Letters

Summer 2004

Sensible Approach

I just had a lengthy conversation with a veteran of the recent Iraq conflict over education, standards, and schools. The conversation was intense, simplistic, and I was ill-prepared. I felt I had stated my opposition to high-stakes testing poorly in my conversation. I came home and logged on to Stan Karp's article "The No Child Left Behind Hoax" (available at the Rethinking Schools website at www.rethinkingschools.org/special_reports/bushplan/hoax.shtml). I was invigorated and reinforced by his comprehensive article.

Keep up the good work. There is so much simplistic madness driving this nation. I know I can count on your publication for a sensible approach to issues that preserve the dignity, voice, and intrinsic good of public education.

Thank you. I love what you do.

Jack Meyer
Santa Barbara, California

A Teacher's Perspective

It was interesting to read Carol Foresta's account of our "solidarity exercise" in cross-dressing at Bread and Roses Integrated Arts High School ("Dressing Up," Vol. 18, No. 2). But I'd like to add a brief coda.

The decision to stand with "Miguel" was touchy because it involved taking on cultural assumptions that are rooted not only in the street culture that is on all sides of 135th and Edgecombe (where Bread and Roses is located), but also in the "tough love" philosophy many inner-city and immigrant families have to wear in order to survive. Most of the teachers on the staff felt we were doing Miguel a disservice by not contacting his parents and informing them of his behavior. Others who were dismayed by his decision to wear a dress were worried that it would open the door to all kinds of other disruptions.

So basically, the decision we teachers who stood with Miguel had to make was whether we would go ahead and risk offending cultural traditions that have stood unchallenged for a long time. The concern of what might happen to Miguel in the streets of Harlem and Washington Heights was easy to get around, as he wasn't wearing his dress out on the streets; he changed into it once he got to school. In addition, he had resourcefully assembled support among his peers-sympathetic young women and several of the more open-minded young men.

As far as his parents were concerned, we had to ask ourselves whether it was worth risking parent disapproval or class disruption in order to lend support. We who supported him felt that we could take on any parental questions respectfully and firmly if Miguel's behavior became an issue, and also believed that previous disruptions we had seen at Bread and Roses were far more combustive than those that could potentially be had from a cross-dressing incident.

The day of the dress-up came and went, there were no major mishaps, and life went back to its normal roller-coaster regularity. It turned out to be a very small thing to wear a dress, even for those of us who did not shave our legs.

As for the analogy made by some staffers to the Civil Rights Movement, obviously this wasn't anything near so large as the decisions made by people like Rosa Parks. If progressive teachers got the kind of training early civil rights activists received at Highlander, incidents like this wouldn't be anywhere near so difficult. Students did take an ongoing role in discussing the ambiguity of sex roles, so what might be seen as a circus was in reality a "teaching moment" that played out in some important ways.

Was the dress-up cultural insensitivity on our parts as teachers? I don't know, and I'm not even sure if I care. A few of us stood publicly with a student who was going through a difficult moment defining himself within certain sexual roles; we saw ourselves standing up to repressive attitudes, if only for a moment. Maybe we were wrong, maybe even presumptuous. I don't know. All I know is that our stand with Miguel was a small victory for both students and teachers, and these days, you've got to grab them wherever you can.

Michael Hureaux Perez ("Tim")
Seattle, Washington

On Being Concrete and Making Connections

As an education professor I read your magazine with much passion and interest. I have now made Rethinking Schools mandatory reading in all of my classes, requiring students to purchase one-year subscriptions alongside their other texts. No matter the topic of my courses (sociology of education, curriculum design, multiculturalism), equity, justice, and hope provide the foundation upon which we layer our experiences, content, theory, and activism in the community. Thank you for offering such a concrete foundation for my students: stories that connect to our experiences, reveal a different perspective, and/or bring theory to life like "Losing Ground," by Wayne Au (Vol. 18, No. 2); and lesson ideas that demonstrate how to engage content more critically in an attempt to meet all learning needs in our classrooms like "Beyond Pink and Blue," by Robin Cooley, and "Lessons from a Garden Spider," by Kate Lyman (Vol. 18, No. 2).

