3/7 Reading

Reference: "Made in America", Chapter 3 - Laurie Olsen

As I did with my last post, I will pick a few quotes that really stood out and why I chose those particular quotes for this blog.

1) "So for us, school is just, you come to classes and you just sit there. And if you sit there long enough, after four years they give you a diploma...we just don't matter." (pg. 60) - As a future teacher and someone who really values education, this is tough to read. I cannot say that I totally relate to this statement but there were times in high school, even though I was at least being challenged by my teachers and I had a good array of activities and friends, I did feel like I was just a number. I went to a school of 4100 students, and it was difficult not to get lost in that sea of people. I think that the problem in schools of that size and of a lot of schools in general is that the teachers just do not have the time or resources to provide the amount of individualized attention that their students so desperately need. This goes especially for the ESL students who need more attention and more help with their studies and everything else. It broke my heart that they did not even like being in school and just wanted to get their diploma and leave. At the same time, I was glad that they actually wanted to graduate, which I feel is a bit pathetic in my opinion. Students should want to graduate to pursue higher education or pursue a career, not just graduate to graduate. I think another problem these students face is the issue of higher education. Even though I am an avid supporter of more education, students who do not want to go to college should not be forced to and vice versa. Do not count a student out that has potential, like Madison did with Juanita. That was completely terrible. The poor girl got into one of the best colleges in California let alone the country and did not have the money to go. These things just should not happen.

2) "We don't think of ourselves as white until someone makes us think of ourselves as white." (pg. 70) - I think this pretty much solidified everything that this book has been talking about so far. This same student also said "We make ourselves racial" (pg. 70). Unfortunately, the world is not a perfect place as we all seem to think it is at times depending on our background. As I have said before, I come from an upper middle class, mostly white town where everyone is pretty privileged and I have to admit that about myself. I think that it is true that we do not have to apologize for being white. We do not have to apologize for being born into that environment and being raised the way we are, just like they do not have to apologize for being raised the way they are, as well. I try to be culturally conscious and politically correct as much as humanly possible, but it is human nature to criticize. It surprised me how much those students were aware of such pressing issues in our society. It recalls my own parents saying, 'Just because we're white does not mean we shouldn't be considered for financial aid' when I was applying to colleges. I worked myself very hard in high school and put in a lot of effort and belonged to clubs and activities so that I could go to college. While my parents did have some money stored away, I feel that a very small percent does not just have the money to go to college. That is where affirmative action has its pitfalls. I am happy that they are helping people go to college who otherwise would not be able to, but at the same time is that not privileging others? It brings about the issue of fairness in society. I know I should not gripe about something I do not fully understand, but it aggravates me sometimes that people who I know do not work as hard as me and do not even care that they are in college waste their scholarship money and financial aid to just party and fail out. Obviously, the school does not know that's going to happen, but financial aid should not be based on ethnicity. It should be based on need, like it says it is supposed to be. Students everyone should be treated equally and accolades should be given to those who deserve it most and not have to worry about offending anyone in the process.

3) "Many U.S.-born students feel that 'immigrants are given everything'; the Latinos feel that newly arrived immigrants are pulling them down" (pg. 79) - I think that these feelings stem from inexperience in that realm of understanding. Immigrants are definitely given opportunities and especially international students attending universities are given a lot of money and probably deserve it because they work hard to get here. I think people need to remember yet again that people who move here are not moving here to "take over", they are moving here for a better life and for better prospects. I think I would prefer to live somewhere where there is no genocide and no political strife and I as well as my family could receive more benefits. Everyone on earth deserves to be happy, healthy and have a roof over their head no matter what. I am not exactly sure what the Latino students mean by newly arrived immigrants pulling them down; I guess maybe it means that they work really hard to gain a reputation and to assimilate in society and then the new students come, do not speak a lot of English and maybe these Latino students feel obligated to help them when all they want to do is fit in with the other students in the school. One cannot exactly blame them for wanting to learn English and to assimilate as best as they possibly can. However, while they should not feel obligated, they should probably at least have some desire to help students just out of the goodness of their heart, not so much obligation. They should remember that they probably felt the same way when they moved here, and to sympathize with them a little.

4) "Students in the 'high' college-preparatory classes and students in the 'low skills' classes...feel a sharp sense of identity tied to those placements" (pg. 82) - Believe me, I have totally been here. I have many friends who have been here and that is why I chose this quote. I was in the Honors/AP track in high school, but I was not there at first. I was in academic track until my freshman year of high school when one of my teachers finally told me, 'Kelsey, you need to be challenged. I am recommending you for honors.' I had to prove myself at first to everyone else in the class, because I had not been with most of them before. I was friends with a lot of them already but at the same time I still felt pressured to become like them. Eventually, my only friends were people in the honors track and I had pretty much forgotten my old friends from the academic track and I still feel pretty guilty about that. I think in retrospect I was being snobby and I still feel like I do that sometimes. I have my moments where I think, 'oh well, they do not know that, they must be stupid' and it is really terrible of me to think these things, but I was conditioned into it. I had some really amazing, brilliant teachers in high school and I cannot say that I am unhappy that their teaching has influenced me greatly in my life. At the same time, the low skills or remedial students feel like they are being pressured to not do well in school and therefore not go on to college, which we do not want either. We still want them to try, but they feel burdened by their peers and by their teachers (sometimes inadvertently) to stay in the low skills track. That is where teachers and administration need to come in and have high expectations. If we do not have high expectations for them, they will not have them for themselves.