Special Election, and a Prop 8 Update

The California statewide special election is on the horizon (May 19th--it's almost May?), and it is a good time to talk politics.

In brief: vote YES on Props 1A through 1F, to help protect public schools and community colleges against further funding cuts, and to reverse the damages made to our schools from financial cuts so far.

Oh, and that whole gay marriage business? Yeah, haven't turned any students gay yet, good thing Prop 8 passed!

Here's a repost of my article explaining why Prop 8 never had anything to do with education:

***

Let's summarize what the code actually says, along with a 2003 sex education research study cited by the Yes-on-8 crowd, to understand what it is I actually have to teach your kids:

1) CA Education Code 51933 states that school districts "may provide comprehensive sexual health education" in any grade as long as it is age-appropriate and factual. It's likely your neighborhood school does. 96% of schools chose to do so.

2) CA Education Code 51890 elaborates on what a comprehensive sexual health education program entails, which is a vast spectrum of health topics concerning drugs, exercise, disease and making good decisions. Also included is this topic:

"Family health and child development, including the legal and
financial aspects and responsibilities of marriage and parenthood."

Notice I don't really get into what marriage is, but the fact that it is legally binding, and involves vague financial aspects. Oh, and sometimes you have kids, too. The big idea here is that with commitment comes responsibility. This will not change with Prop 8.

3) Jumping back to CA Ed. Code 51933, there is another passage concerning marriage that is part of the health program that most schools teach:

"Instruction and materials shall teach respect for marriage and
committed relationships."

Students should consider relationships and committed relationships with respect. Students should respect that 2 people choose to commit to one another. The point, as given from the context, is that commitment and honesty are both traits found in a healthy lifestyle. That includes the commitment of heterosexual couples and of homosexual couples. The institution of marriage and what marriage means is not the focus. This will not change with Prop 8.

4) Yes, you read right, I can already talk about homosexual couples. Also from CA Ed. Code 51933:

"Instruction and materials shall be appropriate for use with
pupils of all races, genders, sexual orientations, ethnic and
cultural backgrounds, and pupils with disabilities."

My instruction would not be appropriate if I chose to disregard certain sexual orientations and not others. This will not change with Prop 8.

5) Another mention of the role of marriage is contained within CA Education Code 51930 as one of the goals of these programs:

"To encourage a pupil to develop healthy attitudes concerning
adolescent growth and development, body image, gender roles, sexual
orientation, dating, marriage, and family."

Marriage in this context is nothing more than a committed relationship, as another aspect of a healthy lifestyle. Notice again that I am already teaching about sexual orientation and how that relates to dating and committed relationships. This will not change with Prop 8.


6) Despite what CA Education Code states, an ACLU research study conducted in 2003 found that while 96% of schools opted to teach an (optional) sexual health education program, many did not include all of the required components discussed above. For instance, 71% of middle schools omit teaching the required topics about contraception, condom effectiveness or abstinence. Exact data on how frequently the "marriage/committed relationships" topic is taught is not reported, even though proponents of Prop 8 continue with dishonest claims that nearly all schools teach marriage.

7) Knowing all of this, if parents still look unfavorably at the topics covered in this sexual health education program, they have CA Education Code 51938-51939, which states that I must notify parents at the beginning of the year of sexual health topics that will be covered. Parents can request to see any of the materials I will use to teach these topics, and can pull their student out of any or all portions of this program. If you still don't believe me that marriage is not and will not be a focus in your school, ask to see the materials, and if it is not to your liking, request that your child be given alternative instruction. This will not change with Prop 8.

8) My diverse students have diverse perspectives and took diverse life paths to get to where they are now, and my instruction needs to be aware of that. Some kids are raised by families with a mom and a dad, but there are many exceptions to that "rule". To be certain that my kids are growing up with a respect for diversity and an open, critical mind to differences, I need to expose them to these differences now. In the context of a sexual health education program, I teach them that commitment is a healthy choice, regardless of who is doing the committing. This will not change with Prop 8.

Great is our sin

"If the misery of our poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our sin."

- Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle, 1839

Bittersweet

The good: President-Elect Barack Obama's new website

The bad:

Prop 8, eliminating gay marriage in California, passed by a slim margin. Prop 8 was decided by 250,000 voters, or 2.5% of the total vote. I am convinced that these voters, if not more of them, were voting not because of a belief that gay marriage is wrong, but because they worried it would be taught in our public schools. The issue of gay marriage in schools was one of the bigger issues pushed by the Yes-on-8 crowd. You can even see evidence of it in their banner, with the 2 adult figures protecting the 2 children (as if gay marriage had anything to do with family structure).

As a public high school teacher, I could just spit when I hear about how absolutely convinced folks are that schools would have taught gay marriage had Prop 8 failed. It's also unnerving to see how poorly the No-on-8 campaign refuted this dishonest claim. One measly ad featuring Jack O'Connell, the California Superintendent of Schools, was not nearly enough to halt the momentum of this race. Prop 8 was never about gay marriage in schools, yet the other side succeeded in playing this canard to voters. I'd applaud their strategy were it not so vile and baseless, tainted with church views that homosexuality is sinful.

A Teacher's View of Prop 8

I already voted via CA absentee ballot, so even if the fear-mongering ads supporting Proposition 8 were capable of hypnosis, my vote would safely continue to say, "No thanks: I don't much care for discrimination."

The latest polls show that this is a very close race, which it should not be, considering this is 2008 in Cali-fucking-fornia. Come on. It took us 2 years to get the hippies out of the trees of my university, yet we're really this willing to rewrite our state constitution to prefer one type of love over another?

Googling Prop 8 to see why this can actually be a possibility adds to the rage, since Yes-on-8 websites are clearly determined to shit all over the California Education Code with their own versions of truth designed to beguile the public.

