The Children of Katrina

I chose to write about this article because, while teaching at Oakland High School last year, I had a student that had been displaced by hurricane Katrina. As it turns out, this article wasn’t really about the experiences of a teacher or teachers that had encountered students that had been displaced by Katrina. The article actually talks a bit about the possibility of funds following these students, allowing the students that were displaced to get to choose from all of the schools in whatever district the children’s families were displaced to, and allowing schools that take on a large number of evacuees to be allowed to hire more teachers. To me, none of these sound like poor options for anyone involved, but I don’t think it really applies to Murfreesboro, TN. It mostly applies to cities nearer to the site of the disaster. Most of these students were displaced to neighboring states such as Texas, but some had to travel further to find refuge with family or friends. Places like Tennessee and Alabama have taken on a number of evacuees as well.

When reading about the possibility of state receiving federal dollars for students that transfer and enroll in their schools, I began to wonder if that actually happened here. I wasn’t able to find that out, but I would imagine if the possibility were there, all those involved would try to get their hands on those dollars. As for the students families being able to choose, why shouldn’t they be able to choose? I know sports might be an issue, or possibly potential overcrowding, but really, who minds where these kids go to school? Shouldn’t they be allowed to choose a school that maybe specializes in the interests of their child? Shouldn’t they be able to justify their choice, and at least be given the opportunity for a zone exemption hearing? I think so, but I doubt that was the case here in Rutherford County, TN. Maybe it was the case in Texas, where schools districts accepted thousands of these students, but probably not here.

Along the lines of the possibility of these school districts not being limited by resources or funds in order for them to hire extra teachers, I can’t see why that would be an issue at all. I believe there should be a federal law in place that appropriates funds for school districts that have to accept large enough numbers of students due to a natural disaster. I doubt this will be the last natural disaster that warrants the wholesale exodus of residents of a specific region in the United States.

I don't guess I could say that I was “directly” affected by hurricane Katrina, but I have been fortunate enough to have taught a student whose family was displaced by the hurricane, and have been fortunate enough to speak to her about the process. She’s a very sweet girl, and has a very supportive family. I know she’ll do well, especially when you consider how well she’s already done, judging by what she and  her family have been through.

Ethnic Loyalist, Cosmopolitanist, or Multiculturalist? (or other??)

Although the article written by Kyriakou is a few years old, much of what the author talks about still resonates in our society today. The idea that immigrants should have rights is an issue that is still at the forefront of much of the political debates going on today (Arizona comes to mind). I wouldn’t say I’m passionate about this issue, but I guess I have an opinion on it. My dad is very much of the notion that all illegal immigrants should be shipped back to their respective countries, no questions asked. His opinion now is not unlike his opinion when I was groing up. To say I grew up with a bit of a racist parent would not be entirely inaccurate. Fortunately for me (especially since I’m a teacher), I have not developed those same notions as an adult. I do feel that it’s the responsibility of all who live in this great country to pay their taxes, first and foremost. I don’t like paying them either, but guess what happens to me if I don’t … the government comes knocking wanting their money! I think immigrants deserve the same opportunity to get a visit from the IRS if they choose to live here and not pay taxes. That’s pretty much the extent of it for me. Beyond the taxes issue, I don’t have any problem with immigrants moving here and living here.

Mr. Waxler, in his article, gives some really nice examples for any social studies teacher that might need a little guidance as to how to incorporate multiculturalism into their classroom. According to his writing, it sounds as though he’s a very successful teacher, and he’s able to get A LOT out of his middle school kids. With that said, there were some points that he made that caught my eye a little quicker than his social studies class examples. At one point in the article, Mr. Waxler talks about how we shouldn’t be forced to “pull out each culture and teach it as a separate entity such as Black History Month or Women’s History Month.” He goes on to say that “having separate months for different cultures is exactly the opposite of what true multicultural education should be trying to achieve.” I couldn’t agree more. As I’ve said before, I’m often ignorant when it comes to multicultural education. I guess that’s mostly because I’ve been a math teacher for the past 12 years. Math, for one, is a pretty universal language. Other than the way word problems are written, there’s not much opportunity for incorporating multicultural education in a math classroom. Well, at least there are not as many opportunities to do so. My point is, even I know that designating a month for Women and a month for African-Americans, and so on, is not multicultural education. Multicultural education has to be nurtured through the curriculum in the classroom on a daily basis, not a month at a time!

