Is school equitable?
Is school equitable? In short, no. To understand if school is equitable you need to understand the definition. Equitable means something or someone is fair, unbiased, or impartial. They treat everyone and everything fairly. In a perfect world, the school would be a safe space for many. Schools would treat all students fairly and teach them to do so themselves. But unfortunately, our reality does not match that. Whether it be because of their race, sexuality, or religion, many students are put in a disadvantaged position solely because of their characteristics. I constantly see others and even myself stereotyped for something that is a part of who I am. I love that I am in these education courses because I am learning that I am not the only one with these experiences. For example, I am in social studies in education class. Recently we had an autobiographical assignment where we dove into our school life and why that brought us to where we are today. Growing up I always loved school. But unfortunately, as I got older I began to have certain experiences that made me lose that passion. I won't go into too many details but some teachers slowly became my bullies and I saw how they did that with my peers. I am aware that those were just some bad eggs and due to that and the good moments I had with teachers that changed my life, I knew I wanted to go into teaching. But from our presentations, I learned that many of us have had a similar experience and I was not alone. That goes to show that as much as we would like for it to be, school is simply not equitable. There will always be people in the field that should not be there but there is not much we can do. What we CAN do from within our classes is to be the good ones. To be teachers that are impartial, unbiased, and fair. To be the teachers that advocate for our students and put their needs above all else. It is up to us to make schooling equitable, and from seeing all of my peer's posts I am thrilled to see what the future teachers will accomplish.
Hi Bella! I really enjoyed reading your post, and I appreciate that you decided to share your school experiences about the reality of schools. I think throughout school, everyone has encountered bad experiences that made us lose our passion for learning. I remember going through the same experiences throughout school especially as I got older and started to understand and notice more of the inequities in our schools. How do you think we as future teachers could create an equitable environment for students? I understand that everyone grows up learning different values and beliefs, but for a teacher that works in a diverse classroom it is important to be mindful and put the students needs above anyone else just like you said. As future educators, of course it is hard to hear and even admit that schools are indeed not equitable but like you mentioned it's up to us to make that change.
ReplyDeleteHello Risa! Thank you so much. You are right a big thing I noticed as I grew up is that it isn't that bad people suddenly appeared but rather that I began to notice more things. That is why it is even more important to me as an elementary school teacher to advocate for my students especially when they are little and need someone in their corner. It is hard to see people in our school systems fail students at times. But with courses like these and the new generations I am hopeful that we will see a change.
DeleteHi Bella! I really enjoyed reading your blog for this week! I totally agree with you that schools are not equitable. Like you said in your blog post, it is very common for people to be placed into a stereotype by teachers and other students at school. At my high school there were on level classes and AP classes. The students who were in the AP classes tended to look down on the students that were in the on level classes and would stereotype them as stupid. In my eyes this is very wrong especially for students to be doing because being a student, you are able to relate to the stress of school and the big amount of school work being placed on you. I also had experiences in school that changed perspective on school such as having mean teachers, unfair treatment from administrators, and other students. This proves that schools are not equitable.
ReplyDeleteHello Sophie! Thank you and thank you for sharing. You illustrated a great example of schools not being equitable. I too remember how AP classes put pressure on students and caused them to judge one another. I was in some advanced classes but when I tried AP and quickly began to struggle both my peers and teachers gave me a hard time rather than trying to build me up. Another unfortunate example of inequitable schooling.
DeleteHey Bella! This was such a good post, great job! I completely agree with you, and you did such a great job at explaining it. I am so sorry you had some teachers that made you start to lose your passion for school. Thank goodness for those teachers though that sparked your passion for teaching! It is so true though. One bad experience or person can offset your entire outlook on something. Looking back on my early schooling I was lucky enough to have a handful of teachers that positively impacted me and inspired me to want to go into teaching. Those fruitful teachers are so important, but I don’t think there are enough of them. too many of the times, teachers have the opposite affect on students. As teachers, we should strive to be a positive light in all of our students, not just the ones that are similar to us. Being a teacher means learning to be equitable to everyone.
ReplyDeleteHello and thank you! Yes, I am beyond grateful for the teachers that built me up. I remember my art teacher allowing me to sit in her office drinking tea on my worst days, and thanks to those moments I was able to push through. I am so thankful that you had a wonderful experience because every child deserves that and we owe that to them as future teachers. I love your reply and I completely agree. To be a good teacher it is our duty to shine a positive light on each and every one of our students.
DeleteHey Bella, great job on your blog this week about the compelling question is school equitable! I completely agree with you on your opinion on this topic. I really enjoyed how you started off your blog by answering the compelling question right off the bat, and giving the definition of equitable to help your readers gain a better understanding of what you are talking about in your blog. I also like how you included that us future teachers can be the change in the schooling system by being fair teachers to our students in order to offer them the best education and learning environment as possible. Many teachers are biased and hold back on proper learning and teaching techniques because they would rather teach their opinion than teach the truth from the workbooks. I believe that this is not how teachers should be and that the school system needs to make a change to make sure that our kids are learning what is needed.
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