Stan (1)
Stan has been teaching at his outer metropolitan high school for 20 years now. Over this time he has seen the community change from a reasonably affluent Anglo community, where many people lived on large semi-rural blocks to a near suburb of medium density housing and many ‘new Australians’. If you ask Stan will tell you that the school has gone down hill over the years as the students are just not what they used to be. It has changed from a small high school with a sense of community to a new reasonably large school with rows of demountable classrooms on the old oval. The sense of community has been replaced by an undercurrent of discontent with notable divisions between parents of the old community and the ‘new arrivals’. Last year a fence even went up around the school. In the past parents used to help out a lot at the school, while nowadays you hardly see a parent as they all leave on the 7am train for Sydney and don’t get back till the evening.
Response
The key point in this scenario seems to be that the school has gone downhill. Therefore, I have attempted to ascertain how the school might have 'gone downhill', and give possible explanations as to why.
'Going downhill' implies the school is worsening in performance, presumably in fulfilling its educational purpose. There are many views to the purpose of education, including passing on culture and values, preparing students to function in society, value to the economy, allowing people to live enriched and fulfilled lives, teaching students to be life long learners etc. (Kaplan and Owings, 2011). I will assume that 'going downhill' means worsening performance relating to all these purposes.
Stan's community seems representative of many outer western suburbs in Sydney and other eastern capitals around Australia. What was once a semi-rural community, close to the big city, has become an outer suburb, with immigrants who want to move to the city and the opportunity it provides, buying in the more affordable outer areas.
Mention is made of division between the old community and 'new arrivals/new Australians', implying a difference in cultural backgrounds and values. The observation that the parents are working longer hours sheds some light on the values of the immigrants. There could be multiple reasons for this, such as a poor family wanting to make a new start, or cultural and socio-economic background valuing a particular type of success. Without further details in the scenario, their specifics are unknown, however it is certain that there would be differences in the values of the 'new Australians' and those typically fostered in the Australian education system throughout its history.
This gives us our first hint at why the school may be 'going down hill'. Australia's education system and educational values have been very heavily influenced by British and western cultures, the values of which differ greatly to many of the cultures now immigrating to Australia. (Sherington and Campbell, 2007). It is also worth noting that Australia's educational roots had heavy Christian influence, while our likely 'new Australians' could have values influenced by a number other religions.
Misaligned culture and values of students with those of the education system can affect student outcomes. The prime example in Australia is the continual failure of the education system to meet the needs of aboriginal students (Vick 1992). In this scenario it seems particularly relevant that the parents have become less involved with the school. Parental involvement in education is known to be particularly valuable in student outcomes (Desforges and Abouchaar, 2003, http://education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/RR433).
The scenario mentions in a number of ways in which the changes in community have impacted the school. Growth is mentioned, with a suggestion that the school's resources are being stretched, as demonstrated by the need to have demountables on the old oval. While not necessarily a major influence on the school performance, educational resources and technology, and all that they encompass play a significant role in teaching and its outcomes. This includes, but is not limited to potentially affecting teaching methods and classroom management approaches (Churchill, 2011).
The scenario also mentions that a fence has been put around the school. Why is the fence needed? One possibility is an increase in truanting. Students leaving the school suggests discontent or disinterest on their part. There could be many reasons for this, however discontent and disinterest implies that the school is disconnected from the needs of the students, and in this case it seems likely that it is related to a social and cultural divide (Zyngier, 2006). This point has shed some light for me on one of the nine provocations, "what will students want and need from me?". What they want and need will vary greatly, and be strongly influenced by many aspects of their community, their background and their values.
Teaching, and all that it encompasses including curriculum and classroom management can easily be bogged down in 'normalised practice' (Churchill, 2011). It is possible that in view of the changes in the community described in the scenario, and the history of Australian education in general, that the values, teaching practices and curriculum of the school have become less appropriate for the needs of its students in the past 20 years.
I also commented on the following two blogs as part of this task.
ReplyDeletehttp://prgdse.wordpress.com/
http://u112893-matt.tumblr.com/post/3552239864/education-foundations-module-a-blog-post
I think you've done a great job of identifying several key issues that are very relevant to how we understand our roles as teachers and I've chosen 2 to respond to. In my opinion, looking at things from a broad educational perspective can be useful. It avoids us speculating on possible shortcomings Stan may have as a teacher, so I've decided to keep my response fairly broad as well.
ReplyDelete(1) Diverse cultural backgrounds and values
In Chapter 2, Churchill talks about how the sociology of education impacted the curriculum in the late 20th century, based on the "belief that education should transform society rather than maintain social inequalities". In order to meet a growing need to achieve educational equity, the curriculum "expanded with a dazzling array of subjects" and also led to "a dramatic reduction in the central regulation of schools and teaching".
