American Life, Herbert & Brown vs. Board of Education

The Problem We All Live With (Part One) 

"Maria usually brought home A's but when she got a C Neshia asked the teacher why she had not been notified, the teacher told her that she had to many kids in her class to call all of their parents. Neshia said teachers did not seem to care. Classes were dumbed down, and often unorganized, and everything that seemed to be good news turned into bad news."

-This quote is showing how the school really operates. It doesn't matter if she had too many kids in her class. Its still her job to notify parents when necessary. The teacher obviously didn't care that her student went from getting A's to a C. There's so much more to being a teacher then just teaching. As a teacher you should care for your students and do everything in your power to help them succeed. Because of how that school was being operated the students were suffering. The students wasn't being properly educated and set up for success. Because of the lack of organization of the school there wasn't any many students graduating as there should be. Classes shouldn't be dumbed down, if anything they should be challenging the students to test their limits. This quote is relevant to the podcast because the speaker was talking about the school district and all the problems parents were finding out that their children were facing.

Separate and Unequal by Bob Herbert

"Studies have shown that it is not the race of the students that is significant, but rather the improved all-around environment of schools with better teachers, fewer classroom disruptions, pupils who are more engaged academically, parents who are more involved, and so on. The poorer students benefit from the more affluent environment."

-I wouldn't even think that the race of students is what is significant. I would think it was the overall environment of the school. I completely agree with the quote. I believe any student would do significantly better in a school where they had great teachers and less classroom disruptions. Great teachers plays a huge part in a students success in the classroom. Students who have great teacher tend to be more engaged in what their learning in class. Classrooms with less disruptions is great because more students are engaged and focusing on their academics. Also, parent involvement can play a huge part in a students life. I think a student can be successful with or without parent involvement, its just a lot more challenging and they may face more obstacles then others with parent involvement. But overall, I agree that not just poorer students benefit from the more affluent environment but all students do. 

Separate and Unequal by Bob Herbert

"Schools are no longer legally segregated, but because of residential patterns, housing discrimination, economic disparities and long-held custom, they most emphatically are in reality"

-Its sad that this is reality. Students living in a poor income area should have the same chance as students living in a high income area. The school funding shouldn't be based off poor or high income areas. That's not fair to the students  that live in the poor income area. Those students are struggling and doing significantly lower then the students in a high income area because of something that's out of their control. All students should have the same the opportunities no matter what school they go to and no matter what area the school is in. They should all be allowed a great education, with qualified teachers and all around great school environment.

Point to share: How do others feel about schools in poor income areas having less funding than schools in  high income areas?

Link to readings:

-https://www.thisamericanlife.org/562/the-problem-we-all-live-with-part-one

-https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/22/opinion/22herbert.html