<p> Everhart 1</p><p>Kim Everhart</p><p>11/29/11</p><p>ED 227</p><p>Image of a Learner</p><p>Student Perspective</p><p>School is all what you make of it. When I first started middle school, I didn’t feel safe to be who </p><p>I am. There was a fight almost every day and the other kids really didn’t seem to care about school. </p><p>School was not fun at all and just seemed like a place to get away from home and kill time. There were all kinds of stupid rules back then like not being able to talk at lunch time and the adults in our school didn’t even trust us enough to go to the bathroom by ourselves—pretty embarrassing, huh? I think most the kids in our school were even more rebellious because of all those rules. We just wanted to be treated like the adults we are. </p><p>My school has changed a lot since then. When we got a new principal, we started over. All the students, and even the teachers, had to reapply to the school. We had to prove that we really wanted to be there. The kids that go to this school now really want to learn, even though they don’t act like it all the time. Even though we all know how we should act in school, we still pass notes, get on our cell phones, talk too much, and sometimes talk back to teachers. This is all just part of being a kid and growing up. Most of our teachers have really tried to make learning more interesting since we changed to a law and public policy school. Being in more interesting classes even helps us kids not get distracted and act like crazy fools in class. We also have a chance to make a difference in the community at my school and I am so glad that I have tons of opportunities to join clubs and stuff that will look good on my college applications. I know that if I get myself involved and get good grades in my classes that I will get in to whatever college I want. After all, that is what high school is all about, preparing me to get into the Everhart 2 college of my choice! Clubs like Student Court, Peer Mediation, and managing the soccer team have helped me to become a leader in my school and I really like all the responsibility. </p><p>Being a part of Student Court has really changed my mind about criminals and crime in general. </p><p>Before, I sort of understood why some people would take things. Now that I have learned more about the justice system and what happens when people commit crime and I just don’t get why people still do it. Because of different clubs and the stuff we are learning at school, I have really learned to feel like an important member of my community and I think that it is really important for kids to learn this in school.</p><p>A lot of times, we feel like we are a nuisance to our families and neighborhoods and learning this stuff in school helps show them that we are worth something and can make a difference. </p><p>Overall, I think I have been really successful in school. I get mostly A’s, have joined lots of clubs, and my teachers and friends seem to like me. Some kids in my school haven’t been as successful as I have. Maybe this is because they don’t have any easy family life like I do and some of them get themselves involved with the wrong crowd. Some other kids just act like they are not interested in school at all and have never even thought about going to college. Teachers try their hardest to get these kids involved in class and I think that most the time it works. I have seen a lot of kids change their lives for the better at my school and that makes me really proud of what our school can accomplish. If anyone is looking for an ideal school they should look for one just like mine where everyone works together to make the school better and students are given opportunities to use what we’ve learned in real life. </p><p>Teacher Perspective</p><p>I would describe the typical high school student as a person in transition. Their bodies and minds are undergoing all kinds of changes and their roles in society are shifting from that of an observing child to a participating adult. High school students are still in the process of forming their identities and figuring out how they relate to those around them. This is especially difficult for the Everhart 3 urban kids I teach. Many of them do not have positive role models in their lives, are forced into taking care of themselves at a younger age due to absent parents and often feel oppressed by society. Some of these kids are dealing with very serious issues and what most of us take for granted, they do not have. </p><p>That being said, urban kids bring a certain something special to the table. They are strong, resilient, and very good at reading people. That is why I call teaching in an urban setting “heart work.” If you don’t have a real and sincere interest in these kids they will see right through you. If you aren’t going to put the student first and aren’t ready to see some things that will shake you to the core, don’t teach in an urban school because you won’t make it.