Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                

Scholarworks@Umass Amherst Scholarworks@Umass Amherst

Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1of 279

University of Massachusetts Amherst

ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst

Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014

1-1-1995

Student teachers in urban high schools : an interview study of


neophytes in neverland.
William R. Compagnone
University of Massachusetts Amherst

Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1

Recommended Citation
Compagnone, William R., "Student teachers in urban high schools : an interview study of neophytes in
neverland." (1995). Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014. 5175.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1/5175

This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It
has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of
ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact scholarworks@library.umass.edu.
STUDENT TEACHERS IN URBAN HIGH SCHOOLS:
AN INTERVIEW STUDY OF NEOPHYTES IN NEVERLAND

A Dissertation Presented

by

WILLIAM R. COMPAGNONE

Submitted to the Graduate School of the


University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of

DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

September 1995

School of Education
©Copyright by William R. Compagnone 1995

All Rights Reserved


STUDENT TEACHERS IN URBAN HIGH SCHOOLS:
AN INTERVIEW STUDY OF NEOPHYTES IN NEVERLAND

A Dissertation Presented

by

WILLIAM R. COMPAGNONE

Approved as to style and content by:

Patt Dodds, Member

W. Jackson, Dean
1 of Education
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Without the aid and encouragement of many people, I would never have been able to

complete this dissertation. The student teachers I worked with allowed me to share in their

experiences through the grueling process of phenomenological interviewing. The members

of my doctoral committee, Dr. Richard Clark and Dr. Patt Dodds, provided me with

valuable feedback, the willingness to meet with me whenever I desired and the reassurance

I needed to push ahead. The chairman of my committee, Dr. Irving Seidman was my

guiding light throughout my doctoral program. His wisdom, his sensitivity, his

understanding, his generosity and his standard of excellence inspired me to pursue my

goals with seriousness and deep commitment. My children, Chris and Gina, excused my

time away from them with graciousness and sympathy. My wife, Gail, kept me focused

when I was exhausted and provided invaluable service in the process of transcribing

interviews.

I dedicate this dissertation to my mother, Josephine, and my late father, Silvio; they

sacrificed their own needs to provide an education for their children.

IV
ABSTRACT

STUDENT TEACHERS IN URBAN HIGH SCHOOLS:


AN INTERVIEW STUDY OFNEOPHYTES IN NEVERLAND

SEPTEMBER 1995

WILLIAM R. COMPAGNONE, B.A., UNIVERSITY OF


MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST

M.A., NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY

M.Ed., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS LOWELL

Ed.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST

Directed by: Professor Irving Seidman

Using phenomenological interviewing as a method of research, this study reconstructs

the urban high school experience of fifteen student teachers through the words of the

participants. It attempts to analyze the way they make meaning of their current experience

as it relates to their background in terms of race, gender, class, education and family

upbringing. As a backdrop, it examines the function of urban education in a democratic

society through the perspective of critical pedagogy. It fleshes out the contradictions

implicit within a capitalist economy when seen though this perspective.

Three ninety minute interviews were conducted with each of fifteen student teachers

near to or at the end of their practicums in urban high schools. In addressing the question

of what it is like to student teach in an urban high school today, this study finds that student

teachers do not feel they are adequately prepared to deal with the complex issues they face

in the classrooms and corridors of urban high schools. It specifically discusses issues

v
involving race, gender, tracking, supervision, attendance, grading, discipline and the

influence of critical pedagogy.

This study proposes a two year program. The first year would include two courses on

issues in urban education and a prepracticum. The second year would include two paid

ten-week practicums, one at an urban, the other, a suburban location. The practicums

would be followed by courses taught at an urban and suburban site respectively by

university faculty and high school teachers.

This study also calls for university training culminating in a mentor certificate for

cooperating teachers as well as a reduced teaching load. It asks for a consistent policy

concerning in-class observations. It suggests that college supervisors have some teaching

experience in secondary schools and that teaching assistants who serve as college

supervisors be given reasonable schedules. It advocates phenomenological interviewing as

an appropriate methodology of qualitative research for this study.

vi
PREFACE

The following overview explains the organizational layout of this dissertation. As a

backdrop, Chapter I discusses the status of urban education in the United States in the

1990's in terms of historical and current problems, issues, constraints and opportunities

facing educators and students. Chapter II first reviews relevant literature on student

teaching and then examines the function of urban education in a democratic society

through the perspective of critical pedagogy. Within a capitalist context, I flesh out the

contradictions implicit within education, especially as seen through my experience as a

veteran urban educator. Chapter HI details the methodology and procedures for carrying

out this study, in particular examining the nature and appropriateness of in-depth

phenomenological interviewing as an effective methodology for exploring the experiences

of student teachers. Chapters IV through XI present a categorical analysis of reconstructed

data from the interviews concerning issues which directly affect the urban practicum.

Chapter XII presents a profile of Julie Boswick, a participant in my study. Chapter XHI

presents a retrospective overview of themes, a reflective analysis of methodology,

recommendations arising from my data and implications of my work.

vi 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .iv

ABSTRACT . v

PREFACE . vii

LIST OF FIGURES .xiii

Chapter

I. MAJOR ISSUES IN URBAN EDUCATION. 1

A. Question .1
B. Purpose .1
C. The Status of Urban Education in the 1990's .2
D. Major Issues . 3
E. Gender .4
F. Race . 5
G. Class .6
H. Urban Education Reform Efforts .10
I. Urban Education in the 1990's .12

H. REVIEW OF RELEVANT STUDENT TEACHING AND


CRITICAL PEDAGOGY LITERATURE. 15

A. Overview of Relevant Student Teaching Literature .15

1. Influence of Previous Beliefs.16


2. Influence of University Training .17
3. Influence of the Practicum.17
4. The Delicacy of the Triad .18
5. Conceptual and Structural Obstacles.20
6. Efforts to Reform Teacher Education .21
7. Critical Reflection and Life History .23

B. Critical Pedagogy as a Theoretical Framework .24

1. Autobiographical Bias .24


2. The Beginnings of a Solution .26
3. Analysis of Critical Pedagogy .27
4. The Myth of Neutrality .29
5. Reproduction .30

• • •
vm
6. Resistance .32
7. Economic, Cultural and Political Spheres .34
8. The Urban Disadvantage .36
9. The Increasing Inclusivity of Critical Pedagogy.39
10. Empowerment and Emancipation.42
11. The Function of Urban Education .45
12. A Sampling of Urban Reality .45
13. Reflections on My Experience .47

m. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH AS METHODOLOGY . 50

A. Rationale for Qualitative Research.50


B. The Biographical Method .51
C. Cooperative Inquiry.52
D. Interviewing as Methodology .53
E. Observations on Observations .54
F. Structure of the Interviews.54 t

G. Access and Contact Issues .55


H. Participants .56
I. Working with and Sharing Data .57
J. Themes .58
K. Profile .58
L. Establishing Trustworthiness.59

1. Triangulation .59
2. Peer Debriefing .60
3. Member Checking .60

M Conclusion .60

IV. RACIAL ISSUES IN THE URBAN PRACTICUM. 62

A The White Student Teacher as Cue Ball: A Metaphor Illustrating


Racial Interaction in the Urban Practicum .62
B. Description of Participants and Limitations of the Study .63
C. "Wet Dogs" and "Blue-Eyed Devils": Uncertainty, Alienation and
Exclusivity as Racial Themes .68
D. A Crescendo of Racial Interaction: How White Student Teachers
Dealt with Students of Color in the Urban Classroom .73
E. "Nigger" as a Term of Endearment: Use of Derogatory Terms by
Students of Color and the Theme of Exclusivity.79

IX
V. GENDER ISSUES IN THE URBAN PRACTICUM 86

A. Discomfort and Playfulness: Dominant Themes in Gender .86


B. Machismo: A Cultural Phenomenon Which Impacts the Urban Classroom ... 87
C. Monica Pellante: A White, Female Student Teacher's Perspective of
Machismo.89
D. Peter Macelroy: A White, Male Student Teacher's Perspective of Machismo . 91
E. The Father Figure Syndrome .95

VI. THE INFLUENCE OF CRITICAL PEDAGOGY IN THE URBAN


PRACTICUM . 97

A. Exploitation: The Dominant Theme Concerning How Critical Pedagogy


Affects Student Teachers in the Urban Practicum .97
B. The Banking Concept: How Not to Teach .97
C. Preparing Urban Students for the Future.99
D. Teaching Urban Students about Power.101
E. Growing Demands and the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy .102
F. When the State Steps In: Minimum Competency .103
G. What Happens When Teachers Give Up .105
H. Structure and Critical Pedagogy .107
I. Jumping into Life: Entering the Real World after High School .108

VH. TRACKING ISSUES IN THE URBAN PRACTICUM. Ill

A Frustration: The Dominant Theme in Tracking in the Urban Practicum _112


B. Universities: The Bastions of Anti-Tracking .112
C. The Mountain of Sisyphus: The Difficulty of Working with Low Groups ... 114
D. Setting Priorities: The Criteria by Which High Schools Judge Their Success 116
E. Approaches to Untracking: Student Teachers’ Reasons
for Eliminating Tracking .117
F. The Need for Student Teachers to be Aware of the Systemic
Consequences of Changes in the Tracking Process .121
G. The Anxiety of Student Teachers about the Tracking Issue .125

Vm. SUPERVISION ISSUES IN THE URBAN PRACTICUM . 130

A. The Cooperating Teacher .130

1. Disenfranchisement and Resentment: Dominant Themes Concerning


Cooperating Teachers .131
2. Birds of a Feather: Choosing a Cooperating Teacher Who Is
Similar in Style.131
3. A Pressurized Coke Can: What Can Happen When the Student
Teacher and the Cooperating Teacher Are Not Similar .133

x
4. Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone: What Happens When the
Cooperating Teacher Cuts Dowd Observing Time .138
5. Just Let Me Be: The Happy Medium between Too Much and Not
Enough Observation by the Cooperating Teacher .142
6. Do What I Say: Acceding to the Cooperating Teacher's Demands .145
7. Purgatory: The Urban Practicum as a Dispenser of Humility .149
8. The Good Old Days: The Tension Caused by the Duality of Being
a Student Teacher .151
9. Working with an Incompetent Cooperating Teacher.153

B. The College Supervisor.156

1. Preservation and Denigration: Dominant Themes Concerning College


Supervisors.156
2. The College Supervisor as Broker: The Tension Involved in Balancing
the Interests of the Student Teacher, the University and the Urban Site .. 157
3. Too Little, Too Late: The Inexperience and Time Constraints of Some
College Supervisors .161
4. Providing Reinforcement: The Nature of Criticism .162

DC ATTENDANCE ISSUES IN THE URBAN PRACTICUM. 166

A. Hopelessness and Embitterment: Dominant Themes


Surrounding Attendance .167
B. The Scope of the Attendance Problem .167
C. Who's at Fault: The Difficulty of Placing Blame .169
D. Makeup Exams: Expediency Versus Reality .170
E. Work With What You've Got: Pushing Onward .174

X. GRADING ISSUES IN THE URBAN PRACTICUM . 176

A. Compassion and Self Righteousness: Dominant Themes in Grading.176


B. If You Try, You Pass: Reinforcing Effort .177
C. Dont Placate Them: The Importance of Earning a Grade .181
D. A Grading Metamorphosis .182

XL DISCIPLINE ISSUES IN THE URBAN PRACTICUM . 184

A. Subterfuge, Irresolution and Martyrdom: Dominant Themes in Discipline .. 184


B. Preconceived Notions: Who Has the Power ... 185
C. A Difficult Balancing Act: Maintaining Order and Maintaining Interest-188
D. Recognizing the Problem: The First Step Towards Taking Control.189
E. Rationalizing the Problem: Putting the Blame Elsewhere .192
F. Using the Class to Police Itself: Self Control as Methodology .196
G. The Romans and Every Tenth Guy: Making an Example of Someone .197
H. The Questionable Benefits of Cracking Down .199

xi
xn. JULIE BOSWICK: A PROFILE 201

A. Introduction.201
B. The Early Days . 201
C. High School Days .203
D. Post High School Days .206
E. Teacher Education Classes .207
F. The Urban Practicum.210
G. Ruminations .226

Xm. CONCLUSION. 229

A. Thematic Retrospective .229


B. Interviewing Technique and Considerations.230
C. Connections to Student Teaching Literature.238
D. Recommendations.244
E. Implications for Further Study .248
F. Insurmountability: The Panoramic Theme .251
G. Epilogue .252

APPENDIX: WRITTEN CONSENT FORM . 254

BIBLIOGRAPHY . 255

xn
LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

1. Lawrence’s Children: A Unique and Diverse Population .7

2. Students Who Cannot Perform Classroom Work in English.8

3. Students Whose First Language Is Other Than English .8

4. Teen Pregnancy .35

5. Freire's Model of Dialogue .43

6. Pertinent Information on Participants .65

Xlll
CHAPTER I

MAJOR ISSUES IN URBAN EDUCATION

i
A. Question

Using in-depth phenomenological interviewing as a method of qualitative research, this

dissertation reconstructs the experience of student teachers during their urban high school

practicum. In attempting to answer the question of what it is like to student teach in an

urban high school today, I explore the ways student teachers make meaning of their current

experience as it relates to their backgrounds in terms of class, gender, race, education and

family upbringing. If we can understand what it is like to student teach in an urban high

school today, we might be able to improve our preparation of student teachers for their

urban practicum experience.

B. Purpose

In this dissertation I examine the meanings student teachers make of their experiences

teaching in urban secondary schools. Studying these experiences might help teacher

educators in their quest to provide student teachers with adequate preparation. By

recognizing areas of ease and difficulty based on the stories presented, teacher educators

may better understand issues of importance to student teachers and be able to share that

understanding in courses which will prove useful to student teachers when they face the

reality of the urban classroom. The information gleaned from this study may also serve as

a mechanism for recruiting good teachers for urban sites.

This dissertation may provide future student teachers with an empathetic view of the

vicissitudes in the daily life of a student teacher in an urban high school. Shared

1
2

experiences can alleviate some of the stress of student teachers who internalize the

successes and failures of their classroom performance and often view them as unique to

themselves.

This dissertation may also prove valuable to cooperating teachers by helping them view

academic and social issues in the classroom through the eyes of a novice who faces those

issues for the first time. The years of experience which help provide veteran educators

with a critical eye can also prevent them from appreciating the fear and anxiety of student

teachers who do not have the benefit of an established reputation or an arsenal of materials

built up over time to rely on.

C, The Status of Urban Education in the 1990's

A number of social conditions appear to worsen daily:

# Proliferation of violence in the streets and in the schools.

# Continuing development of gangs which become the center of many students' lives.

# Gradual dissolution of the two-parent family in America.

# Influx of non-English speaking immigrants into the U.S.A. primarily into urban areas.

# Burgeoning number of unmarried, high school mothers and unemployed, unmarried


high school fathers.

# Erosion of the tax base in cities.

# Growing number of people dependent on welfare.

# Higher percentages of students requiring special needs services.

# Growing criticism of public education by the business and political sectors.

# Dropout and truancy rates that are staggering.

# Aggrandizing drug and alcohol use.


3

# Increasing theft and extortion.

• More armed policemen in hallways and metal detectors at entrances.

With conditions such as these, it is no wonder that urban education in the 1990's is

indeed in dire straits. Add to this the growing pressure from multiple voices and multiple

perspectives to develop schools which are truly inclusive in terms of ideology, curriculum

and personnel, and you have what appears to be a task of immense proportions.

D. M^jor Issues

By focusing specifically on issues such as gender, "race" and class, we can identify what

research reveals about urban education in the 1990's. The concerns which we discuss,

however, must be viewed in a broad context which takes into consideration social, political,

moral and economic factors. Too often the American public blames public education and

specifically urban education for many of the ills of society.

In attempting to disclaim much of the disinformation perpetrated by frustrated political

and business leaders who need a scapegoat for the nation's economic woes and who

provide statistics which prey on the fears and suspicion of the American public, David

Berliner (1992) presented factual data which disputed claims ranging from the diminishing

intelligence of American students based on lower IQ scores, lower SAT scores and lower

standardized achievement scores to claims stating that the amount of money spent in per

pupil expenditures makes little or no difference in student achievement.

Noting the remarkable success of the American school system in the face of the

obstacles it must overcome, Berliner advises that greater school improvement will stem

from providing poor people with decent jobs which allow them to live with dignity than
4

from tampering with curriculum, instruction, standards and tests. While his position is

based on all public schools, it is clear that the latter remark targets people who live in the

urban sector. Berliner by no means exonerates the public school system from all blame;

there are concerns which need to be addressed, and we will examine those.

ELQgndgr

Among the questions which need answers are those asking whether or not public

schools in general and urban schools in particular are shortchanging girls. In 1992 the

American Association of University Women Educational Foundation published "The

AAUW Report: How Schools Shortchange Girls.” This study, which synthesizes the bulk

of research on the subject of girls in schools, clearly shows evidence that girls receive

neither equal quality nor equal quantity of education as boys. In terms of measured ability,

girls and boys are roughly equal when they begin their educational careers, yet by the end

of high school girls are behind boys in most areas, especially the key areas of higher-level

mathematics, science and measures of self esteem. Although differences in math

achievement are declining, the gender gap in science is widening.

While girls in general receive less attention from their teachers than boys,

African-American girls have even fewer interactions with teachers than do white girls

(AAUW, 1992). Because the majority of students of color are from the working class and

because the majority of students of color are enrolled in lower level courses, it is clear that

African American girls find themselves at the bottom of the pecking order. Low

socioeconomic status, in fact, affects access to educational outcomes and school resources

more than any other variable.


5

According to the AAUW Report, slightly less than half of girls who drop out of school

cite pregnancy as the reason. Puerto Rican and Cuban American girls are more likely to

drop out than boys from the same culture or other Hispanic girls. Traditional gender roles

which place more caretaking responsibilities on girls contribute to the fact that thirty-seven

percent of girls compared to five percent of boys cite family related problems as the reason

for dropping out. Sexual harassment of girls by boys is also increasing. In urban schools,

where the percentage of students of color and of low socioeconomic status is growing, girls

are indeed at risk.

F,R<icg

Projections indicate that by the year 2000 one third of the population in the United

States will consist of persons of color (Banks, 1991). By the year 2020 forty-six percent of

the nation's student population will be comprised of students of color (Banks, 1991). In

fact, in twenty-five of the nation's largest cities, students of color already account for half

or more of the public school population.

Among the minority groups, the Hispanic population is growing faster than any

other—five times faster than the rest of the U.S. population. In terms of education,

Hispanics lag behind. Only fifty-one percent of Hispanics had completed high school as

compared to seventy-eight percent of non-Hispanics. But the number of Hispanic students

is increasing dramatically—from nine percent of the nation's school age population in 1988

to a projection of twenty-five percent by the year 2020 (Banks, 1991).

The African American community is also growing, yet it lags behind other groups in

terms of economic prosperity. Fifty-five percent of African Americans are in the lower
6

class (Banks, 1991). Median income for African American families in 1987 was $17,604

compared to $30,809 for European Americans and $19,995 for Hispanics. Perhaps a

more injurious statistic is the unemployment rate-fifteen percent for African Americans as

compared to six percent of European Americans, and among teenagers, the unemployment

rate for young African Americans is a staggering thirty-nine percent (Banks, 1991).

It is in the urban sector that these factors have the greatest impact. The community in

which I teach (Lawrence, Massachusetts) is perhaps the most extreme example state-wide

of the minority explosion. Figure 1 illustrates Lawrence's enrollment changes from 1986

though 1991. This study graphically indicates the fifteen percent increase in minority

enrollment during that five-year time span—from sixty-two percent to seventy-seven

percent. Since this study was performed, minority enrollment has increased to

eighty-seven percent (eighty-three percent Hispanic).

Perhaps more telling are the results displayed in Figure 2. In 1991 students whose first

language was other than English accounted for seventy-four percent of the student

population-the highest in the Northeast. Figure 3 indicates that 3,600, or one out of every'

three students in Lawrence, cannot perform classroom work in English. The challenge to

provide this diverse population with a credible public education is enormous.

G. Class

Demographics produce a clear picture of the continuing exodus of European Americans

from America's cities to the suburbs beginning in the 1960's. What remains is an increased

concentration of elderly people, poverty-stricken people and residents of color (Weiner,

1993). As the gap widens between the rich and the poor, the pressure placed on urban
14,000

12,000

10,000

8,000

6,000

4,000

2,000

0
1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991

TOTAL ENROLLMENT
* 5,457 students were enrolled in regular education
1,786 in special education
3,600 in Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE).
* 67 percent of that population can be classified as low income students
who receive free or reduced lunch, or whose families receive AFDC, or
who are wards of the state.

