveté in the thinking behind that question, on a certain level it assumes that those myths and preconception are accurate. Another problem with this question is that it seems as though it will devolve into an essay and not remain true to academic standards of writing. The issue of selecting the breadth of the topic is more of a problem for than selecting the topic itself. How wide do I go? Or, how closely do I hold the magnifying glass? How narrow should I focus the topic?

Music Films Movies and TV

2009-02-09T13:35:00.002-08:00

	Films	Music	TV	News
Rural	Napolean Dynamite	Harper Valley PTA	Family Guy	School Closing
Suburban	Ferris Bueller	Grade Nine	The Simpsons	Two schools refuse games vs. Newark
Urban	Lean on Me	To Sir With Love	Mr. Kotter	Kidnapping

Film

Rural-

Suburban- Ferris Bueller demonstrates the sort of can-do attitude that would inspire Tom Sawyer. He concentrates most of his time and energy trying in earnest to not do work and to find the easy way out of things. He is awarded for these measures by immense popularity and concern for his well-being (SAVE FERRIS!).

Urban- One: who does not love Morgan Freeman? Two: who can’t but help appreciate his stirring portrayal of New Jersey’s own (actually from Georgia) Joe Clark, one time principal of Paterson’s Eastside High. Students are able but don’t realize it until brought under the iron fist of one determined educator.

Rural- An episode of Family Guy titled, “To Live and Die in Dixie”, features the Griffins moving to the South under the guidance of witness protection. Meg is enrolled in a class, which consists of a single room for all grade levels. The smartest student in the class is a pig named Oinky who, “set the curve again,” to murmurings of, “that’s one smart pig,” and, “I’m sure glad I copied off of Oinky.”

Urban- Mr. Kotter is the sick-day TV, beside The Price is Right, that everyone I know grew up on. Mr. Kotter was a well-intentioned teacher who brought street smarts and a certain level of relatability to the wise-cracking though not exactly wise Sweathogs. Mr. Kotter was himself in the same remedial classes when he attended James Buchanan High and was a founding member of the Sweathogs Though never a truly successful group, they exceeded expectations, as Kotter was brought on simply to manage the rowdy group until they dropped out.

Suburban- The Simpsons, besides being one of the finest shows ever, exhibits certain stereotypes of suburban education—some true, some truer. The school consists of students from wide ranges as far as background and ability—ie. Ralph Wiggum and Lisa Simpson are in the same class (ability) and Nelson Muntz and Dr. Hibbert’s daughter in another. The teachers are highly dysfunctional and enjoyed the PTA disbanding just as much, if not more so, than the students. One of the more telling lines is Edna Krabappel decrying the need, to Principal Skinner, for more funds for the students:

Mrs. Krabappel: Seymour, you have to think of the children's future.
Seymour: Oh, Edna. We all know that these children HAVE no future.
[everyone stops and stares at Seymour]
Seymour: Prove me wrong, children. Prove me wrong.

News

Rural- In the far flung villa of Mount Charleston, NV, the weakening economy threatens to shut down a one-room schoolhouse. The school seats nine students year round. *Cough* With clamped budgets and spending concerns bearing down on administrators nation wide, the difficult decision to shut down the remote outposts of education is crossing the mind of many school administrators. Many school districts serving small communities are facing similar decisions.

Suburban- Two suburban schools have refused to play football games in Newark, NJ. This says that students and administrators do not feel that there is not enough safety and are perhaps responding to Newark’s infamous reputation for violence.

Urban- Currently, a girl that I went to grammar school and high school with is in jail for kidnapping and assault. Amber Crespo, and two friends, kidnapped a woman and drove her to a remote area near the New York state border and left her there. She is a proud shining example of North Bergen-ness, it’s actually a shame—my friends and I, in eighth grade, took much delight in going to a playground and pushing the merry-go-round very fast for the younger students and she was one of them.

Music

Urban- Alright I had to ask for help from my parents on this one. They suggested “To Sir with Love” from the movie To Sir With Love—naturally. The movie exhibits the effect a young Sidney Poitier can have on inner-city youth in England.

Suburban- Back to a band I used to like growing up Barenaked Ladies, on their first album they featured a track that had some mild success in Canada titled “Grade Nine.” The song features a first-person narrative of a freshman arriving at a new school and his struggles to fit in despite pressures of wearing brand-name clothing and a bullying problem.

Rural- A bit of a reach on this one, but here we are for “Harper Valley P.T.A.” The song is about a PTA that sends a letter home via a woman’s daughter telling the mother that she is unfit because of her exploits around town, such as wearing a skirt that they deemed too short. The singer, the woman’s daughter, celebrates the day that “my momma socked it to the Harper Valley P.T.A.

Frames of Ref.

