Here are a couple of quotes by Mica Pollock from Colormute, Race Talk Dilemmas in an American School
"Indeed, race talk about any 'group' in isolation always risked blaming 'problems' on that group alone, forgetting the various other players involved in creating orders that were racial." p.212
"People connected to U.S. schools often do not say things 'about race' very loudly, out of fear--a fear that is partly exaggerated and partly very important. It is regularly unclear when talking about people racially makes things better and when doing so makes things worse--particularly because our race talk so often places blame for 'problems' reductively on isolated 'races,' or reveals assumptions that racial inequality is either natural or someone else's problem. the solution is thus not that we simply start talking together more about race, but rather that we talk about it more skillfully. We can begin to do so, I think, by talking together with critical consciousness about race talk itself." p.214
She advocates "talking about how we talk about race" rather than simply talking about race. Metapragmatics. Talking about race can feel dangerous for all those involved, though - both those who have had traumatic experiences with racism and with talk about race. It isn't always done right.
I think these quotes really highlight how problematic talking about race can be.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
studying and eating candy canes
Here I am in the library, totally exhausted. My eyes keep crossing, I'm literally having trouble focusing. I'm trying to take notes in order to write a paper. Then I remembered that I have a candy cane in my bag. I'm not a huge candy cane fan (except in peppermint chocolate bark) but this is the best candy cane ever. It is totally reviving me. Back to work.
1, 2, 3 articles to ponder
As you know, I've been thinking a lot about race talk... Here are some interesting articles on the topic that I heard about in my class. The first two have to do with our reluctance to speak about race even though our culture is highly racialized... And the third is pertaining to a school system that does talk about race, and includes it in its admissions policy.
Here's a poll from CNN:
Most Americans See Lingering Racism -- In Others
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/12/12/racism.poll/
Also, an article from Tufts:
Efforts for Whites to Appear Colorblind May Backfire
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-12/tu-efw120106.php
And from the NYTimes
A school in Hawaii where it is deemed constitutional for only native Hawaiians to attend:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/06/us/06hawaii.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Food for thought... Any reactions?
Here's a poll from CNN:
Most Americans See Lingering Racism -- In Others
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/12/12/racism.poll/
Also, an article from Tufts:
Efforts for Whites to Appear Colorblind May Backfire
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-12/tu-efw120106.php
And from the NYTimes
A school in Hawaii where it is deemed constitutional for only native Hawaiians to attend:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/06/us/06hawaii.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Food for thought... Any reactions?
Sunday, December 10, 2006
reading race
I really wish I had read all these books a few years ago when I was teaching at my other school. I often had kids say to me things like "I don't want some White teacher telling me what to do." Or "you just telling me to do that because I'm Black" or things like that... I used to say things like "race has nothing to do with it - I'm your teacher." But race would come up daily, even if it wasn't spoken out loud. Simply because I'm White and all of my students were Black or Hispanic. Race was there, even when we didn't talk about it.
Right now I'm reading Colormute: Race Talk Dilemmas in an American School by Mica Pollock. Fascinating. I need to finish it tonight, because I have to write a book review about it this week. It is about a high school in CA, and the author taught at this high school for a year and then becomes a researcher there, working on her doctorate. Instead of focusing on the existence of racial inequalities or race as a category, she focuses on how teachers and students talk about race. Her thesis seems to be that people experience a lot of anxiety around talking about race, but it is precisely by deleting race talk from our vocabularies that we exacerbate the problems associated with race. How does one grasp the complexity of racial inequality without using racial terms. We belong to racial categories at the same time as we don't.
Right now I'm reading Colormute: Race Talk Dilemmas in an American School by Mica Pollock. Fascinating. I need to finish it tonight, because I have to write a book review about it this week. It is about a high school in CA, and the author taught at this high school for a year and then becomes a researcher there, working on her doctorate. Instead of focusing on the existence of racial inequalities or race as a category, she focuses on how teachers and students talk about race. Her thesis seems to be that people experience a lot of anxiety around talking about race, but it is precisely by deleting race talk from our vocabularies that we exacerbate the problems associated with race. How does one grasp the complexity of racial inequality without using racial terms. We belong to racial categories at the same time as we don't.
