How Are Schools Integrated
Schools have not achieved the title of"integrated" to its fullest potential quite yet, but we are learning more and more as the years go on, and I hope that our generation of teachers will be able to help this movement flourish. The civil rights act of 1964 might have legally "prohibited" the discrimination of racial types of orientation, but in the classroom and in the world around us, we are far from being united. In the 1960s maps of areas were being color coated green and red. The green areas were to signify white neighborhoods, and the red areas highlighted where minorities resided. They used these colors to further segregate the groups because the green had an underlying meaning of good, and the red represents bad. This map was used for realtors and business owners when it came to picking the perfect home for a client or finding out where to establish a new location for business. Had either of them been too close to a "red zone" the value would depreciate and it would deter people from living there due to the lack of opportunity. Those in the green zones had an easy time getting loans, going to funded schools with properly educated teachers and appropriate school supplies, plenty of areas to learn and grow within your job to become successful and move on to bigger and better housing, thus creating an environment of opportunity for their children to follow in their footsteps. The red zones were not even half as established as the green zones. They were never allowed loans in order to acquire housing, they had to sign a strict contract that made living there not so easy, They didn't receive benefits from work, their kids went to low income schools with mildly prepared teachers and little to no proper school supplies, therefore there was no way to help their kids progress to a more substantial life, because they were stuck living this cycle of trying their best to make ends meet. If anyone wanted to leave the red zones to move into the green zones to seek a better life, they were greeted with pure violence and hatred. Nobody was safe leaving the red zone, so that is where they remained. The government made life hard for those in living in the red zones, and we still see those effects today. These lower income areas are still surrounded with the same issues, and nobody has stepped in to help which is how I know that things haven't changed the way that they should have when the civil rights act passed.
Schools haven't found a way to help kids become fully integrated in the ways that they need to be. Schools are seen separating different groups of kids to learn instead of letting them all into the same classroom to learn and grow together. It doesn't matter what the condition is, kids always learn better when they have other kids to collaborate and bounce ideas back and forth with and who are we to stop this learning experience? In my high school, they did make a point to try and bring us together by putting students who only speak spanish into regular English speaking classes and while they had an extra teacher help translate, interacting with us students who did speak only English was helpful for them because they were able to see how the languages connected and we also were able to learn some spanish from them for the same reasons. It is a beautiful thing to watch kids teach each other things and as teachers we need to allow as much of this as possible, because it is likely that the kids will know how to communicate a lesson or idea better to another child since they think more alike then us as teachers do who already know the content. Even though this is one way that my specific school helped, that is just one drop of water when we are asking for an ocean of change. Every school is different and each one provides unique opportunities to each and every one of its students. If we focused more on accepting one another and becoming an equal community of peers that share our experiences without being one upped or placing judgments , we are taking steps in the right directions to becoming a more integrated school system. Teaching the kids of tomorrow how to be equitable and blending those red and green zones to making a community that is loving and accepting of one another, after all we are only human and should treat each other as such.
Hey Morgan! I love your post and information you provided in it! I had no clue about the red and green housing areas across American until this unit. Its crazy to think by this age and level of school that we did not know that it really shows that more needs to be taught in schools. My take is that due to the effects of the red areas it is going down the line in society today. Without proper schooling it is harder to get a job and build a future outside of the res areas. In the future i hope the effects of these areas made in our history of America can finally end! I love that you pointed out that kids learn better when they have other kids to collaborate with i totally agree. I believe class discussions are a great way for students to learn. Overall great post and have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteHi Chesney, Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I remember when I went over the concept of the redlining issue a few semesters ago in another class, I was so shocked at how it wasn't a highlighted situation for teachers to discuss in classes. It is truly heartbreaking to hear about everything that these families went through, and what we read about was only the tip of the iceberg on what these people were having to go through on a day to day basis, being scared in your own home is never a fun feeling. I do hope that this becomes a more taught about issue because it really wasn't that long ago, and we cannot forget about these problems. I hope you had a great weekend, Thank you so much!
DeleteHi Morgan! You addressed this question beautifully. Your second paragraph speaks to one of the most important concepts in education in my opinion. Separating students into different classrooms or treating different groups of students differently based on certain characteristics or learning styles is detrimental to the classroom environment and student-teacher relationships. There is no need to segregate children to different areas of the school from their peers, especially at a young age in which students are still trying to figure out where they fit in regards to everyone else around them. Of course, when it comes to needs such as a quiet classroom for test taking or a room to unwind after a panic attack (for example), I believe it is completely okay to address these needs and act accordingly. There is a clear difference between separation and accommodation. Serving the needs of students is individual, there should not be one blanket approach applied based on the assumption of a child's challenges.
