{"id":17,"date":"2020-02-27T20:45:08","date_gmt":"2020-02-27T20:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/education-1015-spring-2020\/?page_id=17"},"modified":"2020-05-15T16:59:10","modified_gmt":"2020-05-15T20:59:10","slug":"what-have-i-learned","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/education-1015-spring-2020-efernand\/what-have-i-learned\/","title":{"rendered":"What have I learned?"},"content":{"rendered":"

About Education<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
\"\"

Ross D. Franklin<\/p><\/div>\n

America\u2019s beauty and appeal comes from the fact that this is a land of all lands<\/span>– a<\/span>\u00a0country made up of individuals from all over the world.\u00a0<\/span>Because immigrants tend to migrate towards cities due to their educational and career\u00a0<\/span>opportunities<\/span>, urban places have become a melting pot for these lands.\u00a0<\/span>Instead of being the places of opportunity that\u00a0<\/span>many<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>immigrants<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>envision<\/span>, these are places where<\/span>\u00a0America\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>ugliness<\/span>\u00a0shines through<\/span>\u00a0due to our lack of\u00a0<\/span>inclusivity<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Though we are one\u00a0<\/span>of the most diverse nations in the world, our\u00a0<\/span>curriculum<\/span>s\u00a0<\/span>continue<\/span>\u00a0to tell our story from a ma<\/span>jority<\/span>\u00a0whi<\/span>t<\/span>e,\u00a0<\/span>European<\/span>, male\u00a0<\/span>perspective<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>leaving<\/span>\u00a0little to no\u00a0<\/span>room<\/span>\u00a0for t<\/span>he rest of the voices that have helped form this nation into what it is today.<\/span>\u00a0In one\u00a0<\/span>instance<\/span>, a textbook of\u00a0<\/span>nearly<\/span>\u00a02,000 pages spent less than\u00a0<\/span>100 pages on Black\u00a0<\/span>history (<\/span>Borg, 2016<\/span>).\u00a0<\/span>Though this is not an issue that is limited to urban\u00a0<\/span>curriculum<\/span>s<\/span>, it is one of the major setbacks for urban education.<\/span>\u00a0Learning in modern<\/span>–<\/span>day America is difficult enough due to high stakes testing. This\u00a0<\/span>difficulty<\/span>\u00a0is only emphasized when a large portion of the stud<\/span>ent population\u00a0<\/span>cannot see<\/span>\u00a0themselves represented in their lessons.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>If our schools are to be the great equalizers of society that Mann dreamed them<\/span>\u00a0to be<\/span>, we must make space for more diverse narratives.<\/span>\u00a0I\u00a0<\/span>believe<\/span>\u00a0that imple<\/span>menting\u00a0<\/span>culturally<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>relevant<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>pedagogy<\/span>\u00a0in public\u00a0<\/span>schools<\/span>\u00a0through courses such as ethnic studies courses is a great step towards this kind of public education system.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

About Organizing<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
\"\"