Sunday, November 26, 2006
I hate car alarms
There has got to be a better way to fashion this car alarm thing. An especially obnoxious car alarm was just going outside for the past hour. It had 3 different sirens/alarms going at the same time. I finally called 311 to file a noise complaint. They said I needed to have the type of car and the license plate #. So I went outside, and the car was a block away (it sounded like it was right outside my window). Turns out there were several police cars there already, taking down their info. They people came running down the street... It was a family -two parents and an eleven year old son. There has got to be a better way to keep your car safe. They had so much junk in their car, probably someone was trying to break in. This is what the police told them, which I'm sure only made them feel justified in having the stupid car alarm in the first place.
What about having a series of lights and a softer alarm that says something like "authorities/owner are being contacted about this..." And then don't we have the technology to call the authorities (maybe create a new office of car theft, etc) or the owners. Sometimes stupid things like branches falling or bikers getting too close to the car, or the freakin' wind cause these motion detectors to go off.
I am so annoyed. This is not the first time this has happened, either. While I'm sleeping, while I took exams during college, stupid car alarms would go off and beep for hours. Does anyone have any better ideas for new car alarms?
My head hurts from listening to it for too long. There's gotta be a better way.
What about having a series of lights and a softer alarm that says something like "authorities/owner are being contacted about this..." And then don't we have the technology to call the authorities (maybe create a new office of car theft, etc) or the owners. Sometimes stupid things like branches falling or bikers getting too close to the car, or the freakin' wind cause these motion detectors to go off.
I am so annoyed. This is not the first time this has happened, either. While I'm sleeping, while I took exams during college, stupid car alarms would go off and beep for hours. Does anyone have any better ideas for new car alarms?
My head hurts from listening to it for too long. There's gotta be a better way.
checked off the list...
I FINALLY finished my curriculum project for the Fulbright. Thank goodness. Uploaded it to the website and everything. That is a big load off!
I also just got my favorite cup of hazlenut coffee from Zanny's with an egg and pesto sandwich, took it to the 106th St. circle in Central Park and enjoyed the nice November weather while I ate. I walked by the 103rd St. pond, admired the trees and the ducks and came back home. I cleaned up the living room. And now I'm sitting down to start my essay...
It is a first draft, 3 pages. Totally do-able. I'd rather be sitting outside, or walking outside, or jogging outside. But I opened some windows to get the fresh air, raised all the blinds. Literally. The ones on the windows. I hope that writing this paper will "raise the blinds" on some of my other thoughts as well... figuratively... Get the eyesight metaphor??!!
I also just got my favorite cup of hazlenut coffee from Zanny's with an egg and pesto sandwich, took it to the 106th St. circle in Central Park and enjoyed the nice November weather while I ate. I walked by the 103rd St. pond, admired the trees and the ducks and came back home. I cleaned up the living room. And now I'm sitting down to start my essay...
It is a first draft, 3 pages. Totally do-able. I'd rather be sitting outside, or walking outside, or jogging outside. But I opened some windows to get the fresh air, raised all the blinds. Literally. The ones on the windows. I hope that writing this paper will "raise the blinds" on some of my other thoughts as well... figuratively... Get the eyesight metaphor??!!
Friday, November 24, 2006
talk, discussion, debate, etc...
I'm trying to remember some of the classroom discussions I've had with students over the past few years. They have ranged from discussions about how I frequently write the wrong date on the board (and how maybe we are time travelling as a result of my mistake) to kids sharing about alchoholic parents to weekend plans to topic sentences and back to time travel. Recently my students have been bringing in current events articles to share during homeroom, so we talk about those. They also bring in cool vocabulary words to share: myriad, kaftan, septagenarian...
