Post 5: Shifting the Paradigm

 

Throughout my reading of Renkly and Bertolini’s Shifting the Paradigm from Deficit-Oriented Schools to Asset-Based Models, I could not help but connect aspects to my experience. The reading mentions the 40 student assets that support success. The authors explain that assets are categorized as external, referring to “...support, empowerment, boundaries, and expectations, and constructive use of time, rely on the relationships formed by adults in their lives”, or internal, consisting of “...skills that students develop to guide themselves…include commitment to learning, positive values, social competencies, and positive identity” (25). As I’ve mentioned in other posts, I struggled in elementary school, falling below grade level in my reading and writing. I was placed on an IEP for a learning disability, receiving extra practice each day with a reading teacher as well as tutoring over the summers. During this time, my success was heavily dependent on my abundance of external assets. I had support both from my family and my reading teacher, who provided consistent and structured resources, enabling me to build my academic skills both in and out of school. Spending these years playing catch-up to my classmates, I had little time to develop the internal assets necessary for the independence required in middle school. As the reading mentions, middle school is a pivotal time in a student's academic career, marking the start of a decline in asset-building resources. This means if a child lacks student assets entering middle school, they are mostly on their own to build these assets or find alternative means of overcoming this gap before entering high school, where they will be left completely on their own. The authors explain that this is why success in middle school is highly correlated with success/graduation in high school. The same was true for me as I entered middle school and quickly began to struggle when left on my own. Without external factors forcing my educational commitment, motivation, and responsibility, I lacked a sense of purpose in school, often not caring about or making light of my failures. I believe this attitude was developed in part as a coping mechanism, dealing with low self-esteem/efficacy. I found that failure felt much better when you don't try vs when you do. Entering high school, this struggle continued, as well as my poor performance; however, I discovered my love for art and developed a close bond with my art teacher. For the first time, I had a teacher noting my strength (creativity) in a class where it actually seemed to matter. This passion became my sense of purpose and provided me with an outlook towards the future. This shift created the spark of motivation necessary to begin putting in the work of developing my study/academic skills. Without this discovery, I’m not sure what my academic outcome would have been.

Comments: I believe this reading is one that resonated with most of us. One of my biggest concerns regarding becoming an educator is finding ways to foster that internal drive that motivates students to care about school and take pride in their academic accomplishments. The asset-based model seems like it could be very useful for this; however, it must go beyond identifying a student's strengths. Throughout my school life, I was always noted for my creativity, but it never seemed to improve my academic success, which, in my mind, diminished the value of this strength. Teachers must not only help students identify their strengths but also help them apply their strengths to support their success and asset-development. 

For more information on how to apply the asset-based approach:

https://asm.org/articles/2023/december/the-asset-model-an-approach-to-teaching-and-educat

Post 4: The Academic and Social Value of Ethnic Studies

 

Christine E. Sleeter, The Academic and Social Value of Ethnic Studies.

Connection:

In The Academic and Social Value of Ethnic Studies, Christine E. Sleeter discusses the importance of Ethnic Studies for all students, but especially those of color. She explains how the traditional curriculum in the U.S. teaches history from a biased Euro-American perspective, lacking diversity of representation. She also points out a lack of connection being made between past systems of oppression and contemporary race relations. This harms students of color, whose awareness of this bias often contributes to their disengagement and even distrust of their education. Sleeter proposes Ethnic Studies as a solution to this issue, offering students a deeper look into history from a multicultural perspective. This reading connects to Khan’s The Broken Model in which he discusses how the education system was designed to stifle deeper inquiry and independent thought, as “...order trumped curiosity; regimentation took precedence over personal initiative.” This is related to Sleeter's discussion on the Euro-American bias in the current education system, which presents history as disconnected, following one perspective that glosses over the harsh realities of the past and avoids relevant discussion on their connection to today. In doing this, students lose engagement as it fosters no deeper inquiry or connection for students to research and explore, unlike Ethnic Studies, which encourages students to take a more critical look at the perspectives of history, its systems, and societal impacts, both past and present. This encourages active engagement from students, now relating to and understanding the relevance of what they are learning. This also connects to Shifting the Paradigm from Deficit-Oriented Schools to Asset-Based Models by Shannon Renkly and Katherine Bertolini. In this reading, the authors discuss how students lose assets for success as they progress through the grades, as they are provided with fewer resources and asset-building opportunities to grow. They stress the importance of personalized instruction to support students' learning by identifying individual skills, talents, and interests and using them to support their growth, academically, socially, and emotionally. This is related to the reading on Ethnic Studies, as when surveyed, many students expressed an interest in learning the history surrounding their own and others' cultures. Appealing to this interest, courses in Ethnic Studies are successful, with classrooms of highly motivated and engaged students.