***

Let's summarize what the code actually says, along with a 2003 sex education research study cited by the Yes-on-8 crowd, to understand what it is I actually have to teach your kids:

1) CA Education Code 51933 states that school districts "may provide comprehensive sexual health education" in any grade as long as it is age-appropriate and factual. It's likely your neighborhood school does. 96% of schools chose to do so.

2) CA Education Code 51890 elaborates on what a comprehensive sexual health education program entails, which is a vast spectrum of health topics concerning drugs, exercise, disease and making good decisions. Also included is this topic:

"Family health and child development, including the legal and
financial aspects and responsibilities of marriage and parenthood."

Notice I don't really get into what marriage is, but the fact that it is legally binding, and involves vague financial aspects. Oh, and sometimes you have kids, too. The big idea here is that with commitment comes responsibility. This will not change with Prop 8.

3) Jumping back to CA Ed. Code 51933, there is another passage concerning marriage that is part of the health program that most schools teach:

"Instruction and materials shall teach respect for marriage and
committed relationships."

Students should consider relationships and committed relationships with respect. Students should respect that 2 people choose to commit to one another. The point, as given from the context, is that commitment and honesty are both traits found in a healthy lifestyle. That includes the commitment of heterosexual couples and of homosexual couples. The institution of marriage and what marriage means is not the focus. This will not change with Prop 8.

4) Yes, you read right, I can talk about homosexual couples. Also from CA Ed. Code 51933:

"Instruction and materials shall be appropriate for use with
pupils of all races, genders, sexual orientations, ethnic and
cultural backgrounds, and pupils with disabilities."

My instruction would not be appropriate if I chose to disregard certain sexual orientations and not others. This will not change with Prop 8.

5) Another mention of the role of marriage is contained within CA Education Code 51930 as one of the goals of these programs:

"To encourage a pupil to develop healthy attitudes concerning
adolescent growth and development, body image, gender roles, sexual
orientation, dating, marriage, and family."

Marriage in this context is nothing more than a committed relationship, as another aspect of a healthy lifestyle. Notice again that I am already teaching about sexual orientation and how that relates to dating and committed relationships. This will not change with Prop 8.


6) Despite what CA Education Code states, an ACLU research study conducted in 2003 found that while 96% of schools opted to teach an (optional) sexual health education program, many did not include all of the required components discussed above. For instance, 71% of middle schools omit teaching the required topics about contraception, condom effectiveness or abstinence. Exact data on how frequently the "marriage/committed relationships" topic is taught is not reported, even though proponents of Prop 8 continue with dishonest claims that nearly all schools teach marriage.

7) Knowing all of this, if parents still look unfavorably at the topics covered in this sexual health education program, they have CA Education Code 51938-51939, which states that I must notify parents at the beginning of the year of sexual health topics that will be covered. Parents can request to see any of the materials I will use to teach these topics, and can pull their student out of any or all portions of this program. If you still don't believe me that marriage is not and will not be a focus in your school, ask to see the materials, and if it is not to your liking, request that your child be given alternative instruction. This will not change with Prop 8.

8) My diverse students have diverse perspectives and took diverse life paths to get to where they are now, and my instruction needs to be aware of that. Some kids are raised by families with a mom and a dad, but there are many exceptions to that "rule". To be certain that my kids are growing up with a respect for diversity and an open, critical mind to differences, I need to expose them to these differences now. In the context of a sexual health education program, I teach them that commitment is a healthy choice, regardless of who is doing the committing. This will not change with Prop 8.

Support DonorsChoose.org!

Reflections at Ground Zero will have to wait, until I have the energy to stand up again. Monitoring students on my feet for hours straight is a rough routine to get back into.

DonorsChoose.org helped get me a free color laser printer for my classroom, which was an immense help in helping teach my English Learners last year, and will continue to help this year. I also scored a free poster laminator to help create paper activities with a longer usage life, to allow for more hands-on work.

I said free! I paid nothing at all, and got so much in return. Now I have a chance to give back, through the Members Project:

I'd like to tell you about a project I saw on Members Project. It's called "Help 100,000 children thrive in the classroom!," and with your support it could get funding from American Express. The best part: nominating this project for potential funding is free and only takes a minute!

Members Project is an exciting initiative that brings people together to make a difference in the world. It's simple. People go online to share ideas for projects — and ultimately vote on which projects will share $2.5 million in funding from American Express.

In 2007, Members Project provided clean drinking water to children all across Africa. What will Members Project do this year? The decision is yours. Please click the link to the DonorsChoose Members Project and nominate!

Must get better.

Must get better. Must get better. Must get better.

Challenges to Closing the Achievement Gap:
Lack of access to fully qualified teachers

Schools in high-poverty urban areas with large minority enrollments tend to have the least qualified and/or least experienced teachers (Ingersoll, 2002). The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning (CFTL) found that poor, high minority urban schools have less access to teachers with the appropriate qualifications than affluent, suburban schools. Such schools also have three times more uncertified teachers, are less likely to have teachers with graduate degrees, have larger class sizes, and are more likely to assign teachers to courses for which they have not been formally prepared (CTFL, 2003).

A study by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) produced similar findings:

* 26 percent of Latino eighth-graders had math teachers who lacked certification and at least a minor in math, compared to 17 percent of white students;
* 27 percent of Latino fourth-graders did not have the same teacher at the beginning and end of the year, compared to 18 percent of white children; and
* 25 percent of Latino 12th-graders experience teacher absenteeism every day, compared to 11 percent of white students (ETS, 2003).

Exacerbating the problem is the lack of teachers who are trained and certified to work with English language learners. Nationwide, less than 3 percent of teachers of English language learners have received formal preparation and certification to work with them. Only 27 percent of these teachers report feeling adequately prepared to teach these students (NCES, 2001; President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, 2000; Urban Institute, 2000).

Test Results Highlight Gap

The 2007 Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) results came out early this past week and reminded educators of the work that still needs to be done:

O'Connell pointed out the lack of progress made in closing the achievement gap among racial groups. While all student subgroup populations have continued to improve since 2003, the gap in achievement between African Americans or blacks and whites and the gap in achievement between Hispanics or Latinos and whites remain relatively unchanged.

