Vocabulary Test

This post is a long time coming. A term that comes up a lot in my Diversity in Higher Ed class is "deficit thinking." Deficit-minded thinking attributes blame to those experiencing the problems. The term is often used in our class discussions in reference to differential treatment, whether by race, gender, class, religious/faith practice, etc. For the purposes of this blog, let's say an English learner student is having a hard time comprehending a lesson. This frame of mind would result in comments such as, "this kid isn't working hard enough," or "it's not a value for that student/family/racial group."

I feel that deficit thinking is best contrasted by equity minded thinking, which examines institutional or structural issues that could attribute to the shortfalls. Equity minded thinking might point to teacher bias, faulty curriculum or insufficient resources at the school for English learners.

With this in mind, I try not to use the term "achievement gap," opting for "opportunity gap" instead. Inequality of achievement looks past the structures that create inherent inequality in the first place: inequalities in wealth, differences in schools, parents educational attainment, social and cultural capital. These are social realities that make it difficult for underserved students to achieve at the same level as their better-resourced counterparts. I know people sometimes point to the instances where people have "pulled themselves up from their bootstraps" in order to dash the image of inequality. The truth remains though - you can't pull yourself up from the bootstraps without boots (wish I had a citation for that quote, it ain't mine). You just can't have equality of opportunity without equality of condition.

[Disclaimer: I'm going to sound really cynical here] I've joked (kind of) with friends about my plan to provide equity (crap...equality versus equity is a whole new post) of opportunities. Bear in mind, this is a plan that is not thought out and isn't really a plan. So here goes: hold back privileged students and provide little to no resources to them. For those who are still reading, my reasoning goes like this: we need to provide the same resources for all students but if we do so all students are only moving at the same pace. The thing is, the starting point wasn't the same. Inequalities would still exist, but I guess it's nice that they also won't grow. SCORE!

Or maybe not. The truth is that we (teachers, administrators, policymakers, parents, allies) need to find a way to provide resources to communities in need that are above and beyond what privileged students receive now. Students who are already good can keep their good schools but we need to have EXEMPLARY schools (you teachers like that huh? I know my English teachers used that word a lot, I think it means "good"). This needs to happen, and will probably happen before any critical mass even mentions something like what I proposed without breaking into laughter or calling me out to be a commie. I've come across amazing people who work at various levels of education. I'm encouraged to know that people have the goal of eliminating inequity.

In posting this though, I want to pose these questions - can we eliminate this gap by only focusing on one side of the gap? Do my ideas of social redistribution have merit? (Hell, even I'm not sure on this) Do they scare you? (They should) Do I use too many parenthetical statements? (Yes I do). What makes you confident that there will be change?

"You know, like that game 6-degrees of Kevin Bacon"

I co-facilitate an extended orientation for first year international graduate students and it has provided me with excellent practice in examining my cultural biases. Though the students in my class are peers, I am the American. I know the answers to the hidden curriculum of this wacky system of the U.S. My life experiences are also pieces of institutional knowledge that inform how I speak, act, think.

It's easy to forget that some things only make sense given contextual knowledge. My co-facilitator tried likening a conversation between two students to 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon. That is an incredibly obscure reference that even Americans might miss. How many people have access to who Kevin Bacon is (despite his amazing performance in The Air Up There)?

It's easy to make assumptions about what students know/don't know.

Thanks for the reminder

About a month ago, I volunteered for College Summit, an organization that strives to increase college access for youth from first-generation college backgrounds (among other underrepresented social identities). Soon-to-be seniors in high school were nominated by teachers or administrators at their school to attend a weekend-long workshop where they learned how to submit a college application as well as write a draft of a personal essay. Students chosen were described as "middle-level", not quite the top of the class but college-bound with some extra work. All of these students were also chosen because of leadership qualities or influential roles at school.

I worked as a writing coach; my role was to aid students in finding their voice and telling their story. I was brought back to my time in my Education 190 course. It was a democratic setting where teachers, or coaches in this case, stood on equal footing as students. Part of the process actually had me asking permission from students to coach them. The onus was all on the students to take advantage of the weekend.

The work that we accomplished was amazing and I am not surprised. The Peer Leaders (as we called them) were very bright students who have accomplished plenty despite facing major hardships. The next step for these students? As Peer Leaders, they were to return to their respective schools and use what they learned in College Summit classes. Because many were recognized as influential in their high schools, the goal is to have them lead by example and create a "college-going culture".

This experience brought up 2 things. 1) This work makes me happy and I really should keep access organizations in mind when I job search. 2) The idea of a "college-going culture" intrigues me. I assume that some schools have this culture inherently. Schools in upper-middle to high-income neighborhoods. Schools with a majority population. Schools where a majority of parents attended college and understand the application process and college experience. Schools that have connections with institutions of higher education.

College Summit is trying to create something that doesn't exist at these schools and they are doing it in a grass-roots way by starting with the students. I'm still forming my opinion on this strategy but I can't argue with empowering the students. There's nothing more powerful than seeing students fighting for their own education and opportunities. Now, if we could only get some help on the admissions and assessment side of the question...

My experience was definitely worthwhile and I encourage all of you to check out opportunities to get involved with College Summit. With all of my jabber about the college-going culture, I'd love to hear about aspects of your schools that help to foster a college-going culture. Does your school promote this type of culture? What are the challenges? What are some opportunities to confront those challenges?