In chapter five, structural and organizational issues in schools have been critically discovered comprehensively from the perspective of three dimensional analysis of schooling, mainly focusing on the school policies and practices, such as tracking, retention, standardized testing, curriculum, pedagogy, physical structure, disciplinary policies and the limit role of all related aspects: students, teachers, parents and communities. From the perspective of school policies and practices, it is to be the case of tracking and retention. Through the demonstration of a few negative consequences of tracking, such as the earliest grades and decisions about student placement made on tenuous ground, the development of enduring classroom personalities and attitudes, students’ least access to the excellent and experienced teachers and so forth, it is obvious to see that effectiveness of tracking is questionable. It is almost exclusively negative for most students and contrary to its intended outcomes , even though it works on a few excellent students who benefit from being tracked and whose parents are most likely the greatest barriers to “detracking”. So is retention, which failed improving students’ achievement and has caused tremendous amount of dropout.
It is also to be the case with standardized testing, curriculum, pedagogy, physical structure and disciplinary policies. Standardized testing. Basically, testing and tracking have often benn symbiotically linked. Like tracking, testing, for many reasons, such as different cultures and languages, social class, inexperienced teachers, the NCLB law and so forth, appears uncritical. Badly further the sorting and segregating students rather than improving education achievement. Besides, it , to some extent, has affected other practices, such as curriculum, pedagogy in a negative way. As a consequence, it may has limited teachers’ creativity, led to a higher dropout rates, teachers’ autonomy has been removed from the class to school or school district, students lost their interests in class discussion, essay writing, and projects researching. Speak of curriculum, as it is defined in the book of Nieto & Bode that curriculum is the organized environment for learning. This means that it concerns what should be learned and under what conditions it is to be learned. By definition, we can understand that curriculum at school should be set around the real life and the reality. Unfortunately, the truth is that school curriculum and real life are most likely at polar extremes. Due to the limit role of teachers, they are less able to perceive the nature of learning and create conditions to motive students to become critical thinkers. Consequently, teachers would be lost and frustrated in the use of pedagogies. Many people may take another two practices, climate and physical structure, and disciplinary policies lightly. They both seem superficial issues. However, according to Ron Berger, we can better understand that their importance. He demonstrated these as that the aspects of a school that most clearly engrave the school experience on children are often in the “other stuff” category: the physical appearance of the school building, outside and in; the manner in which school property and personal property are respected and cared for in the school; the levels of physical safety and emotional safety that children and adults in the building feel; the ways authority is exercised; the tone of courtesy, kindness, and acceptance in peer culture; the ways in which students’ achievements are shared with the school community and outside of it; the aspects of the school that define it in the larger community. These things are every bit as important as curriculum. So is discipline. Discipline can be an issue among more economically privileged students who are culturally different from the mainstream. So a lack of awareness of cultural and social factors on the part of teachers and schools can result in misinterpretations and faulty conclusions.
Lastly, the limit role of students, teachers, parents and even communities must be emphasized as a warning sign. Most often, students at school are learning what is decided, designed and executed by others. Schools and teachers rarely provide the opportunities for students to talk about their own experiences. And teachers are not able to learn firsthand from their students. As for teachers, they are shown little respect by the society and poorly paid, lack of parental support and involvement, becoming a decision follower instead of decision maker. The more powerless they are, the lower expectation they have on their teaching and students. Not only do students and teachers’ role limited, but families and communities’ role are limited as well. Actually, family involvement is a complex issue. Due to changes of family structure, more and more family are characterized by one-parent or two-parent families or even more complicated. It is really hard for parents to split the responsibilities on the involvement on whatever it is, such as parents’ conference, PTAs, and so on. Furthermore, cultural and economic differences also influence family involvement. For example, for those parents who were foreign-born, not educated in the USA and not able to communicate in English very well. It is really hard for both teachers and parents to communicate about the students performance at school on an efficient understanding level
As many issues come up in schools and school districts, are there any ways that we can find for schools to provide students and teachers more opportunities to be more fully engaged? Let’s critically think! Maybe we can try “detracking”. Schools should try to provide safe spaces, make students feel valued, let students be engaged in cooperative learning, peer tutoring, multilevel teaching shared decision making with students, de-emphasizing the use of textbooks and challenging racist and classist notions of ability. Also, we can combine the academic success with co-curriculum and extra-curriculum to promote their grade moving. In addition, we may try to replace or complement norm-referenced tests with performance-based assessments or make it to be an authentic assessments to guide students’ learning to a real life-oriented style in order to motivate their learning interests. Meanwhile, we can not neglect the establishment or development of the environment of school climate and physical structure and disciplinary policies, from outside to inside. What is more important, schools and teachers should aware that they should pay more attention to students’ firsthand information, providing them with more opportunities to share with peers about their life experiences. After all, schools are the places for students to learn knowledge and perspectives or skills for their future life. Teachers are educators who should teach academic knowledge and the ethnic as well , which will influence the value for their future life. Teachers play an important part to bridge the students and parents. Their limit should be enlarged as much as they feel comfortable to make a critical think and take any actions. We strongly and sincerely recommend parents that, no matter your conditions are, be brave to make impossible possible, encourage and show your children by contributing some time and being involvement in schools’ activities. You will be more satisfied and pleased by your children and the teacher.