"Once again, these annual test scores shine a glaring light on the disparity in achievement between students who are African American or Hispanic and their white or Asian counterparts. We know all children can learn to the same high levels, so we must confront and change those things that are holding back groups of students."

This achievement gap cannot always be explained away because of the poverty that has been so often associated with low performance, he said.

"The results show this explanation not to be universally true," he said. "In fact, African American and Hispanic students who are not poor are achieving at lower levels in math than their white counterparts who are poor. These are not just economic achievement gaps, they are racial achievement gaps. We cannot afford to excuse them; they simply must be addressed. We must take notice and take action."

One of those actions is holding an Achievement Gap Summit on November 13-14, to bring these issues to the table with educators and community leaders. See you there!

From K to Cal

It's never too early to start encouraging students to attend college:

Wednesday's ceremony at Anne Darling School in East San Jose, complete with "Pomp and Circumstance," crowned not only a year of kindergarten learning but also marked a promise for the future.

Eight South Bay college presidents and chancellors helped present certificates to the school's 84 kindergarteners with a pledge: When they graduate from high school, they will be guaranteed a spot in local colleges, if they meet admission requirements.

Although the certificate itself isn't guaranteeing much at all (if you meet admission requirements you most certainly will be able to attend college, with or without a note from years past), there is certainly something to be said for the power of high expectations. Letting children know that their teachers and family are expecting them to work diligently toward success and attend college, lets them know that they have the potential to do so. With all of the disparaging statistics and stereotypes of our modern age, children of certain backgrounds are getting the wrong impression-- that they lack the potential to succeed.

In California's class of 2006, only 36 percent had completed requirements for entering the University of California or California State University systems. For Latino students, it was 21 percent; for African-Americans it was 20 percent.

While teachers and parents have little control over the negative images and influences portrayed in the media and prevalent in society, we can and must counter these with the power of our words and expectations. Setting big goals early on and supporting students in achieving those goals is the best way we can motivate and empower our kids. All children have unlimited potential and we need to always remind them of that.

Investing in Schools (Literally)

Inequitable, stratified school funding is one of the reasons propounded as a cause of the Achievement Gap, or the observed disparity on a number of educational measures between the performance of groups of students, especially groups defined by gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Apart from the apportionment normally divvied up from your taxes, our schools are also funneled money from their respective communities:

In those final weeks before summer vacation, when temperatures can soar into the 90s, parents at 5 of Greenwich’s 11 elementary schools without adequate air-conditioning could no longer watch their children wilt, along with the crayons, in the heat. So they approached the school board and air-conditioning was installed — but not at the expense of property taxpayers; the parents raised the money.

Students in two other elementary schools in town, without the same deep-pocketed parents, had to wait, however. They were finally granted air-conditioning after town officials squeezed the upgrades into capital budgets financed by taxpayers.

In the last decade, a growing number of parents, alumni and corporations have been donating private money to public schools for a wide range of school equipment, educational supplies, artists-in-residence and accouterments that go beyond the traditional PTA gifts and what may otherwise be outside the local school board’s spending plan.

This growing partnership between schools and families offers us another arena of controversy, especially within the context of student achievement being impacted along socioeconomic lines by differently resourced schools in differently resourced communities. Is it fair that students in the quoted scenario above were offered air conditioning at different times based on the level of privilege of the homes they are growing up in? The issue burns brighter when the focus shifts from "Who gets air conditioning sooner?" to "Who gets extra-curricular activities?" and "Who gets more textbooks?"

Gift caps have been put in place by some districts, but they are not the best solution, as some communities cannot donate nearly as much as the legal amount, while other communities have had success in "negotiating" with districts to donate more than the allowed amount to their schools:

It was just those kinds of disparities that led the Greenwich school board to impose gift caps 10 years ago on what schools can accept in total each year from parents and other sources. These days, the caps have been hovering at about $64,600 per elementary school and $104,500 per middle school.

Despite those controls, a board of education analysis dated September 2005 showed “continuing inequities among schools,” with the largest variation evident at the elementary school level. Hamilton Avenue received as little as $17,022 in gifts in the 2004-5 school year, $7,811 of which was contributed by its parent-teacher association. Eight other elementary schools received well in excess of $50,000 apiece from their parent-teacher associations.

One of the more promising ideas is to create nonprofit foundations that meter out contributions to all schools of a district. There are approximately 5,000 such foundations, found in 1 out of every 3 school districts nationwide.

Unfortunately, in an effort to cash in on private philanthropy, these foundations are often put in place to compensate for individual donations given to separate schools:

In California, where parents first started educational foundations in response to a statewide law capping property taxes, the combined district of Santa Monica and Malibu requires that 15 percent of the gifts from parents to individual schools must go in an “equity fund” that is administered by an independent foundation. That money then provides block grants that have the potential to “improve the achievement of all students,” according to the district’s Web site.

The $330,000 that the equity fund took in this year, according to Linda Gross, the chairwoman of the foundation, goes a long way toward smoothing out differences in a district where one parent-teacher association raises $25,000 a year and another raises $750,000.

While the paltry 15% might help smooth out differences in funding for our schools, we could eliminate those differences if contributions to individual schools were restricted, or at least promote more equality if stronger gift caps were implemented and the "equity fund" was increased. These funding disparities are appalling and they detriment society by prohibiting education from truly being the great equalizer.

It's My Book in a Box

Another Bush tries his hand at edumacating students:

“The kids are so into the video games,” Ms. Hodges, a veteran teacher of 27 years, said as the children watched a cartoon character named Mr. Bighead, who switched hats rapid-fire to portray the British, French and Spanish perspectives on the colonies. “We have to entertain them, or we lose them.”