2009-02-09T13:35:00.001-08:00

CURR: 523-01

Dr. Goldstein

2/2/09

Frames of Reference: Urban Schools

Being mindful of preconceptions becomes increasingly important as the world becomes a metaphorically smaller and more diverse place. Sensitivities towards others’ cultural identities and backgrounds are of ultimate importance for all human interaction, but there is no other arena than education where the play between preconception and reality are so immediate in impact. As educators we have a responsibility to examine our own preconceptions from their roots to their ultimate expression in what we will become as teachers. As educators possibly entering an urban environment it falls to us to take a step back and examine our personal histories of exposure to depictions of urban environments and discover what effect they have had on our understanding of such environments.

North Bergen public schools are considered urban schools—something I would not have believed if you told me when I attended them. I still do not believe that they are classified accurately, or at least not classified by my perhaps narrow vision of the definition. “Urban schools” conjures images of deprived neighborhoods, of gang violence, lackluster education, of drugs and crimes, of communities that are on the brink of being collapsing into their own decrepitude.

We see a mind-movie consisting of a young Lou Diamond Phillips asking Edward James Almos for an extra set of books, so he wouldn’t be seen walking around by his fellow gang members with them. We see Morgan Freeman teaching school pride in our very own Patterson, or perhaps if one is warped enough they will notice Tom Berenger playing opposite Marc Anthony in The Substitute.

Joking aside there is a common thread in the depictions of people at all levels in urban schools that runs through each of these, and many more, films. The student populations are down and out. People have given up on them and as a result they have given up on themselves and school. The teachers in movies centered on urban districts seem more concerned with not getting killed than with helping students develop socially and academically. The status quo wins out and all involved parties remain in their ruts.

The students in these films also usually have kernels of traits that teachers would relish seeing in any classroom environment, but have gone undernourished and undiscovered by their current set of teachers. There is an inner strength in these students. There is a tenacity that has kept them going this far, but somehow circumstance, and the system, have kept them down. All that it will take is a single inspired educator, someone who never once doubted their abilities, never once wrote them off because of their Chicano or African heritage, to swoop in and teach AP Calculus or ballroom dancing, as in that ~~horrible~~ wonderful Antonio Banderis movie, Take the Lead.

As stereotyped and hackneyed as some of these portrayals are, I cannot help but believe that at some uncertain level they inspire me to believe in the impact I can have as a teacher. The same way that sappy-romantic movies help some people believe in love in more profound and meaningful ways, these films remind us all of the differences we can make. Maybe we can have substantial impact on students’ lives and careers by believing in their potential and ignoring poor previous performance. Maybe these movies help us believe in our potential to reach all students and they remind us not to give up in straits of desperation—and they certainly reinforce our hatred for standardized tests and those who administer them, Andy Garcia.

Following the examples of successful portrayals in movies, my English classroom would have to start with the basics—the basics of argument, the basics of academic discourse. I would think I would have to build my students ability to realize and articulate their abstract ideas—that is of course if I believe each movie that shows an educator persuading a skeptical brood that you are able to hold two conflicting ideas in your head at the same time. Conflict and argument of basic concrete ideas about a story character’s motivations and deeds might help to build interest in reading—in stories, in our class. Building and fostering interest in subject matter is a challenge no matter what the classroom setting, but one of the themes of urban education as depicted in movies is the emphasis that needs to be placed on the practicality of the subject matter. Lesson plans will have to pass the, “what does this matter to me,” sniff test. Movies reinforce that practical applications are necessary to reach the students at a gut level. Jaime Escalante Calculus lessons did not take root until he taught Calculus in practical terms.

A corollary to the major battles being generating and maintaining interest, seems that “teaching to a test” seems hopeless, which actually seems like an excellent opportunity considering the hatred with which contemporary educators approach high-stakes testing like No Child Left Behind. Moral and social development has increasingly fallen on the shoulders of educators, and this may be even truer of urban environments. Teachers become models of speaking, of acting, rightly and may possibly be one of the only support columns left to hold up a student. The aforementioned films constantly remind us that our students will come from broken homes and sometimes horrific circumstances. That’s a reality of every environment, but its something that is easily forgotten about, or ignored, and the consequences of a student’s circumstance show lingering and sometimes horrible affects.

We have been told time and time again that this is not a methods course, but I have been meditating on that recently. What is this course then? An issues course? Yeah, probably. An awareness course? Certainly. A methods course? For the last time, no. However, there are certain approaches to being that consider the very awareness of suffering as a method of assuaging its effects, which is a nice enough thought for sufferers and those witness to suffering. But to be honest there is a vague dread I have associated with this class, a fear that I will be horribly depressed for a long time after being confronted by true violence, by true hate and ignorance, by the facets of our society that are kept under the rug because it is easier to keep nudging them under than deal with them in a more constructive way. Or do I persevere? Will I learn that there is hope to be had? Is there hope to be had? Maybe that’s what makes these movies watchable, they instill that seed, even if a false one, that humanity is for the most part good and willing if only given the chance.