"Life on the Mississippi: East St. Louis, Illinois" (Savage Inequalities)
I just finished reading this chapter, and I do have to say that I feel a sense of duty to see it with my own eyes - I feel a sense of disbelief and want to say that it was in the 90's and could't possibly still be like this. I say I want to see it with my own eyes because the latter would mean that we ignore the situation and continue with our happy ignorance is bliss lives. We've discussed the atrocities of the things that some children are permitted to go through as long as it isn't the children of policy makers. Somehow this injustice is allowed as long as it only happens to Black and Latino children.
Some of the quotes that I grabbed from the reading that were especially notable one is found on page 3, "...past injustice that has been sufficiently addressed" and "unresolved injustice that no longer held sufficient national attention to be worth contesting". Both quotes indicate that segregation has either been resolved or no longer an issue; convenient stories that the nation tells it's people in order to sleep well at night, with a blindfold. Later in the reading (p. 30), a student at East St. Louis says that to her it is more important to go to a racially integrated school than a more modern school - showing how socially detrimental her upbringing has been, and how she would prefer to be integrated with the children of people who close a bridge so that they can't even share in their independence day festivities. Morally, this is a community that has been weakened. Another way that policy makers must justify this inequality is by saying that we shouldn't treat people like they're stupid, "these people" have the choice to get up and leave, if a father doesn't feel like their child is getting a dignified education, or even in harm's way by playing at the local playground than the solution is simple - you leave. Is the solution really simple? Do we tell a person that is depressed to just snap out of it? It's the same thing - it's a group of people that were taught that they didn't deserve any better. It is the government's job to provide an education, a decent one. If the government doesn't allow a landlord to deprive their tenants of heat, running water, and a toilet, then why is the government allowed to do this at a school?
In my POE I wrote about being a teacher to all children and creating an environment that welcomes children and gives them a sense of security anywhere I can - however, I don't think that I truly know what it'd be like to be a teacher at schools like DuSable High School or Mary Bethune School. With the job market the way it is I can't be picky and hold off for the position where I get a classroom with a Smartboard and wireless networks for our laptops. Getting a job at as a new teacher in a school where crayons and toilet paper are rationed are highly likely. This leaves so many questions, about whether I will be able to be sufficiently creative to work with the supplies I get, and most importantly, will I be emotionally strong enough to know that children that I surely will become endeared with go home to cold beds, little food, and even possible abuse. Will I be able to stay quiet for the sake of my family's financial well-being and my job in order to speak out and defend the immeasurable level of racism that still exists in educational policy and amongst law makers and voters in neighboring communities. Will I be part of the quiet ones that hums along with the rest of the worker bees in order to not stir up current situations, for fear of making things worse. Will I continue to stand quietly by as the community I live and work in openly favors one group of people over another, once I am immersed in their lives, or even if I'm not.
"Life on the Mississippi: East St. Louis, Illinois" (Savage Inequalities)
ReplyDeleteI just finished reading this chapter, and I do have to say that I feel a sense of duty to see it with my own eyes - I feel a sense of disbelief and want to say that it was in the 90's and could't possibly still be like this. I say I want to see it with my own eyes because the latter would mean that we ignore the situation and continue with our happy ignorance is bliss lives. We've discussed the atrocities of the things that some children are permitted to go through as long as it isn't the children of policy makers. Somehow this injustice is allowed as long as it only happens to Black and Latino children.
Some of the quotes that I grabbed from the reading that were especially notable one is found on page 3, "...past injustice that has been sufficiently addressed" and "unresolved injustice that no longer held sufficient national attention to be worth contesting". Both quotes indicate that segregation has either been resolved or no longer an issue; convenient stories that the nation tells it's people in order to sleep well at night, with a blindfold.
Later in the reading (p. 30), a student at East St. Louis says that to her it is more important to go to a racially integrated school than a more modern school - showing how socially detrimental her upbringing has been, and how she would prefer to be integrated with the children of people who close a bridge so that they can't even share in their independence day festivities. Morally, this is a community that has been weakened.
Another way that policy makers must justify this inequality is by saying that we shouldn't treat people like they're stupid, "these people" have the choice to get up and leave, if a father doesn't feel like their child is getting a dignified education, or even in harm's way by playing at the local playground than the solution is simple - you leave. Is the solution really simple? Do we tell a person that is depressed to just snap out of it? It's the same thing - it's a group of people that were taught that they didn't deserve any better. It is the government's job to provide an education, a decent one. If the government doesn't allow a landlord to deprive their tenants of heat, running water, and a toilet, then why is the government allowed to do this at a school?
"Savage Inequalities".
ReplyDeleteIn my POE I wrote about being a teacher to all children and creating an environment that welcomes children and gives them a sense of security anywhere I can - however, I don't think that I truly know what it'd be like to be a teacher at schools like DuSable High School or Mary Bethune School. With the job market the way it is I can't be picky and hold off for the position where I get a classroom with a Smartboard and wireless networks for our laptops. Getting a job at as a new teacher in a school where crayons and toilet paper are rationed are highly likely. This leaves so many questions, about whether I will be able to be sufficiently creative to work with the supplies I get, and most importantly, will I be emotionally strong enough to know that children that I surely will become endeared with go home to cold beds, little food, and even possible abuse. Will I be able to stay quiet for the sake of my family's financial well-being and my job in order to speak out and defend the immeasurable level of racism that still exists in educational policy and amongst law makers and voters in neighboring communities. Will I be part of the quiet ones that hums along with the rest of the worker bees in order to not stir up current situations, for fear of making things worse. Will I continue to stand quietly by as the community I live and work in openly favors one group of people over another, once I am immersed in their lives, or even if I'm not.