diversity and equity interviews
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7/29/2019 Diversity and Equity Interviews
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ElizabethLWood
CindyBurchett
HumanRelationsIndependentStudy
5February2013
DiversityandEquityInterviews
AsIamasecondyearteacher,Iwantedtobetterunderstandmyownschool’sopinions
ondiversityandequity.ItisworthmentioningthatIwasatanotherschoolformyfirstyear
andmyinternshipwasinyetanotherlocation.OutofallthelocationsIhaveworkedat,this
schoolsystemandcommunityseemstobetheonethatvaluesagoodeducationtheleast.SoI
thoughtthiswastheperfectassignmenttodoinordertoseeifIwastheonlyeducatorinmy
schoolsystemthatfeltthisway.
Icollectedmydatainavarietyofways.IheldpersonalconversationswiththePrincipal,
whoisanativeandattendedschoolhereasachild,andheisgoingonhiseighthyearasa
principalinColfax-Mingohighschool.Iinterviewedtheteacherwhohastaughtherethe
longest–anupperlevelEnglishandSpanishteacher.IalsointerviewedtheEnglishteacher
whoisanewbietotheschooldistrictlikemyself.Ialsothensentoutanelectronicsurveyto
theschoolandreceivedanonymousresponses.Iwasnotsurprisedbymyresponsesduringthe
personalinterviews,buttheresultsfrommysurveydidn’tseemtomatchtheinputIreceivedinthepersonalsettings.
ThePrincipalofColfax-MingoHS,Mr.Jones,hasaprogressiveperspectiveaboutour
students.Mr.JonesspendsmostofhistimedealingwithIEPand504meetings,ordealing
behaviorproblems.Thisisdrasticallydifferentfrommylastprincipal.Whilemylastprincipal
stilldealtwiththesesameissues,shestillhadtimetodowalk-throughs,socializewithstaff,
checkattendance,helpworkontheclassschedule,andwasoverallveryactiveintheentire
schoolprocess.Mr.Jonesissobusydealingwiththeaforementionedthingsthatheoftendelegatesalotofworktohisteachers.Mypeersaretheoneswhodoublecheckattendance,
theentireteachingstaffwastoldtocreateournewclassschedulefornextyear,andwhilehe
doeshismandatoryevaluations,thestaffisnowbeingaskedtodopeer-evaluationsfor
professionaldevelopment.Mr.Jonesstatesthe“weneedtodoabetterjobofteachingusing
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differentiationwithourstudents.Thiswillallowustospendmoretimeunderstandingour
students.”Recently,I’vebeenaskedbyMr.Jonestorecordoneofmyclassperiodsand
documenthealthproblemsforaparticularstudent.Thiswashissuggesteddifferentiation
methodforthisstudentandhemadeitveryclearthatitwasnotupfordebate.Itisalsovery
clearthatMr.Jonesacknowledgesthatourschoolisverydiverse.
Theteacherwhohasbeenintheschoolsystemthelongest,Mr.Pace,alsonotesthat
thereisdiversityinourschoolsystem.Mr.PaceteachestheadvancedlevelcoursesforSpanish
andEnglish,whichincludeDMACCcertifiedcourses.AlmosteverynightIwatchasprevious
studentsgointochatwiththisveryintelligentman,andafterwardshetellsmeabouthow
brilliantthatindividualwasasastudent.Thelineofformerstudentsseemsendless.However,
itisfairtosaythatMr.Paceonlyhasthebestandbrightestinhisroom.Hisclasssizesare
muchsmallerthanthatoftheotherEnglishteachers,andwhilemySpanishclasseshave
anywherefromninetofifteenstudents,hishaveeitherfourorless.