The clips emanate from a purple plastic box, known as a COW, for Curriculum on Wheels. They are the brainchild of Neil Bush, brother of the president, who is president of Ignite! Learning. The company has sold its science and social studies curriculums, aimed mostly at middle school grades, to 2,300 of the nation’s 85,000 public schools, and is seeking to expand its business to China, Japan, South Korea and the Middle East.

Video games are always fun, but let's withhold the fervent faith in COWs for the time being. Technology can be useful but it does have its drawbacks. If you recall, one of the largest counterarguments to having laptops in the classroom is that they've had virtually no positive impact on students' standardized test scores, the only benchmark we have in ensuring equity in the education students are receiving across many communities. In fact, computer-based instruction in general carries the same dead weight:

A recent extensive study of educational software by the federal Education Department, which looked at 15 reading and math courses used by nearly 9,500 students in 132 schools, found that computer-based instruction, while expensive, had no effect on student achievement. (Mr. Bush’s curriculum was not studied.)

There have not been any definitive studies yet suggesting that COWs specifically are having an impact on student achievement, although results from some recent research should be available shortly.

I am, however, lacking confidence in this program because of what I've read so far. On the COW website, Ignite! Learning, clicking on "results" takes you to a page with positive teacher testimonials, as if making teachers happy and students excited is an important "result" of education. Navigating to the "research" subsection offers a few vague percentage increases in performance from unexplained research studies, although with more information about the study currently undertaken. "Results" is probably not a good name for this section.

The article and COW website both note some devastatingly-backwards responses to the COW way of life-- textbooks are to blame for our educational troubles:

Mr. Bush said his curriculum made social studies and science more accessible. “Middle schools use 19th-century technologies to teach 21st-century kids,” he said. “Textbooks honestly have failed middle school children. They rely on children’s ability to read, and they’re boring.”

Textbooks can't fail students. Textbooks are inanimate objects. They are educational tools that must be correctly utilized to be effective. You can't blame a hammer and nails for the shoddy construction of a chair or table.

Mr. Bush is suggesting that books are somehow past their prime, and that differences in reading capabilities should be side-stepped by having students avoid reading altogether.

Educators are being asked to trust a man who is implying that illiteracy is unimportant? As per the Achievement Gap, nine-year-olds growing up in low-income communities are already three grade levels behind their peers in high-income communities, half of them won't graduate from high school, and those who do graduate will, on average, read and do math at the level of eighth graders in high-income communities. We need students to read and write as much as possible to change this. We don't need more video games in their lives.

But instead of focusing on the glaring problem of these inequities, let's burn the books and have Mr. Bighead teach textbook concepts with flashy graphics. This is Mr. Bush's strategy for improving education. And other bigheads are biting:

On the company’s Web site are testimonials from teachers and school officials, some of whom say that they have been able to toss out their textbooks because the COW is so comprehensive.

Maybe we should hold off on dumping the textbooks until we know for sure of the impact COWs have on student achievement. After all, we will not defeat illiteracy by ignoring the one way students will learn to read and write--by reading and writing.

Technology is not a panacea for our nation's educational woes. Creativity and innovation are tools that educators can use, but the focus must always be on students attaining large academic gains.

Spirit of Affirmative Action

I found this op-ed regarding Affirmative Action and identity in the Daily Bruin and thought I'd press the "disseminate widely" button:

As students of an institution with a humbling legacy of civil rights activism, we should be shamed at our complacency in this facade of tolerance and equality.

In fact, given the undeniable correlation between race and socio-economic status in this country, to be color-blind is to deliberately ignore the appalling disparities inherent in our society.

To be color-blind is to be perfectly content with the fact that a meager 392 black students were accepted this year to UCLA.

And to be perfectly content with this outrageous statistic speaks loudly of a culture marred by ignorance and cultural insensitivity.

First Integrated Prom

Exactly how much further must we go before we reach a just and diverse society that appreciates a sense of understanding between cultures? Gauging from this story, a lot further:

Students of Turner County High School started what they hope will become a new tradition: Black and white students attended the prom together for the first time on Saturday.

In previous years, parents had organized private, segregated dances for students of the school in rural Ashburn, Georgia, 160 miles south of Atlanta.

Yes, this is the world the younger generation is inheriting.

Adkinson's sister, Mindy Bryan, attended a segregated prom in 2001.

"There was not anybody that I can remember that was black," she said. "The white people have theirs, and the black people have theirs. It's nothing racial at all."

Minus the detail about folks organizing different proms for different colors, yup, nothing racial at all.

Nichole Royal, 18, said black students could have gone to the prom, but didn't.

"I guess they feel like they're not welcome," she said.

Really? Black students don't want to attend a White-organized White prom in the South?

Principal Stone said he doesn't plan to stop the private proms.

"That's going to be up to the parents. That's part of being in America. If they want to do that for the kids, then that's fine," he said.

While Stone lacks the power to directly stop these private race-oriented proms, he caves to the community mentality that this racial tension is somehow unproblematic, likely because he shares the belief that self-imposed segregation is harmless.

In reality, this culture of ignorance hurts their community and our nation as a whole. Misunderstandings between two dominant cultures in the area only serves to worsen their relationships with each other. Considering these groups of people will continue to have to share their towns, their schools, their workplaces and their media with one another, unavoidable day-to-day interactions will continually cause resentment and fear, with each side looking at the other as foreigners, not as neighbors.

Reading students' points of view in the article shows promise in that the upperclassmen voted for holding the school's first-ever integrated school prom, however there is still evidence of indoctrination, as might be expected. Some parents mentioned in the article were against the idea, and kept their children from attending because "they don't agree with being with the colored people." When these children grow up and continue to build our society, they will have to do so without a good understanding of different cultures. Rather, they will remember the fear their parents possessed when the idea of a simple dance was mentioned. Instead of having an open-minded new generation, we will have one that is perpetually frightened by differences. Instead of inspiring change and rapport between one another regardless of culture, they will be divided.

