Issues in Urban Education 2

Issues in Urban Education

Navigation Menu“From hopelessness to hope: Social justice pedagogy in urban education and youth development”• Summary• Reflection

“Many lessons from a school: What classroom discourse analysis reveals”• Summary• Reflection

“Teacher sorting and the plight of urban schools: A descriptive analysis”• Summary• Reflection

References

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“From hopelessness to hope: Social justice pedagogy in urban education and youth development” by Julio Cammarota

This article describes the critical importance of helping youth realize that the issues surrounding them arise not from problems from within, but rather with difficult surrounding situations.

Utilizing many different research methods, Cammarota and his colleagues implemented a social justice program in an urban Arizona high school.

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“From hopelessness to hope: Social justice pedagogy in urban education and youth development” by Julio Cammarota (continued)

The program required students to create projects which allowed them to express their feelings of discontentment with the social structures around them. Examples included poetry and photo essays. The students could then refer to advisors, who assisted them to present to school boards.

Ultimately, the project brought about academic success to the students, because they realized that they had the ability to positively change their environment. The students discovered their own efficacy and became much more passionate about their education.(continue to Reflection) OR

“From hopelessness to hope: Social justice pedagogy in urban education and youth development” by Julio Cammarota (continued)

Personal Reflections“To overcome the impediments preventing the attainment of youth assets, young people must adopt a social justice awareness, which

centers on understanding how social and economic institutions, policies, and practices can either stall or promote healthy youth development

outcomes” (Cammarota, 2011, p. 832).

Students need to recognize that the problems surrounding them are just that – surrounding them. The issues are not inherent due to culture or ethnicity and can be changed.

Giving minority students opportunities to voice their ideas and be heard can be very powerful for them.

When students believe in their own efficacy, they are much more likely to succeed in school, explaining the effectiveness of the program.

“Many lessons from a school: What classroom discourse analysis reveals” by Jane Zuengler

This article describes the powerful effects that discourse can have on students’ achievement.

Some of the issues in urban schools arise because of the lack of bilingual teachers available. Therefore, international students without English language skills are left to their own devices. In fact, some are left behind to talk with their friends during class or simply not participate, because the teacher cannot communicate with them.

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“Many lessons from a school: What classroom discourse analysis reveals” by Jane Zuengler (continued)

The author continues to describe how teachers interact with students and what they expect of their students. Discrepancies in classroom behavior rules caused some students to act out in classes that did not enforce the same rules. An overemphasis on specific terminology resulted in frustration from students.

Ultimately, the paper showed the importance of discourse on the urban classroom. While the urban classroom presented more challenges for the teacher, discourse remains important for all schools. (continue to reflection) OR

“Many lessons from a school: What classroom discourse analysis reveals” by Jane Zuengler (continued)

Personal Reflections“…we can make conscious to students – continuously – the expected, institutionally-

approved discursive practices and work with them on acquiring them” (Zuengler, 2010, p. 62).

The quote implies that the most effective way to help students is to clearly “lay out” the meanings of the discourse for them. However, perhaps modifying the discourse is an even more effective method.

Ultimately, I may be seeing things from one perspective. However, it may be impacting my students in a completely different way than I intend. It is my responsibility as their teacher to consciously put myself in their position and address any issues I may find.

As a teacher, I must be willing to step outside my personal comfort zone and reach students where they need help. I must advocate for my students and not let anyone simply “slip through the cracks.”

“Teacher sorting and the plight of urban schools: A descriptive analysis” by Hamilton Lankford, Susanna Loeb, & James Wyckoff

This article discusses the disparities in qualified teachers between urban and non-urban schools. It identifies factors such as racial preferences and salary discrepancies.

The research took place in New York and compared several suburban school districts to New York City’s schools. Teachers were rated based on years of teaching experience, subject certification, passing of liberal arts exams, and how competitive their college was. The authors found that the least qualified teachers tended to be in the urban district. (continue)

“Teacher sorting and the plight of urban schools: A descriptive analysis” by Hamilton Lankford, Susanna Loeb, & James Wyckoff (continued)

The authors offer several explanations for these discrepancies. First, since urban schools typically have more racial diversity, the districts may desire racially diverse teachers. However, minorities may be less likely to have received a quality education. Also, the authors found that teachers usually do not remain in urban school districts, preferring to transfer to a less- challenging and better financially-compensating suburban district.

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Personal Reflections“Policies that aim to improve the achievement of low-performing students but

ignore teacher labor market dynamics are unlikely to impact the sorting of teachers that appears to strongly disadvantage poor, urban students” (Lankford, Loeb &

Wyckoff, 2002, p.55).

Some of the findings that these authors address deal with sensitive ideas, such as the thought that minorities may not have the opportunities to attend great schools and therefore may be less-qualified teachers.

Also, defining who is and is not a highly qualified teacher is debatable. While the factors that the article identified do likely contribute to good teachers, they do not necessarily define every good teacher.

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Ultimately however, the issue does remain that teachers typically do not stay in urban schools, and according to research, a major cause of this is better salary in wealthier school districts. Finding committed, quality individuals to teach in urban classrooms could be a challenge. This is an issue that cannot be resolved overnight, and the article does not really offer any tremendous ideas for how to achieve this.

Currently, hospitals that desperately need nurses provide quality nursing students with a secured job and salary after graduation, if they promise to stay with that job for a specific amount of time. Perhaps urban schools could attempt something like this with highly-qualified education students.

ReferencesCammarota, J. (2011). From hopelessness to hope: Social justice pedagogy in

urban education and youth development. Urban Education, 46, 828-845. doi: 10.1177/0042085911399931

Lankford, H., Loeb, S., & Wyckoff, J. (2002). Teacher sorting and the plight of urban schools: A descriptive analysis.Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 24. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3594146

Zuengler, J. (2011). Many lessons from a school: Whatclassroom discourse analysis reveals. LanguageTeaching, 44, 55-63. doi: 10.1017/S0261444809990346

http://www.jstor.org/stable/3594146