14,000

12,000

10,000

8,000

6,000

4,000

2,000

0
1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991

MINORITY ENROLLMENT
* From 1986 to 1991, minority enrollment increased by 15 percent.
* At 77 percent, Lawrence’s minority enrollment is one of the highest in
Massachusetts.

Lawrence's Children: A Unique and Diverse Population

Figure 1
8

1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991

* Students who cannot perform classroom work in English must be


taught in their native language. Specially certified teachers and materials
in the native language are required. In ’91-92, 3,600 children were
taught in 10 languages other than English.

Students Who Cannot Perform Classroom Work in English

Figure 2

14,000

12,000

10,000
8.008

8,000

6,000

4,000

2,000

0
1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991

* Lawrence has the highest percentage of students whose first language


is other than English in the entire Northeast - more than 74 percent.
The increase from 65 to 74 percent this year is due in part to the
inclusion of children from Middle Eastern countries, not previously
counted.
* 136 TBE and English as a Second Language teachers and 67 aides and
tutors worked with these children. Class size is mandated and aides must
be hired when classes reach certain limits.

Students Whose First Language Is Other Than English

Figure 3
9

school systems to bridge this gap continues to grow as well. Analysts have attempted to

identify the source of the problems, generally blaming the students, the teachers, the school

system, or political and economic factors. As far back as the turn of the century, working

class children were described as lacking the customary experience, language capability,

emotional well being, confidence, and discipline of middle class youth (Manny, 1915).

Teachers needed to be aware of this ’’incompetence" in order to overcome students'

deficiencies.

Because statistics have historically documented the disproportionately large percentage

of minorities in the underclass, the issue of class has often been overshadowed by the issue

of race as a debilitating factor limiting the possibility of escaping the lowest echelon of

American society. In an analysis which stirred up a great deal of controversy, however,

William Julius Wilson (1978) saw race as declining in significance and class as pre-eminent

in the subjugation not only of African Americans but of poor European Americans,

Hispanics and Native Americans. Whereas the old barriers were designed to dominate and

limit the total African American population, Wilson saw the new barriers as creating

hardships for the underclass and particularly for the African American underclass.

Within social and institutional spheres, racism is still prevalent, but in the economic

sphere it is class which has become the dominant factor in providing access to power.

Accordingly, African Americans who are talented and educated are entering positions of

power and prestige at a rate equal to or greater than their European American counterparts.

Unfortunately this creates an even wider schism between them and those African

Americans who are less fortunate—a schism based on class.


10

Marginalization of a segment of the population based on economic prosperity causes

those ensnared by poverty to adapt and react to their situation. In analyzing Latin

American poverty, the late Oscar Lewis (1968) noted that once the culture of poverty

comes into existence, it tends to perpetuate itself through generations because of its effects

on children. By the age of seven, most children have already internalized the values of

their subculture and often deal with their situation by succumbing to it (Lewis, 1968).

Welfare dependency, a lack of ambition, work ethic and self-reliance have been viewed as

the inevitable results of ghettoization.

With the passage of the Education Reform Apt (1993) in Massachusetts, the issue of

school choice is a prime example of how class discrimination can be employed as a weapon

by some communities when government restrictions attempt to eliminate inequities. At a

cost of five-thousand dollars per child payable to the host community by the community

from which the child comes, cities such as Lawrence could easily lose half a million dollars

or more. That amount is enough to cause serious fiscal damage to the school system.

When affluent suburbs choose not to participate in school choice, however, the moral

damage to adjacent city youth may be even more devastating. "Undesirable students are

not wanted in our school system" is a phrase I hear spoken explicitly, loudly and clearly in

the suburbs surrounding Lawrence. Class issues are indeed at the heart of the urban

dilemma.

R Urban Education Reform E:

In the early sixties, reformers began grappling with the growing concern over the

inadequacies of urban education. Riessman (1962) identified the problem as a conflict

between the culture of the school and the culture of the family. Alternative explanations
11

(Goodman, 1966) included a clash of values between lower class students and middle class

teachers. A bureaucracy which held teachers to stringent rules and standardized testing

was also listed as a reason why at risk students remained at risk.

Two federal initiatives, the National Teacher Corps and Trainers of Teacher Trainers,

were undertaken in the sixties to improve preparation of teachers of disadvantaged students

(Weiner, 1993). Ultimately both failed, one because of the inability of individual teachers

to serve as change agents in the face of institutional pressures and the other because of

resistance of local personnel, but they at least were able to bring national focus to the issue

of how to help students who were at risk.

The seventies saw the emergence of a new strategy —"Competency Based Teacher

Education," and this concept gained immediate and widespread popularity. Its major

precept was that teachers should master a series of explicit competencies required of all

effective teachers. An outgrowth of this idea was that teachers and schools should be held

accountable for students' academic failures. Predicated on a business concept, this model

saw teaching programs and faculty as input and student achievement level as output

(Omstein & Talmage, 1973). When coupled with the advent of multicultural education, it

stressed the need for teachers to change their negative expectations toward poor and

African American children in particular. What was left out, however, was the social

context of schooling and the external conditions which affected it.

With the publication of A Nation at Risk in 1983, national attention was focused on the

state of public schools and the children they served. Because of the economic resurgence

occurring within the country, alarm was raised about the dwindling supply of highly skilled

graduates who could handle the more demanding technological jobs. Of equal concern
12

was the growing supply of poorly skilled graduates who would enter the unemployment

and welfare roles as jobs requiring little skill went offshore.

In the quest for excellence, reforms demanding new standards for achievement without

the resources to bring children up to those standards simply enlarged the gap between the

"educational haves and have-nots" (Bastian et al, 1986). Recognizing inequity and

establishing standards which, if met, would eliminate or at least reduce that inequity

amplified the need for a solution. One of the ways deemed feasible to achieve

improvement was "professionalization" of teaching. Groups and publications as diverse as

the Holmes Group, the National Commission for Excellence in Teacher Education, the
t

American Federation of Teachers, and "A Nation Prepared" (Weiner, 1993) suggested

multiple tiers of teaching professionals from instructors to lead teachers.

This differentiation in staffing, however, was seen by many critics as potentially harmful

to urban education. Dreeben (1987) saw it as simply introducing another layer of

hierarchy in an already bloated bureaucracy. Haberman (1988) called for special training

and a special license to teach in urban systems. Tewel (1988) saw it as possibly

ameliorating an already authoritarian, competitive leadership style of principals but only if

parents and students were not placed in a peripheral role.

I. Urban Education in the 1990's

Perhaps the only thing that can be agreed on about urban education in the 1990's is that

it is more complex than ever before. In Preparing Teachers for Urban Schools Weiner

(1993) sees the context in which urban education occurs as shaped by "the confluence of a

vast number of factors, including a community's political culture and a school's history, the

racial and social composition of the school community, the student's and the teacher's
13

gender, race, class and personality" (p. 80). In Framing Dropouts: Notes on the Politics of

an Urban Hi2h School Michelle Fine (1991) did an ethnographic study of New York City

high school students. In examining the conditions which exist in their broadest social

context, Fine was able to identify four circumstances leading to the dropout rate of urban

high school students. They include those who left for economic, family and social reasons;

those who saw no hope for the future and therefore had no incentive to remain in school;

those who were absent for long periods of time and were dropped from the rolls; and those

who left because they disliked and distrusted the school.

Within the parameters of this categorization is one of the dilemmas which urban

educators face: initiatives for improvement might work for students in any one of these

circumstances but not work for others. Curricular reform might prove successful for those

who are bored with current offerings or methodology, but it would not necessarily affect

students who suffer from abuse or poverty. No matter how well intentioned educators and

legislators are, they must realize that schools cannot cure all of society's ills alone and that

there simply are no easy, uncomplicated solutions. In order to fulfill their potential, schools

must serve as one of many change agents in positively affecting the lives of young people

to help them become responsible and caring citizens in a democratic society. Selective

personnel must devise complex multi-faceted solutions to address urban students' problems.

If schools are to be successful change agents, teachers and administrators currently

working in the system need to be sensitive to the needs of their students. Student teachers

must be especially aware of the importance of their role. They represent the future of

education and as such create the perceptions which teachers and students will develop and

retain concerning where that future is headed In order to be successful, however, student
14

teachers need to understand the nature of their captive audience and the environment in

which that audience is situated Good intentions are not enough; neither is strictly

following "the road not taken" in an attempt to avoid repeating the perceived failure of

veteran teachers. We need to understand how student teachers manage to survive their

apprenticeship amidst the complexities of the urban setting and what they bring to it We

need to convey that understanding through our teacher preparation programs to new

generations of student teachers. It is something by which we can all profit


CHAPTER n

REVIEW OF RELEVANT STUDENT TEACHING AND


CRITICAL PEDAGOGY LITERATURE

A, Overview of Relevant Student Teaching Literature

In attempting to answer the question of what it is like to student teach in an urban high

school, it is necessary to review what we already know about the student teaching

experience as revealed in the literature. While there arc quantitative studies on student

teachers, some which evolve from preconceptions held by student teachers or from

relationships of student teachers with cooperating teachers, I have found four ethnographic

studies of student teachers using phenomenological interviewing as the primary research

methodology. Although Britzman's (1985) study does focus on the interaction between the

student teacher's biography and the social structure of the school, it involves two student

teachers in suburban schools and focuses as well on the roles of significant others in the life

of a student teacher. ODonnell's (1990) study focuses on student teachers and their

relationship to the tracking system using in-depth interviews. Smith's (1991) study focuses

on obstacles to student teacher reflection. Miller's (1993) dissertation, also employing

in-depth interviewing, focuses on women's experiences of student teaching. None of these

studies focuses specifically on student teaching in an urban setting.

A general overview of relevant student teaching literature reveals recurring areas of

concern. Major ones include the effects which previous beliefs, university education

courses and the school site have on student teachers. Another involves the tenuous

relationship among members of what is commonly known as the triad (the student teacher,

the university supervisor and the cooperating teacher). The importance of context, that is,

15
16

the classroom and the public school system where the practicum takes place, has been

identified as a topic requiring serious attention. The specific issue of reflective teaching

and socialization as a process through which student teachers learn to be teachers looms

large in the studies of student teaching. Several studies on reforming the way we prepare

teachers for educating students have also been published

1. Influence of Previous Beliefs

What student teachers believe prior to their teacher education programs and how those

beliefs are affected by their training are topics that have undergone close scrutiny. Many

studies (Goodman, 1988; Hollingsworth, 1989; Lortie, 1975; McNeil, 1986; Zeichner &

Tabachnick, 1981) have strongly affirmed the opinion that teacher education programs

have little influence on student teachers' prior beliefs. Zeichner and Liston (1987) talk

about how much unlearning has to go on in order to overcome the strong influence of prior

experience.

Student teachers undergo a powerful socialization into teaching from their own twelve

years of schooling (Lortie, 1975). Because of the subjective nature of teaching, learning

by experience seems more realistic and acceptable than learning through academic

coursework. By delving into their past experiences, particularly those which they

remember as effective, pleasurable or informative, student teachers inevitably end up

reproducing the past rather than paying attention to the immediate needs of the students

before them. Instead of critically reflecting, student teachers find solace in imitating their

past role models and discarding their pedagogical theory.


17

2. Influence of University Training

Socialization into norms and values continues during college preparation in an

environment that promotes ideal images (Hoy, 1967). There is some uncertainty, however,

as to the extent the teacher education program affects the teaching perspective of

neophytes (Lortie, 1975; Zeichner, 1981). What was commonly assumed about the

liberalizing role of the university may actually be a myth (Goodman, 1986; Tabachnick,

Popkewitz, & Zeichner, 1980). Many aspects of teacher preparation are actually

conservative and emphasize reflection of factual rather than critical aspects of teaching.

Methods courses may simply be aiding student teachers in their attempt to teach lessons to

large numbers of students (Tabachnick, 1980).

Because many teacher education programs are constructed in a way that utilizes

preexisting knowledge, Hollingsworth (1989) contends that preservice teachers inevitably

turn out like existing teachers although she does not totally negate the possibility of their

learning some new ideas. The evaluation of student teachers, furthermore, is often based

on their social acceptability rather than their teaching proficiency (Guyton & McIntyre,

1990). Enough questions have been raised to justify skepticism as to whether the effects of

the university teacher education programs are washed out by school experience (Zeichner

& Tabachnick, 1981).

3. Influence of the Practician

Even student teaching may do veiy little to change the opinions of student teachers

(Feiman-Nemser, 1983). Student teachers generally work within a limited range of

specific classroom activities, many of which are required. The result is limited control by
18

the student teacher and limited interaction with students other than what is related to the

task at hand (Tabachnick, Popkewitz, & Zeichner, 1979). Student teachers often reject or

at the very least ignore advice from university supervisors during their infrequent visits

(Calderhead, 1988). In many situations student teachers are placed in a one-on-one

practicum assignment with a cooperating teacher. Confined to one classroom, student

teachers are often oblivious to what is going on outside the classroom and will therefore be

unprepared for the enormous range of responsibilities they will eventually have to assume

as full-time teachers (Goodlad, 1990).

4. The Delicacy of the Triad

The triad is composed of the student teacher, the university supervisor and the

cooperating teacher. Within this relationship, the student teacher is often subjected to

stress when the expectations of the cooperating teacher and the curriculum and regulations

of the school are in direct contrast to those of the university. Once away from the

university campus, many student teachers inevitably end up adopting the philosophy of

"when in Rome, do as the Romans do."

By the end of the second week of their practicum, many student teachers disregard the

teachings of their university instructors and attribute their practices to the cooperating

teacher (Richardson-Koehler, 1988). This simply adds to the denigration of the role of the

university supervisor whose status is already perceived within both school and university as

lacking prestige (Goodlad, 1990). One of the results of this low status is the assignment of

temporary university staff to practicum supervision, a move which results in their

powerlessness to make long term changes (Zeichner, 1992).


19

Likewise cooperating teachers are given little or no recognition or compensation by the

university nor are their schedules adjusted to fulfill their mentoring responsibilities. Despite

the obvious influence of cooperating teachers on their student teachers, however, case

studies show that student teachers are often denied involvement in the reasoning process of

their cooperating teachers (Feiman-Nemser & Buchmann, 1987). Some evidence/which ;

shows that preparation of cooperating teachers for their roles does result in positive attitude

changes (Perrodin, 1961). Those cooperating teachers who were exposed to an

inquiry-oriented approach also demonstrated less movement in a conservative direction

(Zeichner & Liston, 1985).

Part of the problem lies in the difficulty of placing a square peg (the more liberal,

democratic framework of university teaching) in a round hole (the more custodial,

authoritarian framework of the school). Hoy (1967) measured the attitudes of almost three

hundred student teachers in Oklahoma using the Pupil Control Ideology Scale (PCI).

Using this instrument in a pre/post-test fashion, he found a significant increase in custodial

pupil ideology by the end of the practicum. More than one hundred student teachers were

involved in Hoy's replication of this experiment ten years later (Hoy and Rees, 1977). The

results of this study substantiated those found in the earlier study.

Too much of the quality of the student teaching experience is dependent on school sites

which are not specifically designed to prepare student teachers for teaching and are not

under the direct auspices of the university (Copeland, 1981). Classrooms reflect

conservative attitudes and have rigid and highly structured curricula, making it difficult to

implement inquiry-oriented teaching or even inquiry-based seminars for student teachers


20

(Goodman, 1983). The tension which exists between the university and school and the

fear of upsetting the fragile balance in the triad often results in an unwillingness on the part

of both university supervisors and cooperating teachers to discuss controversial issues or to

offer critical responses to each other or to their student teachers (Zimpher, DeVoss, &

Nott, 1980).

5. Conceptual and Structural Obstacles

In considering the reemergence of the professional development school movement in

North America, Zeichner (1992) studied what he termed conceptual and structural

obstacles to student teacher learning in the practicum. Conceptual obstacles center around

the ways the terms reflection, reflective teaching, and reflective practitioner have preserved

the subordinate position of the teacher in the schooling process while creating an illusion of

teacher development. Interpretation of the reflective process is categorized in four ways.

The first conceptual barrier involves student teachers neglecting their own or teachers'

practical theories in trying to replicate university-sponsored empirical research. The second

barrier involves the limitation of the reflective process exclusively to the means of

instruction (the teaching skills and strategies) thus neglecting the ends of instruction (its

value). The third barrier involves student teachers reflecting on their own teaching and

their own students while neglecting to reflect on the social conditions in the schools; this

creates an individualist bias. The fourth barrier involves the encouragement of student

teachers to think by themselves rather than to reflect with others as a social practice

Structural barriers are also delineated into four categories (Zeichner, 1992). The first

involves the placement of student teachers in individual classrooms, thus reinforcing the
21

perception of teaching as an isolated activity. The second barrier involves the selection of

the placement site on the basis of convenience rather than on what would be the best

teaching experience for the individual. The third barrier is the unevenness in supervisory

relations and the nebulous evaluative roles of the university supervisor and the cooperating

teacher. The fourth barrier concerns the lack of placements in multicultural settings,

resulting in little preparation for student teachers to teach in schools with greater diversity.

Zeichner sees the professional development school as a means of overcoming these barriers

by transforming the practicum and linking teacher education and school reform.

6. Efforts to Reform Teacher Education

Martin Haberman (1988) is one of the few authors who has focused specifically on the

preparation and recruitment of urban teachers. He has suggested the following reforms for

urban teacher preparation:

1. A major portion of university-based preparation should occur within the urban public
school.

2. Courses should be taught by university faculty and teachers from the school site.

3. New teacher education faculty should develop a special urban education curricula.

4. New, functional partnerships are needed among parents, teachers, administrators,


community members, and teacher preparation faculty.

5. A full-year internship should be required for certification in urban teaching.

6. States and school districts should provide resources for teacher preparation at school
sites, redirecting state funds now given to schools of education.

7. Conditions of practice in urban schools should be improved. (Weiner, 1993, p. 113)

Haberman's basic contention is that, because of the unique challenge that urban

education presents, urban teachers require special training and a special license. He goes
22

on to say that urban teachers should have a "truncated career" (Habennan, 1988, p. 23) of

five to eight years because of the incredible demands placed on them. Habennan is not

alone in his quest for teacher education reform. John Goodlad (1990,1991) has also

suggested sweeping change.

Goodlad's four major suggestions for reform include the creation of unified faculty

groups composed of representatives from both the university and school who have equal

authority. These include those who teach education courses, those who teach content area

courses, and those who supervise student teachers. A second suggestion calls for the

creation of a professional development center operated jointly by the university and the

school. This center would prevent inappropriate placement of student teachers in locations

that are too far from the university's influence and where the possibility of cloning the

cooperating teacher exists. A third restructuring involves the relationship between theory
s

and practice. Instead of teaching theory first and hoping students see its relationship to

practice after, Goodlad proposes putting the analysis of practice first and bringing the

theory and principles to it. A fourth restructuring would abolish state mandated courses

and substitute examinations, thus bringing education in line with the medical and legal

fields.

In applauding Goodlad's suggestions, Arthur Wise, President of the National Council

for Accreditation of Teacher Education (1991, p. 7), proposed going even further.

Concerned with the economic rationale which often dictates hiring unqualified teachers or

allowing teachers to teach outside of their content areas, he advocates creation of a quality

control mechanism. This would require the development of a national system of


23

accreditation (now underway with the National Standards Board for Teacher Certification)

and a strong state licensing system. Gone would be alternate certification practices which

in some cases allow individuals to teach without a college degree and with no direct

training for leadership of students in a classroom. Wise maintains that until all teachers are

well educated and carefully licensed, the public will neither trust nor respect the teaching

profession.

In an attempt to synthesize the last decade's efforts to develop innovative student

teaching programs, Marilyn Cochran-Smith (1991) explored three contrasting

school-university relationships. The first she categorized as consonance which is accord

between the school and university based on common application of effective teaching

research. The second relationship is entitled critical dissonance which finds its source in

incongruity between the school and university based on a radical critique of teaching and

schooling. The third category is called collaborative resonance, an intensification of the

relationship of school and university based on the co-labor of learning communities.

Although her terminology is different, her argument for collaborative resonance as a means

of providing students with rich opportunities to learn to teach is similar to Goodlad's

proposal for equal inclusion of a unified faculty.

7. Critical Reflection and Life History

Making connections between the past experience and present practice of student

teachers is one way of using life histoiy as a valuable methodology for gaining

understanding of the way people learn to teach. If we are to employ life history in this

capacity, however, we can not divorce it from the political, economic and social forces
24

which helped shape it. It is not enough to be reflective if that reflection is not achieved in

context. The individual record of a person's life is not created in a vacuum. Those factors

that contribute to shaping identity—class, gender, race—are no less important than how

those factors become affective because of the larger political, economic and social context

in which they exist. Teachers are more than individuals with various skills and dispositions,

according to Zeichner and Gore (1990); they are also gendered members of generations,

races, and social class groups.

