Reflection: The Diversity PowerPoint was about economic differences among students. Teachers must understand that not all students have the same opportunities due to economic reasons. The teacher must base instructions around this understanding and make sure that students are understanding of each others differences. The PowerPoint illustrates my understanding of these differences among students. That is why I chose it for ACEI Standard 2: Adaption to Diverse Students.

Economic Inequality in the Classroom By: Morgan Chylinski Brian Darius Nikki Halcomb Tingting Mei

Economic Inequality Class relates to a person’s position in society, as determined by money, education, occupation, power, and access to resources and opportunities. “Classism” is the differential treatment of groups of people because of their class background and the reinforcement of those differences through values and practices of institutions, such as schools. Schools need to be democratic institutions that provide al students with an equal chance for success. We will discuss how class differences are perpetuated and how we can work to transform them.

Economic Inequality in the Classroom Schools fail to address issues of class inequality Schools do not differentiate when they should – such as when students’ socioeconomic backgrounds affect their educational needs Characteristics of schools that serve lower income children Gap and differences between students in a lower economic status versus those in a middle or higher class

No Child Left Behind Teacher Awareness –Unintentional discrimination –Be aware of one’s own background and how it affects views Be aware of… –Money –Assignments –Resources needed –Choice of books Address Class Issues Economic Inequality in the Classroom

Children’s understanding of socioeconomic status Teachers need to include parents Schools need parental and community support Teachers need to be role models Economic Inequality in the Classroom

What To Do Address issues of class inequality Receive more help for lower economic students with homework and give more opportunities for them to participate in fewer extracurricular activities. Use books about common working class people. Class issues are addressed as a class. Help students get to know each other from different class backgrounds. Include parents in the classroom. Involve parental and community support into schools. Send books home for students.

What Not To Do Give instruction that tends to be repetitive and less challenging to students who come from low income families. Schools that serve lower income children are often characterized by unimaginative curricula, violence, buildings in need of repair, lack of technology. Lack of parental involvement Sharing in ways that cost money Assignments based on writing about vacations and trips Resources needed from home Books focusing on famous people or only well-know people Judge and condemn poor and working class families when their values and choices are different from those of the school.

A Chair For My Mother by Vera B. Williams A family tries to save money to buy a new chair that they can share. The family has no furniture in their apartment because they lost their possessions and home in a fire. The mother works hard at the Blue Tile diner, but they have very little money to spend on furniture. The family saves any extra coins in a jar so that they can one day buy a big comfy chair for all to enjoy!

Activity Students write a list of 5-10 possessions or people that are important in their lives. The teacher reads the book, A Chair For My Mother. Students will share some of the things on their list and we will make a big class list of things that our important to us on the board. As a class, we will discuss how you would feel if you lost everything in a fire. The class will then look through the list and discuss things that they really couldn’t live without like their family. We will discuss how we don’t need possessions and family is what is really important. Lastly, we will discuss how some people go through difficult times and may have trouble paying bills and buying access objects, but this doesn’t change who they are. So we must get to know all types of people. Extension: Students write about an important person in their life.

Summation Socio-economic background affects learning. –Race and gender most often addressed. –Schools fail to address class inequalities. –Not all Americans have equal chance to succeed. Home learning environment –Less exposure to and reinforcement of reading and learning. –Lost ground over summer vacation due to the home learning environment. –Less nutrition – provide low cost/no cost breakfast at school. –Less help with homework, fewer books, fewer after school activities. –Less parental involvement.

Summation Teachers are not aware of class issues –Educators are seldom encouraged to reflect on the ways class bias affects them, their students, and schools. –Teachers do not have much opportunity to attend workshops on class and classism. –Teachers may want to remove lower scoring students from their classroom so that the scores do not count towards their school average. –There may be unintentional discrimination –Need to assess how one’s own class background affects views and ability to understand people who might have been raised differently. –May be hard to identify and empathize with self-doubt of these students. Schools do not address class inequality –Educators are seldom encouraged to reflect on the ways class bias affects them, their students, and schools. –Schools do not differentiate when they should – such as when students’ socioeconomic backgrounds affect their educational needs. –Schools that serve lower income children are often characterized by violence, buildings in need of repair, lack of technology and equipment, and lack of parental involvement. –Unimaginative curricula - Instruction tends to be repetitive and less challenging.

Summation What to watch for and what to change –Be aware of these things in the classroom: Money – Highlight what the students can do, not buy Assignments – based on vacations/trips – use imagination instead. Resources – do not have the students bring from home, provide at school. Literature – provide positive working-class role models. What to do –Address class issues in the classroom –Promote student interaction across class lines –Teach historical institutional discrimination and how to identify it. –Create opportunities Include all parents in the classroom. –Promote parent involvement through adapting your schedule to fit theirs

Small Group Share Each Group will receive one scenario. Discuss the scenario with the members of your group. As a group, decide what is wrong with this situation and what modifications should be made.

Please Feel Free to Ask Any Questions… The End