It's interesting that the scenario makes no mention of how/if the curriculum has changed in order to adapt to the changes in the school community with an increasing number of "new Australians". I think, as a teacher it would be worth investigating and re-evaluating the school's curriculum, with a significant emphasis on coming up with strategies aimed towards promoting a more positive sense of community and meeting the needs of all students. Stan might find, to his surprise, that the "new Australian" students may really start to excel and display new and diverse talents if they were provided with a teaching environment more closely aligned with their cultural background.
(2) Parental involvement
Quintilian, a Spaniard and educator of Roman aristocrats, put forward the idea that parents should hold high expectations for their sons. In an artical about historical perspectives, Joe Murik stated that "Quintilians emphasis on the value of high parental expectations has been borne out by numerous research studies in modern times". The degree to which parents affect student success may be arguable depending on which research studies you give credence to. My own personal opinion is that it's a really important factor impacting a student's development, particularly on the moral principles and values upheld by students. I also think, as a teacher, more contact with parents would help me to understand my students better.
Maybe the school could design some new policies (if they haven't already) aimed at more closely engaging parents in their children's education. For example, providing regular feedback on a student's progress in class via email, when face-to-face contact is unachievable.
I think your reflection has may key features that raise further questions about Stan and about the teaching profession at present, especially for older/ experienced teachers. It indicates and argues that teaching is about life-long learning and knowledge enriching experience for the teacher as well as the students. But how many of our teachers do we remember in high school showing us these qualities?
ReplyDeleteTeaching in the last 20 years has come a long way and the tools we use in the classroom reflect and adopt latest techniques and provocations for learning rather than what was used 30 years ago when Stan may have been at school. I think, this reflects my own belief as a teacher as I do not believe that teaching is a standard set of tools which we learn how to use. However, it is more a ever evolving/changing toolset that needs to be re-evaluated after every lesson or every day depending on how we engage or don’t engage with our students. Skills, styles and attitude of teachers towards students need to reflect positively and should be professional. This is where I think Lortie’s argument of ‘apprenticeship of observation’ does not apply and the assumption that any student can reasonably do or act out a teacher’s job is inaccurate (Churchill, 2011).
Being at the same school for 20 years maybe the reason for Stan’s dissatisfaction; it has been noted that teaching in situations where the majority of students are from a disadvantaged background for prolonged periods creates a scenario where the teachers have diminished expectations that lead to frustration. This can be prevented in the profession by encouraging teachers to move from one school to another as this will provide teachers new opportunities to interact with students and fellow teachers from wider cultural and financial backgrounds. Therefore, they will be able to obtain more diverse approaches and skills to teach (Tesse, 2010).
Please clarify anything that does not make sense to you!
I like how you logically set out your argument (and I agree that it nicely compliments mine and vice versa). In particular I would like to focus on your mention of how a mismatch between the cultures and values of students and the education system can affect their academic outcomes. You specifically mentioned the failed support that the education system provides to meet the needs of aboriginal students. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (2000) makes mention that this need is for learning environments to be adapted to the students’ specific cultural and linguistic needs. Perhaps reflecting on how teaching in Aboriginal communities once occurred is a direction that needs to be taken in the future, with more value placed on their stories of historical and spiritual events and their relevance to contemporary issues. A move away from the current monocultural educational system with a view that ‘one-size fits all’, towards a system which tailors the program to suit the needs of individual students, thereby enhancing their personal development, is what is clearly needed in today’s’ multicultural society (HREOC, 2000).
ReplyDeleteMatthew Dixon also sent me the following comment earlier today.
ReplyDelete"You have some interesting points but their are a few question still unanswered for me.
You mentioned the cultural clash between "New Australians" and the current school system. However isn't part of the hidden curriculum we are meant to teach to introduce and enforce our society's needs and values, to be productive in our culture? The question is raised as to which culture or society's values are more important to student and teacher. This does go into the imigration debate which I don't want to deal with but is an issue for teachers. Are our students Australian first or second?
The issue of the fence is another matter. Another explanation is one of school security, to prevent students and facilities being attacked or vandalised. If this is happening then what does it say about and what effect does it have on the learning eniroment? Is this a safe place for students to learn in peace or is it going to be disruptive?
-Matthew Dixon"
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis discussion points out a couple of different aspects of Stan’s scenario to the ones that i examined at, part of this i found interesting is "Parental involvement in education is known to be particularly valuable in student outcomes" (Desforges and Abouchaar, 2003, http://education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/RR433), i thought about this aspect when examining the scenario and believe that Stan has the issue that he hasn't adapted to the modern way of life being that though parents can't be seen interacting with their child's education (interaction in the school environment) they are still having a significant effect in the home, namely emphasizing the importance of a education for their future and for their place in Australian society.
ReplyDelete