THE ROLE OF PUBLIC EDUCATION
The Role of Public Education Theo Fowles University of Southern California Dr. Sylvia Rousseau EDUC 523 October 16 2012
THE ROLE OF PUBLIC EDUCATION The Role of Public Education In 1960, six year old Ruby Bridges desegregated an elementary school. Prior to and in the 52 years since Ruby stepped into the classroom, the role of public school education in shaping the identities of students—especially minority students—has often been reminiscent of Jekyll and Hyde by reinforcing the oppressive system and social structures of dominant culture while promoting that knowledge is power. Reynolds & Pope (1991) defined oppression as a system that allows access to services and privileges based on membership or lack of membership in a particular group. Historically, by denying African-Americans even the right to even read or write, the system of education became rooted in oppression. Baldwin (1963) further asserts that minorities, African-Americans in particular, were not expected to excel but to make peace with mediocrity. Vygotsky would argue that this social restriction manifested itself within the psyche and culture of Black America and in essence, lack of education became normalized and accepted identity the oppressed. The mentality of mediocrity has been reinforced by social networks. The reputations of schools are often not based on academic achievement but on status ((Holme 2002) which is a direct reflection of the dominant group versus. the non-dominant group. In my own educational experience, the mentality of mediocrity took many forms. In my high school career, I only had one African-American male academic teacher. In looking to shape my own identity, I had no one within the school setting that looked like me, who could share my culture or background, or be the example of success within the system. In comparison, there were plenty of black athletic coaches to support student success on the court or on the field. Once I began teaching in my own classroom, it
THE ROLE OF PUBLIC EDUCATION became starkly apparent to me that higher education was out of reach for many minorities simply because of the unknowns—there was no social capital available to make informed decisions on how to access college and why. Freire (1993) argued that oppressive structures must be transformed in order for the oppressed to find their own identities. In the 21st century, because of technology, the world is getting flatter—our habitus is expanding. As a result of this expansion, the United States finds itself in a unique position of multi-identities. The role of the public school system today is to simultaneously address historical oppression and identities within the states while coming to the realization that America as a whole must challenge its new identity as a non-leader in global education. Globally, the United States is 17th in reading, 23rd in science and 31st in math. In order to reestablish an identity of educational leadership, it is imperative that multiple identities within the society be recognized and incorporated within curriculums in order to create a positive dual frame. . Since the U.S. is a ‘melting pot’ the use of counter stories can develop and reaffirm both the voluntary and involuntary immigrant.
As
Baldwin (1963) observed once one knows from whence they came, there is no limit to where they can go. If public schools begin to view diversity from a positive frame of reference within the classrooms a stronger and diverse global identity will follow. The role of public education within the United States has been one of two extremes one that reinforces the historical oppression of minorities and one that touts educational excellence. In the 21st century, neither of these frames reflects perspectives that will lead to positive identities for our ever changing social groups or for the nation as
THE ROLE OF PUBLIC EDUCATION a whole. Our public education system must play a proactive role in exploring and engaging the multiple identities of our youth and of our nation.
THE ROLE OF PUBLIC EDUCATION References Baldwin, J. (1963). My dungeon shook: A letter to my nephew on the one hundredth anniversary of the emancipation. The Fire Next Time. 1963. Freire, P., (1993). Pedagogy of the oppressed new revised 20th anniversary edition (M. Ramos, Trans.). Pedagogy of the Oppressed (pp 25-51), New York, NY:Continuum Holme, J. J. (2002). Buying homes, buying schools: School choice and the social construction of school quality. Harvard Educational Review, 72(2), 177-205. Reynolds, A. L., & Pope, R. L. (1991). The complexities of diversity: Exploring multiple oppressions. Journal of Counseling & Development, 70(1), 174-180. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6676.1991.tb01580.x