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 Melinda Rice, Assistant Professor - Education |
Introduction to Education I received a Project Pericles Course Enhancement Grant to fund a class project in the honors section of Introduction to Education (EDU 211) during the spring semester, 2003. Introduction to Education is usually taken in a student's freshman or sophomore year and is designed to provide some initial exposure to the public schools through a combination of classroom instruction and practical experiences. In addition to learning about the role of the teacher, students in the class are exposed to a variety of issues that affect public education in the United States. One such issue is inequity in the educational opportunities available to our nation's children, a problem that Jonathan Kozol (1991) brought to the public's attention in decade ago in his book Savage Inequalities. This spring, the students in my class undertook an investigation of disparities in educational opportunities available to students in wealthy versus poor school districts in the state of North Carolina. I used a Problem Based Learning (PBL) approach. The students were asked to assume the role of members of a task force commissioned by the state legislature to research the problem and propose solutions. Their goal would be to produce a report that we would actually send to members of the legislature and the state Board of Education. It turned out that this role-assignment strategy was not at all necessary to engage the students in the project. Of the 26 students (all freshmen) in the class, 21 were North Carolina Teaching Fellows. In exchange for a college scholarship that covers most of the cost of four years at Elon, these students are obligated to spend at least four years teaching in North Carolina public schools. Needless to say, they have a real stake in the future of education in the state. Moreover, the students were already aware that the nature of their own educational experience varied widely depending on where they happened to grow up. This was especially apparent to them when they compared their college preparatory work. Some entered college with enough Advanced Placement credit to be classified as sophomores by the middle of their first year; others, in spite of having taken all the AP courses their schools offered, began their studies at Elon with far less college credit and the perception that they had received a less challenging and stimulating high school education than their peers. During the first month of the project, the students spent about three hours a week observing in elementary, middle, and secondary schools in the Alamance-Burlington system. They spent most of their time in schools in the eastern part of Burlington, located in less affluent neighborhoods populated by a high percentage of minority families. They had the opportunity to compare these schools with those on the more affluent western side of town. In early April, the class traveled to Edgecombe County in the eastern part of the state to spend two days visiting the schools in Tarboro and Princeville, communities that suffered great losses several years ago in Hurricane Floyd. To see another extreme we also made a brief visit to the Chapel Hill/Carrboro schools. During these school visits, the students interviewed students, teachers, administrators, and school board members and, when it was permitted, had students and teachers fill out surveys. Some members of the class also attended a local school board meeting. Concurrent with the school experiences, the students read Kozol's book Savage Inequalities and did research on how schools are funded, disparities in funding across the state, the history of the problem and efforts to solve it, and current experiments in other states. Many of the students were startled and upset by the dramatic differences they observed in the schools, even though what they saw in North Carolina does not begin to compare with disparities in the communities that Kozol profiled. Some were confronting for the first time the relationship between race/class and the educational opportunities available to children. On the other hand, they were quite impressed with Edgecombe County, especially the way in which the community has "pulled together" in their efforts to recover from the flood and improve the quality of education in the county. They had a chance to meet many local citizens whose personal efforts had made a big difference (including a friend of mine who is a lawyer, a school board member, and the mother of 11-year-old twins). We spent a great deal of class time discussing what they were learning and potential solutions to the problem. The hardest parts of the project turned out to be identifying solutions on which the whole group could agree and condensing their findings into a 10-page report. In this report the students described their research and made some suggestions for alleviating the problem. After much debate, their primary recommendations were that the proceeds from a state lottery be used to support the schools in less affluent districts and that poor districts be paired with wealthier "sister districts" for purposes of both financial and "cultural" exchange. We used the grant money to cover some of our travel expenses, to provide snacks for a "report writing party," and to pay for copying and mailing the report to 170 members of the state legislature and 11 members of the state Board of Education. Such a project may have a ripple effect, influencing the community in ways that are impossible to predict beyond the immediate future. In the short run, we can assess its impact in a variety of ways. (1) Through responses the class receives from recipients of their report, we can gain some sense of how seriously their ideas have been taken. (2) The students themselves may leave the class with a deeper sense of civic responsibility, greater confidence in their own abilities to make a difference, and a greater willingness to tackle challenging problems. (3) Finally, in conversations with family and friends, the students may draw others' attention to the problem and inspire reflection and debate on the question of whether citizens of affluent communities should have any obligation to share their resources more broadly in support of public schools. At this point, I am not yet able to evaluate the impact of my students' report. Hopefully, in the coming weeks and months, we will receive confirmation that it