On a more personal note, I particularly appreciate the excerpts from Gregory Michie's upcoming book, See You When We Get There (Vol. 18, No. 2), as I continue to reorganize/facilitate a Malcolm X reading circle at a local Boys and Girls Club. Sometimes the dialogue is amazing and insightful and the attendance is bountiful. Other times, the conversation is uninspiring and lifeless, and the lack of attendance is remarkable. I am reassured and motivated by Liz Kirby's story.

Thank you for making these connections for my students and me. And thank you for being a mouthpiece and model for more just and equitable possibilities for all children.

Adam Renner
Louisville, Kentucky

Editor's Note: The following excerpts are from letters written by students in Adam Renner's classes at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky.

I am replying to Carol Michaels Foresta's article "Dressing Up" (Vol. 18, No. 2). I was intrigued by the way one school gave support to students who were not afraid to express themselves. As a future teacher myself, I believe it is important to have a classroom where the students feel com-

fortable enough to be themselves. Unfortunately, I do not feel that the student, Miguel, would have received such understanding and support from his fellow students or his teachers if he were not in an

integrated arts school such as Bread & Roses. I am currently observing a teacher at a Louisville, Ky., middle school where the atmosphere is probably quite different than at Miguel's school. I am afraid that at this school and many others, a student such as Miguel would be a classic victim of bullying and name calling by the other students, mainly the male students. Although the story of Miguel conveys the hope of acceptance for anyone who is not afraid to express themselves, I feel that this story is a very isolated case. The hard fact is that school is a very opinionated, socially structured environment for students, and anyone who does not follow the unwritten rules for conformity is at risk of being an outcast.

Andrew Nieters

I have thoroughly enjoyed my first issue of Rethinking Schools (Vol. 18, No. 2). In particular, I enjoyed Robin Cooley's "Beyond Pink and Blue," where the fourth grade class at Newton Public School recognized the gender stereotypes that were present in the Pottery Barn Kids catalog.

I wonder what kind of changes could be made if all schools were including this type of curriculum in their classrooms. I decided to teach because I want to empower my students and turn them into critical thinkers and social activists. I want students in my classroom to be able to recognize the biases that are present in today's society. Our students CAN change the world, one catalog at a time.

Angie Sego

Having just read the article "Beyond Pink and Blue" (Vol. 18 , No. 2), I feel that I should mention an experience that I have had in my own life concerning stereotypes and the traditional family unit. As someone who is adopted, I cannot begin to explain just how difficult it was sometimes to deal with my classmates and their views on how I was a "weirdo" because I was adopted. Many times in grade school I had to deal with classmates who would treat me with a great deal of scorn. I find it very heartening to see that there are ways of relating this to students without alienating the students who may be adopted. I am truly happy to see that there will be fewer children who have to be subjected to that which I recall with pain.

Matt Wiggins

Steven Wolk has it right in his article ("It's a Good Thing," Vol. 18, No. 2). Integrating moral education into high school curriculum is an idea that I find intriguing and energizing. Teachers can and should empower students to prepare them for life in the real world.

Teachers should not only teach students how to make ethical and moral decisions, but they should also share their own opinions. Students would be free to share their own opinions as well. The classroom should be a laboratory where spirits can soar and ideas can be investigated in the brain as well as the heart.

Although God is no longer officially in the classroom this should not keep us from teaching ethics and moral decision-making.

Teaching morality does not violate "separation of church and state."

Robert Lee Helvey

I must admit that as a registered Republican and supporter of President Bush's educational agenda, including school vouchers, I have some doubts in my mind thanks to a well-researched article by Barbara Miner ("Distorting the Civil Rights Legacy," Vol. 18, No. 3).

My first thoughts on school vouchers were positive. I thought that if schools were lagging behind, then an alternative for the students within those schools would be a positive action to reinforce their education. However, reading the article made me rethink my standpoint.

When Ms. Miner brought to my attention the educational gains that could be rolled back when enrolling a child in a private setting, my feelings began to change. The key issues that swayed my mind regarded the outcomes for children with disabilities and the circumvention of constitutional rights that are guaranteed in public schools but not in private schools.

These setbacks offset any positives that a private institution may have, thus nullifying the need for voucher schools. In my opinion, we, as voting citizens of this nation, need to inform our representatives of the possibilities for voucher schools before they become law.

