Urban Education
Spring 2001
My class on Urban Education is held every other Saturday, and is taught by Dr. Choya Wilson. My interest is piqued because of the kids I'm teaching now in placement, from Gary, IN. On the first day of class, she asked us what experience we've had teaching in urban communities, and it occurred to me that I have never *not* taught in an urban setting. I did my student teaching in Milwaukee at Hamilton High School, and my four years of experience in Texas was in the Rio Grande Valley, which is basically one big urban area. Now, I teach in the "country", but the kids are city kids.
Some of the topics listed in the course syllabus (as of now, we've only met once) include:
*economic issues in the urban environment
*race, privilege and culture
*diversity in urban education
*tracking/standards/testing
*school violence/drugs
*desegregation issues such as choice and charter schools
*parent issues
*effects of education on children
Assignments include reflection papers on selected topics discussed in class, a personal journal of the ideas brought up in class and how it applies to our lives, and one large final project.
I have to say, the texts required for this class are among the most expensive that I have ever had in college...they even overshadow the law text that I had to buy way back when...
The books are: Seeds of Crisis: Public Schooling in Milwaukee since 1920 edited by John L. Rury and Frank A. Cassell (UW Press, Madison, WI; 1993), and Race and Education: The Roles of History and Society in Educating African American Students by William H. Watkins, James H. Lewis and Victoria Chou (Allyn and Bacon, Boston, MA; 2001). We also had a reader that we had to buy that has a number of readings from magazines, etc. Total for texts for this class: $85. Amazing. Must be the switch from undergrad to grad school...
I am looking forward to the information that I'll gain from this class. Last semester, I really enjoyed my Curriculum Planning class, and I'm hoping that I can gain just as much from this one!
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