was received and read. However, through responses to a survey that I administered to the students during the scheduled final exam period, I am able to draw some conclusions about the impact of the project on the students themselves and on others of their acquaintance. I think the best way to present this data is to allow the students to speak for themselves. Many wrote very eloquently about the project and its effect on their sense of themselves as members of the broader community. The students were first asked to summarize what they learned from the class and the project. Here are some representative samples of their responses: "I have been exposed to schools that were not like my high school, which is a good thing because I need to see that not everything is like my little bubble that I have been in all my life." "This project taught me more about school finance than I could ever have imagined knowing. I knew that schools in different areas had different resources, but I did not really know why and I did not think of it as a problem that needed to be changed. I went to school in Mecklenburg County and had all the resources I could ever have wanted and more. I have now learned that the differences in school systems exist because of the differences in property values across the state." "I always knew that my school was not as good as the neighboring high school, but it never crossed my mind that this was due to the amount of funding that each district received." "I was also amazed to see how segregated the public schools still are, because we learned in high school that various historical court cases ended this segregation. This was very frustrating because I felt as if I had been lied to in high school." "I did not realize how much I though my school was just a typical North Carolina public school until I saw other schools in the state and realized how varied they are." "Through our project, I learned that schools can vary greatly, not just in North Carolina, but throughout the nation. This project opened my eyes to the inequalities in public education; I learned about problems with diversity, adequate funding, and even the less tangible complications in schools, such as the importance of a supporting community. Most importantly, I was able to physically visit the 'struggling' schools which I had only read about or seen on the evening news. I learned that the people a these schools were not always inept, or unable to use their funding effectively, but that they were real people with real problems, which deserved attention from the general public." "Public schooling is by no means 'equal opportunity.' I have come to the profound understanding that where one lives, a community's beliefs about the value of education, and the quality of educators/administrators at a school are all integral parts of how 'successful' a school is. The amount of money is not the only factor in how well a school affords a quality education to its students." "I did not realize that students in other counties did not have many charter schools or magnet schools, and I did not know that some schools go without air-conditioning or an auditorium, things I took for granted. I did not realize that many schools do not have off-campus lunch because most of the students do not have cars. In general, the project really made me aware of the imbalance of money and school funds that exist across many of the counties in NC. However, I also learned that a school of excellence does not have to be from a rich area, but that excellent schools often depend on the community and the extent to which the community gets involved with the schools." The students were asked to comment on how class changed their thinking about their own civic responsibility or the importance of civic engagement in general. For many, the class seems to have fostered a greater desire to involve themselves in civic concerns. "My experiences in the various schools we observed during the semester have only increased by desire to effect a change in our society. It is far too easy to be complacent with your own situation, feeling no concern about the problems other people may be suffering from, but it is much more rewarding to acknowledge these problems and work to fix them. This course has really inspired me to pursue a career in education so I might more closely influence change in the areas I live." "Being able to witness the school board meeting allowed me to see just how important civic responsibility regarding education is." "I used to feel that it was not my job to be a part of civic affairs, but…this class has persuaded me that my way of thinking before was incorrect." "I have thought more about the effects of civic responsibility after seeing how it contributes to the schools. In Tarboro the civic involvement and desire to better their community and schools made a difference in their children's lives that will hopefully then help to make their community grow." "After visiting Edgecombe County, I realized just how important community involvement in our schools is. For a community to really embrace a school, the citizens need to care. They need to care about the teachers, the students, and the staff. The community also needs to provide support to the school, not just financial support, but also give their time to tutor, so something small like provide baked goods for the teachers after school one day, or be a mentor for a student." "I was in two classes this semester that were working with Project Pericles. In both classes I became more aware of the world around me and learned more than I possibly could have learned from a textbook. I think that because these classes got me involved I will be more likely to be active in my community in the future, and I will be more willing to sign up to help on projects that will help me become involved in the world around me." "Mainly my realizations regarding civic duties that were generated by this class were those regarding segregation. It makes sense that society is segregated based on class, but why are poor people usually black? It is a troubling question that would be nice to forget." The most profound way that this class has made me consider civic responsibility was reading Savage Inequalities. Reading about the absolute poverty that some children live and go to school in as well as [about] the way the system keeps them there definitely made me realize that we all have a responsibility to save these innocent children from the unhappy