Most recently, many of our classroom discussions have been about the novel we are reading - "The Watsons Go To Birmingham - 1963" by Christopher Paul Curtis. This is the story of a family road trip and U.S. civil rights history - an African American family travels from Flint, Michigan to Birmingham, Alabama during the 1963 church bombings. I highly recommend reading this book - it is a great combo of fun and complex characters and history and ethics.
Now, it may not come as a surprise to many of you that my school is not too racially or ethnically diverse. There is one African American child in the whole school and she is in my class. She recently announced to the class, "please don't say thank goodness Dr. Martin Luther King Junior did what he did, otherwise I wouldn't be here. You don't know that. I might still be here. He's good, but I don't like everyone always calling attention to me every black history month or whenever we talk about racism." I was happy that she was willing to say that to the class. One girl responded by saying that they only said things like that because they loved her and would miss her if she wasn't here. Another one said that they didn't mean to annoy her, etc, etc. I told her that we can respect and honor that wish certainly and it is good to raise topics that we think of. And soon the then topic was dropped. However, I kept on thinking about it... How do I talk about race in the classroom? How do students talk about it? How should we be talking about it?
I actually have to write an essay on this very topic for tuesday's class. Actually, I have to finish it to give it to a peer reviewer on Sunday night. Here's the question:
"This essay asks you to discuss and define your view of how classroom dialogue (discussion, talk, debate, etc) can or cannot contribute to the development of students' understandings of racism, sexism, homophobia, ableness and other historical systems of domination."
It is a lot to think about and requires some autobiographical writing in there as well. So that's what I'll be thinking about... I might also want to write about talking with students about disability. This is also relevant to my class this year because we have several disabilities represented in the class. Plus, I once heard Adrienne Rich (the poet) talk about disability and our view of people with them... She illuminated the fact that we all have "disabilities" of some sort or other, you just have to widen your definition. Also, you need to think of whole people rather than their constraints, etc... But it still doesn't make all the kids flock to the other student with cerebral palsy every day at recess.
Most recently, many of our classroom discussions have been about the novel we are reading - "The Watsons Go To Birmingham - 1963" by Christopher Paul Curtis. This is the story of a family road trip and U.S. civil rights history - an African American family travels from Flint, Michigan to Birmingham, Alabama during the 1963 church bombings. I highly recommend reading this book - it is a great combo of fun and complex characters and history and ethics.
Now, it may not come as a surprise to many of you that my school is not too racially or ethnically diverse. There is one African American child in the whole school and she is in my class. She recently announced to the class, "please don't say thank goodness Dr. Martin Luther King Junior did what he did, otherwise I wouldn't be here. You don't know that. I might still be here. He's good, but I don't like everyone always calling attention to me every black history month or whenever we talk about racism." I was happy that she was willing to say that to the class. One girl responded by saying that they only said things like that because they loved her and would miss her if she wasn't here. Another one said that they didn't mean to annoy her, etc, etc. I told her that we can respect and honor that wish certainly and it is good to raise topics that we think of. And soon the then topic was dropped. However, I kept on thinking about it... How do I talk about race in the classroom? How do students talk about it? How should we be talking about it?
I actually have to write an essay on this very topic for tuesday's class. Actually, I have to finish it to give it to a peer reviewer on Sunday night. Here's the question:
"This essay asks you to discuss and define your view of how classroom dialogue (discussion, talk, debate, etc) can or cannot contribute to the development of students' understandings of racism, sexism, homophobia, ableness and other historical systems of domination."
It is a lot to think about and requires some autobiographical writing in there as well. So that's what I'll be thinking about... I might also want to write about talking with students about disability. This is also relevant to my class this year because we have several disabilities represented in the class. Plus, I once heard Adrienne Rich (the poet) talk about disability and our view of people with them... She illuminated the fact that we all have "disabilities" of some sort or other, you just have to widen your definition. Also, you need to think of whole people rather than their constraints, etc... But it still doesn't make all the kids flock to the other student with cerebral palsy every day at recess.
