Community Inquiry Project: The Level of Science Literacy in Newark

One of our major assignments for our urban class is to design a community inquiry project. For this week, we are to brainstorm a topic that we would like to examine for our community inquiry project. For the last few days I have been thinking about my community inquiry project. What topic(s) that I would like to examine for my community inquiry project? For the last few days I could not answer that question. For inspiration, I decided to check out the topics that my fellow classmates had decided to examine for their inquiry project. Man, to say the least, there are some great topics that are posted on my classmates' blogs. Although my classmates came up with great topics to examine for their community project; however, I believe their ideas are to grand: these ideas require in depth analyses and a great amount of research--my classmates' topics need to be in the sugular level.

As a result, I have decided that my topic needs to be a simple one, not superb. Something that we can examine in depth without going aboard with ideals like how we can fix urban schools. So, for my community project, I would like to know how the Office of Science of Education plans to raise the level of science literacy in Newark, specifically biology. In order to do, I will examine one of the high schools in Newark and what they are doing to raise the level of science literacy of their students. What types of programs they are providing students? The kind of biology classes students are taking; their scores in high stakes tests; and other things that I haven't think of yet. Next, I will do an evaluation of the school's plan to raise students' level of science literacy. Are they succeeding or failing? If they are failing, what needs to be done to create a better plan to raise students' level of science literacy? That's all I have for know.

The Culture Collage: Why?

Last week in my urban class I prepared a culture collage "that visually depicts my individual and 'teachers' identities, as well as the 'source(s)' of these identities, particularly as it relates to me as 'being with and of culture.'" The culture collage was a dreadful experience; something I hope I never experience in my life. Why? Why you say such a thing, many of you are thinking. 'The culture collage gave me an opportunity to examine what experiences, people, things, etc. that are important to me" as one student happily explains in his/her blog. The student is absolutely correct. Nonetheless, an opportunity that I wished I had refused. Seeing these pictures that I chose in my culture collage send chill through my veins and brought feelings and old memories that I had bottle tightly inside my heart. It must be known, I'm not a touchy or emotional person. I don't like to huge people except beautiful women. I don't like to share my feelings--not even to those I consider dear to my heart. I'm not a cold hearted person--I like to keep things to myself. I'm somewhat of a loner--there's nothing more fun being alone in my room by myself listen to music.

The culture collage caused me to remove myself out my comfort zone. I didn't like. Looking at old pictures of myself and people that are important in my life and had shaped my life brought a feeling of sorrow. I'm not going to explain in details about how I felt looking at these pictures because I don't have the balls to do so. I know it would have being great if I write them down. However, i don't have the guts to do so. As I always do, I will keep those touchy feelings to myself. And don't even ask to elaborate my feelings in my blog or in class. I will not do it. The only thing that I wanted you guys to know, unlike most people in the class, the culture collage was a dreadful experience. I did it out of necessity and it's worth 12.5% of my grade.

NJRCL Report III

This is the last post concerning the NJRCL report and the book Unequal Childhoods. This post will focus on what ways these information from the NJRCL report and Unequal Childhoods is useful (or not) for me. As a future teacher, I believe I can use these information as tools to learn about my students and structure a learning environment. Next year, I will be teaching in an environment that is part of Essex County and resembles the poor communities in Unequal Childhoods. I will have students that are struggling to obtain basic needs; students that live in foster homes; students that are poor; and other problems that are not mention in the report or the book. For theses students, school will not be one of their top priorities; finding a job to help mom pays the rent or putting food on the table will have priority over school. It will be hard as a teacher to convince these students that school is important for getting ahead in life when they are facing these social problems. I will have my hands full as a teacher.

However, reading the report and the book provided me with information concerning the challenges and concerns that urban students face in their daily life. I, myself, is a product of urban schooling. Even though, I never faced these problems that poor children in the book faced while living in an urban community. I knew a few students that faced these challenges and concerns like coming to school early for breakfast because there's no food at home. Teaching in an urban community will be a challenge. I will need all the skills and dispositions in my hands to face these problems. I will need to know how to deal with unrulling students because I will have a few. I know class will consist mostly of dealing with behavioral problems. Teaching will sometimes be frustrated because most of my students will be in lower grade level. As a future urban teacher, I believe I will need to be somewhat compassion, and don't jump to conclusion about my students. I believe the latter one is very important for teachers teaching in an urban school because knowing where your students come from provide you with a view of their struggles and what they have to go through day to day. We seldom forget about our students' live outside the classroom and jump to conclusion about our students. I think reading the report and the book provide teachers like me a view of our students' live outside the classroom. My friend, for most urban students' live outside the classroom is groosome and harsh. Let us take these things into account when we teacher urban students.

NJRCL Report II

In our second part of our extended blog about the NJRCL report, I will try to make connections between the NJRCL report and the realities theses families, families in Unequal Childhoods, might face if they lived in Essex County, New Jersey. The poor families in Unequal Childhoods would have the same problems living in Essex County, NJ: unable to make rent payment, unable to find childcare, and unable to find food for their family. The biggest problem that the poor families like Katie Brindle and Harold McAllister's mother faced in the book was trying to make rent payment. A great percentage of the family's budget went to rent payment. In comparison to the report, rent payment makes a higher percentage of the total budget of the poor families in the book, even though they live on government assistant. Rent strangled the family's budget such so necessities like clothing for children were sacrificed for the greater good of having a place to live. Second, childcare was somewhat of a problem. Even though they had relatives that provided childcare when they were absent, sometimes childcare became a problem like when Miss. Brindle was unable to find someone to take care of little Brindle. She had no choice but to take little Brindle with her to collect her food stamps. As she explains to us in the book, collecting food stamps at the government building is a hassle: you have to take the bus, and wait in lines for hours.

