“If a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn.” -Ignacio Estrada
I knew I wanted to be a teacher when I was 4 years old. I was one of those girls who “played school” with her stuffed animals, dolls, siblings, friends, whoever was willing, really! I absolutely loved everything about school, and was enthralled with the idea of having my own classroom full of students. My yearning to teach only grew stronger over the course of my K-12 years, and I went off to my 4-year university determined that I was taking the right path.
I didn’t realize why I loved school so much or how this would affect my future teaching career until the first day of my first college English course. After the professor reviewed the syllabus, including the many topics and types of papers we would write that semester, a student who grew up in the area raised her hand and asked, “What if we’ve never written a five-paragraph essay before?” Slowly but surely, other students in the room started voicing their agreement and confirmation that they had never covered that in high school. I was in absolute shock. I vividly remember a specific five-paragraph essay I wrote in 5th grade. Maybe I had even written one in 4th, it was too long ago to tell. So how was it possible that these college freshman had never written one?
It was possible because I was a privileged student in this country’s education system, and they were not. I had outstanding teachers, and they did not. I always had the materials and resources I needed, and they did not. I attended schools with beautiful classrooms and facilities, and they did not. I was constantly being prepared for what I would experience in college, and they were not. Why was this the case? Because I grew up in the suburbs, and they did not. Because I was from a middle class family, and they were not. And because I was white, and they were not. The sad truth is that, in this country’s current education system, a child’s ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and zip code greatly affect the quality of the education they receive. Frankly, this isn’t fair.
I
currently work at a charter high school where the perception is that
students are receiving an excellent personalized education. What I have
experienced so far is that this is the furthest thing from the truth.
It is yet another example of disadvantaged, at-risk kids receiving an
inferior education than their more privileged peers. Needless to say, I
plan to change this. For obvious reasons, I will not be disclosing my
name, my school’s name, or even the city we are in. I am starting this
blog to share my experiences, discoveries, ideas, triumphs, and failures
and to hear interested readers’ opinions, feedback, and advice.
Collaboration is a beautiful thing, and I welcome your contributions.
Please stay tuned!