Now to Mr. Hirsch. If I’m being honest, I found this article particularly difficult to read. I’m not sure if it was the articles inability to draw me in and grab my attention, or if it was the fact that I had a hard time processing the rhetoric. All the talk about Ethnic Loyalism and Cosmopolitianism was just a bit wordy for me. Either way, I had a hard time with this one. With that said, I did find a couple of points in the article particularly intriguing. First, when Mr. Hirsch talks about how, for an ethnic loyalist, “the very idea of ethnicity defines the essence of a person.” Once again, I’ve never really thought about this, or the fact that the term “African-American” or “Jewish-American” or “Asian-American” could be dubbed a sort of “stigma.” I always thought that all black people wanted to be called African-American, when in fact (according to Mr. Hirsch), there may actually be some black people who don’t have the same ideals as other black people, so they would choose not to be called “African-American” due to their differences in attitudes and values. This was very interesting to me.

The second point that caught my attention was Mr. Hirsch’s discussion on multiculturalism in schools. I found his comparison between the “haves and have-nots” in this country and other developed countries interesting. I had to let this one sink in for a moment. I guess, because I have been in the education system here for so many years, I assumed we were doing it right, but it’s pretty easy to argue that we’re not. His theory about the nation having a set curriculum for each grade is nice in theory, but a little unrealistic. He says that, “More than any other circumstance, the American vagueness about what children need to learn in each grade causes the learning gap to widen between the haves and the have-nots.” I agree with this … to a degree. Theoretically, it’s a great idea, but realistically, it’s a bit deranged. To think that a third grader in Woodbury, TN, could learn at the same rate as a third grader in New York, NY, or as a third grader in Dallas, TX, is crazy! There are so many extenuating circumstances surrounding kids from these three cities (not to mention the other zillion cities in the US), there’s no way to assume they could all learn at the same rate. Things important to kids in Woodbury, TN, are not the same things that are important to kids in New York, NY. Same goes for kids in Dallas, TX. There are factors outside school that drive the students to succeed or fail in school.

I think we are all in agreement in that every kid deserves the very best education they can get. What we have to remember, however, is that not all kids need the same education. As long as we, as educators, are giving the kids we have all the tools to be able to, at some point in their lives, make their own decisions about their education, we are doing the best we can. Ultimately, it’s up to the student, and the parents of that student, to be responsible for taking ownership of their learning. We need to encourage, be charismatic, and nurture as much as we can to aid them in their quest to do so.

Multiculturalism and "our" World

In the first article, Samuel Taylor speaks to the idea that schools today aren’t teaching history the way it used to be taught. Better yet, they can’t. I’ve never really thought about Mr. Taylor’s point of view on this, but I find it very interesting. Everything he says about history books and how they have tried to be “inclusive” makes perfect sense to me, I just never thought much about it. It’s all a bit daunting if you ask me. The idea that pretty much everything has occurred here in the United States can be viewed as either a triumph or a tragedy seems a little overwhelming to grasp, at least for me. It sounds to me like it could all end up causing some kind of civil war, at least figuratively, if history begins to be viewed this way. In my opinion, history is just that, history. Some of what happened we aren’t proud of, but some of what happened we are very proud of. I’m not proud that white people owned slaves, but I’m proud that slavery existed so that we could all come to learn about Booker T. Washington (among others). Without slavery, as horrible as it may have been, Booker T. Washington may not have been driven to be the person he became. Agree with him or not, Mr. Taylor presents some very interesting thoughts on our history and multicultural differences.

In the article “Pithissippi Burning: Race, White Nationalism and American Culture,” PJ Tobia speaks of something that some people (I didn’t) probably didn’t know existed, “The Brigade.” According to Tobia, “The Brigade,” an internet novel by H.A. Covington, is part of a group of writings that found The Northwest Homeland. The Northwest Homeland is the idea that white people take over three states in the northwest and pretty much form their own nation with no regard for the United States as it stands today, it’s military, governmental structure, or citizens. Although this is real, at least the concept, I have a hard time believing that it could ever really happen. I know there are extremists out there that believe this could happen, and they may even be trying to make it happen, but it’s all a little far-fetched for me. As an educator, I am personally excited to see the advancement of other races in this great country. To me, it shows some of the successes of the school systems here in the United States. Most of these kids from other cultures were, at some time, a part of the education system of this country, and to a degree, owe their success, at least in part, to their teachers throughout their years in school.