</p><p>Nearly all of the high school students I have come across have been amazingly curious individuals. It is such a fantastic time in a person’s life where all the childlike enthusiasm meets with the wonder of what lies ahead. With this in mind, schools should be places where these child-adults go to be guided in their quest to learning about the world around them and how they fit into the world. We need to show these kids the value of education and show them that they can make a difference. The guiding force behind their education should be to help them identify, harness, and develop their own special talents to create a positive impact on their communities. What we are doing in urban schools is attempting to make a difference in the entire system. We are changing the discourse surrounding education and changing the way these kids look at themselves.</p><p>By changing the way we think and talk about education, we are more able to meet the unique needs of our students. Instead of simply improving what exists, we are making significant changes in the structure of our school. We recently restructured the entire curriculum to have a law and public policy basis. Our students are now involved in programs like Student Court, a class in which our students act as prosecuting and defense attorneys for at-risk students from other schools, and The Thin Blue Line, our school’s student police training course. Programs such as these give students real-world experience. </p><p>Also, by giving our students more freedom and choices in the classroom, we are fostering healthy Everhart 4 relationships between teachers and students. In our classrooms, a balance between these freedoms and the establishment of clear limits provides the framework for an environment that is conducive to learning for all. Our students are reaping the benefits of education, such as responsibility and respect, while they are learning instead of simply being told to learn insignificant information they may or may not be useful to them in the future. Our students are learning in ways that are relevant and meaningful.</p><p>The problem with finding the “answer” to creating the perfect classroom is that schools are filled with diverse populations of learners and educators. What may work for one school, or even a particular student, may not work for another. Factors such as socio-economic status, motivation, and limited school resources often affect education in negative ways. The diverse nature of our learners and schools makes the science of teaching incredibly broad. While studies and research prove to be a wonderful guide in creating classroom harmony and learning, it is the art of teaching that truly makes a good classroom great. If the students are not learning, it is not because they are unable to learn. The teacher must find a way to teach that is more relatable to their students. By developing engaging curriculum, strong personal relationships, and differentiating instruction based on the specific needs of our own students, well- informed and culturally conscious teachers really do make the difference. </p><p>The diverse nature of our schools and students also makes it difficult to measure success on an all-encompassing scale. Success should be measured using performance based assessments such as producing knowledge, creating products, and personal reflections that show a particular skill has been mastered. In this age of “accountability,” those outside the education profession consider success in a school to be a target number based on a singular test. This idea is flawed in that one test cannot possibly measure the aptitude of a group of diverse learners. These tests ignore a large number of our country’s students in that they are not relevant to many of their experiences. In my school, we prefer to look away from the idea of singular tests and concentrate on providing multiple avenues for demonstrating that a student is learning. In order to truly measure success, one would have to look Everhart 5 beyond the numbers and take a look inside the schools themselves. Ideally, a successful school would be one where the students, teachers, parents, and administrators work in collaboration to create an environment that fosters learning. In the ideal school, students would produce work that shows that they are engaging with curriculum, learning about the world around them, and growing as members of a community. All of a school’s inhabitants should have an equal stake in the learning community and a sense of trust, respect, and good-old-fashioned fun should permeate the halls. </p><p>Reporter Perspective</p><p>Urban Education Today</p><p>Accountability. Standardized Testing. No Child Left Behind. If you have a child in school, read the newspaper, or watch the news, you are familiar with these terms and know that they are the issues surrounding education today. Menacing reports of the widespread underachievement of urban schools could strike doubt and fear into the heart any parent. When most people hear the words “urban education,” their minds usually turn to schools that are full of high-poverty and minority students, visions of ambivalent teachers, and places of violence. Numerous reports of underachieving students and child-on-child crime only help to propagate these stereotypes. Thus, the designation that a school is urban often holds the connotation that the school is somehow defective and its teachers and administration inept. Is this estimation correct? What is the state of urban education today? </p><p>According to the Analysis of Student Performance on State Assessments and NAEP (National </p><p>Assessment of Educational