Mr.Pacerecognizesthatthisdiversityisnotracial,ethnic,orevenreligious,butinstead
it’sasocioeconomiconeandheattributesthisreasontohislowclassenrollment.Thiswise
mansayshisbestyears(intermsofbrightstudents)coincidedwiththewell-offtimeswhen
Maytagstillhadtheircompanyinthearea,andamajorityoffamiliesstillheldjobs.Now,since
thecompanyleft,accordingtoMr.Pace,“Thecommunityjustdoesn’tvalueeducationanymore.Itdidn’tusetobelikethis,Elizabeth,itjustwasn’t.”Mr.Pacepartiallyblamesthis
problemontheprincipalforhispro-specialeducationmentality.Mr.PacesaidthatwhenMr.
Jonescameinastheprincipal,theschool’sfocuschangedfromhowtoeducateeverychildto
beallaboutthosewithspecialneeds.
Mrs.Cooper,theEnglishteacher,issimilartomebecausewhilesheisnotanew
teacherthisisherfirstyearinColfax-Mingo.Mrs.Cooper’sthoughtsandcommentsarevery
similartomine.Mrs.Cooperstatesthatthecommunityasawholedoesnotvalueeducation.Forexample,afteramisbehavingstudentreceivedadetention,themothercomplainedandthe
principalputacamerainMrs.Cooper’sroomtorecordthebehavior.Mrs.Cooperwastoldshe
neededthecameratorecordthebehavior,becausetheyneededproofthatthiswas
happening.Thepoliceareoftenroutinelycalled,simplyasameasureofdocumentation.This
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leavesMrs.Cooperfeelinglikeheropinionasaneducatorisinvalidandshe’sfrustrated
becausetheresponseistodocumentinsteadoftreatthebehavior.Mrs.Cooperhasspent
countlesshoursonthephone,communicatinghometoparentsofstudents.Shealsosends
personal,handwrittenletterstoparents,andattheendofthelastsemestersheoffered
special,individualizedtaskstostudentswhowerefailingtoallowthemtopasswithaD-grade.
Mrs.Cooperdidthislastpartbecausewehadallbeenyelledatinthebeginningoftheyearfor
simplyfailingtoomanystudents.AccordingtoMrs.Cooper,onestudent“wasfailingwitha
20%.Allshehadtodowaswriteatwo-pagepaperaboutherselftogetaD-andnotfail.”Mrs.
Cooperrecognizesthatthiswaswhatshecalled“theeasywayout”butshehadstudentsnot
evencompletetheseminortaskstobringuptheirowngradeatthelastminute.Shealsotold
methatshehadafewstudentsnottakeheruponthisverygraciousoffer.
Colfax-Mingoisamainlywhitedistrict,withoneAfricanAmericanchildandthreeAsian
foreignexchangestudentscurrently.SoitisfairtosaythatourissueinColfax-Mingois
socioeconomicdisparity.Icametothisconclusiononmyown,butthisismostlybecauseIhave
workedinotherschoolsystemsbefore.Iworkedinanaffluentschoolthatwasraciallyand
ethnicallydiverseformyinternship,butthecommunitystillvaluededucation.Allkindsof
studentswereenrolledinadvancedcourses–fromwhitetoblackandrichtopoor.Everyonce
inawhile,ateacherwouldmakeacommentaboutwhyastudentwastheways/hewas,butitseemslikeeverychildatColfax-Mingohasoneofthesestories.StudentAactsupanddoesn’t
turninworkbecausehisdadkilledhimself,StudentBisquietandwithdrawnbecausehermom
cheatedonherdad,StudentCdoesn’tparticipateinclassandistardyallthetimebecause
momcouldn’taffordtokeeptheminherlastschooldistrict,andsoonandsoon.Young
deaths,financialhardship,etc.areallcharacteristicsofpoverty.Iunderstandthatevery
child/personhasastory,butitseemsthatthere’salwayssomehomestorytojustifywhythe
“bad”behaviorisoccurringinthisdistrictinsteadofhowtoimproveit.AftertalkingwithJones,Pace,andCooperwhoallseemedtovalidatemythoughts
aboutourschoolsystem,IwaskindofshockedwhenIgottheresultsbackfrommyanonymous
surveyaboutdiversityinourschoolsystem.Theeducatorswhorespondedhavebeenin
educationforaslittleastwoyearsandasmuchasthirty-nineyears.Theeducatorwiththe
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mostexperienceinsideColfax-MingoCSDhad36years.Theiranswerstothesurveywerevery
interesting.
