My question was similar to that of Kate's and pertains to the language differences in the classroom. I was also quite upset to read that teachers treated children differently based on things such as their language. One of my roommates did a teaching internship this summer with underprivileged kids in Philadelphia she told me about the training that she underwent beforehand. It was stressed to her and her co-workers the importance of treating the kids equally, of not calling on one side of the room more than the other or one sex more than the other, etc etc etc. With this in mind when reading the article I am left to wonder if other teachers are not taught the same things of equality in the classroom. Are they once taught but revert back to old stereotypes after dealing with diverse groups of children? & if so how can we make sure that they don't go back to their old ways? With some children already being at a disadvantage over others for various reasons, shouldn't we be actively trying to make things as equal as possible and make sure that they stay that way?
Comments (2)
I understand and agree with your opinion here. I think there is probably a continum when it comes to explaining to teachers the importance of treating students fairly. Of course, this seems to be common sense but many, as it has been pointed out, don't even realize they are doing it. When I say continum, I mean it could be that certain schools stress the importance whereas others do not. Depending on the teacher or the district, it could also be a situation where the teacher either, like you mentioned, "reverts" or perhaps doesn't even care.
To touch on your concern about how to avoid teachers being ignorant of the special circumstances when it comes to equality, in particular bilingual children: I think it would be helpful to have a special training session on the difficulties that bilingual children face so that teachers can sympathize a bit more. Or perhaps, maybe only select teachers who show the compassion and willingness to work with these children should have them in their classroom. This is not to say that bilingual children should have a special classroom, like perhaps learning disabled children would, but to have a normal classroom with specific teachers. This of course would be up for debate because there would be a higher ratio of biligual children in one classroom depending on the number of trained teachers but it is perhaps an option.
Posted by Amy Smith | March 5, 2008 1:22 PM
Posted on March 5, 2008 13:22
I agree that it is upsetting to learn just how blatant the discrimination in a classroom can be, however I think that to a certain degree, it is inevitable. I think it's great that teachers undergo formal and informal training on how to bring equality into the classroom. But, actually putting their training into practice is another thing. Whether we'd like to admit it or not everyone had stereotypes and prejudices. Most of the time they are subconscious ways of thinking, which is why it is easy to understand how a teacher may harbor inequalities within the classroom. I also believe that inequality can occur in many forms based on the environment and surrounding location of the school. For example, an inner city school may be more likely to experience racial or ethnic inequality whereas a suburban school would be more likely to experience inequality based on gender or socioeconomic status. So what are we to do about this inequality within our schools? Although research has shown that videotaping a class and playing the tape back to the teacher is effective in reducing their personal ideas about how they operate in the class, this method is very costly and inefficient. I think that continual training in how to reduce personal prejudice and practice sessions would be more cost effective and hopefully help teachers reduce the inequalities within their classrooms.
Posted by Ashley Connelly | March 8, 2008 11:08 PM
Posted on March 8, 2008 23:08