Prompt #1

Connection to Ira Shor- Education is Politics (1)

There are two project housings a couple of blocks away from the school. There are potholes on every street I turn on because the city does not have the substantial amount of money to fill them. The car behind me was vibrating because its music was turned up high, and there was only one crossing guard in sight. While I was waiting at the traffic light, my mind began to wander. I could not help but notice some children walking to school. Others were stepping out of city buses and some out of cars. I thought about the obstacles some students might have encountered on their way to school and somehow saw a drive in these students. I knew that the impression of the neighborhood is not a reflection of what kind of students these children may be. The light turned green, and on my left, was the parking lot of Manton Middle School.
The parking lot is enormous, but the school only needs and uses half of it. Inside the school building, the walls and floor are white. While I walked down the corridor, I saw a few posters hung on each wall. The posters list the rules of the school and the classrooms. As I continued to walk the hallway, there were students lined up outside their classrooms. They were first grade students walking in two lines with their fingers placed on their closed lips. The reason for this is because Manton Middle School is shared with elementary students. It is both Manton Middle School and Westside Elementary School.
In the classroom I volunteer in, the walls are covered with students’ work, rules of the classroom, and posters of motivational quotes like “Success is a do-it-yourself project” and “Believe you can do it.” The students’ desks are arranged in the shape of an “H” facing the board. It is an awkward way to arrange the seats because it makes it uncomfortable for the students to interact with each other and it is also uncomfortable for the student teacher and me to walk around to help the students. There are two teachers in my classroom including the student teacher. There is also a Teacher Assistant who helps out with collecting homework and behavioral sheets, or making copies of worksheets for the teachers and the students. The classroom is made up of mostly Hispanic and African American students. There is only one white student in the class. It is also a special education classroom.
From my observations, this classroom values work ethic. The teacher expects the students to understand every lesson she goes over with them for a certain amount of time. There is this particular activity called “Reading Fluency”, in which the teacher times the students on how fast they can read a story. I was working with one girl named Kiara, who was concentrating more on beating the time than understanding the story. I told her to take her time and carefully read the text. I wonder if timing students while they read will actually improve their reading skills. Ms. Lee told me that Manton Middle School is a “Direct Instructive school”, meaning teachers read the curriculum to the students. For example, while Ms. Lee would teach the students about past tense and present progressive words, she would read what a book is telling her to read to the students. I wanted to know how she felt about this school’s way of teaching, and she told me truthfully, “It does not allow much creativity.” I agreed with her, and I am convinced that the students think the same thing. Ira Shor explains that the curriculum should not only be teacher-based, but also student- based as well. A curriculum should empower students. Shor states, “The teacher brings lesson plans, learning methods, personal experience, and academic knowledge to class but negotiates the curriculum with the students and begins with their language” (16). Unfortunately, Ms. Lee cannot begin with the students’ language and understanding because she must read the curriculum (another “type” of language which the students may or may not understand).