future they are nearly locked into." "It may sound unbelievable, but I literally sat up nights thinking about why these problems arose and how they could be changed." A number of students reflected on the unique opportunity (and/or obligation) that teachers have to foster civic concern in their students: "Teachers definitely have a responsibility to be responsible toward civic duties, because teachers are the people who help younger generations understand what needs to be done to keep society afloat." "One person can only do so much. As a teacher, however, I have the opportunity to do more. By instilling in my students a respect for themselves, other people, and their community through community service and volunteer work, they will grow as individuals and hopefully continue to give and share their talents as they move through their lives, eventually touching more and more people, inspiring them to share the gifts they have." "Teachers do have a significant responsibility to concern themselves with societal issues, along with parents and other people involved in the lives of the children. You want the children to grow up well rounded and aware that they are capable of influencing society in a positive or negative way, and they need to learn this from positive examples. Teachers are in a powerful, unique position to be good role models for this." A sizeable minority of the students felt that the class did not really change their thinking about personal civic responsibilities. These students began the class with a strong sense of their obligation to be involved in the community. Some had already been very actively involved in issues affecting their communities, as this response illustrates: "I have always been involved in the things that impact my life. For example, in high school when Charlotte was undergoing "de-busing" and developing a new plan for assigning students to a home school, I spoke at a school board meeting against their proposed plan." Other students pointed out that not every citizen has the time, resources, or energy to devote to community service: "I reckon that it would be hard for a parent to try to fix up a school, work two full time jobs, raise kids either alone or with a spouse, and try to have a decent place to live. In each of the poorer communities, this seemed to be a problem." "Someone in our society must [take on the problems], but not every citizen has the time or the ability to understand the problematic situations." "In my local community, [Chapel Hill], change seems easier to grasp. People constantly argue for change and often times they succeed." The students were asked to consider the role they see themselves playing in the community in their future lives. Several mentioned coaching children's sports, serving as scout leaders, and seeking to build ties between schools and community in a variety of ways including being involved in their local PTA (Parent Teacher Association). A surprising number of the students were so impressed with the Tarboro community that they expressed interest in teaching in a small town. Some saw themselves getting involved politically; others saw themselves playing more of a "behind the scenes" role. "I plan to be a very active member of my community. I think that the best way to get others to be active is to encourage them and lead by example. People need to realize that every effort they make, regardless of how small it may be, can have a great influence on the entire community." "Eventually I would also like to be on the school board, helping make important decisions about budget and resources." "Although I have never envisioned this role before, I have found that I have an intense passion for the communities' role in the school system; therefore, I have decided to keep my mind open about someday pursuing a role administratively in order to motivate my community." "For now, my part in the community is simply supporting the local schools with volunteer work and mentoring. Further in the future, I see my role as more influential, maybe on the school board." "I plan to be [an] active voice in the decisions that are made in the community because the decisions will not only affect the people making them but everyone in the community." "I would love to be a part of NCAE (North Carolina Association of Educators) and work on legislation or lobby for this cause." "Although I think it is important for teachers to assist in the process of changing society, I do not feel like I am the kind of person who will ever take a leadership role in that kind of public outcry. I prefer to make a difference in people's lives in a small way, and I plan to do that in my classroom when I begin teaching." "I think that this class has made me think more about my civic responsibilities. However, I also believe that there is a place for everyone…I want to be a teacher and do not see myself ever become active in the political end of the school system." The students were asked to comment on the effect the class had on their willingness to tackle challenging problems and confidence in their ability to make a difference. Many noted that the collaborative nature of the class project had convinced them of their capability of working with others to solve a problem: "The most important part of engaged citizenship is to keep the final goal in mind, and not be overcome by the complexity of the problem. Our final group paper is an excellent example of how individuals can work together to make a change, and although very challenging, this task was not impossible. Instead of being discouraged, I find myself truly inspired to work in small steps to effect drastic changes." "This class has shown me the importance of taking the step to speak out and make things better. I believe that every good situation began as a not so good one, and it only takes a few people to get the ball rolling for more positive things to happen. Even with our paper, it started out confusing and not so great, but in the end we had a finished product that we could be proud of." One person cannot change the world, but they can start a process that will. I have long thought that, but I have never really put that thought into action. When I was younger, I wanted to change the world and correct every evil, but I never knew where to start, and I never actually tackled any problem. When I come upon it, it just seems too big. In this class, we tackled a huge problem, and we came up with solutions. One of us on our own would probably