Friday, November 10, 2006
The American Dream - individual or community?
Thinking about the tension between success of the individual and success of the community and what that "success" means led me to also consider "success" at the expense of who? Meaning, how often does striving for individual success, money, fame, material goods mean also contributing to a system that limits others' opportunities.
As I was preparing to play Andrew Carnegie for our role playing exercise, I grappled with some of the inconsistencies in Carnegie's values. He funded the public library system and believed that individuals could "pull themselves up by their own bootstraps" as he had done. However, he also funded vocational education for Blacks through the Tuskegee project because he wanted workers to fuel the industrial economy. In order for him to get rich, there needed to be people willing to work in factories. Pursuing his individual success did not only effect him - it effected all the people at institutions he funded and the system at large.
I know there are ways to pursue both individual success and social justice. One does not preclude the other. Especially if one defines individual success and achieving the "American Dream" as related to not taking away others' opportunities/agency in the process. I don't think there is a way to live in total isolation. I'm reminded of Maxine Greene's reference to "existential" thought in her lecture, though and the concepts of individual intentionality, authenticity and responsibility. Don't know exactly how this relates...
I feel pretty strongly that education does need to include a focus on social justice, but it is more of an emotional repsonse at this point.
As I was preparing to play Andrew Carnegie for our role playing exercise, I grappled with some of the inconsistencies in Carnegie's values. He funded the public library system and believed that individuals could "pull themselves up by their own bootstraps" as he had done. However, he also funded vocational education for Blacks through the Tuskegee project because he wanted workers to fuel the industrial economy. In order for him to get rich, there needed to be people willing to work in factories. Pursuing his individual success did not only effect him - it effected all the people at institutions he funded and the system at large.
I know there are ways to pursue both individual success and social justice. One does not preclude the other. Especially if one defines individual success and achieving the "American Dream" as related to not taking away others' opportunities/agency in the process. I don't think there is a way to live in total isolation. I'm reminded of Maxine Greene's reference to "existential" thought in her lecture, though and the concepts of individual intentionality, authenticity and responsibility. Don't know exactly how this relates...
I feel pretty strongly that education does need to include a focus on social justice, but it is more of an emotional repsonse at this point.
is "social justice" a cliche?
I know that I throw around the term "social justice" pretty frequently. Is it a cliche? Has it become a trite, stereotyped expression that has lost its meaning? In many ways, I think "social justice" can be a cliche, until we take the time to define what it would mean for us to value "social justice," to practice "social justice" or to teach "social justice." Dictionary.com defines "social justice" as "the distributions of advantages and disadvantages in a society" but I think teaching social justice involves more than just teaching about the inequality of the distribution of advantages and disadvantages. Any thoughts on definitions of social justice? Also, thoughts on whether "social justice" is a cliched term?
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
so many threads, so little time
I'm trying to finish up my curriculum project about ancient India. It is a series of lessons about ancient India - the cities, religions, art, music, etc. I am also including an annotated bibliography of books and websites for teachers and students. I meant to have it totally finished by now. I did a huge chunk of it in August after I returned. Then I basically put it to rest while I got started on my grad school classes and started school. I was going to have it in by November 1. Then I found out the due date was November 30. So I will have it in by then. I am having so much trouble getting it done, though. I need motivation! So India (and specifically this curriculum project) is one thread in my life right now.
Another thread is this my "Educational Inquiry and Research" class. I have a 10 page midterm due next week. I have to write a paper on school violence. I have to analyze one particular article which addresses how the history of the American education system has led to its present problem with school violence. The author talks about some prevention strategies, most of which include getting to know your students instead of making assumptions about them. Then I have to connect as much of the articles and books we have read already to this one article. Then I have to suggest/outline both a qualitiative and quantitative approach to doing a research project on school violence/peace initiatives in schools. Any suggestions?? :)
Tomorrow is also parent-teacher conference day. Another thread in my life - my actual teaching of 5th graders. I have all their folders ready to go to show parents their work. And I'm planning on getting a good night's sleep tonight. It is a long day of 10 minute discussions.
