| Urban District Challenges |
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| Wednesday, 25 June 2008 17:02 | ||
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My career began in the St Louis Public Schools in 1994 as an elementary classroom teacher; I taught for five years. I made the leap into administration in 1999 as an instructional coach, then building principal until 2003, when I was appointed as Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction K-12. This wasn’t a new position; it had been vacant for nearly three years. While SLPS endured the turmoil of an east coast management team, the then-CEO didn’t believe the district needed a curriculum director; the district operated under the “site-based” management rules. I took the challenge; however, I had no idea of the realities we’d face as we began to transition. Our superintendent adopted a district-wide standards-based reform model. It was then I realized this position would take more than just understanding instruction - indeed, I needed to understand more. There are two primary factors that come to mind for most when we think about urban education in this country - race and poverty. Although unfair to the children and their parents, unfair assumptions and oversimplifications are often applied to urban school student populations and communities. In fact, the elements affecting urban districts are much more complicated than most people would imagine. While delivering a presentation on Urban Education recently (as an adjunct professor at one of the local universities) I asked members of the audience to identify what they believed to be the major problems of practice within the urban education environment. Some respondents spoke from experience, but most from assumption. The following are just a few of what they stated as barriers to success:
With this first blog, I would like to open up the discussion on this issue of urban schools in America by throwing out this same question to you, the readers. What is your understanding? Your experiences? What other factors come to mind when thinking of the urban schools in our nation? Do urban children learn differently? What motivational factors, if they exist at all, are currently in place for urban children to learn? Thoughts? I’d like to hear from you.  Paula Knight is Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction K-12, for the St. Louis Public Schools.
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Comments (8)
SS Teacher
written by Anonomous, October 03, 2008
I just wish there was real help for those of us who teach in these schools. We are told to teach to the test. Teach critical thinking, teach -insert whatever buzzword is popular today- and give us no money for supplies, use technology without any technology, make sure you can handle 20-25 needy, sleepy, unmannered, uncaring kids who have seen way too much bad in their young lives. Then if you have a good rapport with these kids and you can get across to the majority of them, you have to work around the few who only come to school to disrupt, cut classes and have so many absences that they already failed for the year. And it's only October. They prevent anyone else from learning, too. They can't be suspended, because we're not allowed to put them on the streets. You have little help from administrators, none from parents and oh by the way, why aren't students proficient on tests. It must be my fault.
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written by Alicia Szilagyi, October 02, 2008
We as teachers need to treat the "whole" child. I am not just a social studies teacher. I deal with the emotional, behavioral, social, and educational parts of a child. Our students come to scholl with so much baggage--single parent homes, being in gangs, low reading levels...we have to take all of that into consideration. I think people want to put a bandaid on a critical wound and say things are fixed...Well, these "things" are my students, my kids, and my community! I am not about to step back and watch my kids end their futures before they start it! I want them to know what they have to look forward to, and what they can do. I want them to know that they can make anything they want out of themselves and that life is what they make of it. I don't make excuses from my kids, but sometimes we need to step back and look at the other issues that may be surrounding them. Also building a relationship with our learners is key. Without that, there is nothing! I am a firm believer in that! You will not motivate a child that does not trust you!
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written by James Bosco, September 16, 2008
I would be interested in knowing what your thoughts are with regard to the use of Web 2.0 technologies in schools. As you know some schools see apps like social networking, wikis, blogs, games as problems and others as opportunites for learning. Paula, what is your position on this?
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On the Subject
written by darah griffin, August 29, 2008
You make mention of the fact that many teachers complain of ways to motivate urban children and I just wonder why there is not a lot of research out there that deals with this topic.
Furthermore, I wish more teachers would build relationships with "our" kids and not "these" kids and finally read Jawanza Kunjufu's work about how to set high expectations for "our" kids. dlg ;-) report abuse
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urban educator
written by kacey973@verizon.net, August 26, 2008
it gets harder each year to stay motivated to teach children who don't care and parents who care even less.
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written by mindyangela@yahoo.com, July 15, 2008
urban schools have so much to offer! There are many concerns in urban schools but I believe that the benefits out weigh the problems. There are so many opportunities in the community that schools can take advantage of...museums, libraries, parks. Having grown up in the country most of my classmates had never been to a museum until High school and rarely a library because of limited access (no transpertation, too far away). I understand city life can be hard. (I lived in NYC for 2 years) but having access to these places makes the mind grow. Urban schools should partner with thier community to inspire students.
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