bJects. Many of the profes-were rega " ent at the first meeting were disturbed by our overt sors pres . . . d. ussion of political standpoints.
I think these professors who were disturbed need to take a step by and question why they felt like this. They’ve been taught differently most likely and carry those opinions with them. It is true: there is no education free of political viewpoints and biases.
I respect that pain.
This seems like a very good and open-minded teacher who respects all their students. We definitely need more people like this within our education system to spread this belief of respect. The world would be better off for it.
forces us all to recognize our complicity in accepting and perpetuating biases of any kind.
This is very true. I think of the phrase “internalized racism” and how it affects POC themselves. Even we have had biases and prejudices against our own communities because of what we’ve been taught and shown. I think a multicultural classroom that teaches the right ideals of equality and inclusion is the best way forward to make the world what we want it to be.
f race, sex, and class is often rooted in the fear that classrooms will be uncontrollable, that emoti
I wonder what makes professors think this to be the case. I’ve never seen something like that happen in a classroom setting. If anything, conversations like these are civil within the school setting. That’s what I’ve seen at least. I understand that topics like these are heavy but this assumption is offensive.
n Women's Stud-ies, for example, individuals will often focus on women of color at the very end of the semester or lump everything about race and difference together in on e section. T
I saw this, for sure in some history classes I’ve taken. It was as if this POC history is not as important as white people’s history. It’s a very subtle bias and prejudice but it certainly is there. This is why so many people fight for their stories to be told nowadays.
was disturbed by what I felt was a Jack of understanding on the apart of many professors as to what the multicultural classroom might be like.
I have been fortunate not to see this at UCI but I remember in high school, the difference in perspective and stubbornness to keep it that way separated teachers from students and built a barrier between them because they just didn’t understand us. It was an active choice not to too. This close-mindedness is prevalent in many locations unfortunately.
end
I like that “end” is in quotations because as far as we know this suffering has not ended truly. We are still experiencing the effects of slavery and prejudice to this day in the 21st century. African American people are experiencing the misfortune of being poor because they weren’t given the same head start as white Americans that chose to come to this country and weren’t brought by force. This is why reparations are and continue to be so important.
oubled by was and is the gross and growing disparities among the social classes. We continue to need methods for shrinking overwhelming and widen-ing class divides. M
The middle class is shrinking and shrinking as the years go on and that is because there are less and less opportunities for people in the lower class to climb up the social and economic ladder to a better place. The rich are only getting richer as well. I can understand why so many people are discouraged with the economic state of the United States.
oor children fail in schools because they are not taking advantage. Poor people exist because they wasted a good, free educa-tion. The poor themselves are the problem.
This idea is so disgusting and out of touch. Poor people exist because of systems and discrimination. There is no equality in opportunity in this country unfortunately. The rich blame the poor for staying that way but all they’re trying to do is survive and climb up the ladder.
Get the education. Borr
At a certain point, the way people who grew up wealthy are so out-of-touch is amusing. It’s sad at the same time because these politicians are the ones who are able to make changes that help those that are less fortunate than them. They’re so uninformed they couldn’t even fathom someone’s parents NOT having the money to help them pay for school because they’re focusing on surviving.
will come from everywhere
Just think of how different the world would it be ONE child who had the potential got a better education. They could be the ones curing diseases and advancing technology and solving world hunger. We need to see that potential in every student, rich or poor, and give them the tools to succeed and do their best.
hildren of the wealthy have a dif~erent kind of head start
Yes they do. Their lives are fortunate from the very beginning. They have the safety nets of their families wealth to survive and thrive even if they don’t do well within school. Often however they do well in school because they have access to so much more than poor children, like tutoring and a system that caters to them well. They can go to better schools where there is proper funding and get the best education. This is not the case for children who didn’t get that “head start.”
Inadequate nutrition, un
Wow, I never realized how early it starts. Someone’s future is decided by these things or lack of them too. Their place in the world is decided by what they got and didn’t get when they were a baby. I know that fortunately people can find success by managing to work hard and do well but many don’t.
Why do poor students perform poorly
It’s interesting the way even young students can see the pattern and realize there’s something fundamentally wrong with what’s occurring inside public school. I think people in power know exactly what’s wrong but don’t do anything to make change. We’re taught right and wrong, and justice and equality in school but realize as we grow that it’s often not the case within our communities and systems
The American dream is egalitarian at the starting point in the "race of life," but not at the end.
I've never thought about it like this. It says "everyone can be successful IF/BUT..." There's a lot of fine print that many don't/can't read. And that fine print entails a lot that for many isn't even possible. My parents may never get to see the fruits of their labor but I am better off because of all the work they've put in. It is very sad to see.
I can succeed by working hard and using my tal-ents; if I fail, it will be my own fault.
This sentence is a side effect of the extreme individualism we see in the United States. Oftentimes when a POC fails, like drops out of school for example, it is not their fault entirely if at all. The system they were in didn't help them or cater to them and they have been failed. The US needs more collectivism within the system and the mindsets of the American people. We need to "love our neighbors" and not just ourselves.
The fact that class and race or ethnicity are so intertwined and so embedded in the structure of schooling may provide the greatest barrier of all to the achieve-ment of the dream for all Americans, and helps explain much of the contention, confusion, and irrationality in public education.
You can't escape who you are and, many times, where you've been put. There are giant hurdles that students of color face in the public school system in the US. It's saddening that who they are themselves is one of these major obstacles they must overcome put there by prejudice and a simple indifference by those in power. We must do everything we can to fix this.
Despite the fact that participation in school elections is very low and information on which to base a vote is often scarce, Americans will not surrender local control without a fight.
Many Americans don't see a purpose in voting. I note that a lot of Gen Z don't think it's worth it and often are not informed at all. Additionally, many people like people who come from other countries, don't have access to information that can help them make changes in their new communities because of language and education disparities. I do think it's admirable that many Americans want to have a say in what happens locally and are fighting to have control.
Public schools are where it is all supposed to start-they are the central institutions for bringing both parts of the dream into practice.
I find this concept interesting, that public schools are where the American Dream comes into practice. I would say some parts of it are true. If you do well in school, you have a chance at doing well in life. But that's just what is. A chance. There's a possibility that you do well in school but don't do well past that. It doesn't translate to achieving a high-paying job and advancing well in other parts of life. There is so much more that one needs to be able to reach that "dream" than a college degree or even good AP scores in high school. This is also assuming that "success" means being wealthy and achieving what society has deemed "worthy" of our time.
In the United States, class is connected with race and immigration; the poor are disproportionately African Americans or recent immigrants, especially from Latin America.
This resonates with me the most because as a Latin American myself, I've seen, firsthand, the way immigrants must fight to survive in the US because we don't have that generational wealth that white families, that have been here longer, have been able to build. They are able to fall back on those safety nets while new Americans have nothing and have to put in inhumane amounts of work to stay afloat in this country. This makes them and keeps them lower class than white Americans.