I suppose another thread in my life is trying to do other things - like yoga and running. And even watching some TV.
Ha ha. I was trying to pinpoint what I used to spend my time doing before I got so busy. I think I spent a lot more time watching the Food Network.
So all these these threads - and more - are woven into my life right now. I can't always tell what the connections are between them, though. But maybe they don't need to blend right now, and the image they form together will emerge later... especially don't know how the food network's going to fit in :)
Another thread is this my "Educational Inquiry and Research" class. I have a 10 page midterm due next week. I have to write a paper on school violence. I have to analyze one particular article which addresses how the history of the American education system has led to its present problem with school violence. The author talks about some prevention strategies, most of which include getting to know your students instead of making assumptions about them. Then I have to connect as much of the articles and books we have read already to this one article. Then I have to suggest/outline both a qualitiative and quantitative approach to doing a research project on school violence/peace initiatives in schools. Any suggestions?? :)
Tomorrow is also parent-teacher conference day. Another thread in my life - my actual teaching of 5th graders. I have all their folders ready to go to show parents their work. And I'm planning on getting a good night's sleep tonight. It is a long day of 10 minute discussions.
I suppose another thread in my life is trying to do other things - like yoga and running. And even watching some TV.
Ha ha. I was trying to pinpoint what I used to spend my time doing before I got so busy. I think I spent a lot more time watching the Food Network.
So all these these threads - and more - are woven into my life right now. I can't always tell what the connections are between them, though. But maybe they don't need to blend right now, and the image they form together will emerge later... especially don't know how the food network's going to fit in :)
Friday, October 20, 2006
"Small moments can leave a big impression"
This was the title of the bulletin board I put up today. And by bulletin board I mean old-fashioned school staple and cork-board bulletin board. I'm not talking about a web bulletin board. I just finished up a unit on writing personal narratives with my students. We focused on "small moments" of our lives. Each student wrote a piece, trying to focus on a 5 minute segment of their lives. The most popular topic was writing about a moment with a pet (whether meeting a pet, a pet dying, a funny pet moment). Others wrote about playing the piano, falling asleep in chapel, fighting with a friend, etc. Then we revised the pieces using such strategies as: "find the heart of the story and stretch it out" and "add five sense words" and "include internal thinking." Anyway, I put up their writing on the bulletin board, along with small illustrations and comic strips they had drawn to accompany their words. I searched for some quotes by famous authors about "moments" to place around the bulletin board. I want to share a few because they are soooo philosophical (and I like them):
"This moment contains all moments." - C.S. Lewis
"The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough." - Rabindranath Tagore
"Love the moment, and the energy of that moment will spread beyond all boundaries." - Corita Kent (RSHM)
"Life isn't a matter of milestones, but of moments." - Rose Kennedy
I was particularly happy to find the Tagore quote, as I am especially interested in Tagore after learning more about him in India.
My quote: The moments of our lives compound, overlap, magnify and direct each other, but remain distinct as well. Also, our lives are more than a sum of moments.
I always like reading books that tell about the small moments of people's lives. Like Prep, by Curtis Sittenfield, made up of vignettes. I totally recommend this book. It includes many small moments from the life of an adolescent (through the eyes of her 20-something self) and it addresses such topics as race/class/sexual orientation throughout as well.
"This moment contains all moments." - C.S. Lewis
"The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough." - Rabindranath Tagore
"Love the moment, and the energy of that moment will spread beyond all boundaries." - Corita Kent (RSHM)
"Life isn't a matter of milestones, but of moments." - Rose Kennedy
I was particularly happy to find the Tagore quote, as I am especially interested in Tagore after learning more about him in India.
My quote: The moments of our lives compound, overlap, magnify and direct each other, but remain distinct as well. Also, our lives are more than a sum of moments.
