Journal Entry #2  "Equality and fairness in the education system"

 

 

In my recent field study I was again working with a group of Kindergartners.  My assignment this time was to take two children at a time and interview them or ask them questions about their teacher and then they were going to combine the answers and present them in a book to give to the teacher for teacher appreciation week. First of all I should mention that in order to do this, observe different classrooms or volunteer in the classroom and help the students, I had to obtain a background check to make sure that I was no threat or danger to the students.  Also upon entering the school, all doors to go inside the school are locked except the front door right in front of the secretaries desk.  I must sign in at the front desk that I am a volunteer, or visitor, and then I must wear a sticker that says volunteer, or visitor.  They have told the students that any adult they see in the school that is not a member of the staff and is not wearing  sticker to report.   I really liked this concept of all of this to keep the kids safe and protected.   So back to the fieldwork.   As I was interviewing the kids asking them questions like " What is your teachers favorite food?. . . What is your favorite part of Kindergarten?. . . What is something nice your teacher has done for you?. . etc. . . I noticed again the different personalities of the children, but also the many different races within one classroom.  There were a couple Hispanic kids, two Indians, and even one who was part Scandinavian.  I thought about the "Brown vs. the board of Education Case" where they ended segregation and the blacks were now allowed to attend the same school as the whites, however, despite the ruling there were still several problems with bullying, harassment, public humiliation, and even some states where the Governor himself still forbid blacks from entering a white school, such as the "Little Rock Nine" incident.  While interviewing the children, I noticed that race is no longer an issue, at least in Kindergarten.   We live in a time now where there are many different races living amongst us and for the most part I think everyone is given a fair and equal opportunity for education here in the United States.   However there is one problem I have been noticing and noticed a little more today, that is the issue of Bullying.  Despite which race you are, kids now days are noticing the difference in others with the way they dress, their personalities, and their social manner.   I noticed that in some of the groups of two kids I was interviewing, there would be a kid who was really shy and didn't know what to say, and then other kids sitting next to him/or her was telling that kid what to say in such a persuasive way that the kid obeyed and repeated back the answer.  I am not saying that is bullying, I don't think that situation is, but It made me think about the shy kids vs. the loud outgoing kids, and how they might be more of a target for bullying.  So I started to do some separate research about bullying in todays education.  I was surprised to find out that as much as 25%  of children in elementary schools are being bullied, but most parents are not aware of it, and even teachers.   As I was interviewing a boy and a girl, another boy from their class walked by and was making jokes and then tried to push my two year old daughter into the boys bathroom as a joke.  I stopped in the middle of my interviewing, pulled the boy aside and said what are you doing, he laughed this wickedly laugh and ran back into his classroom as fast as he could.  The two kids in front of me started to tell me that this boy was mean and was always pushing them and kicking them and taking their things away.  I asked them if they had told their teacher about it and they said their teacher has a rule that you cant tattle tell on anyone and you are not supposed to tell her when things like that happen but to fix it on your own.  I was surprised about that.  These kids are only in kindergarten and already starting to get bullied, and already being told they cant come to their teacher for help. I thought again about "The Little Rock Nine"  who even with personal guards, were still bullied, harassed, beaten, spit upon, and humiliated in locker rooms and bathrooms and outside of class.   I feel that is still a huge problem in our education system today.  As I was doing my research about this, I was made aware that there have been certain policies put into play when someone does bully, but they problem is they are not counseling with the bullies enough to find out the reason why they are bullying and coaching them how to change their behavior. Until the bullies learn why it is wrong and hurtful and to change their behavior this will remain an ever growing problem in our education system today.  My oldest daughter is also in Kindergarten and she already has been bullied three or four times.   And I feel her school is doing very little to handle this issue.  So This is something that I want to study more as I prepare to be a teacher, I want to push for better counseling for the kids that bully and the kids who are getting bullied, for more parents to be aware of the issue and how to talk to your children about it, and for the teachers and the administrative staff to get more involved.  No child should ever be afraid to come to school and no child should ever feel they have to deal with it alone.  Adults have to become involved if we are to stop this trending problem from growing worse.   Sorry this was a longer post, but something I feel very strongly about.   I hope we can come to a better solution to this issue.