Knowledge for Realistic Expectations

My knowledge of CF High School in the news surpasses the average American. However, the information I know about CF High School comes solely from the media. This is important to note because these secondary sources do not always provide the most accurate picture to form expectations.  I learned such a lesson last semester during my FNED 546 class and hope to have better expectations this semester.

                In the past few years CF High School was constantly in the news for negative reasons. The negative press started in 2010 when the City’s high school was deemed among the worst performing schools in the State due to the students low test scores. After this revelation the school was to enact a method to improve the situation. The teachers and administration debated for quite some time and gained national attention during the process. Having yet to reach a decision with the teacher’s union, administration opted for a plan that fired all the teachers, which President Obama publicly supported. A few months later, when a more agreeable reform plan was reached, the teachers were all rehired (Singer, Stephen, Huffingtonpost). The media continued to scrutinize the school under the new plan. By the end of the 2011 school year NPR deemed the school’s plan to be in “shambles” (Sanchez, Claudio).

Currently the local news is portraying the situation at CF High School in a brighter light. Within the past few months I have read blog postings from Rhode Island Public Radio claiming the graduation rate has improved dramatically and test scores are rising. Such correlations, according to the media, means the reform is working (Harrison, Elizabeth). While other news outlets espoused the benefits of more students and parents becoming involved in the education process at CF High School (Borg, Linda, Providence Journal). In fact the last article I read in the Providence Journal was about how the city council now has five women in office working with an energetic young mayor to improve the City (the school being among the list of items on the City’s agenda). Despite this positive media, I think it is important to realize the school still has a student population under performing and is still among one of the worst in the State. Also, the local media seems to be accepting the statistics about school improvement with too much optimism. Earlier, well respected education blogger Diane Ravitch noted the high graduation rates were a result of lower expectations and an administration merely pushing the students along not because of successful reform.  For such a drastic increase to occur Ravitch’s explanation makes more sense to me. Regardless, the school has obstacles to overcome as federal funding runs out and scores still need to increase. I would like to be as hopeful as the local media has been lately, but I think my expectations are more reasonable.

                 Before I started the education sequence last semester I would have had exceedingly low expectations for CF High School. I would have envisioned the students as unruly and untameable individuals who had no desire to learn. I would have thought that they were going to be rude and potentially disrespectful. In fact a part of me would have been nervous to even set foot in the school. I say would have because this is how I thought of most urban classrooms across the board before I was forced to help a Providence charter school. This experience made me realize that I focused too much on the stereotypes perpetuated in our society rather than on reality. Most of the students, though not thrilled to learn, were polite and insightful. Also, many were grateful for the extra help I could provide them. Clearly, their reaction to me was nothing to worry over. However, without this experience I would have been doing just that this semester.

Now my expectations are a little higher. I believe the environment will be welcoming enough. Admittedly, the class I worked with last semester was exceptionally well behaved. So, I expect that there will be more of your traditional disruptive disengaged students, but there will also be your over-achievers who will try to pass the lesson. However, after reading Ravitch’s blog I believe the lessons may not be as rigorous as I envision a lesson plan to be. Lastly, my experience last semester reinforced the fact that urban schools are not well funded. So I also foresee the supplies (like paper, books, and computers) to be scarce and outdated.

For the most part though, I am not trying to cultivate many firm expectations. Some of my preconceived notions last year hindered my ability to identify how to best teach the students and I never want that to happen again. So while I realize I will not be teaching these student, I think it will be a better for me if I make it a habit to keep as much of an open mind as possible. In fact, most of the above expectations are couched in my head with the understanding that my knowledge is not good enough to form an accurate set of expectations. The school I helped at before was a charter school while CF High School is a public institution. The students I worked with last year were middle school students, not high school. Furthermore, my notion that the CF school currently fosters low expectations was derived from only one blogger. At least I see these differences. Unlike before, I know when I enter the class room some of my predictions will be wrong, but it is good to be surprised. In fact, that is the only expectation I intend to have completely fulfilled.

*References available upon request.