B. Critical Pedagogy as a Theoretical Framework

As the experience of student teachers in urban high schools is the primary focus of this

dissertation, an overview of critical pedagogy will provide an additional backdrop from

which to view this study. Can critical theory provide me as a researcher with a perspective

which will help me understand and interpret that experience? This question will be

explored in light of my experience as an urban, high school educator and preceded by a

brief description of my background which will provide the reader with contextual

information through which he or she can better understand the way I make sense of

relevant phenomena,

l. Aytobipsraphical Bias

There is something forbiddingly alluring to me about teaching in an urban high school.

Like a moth drawn to an incandescent bulb, I am fascinated by its attractive force,

mesmerized by its resplendent impoverishment, awed by its bustling, restless chaos—but my

immersion in this seething cauldron of life goes far beyond fascination—it is an inexorable

compulsion engendered by the circumstances of my upbringing. As do the students in my


25

classroom, I bring with me a socioeconomic background, and just as awareness of then-

background is an absolute necessity in my attempts to understand the way they make

meaning of their schooling, so too is the reader's awareness of what I bring to this study in

attempting to understand the experience of student teachers in the urban setting 1 have

grown to love.

The son of a shipping room foreman who was a second generation Italian American, I

am, like many of my peers, the first in the family to attend college. The American Dream

was no myth for us. Tenement dwellers in a dingy neighborhood in Lawrence,

Massachusetts during my childhood, we eventually bought a single family home on

Prospect Hill, symbolically and literally a higher location. My father worked six

twelve-hour days per week and drove a cab part-time. He understood what the word,

sacrifice, meant. Economic reality dictated his career. A college education was not even a

remote possibility for him; on me he pinned his hopes and dreams. The vehicle which

would transport me to success and happiness was-education.

At the conclusion of my initial graduate training, I began my teaching career in the

urban high school which I attended—Lawrence High School. In 19741 became Chair of

the English Department, a position which I still hold and one which has afforded me the

opportunity of serving in a teaching and administrative capacity. At the time of this writing

I am a doctoral candidate in teacher education at the University of Massachusetts at

Amherst.

This biographical information only hints at the possible biases I may possess. Knowing

of the discrimination against my grandparents, parents and even myself because of our
26

Italian ethnicity and our Catholic religion, I oppose those who discriminate against anyone

for reasons of race, religion, class or ethnicity. My negative experience with landlords

(when I was a youngster) and the negative aspersions cast upon all Lawrencians by those

from affluent suburbs have made me extremely sensitive and protective of inner city kids

and suspect of people who are wealthy or powerful. Lastly my twenty-four years of

teaching and administrative experience at Lawrence High School and the constant barrage

of comments I have had to bear from my colleagues in other school systems (e.g., "do you

know karate?") as a result have made me painfully aware of the ignorance of many

suburban educators.

2. The Begrorongs.oLaJSolutjofl

As I view it in my dissertation, urban public education is represented by cities such as

Lawrence, Lowell, Boston, Holyoke and Springfield. It is characterized by a high minority

population which is largely working class in nature. Reading levels of students stretch from

primer through twelfth grade. School buildings are generally old and in a state of disrepair.

Student/teacher ratio is high, parental participation in schooling minimal. Absenteeism and

tardiness are commonplace. Teacher salaries are considerably lower than those found in

most suburban areas, while the student dropout rate is significantly higher.

Despite this dismal portrayal, there is hope for urban public education, but that hope is

grounded in communication among the parties who play a role in the educational process.

In order for progress to be made, all parties must at least understand how schools function

in urban settings, and that cannot be achieved without providing context. The perspective

afforded by critical pedagogy and my response to it will reflect the complexity of this issue.
27

3 Analysis of Critical Pedagogy

Critical pedagogy refers to a body of literature written by scholars (whom we will refer

to as "critical theorists") which deals primarily with social relationships in schools and the

way they reflect the larger social context. As do researchers in other academic fields of

inquiry, critical theorists in education struggle with the use of language. Often the

terminology they choose is understandable only to those who participate actively in

research. Their effort to communicate the essence of their message is often perceived by

many teachers as a deliberate attempt to develop a mystique around educational

terminology, thereby establishing it as sufficiently complex to merit academic respect.

Teachers who are marginally interested soon become frustrated and disenchanted.

Overwhelmed by what they see as a pomposity of verbiage, they often conclude that

ivory-tower eggheads have concocted yet another way to establish intellectual superiority

over their practitioner vassals. In doing so, teachers deny themselves the benefit of some

truly worthwhile scholarship. In examining critical pedagogy, I attempt to respond to

critical pedagogy positions in clear, understandable language as it applies to my experience.

At the basis of many theoretical discussions about education lies one fundamental

question, one which has provoked countless arguments and one which we will now

examine: how do schools function? According to Giroux (1988), there are three traditions

in educational theory which help to illustrate the role of schools in socializing students and

which help reveal the meaning and structure of the hidden curriculum (the implicitly taught

messages which really lie beneath the veneer of the explicit educational curriculum,

according to many critical theorists): "(a) a structural-functional view of schooling; (b) a


28

phenomenological view characteristic of the new sociology of education; (c) a radical

critical view, often associated with the neo-Marxist analysis of educational theory and

practice" (p. 23). What later becomes apparent is that these are arranged in an ascending

order of importance for Giroux.

An explanation of and reaction to Giroux's concept of "structural-functional" view of

schooling is a good place to start. "Relying primarily upon a positivist sociological model,

this approach has highlighted how schools socialize students to accept unquestionably a set

of beliefs, rules and dispositions as fundamental to the functioning of the larger society"

(Giroux, 1988, p. 26).

The term "positivist" is problematic for it relies on the idea "that there are incontestable

neutral facts on which all rational people agree" (Neuman, 1991, p. 60). Incontestable

neutral facts are what the dominant ideology, that body of ideas which reflects the needs of

the ruling class (Giroux's "larger society"), embraces as historically, politically and morally

supportive of its stance. The "rational people" are those in power or those who have been

convinced by the ideology of those in power that students should be inculcated into the

mainstream society by adopting what is accepted as true ("beliefs"), by adhering to what is

accepted as authoritatively regulated conduct ("rules"), by assenting to what is accepted as

justified attitudes ("dispositions") and by doing all of this with unswerving certainty

("unquestionably"). They include the obvious categories of businessmen, politicians and

right wing conservatives and the not-so-obvious categories of parents, teachers and civic

leaders.
29

4. TheMythofNeufralifr

Perhaps the most common example of an incontestable neutral fact which was taught as

such in American schools for many years was that Christopher Columbus discovered

America and that he was a great hero. By now it is obvious that he was neither the first

European to land here, nor the hero he was made out to be in light of the inhumane way he

treated the natives upon his arrival. In reality the "discovery" of Columbus marked an early

instance of the decimation of Native Americans, but prior to the development of voice

among Native Americans, the facts were, at best, unconsciously ignored and, at worst,

deliberately distorted.

Columbus does not stand alone in being typecast. From a different perspective, Martin

Luther King, Henry David Thoreau, Helen Keller and Malcolm X are examples of radicals

whose images have been tailored for school use. In outlining the way schools handle

radical personalities and dangerous ideas, Kozol (1975) describes a sequence of steps

which includes neutralizing their passion, distancing them through implausible praise and

retelling only their dullest stories.

While Kozol justifiably recognizes the school's involvement in presenting tailored

information, he fails to look beyond the schools to the carrier of the information,

something that Apple (1988) does in explaining the role of the publishing industry. While

acknowledging the scholarly and humanistic purposes of publishers, Apple plainly names

their prime function, and that is selling textbooks to make a living. One of my functions as

English Department Chair is ordering texts, and in my discussions with book salespeople, I

have learned that eveiy major publishing firm caters to the tastes of Texas and California,
30

whose massive statewide orders give them the clout to dictate content. It is evident that the

capitalist goal of profit is of paramount importance here.

Nowhere is this conscious effort to socialize students into the mainstream thinking of

the larger, dominant society more apparent than in the kinds of knowledge presented and

the ways in which that knowledge is presented in different school settings. In the urban

school setting it is the socioeconomically disadvantaged student population which becomes

most vulnerable. The result is a situation in which students have no control. This is a form

of determinism, according to MacLeod (1987), in which individuals helplessly fill roles

designed to perpetuate a stratified society; the working class continues to provide the labor

which fills the coffers of those in control in a capitalist economic system.

5. Reproduction

The reproductive role of schooling became the dominant theme of critical pedagogy in

the early and mid seventies. Critical theorists acknowledge that reproduction theory, which

is concerned with how class position is transmitted through societal institutions such as

schools, owes its greatest debt to Karl Marx who saw the capitalist process of production as

manufacturing much more than commodities and surplus value. Insuring perpetuity, it is

the capitalist relationship itself which is reproduced Bernstein (1975) and Bourdieu and

Passeron (1977) argued that schools methodically preserve class boundaries by allocating

space, delineating time, choosing curricular knowledge, and valuing dominant forms of

language and culture above all others.

In Schooling in Capitalist America, a landmark study published in 1976, Bowles and

Gintis attempted to expose the hidden curriculum of social control in education. They
31

argued that schools reproduce the social relationships fundamental to the maintenance of

capitalist profits and the capital division of labor. In comparing working class and affluent

schools, they found that blacks were consolidated in educational settings where

authoritarian management and little hope of upward mobility reflected the situation in

inferior job situations. Rule following and close attention to the specifications of others

were clearly emphasized in working class schools in contrast to affluent schools which

were comparatively open and active employing a value system based on internal rather than

external control.

This preparation for the workplace is the beginning of a dehumanizing process for

those at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder and a superhumanizing process for those

at the top; what is sad is that people at both ends of the spectrum become inhuman. Those

in the middle try desperately not to fall to the bottom while struggling to get to the top.

The school system, Bowles and Gintis also argue, contains basic contradictions and is not

monolithic; I am an example of such-a working class child who did not fall into the

reproductive abyss-but I am an exception-and I am white.

For those who are not exceptions, the picture is bleak. As Bowles and Gintis argue,

external control or maintenance of order through rigid enforcement of rules often do

become the main priorities in working class schools. It is not only the students who suffer.

For teachers this translates into something that was never bargained for—the adoption of a

survival mentality. In order to comply with administrative mandates and in order to

maintain absolute control, teachers often must become authoritarian automatons. Many

students are conditioned by this process and come to expect it as the status quo.
32

When the student teacher arrives for his or her internship in an urban setting with new

methodologies and visionary ideas, he or she is often met with resistance by both the

students and the cooperating teacher. Within a fourteen week period, it is difficult to

establish a working rapport with both supervisor and students. Adopting a survival

mentality then becomes a tempting option for the student teacher, one which can be easily

rationalized by comparison with those who already have played their part in the

reproductive process. The tension created by the struggle to fight the current or give in to

its incessant battering is sometimes overwhelming for neophytes, particularly if their

preparation is inadequate.

6. Resistance

The late seventies saw critical theorists focusing on the issue of students' resistance to

dominant forces. Perhaps the most prominent example is an important study by Paul Willis

in England. In I .earning to Labor. Willis (1977) identified the "lads” who create their own

norms and styles in resisting those the school offers, particularly those involving mental

labor. They criticize and feel superior to the "ear’oles" who sit and listen and imbibe the

school's attitude towards the value of learning. Willis suggests that the "lads" cling to the

working class notion that manual labor, a "masculine" thing, is superior to mental labor, a

"feminine" thing. They consciously choose to join their predecessors in the shops and in

the process unknowingly complete the reproduction pattern.

Even among those who escape the reproduction pattern, the working class ethos and its

notion of resistance remains firmly embedded. In his autobiography, Richard Rodriguez

(1982) spoke of the difficulty he felt as the educated son of uneducated immigrants from
33

Mexico. His words bear a striking resemblance to the sexist connotation in the Willis study

when he speaks of his separation from "los braceros" (men who work with their arms) and

his fear that education was making him effeminate.

At Lawrence High School I have observed this male notion of equating the desire to

learn with effeminacy. I have seen the merciless teasing of boys who participate in

discussion. I have seen some of those boys cave in to peer pressure, become teasers

themselves and worse—deliberately get low grades to fit in with "the gang."

I have also seen student teachers caught in the middle of this struggle, many who blame

themselves for failing to reach working class students. Student teachers often do not

understand what the concept of machismo encompasses. They do not know that even if

they may have actually affected those students, those veiy students cannot break the

unwritten code and acknowledge that. As a result many student teachers become

depressed and question whether or not they will ever become effective communicators.

Perhaps it is what students are expected to learn that at least partially contributes to

their behavior. Apple (1979) sees the school curriculum as an ideological barrier to a more

just world and accounts for the qualitatively different types of educational knowledge

students receive as an aspect of the reproduction of unequal class structures. He views

schools as performing three economic functions: accumulation, legitimation and

production. Accumulation is the process by which schools produce a work force which is

already programmed to satisfy the social and class conditions of the workplace.

Legitimation is the means by which schools validate the fairness of the current hierarchical
34

economic and social system. Production is the technically useful knowledge passed on to

students by the schools.

7. Economic* Cultural and Polities! Spheres

This economic function overlaps with one of three "spheres" that Apple and Lois Weiss

(1983) conceptualize, the others being the cultural and the political. Within these spheres

can be found the elements or dynamics of class, race and gender. No one sphere can

provide an adequate perspective from which to view schools. In order to achieve a

balanced perspective, one must look at the whole picture.

An example these authors give strikes close to a burgeoning problem at Lawrence High

School. They speak of the rejection of education by urban students of color and the sense

of pride that many minority high school girls possess in their ability to bear children. Such

situations are the results of students' struggles to live in today's culture while still being

affected by the history of class, race and gender oppression.

One of Lawrence High School's less admirable statistics is that it currently ranks highest

in the state in the percentage of unwed mothers. The accompanying chart (Figure 4) lists

the cities which contained the six highest teen pregnancy rates in the state in 1990.

Lawrence was second to Holyoke at that time.

Although I cannot fully account for the reasons, I can provide a personal glimpse

through the eyes of three young, pregnant women who were in my classes and who shared

their thoughts with me. Two were Dominican, the other, Puerto Rican. All three came

from highly religious homes which were patriarchal in nature. Forced to maintain an

extremely strict lifestyle while their brothers were allowed to do as they wished, they opted
r ^
Teen Pregnancy
The Six Highest From the 30 Largest Cities in Massachusetts

1990 Statistics
Teen Mothers

Less than 18 Unmarried


Cities Rate 15-19 years years (Ail Ages) !
(per 1000
females 15-19) Number Number %

Lawrence 125.3 338 160 49.9

Holyoke 139.3 203 85 58.0

Springfield 88.6 523 218 47.4

Lowell 83.5 309 118 40.6

Lynn 79.7 194 58 40.3

New Bedford 76.9 263 98 41.1


L- -J

In 1990, Lawrence had 338 births to mothers ages 15-19.


There were 31 births to mothers, ages 15 and under.
In 1989, Lawrence had 315 births to mothers ages 18-19 and
130 to those under 18. There were 8 births to mothers under 15.
Chart: Bureau of Health Statistics, MA Dept, of Public Health

THE NEW BEGINNING PROGRAM of the


Lawrence Public Schools attempts, with increasing success,
to keep pregnant and parenting students in school. During
91-92, 133 students were served.

In June 1992:
* 20 of these students graduated. They played sports,
earned academic honors and were nominated for
community awards.
* 87 teens continued in the program - 47 pregnant and 40
as parents.
* 51 babies were bom during the school year.
* 16 students dropped out of school; 10 more transferred
to other programs.
* 18 students were in grades 6, 7, or 8; 19 were in grade 9,
17 in grade 10, 24 in grade 11.

Teen Pregnancy

Figure 4
36

for what they perceived as the only way to get out of the house immediately-pregnancy.

Subsidized housing and home tutoring served as catalysts in their decision making process,

but independence (at least their version of it) was the primary reason for their conscious

impregnation. This example reflects the importance of considering class, race and gender

issues in trying to understand the motivation for their actions.

It is easy for student teachers to fall into the trap of prejudging students based on fear

or ignorance of class, race or gender issues. Trying to be supportive of students who often

become willfully pregnant is not an easy thing to do-especially if a student teacher's

upbringing may clearly have prepared him or her to see this occurrence as a shameful act

worthy of a scarlet letter.

While trying to guard against their own possible discriminatory bias, student teachers

must also be wary of the attitudes of their cooperating teachers who may accept the

situation humanely or rail against it as an act of sexual irresponsibility. Not knowing what

is deemed as morally acceptable in a particular urban environment can create a great deal

of tension and make the student teaching experience uncomfortable and awkward. At the

same time awareness of these issues and how they are viewed by various cultures would

allow student teachers to make informed decisions rather than judgments based on

inadequate or incorrect information.

8. The Urban Disadvantage

In a comparative study on social class and school knowledge, Anyon (1981) noted

class conflict in the struggle to impose the knowledge of powerful groups on the working

class and in student resistance to this class-based curriculum. It is the location of the school
37

and the nature of its population that often determines which roles students will eventually

fill. The term "cultural capital" (Bourdieu, 1977, coined this phrase), which refers to the

ability and know-how to manage concepts and symbols in the line of self interest, is

something that is imparted to students in schools which serve an affluent clientele but is not

imparted to students in urban schools and other schools serving the working class.

My experience observing teachers in Lawrence High School tells me this stance,

although true some of the time, is too sweeping in its generalization. Regardless of

curriculum requirements and regardless of the limitation of textbooks, the teacher facilitates

the discussion and decides what kind of cultural capital will be passed on. The students

decide how much and how long they will resist the efforts of the teacher.

The factor which determines how much and what kind of cultural capital will be passed

on is the teacher's ability to shape the lesson in a meaningful and understandable context

and the students' willingness to participate in an educational exchange of ideas. If the

resistance of students is strong enough to overcome the determination of the teacher, the

kind and quality of cultural capital passed on will be severely compromised. Continuous

student resistance from year to year can have a cumulative effect on the teacher's

willingness to try again.

The process of making the jump from busy work to critical thinking can take weeks or

even months to accomplish. Student teachers are not afforded the luxury of a full school

year to create a rapport, establish behavioral and academic expectations, and follow

through. If the process is difficult for the teacher, than how much more frustrating is it for

the student teacher who must accomplish his or her objectives within fourteen weeks? The
38

amount of impact -what many call "making a difference in someone's life"- is an issue of

major concern to student teachers.

Liston (1988) notes Anyon's concept of the selective tradition in elementary school

experience and curriculum along lines of class. He considers the reinforcement of this

concept in works by Taxel (1981) who found race and gender selectivity in children's

literature and Fitzgerald (1979) who examined the historical practice of inclusionary and

exclusionary practices in the production of social studies textbooks. If the curriculum in

affluent schools stresses active use of concepts and ideas by students, as opposed to the

curriculum in working class schools which emphasizes mechanics and rote behaviors, the

reproductive role of schools is fulfilled. In essence, this guarantees the perpetuation of an

unequal division of labor in U.S. society where those in power will plan and those who

have no power will cany out the plans.

Nothing I have read crystallizes this condition more artfully than the "banking concept,"

a metaphor created by Paulo Freire. With the growing emphasis by the state of

Massachusetts on making high schools accountable for the achievement of students on

standardized tests, the banking concept will indeed be employed to make certain that

students learn knowledge which the state deems fundamentally necessary. Because of

language acquisition problems resulting in low reading levels, students at urban high

schools such as Lawrence High School will find themselves in classes where passing the

test will become the main priority.

In Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970), Freire examines the teacher-student relationship

and what he sees as its narrative character (the teacher narrates; the student listens), a
39

process whose very nature causes the content of a lesson to become lifeless and petrified.

Students are seen as receptacles to be filled by the teacher. In this one-way system of

communication, the transformation of students is no longer a possibility. Education thus

becomes an act of depositing. In the process, Freire notes, it is the students themselves

who are filed away.

Although it may indeed be ineffective, this technique of depositing information is not

without significant side benefits. Neat rows of desks occupied by children who are either

listening intently or falling asleep create a classroom management strategy that rarely fails.

The banking concept also helps to prevent teachers from taking risks. Playing it safe avoids

embarrassment.

Certainly these side effects, although not initially, can eventually become attractive to

student teachers who place classroom management at the top of their anxiety list and who

would clearly like to avoid being embarrassed. If the cooperating teacher is an advocate

and practitioner of the banking concept, student teachers who are having difficulty with

control or who are not sufficiently knowledgeable in their content areas will inevitably

follow suit. In the same situation student teachers who are firmly opposed to the banking

concept throughout their practicum may find themselves at odds with their cooperating

teacher. The compromise between pleasing one's evaluator and maintaining one's integrity

is often difficult and sometimes impossible.