I always like reading books that tell about the small moments of people's lives. Like Prep, by Curtis Sittenfield, made up of vignettes. I totally recommend this book. It includes many small moments from the life of an adolescent (through the eyes of her 20-something self) and it addresses such topics as race/class/sexual orientation throughout as well.
to voice or not to voice
The role playing experience was interesting. We had many voices "represented" from W.E.B. Dubois to G. Stanley Hall to local schoolteachers and administrators to parents, etc. It was a delicate, yet insightful conversation. There is a different level of learning that happens, I think, when you have to take on the "voice" of someone else. It is hard enough to figure out one's own voice sometimes, let alone get the nuances of someone else's. Of course it is impossible to totally get the nuances of someone else's voice, especially when you are only relying on a fabricated biography or a few pieces of writing. And sometimes (actually, often), people change their own minds over the course of their lives and experiences. For example, Dubois initially pontificated on the value of uplifting the "Talented Tenth" to lead African Americans and later, after seeing how this initial concept was changed and expanded upon, changed his stance. He then asserted that the masses (more than just the "talented tenth" of the population) could join to create powerful change. A stance that appeals to me much more.
It was brought up that no one in the class found it comfortable to play the role of racist characters from the past. One colleague stated that he didn't want to give any more voice to his character than he had to. Therefore he didn't speak up as much as he normally would have during a class discussion. This lead to a conversation about speaking, silencing, being silenced and choosing to be silent - there is power and agency, or can be, in each. Silence is as much a part of the conversation as speaking.
5th grade application: I want to be more cognizant of encouraging all students in my 5th grade class to participate in discussions, especially philosophical ones, but not forcing them. I want to build a community where we can be kind of "meta" and think about our thinking and the power in silence. Haven't flushed this out exactly.
It was brought up that no one in the class found it comfortable to play the role of racist characters from the past. One colleague stated that he didn't want to give any more voice to his character than he had to. Therefore he didn't speak up as much as he normally would have during a class discussion. This lead to a conversation about speaking, silencing, being silenced and choosing to be silent - there is power and agency, or can be, in each. Silence is as much a part of the conversation as speaking.
5th grade application: I want to be more cognizant of encouraging all students in my 5th grade class to participate in discussions, especially philosophical ones, but not forcing them. I want to build a community where we can be kind of "meta" and think about our thinking and the power in silence. Haven't flushed this out exactly.
Monday, October 16, 2006
first post - what would Andrew Carnegie say?
Well, I missed writing on my marygoestoindia blog, so I thought I would start a new, more general one. I am a glasses fan. Being myopic myself, I depend on glasses and contact lenses all the time. I think glasses frames are really fun. In fact, when I was a kid I wanted to be the person at the eye doctor's office who helped people pick out frames. I also like the glasses metaphor... hence my blog title. For now. The blog will probably be a lot about education, but also about current events in the world and in my life.
I'm taking a couple of classes on Tuesday nights towards my EdD. This is proving to be a lot of work, but very interesting. Tomorrow night we are doing a role playing exercise where I am assigned to be a White philanthropist (ie Andrew Carnegie). I've been trying to read up on Andrew Carnegie and develop a position. We're supposed to respond to a "school board president" who proposes the following changes to a school. I'll respond as if I'm Andrew Carnegie...
• I propose segregating students into four tracks, each with a different curriculum: Track #1: Feeble-minded; Track #2: Dull; Track #3: Average; and Track #4: Superior. This will allow us to adapt a given course of study to students’ individual needs. As suggested by one California school administrator, the lower tracks will naturally train students for “definite hand occupations as opposed to brain occupations.”
• There will be no guess work placing students in different tracks. They will be placed scientifically, on the basis of test scores. I want Central City high schools to use the Mental Ability Test developed by the top psychologists at Stanford University. I’ve handed out a sample of questions from that test, which have helped psychologists differentiate dull students from average ones. A system of guidance counseling will assist students in the interpretation of test scores, and to help them plan a personally rewarding and socially useful occupation.
