Leveling the Playing
Field
By Jill Jenkins
For the seventeen years of my career, I
taught in inner-city high schools where students often struggled. Some were homeless; some worked eight
hours a night at an after school job to help support their families; some watched younger siblings while
their single parent worked two jobs; and one was raising his younger siblings
because both parents were incarcerated.
Excelling in academically demanding classes was difficult for them and
so was participating in extra-curriculum activities. Properly preparing for the rigors of college is difficult
for a student who has to negotiate with the gym teachers to shower at school
because his water has been shut off.
For twenty-three years of my education career, I taught in an affluent,
suburban neighborhood where helicopter parents not only ensured that their
children arrived at school everyday with their homework in hand, but insisted
that they received every educational advantage that their child was eligible for. These students were tutored, took
voice, violin, dance and guitar lessons.
They played sports outside of school and had private coaches. They traveled the world and attended
workshops and camps in the summer where they learned about computers, science,
biking, swimming, basketball and the arts. When these students graduated, they had already completed
two years of college in concurrent enrollment, or A.P. classes while applying
for several colleges, visiting campuses with their parents and applying for
every available scholarship. These
students are prepared for the rigors of college; however, they are stressed
from their parents’ high expectation and relentless pushing. How can we level the playing fields, so
students with language or financial barriers have an equal change for a quality
education?
AVID
A
Visa In Determination,
AVID, is a program that teaches students critical skill, learning skills,
literary, and math skills. It
supports teachers with new methodology and it provides students with a mentor
teacher who supports his/her learning and helps him/her set goals for higher education. This means that students who do not
have the support system at home to develop their skills and establish high
expectations for the future education can get that help at school. By keeping class sizes small, students
individual learning and motivation issues can be answered more
effectively. If you are teaching
in an urban school with students who struggle, AVID could provide support for
those struggling students.
Collaborating, Caring Staff
Students may choose only a few staff
members with whom they share their struggles. If those challenges are going to be solved, that information
needs to be shared with all of his/her teachers and support staff including the
counseling staff, social workers and outside agencies designed to assist
at-risk students. Working together
and given the freedom to think outside the box, the collaborating team can help
the student overcome his/her situation.
For example, one of my past students was forced to attend my school by a
father who wished to take him away from the influence of a gangs in his home
school. Because he was
unhappy about the situation, he was often withdrawn or arrogant. Since we were aware of the situation,
the team made an effort to help the student adapt, but just when he began to
flourish, his father died from a drug over-dose. Since the teachers were all
made aware of the situation, each member of the team could give the student a
little leeway in completing assignments and offer him emotional support.
Regardless of the students’ economic situation, all students can benefit from
individualized attention, but students in urban schools more often encounter
complications in their lives that are better addressed by the collaborative
effort of a caring staff. This
also means that poisonous teachers who ridicule and bully students need to be
identified and relieved of their position. Such teachers can do damage that is difficult to undo. In many urban schools, teachers are the
only stable adults in students’ lives.
As a result, it is important that these adults are well-adjusted, caring
role models.
Identifying Talented and Bright Students
Students
who attend more affluent schools often have parents who spend considerable
resources identifying and developing their child’s talents. Students who feel successful develop
the confidence to improve their abilities in other areas. For example, students who are given
music lessons young develop both sides of their brain. According to Psychology Today, “Musical Training Optimizes Brain Function” when a child
is given musical training before the age of seven, the child communication
between different parts of the brain increases. This means that these students
perform better in their other disciplines. However, when funding for education becomes difficult the
arts are often the first cut. This
means that students in elementary schools in most inner cities rarely have an
opportunity to learn to play an instrument. By identifying students’ talents and helping them develop
those skills, students feel successful and proud of their abilities. When students have a sense of
accomplishment, they are motivated to try harder and as a result become more
successful. It doesn’t matter where
the student’s talent lies; help him find it and develop it. Schools need to offer classes not only
in music, but sports, the arts, technology, shop, home economics, foreign
languages and solid academics.
Respecting Each of Other and Cultural Differences
Since
most urban schools have diverse populations, it is even more important that
students’ learn to respect each other and the cultural differences. Giving each ethnic group an opportunity
to share their culture’s music, food, and customs is the first step. Teachers need to continually reinforce
the importance of treating other’s religious beliefs, customs, food, and music
with respect. Often conflicts
occur when students’ are ignorant of other’s beliefs. They need to learn in
embrace differences and accept others with differing views. Sometimes there
will be disagreements. Giving
students’ skills to respectfully disagree with another student is a life skill
that will serve them in the real world.
Access to
Technology
Research
shows that at-risk students are enhanced by technology, but many of these
students lack the resources to afford computers or the internet to complete
their studies at home. There are
resources that teachers can use.
·
Public
libraries offer computers and internet resources
·
Many
corporations have offered grants to increase technology in school according to Latino Magazine. Com.
They include:
o Cigna
o Comcast
o National Instruments
o National Grid
o BP
o Symantec
o IBM
o Shell
o Samsung
o Lockheed Martin
o Ingersoll Rand
o Northrop Grumman (Exxon Mobil)
Writing
grants to help your students have the resources they need and informing parents
of the resources available to them can help students have access to computers
and the Internet.
Comprehensive Language
Development Programs
Finally, for students to be successful
they need a well-developed vocabulary and a solid grasp of the English language. Many students live in
homes with limited access to books and with parents who have little or no
education. Many students live in
homes where English is not spoken.
It is difficult for these students to compete with students from more
affluent neighborhoods where parents are professionals with advanced degrees
and who have had access to books long before they entered school. For this reasons, teachers in all
disciplines must make a concerted efforts to make teaching vocabulary part of
their curriculum. Reading a
variety of genres with also help to expand students’ vocabulary. Mainstreaming students who speak little
or no English in traditional classes of 40 students will do little to help them
develop the language skills they need.
These students require a ESL language class where they can receive the
help they need to learn to speak, read and write in English. The instructors of the ESL classes must
be well trained and certified to help these students develop the language
skills they need to be successful.
In Conclusion
Furthermore,
counseling staffs need to walk students through the process of selecting
colleges and applying for them.
The entire staff needs to become the student’s advocate helping them
make appropriate decisions to prepare for a successful academic career beginning
in grade school through high school.
Providing these services for all at-risk students will not be cheap, but
it is a good investment. Students
who are not prepared are condemned to live in poverty, and often either fall
prey to crime or perpetrate it. Solving these problems create expenses that far exceed the money needed to prepare these
students. Furthermore, “a human
being is a horrible thing to waste.”
It is time to level the playing field and help all of our students
succeed.