Are We Doing What is Right?

  With so much talk about education in the news this week, it seems that everyone is pointing fingers, looking for the causes of our slipping behind other countries in our educational stride.  It is easy to see the problems. As educators we need to look at what we are doing right.  It certainly seems that what is right is not happening on a multi-school level.  Instead it is happening in classrooms in which students are being engaged in work that is meaningful and relevant.  We can give lip service to the idea of embracing cultural diversity in the classroom, but what that really looks like is giving our students care and attention and suppporting  what is important to them.  Teachers must perform a balancing act of sorts to create a learning environment in which students are respected, nurtured and challenged.  These challenges will need to include developing in our students an understanding of how we got where we are - and then how to reconstruct the way we will be in the future.  That will be the future they will live in.  They need to be a part of creating it.

Friday Reflections

     I work in a suburban school. Does that mean that it is "beneath urban?"   I would prefer to think that suburban means that it is in that fuzzy area between city and country. These are assuredly,  kids who reflect much of society today.  They live in between. These are not city kids, but neither are they kids who run around barefoot in fields of green.  They do not take city busses, yet many do not ride school busses, either.  These are students who ride bikes, walk, get dropped off and some do catch the school bus. When they arrive at school, they become part of a melange of young teens.  As I read about urban learners, I consistently see my students in these stories.  Although, many do not live in the same circumstances as some of the students in these articles, many are victims of the same stereotypes and perceptions as those that live in the corridors of the cities. 
     In suburban schools, minority students are still disproportionately labeled as being learning disabled.  These same students have higher rates of discipline referals.  The same conversations about race that are taking place in urban venues need to be taking place in suburban schools as well.  I see students in my school who feel disconnected to the mainstream; there are those who feel they are "selling out" if they yearn to be high-achieving.  Unlike the small school programs that seem to work well for urban youth, in a suburban school like mine, there is little peer pressure to achieve for many suburban minority students and few male role models.  It occured to me that suburban minority youth may sometimes feel more disconnected than some of their urban counterparts because they are not part of the cultural mainstream of the school. As teachers in suburban schools, how do we create learning environments that embrace these students without seeming to single them out?  Building confidence in our students, whatever their cultural background is critical. Whether urban or suburban, all students need to know that they can become engaged in their learning.  These are the challenges facing us.  We can learn much from urban teachers - and perhaps they can also learn from us.

Starting a Collaborative Journey

  This is my first post for my Urban Education journey.  I have titled this blog Urban Collaborative Journey because I will be focusing on how collaboration impacts the education of our students.  As we begin the 21st century in our highly intertwined, connected and complex global neighborhood, working together is crucial to our success as teachers and the future success of our students. 
  In this blog, I will be posting ideas, interests, concerns and insights into how collaboration among teachers and students can create effective and engaging learning environments for our students.  As we utilize and model the dynamic of working together and engaging one another in relevant conversations about learning, I hope that our students will develop a deep respect for dialogue and discussion as they make their way into the world.