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Melinda
Rice,
Assistant Professor - Education
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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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