Progress) performed by the Council of Great City Schools, urban school achievement is below state averages in both mathematics and reading on state assessments. </p><p>Specifically in mathematics, only “eleven percent of [urban] districts had eighth-grade proficiency rates at or above their respective states” (9). The numbers for reading came in even lower at only ten percent</p><p>(10). Within the education community, there is much debate as to the validity of the tests that produce Everhart 6 such statistics. Many education professionals question whether standardized tests can accurately measure student success. One teacher from an urban high school in Indianapolis, IN states that “one test cannot possibly measure the aptitude of a group of diverse learners.” She goes further to say that the tests “ignore” a certain segment of students, especially low-income minority students, because they </p><p>“are not relevant to many of their experiences.” She suggests that success in schools could be better measured by looking “inside the schools themselves” for evidence that students are producing “work that shows that they are engaging with curriculum, learning about the world around them, and growing as members of a community.” Author and high school Principal George H. Wood also sees a danger in putting too much stress on the outcomes of test results in that doing so “has led more and more schools to focus on test preparation rather than the more valued higher-order learning skills. . . children need to succeed in the world today” (41). </p><p>These ideas should cause you, as parents, to wonder about the purpose of your child’s education as it exists in the current political climate. Is the purpose of an education to simply answer a set of multiple choice questions or to prepare a child to become a functioning and contributing member of society? As one urban teacher eloquently stated, perhaps the purpose of education should be to simply </p><p>“help [students] identify, harness, and develop their own special talents to create a positive impact on their communities.” Perhaps in response to their lower-than-average test scores, many urban schools are embracing the fact that not all students learn and demonstrate learning in the same ways and are redefining the way they look at education. Teachers are attempting to meet the diverse needs of their students by building stronger personal relationships based on mutual respect and allowing students more freedom and responsibility in the classroom. In urban schools, the focus is on showing students the value of education and changing the way students perceive themselves. Teachers and administrators are inspiring students by creating engaging curriculum that is relevant and meaningful and the students are responding in a positive way. Everhart 7</p><p>Urban student Stephanie M. is what one might call a “typical” high school student. She is bright, enthusiastic, and optimistic about her future. She is a member of numerous clubs and associations and looks forward to college in the coming years. Stephanie is happy at her urban school, currently a law and public policy magnet, because “students are given opportunities to use what [they’ve] learned in real life” through classes like Student Court where students act as defense and prosecuting attorneys and jurors. The trials they participate in are for at-risk students from neighboring schools and a real judge presides over the hearings. What Stephanie learns in her classes, she uses in real-life situations with real-life implications and it is clear that it has led to a more meaningful learning experience. </p><p>Stephanie often reflects back on days before her school provided such opportunities. Students were not allowed to speak to each other at lunch time or to go to the restroom without the presence of an adult. </p><p>There were fights in her school every day and student achievement was staggeringly low. Now, because of the reframing of education in her school, Stephanie says that the students in her school “really want to learn” and that her school is the “ideal.” </p><p>Such a strong student testimonial certainly suggests that urban schools are headed in the right direction. Perhaps just as convincing are that even urban school test scores are showing improvement. </p><p>In mathematics, “eighty-eight percent of districts increased the percentage of eighth-grade students who scored at or above proficient between 2006 and 2009” and a similar seventy-one percent increase was reported in reading (Council of Great City School 9-10). What does all this mean for your little learner? As a parent, perhaps the best way to ensure that your child is receives the best education possible is to become involved, get to know your child’s teachers, and support the vision of the educators in your child’s school. Ideally, your child’s school should be a place where you and your child feel welcomed, safe, and inspired. Everhart 8</p><p>Works Cited</p><p>Wood, George H. Time to Learn: How to Create High Schools that Serve All Students. Portsmouth:</p><p>Heinman, 2005. Print.</p><p>Uzzell, Renata, et al. Beating the Odds: Analysis of Student Performance on State Assessments and NAEP. </p><p>Results from the 2008-09 School Year. Washington D.C.: Council of The Great City Schools, 2010. </p>