have been overwhelmed and not made as big a difference as all of us put together, but with all of us together, we can make a difference. We tackled this problem of inequality in schools, and we came up with actual, feasible solutions. We then put these solutions together and mailed them off to the people that have the power to effect change. When you sit down and think about it, that was a huge project and we did it." "I do, however, feel that enacting change can be an extremely daunting task when one attempts to do so alone. I am confident in my capability to establish the necessary relationships with community members and school staff in order to exist as a catalyst for collaborative change. This class project has taught me the importance of reliance on one's self and the input and interpretations of others…Simply by creating a documented research paper explaining our hands-on experiences in the schools and mailing it to [government] officials, our class is taking the first step towards improving the schools that we may teach in one day." "In all honesty, I have always thought that my role in societal problems is not very influential, but working with a group has helped show me that I can play a part in societal problems." "I have seen demonstrated in this class a formula to follow when writing a complaint and a mindset that change is possible." "I believe that this class has made me see that if I am adamant about an issue, and I inspire my students, then together as a group something can be done about that issue…This class has made me realize that what may seem impossible to complete in the beginning, can and will get done if you are persistent enough." "I am more willing to 'tackle' society." "This class has opened my eyes to the fact that there are a lot of problems in today's educational system. Realizing this has ignited my willingness to tackle current problems and work for better alternatives." "I am not leaving this class thinking that I can change the educational world, but I feel that my knowledge of the subject will allow me to look for things that are wrong with the funding in the schools and be able to figure out a way to change it." "This project has helped me to see that I am an asset to the educational community. I can say that [it] has helped me to see how great of an impact I would have on a poor community." "Time after time, you hear stories of one dynamic individual causing a change within his or her school, and the whole school seems to turn around and adopt the change. I can only hope to be one of those individuals, but I know that I am capable if I try." "I feel that once I set my mind to something, I actively pursue the idea until I am satisfied with the results. Therefore, I am confident that I could help make a change through my persistence. After visiting Tarboro High School, I have learned that through the efforts and dedication of a few individuals, there can be drastic changes made that can improve the quality of education for many. These people have influenced me to never give up on an idea and that by working hard, it is possible to make changes in a society." Several students, however, were more cautious in their responses. For them, the class seems to have highlighted the enormous complexity of societal problems, causing them to feel less rather than more confident of their own capacity to make a difference. "This project has definitely allowed me to see how complicated social issues about education are. As we observed in writing our paper, it is easy to note the problems and inequities in education, but finding and suggesting solutions is a much more difficult thing to do. I think that I am actually less confident now in my own personal ability to bring about change since I have only just realized how complex the issues are and how challenging find solutions that are acceptable to everyone can be. I do not mean that I will never be able to make changes or impact society, but I am very aware of how much more I have to learn." "This class has made me much more reluctant to tackle difficult societal problems. Idealistically I could change the world and make them all see, but this class has proven to me that money and politics influences everything in life, especially education. I am much less confident than when I came into the class that I can make a widespread difference in education. I still hope that I can use experience to get into a position where I can influence more than just my students and parents. Whatever level I am at, though, I plan to do as much as possible to effect change. Every piece of the puzzle is important. I believe that I will play a role, however large or small." "I feel that by simply giving all that I can to a community I can serve as a role model to others, and the more everyone gives the more that community will be lifted. However, this class has also shown me that there are some situations that I am just not ready to handle yet." "Many people, myself included, do not practice civic responsibility, because we feel powerless or feel that our life is going smoothly even though we know that other people's lives are not…I often feel powerless when thinking about changing segregation, for example, because it is so widespread. I must remember the bumper sticker, 'Think globally. Act locally.' This class has helped me understand these issues, which is the first step to solving them." A small minority (3) of the students reported having no conversations with anyone outside the class, largely because of a perceived lack of interest: "I haven't had really had any debates with anyone about funding and inequality in schools. Most college students are not really interested in this topic, so I don't bring it up." The class as a whole, however, did a great deal of talking. Many students reported having had 10 or more conversations with people outside the class about the class project and what they were discovering. These people included friends, roommates, boyfriends, parents and other family members, professors, former teachers and school administrators, and various other individuals from their home communities. The students reported a variety of reactions from those with whom they spoke. Some expressed surprise or amusement that a freshman level education class was getting involved with such an issue. From the students' reports, however, most people were quite interested in the project. Many felt that through their conversations, they drew attention to issues