Maybe I don’t know enough about multiculturalism, or maybe I’m ignorant of too many points of view about multiculturalism, but the author of “Why Multiculturalism is Wrong,” in my opinion, is a bit extreme. I know some of what they say is fact, but so much seems so extreme to me, I can’t get my head around the possibility that it really does exist. I did, however, find one of the ideas a little intriguing. At one point, the author speaks of how a multicultural society “oppresses migrants.” He goes on to say that people from other cultures maintain their same culture whenever they arrive in a multicultural society. I take this to mean, that if a person from another culture arrives in a multicultural society (not unlike the US), they would be able to continue their previous culture there. Meanwhile, if they arrive in a mono-cultural society, maybe like the Netherlands that the author speaks of, they would have to adhere to the cultural beliefs of the culture in place in order to be able to stay there. Personally, I believe that diversity is part of what makes the education system in this country so great. Differing points of view help mold young minds and hearts to be accepting to different perspectives, thus creating a better nation, one culture at a time.

Separate Church and State ... or not?

There are so many different angles to which the debate of the “Separation of Church and State” can originate. The first article in our readings discusses a required moment of silence. I always thought that it could be required (the moment of silence), but that it could not be required that each student pray during that time. Most of the schools that I’ve taught at didn’t give enough time for a prayer anyway! It usually only lasts about 5 seconds, and it always seems like they are simply fulfilling their obligation to have the moment of silence. Use it for what you want. Bow your head and pray, don’t bow your head and don’t pray, it’s your choice, but what’s the big deal? I wonder how long it will take for this to become an issue in the South somewhere. Every school I know of has a moment of silence every morning. There’s definitely a branch of people that believe that a lot of the problems we have in schools today is the fact that church and school have to be separated. I for one tend to agree, but I also see the impossibility of making this happen in today’s society. There are just too many different religions represented in our schools today, not to mention, it’s unconstitutional. That’s a bit of a problem, too.

As for the evolution issue in Texas, again, I’m not real sure what the big deal is. I guess I should be more zealous one way or the other, but I’m just not. I believe that scientists believe, for the most part, in evolution, so of course they’re going to be sensitive as a group to the idea of teaching anything associated with creationism in the science classroom. What if there was a creationist science teacher out there somewhere? Would they disagree? Would they be offended by the idea of teaching evolution? It would appear that there is a discrepancy in what’s being allowed anyway. Evolution is universally accepted as “acceptable” to teach in science classroom, but creationism isn’t. Isn’t evolution a belief as well? Hmm. I suppose this one stirs a little more in me than the other. Believe what YOU want to believe, just let the families of your students teach their children what they believe is right. It’s really none of my business what anybody else believes, is it?

The article from the Library of Congress is interesting, but, given the time it was written, I can totally see the ruling coming back the way it did. I don’t think that in the 30’s there was much concern for religion. Most schools were probably following the same protocol as they had for years and years, and they just didn’t care what some small religion (at the time) thought. Just think about how far we’ve come with the issue of corporal punishment. I, for one, remember paddling being a regular occurrence in middle and high school, but by the time I returned from college, it had all but gone away. It’s amazing what a couple of court rulings can do for “traditions” in school.

The more interesting story was, not so much that they changed their ruling, but that the Supreme Court changed their ruling during World War II. Japan attacked us in 1941, so I would think that pride in our flag would have been at an all-time high during the ensuing years (like 1943).

Overall, I think they got it right. I don’t think we should require students to say the pledge, salute the flag, have a moment of silence, or bow their heads to pray during school. I think that if a kid wants to pray, they’ll have plenty of quiet time during their school day to get that done on their own time. Leave it up to the parents to encourage that, not us. As for the issue of evolution/creationism being taught in schools, that’s never going away. As long as people have different views, schools will have different views about teaching it in their buildings.