Reagan Jackson<\/p><\/div>\n

The<\/span>\u00a0movement for\u00a0<\/span>ethnic<\/span>\u00a0studies courses is still in its relatively young stages. Though the movement has been going on for\u00a0<\/span>over fifty years, very few states have\u00a0<\/span>implemented<\/span>\u00a0strategies to bring\u00a0<\/span>ethnic<\/span>\u00a0studies into\u00a0<\/span>all<\/span>\u00a0its classrooms.\u00a0<\/span>However, the future of ethnic studies looks promising. California is working on a statewide\u00a0<\/span>curriculum<\/span>\u00a0for ethnic studies courses and countless districts already have\u00a0<\/span>curriculums<\/span>\u00a0set in place, with a solid number of them<\/span>\u00a0requiring these courses for graduation<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>(<\/span>Alejo & Lara, 2018<\/span>)<\/span>. Perhaps the most\u00a0<\/span>fascinating<\/span>\u00a0thing about the ethnic studies movement is that i<\/span>t<\/span>\u00a0has been<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>largely<\/span>\u00a0led<\/span>\u00a0by youth<\/span>. Before looking into organizing more deeply, I was under the\u00a0<\/span>assumption<\/span>\u00a0that only adults could be in leadership\u00a0<\/span>positions<\/span>\u00a0for\u00a0<\/span>movements<\/span>\u00a0due<\/span>\u00a0to<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>the level of respect seniority tends to demand. However, especially through\u00a0<\/span>the<\/span>\u00a0study of New Haven and the theories of organizing, I learned that those being directly affected by an issue are the most knowledg<\/span>eable<\/span>\u00a0and thus<\/span>\u00a0the most\u00a0<\/span>equipped<\/span>\u00a0to make change because they have a personal stake in the issue. For the ethnic studies\u00a0<\/span>movement<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>the most\u00a0<\/span>knowledgeable<\/span>\u00a0are\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>students because they\u00a0<\/span>must<\/span>\u00a0deal with the lack of representation in\u00a0<\/span>lessons\u00a0<\/span>daily<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>T<\/span>here is also great value in intergenerational organizing<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>M<\/span>ovements<\/span>\u00a0are most\u00a0<\/span>successful<\/span>\u00a0when they incorporate the\u00a0<\/span>enthusiasm<\/span>\u00a0of the<\/span>\u00a0youth with the knowledge from experience of the older generation. In New Haven, for example, the Citywide Youth Coalition and The Elm-City UROC help\u00a0<\/span>youth<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>organize by teaching<\/span>\u00a0them the basics of organizing and making them aware of positions of<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>power that they can get into<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>while still letting the youth t<\/span>ake charge on\u00a0<\/span>movements<\/span>(<\/span>Gellman, 2019<\/span>)<\/span>. This kind of collaboration was what made\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>ethnic<\/span>\u00a0studies campaign in Connecticut so\u00a0<\/span>successful<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

About My Beliefs\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
\"\"

Ethnic Studies Now<\/p><\/div>\n

Looking ahead, public education<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>throughout the United States will reach its potential when it<\/span>\u00a0can<\/span>\u00a0give students the skills they need to thrive, a<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>knowledge<\/span>\u00a0of the\u00a0<\/span>diverse<\/span>\u00a0history of this nation, and the foundation to be organizers for social change. It would be unrealistic to say that one day public\u00a0<\/span>schools will\u00a0<\/span>exist<\/span>\u00a0in a\u00a0<\/span>vacuum<\/span>, totally uninfluenced by the current prejudices and setbacks of society. However, I believe that schools can one day reach a point in which they teach students to take in the cur<\/span>rent state of society and use it to\u00a0<\/span>mobilize<\/span>\u00a0them for social change. This will only be possible, however, when students are taught to thrive instead of\u00a0<\/span>survive<\/span>. By this, I mean that they are giv<\/span>en<\/span>\u00a0the tools they need to have fruitful\u00a0<\/span>di<\/span>s<\/span>cussions and debates on the topics of divide in society, come to compromises, and\u00a0<\/span>utilize<\/span>\u00a0their\u00a0<\/span>frustration<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0as fuel for change.\u00a0<\/span>This fuel can be utilized if students are also taught how to organize their\u00a0<\/span>communities<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>mobilize<\/span>\u00a0them for\u00a0<\/span>change. This<\/span>\u00a0kind of education is only achieved through culturally\u00a0<\/span>relevant<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>pedagogy<\/span>, which centers\u00a0<\/span>students<\/span>\u2019 education o<\/span>n<\/span>\u00a0the realities of the society they live in and prepares them to work towards a more\u00a0<\/span>equitable<\/span>\u00a0one.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

About Education\u00a0 America\u2019s beauty and appeal comes from the fact that this is a land of all lands– a\u00a0country made up of individuals from all over the world.\u00a0Because immigrants tend to migrate towards cities due to their educational and career\u00a0opportunities, urban places have become a melting pot for these lands.\u00a0Instead of being the places of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-17","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/education-1015-spring-2020-efernand\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/education-1015-spring-2020-efernand\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/education-1015-spring-2020-efernand\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/education-1015-spring-2020-efernand\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/education-1015-spring-2020-efernand\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/education-1015-spring-2020-efernand\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/education-1015-spring-2020-efernand\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}