9. The Increasing Inclusivitv of Critical Pedagogy

While the early and mid-70's were dominated by the reproductive theme and the late

70's through the mid-eighties focused on student resistance to domination, the late 80's and
40

early 90's found a broadening of the critical pedagogy umbrella to include critical theorists

who focused on the ways classrooms reflected social context in its widest sense. Critiques

by feminists and people of color expanded the focus of critical pedagogy and called into

question early theorists who, for the most part, were grounded in a neo-Marxist framework

centered on class issues.

Of equal importance was their questioning of the positions of privilege held by

entrenched critical theorists in terms of gender, race and class. Within the feminist critique

Brooks & Kelly (1992) find strains of elitism in the works of Freire and Shor and an

absence of gender concerns. Brodkeys notion of the "Academy" (1987) similarly points a

finger at a more general inner circle of influential intellectuals who oversee acceptance in

their academic communities. The examination of dominant forms of knowledge shed new

light on social relations in schooling, and the work of Michael Foucalt (1972) found new

relevance.

Because student teachers arrive fresh from education courses which reflect current

trends, particularly those that demand the questioning of dominant forms of knowledge,

they are more likely to criticize accepted authoritative sources-a discursive practice that

could cause friction with their cooperating teachers and sometimes their students. Foucalt

defined a discursive practice as "a body of anonymous, historical rules, always determined

in the time and space that have defined a given period, and for a given social, economic,

geographical, or linguistic area, the conditions of the enunciative formation." (1972, p.

117) It is rather ironic that this definition is in itself a discursive practice about the

construct of clear writing. Put simply concepts can be understood as much by what they
41

are not as bv what they are. It is essential to realize that discursive practice structures a

discourse, but it is equally essential that student teachers understand the importance of

criticizing an accepted body of knowledge intellectually and not simply firing broadsides at

it for the sake of creating controversy.

Chenyholmes (1992) stresses the notion that in order to figure out where knowledge

and power fit in social studies education, it is necessary to investigate its discursive practice.

If a student teacher were discussing the concept of slavery in colonial America, it would be

as important to examine what slavery wasn't as to examine what it was. Concepts are

context bound; impartial treatment requires an understanding of the conditions under

which a body of knowledge is produced. It is thus that later critical pedagogy itself

becomes a discursive practice lending greater insight to earlier critical theory. As McLaren

notes, "Power-knowledge regimes of truth govern social relations not by producing

coherent subjects with fixed identities but through discursive practices that produce subject

positions, which are always potentially contradictory." (1989, p. 174).

This notion of truth as relative to historical and spatial considerations underlines the

importance of considering discursive practices in the attempt to understand social concepts.

Student teachers need to understand not only the importance of questioning dominant

forms of knowledge as a useful discursive practice but the importance of questioning based

on sound preparation and serious reflection so that concepts and issues are examined fairly

and responsibly.
42

10. Empowerment and Emancipation

Critical theorists talk about empowerment and emancipation-that education should be

an emancipatory process which liberates students and gives them the chance to escape the

drudgery of the working class and to move into areas of power. Under this philosophy, the

role of educators is to develop within students the need and the skills to resist, to fight back,

to question what it is they learn and why they learn it so that they do not become helpless

pawns in a game of control played by those in power.

This notion of resistance is critical. In Freire's view (1970), domination is much more

pervasive than what we see in the police, the army and the courts. When technology is

teamed with power and ideology, the inevitable result is the production of knowledge and

social relationships which subtly silence people. The most frightening aspect of this logic is

that this information is internalized by the oppressed who literally end up participating in

their own oppression.

Freire's notion of the dialogic process offers a model of egalitarianism and mobility. As

is evident in Figure 5, horizontal dialogue is seen as a liberating pedagogy while vertical

anti-dialogue is seen as oppressive. Ira Shor (1987) offers acute insight into Freire's active

transcendence of domination, the means by which an egalitarian relationship can not only

exist but become a conscious-raising experience in terms of the dialogic process. He notes

that in Freire's system, social practice is the content studied, and dialogue is the form of

study. In a society which is democratic in name only, dialogue problematizes social

relationships. By its very nature it contradicts the hierarchical relationships in a stratified

society. The form (the dialogue) and the content of the class (the non-egalitarian social
43

DIALOGUE

A with B = communication
«r‘ ■'»
intercommunication

Relation of "empathy" between two poles who are


engaged in a joint search

MATRIX: Loving, humble, hopeful, trusting,


critical.

ANTI-DIALOGUE

over

B = communique

Relation of "empathy" is broken.

MATRIX: Loveless, arrogant, hopeless,


mistrustful, acritical.

Freire's Model of Dialogue. Along with Anti-Dialogue this Model Reflects the Matrix
of Human Emotions Engendered by Each Form of Communication.

Figure 5
44

relationship in the class) dialectically support each other in the same way as the practice of

freedom through the study of oppression.

This dialectically constructed model represents the possibility for liberation within the

classroom. Gramsci's formulation of counter-hegemony is a process by which intellectuals

can recognize and transcend subtle modes of control centered around knowledge

engendered by those in power. It has much in common with Freire's model of dialogue

and anti-dialogue, for counter-hegemony too is a transforming process which can take

place only once the dominant culture is critically understood. It is not nihilistic but calls for

a rearticulation of ideological elements. Giroux (1988) argues that when Gramsci contends

that every teacher is a pupil and every pupil a teacher, he is not forgoing the necessity of

disciplined study but is instead excluding elitism in the student/teacher relationship. It is

through this type of pedagogy that educators might come to understand social and cultural

reproduction within the nature of student resistance and use that insight to transform

misguided cultural resistance into political awareness and social action. It is through this

type of pedagogy that emancipation can take place.

When studying the data produced by my interviews with student teachers, I will attempt

to see if there are connections between this information and emancipatory theory. The

words of student teachers may, through a description of incidents which occurred or

through opinion engendered by those incidents, reveal a conscious or unconscious attempt

to enact the emancipatory platform.


45

11. The ,Function of Urbaa Education

Based on my readings in critical pedagogy and my reflection on the information

provided, 1 have constructed an answer to the question I earlier posed involving the

function of education. Encapsulating the main tenets of critical pedagogy, I believe the

function of urban education in a democratic society is to empower students through a

dialogic process. This process not only makes them aware of how the economic, cultural

and political spheres and the dynamics of class, race and gender affect their lives but

dialectically provides them with encouragement to resist domination and to become

politically active. This ongoing, transformative process will bring us closer to an

egalitarian society.

12. A Sampling of Urban Reality

The preceding paragraph illustrates the need for caution and patience in dealing with

sensitive issues, and it is the use of caution and patience which I recommend to student

teachers who would attempt to carry out the function of urban education as seen through

critical pedagogy. Consider the following reduced list of ten "real" classroom issues at

Lawrence High School which must be taken into account:

1) 1,000 withdrawals and entries per year.

2) 700 freshmen start; 300 seniors graduate.

3) 400-600 students absent daily (out of a student population of2,000).

4) 25% of freshmen fail English.

5) average of 5 parents per teacher show up on parents' night.

6) 3 full-time police officers inside the school.


46

7) 75% of students eligible for free lunch.

8) student age ranges from 13 to 29 years old

9) class size ranges from 15 to 43; 600 students enrolled in E.S.L. classes.

10) department budgets slashed by 50% each year for the past five years.

It is difficult to liberate students who are constantly absent. It is difficult to maintain

continuity in classes whose composition changes weekly. It is difficult to foster

communication when thirty percent of the student body is enrolled in bilingual courses and

ninety percent comes from homes where the dominant language is not English. It is

difficult to foster parent involvement when half the students live in one-parent homes and

many live with relatives.

One of the goals of this study is to see how student teachers experience this reality and

to examine the tensions and complications which result when they try to work with it. As a

veteran educator, my advice to student teachers is to follow the "old" way initially, but I am

also aware of human nature and that part of us which automatically resists advice.

Following the "old" way means establishing authority and setting clear behavioral and

academic parameters for students while accounting for individual differences.

The urban classroom is often the only source of continuity in students' lives. In

establishing a safe place where expectations are clear, student teachers can provide students

with an opportunity to express themselves without fear of being ridiculed. It is at this point

that the empowering process can begin. It is at this juncture where Freire's concept of

"anti-dialogue" can undergo a metamorphosis to "dialogue." It is within this dialectic,

freedom through structure, that progress can be made.


47

13. Reflections on Mv Experience

In tiying to answer the question of what it is like to student teach in an urban high

school today, I tried to gain some historical perspective by reflecting on the metamorphosis

Lawrence High School has undergone during my twenty-four year tenure in terms of social

interaction among students in my school. Because of open communication between

students from different racial and ethnic backgrounds and because of the sense of fair play

which all parties tried to utilize, I have seen cultural differences identified and appreciated

I have seen the transition from attempts to assimilate Hispanics into the Anglo culture

during the 70's and early 80's (when an ethnic minority group acquires the behavior

patterns, language and values of the dominant group) to attempts to acculturate all races

and ethnicities in the late 80's and early 90's (when two different ethnic groups are

exchanging cultural elements). I have seen and participated in the long and arduous

process of promoting racial and ethnic harmony not only within the school but in the

community as well.

By taking advantage of what the school has to offer, students can become empowered

providing they and their teachers do not see the situation as impossible. Fine (1989) cites

correlational evidence which suggests that teachers who feel disempowered generally

believe that disadvantaged students cant be helped. Teachers who feel empowered,

however, generally believe they can make a significant difference in the lives of their

students.

We do make a difference in the lives of our students. We continue to improve racial

relations, develop mediation teams to minimize altercations, encourage students to


48

participate in sports and other extracurricular activities, and develop within students a sense

of ownership in Lawrence High School. Nonetheless we are faced with frightening

statistics involving dropout rates, pregnancy rates, failure rates and absenteeism. I continue

to try to understand how we can gain so much in some areas and lose so much in others,

perhaps a necessary dialectic which will bring about further progress. In retrospect I see a

consistency in my desire in my different roles in the educational process. Within the

learning process, my desire as a student was to treat others with respect and fairness and to

be treated in kind. Within the learning process, my desire as a teacher is to treat others

with respect and fairness and to be treated in kind. Within the learning process, my desire

as a teacher educator will be to treat others with respect and fairness and to be treated in

kind.

I have heard politicians and critics say that "throwing more money at education" wont

solve the problems. My answer is not fit for print. It is ironic that the corporate world

recognizes the necessity of paying its professionals competitive salaries and that it

recognizes the value of research and development. Giroux and McClaren (1989) have

identified some of the factors which have contributed to the deskilling and

disempowerment of teachers. Within the Republican agenda (1980-92) these included the

eveR-broadening emphasis on standardized testing, new and publicly popular accountability

plans for teacher evaluation, standardized curricula to bring all students into line, and

top-down, restrictive approaches to school discipline. Giroux and McClaren (1989) go on

to argue for increased funding for salaries and resources to help meet the myriad of social,

cultural, economic, and political problems teachers encounter. And while all school
49

systems are certainly in need of help, it is the urban school system with the highest

concentration of minorities, the widest spectrum of human abilities and the lowest per-pupil

expenditures across the board which is hardest hit.

In examining the experience of student teachers who do not have the advantage (or

disadvantage depending on one's perspective) of twenty-four years of observing the process

of educating children in an urban high school, I will attempt to understand their philosophy,

a philosophy shaped by their family upbringing, the influences of their heredity and

environment and their own education. The way they make meaning of their experience

and the philosophy they develop as a result of that understanding may provide me with

additional insight in understanding the data which this study will produce.
CHAPTER m

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH AS METHODOLOGY

In order to reach an understanding of what it is like to student teach in an urban high

school, I had to choose what I considered to be the most effective methodology for this

purpose. An inappropriate selection could have spelled disaster or at best provided results

which were inadequate or off target. After considerable reflection I chose qualitative

research.

A. Rationale for Qualitative Research

Qualitative inquiry is a viable paradigm of research. When one is studying

context-dependent phenomena, it hardly seems feasible to utilize the context-stripping

methodology of traditional science (Mishler, 1979). My understanding of views espoused

by theorists such as Schutz (1967), Lincoln and Guba (1985), Bertaux (1981), and James

(1947) has convinced me of the appropriateness of qualitative research to my study. In

particular I will discuss the specific use of in-dcpth phenomenological interviewing, a type

of qualitative inquiry, as my mode of research.

Inside each of us is a story, or perhaps multiple stories, based on the experiences we go

through. In asking the question of what can be done with such stories, Bertaux (1981)

examines what he considers a key theoretical issue which runs through studies of this

nature, "the connection between social dynamics and historical change: what is the

relationship between individual and collective praxis and sociohistorical change?"

50
51

B. The Biographical Method

Ferrarotti (1968) addresses this question by underscoring the fact that although the

biographical method (based on accounts from the person being studied) addresses itself to

the individual, it is clearly not the individual who is the sociological atom but its product.

He sees the true elementary social unit as the primary group, a complex system which

actually constitutes the simplest object under sociological observation. For Ferrarotti,

taking the passage from group biography (the most simple) to individual biography (the

most complex) while considering all the problems implicit within the integration of the two

is a theoretical journey worth pursuing.

That journey requires much more than mere transmission of words. Bertaux (1981)

talks about the intellectual obligation of providing in-depth descriptions of patterns of social

relations, contradictions, historical movements-'Torms of discourse through which

elements of knowledge about sociohistorical processes will find their way into living

cultures" (p. 44) and become common knowledge. In my study I will identifiy and

describe categories of social issues based on the experiences of my participants as they

relate to student teaching in urban high schools. Kohli (1978) sees the expectations of the

biographical method as threefold: "to get access to social life (a) as comprehensively as

possible, (b) 'from within,' i.e., in its meaning and subjective aspects, and (c) in its historical

dimension” (p. 63). Thomas and Znaniecki (1921) emphasize that by "representing

individual life histories, the biographical method is meant to give access to the reality of life

of social aggregrates (strata, classes, cultures, etc.)" (p. 63). Through the use of the in-

depth interviewing process, I will develop a profile of one of my participants which will
52

provide access to that reality through her eyes.

The phenomenological approach sees the relationship between observer and participant

as intertwined, one which will produce multiple truths based on the purposes of the

investigator and the focus of the investigation. This approach is reflected in the notion of

cooperative inquiry.

C. Cooperative Inquiry

In calling cooperative inquiry a new paradigm in research. Reason (1988) noted three

major changes or shifts in thought. As I explain them, I will show how they fit my study.

The first is participatory or holistic knowing based on the premise that wholeness in

understanding requires participation. The whole is more than the sum of its parts; each

part must partake in it. In my study it will be clear that phenomenological interviewing is

not a one-way process. The participant (the student teacher) responds to the interviewer

(myself) who then reacts to what the participant has offered It is a mutual building

process that requires interaction between two contributors. The product is the result of the

combined efforts of both parties.

The second is a shift from objective consciousness to critical subjectivity. This allows

us to exercise our naive inquiry, an important part of our humanity, and moves us further

away from the objective consciousness of the scientific method. In my study I believe that

naive inquiry means exercising normal human curiosity without consciously weighing the

scientific rationale for using it.

Spontaneity is part of the creative process. As soon as conscious, restrictive controls

are put in place, the outcome is more the result of a plan than a natural outgrowth of a
53

conversation which is nurtured by its own dialogue. Allowed to pursue the participant's

story freely, the interviewer in conjunction with the participant literally create what the

process is named for-a phenomenon.

The third shift is that knowledge is formed in and for action rather than in and for

reflection. In this sense knowledge that is grounded, practical and intuitive is more useful

than knowledge that is theoretical. In my study I will attempt to present my findings in a

manner which will allow us to share the experience of student teachers in urban high

schools and provide knowledge which may be used to improve the preparation of student

teachers before they enter the urban classroom.

D. Interviewing as Methodology

According to Seidman (1991), there is a logical sequence of steps to be followed in the

interviewing process beginning with the conceptualization of the project. Although my

involvement in working with student teachers has a long history, my interest in studying

their experience through the interviewing process was sparked by a course I took with

Professor Seidman entitled "In-Depth Phenomenological Interviewing."

Through this course and through a pilot project I later conducted for my comprehensive

examination, I learned the importance of establishing access to participants, the diplomacy

involved in making contact with them, and the difficulty of setting up interviews at times

which were accommodating to them. In transcribing the data, I appreciated what the term

"labor intensive" means. With transcripts in hand, I then faced the challenge of working

with the material and deciding how best to share what I had learned.
54

I chose this method for my study because I find one-on-one dialogue the most effective

means of communication. Understanding how people make meaning of their experience

through their own spoken words is a magical process, but this understanding does not

appear out of thin air. In fact it is a dialectical concept -freedom through structure-which

allows the interviewer a way of channeling his participants' responses while consciously

attempting to affect them as little as possible. I can think of no other method of inquiry

which allows this interaction.

E. Observations on Observations

In deciding on interviewing as my methodology, I consciously chose not to observe

student teachers in the classroom and base my study on those observations. As English

Department Chair at Lawrence High School, I have performed hundreds of observations.

Regardless of my intention, my presence in the room has an effect on the participants and

the dynamics of the class, thereby casting doubt on the validity of all that I record. A video

camera on a tripod behind a two-way mirror would produce a non-intrusive, different

re-creation of the class. Although a more impartial way to record data, it still does not

offer the observer the same advantage as the interview—being an active participant in the

process and therefore a contributor to the data which are produced.

F. Structure of the Interviews

The in-depth interviewing process that I used consists of three ninety-minute interviews,

each with a specific function. The first interview provides the listener with a background

of the participants' experience thereby establishing the context for further study. The

second interview hinges on the participants' reconstruction of the experience being focused
55

on within the context in which it occurs. The final interview asks the participants to

consider the meaning their experience holds for them. (Seidman, 1991) Since all

participants are student teachers, the experience discussed is the practicum each completed

at various urban high schools.

The first interview focuses primarily on reconstruction of school, family and

neighborhood recollections from birth through undergraduate education. The second

interview focuses primarily on the reconstruction of student teaching experience including

teacher preparation courses and the pre-practicum. The third interview focuses on

participants' attempts to reflect on and make meaning of their current experience in

historical and spatial context.

G. Access and Contact Issues

The easier the access, the more complicated the interview (Seidman, 1991) is advice

which was well taken. If access is gained through a position of power such as supervisor or

cooperating teacher, or a position of familiarity such as friend or relative, the results will

most likely be affected by the relationship. I accessed student teachers through three

sources.

As English Department Chair at Lawrence High School and unofficial contact person

for student teacher placements, I am acquainted with teacher preparation program directors

from several colleges and universities. As formal gatekeepers, they provided me with

names of student teachers who were in the process of or who had recently completed their

practicum at an urban high school. The second source is the site where I work; it was an

appropriate location from which to access student teachers who chose to do their practicum
56

at Lawrence High School. The third source was networking through recommendations

from the student teachers whom I interviewed as the process continued.

Contact was usually made in person, but when the distance was far, contact was made

by telephone. Initial meetings were set up at which time I explained the purpose and nature

of the interviews. I also asked potential participants to read and sign the informed consent

document after discussing its intent fully. Interviews took place at sites which were most

convenient for the participants provided the locations offered privacy and adequate

comfort.

H. Participants

Fifteen student teachers were interviewed three times each at ninety minutes per

interview. The student teachers selected had to have finished at least ten weeks of their

practicum or recently completed their practicum in an urban high school. In trying to

gather as much information as possible on the urban student teaching experience, I did not

limit the selection of my participants on the basis of gender, class, race, age or content area

taught. These contextual specifics, however, have been carefully scrutinized and detailed

in the data analysis. I did not attempt to choose a representative sample. Although

considerations of generalizability and representativeness are important in many studies,

they are far less important in this type of study where the depth of the interview and the

compellingness of the presentation of an individual's experience take priority (Seidman, p.

42).
57

I. Working with and Sharing Data

I and my wife, Gail, transcribed the interviews verbatim which produced more than

1,800 pages of single-spaced dialogue. I then replaced the names of participants, persons,

schools, school districts, and cities with pseudonyms. I printed the data onto triple-copy

paper, paginated by code, hole-punched the pages and placed them in individual binders

alphabetically.

I read the data carefully, taking notes as I proceeded. I employed two strategies in

working with the data: categorizing and contextualizing strategies. Categorizing strategy

involves identifying similarities based on likenesses or shared features. I highlighted

passages which appeared interesting or insightful with respect to the purpose of this study

and wrote brief notes in the margins to specify the nature of the passage.

After reading and marking passages in all fifteen interviews, I returned to the data and,

using mutlicolored dots and stars, ascribed selected passages a label based on a tentative

category (e.g., attitude towards tracking). I also developed a coding system which helped

me identify the locations of key passages on the original transcripts.

Contextualizing strategy involves identifying relationships based on individual situation.

