Democracy and Inequality: Challenges and Possible Solutions

Content

I will be introducing students concepts from the book, The Prize. While this book is not developmentally appropriate for 4th-grade students to read independently, I will for sure lead some classroom discussions on the generalities and realities of children and public school. Talks will provoke delving into whether the school my students attend could be considered a prize and, if not, how it could be deemed as such. Dale Russakoff remarks, “...decades of research had shown that experiences at home and in neighborhoods had far more influence on children's academic achievement than classroom instruction. But reformers argued that well-run schools with the flexibility to recruit the best teachers could overcome many of the effects of poverty, broken homes, and exposure to violence.”¹² I want students to explore the similarities of that statement, their realities on how to overcome such an obstacle. I have pondered the reaction I would get from my administrators, colleagues, and students if, at the beginning of the new school year, I introduced myself as “Debra” as Cami did in the book, displaying a lack of deference to the local custom of our school campus. Hearne Elementary’s silent rule is that there is, as the book states, a veneer of respectfulness undisturbed by the district's tarnished history of referencing one another as Mr., Mrs., or Dr, unlike the language of the Yale National Initiative. Would that bode well for me and the mutual respect of those I came into contact with, and would it impact how much or little to be learned from the students?

As I further delved into the reading of The Prize, I noticed the similarities in teaching styles I had with McPherson when texting parents or going about things in untraditional fashions to help even one student succeed a prize indeed. Action plans such as the one mentioned on pages 144 and 145 of the book will move the needle of our school and will matter more because of the relationships being built between students and their families. Hearne Elementary School has the resources to give students intensive, specialized interventions but not the staffing to effectively do so. Students can expand their learning to question why this is such and discuss solutions. Speaking life into my students as Williams did will be paramount in furthering their knowledge on the content of issues addressed in this curriculum unit and what they take away from it as showcased in their final informational essays. Students will have the opportunity to show their brilliance.