Community leaders in the area ought to move forward from this event, using it as a stepping stone for change. A few students decided to make a ripple by holding a dance at their school. They succeeded, and it should be the start of a community effort in fostering an environment of tolerance and understanding.

Survive the Oregon Trail, Part Two

*This week concludes with a wrap-up to the contest posted on Monday. No score submissions, but I finished another ridiculous physical chemistry midterm, so blogging will again continue*

There’s a lot of history behind the game, hailed as one of the greatest games of all time by some gaming websites, which says a lot for something educational. Whether you used to play it in elementary school or if you recently tried it out for the first time for an easy $40 some good ol'-fashioned fun, there are a few interesting ideas to ponder, such as:

Why is there such overwhelming systematic bias toward white males? You have the choice to do many things on your trails, but one choice preselected for you by the game developers is the fact that you, the player, are a white male. And as a white male, your job is to do the hunting, fixing, and bartering. Traditional female roles during the expedition are ignored and virtually non-existent, maybe because they weren’t entertaining enough to children? And why not?

Was it warranted by the developers to leave out details of the interactions with Native Americans during the migration? The game was definitely intended for younger audiences, but be honest: how much do you remember of the Oregon Trail from any social studies classes you took earlier in your life? If you hadn’t taken any classes on the subject recently at Cal, what would you remember most? Do you remember the “Indian Removal Act”? Buffalo extermination? Genocide? If pretty pictures make up our primary education system here, when then should children learn truth?

The power of social class on levels of opportunity. Let’s take our two professions, the Carpenter and the Farmer, as examples. The Carpenter and the Farmer, being the White Males that they are required to be at the onset, decide to take their boring and unnecessary families with them to Oregon City. They have choices. The Carpenter has the advantage of being a part of a wealthier family than the Farmer. He can thus afford to buy more clothes and oxen for his wagon than the Farmer. The Carpenter's family arrives in Oregon City faster and healthier than the Farmer’s family, and with more left-over money to boot. The Carpenter builds and starts his own restaurant, and succeeds in life.

The Farmer's family arrives later in the year, with little food and less money. With few options for survival, the Farmer works long, grueling hours at the Carpenter’s restaurant, and for very little pay. There is never improvement in the Farmer's family’s condition.

The game disclaimer states that, with respect to picking professions, “The harder you have to try, the more points you deserve!” Most of us would agree with that statement, because as Americans we value equality of opportunity and the freedom to advance based on perseverance. But is that the case in real life? In the game, the Farmer had to try harder to get his family safely across America, with less money to be used for necessities for survival. Extrapolating from that, did he have the same opportunities available to him as the Carpenter did when he reached Oregon?

I think you saw it coming, but now pull back your perspective and look at life today: which family would be more likely to succeed in moving to Oregon? Which family has more options when it comes to housing, clothing, transportation, etc.? Which family has more opportunities for career advancement, for educational advancement, for a less stressful life? Which family “deserves more points” but is still fated to succeed less?

Survive the Oregon Trail, Part One

*This week is turning out to be a stressful one, so expect fresh content no earlier than this weekend. In the meantime, I'd like to let readers try their hands at a little contest I offered my residents last year. There were cash prizes involved when I last attempted this, but I can't really subsidize blog doings, so winners will instead receive my sincerest gratitude. I'll post any results readers have submitted plus a follow-up piece I wrote last year on Thursday/Friday.*


The Oregon Trail, a popular computer game during the 1980’s and early 90’s about 19th century American pioneer life, is a relic of childhood to many of our generation who grew up here. In it, players take the role of a party of people, of a selected profession, and attempt to survive the long, dangerous trip from Independence, Missouri to Oregon City.

Herein lies the challenge: I want to see how many of you can survive the trip in the game, and with the most points (translating to how healthy your party is, and how many possessions you still have). There are 3 professions that start off with the highest to the lowest amount of cash (Banker, Carpenter, and Farmer, respectively).

Simple, yes? Download the programs using the below protocol:


TO PLAY OREGON TRAIL:
1.) First, download the emulator
2.) Then extract it and run "APPLEWIN"
3.) Finally, download the game


After this you’re ready to play the game! When (or if..) you make it to Oregon City, and the results screen is displayed with the tally of your points (this results screen is absolutely necessary), just copy the screen, make it an image file, and send it to me via email.


Happy Trails,
Chris

Why I Joined Teach For America

My life has seen many changes in the past month. I researched my options with Teach For America and conversed with alumni about the program. I accepted an offer to teach secondary science in Los Angeles. I lost further interest in graduate school and research. I enrolled in “The Achievement Gap: Causes and Solutions” DeCal. I elected to be reassigned to teaching secondary biology in the South Bay Area, and I have been allowed to do so. In preparation for my approaching future, my recent past has oft been spent thinking critically about this next step in my life. I’ve never detailed the whys publicly, however.

Consider this a primer on my newly found desire for teaching in low-income public schools. I hope to persuade you to also consider committing 2 years of your life after college to joining the TFA corps.

Any standard Teach For America essay is required by imaginary laws of nature to start off with the following introduction:

“In America today, educational inequity persists along socioeconomic and racial lines.

Nine-year-olds growing up in low-income communities are already three grade levels behind their peers in high-income communities.

Half of them won't graduate from high school.

Those who do graduate will, on average, read and do math at the level of eighth graders in high-income communities.

These disparities severely limit the life prospects of the 13 million children growing up in poverty today. And, because African-American and Latino/Hispanic children are three times as likely to grow up in a low-income area, these disparities also prevent many children of color from truly having equal opportunities in life.”

These statistics constitute what is commonly called the Achievement Gap, or the discrepancy in successes of children from varying backgrounds. Studies show that the financial stability of a family is a direct determinant of the opportunities available to their children. Here are a few more figures that flesh out the disturbing realities of the Achievement Gap:

Children growing up in low-income areas are seven times less likely to graduate from college than children in high-income areas. (Source: Education Trust, 2002.)