The Innovators and The Makers

My first thought, when starting to research for this blog post, was, "I have only heard of two of these people, and only one of those two do know who they are! I should be ashamed!" Being in education, you would think that I would be aware of who at least some of the people were that helped shape the very profession that I so lovingly arrive at every weekday (except for holidays and snow days ... and the occasional "mental health day").




With that said, I dove right in, reading about the innovators. Who knew Linda Brown Thompson was “Brown v. Board of Education?” I didn’t. I know, I know, I should be ashamed (I already said that). Also, I thought Horace Mann was an insurance company (well it is, but that all I thought it was). I had no idea Horace Mann was such an influential person in the history of education.



When I started reading about the “Makers,” I initially thought the web-site was a sort of conspiracy theory, with all the talk of, “Teachers and principals, “scientifically” certified in teachers college practices, were made unaware of the invisible curriculum they really taught,” and of schools becoming, “psychological laboratories where training in consumerism was the central pursuit.” As I read on, my thoughts didn’t really change much. Gatto’s angry about this, huh? If not angry, he sure is passionate about it (I can’t wait to read Weapons of Mass Instruction). I suppose if a person bought into this line of thinking, education is way out of whack. I, for one, don’t think it is. I don’t think I’m in the minority, either. I think most teachers would agree it needs some work, but I hope the majority don't think it's as messed up as Gatto does. We teachers owe it to our students to try and teach them to the best of our ability every day. I realize that that “best” is different from one teacher to another, but most of it is in the effort. The idea that American schools have become what Gatto suggests is, well, kind of hard for me to believe. I admire Mr. Gatto for his passion about his beliefs, I just don’t necessarily think it’s as bad as he does.



Now let’s move on to the difficult task of choosing one innovator and one maker to talk about. Both choices were difficult for me, but for completely different reasons. Choosing an innovator was difficult because all of them made sizable contributions to modern-day education. Choosing a maker was difficult because I don’t know if I really think the choices had all that much to with education today (at least not in the way that Gatto seems to think they have). At least this was my original thought.



My choice for “Innovator” is Jose Angel Gutiérrez. I know, I know, some of you are probably thinking that if I were going to choose a person that went against the system, I should have chosen Booker T. Washington or Linda Brown Thompson. Well, you may be right, but I have a reason for choosing Gutiérrez. Jose Angel Gutiérrez went head first against (in a highly Hispanic-populated area), what the article calls the “Anglos,” and was able to organize a student strike, stage an upset in a school board election, and institute many changes in the school system where he served, including hiring teachers and administrators that were Spanish-speaking. My initial thought about Gutiérrez is that he is a sort of modern day Booker T. Washington, at least as far as the Hispanic education movement in this country is concerned.



My choice for “Maker” (although a difficult one) is … well it could be any of the four listed on Gatto’s website. Okay, okay, I picked Carnegie, but I could just as easily have picked any of the other three, but not for the reasons you might be thinking. I don’t buy into Gatto’s ideas, but I do believe that men like Carnegie, Rockefeller, and Morgan (among others) did have an influence on education, but I think their influence can more easily be tied to vocational education than to general education. You see, I’m a vocational teacher, and I haven’t really thought of this before, but these men did have an influence on what I’m doing. The fact that they owned these huge companies that manufactured things that were absolutely necessary for the day-to-day operations of this country and that they wanted a work force that was educated in the trades necessary for their companies to be successful, tells me they wanted trade-education in schools. Carnegie was no exception. The only problem … Carnegie wanted to take over control of the school system and force students to learn only what he wanted them to learn. A sort of "Hitler" approach to educating our children. According to http://www.modernhistoryproject.org/mhp/ArticleDisplay.php?Article=FinalWarn02-5#Education, students would be taught “only what the social engineers of this country wanted them to know.” The fact that Carnegie was a Scottish immigrant, was never a US citizen, but still thought he could take over the education system of country such as the United States of America, is why I chose him over the others. The gall!



This post turned into a pretty interesting one (Dr. Young has a way of making that happen), especially as I expanded my research to some other places on the internet. Please post your comments so that I can improve on my next post.

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