• Lots of the people entering Central City schools are immigrants and ex-slaves from the South. These newcomers are worrisome for a number of reasons. Instead of identifying themselves as Americans, they see themselves as Hungarians or Italians. Some of them identify with the working class against the owners, or even with radicals, people who want to overthrow our form of government. Some of these newcomers are backward and need to be helped to learn good work habits in order to further develop themselves and their race. In order to ensure that all children become loyal Americans and hard workers, I’m proposing the following: To encourage students to learn about democracy, all schools will have student councils, and everyday all students will pledge allegiance to the flag. In all classes we will teach that our system of government is the best in the world. Through clubs, athletics, school assemblies, school newspapers, and the like, we will encourage students to identify not with their social class, racial group, or radical groups, but with their school. We will teach them to be patriotic to their country and patriotic to their school.
• Finally, in order to maintain the most efficient school in which teaching and learning proceed like clockwork, we will hire policemen to patrol the schools and to keep order so teachers can turn their full attention to teaching.
Interesting activity. I still have to do all the reading in order to be able to answer it. But so far I know that Andrew Carnegie supported the Tuskegee-Hamilton Model - which were vocational schools for African Americans. He also supported the idea that African Americans should not vote or run for office, at least during the 1920's. Very racist and alarming. He also had a "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" kind of mentality.
I didn't know previously that he funded our public library system as well.
I'm taking a couple of classes on Tuesday nights towards my EdD. This is proving to be a lot of work, but very interesting. Tomorrow night we are doing a role playing exercise where I am assigned to be a White philanthropist (ie Andrew Carnegie). I've been trying to read up on Andrew Carnegie and develop a position. We're supposed to respond to a "school board president" who proposes the following changes to a school. I'll respond as if I'm Andrew Carnegie...
• I propose segregating students into four tracks, each with a different curriculum: Track #1: Feeble-minded; Track #2: Dull; Track #3: Average; and Track #4: Superior. This will allow us to adapt a given course of study to students’ individual needs. As suggested by one California school administrator, the lower tracks will naturally train students for “definite hand occupations as opposed to brain occupations.”
• There will be no guess work placing students in different tracks. They will be placed scientifically, on the basis of test scores. I want Central City high schools to use the Mental Ability Test developed by the top psychologists at Stanford University. I’ve handed out a sample of questions from that test, which have helped psychologists differentiate dull students from average ones. A system of guidance counseling will assist students in the interpretation of test scores, and to help them plan a personally rewarding and socially useful occupation.
• Lots of the people entering Central City schools are immigrants and ex-slaves from the South. These newcomers are worrisome for a number of reasons. Instead of identifying themselves as Americans, they see themselves as Hungarians or Italians. Some of them identify with the working class against the owners, or even with radicals, people who want to overthrow our form of government. Some of these newcomers are backward and need to be helped to learn good work habits in order to further develop themselves and their race. In order to ensure that all children become loyal Americans and hard workers, I’m proposing the following: To encourage students to learn about democracy, all schools will have student councils, and everyday all students will pledge allegiance to the flag. In all classes we will teach that our system of government is the best in the world. Through clubs, athletics, school assemblies, school newspapers, and the like, we will encourage students to identify not with their social class, racial group, or radical groups, but with their school. We will teach them to be patriotic to their country and patriotic to their school.
• Finally, in order to maintain the most efficient school in which teaching and learning proceed like clockwork, we will hire policemen to patrol the schools and to keep order so teachers can turn their full attention to teaching.
Interesting activity. I still have to do all the reading in order to be able to answer it. But so far I know that Andrew Carnegie supported the Tuskegee-Hamilton Model - which were vocational schools for African Americans. He also supported the idea that African Americans should not vote or run for office, at least during the 1920's. Very racist and alarming. He also had a "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" kind of mentality.
I didn't know previously that he funded our public library system as well.
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