Growing up in a society where the term “melting pot” is known to be our culture it is difficult for someone as myself to be familiar with the urban schooling systems. I grew up in an upper-middle class suburban community in northern New Jersey. My graduating class was 25% Asian, 70% Caucasian, and 5% other; of that 5% there was only one African American student who just so happened to be half Irish. From the environment that I grew up in I was never faced with the hardship of diversity in the classroom, culture clashing, or classmates who live in poverty. Each one of my fellow classmates was raised with the notion that they can be anything they want to and achieve any goal that they set for themselves, however, with movies, music and the news being my only source into the life of an urban school teacher I can’t see that scenario being the same for urban students.
When I think about the school systems in urban areas most of the images that first pop into my head are negative. I see the schools themselves to be under funded; by not providing the students with the proper tools and electronics that they need to keep up with the fast paced growth of today’s technology. Student’s not having computer labs to do research in, functioning calculators to help them figure out mathematical equations, or even enough books for each student to read are very detrimental to the development of a student’s education. This is why I feel the literary level and drop out rates are such a problem in urban schools. Another problem I feel is that many immigrants move to urban areas since they are more affordable. This can make teaching more difficult since some of the immigrant students have never had a formal education before. This not only makes the teaching process more difficult but also contributes to the literacy problem that many schools face. As well as being under funded and diverse I feel that the schools environment can be dangerous for students. Schools that are in deprived areas and have high crime rates can help contribute to the negative stereotypes that the students in these schools already face.
When schools face the difficulties of crime, lack of funds, diverse populations, etc… it is very easy for teachers to sit back and let their students fail while they collect a paycheck. Teacher’s in urban areas have a more difficult time connecting with their students, and can often let them slip into the problems of the society that surrounds them. This can be the case for many different reasons, but one that I can relate to is teachers coming in from suburban communities. Students who feel that their teacher “doesn’t know where they are coming from” will have a more difficult time looking up to them as a role model, and a good role model is very crucial in a struggling student’s life. In a recent study about the effect of President Obama’s recent election on the academic performance of African American students the results showed positive outcomes. The New York Times article stated “the inspiring role model that Mr. Obama projected helped blacks overcome anxieties about racial stereotypes that had been shown, in earlier research, to lower the test-taking proficiency of African-Americans” (Dillon, 2009). If teachers work hard towards creating a positive self-image than I feel that this will help students to connect with them better, thus performing better in the classroom.
With views like this I cannot help but have a strong desire to make improvements in the urban school at which I will work. I believe that creating a positive network of piers will be a very important first step, but not an easy one. Since the views that I have of the current urban school teachers isn’t the greatest I will have a difficult time interacting with them at first. Not only am I an outsider trying to work his way in, but also it may be difficult to bring new ideas to a system that many teachers feel may be hopeless. The most effective way for myself to interact with my fellow teachers will be to try and seek out the teachers who care for their students and not the ones who sit back and collect paycheck. I feel that this will not only make me feel more comfortable but will help give me hope that change is possible. If I were to interact with teachers who have negative views of their school and their students it will only reinforce the negative views that movies, music, and the news have implanted in my head. On top of creating a social network of positive teacher I aim to have positive relationships with my students as well. This will be difficult since, as I stated earlier, I have no experience dealing with students in an urban school system. The most important part of this relationship will be showing my student’s that I am there for them. In an essay I previously read by Ennis Cosby he talked about being a healer in the classroom, and about how teaching is more rewarding if you “heal the people who need it the most”. This caught my eye because that is the relationship I am looking to create with my students. If a teacher can properly heal a student who has problems than he will gain that students trust, and trust is a very crucial part of the teacher-student relationship.
When it comes to the classroom that I look to create I firmly believe that a positive classroom is an influential classroom. I will look to create a classroom that my students will want to go to, one that promotes only positive images all around. I feel that little things such as hanging up posters or pictures with diverse positive role models will help students realize that things such as ethnicity, gender, and coming from a low socio-economic family is not a limiting border. If students have a more positive look on life than they will also have a more positive look on education. With a more optimistic look on life there is a chance my students will work harder to achieve what they formerly knew as the impossible dream. As well as creating a classroom with a positive feel to it, I hope to create a classroom rewards children for succeeding. When I was in school my chemistry teacher would throw out candy to students who answered questions correctly, and a gesture as little as that created a classroom full of students raising their hand to get called on for the answer. Some teachers may see this as more negative than positive since students who try but don’t succeed aren’t rewarded, but that is why I am going to look at every aspect of the classroom and not just academics. Students who promote good social behavior, help clean up, volunteer, do well on quizzes/tests, etc… will be rewarded for their good efforts. I feel that it is important for teachers to show that these types of good behaviors don’t go unnoticed.
As a future teacher of America my goal is to help make our youth as well rounded as possible. I aim to help my students become better people both in and out of the classroom. I will first need to break the negative views that society has helped shape, but I feel this is something that will come with time and effort. Since students from urban schools face a wider variety of problems than students in suburban areas it will be more of a challenge to help heal those students, but with great challenges come great rewards.