What "Counts" as Educational Policy? Notes toward a New Paradigm by: Jean Anyon
After reading "What 'Counts' as Educational Policy? Notes toward a New Paradigm" by Jean Anyon, I have once again developed a new perspective as a future educator. All of the readings in the course so far have been very eye opening to me since I am new to the educational world. This reading in particular left me really thinking about how many different issues there actually are in the current education structure.
Throughout my time substitute teaching so far, I have been exposed to students from all different backgrounds and poverty levels. I have seen very well behaved and talented students, but I have also seen a lot of misbehaved and under achieving students. I have not necessarily thought about how these different students have been brought up, rather I am normally quick to believe that me or their teacher should be able to control their behaviors and success since that is our role as a teacher. I think teachers, parents and administrators put such a large pressure on educators to be able to control their classroom while still having high academic success, when in reality there are so many underlying issues involved in students that are outside of the classroom and the school. The quote, "Poor children have more health and behavior difficulties than those from more affluent families, which mitigates against educational success" (p.75) is stating that poverty levels have a direct correlation to academics and it is not only on the educators to solve this issue.
I was so fascinated to read about the different studies that have been done to show the effects that poverty levels have on cognitive development. This was particularly interesting because we have been talking about cognitive development in our psychology class. The results make complete sense, but they are still very eye opening. Knowing that poverty levels/household wages have a direct influence on cognitive development and student success, makes it so clear that this is a major issue in our system that must be fixed in order to improve academic success for our students. Before we go fixing "The Broken Model", which is still another large issue, we must solve this poverty issues. How are students ever going to succeed in school if they are coming from a stressed, low-income, segregated neighborhood/family? It was so interesting to read "family income consistently predicts children's academic and cognitive performance, even when other family characteristics are taken into account" (p. 75). The results from the study where Lee and Burkham explored achievements based on race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status at the start of kindergarten were shocking. To read that race and ethnicity have less of an effect on achievements than socioeconomic status was eye opening. This study made it clear that we must solve poverty issues before changing the school structure or other issues going on.
As a future educator, I have a new perspective on all of the students I have come across so far during my time substitute teaching. Knowing just how much poverty levels effect cognitive development makes me want to make a change even more. I am hoping to be able to teach kindergarten when I am done with this program, so knowing that I could be dealing with students in such an important development stage in their life makes me want to make a difference even more. All children deserve to have the same opportunities to learn no matter what their poverty level is, and I hope to be a part of that change someday because I want all of my students to have success!
Reflection Question: Since these studies were done in the early 2000s, I am very curious to see what the results would be with students today. Have these results increased or decreased at all since then? Are there even more issues going on now that would affect these results? I found this article with some 2026 policy trends that was an interesting read.
Hi Lizzie! I'm also new to the education field and I really enjoyed your insights on the reading. I there are so many things that go into whether or not a child is successful. In my other class, we were talking about Maslow's Hierarchy of needs and I think it's important to note here. It makes sense that if a child's basic needs are not being met (safety, security, shelter, food water), they will not be able to or want to focus in class. They need to feel safe in order to want to learn makes sense.
ReplyDeleteI was also thinking about how the studies were a little outdated when I was reading this article. It's interesting to see how the studies compare with today's world, so thank you for that article!
Hi Lizzie! I agree with these past few readings being eye opening in the educational world. I am also a substitute teacher and can sometimes quickly jump to "how come I cannot get this behavior in line?" and sometimes forget that it may be starting at home due to very understanding reasons. I also related the developmental studies to our psychology class and found that they aligned heavily with both substituting and what our models is psych show. Realizing that some children needs extra understanding and patience is something that happens more every reading for me. Great blog & insightful thoughts!
ReplyDeleteHi Lizzi. It is crazy to see how poverty can really affect a child’s learning.I t does make you look at different behavioral situations differently. Maybe this kid is stealing snacks because they are actually starving rather than omg he is a bully. When students went back to school after COVID, we actually got them out of their cars. When I opened one of my students doors, trash literally came piling out. This student was so disorganized and messy. The car was full of fast food wrappers and trash .It definitely made me look at things differently. He was always so tired. He is probably tired because he doesn’t eat balanced meals and is probably crashing from all the carbs he was eating. He was probably messy because his life was disorganized. He had free lunch and we would encourage him to try and eat the fruit and veggies that were offered.
ReplyDelete