Theeducatorswhorespondedappearedsplitonmostquestions.Forexample,when
askedabouttheschoolengaging“inpracticesthataddressdiverselearningstyles,”halfthe
respondersstatedthattheyagreedthattheschooldidthiswhiletheotherhalfdisagreed.
Quiteafewotherquestionshadsimilarresponses.Forexample,whenaskedifour“school
emphasizesrespectforallstudents’culturalbeliefsandpractices”andifwhethertheschool
“fostersanenvironmentofappreciationandrespectforstudentdiversity”57%ofresponders
agreedwhile43%disagreedonbothquestions.Oneteacherstatedthats/heoftenhearsracial
slurstargetedatAfricanAmericanandHispanicgroups.Thisteacherhasevenheardstudents
callingourloneAfrican-Americanstudentthe“n”word,butstatedthatwhenthecommentwas
addressedthatthestudentssaidtheAfricanAmericanchildsimply“laughedaboutit.”Similar
resultswerefoundwhenaskedaboutifourschooltextbookscontainmultipleordiverse
perspectives.
Onthequestionsthatreceivedamajorityvote,IoftenfoundthatIpersonallydisagreed.
Outoftheeducatorspolled,71%believethattheschoolsetshighstandardsforacademic
performancewhenitcomestoallstudents.OnereasonIdisagreeisbecausesometeachers
simplyassignahomeworkpacketthatneedstobeturnedinbytesttime,butdoesnotgooveritwiththestudents.Hesimplygradesitandhandsitback.Recently,twostudentswerecaught
cheatingontheassignment.Whilethestudentsdidinfactcheat,Ibelieveit’stheteacher’s
faultbecause(1)heassignsmeaninglesspaperwork,(2)hehandedbackgradedpacketsfrom
studentwho’dalreadyturneditinbeforetheywereevendue,allowinganeasycheating
system.Thistypeofhomeworkismeaninglessbecausethestudentsaresimplycompleting
paperwork–there’snolearningorinstructioninvolved.Onanotherquestion71%ofpolled
educatorsagreedthattheschool“encouragesstudentstoenrollinrigorouscourses–suchashonorsanddualenrollment–regardlessofrace,ethnicity,ornationality.”Perhapsitismy
faultinthewording,becauseiftherace,ethnicity,andnationalitypartswerearequired
portionwhenansweringthequestionIwouldhavetoagreewiththem;however,asawhole
ourstudentsdonothavethesamerigorouscourseworkthatI’veseeninotherschools.Yes,
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weofferDMACCcertifiedclassesbutweonlyhave3studentsintheSpanishcourseandmaybe
10intheEnglishone.Alotofadvancedcoursesareofferedonline,andwhileIunderstand
learningismovingtowardsthisstyle,itisnotourowneducatorsinstructingthecourses.Ialso
believeourcoursesaren’trigorousbecausewehavetwostudentswhospendhalfoftheir
schooldayatanotherschoolinordertoreceiveinstructionforcoreclasses,likemath,English,
andscience.Intheirwords,theclasseshere“justaren’tchallengingenoughandthekidshere
misbehavetoomuch.”