One difference between the book and the report is the role food in the lives of the poor families. Food was a major concern for the poor families on the book. Even though they received government assistant like food stamps, food was still a problem. There wasn't that much food at home; when the families had food, caution was taking to salvage the food until the next batch of food stamps arrives. I believe living in Essex County would have been similar for the poor families in the book.

NJRCL Report

New Jersey is one of the wealthiest states in the United States; as of 2004, according to the U.S Census Bureau, New Jersey has a median household income of $57,338; in comparison to the United States median household income of $44,334, New Jersey is a rich state. Yet, as Diana Pearce tells us in her report, "New Jersey's high median income translates to elevated prices for basic necessities that burden lower-income residents" (9). For low-income people that reside in New Jersey, the cost of living is very strenuous to adequately meet their basic needs. To show the effects of New Jersey's high median imcome on low-income residents, we will take a look at the real cost of living in Essex County, one of the less well-off counties in the New Jersey, and make connections between the NJRCL report and the six families in Unequal Childhoods, a book that i'm reading for class.

In order to analyze the real cost of living in Essex County, we will use Pearce's Self Sufficience Standard of Living--how much is needed for a family of a certain composition in a giving place to adequately meet their basic needs---without public or private assisstance (9). Looking at the self-sufficiency for Essex County, we see that housing, the cost of rent and utilities, consumes a great share of the total budget. However, if a member of the family is an infant preschooler, a great share of the total budget is consumed by child care. This measurement is different from the federal poverty measurement. First, the federal povery measurement assumes that a great share of the total budget will go toward food. But, looking at the self sufficiency standard for Essex County, food makes between 9-13% of the total budget (15). Second, transportation, which the federal poverty measurement doesn't pay that much attention to, makes between 6-12% of the total budget, almost the same percentage of total budget consumes by food. Most of the Essex County residents expenses are going toward housing and child care, not food as the federal poverty measurement assumes. Last, if we look at the poverty median income of residents in Essex County and compare it to the self sufficiency standard for Essex County, 230% of the residents in Essex County would be considered poor because their incomes are not suffience enough to provide the basic needs to live in New Jersey. Scary isn't it? On my next post

Urban, Suburban, and Rural

Urban, suburban, and Rural--what are the differences between urban, suburban, and rural? What makes a community urban, suburban, or rural? The Census Bureau defines an urban area as : "Core census block groups or blocks that have a population density of at least 1,000 people per square mile (386 per square kilometer) and surrounding census blocks that have an overall density of at least 500 people per square mile (193 per square kilometer)." The concept urban as defined by the US Census Bureau is an area with high density of humans. Well there are many places in the United States that have high density of humans that are not considered urban like Montclair, NJ and Langhorne, PA. Why? I believe like Philip M. Anderson and Judith P. Summerfield in their article "Why is Urban Education Different from Suburban and Rural Education," In Steinberg, S.R. & Kncheloe, J. (Eds.) (2004), that there are certain assumptions we made about urban.

What kind of assumptions we make about urban? To look at that question, we will take a look at Anderson and Summerfield's article about urban education. They tells us, "First, that urban education is different from other forms of education. Second, urban schools are not the "norm" and are to be contrasted with, or measured against, suburban and rural schools rather that the other way around. Furthermore, urban is deficient in relation to the other categories, or that urban has problems the other two categories do not" (30). An outsider looking at urban education will say that urban education is different: urban schools have more students per class; they have a lot of unqualified teachers according to the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) definitions of qualified teacher; most urban students are poor and received free or reduced lunch; and high crimes and violence occur alot in urban schools. The authors tell us, "Looking at the facts of the matter, based primarily on research by the National Center for Education . One finds that the myths do not hold." If the authors' assertion that the myths about urban education do not hold. Why urban education is seen as deficient in relation to suburban, and rural education? The reasons I think urban education is seen as deficient in relations to the other categories are suburban school systems have become the "successful" model of education in the United States. Almost every mother, father, or guardians want to send their child/children to a suburban school because it is perceived as the best way that your child will receive a rich knowlege. Furtheremore, urban education is seen as the protagonist of suburban education because of their differences. Unlike urban community, suburban community is an area with low density of humans, mono-cultural, lots of tress, and less contact with your neighbors. The latter reason is placed for my own pleasure.

Teaching for Understanding

"Knowledge and skill have been the mainstays of American education" (David Perkins, "Teaching & Learning for Understanding" NIEA Reviw (October 1993), p.11). This quote says alot of about American education. In the United States, the goals of the American education are for students to be knowledgeable about history, science, geography, and so on. Second, to be skillfl in the routines of arithemetic, the craft of writing, and the use of foreign languages. At a time, in the 19th and throughout the 20th Century, I would argue such methods would have been fine for educating American students. However, because time has changed dramatically over the last half century, the mainstays of American education are outdated and needed to be replaced to accomadate present day learning that can help students survive in today's society.

In the article, Teaching & Learning for Understanding, David Perkins tells us that the old ways of teaching students--knowledge and skill--must go because they do not guarantee understanding; they do students little good; and we can acquire them without understanding their basis or when to use them (10-11). I agree with David Perkins' arguement and I support his proposal of teaching and learning for understanding. His proposal sounds great on paper: "Working in groups, students can learn to connect what they have learned to their own lives" (10). Learning for understandind sounds like a great method that can help students integrate into today's technological savy society.