April 21 - 27
Chapter 4: It's Like Two High Schools: Race, Tracking and Performance Expectations
(I apologize that I am behind schedule.... offering no excuses.)
Chapter four opens with the statement "Race does not necessarily matter less than it did in the past. It just matters differently.' Riverview is noted as being 'second generation' segregated. How does this compare to the ISD?
The authors also speak of symbolic resources, in that 'that parent might call; that parent might question their student's grade or discipline procedure. White parents are given the nod that they might get involved and that prompts a different response from the adults....What needs to happen to be certain this doesn't happen at the ISD?
I think this describes ISD. There is some data you have all shared with me about the racial divide in students taking advanced classes. Parents getting to "choose in" definitely is a start to making it more equitable. Other equity experts would recommend getting rid of tracking, even self-selected tracking. Make the classes all kids on M,W,F and then on T, Th provide math lab and math acceleration, so students get their work differentiated.
ReplyDeleteI have seen these stereotypical messages sent to Latino students, even in K classes "you're not as smart". It wasn't said like that, but that was the implied message based on non-verbals, wait time etc... I can't imagine how having these experiences over and over would erode self-confidence. No wonder by high school they don't feel they are smart enough to take advanced classes.
I would like to compare our current data in math to previous years. In the past, students were tested and how they performed on the test determined their math placement. Now, parents choose which path their students' will take in math based on recommendations from the district. I would like to know if the proportionality in races has changed at all since the decision has been taken out of the district's hands and is now in the parents' hands. It would be interesting to look at that data.
DeleteYeah, this is what's so hard - racism is clearly still present (as evidenced by the data we have, which often cuts along racial lines), but it's so much harder to see now, because often it's structural or institutional as opposed to individual.
DeleteI agree - years of these messages sent to students must have a devastating impact on their confidence in all areas of their lives.
DeleteI feel like the first statement does reflect ISD. Our rules seem fair to me but I have definitely seen how they are not applied fairly which does continue a less obvious segregation.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of the second quote, I feel like our teachers need to know they are supported by the administration. Sometimes, they are so afraid of the consequences that it does impact their reaction to different students' behaviors. Teachers need to be aware of their own disciplinary actions, but they also need to be free to discipline fairly without fear of consequence.
I wanted to follow up to my first paragraph. While the rules seem fair to me, going back to Rosann's comments from the last discussion, it is possible that they could be improved and having parents as a part of the discussion would be valuable.
DeleteI think this absolutely describes ISD. I always hear people say things like, "Well, we don't have these kinds of issues in Issaquah. In fact, we don't have many African American students at all." And I always want to ask, "why do you think that is?" I feel like we miss the big picture sometimes. Why don't we have many AA families? Seattle certainly does. Even some of our neighboring suburban districts do. That in and of itself is a racial segregation issue - what is it about Issaquah that does not appeal to certain groups?
ReplyDeleteI think this describes the ISD very accurately. We pride ourselves in being different and not having these issues, but our classes at the high schools are very divided by race. I have seen changes in the MERLIN program recently – I visited this year and saw one MERLIN class with nearly all Indian and Chinese students. I think I saw one or two white students. There are definitely new messages that are being formed and sent to students about who is smart and capable. I think that parent involvement is increasing for those students who are excelling and that parental involvement is becoming a key indicator of student success – the more/most involved parents figure out the “ways in” to special classes and the ways to intimidate teachers to keep their students from being disciplined.
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