It is also to be the case with standardized testing, curriculum, pedagogy, physical structure and disciplinary policies. Standardized testing. Basically, testing and tracking have often benn symbiotically linked. Like tracking, testing, for many reasons, such as different cultures and languages, social class, inexperienced teachers, the NCLB law and so forth, appears uncritical. Badly further the sorting and segregating students rather than improving education achievement. Besides, it , to some extent, has affected other practices, such as curriculum, pedagogy in a negative way. As a consequence, it may has limited teachers’ creativity, led to a higher dropout rates, teachers’ autonomy has been removed from the class to school or school district, students lost their interests in class discussion, essay writing, and projects researching. Speak of curriculum, as it is defined in the book of Nieto & Bode that curriculum is the organized environment for learning. This means that it concerns what should be learned and under what conditions it is to be learned. By definition, we can understand that curriculum at school should be set around the real life and the reality. Unfortunately, the truth is that school curriculum and real life are most likely at polar extremes. Due to the limit role of teachers, they are less able to perceive the nature of learning and create conditions to motive students to become critical thinkers. Consequently, teachers would be lost and frustrated in the use of pedagogies. Many people may take another two practices, climate and physical structure, and disciplinary policies lightly. They both seem superficial issues. However, according to Ron Berger, we can better understand that their importance. He demonstrated these as that the aspects of a school that most clearly engrave the school experience on children are often in the “other stuff” category: the physical appearance of the school building, outside and in; the manner in which school property and personal property are respected and cared for in the school; the levels of physical safety and emotional safety that children and adults in the building feel; the ways authority is exercised; the tone of courtesy, kindness, and acceptance in peer culture; the ways in which students’ achievements are shared with the school community and outside of it; the aspects of the school that define it in the larger community. These things are every bit as important as curriculum. So is discipline. Discipline can be an issue among more economically privileged students who are culturally different from the mainstream. So a lack of awareness of cultural and social factors on the part of teachers and schools can result in misinterpretations and faulty conclusions.
Lastly, the limit role of students, teachers, parents and even communities must be emphasized as a warning sign. Most often, students at school are learning what is decided, designed and executed by others. Schools and teachers rarely provide the opportunities for students to talk about their own experiences. And teachers are not able to learn firsthand from their students. As for teachers, they are shown little respect by the society and poorly paid, lack of parental support and involvement, becoming a decision follower instead of decision maker. The more powerless they are, the lower expectation they have on their teaching and students. Not only do students and teachers’ role limited, but families and communities’ role are limited as well. Actually, family involvement is a complex issue. Due to changes of family structure, more and more family are characterized by one-parent or two-parent families or even more complicated. It is really hard for parents to split the responsibilities on the involvement on whatever it is, such as parents’ conference, PTAs, and so on. Furthermore, cultural and economic differences also influence family involvement. For example, for those parents who were foreign-born, not educated in the USA and not able to communicate in English very well. It is really hard for both teachers and parents to communicate about the students performance at school on an efficient understanding level
As many issues come up in schools and school districts, are there any ways that we can find for schools to provide students and teachers more opportunities to be more fully engaged? Let’s critically think! Maybe we can try “detracking”. Schools should try to provide safe spaces, make students feel valued, let students be engaged in cooperative learning, peer tutoring, multilevel teaching shared decision making with students, de-emphasizing the use of textbooks and challenging racist and classist notions of ability. Also, we can combine the academic success with co-curriculum and extra-curriculum to promote their grade moving. In addition, we may try to replace or complement norm-referenced tests with performance-based assessments or make it to be an authentic assessments to guide students’ learning to a real life-oriented style in order to motivate their learning interests. Meanwhile, we can not neglect the establishment or development of the environment of school climate and physical structure and disciplinary policies, from outside to inside. What is more important, schools and teachers should aware that they should pay more attention to students’ firsthand information, providing them with more opportunities to share with peers about their life experiences. After all, schools are the places for students to learn knowledge and perspectives or skills for their future life. Teachers are educators who should teach academic knowledge and the ethnic as well , which will influence the value for their future life. Teachers play an important part to bridge the students and parents. Their limit should be enlarged as much as they feel comfortable to make a critical think and take any actions. We strongly and sincerely recommend parents that, no matter your conditions are, be brave to make impossible possible, encourage and show your children by contributing some time and being involvement in schools’ activities. You will be more satisfied and pleased by your children and the teacher.
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