As I explored before the concept of Neoliberalism is a system where economic and social policies are the driving force of this country. In times of crisis, the government moves on a pendulum from being public to one that is controlled by private sects. Currently, the ones who feel this pain are the working and middle class. Many people are struggling and are being laid-off, working less hours and have fewer benefits.When considering institutions like schools, they are representative of the society. Ideologies and policies set by the higher-ups tickle down to schools. As stated before policies like the No Child Left Behind act are deeply rooted in federal influence. It was set in place to “not leave a child behind” and place accountability on schools when students are failing. But, policies as such are leaving those children behind mostly from urban areas.As stated by Joanne Larson in Literacy as Snake Oil the No Child Left Behind legislation, “aim is to create a top-down, narrow, highly controlled instruction resting heavily on prepackaged reading programs” (p.28). The “teach proof” curriculum in schools have to be reexamined. Prepackaged reading programs instruct teachers what to say verbatim. This instruction limits teachers as educators. A major problem is that many view teachers an semiprofessionals incapable to educate our children.This is a sad fact because those qualified good teachers have to teach according to what is mandated. There is less time to incorporate skills and activities that are engaging and beneficial to students.Those are the teacher moments we remember most when we get older. Mandated documentation of academic yearly progress are in relation to state mandated test that all children from all grade levels have to pass.Today’s teachers spend more time teaching to the test which minimizes critical thinking skills.
Neoliberalism, introduced 20 plus years ago, refers to the ideology and practices in which economic and social policies are the major driving force in American government’s policies. Pauline Lipman explores and attempts to define this theory in her article, "Education, Policy, Race and Neoliberal Urbanism." She provides readers with insight on how urban youth learning are effected with policies that derived from this ideology like, the No Child Left Behind Act. To Lipman, neoliberalism is an "ensemble of economic and social policies that promote the primary of the market and individual self-interest, unrestricted flows of capital, deep reductions in the cost of labor, sharp retrenchment of the public sphere, and providing for social welfare" (pg46).
The Neoliberal state of mind is grounded on fundamentals that free markets which are regulated less by the government, and more on the market, will boost the economy. As a result, it replaces "support for social welfare with demands for personal responsibility" (p.47). Traditionally, social wealth was from the collective majority (middle class & working class) to private property (the rich). This is detrimental and hypocritical of our government in that instead of being a government for and by the people, the government is actually being run and regulated by private institutions and individuals.
The No Child Left Behind Act, standardized tests must be administered in order to determine whether or not schools are properly educating students. If there is a high percentage of students who do not pass these tests, the school is held accountable for low-test scores and is in jeopardy of losing federal funding. In addition, districts utilize these tests to make decisions as to whether a student should be promoted. Standardized English and mathematics tests determine student promotions. Ironically, these are the two areas where large portion of urban youth cannot perform well in. This policy has aspects of neoliberalism that increases disparities between a majority heterogeneous class to a homogeneous few. Education is the key to success. But, when considering a policy like the No Child Left Behind Act and the future job market, people of color are being weeded out of the system to occupations of low-wages. I once heard and agreed with the statement that the more labels a person has the more difficult it is for them to gain access and move past social constraints. For example, someone who is a woman of color, with a disability. Many would think that schools where there are few textbooks and materials to facilitate students' learning; more aid would assist them to boost achievement scores. In fact, schools are held accountable and penalized when not meeting the standards set by those in power.
The picture at the bottom clearly shows the impact of neoliberalism and schools. Free markets will run schools tailoring them to private interest and gains not collective by the working majority..
Epistemology refers to the theory of knowledge. In a previous blog I spoke on what is worth knowing and I ended by questioning “what is not worth knowing?”When examining what constitutes as knowledge, we often times need to look at the various ways we acquire it. As humans our individual makeup is unique. We each have different intelligences and learn best when our educator provides various learning opportunities. I hope to work in a bilingual setting where the majority of my student’s accommodations will require me to differentiate my instruction according to Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory. No one person holds a particular intelligence but instead have a few that help with their general makeup. Some students are visual, kinesthetic, intrapersonal, logic learners. As teachers it is important that we realize each student has potential and the ability to learn. We learn in-school and out-of-school. Often times, we limit them and allow for fewer opportunities where they practice what they learn and engage them.
In the chapter “The Strengths of Indigenous Education” by Lomawaima and McCarty they express how detrimental stereotypes about Indian students being silent and stoic feed into them being looked as one-dimensional learners. As a result, they reduce Native learners to culturally distinct rooted practices that limit them to single learning dimensions. Lomawaima and McCarty hope to overturn misconceptions and provide readers with a different outlook on Native people. They strive to highlight Native epistemologies and the need for change in American schooling system.
Indigenous epistemologies differ from mainstream US epistemologies in that they are complex philosophical instruments. Native epistemologies view intellects as a property that is up for a person to solve and discover on their own. At the core is the learner/listener’s responsibility to put what is learned into practice and solve the mystery at hand. In US epistemologies the teacher feed students answers and provides for few inquiry activities which they make their own conclusions.
In American education we have a narrow standard view of education. Everything learned in schools is considered formal education while out-school education are considered informal. Indigenous people have been considered primitive people with no form of education. But, Indigenous education systems are in fact formalized to achieve educational goals where everyone is an educator. It is systematic in a sense where no two individual’s education is identical hence everyone’s intellectual makeup is different. Each person’s educational system consists of instruction in strength, according to gender, according to age, for leadership and according to clan or rank. As a test following all formal education, a person’s survival is considered the ultimate test.
Native caregivers provide multiple ways to instruct students to provide support and inquiry learning. Through the use songs, stories, speeches, oral teachings, as well as providing lecture, directions to shape their thought and behaviors. In addition, these pedagogies “have contributed to the language-rich life surrounding and nurturing Native people” which is why language and culture go hand in hand (p.36). Contrary to Indigenous-educational systems, current schooling practices provide less hands-on learning by doing and interaction with life forms. For many Native people, learning like this provides an emotional identity. Learning by doing in this type of system (US) is exclusive and is not the medium of instruction like in Indigenous educational systems. Another thing that is lacking in the educational system is the lack of responsibility placed on the children. Through responsibility and independence we create strong citizens capable of doing and thinking for themselves.
Throughout the years, Native individuals have been affected with the narrow perspective of how they learn that we disconnect them from their history and their roots. From reading this article, I began to see how a broader understanding of strengths of Indigenous educational systems need to be reexamined and how essential it is for current school practices need to incorporate and see the importance of home-based education. Home-based education for Native peoples was designed to draw connections and power from the cycles of life within the world. When we view them as capable learns and provide instruction from their home-based education with differentiating instruction according to each individual child, we no longer see them as one-dimensional learners.
The “teach proof” curriculum in schools have to be reexamined. Prepackaged reading programs instruct teachers what to say verbatim. This instruction limits teachers as educators. A major problem is that many view teachers an semiprofessionals incapable to educate our children. This is a sad fact because those qualified good teachers have to teach according to what is mandated. There is less time to incorporate skills and activities that are engaging and beneficial to students. Those are the teacher moments we remember most when we get older. Mandated documentation of academic yearly progress are in relation to state mandated test that all children from all grade levels have to pass. Today’s teachers spend more time teaching to the test which minimizes critical thinking skills.
