Chapter 18’s reading this week was quiet disturbing. It was about two schools, Groundview Technical High School and Mountainview Township High School. Groundview and Mountainview are both located near Chicago; however they are vastly different schools. Mountainview High caters to the needs of upper class. The surrounding community near Mountainview is surrounded by homes ranging from $500,000 to $1,000,000. Students in the school have a variety of freedom. They are allowed to non-descript jeans and designer clothes, while walking free and comfortably through the hallway. There are various wings in each the school and students may designate a “major.” If students are running late to class, they are told in hurry along and do not receive a detention slip. There is advanced technology including state of the art technology and audiovisual equipment. An entire wing is dedicated to fine arts and there are multiple gyms, swimming pools and an expensive library.
Groundview Technical High is vastly different. Upon entry into Groundview, there are metal detectors and security, which students must past through. Students are required to wear uniforms and carry pictures ideas with schedules. Students are not permitted to leave for lunch. The building is deteriorating due to a lack of funds. Security guards are present and assign detentions to late students. There is not a well equipped place for study of the humanities and the social sciences. There is a room full of woodshop and carpentry equipment that is kept locked because staff is not allowed to operate the equipment. There is not theater, pool, music area, exercise equipment and a few books which must be shared during class.
The most important thing I took from the descriptions was that schools are vastly different. Schools should provide equal access to all students, regardless of social status. It is not fair for a school, such as Groundview to suffer while students at Mountainview have the best opportunities possible. A country that is supposed to provide equal access to all is really alienating those who are not part of the dominant culture. Groundview is full students who come from the working class, who are not valued in mainstream society. As a result, they get a second class education. That is disgusting as a future educator!!
Charlie
16 years ago
3 comments:
I talked about this a bit in my piece. Life is going to be different with privledged children and children who are not. They have a better chance of succeeding, however, there parents money has created this opportunity. Poeple within this community feel that they are entitled to these "freedoms" because they have the wealth to support this high standard of living. Perhaps known as the "American Dream." However it should not be the district schools jobs to reflect this high level of living, that is what private schools are meant for. The vast difference in PUBLIC schools is unjust part of an democratic society. If education is meant to be the great equalizer than is must represent it in reality not just notion
I agree with the fact that this is disgusting, and disturbing. However, it is not very shocking. Those with money for the most part put their money back into the school systems that their children or family members will be attending. This does little more than to flood the already funded schools with more funds, while other schools such as Groundview continue to lose funding. Without equal resources and opportunities there will be more problems with discipline, but the extent to which the students are treated is absolutely out of line. Those with money are treated very differently and much better than those without. Students from wealthier families that go to schools with all the resources they could possibly need or want are pampered in comparison to what goes on in schools with higher percentages of minority students. This comes from a lack of resources being put into a system where its student’s come from families and communities with a lack of resources to begin with. To make matters worse, they are treated as though they are already criminals (metal detectors, name tags, etc.). How can these students feel like school is a positive experience when they are treated no better than this? How can students feel like education is important for opportunity when the education they are getting is second rate at best due to lack of resources, prison-like environment, etc? The answer is they can’t.
I was shocked while reading this chapter that the schools written about were both public. I think it's unfair, and like everyone else seems to agree, extremely disturbing. With that said, I agree with the last two comments, in that, money is the deciding factor in this situation. The students of Mountainview, have money, and therefore, act accordingly. It's not unusal for people with money to act better than those without; however, it should not be reflected within the entire distrcit. I read an article for another class a few years back, ( the title and author escape me) but it had to do with schools in the St. Louis area. One school was essentially like Mountatinview High-plenty of money,
talented, "smart" upper class students, and equippoed with the most up-to-date technology. Meanwhile on the opposite side of the railraod tracks (literally), was another high school similar to Groundview. Naturally, this school was the complete opposite of what I just mentioned above. While it's hard to accept, the reality is, that schools, even in the same area are not treated equally. It's sad.
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