While children from families making over $90,000 have a one in two chance of graduating from college by age 24, that number plummets to one in 17 for children from families making less than $35,000. (Source: Education Trust, 2004.)

In 2000, Caucasian students had a national public high school graduation rate of 78%. The graduation rate for African-American students during the same year was 56%, and for Latino/Hispanic students was 54%. (Source: The Manhattan Institute, 2001.)

Before they even begin school, kids in these areas are already fighting an uphill battle to ever be able to match the successes of students from more affluent areas. Reason number one for my interest in this program logically follows:

I Believe in Equality of Opportunity

America idealizes concepts of equal opportunity and liberty of outcome, yet we do not have that today. Racism, sexism, and similar isms detriment our society by favoring certain folks over others for reasons that preclude choice. We cannot choose our parents or our culture just as we cannot alter the way gravity works, yet characteristics like these still largely impact our daily lives. For example, being white privileges me in many ways that others do not experience. And that’s not right.

Similarly, for our children experiencing the world through the methodical journeys of education in the classroom, there are some choices already indefinitely made for them, like if they qualify for school subsidized free lunches. Or if their schools can afford books.

I’m dedicated to the ideas of social justice because I believe that folks all deserve the same chances in life to succeed and grow. Younger folks in our public schools are entitled to that same American ideal of equal opportunity. Being an engaged and motivated teacher in these neighborhoods will give kids the educational opportunities hitherto withheld from them.

Along with strong American ideals of opportunities for all, you may be surprised when I say

I Believe in Service to my Country and Global Community

Of course, there’s really no need to be all that surprised, for the word service entails more than just conscription. There are myriad paths available to the citizen looking to better his community and strengthen his country: He may enlist in the Marines to protect our borders and interests abroad; He may join the Peace Corps to safeguard human rights for all; He may become a Big Brother and mentor teenagers in a nearby district. Any one of these commitments would have a marked impact on our country and the community at large. Service to our communities means simply giving back to the society that made us who we are, to recognize its merits and to fix its faults.

Teach For America is an opportunity to do that, to recognize the merits of a publicly-funded and readily-accessible education, and to strive to improve this education for those it neglects. Expanding educational opportunities? Just think of the impact one can have on society by doing this. Educated and motivated youths mature into a talented and inspired work force and return the favor for the next generation. Children are our most important investment and thus service toward their education needs to be our priority.

And hey, why not reinstitute the draft and incorporate this definition of service? I’d wager that a mandatory 2-year service stint for adults 18-25 years of age would bring about a major improvement in our urban and rural communities and in our international relations, not to mention empower the young generation with the skills to become successful leaders in any work sector they enter.

We approach a third and final self truth:

I Believe in Personal Betterment through Service

Many college students are opposed to this. Ask a Berkeley undergraduate to defer the working world for an additional 2 years upon graduation and you might be regarded as joking. Or flirtatious if you happen to be a cute girl and he an engineer.

Service should not be seen as an obstacle to professional development, but as another avenue for it. Service to my residents over the past 2 years has empowered me with the administrative and interpersonal skills necessary to be a leader in any future career. Service to my students over the next 2 years will continue to shape me in this regard, by setting educational goals and working diligently to achieve those goals through exciting and creative ways to teach and inspire.

Aside from further refinement of leadership skills, Teach For America offers a chance for college graduates to give back to society through service and dedication. The Achievement Gap is our generation’s civil rights movement, and Teach For America a channel through which we can create necessary change in our communities. I am teaching after college because I am proud of the ideal of equal opportunities for all that this nation is built on, and because I want to help make it a reality.

Do the same. The final deadline to apply for the 2007 corps is Sunday, February 18. Visit the website for application information.

Take Note of Black Lightning, DSP

I'm very excited for this semester. One of the reasons for this is that I'm only taking two actual science courses to finally get my Cal science degree. Another reason: for one of my classes, Bacterial Pathogenesis (MCB C103), for which I can honestly say I have a huge interest in, Black Lightning is transcribing course notes.

Black Lightning is the University's only authorized note-taking service. Students pay $49 for semester-long access to lecture course notes that are transcribed word-for-word. The price would be higher were it not for the the ASUC mandate that Black Lightning needs to break even with their profit and expenses. A cost-effective alternative to textbooks, definitely.

Upon perusing the Berkeley livejournal, I came across an entry from a student who needs a notetaker for a math course not offered by Black Lightning. The student explains that the notetaker would be paid by the Disabled Students' Program (DSP) at Cal, and gives a few other startling facts:

I understand DSP is underfunded, as is everything. Still...Black Lightning pays $30 per hour for taking notes. That would have been $180 per week for my math class. In contrast, DSP paid $120 - for the semester. I find a system puzzling that will pay so much more for notetakers for students who aren't disabled.

...

There's a whole bunch of students who go weeks without notetakers, who legally have a right to the service for reasons like learning disabilities, neurological problems, or paralysis. I guess I shouldn't be ranting. But I get frustrated when my DSP rep tells me kind of nonchalantly that yeah, a lot of people had trouble finding notetakers last semester, not just me.

...

And I'm one of the *lucky* ones. I only need notes for classes in which there is visual material I can't type - like math or electrical engineering. I feel really sorry for students who can't use their hands at all.

Black Lightning transcribes many large classes on campus, but obviously cannot accommodate everyone in all classes, and therein lies the problem. Those who absolutely need note-takers have to wait for weeks to find them because transcribing notes is much more profitable when serving other more privileged students with Black Lightning. Regardless of student fee differences (Black Lightning charges a fee for note-taking and thus has more to pay employees), the ability to take notes is critical for any student's academic success, and more needs to be done by our university to make sure this privilege is shared with all students.