Aaron K. Howell

I am really impressed at the various essays, interviews, and overall in-depth look at the monumental Brown v. Board of Education decision. I wanted to reply to Carl Grant's essay "Brown for All" (Vol. 18, No. 3).

As a young, black man working toward becoming a full-time teacher, I believe Brown achieved exactly what it set out to do. This case attacked segregation of schools head on and won. In my heart, I believe this case focused on providing opportunity, not eradicating racism and treatment of others. Do I believe that there is still unequal education based on race, sex, and socioeconomic status? Yes. Do I believe that racism and a virtual "segregation" in schools is more alive than ever? Yes.

But we (my generation and beyond) have the opportunity to change all of that. We have been given the chance to put a dent in this hideous issue. I believe the real victory is not in overcoming racism and unequal education, but the chance to stand against it.

The Brown decision opened the doors for us; now it's time for us to do the job.

Alex Bertrand

"Some Gaps Count More Than Others," by Stan Karp, clearly shows how politics and numbers in our schools are more important than the actual education of our students. Standardized testing and the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), in my opinion, are an insult to our intelligence as teachers as well as our students. The mandate that NCLB imposes on us as educators takes away any form of creativity and passion from our classrooms. In order to accomplish "passing scores," we have to train our students to think as perfect little robots and teach them not how to think for themselves but how to perfectly pass a standardized test.

Instead of penalizing schools for trying to teach, our politicians should work on improving the environment of the schools and the resources in order to provide a more culturally diverse education that will lead students to think and solve problems instead of becoming drones.

Tatyana Malkin

I completely agree with Rita Tenorio in her article "Brown Kids Can't Be in Our Club" (Vol. 18, No. 3). The activities and level of discussion that Ms. Tenorio has achieved in her first- grade classroom give me hope. I plan to teach high school, and I can only dream of a room of students who have completed her program. I greatly appreciated the detailed lesson outlines that she included in her explanation, and I believe that the same principles can be applied from elementary to middle to high school. Ms. Tenorio's first-graders are very lucky to be a part of her classroom.

Jessica Hash

In "Fairness First," by Stephanie Walters (Vol. 18, No. 3), Ms. Walters, a first-grade teacher, described a lesson in which she deviated from her pre-packaged teacher's lesson plan and created a lesson all her own on the rather difficult but important issue of justice. Despite the amount of work and the hardships involved in creating a lesson from scratch, and despite her doubts that the children would not understand, Ms. Walters forged ahead in her momentous task.

I think Ms. Walters has set an example for both veteran and pre-service teachers alike. Not only did she fully commit herself to developing a new, more engaging lesson, but she also had the courage to address issues and ask thought-provoking questions of young children-which many teachers shy away from in the classroom. I commend Ms. Walters for initiating the development of critical thinking skills in her very young first graders. Just imagine the opportunities and possibilities for students to come if more teachers followed Ms. Walters' lead and began conditioning students to think critically at very young ages. Ms. Walters' courage and commitment are a source of inspiration to me.

Stephanie Young

Diana E. Hess's article ("Deconstructing the Brown Myth," Vol. 18, No. 3 ) provides teachers with an invaluable resource. As I reflected upon my own educational experience, I realized that Brown was presented to me as an uncontroversial court case.

The most dangerous consequence of the presentation of this perspective was that it shrouded the effects of racism in today's society by treating it as a problem of the past. We were essentially told that institutionalized racism was a problem that we dealt with and solved in one swoop of the Supreme Court's gavel.

I was certainly in for a rude awakening in college when I was faced with the reality of racism as it exists today and the Supreme Court's limited power (or willingness) to deconstruct it. I am still confronting my misconceptions about social justice to this day. As teachers, we need to seek out instances of our own "miseducation" and try to present our students with a more thorough presentation of history. Thank you to Diana Hess for pointing out the power we, as educators, have in shaping the views of our students and for reminding us to seek out more effective ways of presenting controversial content.

Beth Wallingford

Write Us a Letter Rethinking Schools welcomes letters to the editors. We reserve the right to print letters in condensed form. Send letters to: Letters to the Editors, Rethinking Schools, 1001 East Keefe Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53212, or e-mail: feedback@rethinkingschools.org.

Summer 2004