Comments:

One quote that stood out to me was “At the secondary level, 79 percent of the named people were White, mostly either U.S. presidents or famous artists and authors”. Growing up with an interest in art, I was always baffled that all the biggest artists throughout history were men. Every household name, dominating every medium, style, and movement, across the board, was men. I struggled to understand why this was, as the implication that men were somehow inherently ‘better’ or more creative than women never sat right with me. Now, as an art education major, I have taken many art history courses, which have opened my eyes to the historical context that limited the opportunities and diminished the value of women artists and their work due to societal bias, perceptions, and gender roles. This context affirmed what I had initially suspected: artistic ability was not connected to gender, but at the time, success was, resulting in the disparity of representation.

For anyone interested in reading more about how this topic relates to art history:

https://www.artnews.com/art-news/retrospective/why-have-there-been-no-great-women-artists-4201/

Post 3: What Counts as Education Policy?

 

Jean Anyon, What Counts as Education Policy?

Quotes:

Jean Anyon writes about research on the need for educational reform, highlighting the connection between academic performance and socio-economic status, with a disproportionately negative effect on racial minority groups in concentrated areas of poverty. 

When comparing the educational policy and resulting achievements in urban students, from the beginning of the twentieth century to now, Anyon notes:

“Although achievement is higher now in that larger percentages of students remain in school past the elementary years than in 1900, I would argue that the improvement is relative and illusory. That is, while in the early twentieth century, relatively few urban poor students went beyond fifth grade, the vast majority did not require further education to find employment in industries that could lead to middle-class income.” (Anyo, 69)

I believe this quote is very relevant to the text, as conversations pushing continued reform are often dismissed under this “illusion” of improvement. As the author points out, these broad comparisons lack the relevant context that informs the gravity of the outcome. In the past, education for poor urban students was minimal, in comparison to what's available today. However, just as relevant to note is that, in the past, that was enough education to receive employment providing a middle-class income. Today, the current educational achievement in urban poor areas appears as an improvement, but really presents the same obstacles for life-long success, as proper education is increasingly required for employment that provides a living-wage. This point establishes greater urgency in the author's call for reform.     

The author continues discussing the perpetuation of poverty in specific communities, linking current federal and metropolitan policies that have resulted in segregated, low-income areas that lack accessible jobs, resources, funding, and quality education. These policies place barriers on low-income families and have devastating effects on their children, disproptrioanly effecting minority groups in America.

 In discussing the effects of poverty on children, the author states:

“As I will report, a recent national study of young children confirms the potential of impoverished circumstances to prevent students’ full cognitive growth before they enroll in kindergarten. Of countervailing power, however, is research demonstrating that when parents obtain better financial resources or better living conditions, the educational achievement of the children typically improves significantly.” (Anyo, 74)

This quote demonstrates just how quickly poverty negatively impacts a child's life, often creating an unideal household environment with increased parental stress and a lack of time/resources spent on richer learning, due to economic pressure and low-income. As a result, poor urban students start school at a disadvantage, with lower cognitive development. However, research has demonstrated that changing the income level or living conditions for these families results in significant educational improvement for children. This serves as significant evidence supporting the author's connection between socio-economic status and educational achievement.

By narrowing down the primary barrier for poor urban students, the author is hopeful for change, stating:

“A new paradigm of education policy is possible—one that promotes equity-seeking school change and that includes strategies to create conditions that will allow the educational improvements to take root, grow, and bear fruit in students’ lives.” (Anyo, 84)

The author discusses potential solutions, including higher living wages, increased jobs/preparation in cities, increased income/corporate tax for the wealthy, enforcing anti-discrimination laws, and better public transit routes. These measures would help to increase the area's funding, with which more schools can be created with smaller classroom sizes, offering greater resources such as vocational classes, and greater community outreach/input can be established.  