about which people had been unaware. "Most everyone felt that [the project] would be a good learning experience, and they all encouraged me to find out as much as I could to help improve less-affluent communities like the one I graduated from." "This project has started many conversations outside of class because people have been very interested in the unique hours and travels that have been a part of this class. My family has definitely been intrigued by what we have done, and my mother, who is a teacher, has learned a lot from our experiences…My roommate, who plans to be a high school teacher, has also learned a lot. Hopefully, my experiences have helped show her that teaching is not always going to be a perfect job and that all schools in North Carolina are not a successful and affluent as the one she attended. The things I have told her have shocked her and made her more aware of the realities of being a teacher." "I talk to my mom about everything, so she knows every detail of this project. As a former teacher she found it very interesting. She taught in Morvin, in a very low income part of North Carolina." "It has given [my roommate] the chance to think about a topic she has never confronted and made her want to tackle the problem, just as our class has." "My roommate was not aware of the shocking facts that I spit out at her sometimes." "[People] have been real receptive, but like I was before I came into the class, I don't think they understand that this is such a big problem. I think people realize that there might be disparities, but as long as their school is good and running well, they don't really care about the school next to them…I have told them what I have learned and they have seemed really impressed." "I have had numerous conversations with my roommate about the class and the project. She is the assistant news editor of the Pendulum, and so we discussed the need for an article in the paper…I think the newspaper article was important because it informed the campus what we were doing and forced them to think about the inequalities in school funding." These conversations between my student and her roommate did, in fact, lead to an article in the April 24 issue of the Pendulum about our class project. It can be accessed at The Pendulum. Students encountered a variety of opinions and attitudes in their conversations with others. Some reflected resignation. "That's just the way things are," was a comment that several students reported hearing: "They said that it was sad because education was unequal, but that there was nothing that could be done about it. I think that these conversations only helped to make me want for some change to come about even more." Others engaged in serious debate with those whose views differed from those of Kozol and other authors whose work they were reading in class. "As a criminology major…and an officer in the US Navy, [my brother], agrees that there are discrepancies in funding and opportunities between schools but insists that this is how things have to be in order for society to function properly…Equalizing funding, he fears, will never be practical in our democratic free-market society." "I get to talk to [my mother] as the parent who wouldn't want for her child to receive less funding because we live in a more affluent area. Unfortunately, our conversations didn't lead me to a clear decision on either side. 'Equal funding for unequal needs is not equality' (Kozol), but is taking away from students from affluent areas fair either?" "A few of the people that I talked to who were not from my community said that unequal funding was customary and it should not be the responsibility of the rich to pay for the poor. Of course this made me highly upset, but by the same token it made me realize that they needed to be educated." Apparently, some of their discussions became quite emotional: "This project has been the source of many dinner-time debates and has recently been a hot topic amongst my friends and family." "I have discussed this project extensively with my parents and boyfriend. These conversations have led to many a night crying and many a night yelling." Many students felt that they gained a great deal from their discussions with others about the topic. The discussions helped them make up their own minds about the issue or led to new insights. This, in turn, enlivened our class discussions. "Everyone had something to say on the topic, but no one had a way to answer the problem. I left the conversations, however, with a different point of view on the idea of funding and new issues to consider when developing my personal opinion." "I have had many conversations with people outside of class about this project, too many to even begin to count. Many of these discussions began when I was simply looking to vent to someone about the amount of work this project was creating. However, some of them turned into deeper discussions about schools and school funding, giving me an opportunity to reflect on what we had been doing and then use the knowledge that I had been gaining to intelligently discuss disparities in school funding." Many students agreed that the bottom line was that they had managed to spark reflection on the issue: "Whether conversations outside of class made someone agree or disagree with our project, it at least got them thinking, and thinking is what eventually leads to change." Conclusions: I think it is safe to conclude that the project had an impact on the students in the class, on many of their acquaintances, and, through the Pendulum article, on the campus as a whole. The goal of "instilling in students an abiding and active sense of social responsibility and civic concern" seems to have been met, at least in the short run. It remains to be seen what effect, if anyway, it will have on state lawmakers. Although the project required a great deal of time and energy on the students' part and mine (there were times when, like my student, I felt overwhelmed and in need of someone to "vent" to), the end result was impressive. It was by far the most interesting teaching experience I have had at Elon. I am grateful for the Project Pericles grant that made it possible for the students to disseminate their report as broadly as they did. Kozol, J. (1991). Savage inequalities: Children in America's schools. New York: HarperCollins. |
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Last Modified: 6/20/03
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