As described in my analysis of critical pedagogy, context implies not only the spatial

importance of how political, cultural and economic factors affect the participant but the

temporal importance of how historical factors play a significant role. As in the previous

strategy, I read and then highlighted and labeled passages which revealed a particular

relationship (e.g., how one developed an attitude towards tracking).


58

When I finished marking and labeling all pertinent passages, I cut out individual

passages and filed them in the following manner. Forty large manila envelopes were

separated into eight general categories (race, gender, critical pedagogy, language,

supervision, academic, behavioral, miscellaneous) and five environmental periods ( family,

kindergarten though high school, undergraduate, graduate, practicum). Six-hundred white

business envelopes bearing the name of the participant and the label delineating the

category and environmental period were placed in the manila envelopes (each manila

envelope therefore contained fifteen white envelopes, one for each participant). Individual

passages were then placed in the appropriate white envelope.

J, .Themes

By searching for patterns and connections among the excerpts within the categories and

by discovering connections between the categories (Seidman, 1991), I identified themes.

Themes can be recognized in several ways. Often a single word or phrase in an excerpt is

powerful enough to attract attention. Sometimes it is the sheer number of times the same

reaction or feeling is mentioned which catches our eye. Sometimes it is an excerpt which is

not consistent with other things the participant has to say which narrows our focus. In

recognizing and analyzing thematic links between passages, I have provided the reader with

one perspective from which to understand the experience of the participants.

K- Profile

Some interviews lend themselves to the development of profiles, stories of individuals

which have a beginning, middle and end and some sense of conflict and resolution

(Seidman, 1991). One important way in which humans makes sense of themselves and
59

their social world is through the telling of stories (Mishler, 1986). Presenting a story in

narrative form further enriches the reader's understanding of the experience of student

teachers in urban high schools gained through the in-depth interviewing process.

I developed a profile of one of the participants for the purpose of presenting a unified

depiction of how she makes meaning of her current experience in light of her individual

background. The profile is presented in first person in the words of the participant. To

capture the flow of the participant's consciousness, the words are presented in the

approximate order in which they were spoken. As a condition of the construction of the

profile, this sequencing process reflects the thinking processes of the participant. Minor

changes in syntax were made for narrative purposes only.

L. Establishing Trustworthiness

1. Triangulation

To establish trustworthiness, I employed three processes: triangulation, peer debriefing

and member checking. Denzin (1978) identified four different modes of triangulation

including the use of multiple and different sources, methods, investigators and theories.

The mode which was appropriate for my study was triangulation of sources. This implies

validating evidence through multiple copies of one type of source, in this case, my

interview participants. Diesing (1972) identified two forms of a similar mode called

contextual validation. One form implies that a piece of evidence can be assessed by

comparing it with other kinds of evidence on the same point. The second form calls for an

evaluation of the source of evidence via the collection of different kinds of evidence about

that source.
60

2. PeerDefrrjefiag

Peer debriefing (Lincoln & Guba, 1985) is another means which helped validate my

study. The peer debriefer is an individual not connected directly with the study who meets

with the researcher intermittently during the period of data analysis. The peer debriefer

may serve as a sounding board, a comforter or a challenger of ideas. The peer debriefer

may see examples of researcher bias and point those out or make suggestions for alternate

ways to view the material and interpret the data. It is wise to be wary of relying too heavily

on the peer debriefer; used thoughtfully, however, the peer debriefer can become an

invaluable resource. Among other things I asked my peer debriefer to comment on the

themes and categories I have identified and the appropriateness of passages I have selected

to support them. I also asked my peer debriefer to listen to specific passages from the

interviews and comment on the tonality and content in trying to identify the public versus

the private voices of the participants.

3. Member Checking

Member checking (Lincoln & Guba, 1985) was also used to clarify unclear or vague

statements or allusions made by the participants. The researcher needs to keep open lines

of communication with participants long after the interviews are completed. Checking with

participants concerning interpretation of their words or asking for additional factual

information might provide greater accuracy and understanding.

M. Conclusion

I share my thoughts about my research in the final chapter of this dissertation. I begin

with a retrospective overview of the themes I discussed in my data analysis in Chapters IV


61

through XI. I follow with a philosophical reflection of the in-depth interviewing process. I

then tie the results I achieved to the literature base which I cited in informing various

aspects of my study. I comment on and make recommendations for the preparation of

student teachers for urban high schools. Implications for future research are also discussed

in this final chapter. My hope is that this dissertation will yield valuable insight into the

urban student teaching experience.


CHAPTER IV

RACIAL ISSUES IN THE URBAN PRACTICUM

Issues of race are of paramount importance in the urban high school. In twenty-five of

the nation's largest cities, students of color make up more than half of the public school

population (Banks, 1991). In the six urban high schools in which my participants did their

student teaching, students of color accounted for thirty-six to eighty-seven percent of the

high school population. Hispanics comprised an overwhelming majority of the student

population at Leighton High School and a significant percentage of the student population

at Sussex High School and Halifax High School. Asian Americans comprised a significant

percentage of the student population at Lane High School and Lane Vocational High

School, and African Americans comprised the majority of the student population at

Dickson High School.

Despite these numbers the percentage of faculty members who were white at every

location was overwhelming as was the percentage of faculty members who could not speak

Spanish or other foreign languages fluently. While racial problems existed in all six

settings, only Dickson High School escaped the additional problems caused by the

difficulties of language acquisition.

A. The White Student Teacher as Cue Ball: A Metaphor Illustrating Racial Interaction
in the Urban Practicum

A cloud of smoke suspended itself over the expanse of green felt. Dust particles floated

aimlessly in the tepid light cast by the low-hung tiffany lamp. The player was poised over

the table eyeing the multi colored billiard balls contained within the rigid wooden rack.

When the rack was lifted, the balls remained rooted in the same triangular formation—

62
63

tight, implacable, resistant. The cue ball, curious by its lactic color, looked faceless; it had

neither stripe nor number-nothing visible to connect it to the group of balls at the other

end of the table except its round shape. As the player slowly drew back the wooden shaft,

the onloookers watched and waited for the gleaming white ball to explode into the pack

and send fifteen different balls in every direction.

In this metaphor the cue ball represents the white student teacher; the billiard balls, the

diversified students in the urban practicum; the player, the university education program;

the rack, the cooperating practitioner; the table, the urban classroom; the pockets, the

educational directions in which students are propelled. While this metaphor is limited by

the inanimate state of some of the objects, it does encompass the situation in which many

student teachers find themselves.

B. Description of Participants and limitations of the Study

I did not include race, gender, class, age or content area taught as criteria for selecting

my participants. My sample of fifteen student teachers was comprised of eleven males and

four females. They were primarily from middle class backgrounds, ranged in age from

twenty-three to twenty-nine years old and taught in the areas of English, Science and Social

Studies. All fifteen were white. This latter statistic must be noted as a limitation in terms

of applying the results of this study to all student teachers. On a racially homogeneous

basis, however, it also provided me with an opportunity to learn about what happens when

white student teachers are placed in urban high schools servicing primarily students of

color. All of my participants experienced some level of discomfort although it varied in


64

intensity and length. Previous exposure to people of color played a significant role in

determining the level of discomfort.

In order to provide contextual understanding for the excerpts quoted throughout this

study, I have provided a quick reference chart (Figure 6) and the following brief snapshots

of my participants and of their practicum sites. Pseudonyms are used in place of all names

and locations:

Terry Anson, a twenty-four year old white female from an upper middle class
background, student taught in the Science Department at Leighton High School.
Through friendships made in high school sports programs, she had significant exposure
to people of color. A former RA in graduate school, she was a firm advocate of gender
equality. Positive about most of her student teaching experience, she acknowledged a
weakness in classroom management.

Jennifer Benares, a twenty-seven year old white female from an upper class
background, student taught in the English Department at Sussex High School.
Attending an exclusive undergraduate college, she had very little exposure to people of
color. Compassionate about the plight of inner city students, she was a firm advocate
of racial equality. Jennifer was a giver. She spent endless hours preparing and
correcting and did her best to get students to believe in themselves. Very positive about
her student teaching experience, she acknowledged a weakness in classroom
management.

Julie Boswick, a twenty-nine year old white female from a lower middle class
background, student taught in the Social Studies Department at Leighton High school.
Easily the most animated participant in my study, Julie had come through the
educational system the hard way. Not a model student in secondary school, she had a
child out of wedlock and bounced back and forth between work and college before
finally deciding on a teaching career. She had limited exposure to people of color
through high school. During her interviews Julie shot straight from the hip and was
very opinionated about classism, racism and sexism.

John Bulinski, a twenty-five year old white male from a middle class background,
student taught in the English Department at Lane Vocational. A very somber and
hard-working young man, John was heavily involved in journalistic endeavors and
enjoyed teaching writing. He attributed his successful practicum experience to the
careful guidance of an experienced cooperating teacher. With primarily parochial
schooling, John was deeply religious and a firm advocate of gay rights. He had
65

NAME SEX AGE RACE CLASS SITE AREA

ANSON. TERRY F 24 W MC LEIGHTON SCIENCE

BENARES. JENNIFER F 27 W UC SUSSEX ENGLISH

BOSWICK. JULIE F 29 W MC LEIGHTON SOC. ST

BULINSKI. JOHN M 25 W LMC LANE VOC SOC. ST

COLETTA. BILL M 23 W MC LEIGHTON ENGLISH

CHEBLANC. SAL M 25 W MC LEIGHTON ENGLISH

GREENE. ROBERT M 26 W UMC LEIGHTON ENGLISH

MACELROY. PETER M 26 W MC LEIGHTON SOC. ST

MOODY. TREVOR M 29 W MC DICKSON ENGLISH

MEEHY. TIMOTHY M 24 W MC LEIGHTON ENGLISH

PELLANTE. MONICA F 23 W MC LEIGHTON ENGLISH

RAMASKA. JAMES M 25 W UMC LEIGHTON SOC. ST

RISTOUS. CHRIS M 28 W MC LANE ENGLISH

STRATHMORE. RAYMOND M 24 W MC HALIFAX ENGLISH

WILSON. JACK M 28 W MC LEIGHTON SOC. ST

KEY: CLASS
LMC Lower Middle Class
MC Middle Class
UMC Upper Middle Class
UC Upper Class

Pertinent Information on Participants

Figure 6
66

significant exposure to people of color in undergraduate school but not prior to that.
He was very close to his parents and still lived with them.

Sal Cheblanc, a twenty-five year old white male from an upper middle class
background, student taught in the English Department of Leighton High School. A
son of divorced parents, a mother who was incredibly supportive and a father who
was brilliant but emotionally abusive, Sal was a firm advocate for students' rights.
Although he had limited exposure to people of color growing up, he was
compassionate and sympathetic to the plight of inner city students, particularly
Hispanics who were experiencing difficulties with the English language.

Bill Colletta, a twenty-three year old white male from a middle class background,
student taught in the English Department at Leighton High School. Athletic, aggressive
and blessed with a booming voice, Bill fancied himself a lady's man. He was raised in a
different part of the country and had had significant exposure to people of color
through high school. Having lost his best friend to cancer in their freshman year of
college, Bill had become somewhat cynical about life. He was, however, extremely
confident about his ability to reach inner city students.

Robert Greene, a twenty-six year old white male from an upper middle class
background, student taught in the English Department at Leighton High School. He
was die most excited about and the most appreciative of the student teaching experience
of all my participants. Originally planning to be an engineer, he had switched to English
when he became disillusioned with the regimentation in the sciences. Articulate and
intelligent, he looked older than his age and was painfully honest about his strengths and
shortcomings.

Peter Macelroy, a twenty-six year old white male from a middle class background,
student taught in the Social Studies Department at Leighton High School. As a youth
he was a self proclaimed "nerd" and had almost no exposure to people of color until he
attended college. Although he graduated from a university that was labeled as liberal
and although he did like rap music, he was fairly conservative in his views, particularly
those concerning tracking.

Timothy Meehy, a twenty-four year old white male from a lower middle class
background, student taught in the English Department at Leighton High School.
Young looking and fairly naive, he experienced control problems in his classes but was
very popular with his students. Prior to his practicum he had very little exposure to
people of color. During his practicum he made a special effort to attend sporting
events and extracurricular activities which endeared him to his students.

Trevor Moody, a twenty-nine year old white male from an upper middle class
background, student taught in the English Department at Dickson High School. A
spoiled son from an affluent family, Trevor had bounced around a good deal as a
67

professional rock and roll musician before deciding to become a teacher. Very likable
and gregarious, Trevor empathized with students who had no clear direction in their
lives.

Monica Pellante, a twenty-three year old white female from a middle class background,
student taught in the English Department at Leighton High School. Physically
diminutive and very young looking, she had some classroom management problems and
was conscious of her gender and her race in a primarily Hispanic school. She had
exposure to people of color throughout her schooling but only at a distance. Although
she had the fortitude to finish her practicum, she found the experience overwhelming
in terms of the academic load and the management responsibilities.

James Ramaska, a twenty-five year old white male from a middle class background,
student taught in the Social Studies Department at Leighton High School. A son of
educators and a physically gifted athlete, he attended a parochial high school and an
exclusive college. Through sports he had had a great deal of exposure to people of
color. A straight shooter he was low key, positive and self confident.

Chris Ristous, a twenty-eight year old white male from a working class background,
student taught in the English Department at Lane High School. A transplant from a
large urban city on the West Coast, he was the only participant I interviewed who was
street smart. As a youth he was pugilistic and athletic and did just enough academically
to get by. He managed to charm his way through most of his high school and college
classes but eventually realized that making the minimum grade was not enough.
Although his academic metamorphosis gave him direction, it did not subdue his charm.
He retained some of his roguishness and never forgot the lessons of survival he learned
on the street.

Raymond Strathmore, a twenty-four year old white male from a lower middle class
background, student taught in the English Department at Halifax High School.
Somewhat shy and small in stature, he had some difficulty working with his cooperating
teacher whom he perceived as didactic and robotic. His practicum experience left him
wiser but unsure of whether or not the urban high school was a suitable environment
for him.

Jack Wilson, a twenty-eight year old white male from a middle class background,
student taught in the Social Studies Department at Leighton High School. Jack was
articulate, serious and reflective. A son of divorced parents, he had a troubled
childhood. After high school he developed a disciplined work ethic and went to college
while also working full time. He had exposure to people of color as a successful
manager in a retail business. Extremely knowledgeable about educational theory, he
had a clear sense of direction and strong classroom management skills.
68

Dickson High School's student population is approximately 2,200, the majority of


which is composed of African American students. It is located in the heart of Dickson,
a densely populated, working class city in the Northeast.

Halifax High School's student population is approximately 1,800. White students make
up the majority of the student body with a rapidly increasing number of Hispanic
students approaching forty percent of the total. The school is located in the heart of
Halifax, a densely populated, working class city in the Northeast.

Lane High School's student population is approximately 2,500. White students make
up the majority of the student body with a rapidly increasing number of Asian
American students approaching forty-five percent of the total. The number of Hispanic
students has also increased noticeably during the past four years. The school is located
in the heart of Lane, a densely populated, working class city in the Northeast.

Lane Vocational's student population is approximately 1,100. White students make up


the majority of the student body with a rapidly increasing number of Asian American
students approaching thirty-five percent of the total. The number of Hispanic students
has also increased noticeably during the past four years. The school is located on the
outskirts of Lane, a densely populated, working class city in the Northeast. The school
also serves a small percentage of students from surrounding suburbs.

Leighton High School's student population is approximately 1,700. Hispanic students


make up an overwhelming majority of the student body with a small but rapidly
increasing number of Asian American students. The school is located in the heart of
Leighton, a densely populated, working class city in the Northeast.

C. "Wet Dogs" and "Blue-Eved Devils'': Uncertainty. Alienation and Exclusivity


as Racial Themes

Uncertainty is one of three dominant themes which I identified as I studied the data in

the category of race. All of the participants in my study were white. All were uncertain of

how they were perceived by students of color. Many were uneasy about the legitimacy of

their ability or effectiveness or, in some cases, even their right to teach students of color.

Uncertainty of how to deal with students of color permeated almost every aspect of my

participants' urban student teaching experience.


69

Of equal importance is the theme of alienation, a by-product of fear and ignorance.

Barriers exist between races as a means of protection, but logic dictates that what is walled

in is walled out. Encroachment upon each other's turf caused feelings of alienation for

both student teachers and students. Throughout this chapter I will examine how these

themes are reflected in excerpts from the interviews.

Lastly I will also demonstrate that exclusivity is the dominant theme under the subtopic

of racist language. With particular reference to the word, "nigger," as both a term of

endearment and a racial epithet, I will make meaning of the reactions of some of the white

student teachers in my study to this issue.

A myriad of thoughts invaded the minds of the student teachers whom I interviewed

when they walked into their urban classrooms, not the least of which was "Will I be

accepted?" What they believed as they began the practicum was predicated on their own

twelve years of schooling, their life experience and the later influence of their university

training. Fear and self doubt were two of the mechanisms which were activated in many of

them when they faced a racially diverse group of students. At Leighton High School Tim

Meehy voiced this concern:

I was intimidated by the population I was dealing with. I know my material very well,
but I need to leam to bring it across. How could I bring it across to a whole different
population I never dealt with before, and could I do that? In the beginning I had
trouble doing that I was too serious. I think kids like to have fun, and I don't think I
was being funny. I was teaching them as though I was teaching college kids.

Fear of the unknown is the greatest fear of all. How urban high school students who

were racially and culturally different would react to a white student teacher was a major

source of anxiety for Tim. The safest approach was not to take chances. As important as
70

humor in the classroom is, a potentially hostile audience can bring even a seasoned

comedian to tears. Tim's uncertainty initially caused him to take the serious route which

inevitably produced a serious atmosphere. Eventually he became aware of that, loosened

up and became more like himself. While desirable, however, an environment of open

dialogue can also prove to be a two-edged sword, especially when race is involved.

At Dickson High School Trevor Moody found himself in such a situation. When his

trepidation led to stereotypical, racial resistance, his defensiveness came into play: "I was

terrified to say anything at first, but when they started saying things, then I started saying

Well you know, we have stereotypes about your people too'-and that's a real scary thing."

Recognizing this defensiveness and tempering it with reflection eventually resulted in

Trevor being able to reduce his feelings of alienation and rationalize the situation: "These

kids arc thinking what the hell arc you doing here? TheyVe had a distrust of my type of

people generationally. And I think there is definitely something there. So, you have to be

real careful." Student teachers in urban environments need to cultivate a similar

understanding of why and how students resist.

The initial testing period, trying as it may be for the student teacher, is also trying for

some of the students. While the student teacher stands alone, the students are protected by

sheer numbers, and the advantage is clearly theirs. But the group is made up of

individuals, and on an individual basis some of them are uncomfortable with the resistance

they contributed to as part of the group. The following incident narrated by Trevor

displays the need for one student to explain the game in privacy:

On more than one occasion the kids referred to the "blue eyed devil" meaning the white
man, and those circumstances tended to make me laugh because ultimately they knew
71

that that wasn’t true, at least for me. But kids did it to challenge me sometimes. They
would look at me with a smile on their face, and I got less defensive as time went on.
The kid who said it this one time came after class, shook my hand and said, "You know
that I was only playing with you, right?” And I said, "Of course I did."

There is a distinct difference between testing the authority of a student teacher by

misbehaving and testing the moral conscience of a white student teacher by slinging racial

epithets and waiting for a reaction as was the case here. Trevor's quick answer, "Of course

I did," was meant to strengthen his relationship with the student, but it was also meant to

disguise the uncertainty and alienation that he and many of my participants in similar

environments felt. It is important to note that the "feeling out" process works two ways.

As evident in this case, some students of color are also uncertain about the way they should

treat a white student teacher. Feelings of alienation can develop as well when students try

to adjust to a stranger in their midst.

For some students adjusting sometimes means using terminology which is unfamiliar to

the student teacher to evoke laughter from and cement camaraderie with fellow students.

Because new labels pop up like mushrooms overnight, student teachers, no matter how

worldly they may be, need to "chill" and be prepared for anything. When the following

description appeared out of nowhere, Trevor's sense of astonishment was evident: "I

thought I had heard all the white stereotypes made by black people, but I had never heard

that white people smell like *wet dogs’ and other things that I had never, ever heard." Some

things can not be learned from textbooks.

Because every day presented new challenges and required a high degree of sensitivity,

many of the student teachers I interviewed became aware of the effects of racial

differences not only on themselves but on others who shared their cultural isolation,
72

particularly when the minority population made up the majority of the student body. At

Leighton High School Peter Macelroy made this observation:

Once in a while they make a few white boy comments. There is a white girl in one of
my classes, and they give her a hard time. A white kid has a really hard time at that
school fitting in, and it's very difficult because they're not into the culture.

