I have been going back and forth doing field experience for my Educational Foundations class, whose one of many objectives is to acquire 18 hours of serving teachers. Over the past two weeks I've been visiting two schools (I'm not sure if any consequences would happen for posting their names in my blog. So, I will refer to them as School A and School B)
School A:
Private School
95% White
School B:
Low-Income Public High School School
95% Black
These schools are greatly different. School "A" has the best facilities in the city. "B"'s facilities are deemed adequate. "A" has all the coolest technology on the market whereas "B" uses chalkboards and book work.
BUT...where are the similarities in these schools?
It's in the students....adolescent High-Schoolers....(this is the age group I observed)
It doesn't matter that school "B" has almost all black students and school "A" has mostly white. ALL of these kids have a desire to learn. They want to learn and understand. ALL these kids want to communicate and interact with information around them. They want to perceive the world around them. They are ALL frustrated when they don't understand. They ALL need extra instruction, but not only instruction. They need a person to understand their confusion and kindle a desire for them to become a better person.
As I was walking through school "A", it dawned on me that these students can't help that they are in this school. They did not pick their situation. They could not choose their family (yes, they are blessed they are in that family). All they understand is they are here, this is my environment.
This applies to school "B" students. They are in a black school, born into black culture, and have learned the things they know because of their environment. The way they act is only a reflection of the environment around them.
Throughout these hours of field experience, my mind keeps coming back to this thought:
Everyone has the freedom to achieve their desires (goals, aspirations, DREAMS)......but these desires seem to be shaped by social surroundings......Does this mean that some people have greater chances of achieving? Do social stratifications mean we are not all equal and freedom is limited?
