What Does Money Really Have to Do With It?

 Schools need funds in order to function as a successful form of education. While the greater cause of being in Education is to support thinking minds, money is a big factor in how that gets done. 

Education systems need money provided through the government in order to keep the school running. Whether that money is used to pay the staff or pay for more equipment for students without the money some schools would lack the ability to keep up with the educational needs of the students. While it would be a perfect world to say that "it is not all about the money", sometimes that could very well be the case for some people. Some may not be able to afford to send their child to a better school or a teacher may choose to work at a different place because it will pay them more. It may be easier to claim that education is for everyone regardless of their monetary situation but that is simply not true.

Many of the articles that were provided gave great examples of how not only is money necessary for education systems, but it is also a need in families. Some students, with a lower income family, may not have access to the necessary tools they need to succeed in the classroom when they are at home. I think the layer of why money is needed for education is prevalent in seeing how many different ways lower funding effects different parts of the teaching process. It is apparent that money is needed in a lot of ways in order to start education, this is not practical in some ways which halts the learning process.

It is 2022, Why Are Schools Still Segregated?

 It is 2022, why are schools still segregated? It is time to change that way of thinking that anyone is above the other. Why are we still discriminating? It is 2022, why are we still treating people as if they are not human based on their skin color? Why is it that I have to seek higher education before I learn about culture other than my own and the culture of the people who took the land to create America? 

One can argue that the schools aren't segregated, it is just based on where these families live, but why do they live there? I listened to the podcast Black History for White People: Redlining, which first of all that is the first time I've heard the real definition of redlining as it pertains to our history. I also learned from it that the government had put systems in place to make sure that the housing and the schooling stays segregated. Why is that okay? Why is it normal for our government to turn a blind eye to all that is happening? Why do they feel it is not their place to step in for the people of the United States? Schools are still segregated because people are scared of change. They are frightened of what could be and their own false perceptions on what other people are. We are still segregated because some people find that easier than just being educated on cultures and topics that are not their own. It is 2022 but we are still segregated because there were systems put into place to keep it that way. That is how the people who came before us wanted it to be and how they left their mark on the world. It is 2022, why won't we change this? Why are we scared to change our society for the better? Why do we stay still and frozen in our own worlds? Why don't we open up to new ones? Why in 2022, are schools still segregated?

What Lengths Am I Willing to Go Through to Do Right by Every Child?

 

I find it fitting that the word "Learn" was at the center of my word it out. Learning is the base line of what everyone wants for children that go to school. It is what we all desire when we seek out more knowledge. I think that sometimes we forget that the education system is meant to teach people about things they don't know about.

To make this word it out I found that many of the articles and videos provided had the theme that education does not seem to be for students anymore. It does not serve students' needs and cannot teach them that they are important and that their opinion matters. This system seems to stifle all ideals that don't fit the mold of the "good student". I think when making this I wanted to capture that in the words and in the color. I choose green words because those should be perceived as the words to look forward to. Kind of like the saying "the grass is always greener on the other side". I left in the words of unkindness for a sense of punch. Words like "failure", "disconnect", "never", and "destroy". I think that they create a sense of urgency when surrounded by words that should not be negative, such as "students" or "school". 

As to relate to the question, "What lengths am I willing to go through to do right by every child?", I think that it is possible to go through a lot in order to connect with students and to make sure they are feeling seen. I know that it would be a lot to do such things, but it may be worth it in order to really help students. Does this come with the risk of losing yourself to make sure others are okay, sure, but being an educator is a selfless job. It is the most exciting thing to see children connect with something you are teaching or something you are doing because it relates to them. I think that all that is worth doing whatever I could to help children relate to the teachings. Relation is the only way we want to learn.

How Does Gender Affect the Teaching Profession?

 Gender in teaching is a funny thing. Women are often seen at the forefront of learning. It is more common to see a woman in education than a man. Why? Many men who enter the profession also come along with a coaching position. I have personally only seen a few male teachers who were not coaches. Do all teachers who enter the career field, regardless of gender, have that same passionate want of helping students reach their greatest potential? 

I do not think that gender affects the way someone teaches. I think each person teaches based on how much they want to. Some are more enthusiastic about it, and some would rather just get it over with. Gender does not affect the way a lesson is taught. There could also be this huge fight over male and female but what about the teachers who do not fit that mold? In these more modern times, there is the option of being absent of gender. How does no gender at all affect the way you teach or how the students receive your teaching? The way you teach does not falter but it is the way you are perceived that does. How do students go about understanding that and would parents be okay with sending their children to learn at a school with a teacher that lacks gender? Maybe it is a thought overboard from the regular gender discussion of male and female teaching, but it has crossed my mind and I could not go without addressing it.

