Sydney Phillips Blog#3: African American Students in Higher Education
Last class began with Julian engaging us in a goal-oriented activity. We wrote down our short, mid and long term goals on a piece of paper, and seal them in an envelope to open later in life. After we wrote down our goals we were able to share them with the rest of the class. This enabled me, once again, to see how I relate to others around me. Many of us had similar and achievable goals and listed them in a similar order. If sharing addresses wasn’t a privacy issue, it seemed like a good idea to mail these goals to the specific student at a certain point in time. However, due to privacy issues and possibly losing papers or even student relocation, it would be difficult to have a teacher do that. Even so, the activity encouraged me to reflect on what I have accomplished and how my goals have molded into what I wish to accomplish for my future. Jaimie then briefly mentioned feedback on our papers and ways to improve our style. I found this helpful and even wrote down her tips, such as to formalize, proof read, and have others read my paper as well!
Afterwards the class participated in the “corners activity”. With partners we rotated throughout the class and stopped at various points to answer questions regarding the No Child Left Behind Act. The thought of simply answering questions isn’t entirely appealing at first, but in the end I was very glad to have participated in the activity. Not only did I learn a lot that I hadn’t known previously, but I saw how the act actually affected myself and my schooling. In the end, as a class, we were able to come up with general class definitions for each question. I honestly did not know much about NCLB and realized that it did not fulfill its intended purpose of raising achievement rates and create higher quality learning. Rather, it encouraged drop outs, was exclusive, and put lower income communities at a disadvantage. Realizing this made me want to take a stand and do something about the schools that don’t have adequate resources. There were a few good things about NCLB such as shedding light on inequities and to recruit quality teachers, but throughout my experience I concluded that I wasn’t able to learn information if it wasn’t on the standardized tests. I’m not sure how the Common Core Standards will turn out. I spoke with a mother recently who told me that her daughter was struggling with the new standards even though she is very bright. Already I am nervous about the Common Core Standards.
We then broke into groups and discussed Supreme Court cases throughout history that related to affirmative action. It solidified the information that was unclear in chapter 6. I also found a court case for the EXTRA CREDIT: Fisher v. Texas. June 2013. In 2008 high school seniors had been denied admission to University of Texas in Austin. They then brought it to court, claiming that the University could not use race as an aspect in the admission process. A federal judge, using the case Grutter v. Bollinger as an example, said in 2013 that the University did obey with the admission requirements set by the case Grutter v. Bollinger. Although the court did not overturn the use of affirmative action, they did stress the importance of stricter affirmative action programs.
The one word that I chose to describe my thoughts of this week’s reading was enlightening. Although I have read about the history and oppression of African Americans in history classes throughout schooling, there were a few concepts brought up in the reading that provided for an educational experience. Some of the ideas actually related to my field of study; Psychology. The family unit section, for example, showed me the effects of history on the families affected and I was sad to see what some resorted to or the things they lacked. Many were deprived of family systems that encourage proper development and attachment. One of the saddest aspects is that of the psychological dimension. To actually see examples of how the oppression caused certain people to undervalue themselves in devastating. In a sense, it isn’t surprising that they felt the need to resort to violence. I would be angry if a majority of my race wasn’t allowed things such as the education African Americans were deprived early on. It’s shocking to see how little the rate of literacy for their race has improved, from 57% illiterate in 1900 to only 13% higher 100 years later. The section on hip hop culture provided a source of inspiration for me. Through this medium many were able to overcome oppression and find acceptable ways of expressing their feelings and needs. There is hope if we all come together for the common goal of equality and follow various suggestions like the ones laid out in the reading.
