Diversity in S120

[Anonymous]

Issues of Diversity in the Classroom

To give a little background into the classroom racial demographics, there is so far one Asian student (who is a student mentor), one African American student, and one Latin American student I was able to observe consistently in S120. There are more Latin American students who come and go from time to time from the Torch classroom, but other than that, the obvious majority consists of White students. As expected, all of the staff at S120, except for me, are White.

While these minority students are by no means isolated from the rest of the students (there are frequent interracial interactions if we had to put it that way), they are inevitably quite visible and invisible at the same time within the classroom. They are visible in that physically they look different and they stand out. They are invisible in that they are for the most part one of the quietest people in the classroom. At times I think they seem to actively resist being seen as different. There is one Black student in the class, that sometimes talks to these two other White base-ball players who always sit together. Although the Black student tries to actively keep the conversation going, after a few back-and-forths the conversation is often concluded. The Black student stops talking, goes into his iPad, while the other two keep joking amongst each other. The Black student sits by himself at one of the tables. The two White students sit on the sofa, together. I haven’t been to other classes in S120, so I am not entirely sure what other, perhaps more “regular” classes at NHS look like, but by quick profiling of the hallway in between class periods, it was evident that there is only a handful of Asian, African American, and LatinX students who go here.

This was rather expected, so I don’t think I was ever taken aback. I was, however, a little more cautious to assume that the minority students here necessarily “experienced racism” or any sort of discrimination based on their race for that matter. Frankly, I don’t know what these students think because I didn’t really get a chance to converse with them one on one. I can only assume from my own personal experience of being the only Asian kid in my White friend group, how that experience felt like. One thing for sure is that I didn’t want to seem like I was approaching them just because we were both minorities. I read from another class at Carleton that especially second-generation minority students often find cultural heritage to be a barrier in them assimilating into the dominant culture and might develop animosity towards the culture and people of their parents. Being aware of this, I was also careful not to overstep boundaries.

In addition to the lack of racial diversity, there are also issues of diverse skill levels in the classroom. Because S120 is a study hall for the students who are “falling behind” on work, students that come here are typically students who are on the lower tracks in their class but also students who are taking different classes from each other. Thus, there are fewer opportunities for students to become MKOs for each other because they are all working on their own missing works and not necessarily on the same things.

Relating to Readings, Teacher Action, and What Could Be Improved

Relating to Diversity of Skill Levels

Delpit’s “The Silenced Dialogue” aptly describes the different approaches that parents of different racial groups have towards educating “their children,” and how these differences might contribute positively or negatively to the efficacy of instruction or guidance. To extend this beyond racial boundaries, I believe that for some students, direct instruction is much more valuable than an open-ended curriculum! I especially found one quote from one of the African American students who were interviewed for the article, who cited the teacher’s “meanness” as an indication for good teaching, to be especially relevant in the setting I observed.

The teachers at S120 are far from being “mean.” In my opinion, they are the nicest when it comes to enforcing rules or telling the students to study. Sometimes I wish I had the authority to do so, so I would tell them straight up, “if you don’t do this, you will fail.” But of course, I won’t do that. And the instructors at S120 do say this to students, although much subtly (“If you want to pass, you might want to get this in by today.”) They pose everything in terms of the students having the ultimate authority whether to finish their homework or not and never directly inform the students of the consequences (maybe because the students already know?)

And for some this subtle approach might work best, but for most students at S120, and not the least for one Black student in the class, this indirect approach is not working. I can clearly see, in the absence of strict rules and discipline, the students simply look bored, and often resort to their phones for entertainment. I would say Delpit might not be so happy that the students are just left to their own discretion (which, because they are still high schoolers, cannot be trusted entirely without at least a bit of guidance!)

Because students are not forced to study, most often they choose not to. They choose to watch videos on YouTube or go on their phones instead. I wonder where we draw the line for responsible teaching. Is leaving the students to do whatever they want setting them up for success? Not a single instructor mentioned much about college at all as far as my observations were concerned. Ironically, one of the pillars of S120 philosophy which are written on a poster attached to a wall was prepping students for college. But how is one expecting to go to college, let alone succeed in college, when they still don’t have the skills to set up their own agendas and still rely on the instructors to tell them their daily todos? My observations confirmed Delpit’s reading in that sometimes, in the absence of enforcement, some students would start to take the instructors’ words lightly and in extreme cases won’t even trust the competence of the teacher!

Like Delpit, I believe that some things need to be strictly enforced so that the students would at least have the basic skills to start making something of themselves. Perhaps I am misjudging based on the few times I’ve been to this class, but what I’m saying is that not all students benefit from a “nice” mode of indirect instruction and that sometimes a bit more directness might help some student become more successful.

Relating to Diversity of Race

In addition, there is rarely, if any conversation in S120 revolving around the larger state of the world and the nation. In the midst of racial violence and social uprising, I wonder if it might have been appropriate to at least bring up the topic so as to raise awareness of these issues in the students. The instructors were passive in their role as “cultural informants” and did not seem to pay special attention to the minority students or seemed particularly curious about how they were feeling in these times. This kind of practice does not adhere to Ladson-Billing’s suggestion that “beyond those individual characteristics of academic achievement and cultural competence, students must develop a broader sociopolitical consciousness that allows them to critique the cultural norms, values, mores, and institutions that produce and maintain social inequities” (162)

As a primarily White town that Northfield is, it is all the more important that in schools students at least get a chance to critique their status quo and try to understand what’s beyond their immediate surroundings. But I could not help but feel that S120 was very insulated, and wondered what would come out of the possible conversations that could be had if instead of leaving students to be on their phone, the teachers were more proactive in bringing up these possibly uncomfortable discussions regarding the student’s privileges and position in society? And what if instead of “treating minority students the same as other students” teachers would give them more attention, and specialized attention, so as to make them feel like they truly belong and are seen.  Sometimes I feel like people think ignoring the fact that different students exist is the solution to being truly egalitarian. But it might actually be acknowledging the differences and actively celebrating them that might be the road to a truly diverse classroom.

Additional Comments:

I understand, however, that there is only so much a single classroom could do, let alone a classroom that is designed to be a study hall. The instructors have minimal outlets for engaging students in a deeper class-wide discussion, save for some individualized conversations I sometimes overhear instructors having with the students. In this environment where there is really minimal diversity, I often wonder what the best course of action would be. Some minority students might appreciate a more explicit celebration of their heritage, but others might not. There will be diversity in the reception of possible racially cognizant efforts as well. Nonetheless, I believe that culturally relevant pedagogy should be stressed nonetheless, not just for the minority students, but also for the majority students as well. It is important to bring up these topics earlier on to instill in the students a sense of their privilege and ability to critque social norms and inequities.

In terms of setting high expectations for students at S120, I believe that college should be brought up more often in conversations with students. Perhaps teachers could inform students about possible college options and help with college applications and possible scholarship applications. If the students are able to see the bigger picture of life after high school and beyond, and what implications studying now might have on their future, they might be more motivated to do their work. Rather than assuming that kind admonition would have the same effect on all students, being more explicit at times and catering to the needs of a diverse set of students, might set them up for more success. Although you might look like a “mean” teacher now, you might be thanked later in their lives.

• This topic was modified 4 years, 7 months ago by admin.

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