I think there is a stigma that woman should be teachers simply because not very many men become teachers. I do not think I could answer the why they do not, because everyone is different. They all have different reasons and to generalize that is unfair. Gender does not make you better at one thing than another, I think that profession is based on preference. I also think that the way others, like students and other faculty, respond to how you teach and treat others rather than what your gender is.

Is School Equitable?

 Before I even started, I had to look up the word "Equitable". It seemed pretty straightforward, but I had to be sure. Equitable means to be fair for all. Is schooling fair for all? I think the answer is simple and very in your face, but this would not give the education system the benefit of the doubt. 

The education that I received was decent enough that I got through K-12 and am now going through college. However, the amount of information that I did not receive in school that I have now learn outside of it is alarming. Most of the information I have come across are retellings of major historical events that I was taught happened one way but really happened another. Most of these stories are minorities stories that are not taught in schools. This is an easy way for education systems to leave out certain races and culture from their schools. This is not a fair way of presenting information to teach to children in schools.

Another piece of the unfairness of schools is how they treat the students who are minorities. I grew up in a town where the majority of the population were Hispanics. The school had a majority of Hispanic students, yet still many of those students were discriminated against. We had a school resource officer that was put in charge of lunch detention, why would they need someone with that much authority running something as simple as lunch detention? School resource officers have been known to cause more unrest in students, so why do we need them to be around so often? 

I do not think schools are equitable. I do not know if they ever will be. I do know that educators, administrative staff and many others could contribute to making schools more equitable just by doing what they have to skillset to do.

Stories: Whose are Told and Whose Remain in the Margins?

Why is it that some stories are seen as "fit for children" to learn in school and some are not? What qualifies a story as being better than another or more worthy of being taught? How many stories that are a pivotal part of our history are changed to better suit one narrative or not even taught at all? And is it often an easy way for education systems to discriminate against minorities?

I feel there should be quick and easy answers to all these questions but most of the time these questions are the easiest for people to dodge around as though it were the plague. There are countless stories told of the white protagonist that saves the day, such as figures I personally learned about like Davy Crockette, The Texas Rangers, or Doc Holiday.  Yet, we fail to hear the stories that have the most impact, like stories from Ruby Bridges, Patricia de la Garza and Martin De Leon, or La Malinche who shape our history to what it is today. This does not discredit everything that the Anglo, American or European descending historical figures have done, but I think it is high time that we give the stage to stories we haven't been taught to know like the back of our hands. We should be teaching all stories, of everyone, so that everyone is represented and so no child feels like their culture it not as important as someone else's. 

There is always the question of how we integrate other cultures into our everyday lives. I think we should start just but teaching our children different culture's stories and letting them know these stories like the back of their hand. Why shouldn't they? It is knowledge and knowledge is what you send children to school to obtain anyways. I think that stories left in margins by people who do not even understand why the stories are important should be displayed everywhere for everyone so that no one can be cast aside anymore.

Do I Have the Full Picture?

 It is possible for any of us to really see things from everyone point of view. Is it possible that any of us are able to really sympathize with everyone around us? None of us have the full picture. We cannot possibly know how everyone was raised, what they experienced, and how they feel. I cannot understand someone else's race fully even if they can give me a clear idea of it. No one can in fact understand things this way. Our way of connected it comparing others experiences to our own and seeing the similarities and differences. This, even though worthwhile, does not provide the full picture on someone else's culture or life.

Taking the time to travel and learn about others is a beautiful thing in its own right. It can give you many memorable experiences and broaden your thinking of the world around you. It can help you see more of the picture, but you will never know the full picture because you are not the artist. An artist of a certain painting knows exactly what stroke went where and what colors or bases in underneath the work. The viewer of this painting will never see that without the artist telling them. Even still the viewer will never know what that looked like because they did not experience the art being made. An odd analogy really but I feel that is the only way what I am trying to say makes sense. 

I think it is important to try and see as much of the full picture as you can. Being knowledgeable about things that happen for certain cultures or certain people will help foster the understanding that is needed to really connect with others. It provides a base of feeling understood and like what you have going on matters to others. So, while I do not think one person will ever have the full picture, I think it is good to seek out many different pictures to help you piece together your understanding of a subject.