Peter's remarks gave away his own uneasiness. Like the white girl he described, Peter

too was not ''into" the Hispanic culture. He may have felt that tolerating "white boy"

comments without reacting was necessary for his survival, but he was clearly unaware of

the pattern he was setting and the toll it could eventually take. His inability to protect his

white student from the "hard time" given to her by students of color also indicates his

uncertainty about which course of action to take and his sense of helplessness. The kind of

frustration this produces can lead to finger pointing. Because of their inability to adjust to

the newness of the situation and the discomfort of a strange environment, some of the

student teachers I interviewed tried to affix the blame elsewhere. In Tim Meehys case the

problem was blamed on inadequate university training:

It wasn't a life-threatening intimidation; it was more like "What have I gotten into?" I've
discovered that Lane University doesn't necessarily teach you, help you to come into a
situation like this. I would go on record to say that they gear their program towards
middle class America, whether that be minority middle America, white middle America,
upper class middle America. That's what they're geared to.

Tim and others felt their educational programs inadequate in terms of preparing them

for an urban high school with a diverse student body. Tim's middle class background made

him comfortable in a graduate program that he eventually perceived as geared towards

middle class students, but when he tried to apply what he learned in his graduate

preparation in the practicum, he found it anything but helpful.


73

D A Crescendo of Racial Interaction: How White Student Teachers Dealt With Students
of Color in the Urban Classroom

Within the classroom the range of student reactions to racial issues spans the distance

between indifference and violence. Julie Boswick, a social studies student teacher at

Leighton High School, proceeded gingerly along the balance beam of equality:

Juan Rojas is a great kid, I really like him a lot. He sees racism in everything. One day
he came in and said, "Miss Boswick, you got to see the new M & M man." I said,
"What, Juan, what?" And he said, "It's racism," and I said to everybody, "Okay, let's all
get settled real quickly. Juan is going to enlighten us with how the new M & M man is
racist." He said, "The new almond M & M resembles a white person as compared to
the little, small brown M & M." He said to notice how they made that M & M speak
just a little more eloquently than the brown M & M and how it was larger than the
brown M & M. I said, "It has an almond in it. Of course, it's going to be larger.

How much legitimacy there is to observations of racial bias must be carefully weighed

by the student teacher. Some, as indicated above, are probably frivolous, but others, as

indicated below, are probably legitimate. Interestingly enough this statement was made by

the same student:

He was probably just being a wise egg too, but he said, "Miss Boswick, you know, I'm
going to boycott history class." And I said, "Why," and he said, "It's not my history.
It's not the history of my people," and I was insulted. I said, "Juan, I really think I try to
give a multicultural curriculum. Fm well aware of that, and I really strive hard to
include everyone's viewpoints, and I really take personal offense that you feel that it's
not. You know, this is required text. I have so many limitations that I can work with.
Fm sorry if you feel there is something that I could have done that I haven't. Take this
up with the school rather than sitting around saying "Oh, poor me—rm going to boycott
history,' Take it up with the administration. Tell them you want history of the
Dominican Republic as an elective in this school. They have to start responding to
student needs." Maybe that was not my place.

Although Juan never accused Julie of being racist, her immediate reaction to him was

one of defensiveness based on her own awareness of the importance of a multicultural

presentation and of the limited resources she had to work with. Still she had the good

(
74

sense to suggest to Juan that he take some decisive action through legitimate channels

rather than simply complain. Wondering if it were "her place" to do so emphasizes her

uncertainty about the limits of her authority as a student teacher. Juan did not take offense

to her reaction, but there are times when students' observations of what they perceive as

racial bias cause them to retaliate. When construed as prejudicial rather than simply

authoritative, disciplinary measures taken by student teachers can provoke hostile reactions

as was the case with John Bulinski at Lane Vocational:

One of the kids wasn't doing the work at all, and he was black, and I went up to him
and started talking to him, and he called me a racist. That made me uncomfortable for
a minute, and I said, "No, that's not the issue. The issue is you're not doing the work."
That's an uncomfortable situation, and he brought it up to my cooperating teacher when
she got back, and we talked about it, and she agreed with me. He wasn't doing the
work. That's why I talked to him.

The need to have the cooperating teacher affirm that the action wasn't racist is a telltale

sign of John's uncertainty. Despite having good intentions, some of my participants were

often not sure whether or not they had been biased when confronted by students who

harbored deep rooted anger. The situation can be perplexing as is evident in this incident

described by Monica Pellante, an English student teacher at Leighton High School:

Today I was talking to a student in the hallway, and all he could say was, "It's racial
man, it’s racial. You're racist." And I'm not racist, and I told him I wasn't racist. I told
him he was using that as a way to cop out of his responsibility for how he acts. He
said, "You white people are all alike." Then he told me how well I treated the white
students in the classroom, and he included a black student in that description, so I
couldn't figure that one out.

The inclusion of a black student within the group that was alleged to be favored seems

to exonerate Monica from the charge of being racist, but it did not remove her uncertainty.

Perhaps a more important question is why she was singled out as a target for attack. Street
75

smart kids can be brutal with what they perceive is a namby pamby student teacher, and

they are savvy enough to know how to frighten a teacher without getting in trouble. The

testing theme may be interesting when analyzed and discussed on an intellectual plane, but

when confronted by it in the arena, a student teacher can be traumatized Sal Cheblanc, an

English student teacher at Leighton High School, luckily took this situation in stride:

He actually threatened me. It was my first or second day, but I think he was just testing
me. I didn't let it bother me, at least not in front of them. He said to me, "Why do you
want to become a teacher?" And I told him why I wanted to become a teacher, and he
said, "Teachers can get hurt you know. They can get elbowed in the head, they can get
a desk smashed over their head, they can get thrown out the window," and then the kid
next to him said, "Yeah, sometimes they can get killed." He was testing to see what my
reaction to him saying that would be. Whether this guy is afraid of every Latino student
on the planet? Is he a typical white guy who's afraid of everything or thinks this school
is a bunch of criminals?

Although the clever way these students worded their warnings would probably prevent

them from being excluded from school, their intent was clear and malevolent. The threat

of physical violence in the urban high school creates a heightened sense of alienation and is

as real for student teachers as it is for students. Sometimes racial comments can erupt into

violence between students. When that kind of behavior becomes epidemic, many school

systems adopt a "let's go all out and address this problem" attitude and swamp students in a

mire of workshops, meetings, lectures and media blitz of anti-racial information. Too

much of a cure, however, can be as negative as too little, something evident in the

following comment by Jennifer Benares, an English student teacher at Sussex High School:

It was tough because there were a lot of racial tensions in class. There were one or two
fights in class. The kids didn't want to talk about racial issues or prejudice or anything
like that. "We're sick of that. We're bored with that. I hate prejudice. Let's not talk
about it."
76

But many student teachers do have to deal with it, and therein lies the difficulty. When

students do not want to address the problem, student teachers often become uncertain

about what to do. Taking a particular course of action which seems fair sometimes

produces unexpected results. Treating an inequitable situation inequitably seems

contradictory, but in Jennifer's class that was precisely what happened, and it was easily

discernible by others:

It just so happens that many of my students who are coming from troubled homes were
kids of color. And I definitely had varied expectations according to what their lives
were like outside of school. And I paid more attention to black kids than others for the
same reason, and I tried to really push that self-esteem and make them feel good for
eveiything that they did. And students never told me that they noticed that, but they did
tell me that they noticed me treating the black kids not as strictly as I should. And they
were wondering if it was because they were black. And I said, "Well, no. It's not
because they are black." I really do think it was because they were black.

Adjusting standards or changing requirements for students of color when seen as a

vehicle for avoiding bias can fool the white student teacher into a state of believing that

those actions are justified. Even when questioned by some students about the inequitable

attention paid to African American students, Jennifer's uncertainty activated her defense

mechanisms which automatically caused her to deny what she really felt underneath. It

was only after reflection that she realized the truth.

Unlike Jennifer, who eventually acknowledged her preferential treatment for students

of color, Peter Macelroy maintained that he was not watering down his tests or giving away

answers to his diverse classes in order to get them to succeed despite their unusually high

grades. When questioned by other members of the Social Studies Department at Leighton

High School about how easy his tests were or how obvious his review techniques were,

Peter became defensive:


77

Some people might think that I had to compromise, but I wasn’t. I was just acting
myself. It's the way that I have always been. That's the way I was brought up, at least
by my mother. This was the way my feelings were developed at American University.
I'm just not the prejudiced type person.

In failing to recognize the possibility that he might have (at least in the eyes of

department teachers) gone beyond reasonable bounds in attempting to get his minority

students to pass his tests, Peter may have underestimated the complexity of the problem.

In stressing that he is "just not the prejudiced type person," he takes the stance that other

teachers who do not water down their tests or adjust their review methods to make sure

students of color pass are in fact being discriminatoiy. Sometimes reflecting on how to

deal with racial distinctions leads to revealing answers, some with a realistic tone such as

the following comment from Trevor Moody:

You know, there is a distinction, but it's very gray, between prejudice and recognizing
difference. We are different absolutely. And I think to just say, "Ah let's come
together, and everything will be great” is dangerous, fm not the same. And if I'm
trying to just say we're the same, that there's no difference, I'm going to hurt those kids.

As Trevor warned, it is not always easy to judge whether actions or words reflect

prejudice or recognition of difference. There are many variables which have to be

considered when raising questions and not often time enough to consider them adequately

before using them. Some questions lead to answers based on a perspective of the student

teacher's past life and a comparison of that to the lives of the students he or she teaches. In

this example, however, more is evident. Jennifer Benares commented on the ways she had

seen some minority educators treat minority students:

I have a fortunate life, and I had a comfortable life, and so Tm looking at these kids who
are less fortunate and trying to make up for it and give them some of what I had. And
they have people [minority educators] who come from a background where they had to
struggle to make it, and they say, "Well, I had to do it, you have to do it too." fve come
78

across professors who are not natives who are picky and strict about grammar and
spelling and who really nailed the students whose grammar was awful. And I thought,
wouldn't a non-native speaker sympathize with this?

The tone of Jennifer's question clearly suggests that she felt the professors of color she

had observed were harsh and unforgiving. But as a white student teacher she was

uncertain about why they established rigid standards and whether or not their methodology

was effective. Acknowledging the inherent difficulty of being a white teacher in a

classroom primarily filled with students of color can help in adjusting, and making a

conscious attempt not to appear to know it all can improve relations in the classroom. Still

Jennifer had doubts about her ability to be effective compared to that of an educator of

color:

It’s really difficult because you can’t speak from experience, and I don’t think there’s that
validity there that you need. Does this mean that I'm not going to be respected or
trusted by kids of color? Are they just going to say, "She’s a white lady. She doesn’t
know where I'm coming from.” One of the reasons that did not happen is because I
took time out when an issue came up to have a discussion, and I didn’t pretend to have
any answers or to be the authority.
I still feel as though I'm not in the position to teach or preach or educate black kids
or Hispanic kids about their background and their history and their culture. Granted
they don’t know a lot of it, and I may know more than they do, but I ask myself
wouldn't this be a little more effective coming from someone of color?

The latter part of this statement indicates Jennifer's uncertainty and concern. After

reflecting on her question asking whether or not only educators of color can truly reach

students of color, Jennifer was able to suggest another perspective, one which offers a

rationalization by which white student teachers can feel comfortable in a minority

classroom:

There is something to be said for a white woman or a white man teaching black
histoiy, black literature, Hispanic literature or Hispanic history because it, in the eyes of
the white kids at least, credits that histoiy or that literature or that culture. But still I
79

always look out into the eyes of those kids of color and wonder what they think of this
young white girl in the classroom teaching them.

Perhaps what Jennifer and other white student teachers need to know is that it is

acceptable and normal to be uncertain about how they are perceived by students of color.

In the classroom familiarity generally does not breed contempt; it decreases alienation by

increasing deeper understanding and acceptance. Ten to fourteen weeks is usually not a

long enough period of time to remove all the racial barriers that exist between people, but a

semester or a full year might allow adequate time to make significant progress. While that

might clear up some questions involving effectiveness, however, it would still not answer

the question of whether an educator of color would be more effective.

E. "Nigger" as a Term of Endearment; Uses of Derogatory Terms by Students of Color


and the Theme of Exclusivity

In the arena of the urban high school what is culturally acceptable to students may be

morally unacceptable to student teachers. Such is the case with the term "nigger,” a racial

anathema in America for centuries. Language and gesture have always been powerful

weapons often used by the educated, wealthy class to control the largely uneducated, lower

class. But language and gesture can be an equally powerful means of achieving solidarity

within racial or ethnic boundaries. Alienation of the white student teacher in this sense is

directly caused by the exclusive use of derogatory terms among students of color. How to

handle the situation becomes an area of concern for white student teachers who are not

familiar with the unwritten rules of the schools, those that can be picked up only through

lengthy experience within the building.


80

Sal Cheblanc, an English student teacher at Leighton High School was clearly upset at

the nonchalant, mindless use of the term:

They use the word "nigger" constantly. I understand when they use it with their
friends. Do they understand the histoiy of the word? It can go either way, and when
someone says it in a nasty way, I stop them, and I say 'Don't even say that, alright?" I
know it is a term of endearment. They use it, and you cant stop them. It's just natural.
It's part of the language which changes everyday. It's a nasty, dirty, degrading, low
word.

Where does one draw the line between free speech and racial slur? When do the

personal convictions of the student teacher take precedence over the communication rights

of the students? Uncertainty once again becomes apparent. As upset as Sal was, he

acknowledged that the situation was beyond his control ("you cant stop them") and that he

was willing to deal with it only when the term was used in a "nasty way." What Sal did not

realize is that allowing use of the term at any time and in any way is construed as

acquiescence by urban high school students. In giving them wider berth, he narrows the

range of his own authority. Peter Macelroy, who also did his student teaching at Leighton,

took a different approach:

One thing at Leighton High, Hispanics call each other cultural "nigger." "Hey, what's
up nigger?" And that strikes me as weird being that A) they're not black and B) I hate
that word. This kid in my class said "nigger," and I spoke to him very softly and said, "I
just want to tell you. I do not ever want to hear that word in my class. It's a derogatory
term, and I do not want to hear it in my class." I was very upset about it because
Tamara was black. He never said it again, and the class knew that that word was off
limits in my classes.

Within his classroom Peter was apparently successful in preventing his students from

repeating the offense although his reason for being upset ("Tamara was black") should be

predicated on the negativity of the word rather than the presence of someone who would

be directly affected by its use. But what happens when the reference is made by an
81

unfamiliar student in a hallway, a cafeteria or a gymnasium? When the historical

knowledge and possibly the experiential knowledge of white student teachers clash with the

nonchalant, insensitive attitude of those who would seemingly bash members of their own

culture, should student teachers ignore or challenge the perpetrators of heinous language

crimes? Jack Wilson, a Social Studies student teacher at Leighton High School, became

extremely upset:

I hear this phrase all the time in this school referring to other kids as "niggers." It really
irks me. I heard it again this morning. I cringed and grit my teeth and said to myself
"Dam, if these kids ever really knew what that word is and what it has been used for
and what it has been used to do then they wouldn't use it." The hair on the back of my
neck stands up because I know what the word is. The meaning is not really being
changed because they're still using it for a reason. And the reason is similar.

Jack's words mirror his moral discontent. Whether or not he is able to continue to "grit

his teeth" and allow students of color to celebrate their own culture albeit in a derogatory

manner is not as important a question as whether or not he should. In a truly egalitarian

society administrators, teachers, student teachers and students would all have a voice.

What happens when one voice conflicts with another? Who really has the power to

become the dominant voice? In a democratic society where, at least in theory, the majority

rules, the sheer number of students who wish to use the term would outweigh the number

of students and faculty members who dont. But the issue of voice is even more

complicated than that.

The word, "nigger," unlike "bastard" for example, is not up for grabs. It can be used by

African Americans or Hispanics when referring to African Americans, Hispanics or even

Caucasians, but it can never be used by Caucasians to refer to people of color. James

Ramaska, a social studies student teacher at Leighton High School and a former college
82

basketball player was able to shed some light on the subject through earlier dialogue with

an African American friend, but he was still befuddled by the inclusivity of what the term

covered and the exclusivity of who could use it:

There is one thing that blows my mind about how that is used as commonplace by
Hispanics to describe Hispanics, Hispanics to describe blacks, Hispanics to describe
whites. Now a white person is a "nigger." It blows my mind Like they're talking
about Larry Bird, and they will say, "That nigger can shoot." It's amazing. I had a
friend in college who was black, and he used that word. He used it all the time, and I
asked him why he said it. Part of it, he explained to me, was to get the shock out of the
word, to make it commonplace so it's not a big thing. But I don't understand the
justification of Hispanic people.

There is an inherent contradiction when words are no longer free to be used by

everyone. How can the color of the user determine whether a word is a term of

endearment or a racial curse? If the white student teacher interferes, what is the risk he or

she takes in terms of the image he or she wishes to portray? In the context of

authoritarianism, rules of language can be construed as racial intolerance. Trevor Moody

took the liberty of asking his students directly how they would react to his using the word.

Their immediate reaction taught him a lesson and reinforced his feeling that a hands off

policy before and after class would work better for him. Still he was uncomfortable with

the situation:

Nigger was used constantly, and I said "What about if I used it?" And they said
"No—totally!" There was no hesitation—totally different story. And I've heard that a
lot, and I still tended to let a lot of stuff like that go as long as it wasn't directly visible in
class. If I heard kids talking about it in my class before the bell or something-even
swearing—I would let it go. I don't know if that's good or bad.

Trevor was willing to take the risk of asking his students what would happen if he used

the term. He was given a clear and definitive answer which affected not only the way he

would handle future instances involving the word, "nigger," but the way he would handle
83

swearing as well: unfortunately he chose to ignore them. His idea of "letting it go" was

predicated on fear. In not making waves, he avoided confrontation and eliminated the

immediate aggravation a confrontation might have caused him. What he does not see is the

long term results of his silent acquiescence. Unchecked behavior or language can become

the status quo, and once that occurs, stopping it can become impossible.

During his practicum Trevor befriended an African American teacher at Dickson High

School who refused to tolerate the term, "nigger," and who had the confidence to disallow

its use:

My friend who was black had a real problem with it and wouldn't allow it in his class.
You've got to be real careful. I think it was so tough for me because I was from the
outside coming in. Like who am I to tell him {a student} what language to use? That's
why it was tough for me.

Unlike his African American colleague, Trevor did not feel comfortable telling

culturally different students that they could or could not use certain words regardless of the

possibly harmless intent of the speakers. He was uncertain about the parameters of his

authority and uneasy about feeling isolated from his charges because of his color. It was

"tough" for him because he knew he should have taken some action. But there was a risk.

The possible ramifications of taking a risk need to be examined.

In the process of trying to explain the use of language and the reasons and the ways

authors use language to portray characters, Jennifer Benares took that risk and suddenly

found herself standing on sacred ground:

I heard blacks calling blacks "niggers." I didn't hear it amongst the girls. Just the guys.
When I was doing some reading out loud, I once read the word "nigger." A couple of
the kids, blacks and Hispanics, gasped. I said, "Well listen, it's written this way for a
purpose." And they didn't understand that at all "Miss Benares, what did you say
84

now? That's awful. That's racist." And I said, "Why did I say that?" Someone said,
"She said it because it was written like that."

Should white student teachers (or white teachers for that matter) cower every time

someone makes an accusation that something is racist? If discussion of racial issues is

avoided will those issues not continue to plague society? Although Jennifer's willingness to

take a chance resulted in some students being taken aback, she was able to spark a dialogue

among students which eventually ended up producing meaningful discussion. Discussion

can lead to enlightenment; enlightenment, to understanding. Interestingly enough the racial

epithet, "nigger," has a female counterpart, "bitch." From its etymological definition of

female dog to its popular connotation of a crabby, domineering woman, "bitch" has

undergone a further metamorphosis. This change makes the gray area of racist language

even more nebulous by adding a sexist dimension to it as Trevor Moody discovered:

A kid had a T shirt on that said "bitches aint nothing but whores and tricks." I
recognized that this was a kid thing, but I tried to play into it, and I kind of started
laughing, and I said, "Man, I bet you get a lot of girls with that shirt on,” and he said,
"What do you mean?" and I said, "Well, look what you're saying. Women must hate
you." He said, "No," and I asked a couple of the girls, and they said "No, that’s not
true," and the thing is that they were wrong because if you look at the context of the
statement, they're talking about all women.

When the victim of a language crime does not feel victimized, can the perpetrator be

rightfully punished? Should a white student teacher try to convince female students of

color that they should be upset as women when indirectly or directly referred to as

"bitches," "whores" or "tricks?" The issue of language is not to be taken lightly. The

white student teacher needs to consider what course of action he or she should take long

before entering the practicum. Questions involving the kind of image, particularly in terms
85

of communication receptivity, the student teacher wishes to present need to be considered

thoroughly.