ThepartsofthepollIagreedwithdealwithourleadershipexpectationsofstudentsas
wellasthemultitudeofopportunitiesthatstudentshavetohelpthecommunityorother
people.Around85%statedthattheydidnotthinkweobtained“diversestudentperspectives
throughregularleadershipopportunities”whilewhenaskedaveryquestion,“Thisschool
considersperspectivesobtainedfromdiversestudentpopulationsindecision-making,”43%of
staffdisagreedandanother14%thoughtthisquestionwasnotapplicabletoourschool.Imust
agreewiththefindings.Ibelievewhenitcomestostudentleadership,wearelacking.Atmy
previousschool,Iwitnessedthepowerofeffectivestudentleadership.Whiletherewasacore
groupofseniorswholedbyexample,theywerealwaysaskingforeveryone’sinputor
encouragingallkindsyoungsterstudentstoparticipate.Thestudentsactedlikeeveryonewasa
brotherorsister.Itwasreallyapositiveandpowerfulthingtowitnessasateacher.NowatColfax-Mingo,Iwatchthesamegroupofkidsgettingtomakeadecisionwhenstudentsare
askedforopinions.Ioftenfeel,andIbelievethestudentsgetthisfeelingaswell,thatthey’re
onlyaskedfortheiropiniontosaythey’vebeenaskedforit,butthattheiropinionsarenever
actuallytakenintoaccount.Accordingtothestudentcounselrepresentative,thekidsareoften
afraidwhentheprincipalwantstomeetwiththemandtheyoftentrytoavoidit.Eventhough
wemaynotdothiswellinourschool,itisclearlyobviousthatourschoolvaluescommunity
servicebecause100%ofindividualspolledsaidthattheschooloffersmanyopportunitiesforstudentsto“makeadifference.”Spanishclubisusuallywherethemostopportunitiesare
offered,butIwillputastipulationonthisandsaythatittendstobethesamegroupof
individuals(justlikeinstudentcouncil)thatheaduptheseendeavorsaswell.Opportunities
includeMakeaDifferenceDay,RacefortheCure,andtheSeniorCitizensProm.
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MostofthequestionsIaskedrelatedtothestudentexperience,howeverIthoughtit
wasappropriatetoaddsomeabouttheteachers’experiencesinregardstodiversityand
equity.Everyteacherpolledagreedthatwemonitorstudentprogressatthisschool.Thiscan
beattributedtothefactthatwe’reontheWatchListbecauseoflow-testscores,and
administratorsneverletusforgetthat.However,theeffectofthismonitoringdoesnot
necessarilytranslateintopositivethoughtsaboutthewayadministratorsarehandlingit.With
somuchemphasisonhelpingourstudentsreadmoreeffectively,28%ofteachersstilldonot
believewearedevelopingpoliciesandprogramsasaresultofthatdata.Thissurprisesme
personallybecauseitseemslikeI’malwaysbeingtoldoneextrathingthatIneedtobedoing.
Inregardstobeinggiventheright“materials,resourcesandtrainingneededtoeffectivelywork
withdiversestudents”71%saidthattheythoughtweaseducatorsdidnothavethesetools.
Whilealllearningdoesnotneedtocomefromabook,IknowIamnottheonlyonewhohasto
gowithoutone.I’vealsohadpersonalconversationsaboutnotknowinghowtoreachthe
studentswhosimplywon’tconnect.ThedataI’vediscussedinthissectiontellsmethatwe
needtodomorethanemphasizethefactthatourstudentsdon’ttaketestswell,butthatwe
needhelpourselvesingettingthemtowheretheyneedtobe.Ourstudentsaresodiversethat
we’reunsurehowtoreachallofthem.
Thisassignmenthasbeenveryinsightfulforme.Ithasputtheissuespresentedinthetextintocontext,andit’salsomadethisissuereal.Ithashelpedmedefinemyperspectiveof
theschoolIcurrentlyteachat,aswellaspossiblyunderstandthewhybehinditall.I’mgoingto
encourageasimilarsurveytomysuperintendentandprincipalsothattheycangetsome
honestfeedbackfromthestaff.It’simportantforadministratorstoknowthatweneedmore
resources.Instead,we’reallscaredtosaywhatwereallyfeelandresultantlyaren’tgetting
whatweneedinordertobebetterteachers.Oncetheeducatorsstartgettingwhattheyneed
tobebetter,ourstudentswillbecomebetteraswell.
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