The Problem We All Live Live With: Reflection

SUMMARY

In episode 562 The Problem We All Live With, Ira Glass interviews reporter of the New York Times, Nikole Hannah Jones. Jones has been reporting on the schools in Durham, North Carolina during the time of No Child Left Behind. She has reported that many of the school districts there are, have implemented many different strategies in order to ensure that students are receiving the same education and decreasing the education gap between black and white students. However, Jones states the only strategy that seems to work the most is integration. Black students were scoring almost 40 points behind their white peers at the start of desegregation in 1971 and by 1988 the black students were still behind the white students, but this time by 19 points. It was because black students were being integrated into higher class schools systems where they were receiving the same resources and better teachers than those in low income school districts. Even though it appears to only be an income issue as to why some students receive a drastically lesser education than others, it is also a racial issue due to residential patterns. The interview states that blacks are getting the least qualified teachers, there are no upper level courses provided, and these students usually have the most educational needs. These students tend to have more needs due to their struggles outside of school based upon their family, income and resources provided to them. A mother, Leslie McSpadden, lost her son after he was shot by police and she was devastated, because her son was going to be one of the few black men to stay in school and graduate. Her son Michael Brown was no longer able to graduate after his life was taking away by being shot by a police officer. Brown was from a poor, low income district of Normandy. According to a statement about the students test scores, each subject received zero points on academic achievement and only 10 out of 140 points on its test score. One mother, Nedra Martin, said that the classes were often dumbed down and that the teachers seemed to not care. She worked hard to get her daughter Mah'Ria out of the Normandy school district. It would not be until Missouri law called for transfer law where students of unaccredited school districts could transfer to a nearby accredited district. The parents of the accredited school district were upset about this transfer and wanted there to be security in place, because they felt the transfer students were violent. Mah'Ria had a great experience with the trasnfer to Francis Howell and they had cheerleaders outside the school when the new students arrived for their first day. Nikole Jones followed her daughter's bus that day because she was scared for her daughter's safety and wanted to ensure that she would be alright. Even though Mah'Ria had a great experience from the transfer that was not the case of a student named Rhianna Curtain. Curtain was tried by other students and called racial slurs by one girl, who tried many times to get a reaction out of Curtain. Eventually the state overtook the Normandy school district which forced transfer students to go back, however, even though the state overtook the school classes were still not up to level and many of the classes were not being taught lessons. The superintendent, Charles Pearson, said to Jones regarding the state taking over the schools in Normandy, "Yes, an entire district has never turned around. It has never happened. But that doesn't relieve us of the charge to attempt to do it. So you're right, it hasn't been done. However, our obligation to attempt to do it, it still remains. The kids are here. So you're right. It hasn't been done. But it's our watch" (Glass). 

REFLECTION

Upon listening to this episode and reading Separate and Unequal by Bob Herbert, which discusses the differences between low income and high income school districts and how it is not only an issue regarding income, but also regarding race which many people do not want to talk about, I could not help but think about the school districts of Providence and my service learning project. The episode directly made me think about Providence schools and how the state is taking over the school district due to students test scores. In Providence, schools are scoring significantly lower than neighboring towns and cities, due to the lack of funding and resources provided. Many students in Providence are also English Language Learners and are not being provided the resources and tools needed to catch up to their English speaking peers. I could not help but to also think that many of these students in Providence are economically disadvantaged but are also of minority groups. The issue not only lies in the lack of income and money provided to the school districts but it is also an issue of race, because many of these students are of minority groups they are not being provided the proper education to help decreased the racial and economic gaps faced. In my service learning project I volunteer at Robert F. Kennedy Elementary School in Providence, Rhode Island and all of the students in the classroom are English Language Learners. I have noticed that the majority of them are black and Hispanic and are economically disadvantaged. I have noticed there to be a lack of resources for the students to use to help them learn better and that many parents are not as involved in their education. I have noticed a lack of parent involvement in some of the students education, because the teacher constantly has to remind the students to tell their parents about assignments and projects that they need to complete. The students also do not have special assignments to help learn English more and their are no electronics to help the students learn at their own pace. Herbert states in his article, "Ninety-five percent of education reform is about trying to make separate schools for rich and poor work, bu there is little evidence that you can have success when you pack all the low-income students into one particular school" (Herbert). According to the Kennedy Elementary School report less than 5% of the students are scoring higher than proficient academically and about three-fourths of the students are economically disadvantaged. I wonder if the test scores would change if the students were integrated into schools where there are better teachers, more resources and higher expectations in place. 

I also work at a Special Education elementary school where many of the students who face social and emotional problems are from low income families and they usually are the ones who struggle more with their education due to the lack of demand at home regarding them learning. However, I have seen first hand these students excel more when they have individual goals planned for them and they have more resources at school in place for them such as an I.E.P., breaks, and one-to-one attention. Some of the students are even integrated into regular education classrooms to gain experience and other resources these classrooms provide. If students are integrated into higher income school districts or more advanced classes, they will likely excel more academically, because resources will be provided to them to help them be successful throughout the educational career. 

HYPERLINK

I have attached a link for you to view the John Hopkins report, regarding Providence, Rhode Island school district. I know many of you who view my articles participate in volunteering in Providence schools and I think it is important for you to see why the state is taking over the schools. The report might even provide insight to you regarding the classroom you volunteer in and possibly understand why some of the students are falling behind academically compared to others their age. 

John Hopkins Report

TALKING POINTS

After reading the article by Herbert and listening to Glass's interview, I looked at the Brown, v. Board of Education website. I found it interesting because it discusses the segregation between the schools and the history regarding the issue. The website discusses the separate but unequal education that blacks faced in America and it appears to me that it is still occurring. I went to a predominantly white, middle class school and there was always plenty of resources for students of all levels and backgrounds. However, after volunteering at Providence schools I see that it is not only income but race that impacts the education a student receives. Even after 50 years articles such as Herbert's are being written discussing the separate schools that still exists whether it be due to race, income or both, which leads to students have unequal education when compared to their peers from other districts. At the end of Herbert's article he states, "Separate but equal, The Supreme Court understood in 1954 that it would never work. But our perpetual bad faith on the matters of race keep us trying" (Herbert). What can truly be done to ensure all students are receiving the best education possible and how do we prevent schools from still being segregated?

Works Cited

Glass, Ira. “562: The Problem We All Live With - Part One.” This American Life, 16 Jan. 2018, www.thisamericanlife.org/562/transcript. 

Herbert, Bob. “Separate and Unequal.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 22 Mar. 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/03/22/opinion/22herbert.html. 

“Providence Public School District: A Review.” John Hopkins Institute for Educational Policy, 2019. 

“Separate and Unequal.” Education Writers Association, 8 Mar. 2015, www.ewa.org/first-prize/separate-and-unequal. 

“Separate Is Not Equal.” Separate Is Not Equal - Brown v. Board of Education, americanhistory.si.edu/brown/history/index.html.