ReplyDeleteHi Naomi! Thank you for your kind words on my post. I found myself thinking about the topics of my second paragraph so much throughout this lesson for so many reasons. I know the school system has a long way to go about changing some ways that are ineffective but I couldn't help but commend my school for allowing us as students collaborate to learn on topics beyond the school content. Even though knowing words in spanish may not be as important for me, but it helped those who needed to learn the English for school gain that knowledge as well as teach me a few things. I cherish those lessons more than anything, because it felt like we really connected on a level that was more than just freshman year math class. It made the classroom feel more like a community, and that is the ultimate goal we try to achieve as teachers, so It was a win overall.
DeleteHi Morgan!
ReplyDeleteYou included a lot of interesting facts in your post. I think you did a wonderful job and wrote about this topic in a way that made a lot of sense. I am taking a SPED class right now and I have learned that the most helpful way to treat students with physical/learning disabilities is by keeping them in the general education classroom. After learning this I did not understand why in my high school those students were always kept separated for everyone else. It saddened me to learn that this was not beneficial to them in any way. It also upset me because this was so normal and had been done for so long. It is so easy to take them out of the classroom instead of modifying instruction for them, but we should not take the easy way out. I like how you mentioned students should be able to collaborate and bounce ideas off each other, that is so true and very helpful while learning. I am hopeful that this next generation of teachers will do the right things and make their classrooms more inclusive to ALL students. I can tell you feel very strongly about this topic and your future students will be so lucky to have you. Well done!
Hi Catarina! I love the way you said "we should not take the easy way out". It is our job as educators to see that the kids gain the knowledge that they deserve. We need to be passionate about our jobs and not standing for this kind of treatment. There is no reason why kids should be separated, especially not due to learning disabilities. I think It is interesting to see this from your point of view, since you have been through a college level informational SPED class and studied this exact topic in more depth. It is very sad to know that these kids are being put in different learning areas even when we all know it is better to collaborate than to separate. It is always good being able to bounce ideas back and forth because you never know what you will learn if you take that approach.
DeleteHi Morgan!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog post, you included some great facts as well! I loved the way you included your own opinions about how schools haven't found a way to help kids become full integrated in the ways that schools need to be. I agree with how schools are seen as separating different groups of students to learn instead of letting them all in the same classroom be able to learn and grown together. In elementary school I was kept out of reading class and put into a different room than all of my other peers because I was slower than other students. It made me feel different and not capable of what my classmates were doing in class. I agree how students should able to come together and create ideas off of one another views. I agree how you mentioned that if we focused on accepting one another an becoming an equal community of classmates that share experiences, without a place of judgment but with acceptance.
Hey Bri, Thank you for your response! I loved how you included an experience from school, just like I did in mine. It is interesting to see how your experiences connected with the module, and how it perfectly illustrates why we shouldn't be separating different kinds of learners, even if some are reading at faster or slower paces. It is so important that we use these different paces to our advantage, and the kids will discuss with each other what they think and how they feel and that can create complete new ideas for those who may be behind instead of removing them from the classroom completely. I am sorry that you had to experience this firsthand, I know that it is not fun to feel isolated and like an outsider. I hope that those times will help in the future to better understand students and ensure that these kids don't get the same treatment that we once received. Thank you for your insight and kind words!
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ReplyDeleteHey Morgan! Thank you for sharing. I really enjoyed the newfound knowledge you shared as well as your personal story. When you talked about how your school integrated only Spanish speakers in an English classroom with a translator, I thought this was a good example because someone was there to help scaffold and bridge the gap between languages. They were not kept from the other students because they were different but were able to bring their differences and share them and interact with their peers and vice versa. This was also a little bit of an example of equity in that they were not just in the class getting the same material that the others were, but they had someone to help them understand the material in their language. They were not just given the same thing but were given what was needed to help them get to the same place as their peers. Thank you for providing a real-life example of how we can integrate our classrooms.
Hi Sydney, I love the way that you connected my experience to some things you have learned about in previous lessons. I think that the scaffold method fits well with my findings with school, because we did in fact try to bounce ideas off of each other and learn from that. In this instance nobody was kept from one another so nobody really felt like an outsider. It created a closer bond and an effectively communicative group within the classroom. Equity is definitely connected in this as well because like you said everyone got what they needed, which is not necessarily all the same things. We can't expect to all get the same things out of education, we are all different people with different learning needs and wants. It is not fair to get the same education because nobody would learn properly if that was the case. Thank you for commenting!
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