Our group was in charge of the class presentation this week. I learned a lot from the class as they participated in the activities. I expected that there would be a disparity in the poll results for where the class teaches and where they went to school. However, I did not expect the disparity to be so large. I wonder if people who grew up in urban and lower income communities are not choosing teaching as a profession or they are simply not enrolled in our class? While I'm sure the former middle to upper income suburban kids are doing a great job with urban, lower income kids it seems they need more role models from their own neighborhood.
Many of my classmates have similar stereotypes about other regions that I do. None of the things they wrote really shocked me about any of the regions. I did find it was interesting that the only stereotypes about education were with regard to the really good (New England and mid-Atlantic) and the really bad (the South). I'm not sure why we don't develop stereotypes about the Southwest, West, or Mid-West.
Preparing for the presentation, my group reflected on how this information on different regions was applicable to the classroom. What we realized was that most of us have no idea what goes on with education in different states. If a child comes to us from a different state, we can only apply our stereotypes as to what school was like in the other state. Teachers should ask for transfer records, search the internet for state standards, or possibly ask permission to contact former teachers in order to help the student adjust as much as possible.
While we should keep in mind that students may struggle if they come from a different environment, teachers and administrators should also be sure to give a child a chance before they stereotype their ability to perform. Each time I moved as a child, people assumed I wouldn't be able to do the work. If my mother had not been my advocate I would have ended up not being properly served in my new schools. I moved from Mississippi to Tennessee in 1st grade. My mom tells me my teacher in Tennessee was quite concerned when I enrolled in her class mid-year. The teacher knew Mississippi schools weren't good and thought I'd be behind. However, my mom was a former teacher and I had been enrolled in private school. The teacher was pleasantly surprised when she found my work to be on grade level. When I moved to suburban Chicago in high school my counselor discouraged me from enrolling in the honors classes because she thought I would be behind. The counselor thought my school in Tennessee had much lower standards than the Illinois school. I decided to take the honors classes anyway and found them to be about the same as my school in Tennessee. Some classes were harder and some classes were easier. I was disappointed to find my school in Illinois offered fewer Advanced Placement courses than my school in Tennessee. The students in my classes were also very judgmental of my background. They thought I was a "hick" and a racist just because I was from the south. I don't remember any of my teachers trying to help them understand not everyone from the south was a hick or racist.
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