A Noose in the Workplace

(Technorati Tags: Racism, Social Justice)

Workers at a cable installing company receive a symbol of oppression as their holiday bonus:

When [employee James Jackson] walked to the fenced-off area to pick up equipment for the day's jobs he looked up and was shocked to see a vicious, racist symbol in his workplace. A noose was hanging in the fenced-off equipment area, visible to the dozens of installers, the majority of whom are black, but accessible only to his boss and an equipment manager, both of whom are white.

Given the title of the CNN article, "Employees find noose hanging at work", one would conclude that the incident simply ends there, with a noose being found, and a quick removal of the item carried out with feigned anger and disgust to show respect to the company's targeted work force. Even THAT would be awful enough, but if this were the case, maybe one could ignore the case for, y'know, rampant internalized racism in today's society and how it bars equal opportunity for all, and blame it simply on a few bad kids, as the argument is constantly made by the illogical many. That'd still be wrong, but at least it's common, and we're used to it.

Well guess what? The story doesn't end there.

When employees confronted their managers, their complaints were first ignored, then met with jokes about what the noose would be used for, and finally acted upon one whole week later.

Installer Shomari Houston, according to the complaint, says he asked his white boss, Gary Murdock, why a hangman's noose was in his workplace. He says the response was: To hang two black employees.

"He said, 'Yo, I like that, it's cool, I am gonna hang Russell up there. Think we can get James up there?'"

That's quite the precarious method of staff appreciation.

Regardless of how "tongue in cheek" the bosses think they were being, stooping to such base levels for the sake of a joke casts an undeniably foul stench on the entire organization.

Needless to say, this is not how a supervisor ought to treat an employee, if it is the supervisor’s intent to encourage a strong work ethic in the group. Jokes of this derogatory nature are debilitating to workers, because they viscerally target emotions and fears that are representative of a larger picture of oppression in our society. Workers cannot work at full potential if the environment in which they are to spend a majority of their waking life harbors those who play on these intrinsic fears in seemingly good faith, such as with a noose that invokes notions of racial supremacy.

Subsequently, working at lower output in comparison to other non-Black coworkers gives the managers reason to consider replacing workers, reject raises or employment advances, and may also compound other stereotypes they may have regarding the work ethic of a certain racial group, i.e. “Black folks do less work than White folks”. These “tongue in cheek” phrases can ruin lives.

But they were totally joking, so it’s A-OK.

This type of language is also representative of just how little awareness some of us have about the conditions that certain groups of people face. Do the managers understand that their jokes were debilitating and why this is so? Does the company perchance need to have a little training seminar on what White privilege and dominant and subordinated groups are? Surely this misunderstanding, at least, could be rectified with better diversity training for all employees, managers definitely included.

Finally, the initial incident and the company’s response to criticism are truly disgusting as we see a perpetuation in the media of the idea that words are just words, and can only mean what one’s intentions are. However, the differences between one’s intent versus one’s impact can be incredible; everyone looks at life through different lenses. Wouldn’t all these differing perspectives guarantee a discrepancy in what we each observe in a given situation? If my intent were to grab a book from a friend but my impact was elbowing said friend in the eye, what should I do next? Ignore his pain and justify it by saying my intent was honest?

But they were saying these horrible things with the intent of coming off as humorous, so it’s A-OK.

The defense attorney also uses a common generalization at further attempts to rectify the charges against the management:

Willie, Gertler stresses, is no racist. "My client's first marriage for 17 years was to an African-American woman. So I don't think he's racist."

One person cannot logically represent an entire community. I am a man yet I can’t speak on what all men like. If I were to date a woman that liked to knit, that wouldn’t implicate me with having a strong desire for women who can knit. Instead, there could be any number of reasons for why I was dating that woman. Willie could have had 10 successful marriages with 10 different women, all of different ethnicities, but none of those women will ever represent their racial groups. Willie could still think of Black folks as inferior while loving his Black wife, just as having a Black friend doesn’t preclude racist underpinnings. Generalizations are never logical.

But “if you’ve seen one Black person, you’ve seen them all!” so they’re A-OK.

Typical racist banter.

Racism? In America?

Knowing that this is actually news to some people only makes my headache worse, but it also serves to embolden my intentions.

(CNN) -- Most Americans, white and black, see racism as a lingering problem in the United States, and many say they know people who are racist, according to a new poll.

But few Americans of either race -- about one out of eight -- consider themselves racist.

Ted Haggard and our Donnie Darko

(Technorati Tags: Ted Haggard, Donnie Darko)

So Ted Haggard, ex-president of the National Association of Evangelicals and staunch moral authority revered by many, has admitted to purchasing illicit drugs (and subsequently "throwing them away"!). A man taken with the Bible's interpretation of homosexuality, he is also vehemently denying accusations of nailing a male escort every month for the last 3+ years.

There's something to be said for comparing Ted Haggard's morality and recent fall from grace to that of Jim Cunningham, the adored motivational speaker from indie-film Donnie Darko, whom is exposed as a pedophile. Cunningham is seen rattling on in educational videos and school events about coming to terms with fear, he and his methods generally well-received by the town. But when it is discovered that Cunningham is a victim himself of fear with his collection of pedophilic material, the town responds with mixed feelings of anger and denial. Just as his indie counterpart, Haggard is exposed as a hypocrite, in the sense that he has until now preached from a pedestal on morality and espoused views that homosexuality is a “sin” and “devastating for the children of our nation and for the future of Western civilization”, but in the end cannot escape his own character and drug abuse.

Haggard’s Church and followers are likely feeling angry and hurt after these confessions and allegations, as they should. But they—and we—should also continue to show understanding for each other, especially for Snort-It-Up Ted. Let us all understand that, despite moral views, we all are capable of doing these deeds: sex, drugs, rock-and-roll, all of them. No one is completely impervious to temptation, so why then do we dream up unrealistic visions of those we look up to? Why do we let our ethics be dictated by these figures?

We need to stand up to the Jim Cunninghams and the Ted Haggards of our time and remove them from their soap boxes, and to do that it is imperative we all continue to think for ourselves and own the understanding that we are all human and share many of the same desires.