Reflection:

I remember feeling jealous as a kid that my cousins received a private education while I went to public school. It wasnt until I was older that I understood this wasnt the privilege I thought it was when compared to my situation. Living in a middle-income town, I was able to receive a good education for free. My cousins, living in a lower-middle-income city, had fewer public options for quality education, which pushed them into taking on the financial burden of private K-12 schooling. Fortunately, with budgeting, they were able to afford private education, but for many others, public education is the only option. This is why it is so important to improve public education universally, ensuring every student has a proper start and a fair chance of success in life. 

List of organizations that help low-income students attend college:

https://www.collegeraptor.com/getting-in/articles/college-admissions/8-awesome-organizations-that-help-low-income-students-get-to-college/

About Me

Hi, my name is Faith! I am currently working towards my master's in Art Education. Some of my art interests are drawing, painting, crochet, and graphic design. I currently work at Meeting Street in Providence as a teacher's assistant/one-to-one. I look forward to getting to know you all and having a great semester!

Post 2: The Broken Model

Khan Academy, The Broken Model

Reflection: 

As someone who struggled extensively in the traditional school system, this reading brought me back to my experiences in primary and secondary school.

In elementary school, I was diagnosed with a learning disability in reading and writing and placed on an IEP, as my ability to decode, comprehend, and spell words was significantly behind. While my memory of this time is hazy, talking about this experience with my parents provides a very different perspective. Having two older brothers who had gone to the same school, my mom immediately noticed a change in the curriculum when I began school. During this time, they had replaced phonics with a new system that placed a heavier dependence on memorization of the basics, which she believed made learning all the more difficult. As a child, of course, I never considered that the structure of my education could contribute to my struggles; I had just accepted that there was something different about me, which made it harder to learn, so I required extra help. However, as the author discusses, the way in which the curriculum is set up and taught is instrumental to student success. 

The overreliance on rote memorization over proper understanding promoted in schools is another aspect of this reading that I connected with. Working in a middle school as a teacher's assistant, I realize now more than ever just how little information I retained during my secondary education. Unfortunately, my difficulties continued throughout middle school into high school, just barely passing in many subjects. More concerned with getting by than actually learning, I depended on memorization to avoid failing, meaning I never unpacked larger ideas that would have deepened my understanding of the topic and likely helped in the retention of these concepts. 

Finally, I agree that academics crush creative thinking and independent thought. During these difficult years, art class was my only escape. The one place I felt challenged creatively and encouraged to explore my own ideas. Though I experienced a personal connection that informs the importance I place on art education, the more I learn about it through my classes, the deeper my appreciation goes. Currently, in art education, the popular teaching philosophies are those rooted in choice, encouraging students’ motivation as lifelong learners, facilitating a growth mindset on student abilities, and enabling students to explore personally meaningful avenues of creating. Through proper setup, an art class can be a great place to begin developing students' independence, critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills.

Comments to Share: 

Learning about how the structure of school came to be, and its intended purpose, was really eye-opening and validating for me. I always felt the education system pushed an overly black-and-white curriculum with teachers telling you how to think, format, and find the answer to the problem according to what they believe is best. As the reading explains, school was intentionally set up to train students to be the perfect workers, stifling independent thought, creative problem solving, and self-motivated learning.  This is something I’ve experienced with art. In school, K-12, I was motivated to create and learn about art independently, spending much of my free time on it and enjoying every second. However, in college, as I focused on studio arts in my academics, my motivation to create art became tied to the classroom. Art felt like a chore, following a drill-like routine that left me burnt out and unmotivated to work on projects outside of school. While my technical skills improved, my work lacked creativity and individuality. Now that my focus in school has shifted to education rather than studio arts, I am slowly regaining the joy and motivation to create art. This experience furthers the main argument of the reading, as, with the current structure of education, even a subject dependent on creativity can lose its meaning.

For those interested in how art can be used to teach critical thinking in the classroom:

https://www.rmcad.edu/blog/using-art-to-teach-critical-thinking-skills-in-the-classroom/