Multicultural Class 5th year Spring

Alyssa Pepe Multicultural Reflection #2 In chapters five and six of Teaching to Change the World the authors Oakes, Lipton, Anderson, and Stillman, begin to introduce the issues of comparing students and tracking in schools. They trace tracking back to 1999, when the placement of students started to depend on their achievements in school. Traditionally, in education, students who are low achieving are placed in low level classes and are taught low-level math (131). This type of tracking, where students are placed in class levels depending on their test scores and achievement levels, is still implemented in many schools, especially high schools, today. Although there is logic behind comparing students and tracking, placing students in different class levels segregates classrooms and disadvantages both high and low achieving students. Addressing differences between students in education often results to comparing students based on their abilities (168). This type of comparison takes away from students sense of safety in the classroom. When comparing students, learning becomes very public. Students become aware of who finished tests first and who answers the questions correctly during class (168). However, real learning occurs when students are challenged. This means students must take risks in the classroom and accept failure along with success. When students are compared to each other, students do not feel safe to take appropriate risks in the classroom that lead to real learning. Students become afraid of public judgment from their peers or from the teacher if they risk saying their ideas when they might be incorrect (168).

Comparing students and tracking them based on their achievements in the classroom enforces segregation in school systems. Whether the levels students are placed in are a result of racism, stereotypes, students wealth or students achievements, segregated classes make it difficult for all students to see the classroom as a safe environment. For instance, Makeba Jones, an African American woman explains her experiences being in an honors class in high school (170). Of her advanced and high level classes, Jones was the only person of color. Outside of her honors placements where she had classmates that were students of color, she felt confident. However, in her advanced classes made up of mostly white, wealthy students, she felt inadequate, and misplaced (170). Eventually, her feelings led her to drop out of her Honors English class in her senior year. She explains her feeling of relief when she was able to attend classes where she did not feel like a minority and was not scared to answer a question wrong (170). This is an example of how comparing and tracking students leads to segregated classes, and ultimately, classes where students do not feel safe to take risks in their learning. In Academic Ignorance and Black Intelligence, an excerpt from Tongue Tied, William Labov examines another reason why students of color might show low academic achievement and how tracking can disadvantage those students. Labov explains that students of color and ELLs achievement levels do not necessarily depend on inferior language or experience, but that, the language, family style, and ways of living of innercity children are significantly different from the standard culture of the classroom and that this difference is not always properly understood by teachers and psychologists (134). Therefore, some students are faced with a cultural barrier in their classrooms. This

does not mean that they cannot understand high-level math or comprehend difficult texts, but that they are not used to the way math or difficult texts are presented in the classroom. However, when compared to other students who might not face the same cultural barriers, these students are seen as low-achieving and might be misplaced in low-level classes, ultimately hindering their growth as learners. Not only does comparing students and tracking cause racial segregation, but comparing students may also separate classes by gender because of social stereotypes. Often, math and science tend to be seen as masculine subjects, where boys are the highest achievers. Although this idea seems to be decreasing, the push for boys instead of girls to take high level math and science courses is still relevant. For instance, girls are sometimes less likely to be pushed to take high level math courses by their teachers or counselors compared to boys (170). Even though teachers and counselors tend not to tell girls to avoid high level math courses, they might not put adequate effort towards ensuring girls know when they are suited for high level math (170). For this reason, girls tend to be underrepresented in math and science classes. When there is a large discrepancy between race and gender in the classroom, it leaves the minority feeling misplaced, as Makeba Jones explains, so that they do not feel comfortable taking part in their learning, or the learning of others. Through methods courses I have taken for teaching social studies, I see the value of heterogeneous classes and the threat that comparing students and tracking might have on the growth of all students learning. All students have individual strengths that contribute to the learning of others. A valuable source I have learned that is mentioned in Teaching to Change the World is using a jigsaw strategy for activities (181). The jigsaw

strategy allows students to become experts on a topic and teach their peers to allow for cooperative learning. With this strategy, every student has a role in their own learning and the learning of others. It allows for students to view one another as competent and allows each student to contribute in the classroom. An activity using the jigsaw strategy allows for equal opportunities for learning in heterogeneous classes, thereby making tracking and comparing students trivial. Through internships, I have learned the importance of cooperative learning and I have seen how tracking and comparing students can affect the learning of all. During student teaching, I taught five eighth grade U.S. History classes. In middle school, tracking is less common. I had classes with students of mixed abilities. Using cooperative learning strategies such as jigsaw activities and group discussions, I have seen how students can learn from one another. As students felt safe taking risks in the classroom, I saw more and more students begin to express their opinions and ideas throughout the year. When students share their ideas, others were able to understand issues and topics we discussed from different perspectives. However, by the end of the year, we had to make suggestions for the placements of our students in high school classes. Based on their achievement in the class through tests and grades, my cooperating teacher and I made suggestions for students to be placed in honors level social studies courses, down to low-level social studies classes. Students who worked well together and learned from each other were placed in different levels and therefore would be in different classes. The students, who learned well from others, would no longer have that support in their classroom. Although I do not know how the placements affected the

students I taught once they reached high school, I could infer that valuable skills learned from each other through heterogeneous classes were abandoned. The goal for education, according to the authors from Teaching to Change the World should be providing all, students with high-level math [as well as social studies, science, language arts, the arts, etc.], and, at the same time, develop students understanding of society and prepare them to be critical, active members of a democratic society (131). Rather than comparing and tracking students, the goal in education should be for students to see each other as competent individuals. This way, they could work towards supporting one another and participating in the learning environment of the classroom (173). While tracking and comparing students can lead to segregated classrooms that disadvantages high and low-achieving students, heterogeneous classes allow for cooperative learning where students can feel safe to express their ideas and can be active members in their own learning, and the learning of others.

Citations: Oakes, J., Lipton, M., Anderson, L., & Stillman, J. (2013). History and culture: How expanding expectations and powerful ideologies shape schooling in the united states. In J. Oakes (Ed.),Teaching to Change the World (4th ed., pp. 46-50). Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers. Santa Ana, Otto. Tongue Tied. 1st ed. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2004. 134-135. Print.