In terms of racial issues, the urban classroom was neither melting pot nor salad bowl for

many of the student teachers in my study. As the data indicated, the uncertainty and

alienation felt by them and, in some cases, by their students of color became dominant

themes, while exclusivity became the dominant theme in terms of racist language.

Since neglecting to address these issues before the practicum can result in actions or

words leading to violence, litigation or unrest, serious attention must be paid to them during

graduate education classes specifically focused on these urban issues and during the

prepracticum. Recruiting urban high school students of color as consultants to demonstrate

and explain street language to future teachers would bring the urban classroom to the

university and break down some of the communication barriers that currently exist. As

much time as is possible should be spent in the classrooms and corridors of urban high

schools observing the actions and language of students prior to the practicum.
CHAPTER V

GENDER ISSUES IN THE URBAN PRACTICUM

Issues involving gender abound during the student teacher's practicum. They run across

sexual, racial, cultural, age, collegial, ethical and sexual preference lines. Predispositions

concerning gender issues are part of the baggage student teachers bring with them. In the

lawsuit-happy era we live in, the student teacher's performance and attitude can also be

affected severely.

A. Discomfort and Playfulness: Dominant Themes in Gender

Because some gender issues are not exclusive to urban locations, I have not included

many excerpts which reflected feelings engendered by incidents which could have just as

easily taken place in a suburban setting. For purposes of analyzing the urban practicum, it

makes sense to leave these out, but potential student teachers need to understand that

regardless of the environment in which they exist, all gender issues need to be considered

carefully. For that reason I simply describe the themes of discomfort and playfulness

which encompass those areas which are common to both urban and suburban high schools.

In a decade in which sexual harassment has been recognized as a serious crime and

become the object of a national media blitz, most of my male participants suffered

discomfort in the solitary presence of female students. The main area of concern involved

a male student teacher being alone with a female student in a classroom. This scenario

provides fertile ground for charges of sexual harassment and demonstrates the vulnerability

of the male student teacher. None of my female participants voiced anxiety about this

issue, but that clearly does not mean it does not apply to female student teachers. My

86
87

simple advice to student teachers in any school is never to close the door when in a

classroom or office alone with a student.

For some of my participants, playfulness became the means of dealing with sexual

innuendoes and flirting. Both male and female participants participated in light sexual

banter in literature, language and casual discussion. Two of my male participants

unintentionally expressed more than a marginal interest in female anatomy. With particular

reference to the current politically correct climate, it is unwise to indulge in any of the

above. Even an unjustified accusation can abort a teaching career.

B. Machismo: A Cultural Phenomenon Which Impacts the Urban Classroom

In the urban high school classroom, the sexual behavior of students is often tied to their

culture. In the Hispanic culture, which is patriarchal in nature, males are encouraged to

develop "machismo" and are accustomed to flaunting it in front of girls they find

challenging or attractive. The female student teacher makes an ideal candidate as a trying

ground for sexual advances. At Leighton High School Juilie Boswick played it low key

and found the whole scenario amusing rather than threatening:

They're just very affectionate, Hispanic males. A couple of them tried to hug me. "Oh,
Miss Boswick!" A lot of them have that macho attitude. It's kind of cute. It's funny. I
used to laugh about it because they used to think they were so cool, these little sixteen
year old kids. I would just joke and say, "You know that's inappropriate," but I didn't
really make a big fuss.

Julie understood the importance of being wary of sexual actions and innuendoes, and

more important, of being aware of how she should react to them. She did not allow herself

to be ruffled. Maintaining her composure, she was able to defuse what could have turned

into a fiasco by downplaying the incidents as silly, boyish games. But Julie was a
88

twenty-nine year old, single mother with an impish sense of humor. She also understood

that in the urban classroom showing embarrassment or overreacting are open invitations to

trouble. Student teachers are on display at all times; every word, every gesture, every

smile, every expression is noticed and interpreted.

More factors come into play when the issue of disciplining male students becomes

necessary, not the least of which is the physical dichotomy between females and males.

The ancient Greeks had a word for excessive pride, "hubris," and its presence is no

stranger to the urban arena. Three of the four female student teachers in my study had

serious doubts about their ability to discipline male students. In most instances it was the

younger male students who went out of their way to challenge their female oppressors. At

Leighton High School Terry Anson expressed her frustration with a male freshman student

in one of her science classes:

I don't know how much he [a male student] listens to anyone in an authority position. I
would think he would probably have tendencies to listen to George [male cooperating
teacher] more than me. I don't know if maybe that's because he has been here
twenty-five years, and I've only been here a few months, or because he's a guy and I'm
a girl. I dont know.

Terry's comment begins with a fair assumption that the young man in question would

be a behavior problem for any teacher but ends with the suspicion that it is her gender that

might be the reason for the boy's refusal to behave. Her question is understandable and

worth examining in terms of the variables involved: 1) her cooperating teacher was in his

forties which makes age a factor; 2) her cooperating teacher had been in the classroom for

twenty-four years which makes experience a factor; 3) her cooperating teacher was a male

which makes gender a factor. What complicates the issue is the fact that any one or any
89

combination of these factors could be responsible for the boy's behavior. If gender is the

issue, and machismo is the problem, much of Terry's self doubt can be erased.

Understanding the possibility that gender issues in the urban classroom are often based on

cultural differences can significantly effect the way student teachers handle them.

C. Monica Pellante: A White. Female Student Teacher's Perspective of Machismo

Monica Pellante, a daughter of educators and a sibling of several sisters, was excited

about but wary of student teaching at Leighton High School. Diminutive in size and

looking more like sixteen than twenty-three, she was an avid and outspoken feminist, and

her frustration with disciplining boys left her frazzled by the end of each day. She openly

admitted that it seemed like a hopeless task. During her interview she used quantifiable

gender comparisons in rationalizing her lack of control: 'Tm outsized and outnumbered.

It's mostly boys. Some of them are men or think they are."

How often have we heard the stories of diminutive female teachers who scared the

bejeepers out of boys "in the old days?" Among the twenty-six members of my own

English Department staff, twenty are women; all seasoned veterans, all shapes and sizes, all

effective classroom managers. Still the struggle for power in the classroom is a serious

issue for even the most experienced teachers. That struggle became magnified, however,

for Monica, and gender became the focus of her argument:

Gender is a big issue. Tm a short, white woman-"girl"--according to them. Close


enough to some of their ages to date them, and most of them are macho guys—"boys."
They resent a lot of things I say to them because that means they have to be listening to
me, especially Pedro who likes to be in charge.

Monica's close proximity in age to some of her male students magnifies the gender issue

as well. And in the urban high school the age range of students far exceeds that in
90

suburban high schools. Particularly in urban settings which service large numbers of

students whose first language is not English, many students in their twenties enroll for a

year or two to learn English and then drop out. (I had a twenty-nine year old Cambodian

student in a freshman class.) Many students from war tom countries come in with

absolutely no records; many have no formal education at all.

Female student teachers who discipline male students who are as old as or even older

than they are can find themselves in awkward situations. Monica specifically mentioned

that Pedro liked to be in charge. Later she told me that Pedro was a nineteen year old

Dominican boy in a small freshman basic English class filled with thirteen and fourteen

year olds. Clearly Pedro was under the gun to tout his manhood when in the presence of a

young white student teacher. Even if he didn't want to, he would have had to verbally

retaliate if it appeared that she was telling him what to do.

Whether one calls it "machismo" or "hubris," the action of bolstering one’s masculine

ego through aggression or other forms of misbehavior becomes part of a control game

often played by males at the expense of females. Monica continued to make reference to

the consistency of the macho attitude in female company within and outside of school

walls:

They have to prove they're not going to listen to a young woman. They have to flaunt
it. It's a game, especially with me coming in as a young, white woman. Same game
guys pull when they're with their friends and their girlfriend, and they have to show
who's in charge. They cant show that they're weak to women.

Monica's almost obsessive concern with this gender issue seemed too strong not to have

connections with the past. In a later part of the interview she returned to the macho theme
91

but this time indicated a deep rooted anger at the double standard of sexual inequality

which she had historically suffered:

They were going to flex; it was a very macho class. I don't work well with macho. I
always had a problem with some guys and certain attitudes and certain ways that they're
allowed to do what they are allowed to do and that whole "boys will be boys" type
attitude. I had problems with it when I was younger and see a lot of it coming out now.

The urban practicum raked up the ashes of discontent and then added fuel to Monica's

fire. Even though she recognized the conditions under which boys showed disrespect for

her, she felt compelled to retaliate: 'Tor the most part if they're alone, boys in the basic

class, one on one, are okay. Get them with a friend, and they're awful. They have to fight

me. I realize that, and I fight them back." But how one chooses to fight can lead to

amelioration or aggravation of the problem. So strong is the macho code, for example,

that it even disallowed conversation outside of the classroom walls: "Most of the boys

outside the class would walk past me in the hallway except for an eye or a hi or a nod

because they can’t be talking to me. The girls will stop and talk to me."

There are no easy solutions to Monica's difficulty with her male students at Leighton

High School. Although part of the problem may be predicated on her underlying historical

anger and how it affected her reaction, part of it is clearly unavoidable and based on the

cultural values of the students she was dealing with. What makes this situation more

difficult is that Monica was aware of these cultural differences and was still not able to

adapt comfortably.

D. Peter Macelrov: A White. Male Student Teacher's Perspective of Machismo

Despite the tremendous gains women have made as a result of the feminist movement

over the last two decades, some cultures have not understood the message. The way men
92

treat women is mirrored in the way that boys treat girls. How that treatment is accepted

can be frustrating for student teachers, especially those that espouse equality among the

sexes. The notion of "machismo" again comes into play, but what is more disturbing

according to Peter Macelroy who student taught in the Social Studies Department at

Leighton High School is girls' acceptance of inappropriate language and actions by

Hispanic boys:

The males in that school are very lazy. The females are the ones who do all of the
work and the ones that are positive. I can always count on the females to lead things.
The males would always do it half ass. I was talking with one of the Hispanic aides
who said, "These males are being babied by their mothers. They dont have any father
figures in their life, so they're babied, and that's why they're so lazy." I couldn't count
on them. The guys would make comments and talk in Spanish and say filthy things
about females. Hispanic females did not have a positive self worth about themselves.

Though not exclusive to urban locations, the problem of absentee fathers is certainly a

commonly occurring phenomenon. Preferential treatment at home and almost unlimited

freedom for Hispanic boys as compared to specific household chores and very strict rules

for Hispanic girls result in very different behavior and achievement patterns in the school.

In my experience it is the mother who shows up for mandatory parent conferences after a

suspension ninety percent of the time. Most put up their hands and say there's not much

they can do.

More evidence gathered from conversations with Hispanic friends convinced Peter that

he was fighting a difficult battle. Their words were even more convincing to him when he

considered an earlier trip to Europe where he had noticed similar treatment of women:

This is something that some of my Hispanic friends have even told me. In the Hispanic
culture, a woman is not treated with that much respect; they're second class. And I
found this even when I was in Europe; the same thing. It's not just Hispanic; females
are considered second class, and they're just not treated with much respect.
93

Peter, who had attended a liberal college and who proclaimed himself a feminist,

wanted to change the image his female students had of themselves and embarked on a

campaign to do so. Among the male participants in my study, he was not alone in his

perception of the dichotomy which existed in the Hispanic culture involving the roles of

women and men. James Ramaska, who also student taught in the Social Studies

Department at Leighton High School, made these observations which have a traditional

ring concerning a woman's function:

From the boys I see a lot of it as just talk, but I see a lot of what a man's place is and
what a women's place is. A woman's place is to cook, clean, have kids, and I'm not
really sure what a man's place is.

Perhaps the most telling comment in this excerpt is that James can not identify "what a

man's place is" in the Hispanic culture. While one can look at the traditional American

role of men and women in terms of the man being a breadwinner and the woman taking

care of family matters, it is not difficult to see that the only thing that has changed is the

role of men. From breadwinners to babies who are pampered by their mothers and are

fortified in their indolence by images on MTV and other media sources, many have not

only demeaned women but eroded women's sense of self respect. Well intentioned though

he was, Peter was unable to convince young, female students that they were allowing

themselves to be abused:

Women don't respect themselves or other women. I gave a lesson about how we can
use songs to look at society. Some of the girls brought in very powerful songs about
love and about religion, and one girl brought in the song, "Rump Shaker." And I said,
"This is good. You're bringing this in to show the negativity and the way women are
thought of as sexual objects in songs." "No, Mr. Macelroy, I like this song. I think it's
great." I said, "Do you know how degrading it is to you, to all females? And she said,
"Well, the only women that get offended by songs like this are ones that are fat." I was
at a loss. That whole day I just couldn't believe it.
94

Enlightening students about their blind acceptance of abuse is no easy task, but it is

essential to work at it until they understand what they are doing. Rather than rallying in

defense of their common pride as women in this case, they chose to segregate themselves

from fat women as if the descriptor, "fat," were a gender disqualification. They failed to

see that they too were being discriminated against and that accepting this level of

discrimination would lead to further abuse.

Peter found this attitude of acceptance pervasive. Except for a few instances where

female students raised their voices, girls allowed themselves to be physically and verbally

abused by boys with little or no complaints:

There were a few girls that would say, Tm a lady. You do not treat me like that,” but
most of the cases it'd just be kind of silent, and they wouldn't say anything or they
would laugh. In the corridor guys would take girls' bra straps and grab them or kiss
girls or those types of things, grab their butt or look at the girl's ass and whistle when
they went by or things like that. Scary enough. I really think that the rap music that
they listen to is so derogatory towards women. That has an effect on them. They call
women a "hoe” or a "skeezer” or something like that, and that's no big deal to them.

If this kind of behavior is not discouraged, it will become the norm. If this kind of

behavior becomes the norm, new students who enter the urban schools will question their

own values and soon view it as acceptable. The question is not "should we get the

message across to male and female students in urban high schools that this defamation is

wrong" but "how can we get that message across." Peter's last comment, "that's no big

deal to them," may be a sad commentary of the general state of mind of many Hispanic

students in urban high schools, but it also gives educators a place to start. We have to

make it a" big deal" to them and work from there. Student teachers need to be aware of

this situation before they enter the urban practicum.


95

E. The Father Figure Syndrome

Many students in urban high schools come from families that have been split asunder by

violence, poverty or divorce. A friendly smile or the right combination of words can be

interpreted as an immediate haven for those in need. In his efforts to reach out to his

students, Peter made himself accessible to them and found himself in an awkward position:

A lot of kids came to the office to say hello or to discuss problems, and I was getting
really afraid. I didn't know if I was getting too close to the students. One girl was
pregnant, and she came in and said, "Oh, Mr. Macelroy, when I have my baby, are you
going to come and see me?" I was the only positive, male, adult figure in their lives. A
lot of them really got close to me, even the tough kids who weren’t touchy feely or
anything like that.

While most of us feel good when we are needed, we have to be aware that we are not

the saviors of students; we are their teachers. Withdrawing from a position of support to

one of bystander can be awkward or painful, and that withdrawal can become necessary if

the distance between teacher and student is totally eliminated. While it is important to

provide individual academic help when it is asked for, it is dangerous to go beyond that.

Fortunately there are usually some support services student teachers can call on in times of

need. By law, issues of abuse, for example, must be reported to the administration. Doing

that can be interpreted by students as a breach of confidence which would then put the

student teacher in a very difficult position. Regardless the law is quite explicit in this area.

Peter did the right thing here:

There was one girl, and she told me how her babysittter molested her. I mean what
could I do? She was crying. I spoke to her and asked her if she had ever got any
counseling. That’s when I set her up with the school psychologist.

Student teachers who ask students to write journals on a weekly basis are even at

greater risk than Peter was. Because they do not have to talk face to face with the teacher,
96

students are far more likely to include details of their lives in their journals they would

never reveal in person, particularly urban students who often are missing one or both

parents and have no trusting adults to talk to. Issues of abuse mentioned in journals can be

used as legal evidence as well as the reponses of the student teacher to the student. It is

therefore necessary for student teachers who require journals to forewarn students about

the possible results of including information that must be reported.

Knowing about specific gender issues in urban high schools such as machismo and the

affects that absent fathers have on their children before entering the practicum will

probably not prevent them from occurring. It might, however, help some student teachers

in developing a mental readiness which will allow them to at least cope with situations

when they occur. Although she made it through her practicum, Monica Pellante was under

considerable stress throughout. Had she been aware of the kinds of gender issues she had

to face in the practicum, she might have chosen a suburban location instead of Leighton

High School. Not everyone is cut out to teach in an urban high school, but that does not

mean success cannot be reached at alternative locations. After exposure to the urban

environment through classes and the pre-practicum, a realistic assessment of one's

strengths, weaknesses and needs should be made before selecting the location of the

practicum.
CHAPTER VI

THE INFLUENCE OF CRITICAL PEDAGOGY IN THE URBAN PRACTTCUM

How they teach, what they teach and why they teach it have much to do with the

quality of the urban practicum experience for student teachers. Without exception the

student teachers who participated in this project had exposure to critical pedagogy in their

readings and/or class discussions during their teacher preparation. Their comments in this

section reveal the significance of that exposure in terms of how they feel about their role.

A. Exploitation: The Dominant Theme Concerning How Critical Pedagogy Affects


Student Teachers in the Urban Practicum

Knowingly participating in the exploitation of the working class by teaching in sub par

urban high schools which concentrate on reproducing candidates for low paying jobs was

clearly prominent in the thinking of most of my participants. A barrage of comments

concerning the negative images of urban high schools and urban high school students

foisted by the media onto a much too willing public indicates the seriousness of the

problem. Emphasis on minimum competency instead of maximum output further

victimizes students as does curriculum which requires the regurgitation of material learned

by rote.

B. The Banking Concept: How Not to Teach

When reviewing my participants' exposure to teachers throughout their educational

training, it was apparent that the bulk of teachers used lecture more often than any other

method. The safety of the lecture method, centered around transferring knowledge while

not having to deal with difficult or silly questions, does not offset the negative side effects-

the boredom and the lack of communication between teacher and students. Most of my

97
98

participants were vociferous about the importance of a two-way process. Terry Anson, a

student teacher in science, was clear about what she wanted with her students:

I don't like the lecture method. I dont want to talk at kids. I want to have
conversations. I want to interact. I want to offer ideas and see what they think. I want
them to agree or disagree. I don’t want to stand up there and go roodeeroodeedoo and
assume that they're all getting it. I want them to be able to say I dont understand so
maybe I can try to give it to them another way. I need to have that exchange.

What Terry wanted was a dialogic relationship. Having a meaningful exchange

with students is a vital part of that relationship, one that encourages participation and

becomes egalitarian in nature. For that to take place, Terry would have had to first

establish a safe place where students would be unafraid to voice their opinions and an

orderly environment where their voices could be heard. Lecture, on the other hand, is a

form of teaching which controls behavior by forcing students to listen without reacting.

Reactions can cause problems; the easiest way to avoid problems, therefore, is to lecture.

Unfortunately many urban teachers adhere to that methodology throughout their careers.

Jack Wilson understood the importance of having some established structure before

beginning interactive communication. But Jack also recognized the absurdity and

ineffectiveness of the banking system:

Once there's guidance, once there's structure, then there's some sense of coherency
instead of anarchy, and it's needed. But in terms of teaching, depositing is not enough.
You cant drop things, and students will have them, and not do anything more with it.
You just expect it through osmosis to enter their psyche.

In the urban classroom it is order which must be first established in terms of acceptable

student behavior, but once the ground rules are in place and behavior is manageable, the

relationship of student and teacher must change to one of empathy.


99

C. Preparing Urban Students for the Future

How often have we heard the comment, "Why do I have to learn this stuff? HI never

use it.” Actually the comment is a fair one although the answer is not easy. For many

urban students with no plans of attending college, learning a skill seems far more useful

than discussing Hamlet or studying photosynthesis. What kind of knowledge is important?

Terry Anson saw a common base of general knowledge as a fundamental building block

for every student:

I see the purpose of teaching as giving students the general knowledge they need to get
by in everyday life whatever they do, whether it is go on to college or go on to work.
There's basic general knowledge you need to have to be able to watch the news, to read
the newspaper. That's where a lot of the science that I teach fits in because you need to
know some of these basic things to be able to understand everyday life. I don't really
see it as preparing students for college or for work.

Drawing a parallel between Hamlet and Simba in "The Lion King" or explaining what

is happening to the air we breathe because of the destruction of the rain forests are ways to

make learning relevant. If we exclude the thinking process in urban schools and focus

solely on the development of marketable work skills, we will doom urban kids to the fate of

their working class predecessors.

