Ghetto Schooling Power Point Final

Author: Jean Anyon

Presenters: Mr. Jim GlassMr. Thomas E. Ferrell Jr.

Mr. Tyrus T. Lyles

Imagine…..

Jonathan

Derrick

Random Student

Few of these reforms have reached the schools that I have seen. In each of the larger cities there is usually one school or one sub district which is highly publicized as an example of restructured education; but the changes rarely reach beyond this one example…

… Even those schools where some restructuring has taken place…it struck me as very little more than moving around the same old furniture within the house of poverty. The perceived objective was a more “efficient” ghetto school or one with greater “input” from the ghetto parents or more “choices” for the ghetto children…

… The fact of ghetto education as a permanent American reality appeared to be accepted.

Urban Math Classroom In New Jersey

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ww0ltQ0TZmU

Cities, Urban Schools, and Current Visions of Educational Reform

• Here, Anyon begins to set the stage for convincing readers of this text that "educational change in the inner city, to be successful, has to be part and parcel of more fundamental social change" (p.13).

• Is fundamental educational change in America’s ghetto schools really going to result from reordered relations among teachers and administrators?

• Throughout Ghetto Schooling, Anyon presents evidence to answer these questions with a resounding, "no."

Social Class, Race, and Educational Reform at Marcy School

• Attitudes toward students at Marcy School as hostile, with teachers making remarks to students such as: " 'You're disgusting; you remind me of children I would see in jail or something’" (p.29).

• Anyon was careful to inform the reader that many of the abusive remarks were coming from teachers of the same race and ethnic origin as the students (i.e., Black and Hispanic).

The Decline of Newark, New Jersey

• “Between 1880 and 1920, more than 200,000 immigrants arrived in Newark" (p.42).

• By the turn of the century, more than one-half of those working in industrial Newark were foreign born

• Growth in the number of city residents contributed to the blight that would come to characterize urban America—over-population and insufficient infrastructure.

• Those who had the financial means started moving out of the city and settled in suburban neighborhoods.

The Increase of African American Residents in Newark

• Unlike European immigrants, African Americans were not afforded opportunities to benefit from the booming industry in Newark.

• Most companies in the Newark area did not hire Negroes.

• Of the approximately 4,000 employees in the Essex County banks of Newark, only 150 were Negroes.

• All of these except three or so who were tellers, either held custodial, messenger, or menial task jobs.

The Corrupt Mayoral Tenure of Hugh Addonizio

• "Despite huge increases in numbers of students, Addonizio did not build any new schools in his first 4 years, yet increased the board of education budget by 75% and raised taxes by more than 200 points" (p. 109).

Chronicling the Twenty Seven Years between 1970 - 1997

• Increasing disparity in funding between most of New Jersey’s schools and Newark’s city schools.

• New Jersey is one of the most racially segregated states in the nation—with minorities concentrated in urban, poor areas.

The Lessons Learned in Jean Anyon’s Review of Newark’s History:

• As city residents became more poor and more Black, less money and energy were expended on the public schools.

• The inequities in school funding in New Jersey have gotten progressively greater, and efforts designed to alleviate the inequities have benefited the middle and upper classes.

• School appointments based upon a system of political favors, rather than on efforts to improve the schools, have led to an abundance of poorly qualified school officials.

Ghetto Schooling is

• The story of Newark, with varying degrees of similarity, parallels that of many urban centers in America--Detroit, Pittsburgh, Chicago.

• Newark public schools—one of the leaders in the common schooling movement—devolved into a completely dysfunctional system.

• Racial desegregation of public schools in this country is largely a failed experiment.

There is hope….

• There are high performing schools in predominantly Black, poor neighborhoods.

• There are many schools that triumph over the conditions of poverty and racial isolation and are safe places, where children of color are valued, educated well, and nurtured.

Team Academy, Newark NJ Charter School

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbn83e9vz9s

So…..

The overarching premise of the author is that significant investment in racially, socially, and politically isolated urban areas must be made if school improvement (at least) and the success of the American democratic social experiment (at most) are our goals…

…Investment must come from state and federal government and corporate America because these entities are culpable in the demise of urban America…

If poor, urban America is to participate effectively in this democracy, significant steps must be taken to encourage their meaningful involvement.

Bibliography

• Anyon, J. (1997). Ghetto Schooling: A Political Ecomony of Urban Education. Texas College Press.

• Chesterfield County Public Schools. (2009, July 1). Retrieved July 6, 2009, from Chesterfield County Public Schools: http://www.chesterfield.k12.va.us/

• You Tube. (2007, July 14). Retrieved 2009 6, July, from You Tube: http://youtube.com

• You Tube. (2008, August 1). Retrieved July 6, 2009, from You Tube: http://www.youtube.com