The next time another Haggard straddles the high ground and bemoans a dearth of morality in our society, why don’t we all reply as Donnie did:

Jim Cunningham: Son... DO YOU SEE THIS? This is an Anger Prisoner. A textbook example. DO YOU SEE THE FEAR, PEOPLE? This boy is scared to death of the truth. Son, it breaks my heart to say this, but I believe you are a very troubled and confused young man. I believe you are searching for the answers in all the wrong places...

Donnie: You're right, actually. I am pretty- I'm, I'm pretty troubled and I'm, I'm pretty confused. But I... and I'm afraid. Really, really afraid. Really afraid. But I... I... I think you're the fucking Antichrist.

Daily Effects of White Privilege

(Technorati Tags: Race, Privilege, Social Justice)

Many are confused when we talk about white privilege and what it entails. Akin to my previous discussions on targeted groups, the privileges of being white go mostly unrecognized and unacknowledged, and so making a conscious effort to address them is imperative if we want to work toward eliminating institutionalized racism.

I found this resource that gives a good summary of the daily effects of white privilege, and explains how simple -- yet how elusive -- the concept is to many of us. I will list them here for reading pleasure:

Daily effects of white privilege

I decided to try to work on myself at least by identifying some of the daily effects of white privilege in my life. I have chosen those conditions that I think in my case attach somewhat more to skin-color privilege than to class, religion, ethnic status, or geographic location, though of course all these other factors are intricately intertwined. As far as I can tell, my African American coworkers, friends, and acquaintances with whom I come into daily or frequent contact in this particular time, place and time of work cannot count on most of these conditions.

1. I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.

2. I can avoid spending time with people whom I was trained to mistrust and who have learned to mistrust my kind or me.

3. If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and in which I would want to live.

4. I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me.

5. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.

6. I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.

7. When I am told about our national heritage or about "civilization," I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.

8. I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race.

9. If I want to, I can be pretty sure of finding a publisher for this piece on white privilege.

10. I can be pretty sure of having my voice heard in a group in which I am the only member of my race.

11. I can be casual about whether or not to listen to another person's voice in a group in which s/he is the only member of his/her race.

12. I can go into a music shop and count on finding the music of my race represented, into a supermarket and find the staple foods which fit with my cultural traditions, into a hairdresser's shop and find someone who can cut my hair.

13. Whether I use checks, credit cards or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial reliability.

14. I can arrange to protect my children most of the time from people who might not like them.

15. I do not have to educate my children to be aware of systemic racism for their own daily physical protection.

16. I can be pretty sure that my children's teachers and employers will tolerate them if they fit school and workplace norms; my chief worries about them do not concern others' attitudes toward their race.

17. I can talk with my mouth full and not have people put this down to my color.

18. I can swear, or dress in second hand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute these choices to the bad morals, the poverty or the illiteracy of my race.

19. I can speak in public to a powerful male group without putting my race on trial.

20. I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.

21. I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.

22. I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of color who constitute the world's majority without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion.

23. I can criticize our government and talk about how much I fear its policies and behavior without being seen as a cultural outsider.

24. I can be pretty sure that if I ask to talk to the "person in charge", I will be facing a person of my race.

25. If a traffic cop pulls me over or if the IRS audits my tax return, I can be sure I haven't been singled out because of my race.

26. I can easily buy posters, post-cards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys and children's magazines featuring people of my race.

27. I can go home from most meetings of organizations I belong to feeling somewhat tied in, rather than isolated, out-of-place, outnumbered, unheard, held at a distance or feared.

28. I can be pretty sure that an argument with a colleague of another race is more likely to jeopardize her/his chances for advancement than to jeopardize mine.

29. I can be pretty sure that if I argue for the promotion of a person of another race, or a program centering on race, this is not likely to cost me heavily within my present setting, even if my colleagues disagree with me.

30. If I declare there is a racial issue at hand, or there isn't a racial issue at hand, my race will lend me more credibility for either position than a person of color will have.

31. I can choose to ignore developments in minority writing and minority activist programs, or disparage them, or learn from them, but in any case, I can find ways to be more or less protected from negative consequences of any of these choices.

32. My culture gives me little fear about ignoring the perspectives and powers of people of other races.

33. I am not made acutely aware that my shape, bearing or body odor will be taken as a reflection on my race.

34. I can worry about racism without being seen as self-interested or self-seeking.

35. I can take a job with an affirmative action employer without having my co-workers on the job suspect that I got it because of my race.

36. If my day, week or year is going badly, I need not ask of each negative episode or situation whether it had racial overtones.

37. I can be pretty sure of finding people who would be willing to talk with me and advise me about my next steps, professionally.

38. I can think over many options, social, political, imaginative or professional, without asking whether a person of my race would be accepted or allowed to do what I want to do.

39. I can be late to a meeting without having the lateness reflect on my race.

40. I can choose public accommodation without fearing that people of my race cannot get in or will be mistreated in the places I have chosen.

41. I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me.

42. I can arrange my activities so that I will never have to experience feelings of rejection owing to my race.

43. If I have low credibility as a leader I can be sure that my race is not the problem.

44. I can easily find academic courses and institutions which give attention only to people of my race.

45. I can expect figurative language and imagery in all of the arts to testify to experiences of my race.

46. I can chose blemish cover or bandages in "flesh" color and have them more or less match my skin.

47. I can travel alone or with my spouse without expecting embarrassment or hostility in those who deal with us.

48. I have no difficulty finding neighborhoods where people approve of our household.

49. My children are given texts and classes which implicitly support our kind of family unit and do not turn them against my choice of domestic partnership.

50. I will feel welcomed and "normal" in the usual walks of public life, institutional and social.

"Expanding The Circle: End Racism" (in the links section) has more information.

I've more to say, but not now. This school thing is killing me lately.