Regardless of their discipline, urban student teachers see the need for high school

preparation as broad based. Communications skills are high on the list of priorities for

Raymond Strathmore in the English Department:

I don't really see teaching as trying to gear these kids towards a certain future and
employment There are so many basic things that you can learn in high school that
that's enough to focus on. And the basic things would be just getting along with other
kids, figuring out how to communicate effectively, how to write, how to read. I didn't
really focus on "This is going to be important because you're going to use it in your
job."
100

But Raymond's last statement is precisely what business is interested in, and business is

taking a more active role in the educational process, particularly in urban areas which will

provide the work force for manufacturing. Many large businesses are "adopting" urban

high schools and exposing students to work environments on field trips. Work study

programs have always been popular in the urban sector and continue to flourish. The lure

of immediate money in the short run can be far more attractive than the years of study and

the financial burden of going to college.

Getting teachers and students to believe in the power of education for everyone is no

easy task. Jack Wilson expressed fear about the historical precedents of labeling and

wanting to do something about it:

I'm fearful some of these decent kids here who are hard-working and who want to get
ahead are being painted with a dirty brush. It's dirty from centuries of painting people
into a comer and pigeonholing them. Tm still hungry. I still want the opportunity to
impart upon them the importance of thinking and the ability to make decisions and not
just go through life making the motions.

That desire to emancipate urban students from their inherited fate was shared by most

of my participants. But one of the tenets of critical pedagogy calls for far more than desire.

It's not enough to be aware of something if that awareness is peripheral, nondescript, or

unconscious. Jack saw the need for urban students to be made conscious of their status

and its ramifications:

They're aware of the class that they're in, but they need to be made more aware of it, of
how it's viewed to go to school in an inner city which has some real negative
connotations to it. It's my job to make them aware of how they're viewed, how they
can change it or what is out there for them.

It is easy for students to become urban couch potatoes who watch life pass them by in a

state of apathy and mediocrity. Resistance should be their shield; action, their sword. Jack
101

saw his job as empowering urban students by making them critical thinkers capable of

overcoming their situation by understanding it.

D. Teaching Urban Students about Power

Within the framework of critical pedagogy is the notion of power; who has it and why.

Julie Boswick, a Social Studies participant voiced concerns over the importance of an

education:

I worry that my kids might not vote their whole life. I said to them, "If you get nothing
else, if you don’t listen any other day, you listen today. The day you give up your right
to vote is the day you're letting other people make decisions for you. Don't let people
who have a good vocabulary and have real powerful positions in this country think they
own it because they dont. You do." And I get carried away, but I really believe that.

Julie clearly cared about her students and attempted to convince them that their active

participation in the voting process was their only true opportunity to have a say in their own

lives. She tried to tell them that education is power—that it can free them from the shackles

of low self esteem and depression. This theme was carried on by Sal Cheblanc, an English

student teacher who vilified white males although he is among their ranks:

"Do you remember king of the mountain when you were a kid out at recess in grammar
school?" And they said, "Yeah," and I said, "Well, do you know who the king of the
mountain was? You know: white males. It's a blatant fact." I'm not a liberal. I'm not
leftist, but it’s just a plain truth. From then we went into integration and why it still
exists and the crimes that are committed against people, and the fact that I allowed them
to think, to get their thoughts out, that's a part of what an English class is. It's a
communications course. Learning how to communicate and getting your thoughts out,
something, that they haven't done. They circle the letters. I have seniors who cant
write sentences."

Because of students' poor writing skills and the inordinate amount of time it takes to

correct essay exams, urban schools rely heavily on objective testing which is machine

scorable. Students who take objective tests utilize the skills of recognition and recall.
102

Circling a true/false question or completing a multiple choice question require no critical

thinking skills. But recognition and recall skills are precisely what are needed in

manufacturing jobs. It is only recently that open ended essay questions are being included

in mandatory state tests. Students must be given more than a voice; they must be taught

how to use it as well.

E. Growing Demands and the Self Fulfilling Prophecy

Many urban students who are faced with the prospect of having to take more

demanding courses as a result of curriculum reform become frustrated. Not having a

vision of success, they begin to believe that they lack the ability to achieve. This too

became upsetting to Sal:

I tell my freshman class at least every week. TheyH say, Tm stupid." HI say, "No,
nobody in here is." That's the trap that they have. So I say, "You're all smart. Some of
you dont try enough." I really believe that, I really do. Some of them are locked into a
situation where they dont hear standard English enough. They're in a family that
doesnt speak it enough.

hi many urban schools language acquisition problems seem insurmountable. When

bilingual students are mainstreamed too quickly, they find themselves unable to compete

with native English speakers. It does not take long for many of them to develop a defeatist

attitude and to assume they're not intelligent enough to do well.

Some students come to believe they are not intelligent because of a history of low

expectations held by previous teachers who leave an indelible mark on their charges. Jack

Wilson had this to say:

There are expectations that have already been stamped on their foreheads before I
walked in the room and expectations that they’ve absorbed, whether it be self-fulfilling
prophecies or not. The expectations are that these kids cant do the work, cant write,
103

can't think, therefore, they’re not taught well. What would follow is that theyH never
leam-at least not here at Leighton High.

It is easy for teachers to believe that students cannot achieve when those students

themselves believe it and go out of their way to demonstrate their self imposed inability to

learn. There is little wonder why both students and teachers often revert to lecture,

meaningless exercises and quiet reading periods to fill the time. Again what critical

pedagogy calls for is action—not only providing students with meaningful learning but

encouraging them to develop a voice and take action. For Sal Cheblanc it became a

conscious effort:

I try to empower them. They are now aware this is a white male dominated society,
and they are aware that it is okay to criticize the country if you do it in a productive
manner instead of just sitting back and saying "this place sucks." Even if you don’t go
up to the White House banging on the door, you can sit down and talk with other
people and discuss it as a relevant issue—as part of your life, as an injustice. It’s a
beginning. They're really interested, and they see it as respect for me because I let them
know that I care that they know this stuff. I recognize them as individuals by doing this,
and I recognize them as immigrants by doing this. It feels good giving them truth
instead of regurgitating a story or an anthology for the hundreth time.

With the current national fear of right wing militia groups and the President's words

about love for country and love for government as necessarily synonymous, the cry for

action must be tempered by diplomacy and respect. Developing a voice means becoming

an active verbal participant, not a malcontent who uses violence to effect change.

Education is not in the business of creating anarchists; it is in the business of creating

citizens who are intellectually able to take an active role in their own governance.

F. When the State Steps In: Minimum Competency

The logic behind the belief that all students should "master the basics" involves

minimum competency, a sort of common denominator that says all public high school
104

students will know and be able to demonstrate understanding and skills in predetermined

areas of agreement. The danger of establishing any minimum is that, for many students, it

means aspiring no higher. Get by, and you can get out Learn enough to get a job.

Robert Greene understood that well:

There's value in education. No matter what you wind up doing, and I rebel at the
notion of people who tell me, "Well, you know this kid's fifteen or sixteen, you know
he's never going to go to college and make anything of himself. Let's just get him a
certain amount of literacy and give him a high school diploma and let him go work as a
manual laborer for the rest of his life.

What does an urban high school diploma mean today? The fact that more and more

community colleges are teaching courses in E.S.L., basic composition, reading and basic

mathematics to students as prerequisites to matriculation is indicative of the scope of the

problem. The business community has put pressure on the state which has put pressure on

local school systems to come up with some common definition of what a high school

graduate can do. It is not an unreasonable request, but it may prove to be an impossible

task.

Simple demographics will show even an uninformed observer that a poor community

such as Lawrence, with the myriad of problems discussed in this dissertation, will never be

able to compete fairly on a standardized evaluation test with its suburban neighbors unless

a formula is built in which accounts for factors such as whether or not a student's first

language is other than English. But therein lies the problem. If the test is altered to

account for differences in urban schools, it will be perceived as watered down thereby

making Lawrence High School's diploma less valuable than a diploma from a suburban

high school.
105

G. What Happens When Teachers Give Up

When complicated by language acquisition problems and the many other circumstances

which affect urban students, the learning process can be as frustrating for the teacher as it

is for the students. It is easy to rationalize why students cannot achieve in an urban high

school. What Peter Macelroy observed were some veteran teachers whose expectations

had gradually eroded. This created somewhat of a conflict when he began his student

teaching:

What does that say about the emphasis placed on a white school and the emphasis
placed on a Hispanic school? What we're saying is, at a white suburban school,
teachers are held accountable to their students and to their students' work. But at a
Hispanic inner city school, teachers can do whatever the hell they want. What are we
saying right there? They should instill values in the kids. They should try to motivate
the kids. They should try to watch the kids. Monitor them very closely. They have to
be a part of a growing experience.

Peter, although unaware of factors he could not possibly come to know in his short

practicum, was not blind to urban teachers who had given up. Teachers who can name a

myriad of legitimate problems that interfere with the learning process can also fall into the

habit of using them as excuses for not even trying. Accountability can be countermanded

easily with conditions that call for exceptions. Part of the problem is that when teachers

give up, students do as well, especially those who are marginal to begin with.

Even when teachers are conscious of the need to encourage students, they often equate

success with going to college. James Ramaska, a Social Studies student teacher, had to

catch himself when talking to his students about the future. Because he came from a

family and a class and a school system that never considered anything other than college

and because he and all of his friends went to college, it still seemed like a natural course of
106

events to him. It is not a natural course of events for many urban high school students, and

sending the message that it is the end-all is not a healthy thing for students who have no

intention of attending college:

You can make probably ten times more money if you do trades or stuff like that.
Sometimes I almost want to say, "Next year, when you're in college" or "When you go
to college," but I always catch myself because I realize a lot of these kids wont be going
to college.

But even if many are not going to college, it does not mean that they're incapable of

critical thinking or that intellectual topics should be reserved for college-bound students

only. Sal Cheblanc encountered the same dilemma but found hope in the end after having

a shaky start:

You've got your college mind set. You're like "I cant wait to discuss the thesis of dark
and light," and you walk in, and you say, "What does this mean? Anyone?" On my
first supervised visit—that sounds like a divorce settlement—when I was observed, the
students didnt say a dam thing. But they finally became a lot more willing to write
down answers than to speak them. You just get these wonderful gems of answers.
They just come out with these things that they would normally be afraid to say, and if
you just poke them a little bit and get them to speak up and believe in themselves, they
come out with it.

Those gems come from students who are fully capable of understanding what they need

to do in order to succeed. As Sal so aptly put it, they simply need to be poked—not given

up on. Sometimes they're more willing to speak than to write ideas down. The student

teacher's obligation is to find a way to draw them out and to show them their thoughts are

appreciated.

James Ramaska was able to speak to the happy medium between developing a trade

skill and becoming a responsible, active citizen:

If you're going to be a plumber, thats fine, but that doesn't exclude you from knowing
how to read and write or still being the most educated plumber that you can be. You're
107

still going to have to deal with numbers and deal with books, and you're going to have
to read directions and use your mind a lot—not just turn a wrench.
As a teacher I'm just trying to lay as solid a base as I can for social studies. The
most important things are not only the knowledge of what basic terms and themes are in
history and government but to be able to be active and responsible citizens. It doesn't
matter what you do for a living that's the most important thing. It’s that you can
participate in the process whether it be voting or speaking your mind.

James's approach is a tribute to his desire to emancipate his students from the bonds of

ignorance by pushing them to develop the critical thinking skills that will make them

participants rather than spectators.

H. Structure and Critical Pedagogy

Viewing structure as a barrier to emancipation is a misrepresentation of critical

pedagogy. It is not the shape of the classroom, the height of its walls, the rigidity of its

disciplinary rules, or the timing of the bell schedule which subjugate inner city students; it is

the lack of respect for the students' intellect and the lack of an equal forum where ideas can

be exchanged. Raymond Strathmore recognized the importance of structure to inner city

kids who often have little to no structure in their home lives:

Part of me says they really want the structure because they have no structure outside of
school. It's the one place that they know if they do this, this and this, this is what
happens whereas outside they aren't. The consequences of what they do or dont do
aren't outlined so easily for them.

But what he didn't see is that providing structure is not enough. It is the learning within

the structure that is important, and it is the teacher who must create a learning environment

that encourages interest and active participation. It's too easy to focus on the reasons why

that cant be done. Raymond unconsciously put his defense mechanisms into motion and

convinced himself that teaching urban kids was a hopeless situation-at least for him:
108

One of the basic problems that I ran into is the kids didn't care about learning, and they
didn't care about being in school. A lot of the kids were there because if they weren't
there, their parents wouldn’t get welfare. And that's the only reason why the parents
saw them. There are other circumstances too that keep them from wanting to learn, but
my problem is, at this time, I want to teach people who are interested because I've
always been interested at least to some degree in learning and knowing that learning
itself is important, but these kids—I dont think they see that.

Raymond neglected to see the challenge he identified in his own words. If urban kids

dont think learning is important, then the job of an urban educator is to show them that it

is. That is precisely what critical pedagogy is all about. As long as the masses are content

to wallow in mindlessness, those in power will remain in power. Those who live in abject

conditions will continue to live in abject conditions. A ready-made audience of eager

learners or at least an audience whose parents are actively involved in their children's

education may make the suburban teaching process easier, but before the teacher walks

into that classroom the students in that audience have already succeeded. The best teachers

are needed in inner city schools.

I. Jumping into Life: Entering the Real World after High School

Opposed to the thought of developing critical thinking skills in students or at least

indicating they are of less importance is the notion of preparing students for the workplace.

Regardless of the motives of big business in developing workers to fill the necessary

functions of production lines, a process which ultimately fills the pockets of management,

the simple fact of the matter is that people need jobs to survive, and they need marketable

skills to secure those jobs. "School to Work" programs are springing up in various

communities where businesses, high schools and community colleges work together to
109

develop the skills of students who will enter the job market upon graduation equipped with

practical tools. John Bulinski reflected on why that might be important.:

There was more training towards everyday life: how to buy a car, how to do all sorts of
stuff which I didn’t learn in high school. Maybe the reason they didn't teach it to me in
high school was "You're going on to college," and ninety-nine percent of us did. "You
don’t need to know that for another four years. Your parents will be there to help you
do it.” Maybe here they have the assumption that parents aren't going to help them.
Maybe the parents aren't there. I don’t know if it's a bad thing because it's stuff they
need to know how to do, and if they're not getting it at home, a lot of them wont know
how to do it. And the reality is five percent of them are going on to college. They're
going out, and they're getting a job. They're getting an apartment next year. They're
gone from their parents' house next year-if they're not already out-which a lot of them
are. They jumped into life a lot earlier than I did.

Are we encouraging urban students not to go on to college by training them in practical

skills rather than giving them full schedules of academically challenging courses? Or are

we being realistic and even humane by teaching them marketable skills which will land

them a job and provide them and their families with a steady income?

What continues to haunt many student teachers and others who believe in the

importance of emancipating their students is a Pvpmalion scenario— setting students up for

a worse fate than they already possess by intellectualizing them and sending them into a

world in which they no longer fit. Jack Wilson had this to say:

I am ambivalent because I don't know if I'm setting students up for failure by attempting
to develop in them the ability to criticize, to synthesize, to analyze the true meaning of
education, intelligence and themselves and their role in a society because if I do my job
and do it successfully, I may develop discontented students who later, when they go out
into society, become extremely alienated from themselves and from their job because
they say, "Hey, I am intelligent, but why am I working at MacDonalds for five dollars
an hour, or "Why am I working and loading a truck for Home Depot or for Walmart?"

I have wrestled with this philosophical dilemma for years as I do now. Somewhere in

between the emancipatory theme and the exploitative theme lies the answer to this
110

problem. The arithmetic is simple-even at fast food restaurants: one manager, one

assistant manager, several workers. For a society to function, particularly a capitalist

society, there have to be workers—lots of them. There will always be more production jobs

than managerial positions. Those production positions have to be filled by individuals who

have been trained to do the jobs. Conversely management positions have to be filled by

people who have adequate training and leadership skills.

Not everyone will be a good manager. Not everyone will be a good production worker.

What is important is that everyone have an equal opportunity to become a manager and

everyone have the training to become a skilled worker. Jack's ambivalence is

understandable, but discontent among people in inappropriate positions will serve as a

dialectic for change. At least they will ask the question "why." That is better than

dropping their heads and blindly accepting what they think is their fate.
CHAPTER VD

TRACKING ISSUES IN THE URBAN PRACTICUM

Very few topics in education cause the kind of reaction that tracking brings on.

According to all of the participants in my study, teacher education programs are clearly

espousing an anti-tracking philosophy. The Massachusetts Department of Education has

mandated elimination of the basic track by September of 1995.

The plain truth of the situation, however, is that most secondary schools in

Massachusetts are tracked in some way. Many are simply renaming their class levels to

comply with the new state regulation. While I cannot speak for all teachers in urban high

schools, I did survey the twenty-six members of my own English Department in the spring

of 1994, and without exception all favored the unforced tracking system at Lawrence High

School. Essentially unforced tracking means teachers make recommendations that students

sign up for a particular level course based on students' current performance in the same

discipline. Students and parents still have the right to overrule the teacher's

recommendation and choose any level course (other than honors level or courses requiring

prerequisites) they wish. The bulk of the teachers surveyed are in their mid forties with

twenty or more years experience.

All of the participants in this study are in their twenties with no teaching experience.

Their comments in this section reveal an interesting dichotomy between them and the

people they will eventually replace.

Ill
112

A. Frustration: The Dominant Theme in Tracking in the Urban Practicum

Frustration is the main theme centered around the issue of tracking and the

ramifications of its continued use. Although most of my participants recognized tracking as

unfair to students of color and students who live in poverty, they still saw it as a necessary

evil. The word "impossible" came up several times in terms of describing the teaching of

basic level students. Those who saw heterogenous grouping as a viable alternative tied its

success to a formidable support system.

B. Universities: The Bastions of Anti-Tracking

When studying the educational backgrounds of my participants, I noticed that all of the

public high schools they attended were tracked. Although the private or parochial schools

which the rest of my participants attended were not tracked, their exclusivity had already

screened out students who would have been placed in lower tracks. Most of my

participants were average to above average students. None of them were in a basic track.

The rest were in either college-bound or honors tracks.

All of my participants had been exposed to tracking issues in their university training. I

emphasize that, without exception, the slant of their teacher preparation programs was

clearly towards anti-tracking, and the effects of that slant are clear. The following

comment by Robert Greene, a student teacher in the English Department at Leighton High

School, indicates a frequently mentioned source for that opinion:

I took a class called "Introduction to Urban Education," and essentially all we did was
read a book by Jeannie Oakes called Keeping Track which is sort of the bible of
anti-tracking. The gist of the book was that die tracking system was ineffective,
ethically wrong, morally wrong, discriminatory based upon race, gender in certain areas
and ultimately because it doesn't work. So my conclusion was, "Hey, it doesn't work.
Why use this system that doesn't effectively teach all the kids?" Then I got to Leighton
113

High walking in with the theory that tracking was essentially evil, and after having been
through it, I am even more convinced of that.

Although Robert rather articulately reiterated a litany of reasons condemning tracking,

he, in using the phrase, "all we did" and the term, "sort of the bible" seemed to feign a

sarcasm that never came to be. By the end of his practicum, in fact, he asserted that he

was absolutely certain that tracking was "evil."

Robert was not alone among my participants in terms of professing an anti-tracking

sentiment openly. Sal Cheblanc, who student taught in the Social Studies Department at

Leighton High School, had very strong feelings about the negative results of tracking.

Here he referred to a frequently quoted term from Rosenthal's (1968) highly publicized

study of what happens to children who are tracked:

The thing that bothers me is because they were labeled standard, they weren't asked to
do much, so now they either wont, or they think they cant, or they dont think then-
ideas are worthwhile... self-fulfilling prophecy.

For the urban student teacher, Sal's affirmation of Rosenthal's assertion brings greater

credence to the anti-tracking posture. If, as Sal postulates, students "won't" or think they

"cant" do the work assigned to them, laziness, boredom and/or resistance will probably

result. But in the urban arena, where reading levels of students range from primer to post

twelfth grade and where second language acquisition difficulties further exacerbate the

problem, ability grouping can make a difference in providing a less stressful transition to

the next level. Poor attendance and, in some cases, incredulous transiency rates can

destroy any efforts at cooperative learning and create animosity rather than teamwork.

It is sad that the issue of tracking has polarized so many educators and, in many case,

left little room for discussion. When the university slant against tracking becomes
114

pervasive, the opposite effect can be produced. Jennifer Benares got tired of being

pounded:

My ed. courses would just dash tracking. Okay, tracking is bad, cooperative learning is
the thing, and interdisciplinary teaching. I got tired of accepting everything when I had
nothing to go on because I hadn't experienced any of it. I finally said tracking isn't so
bad

While I am not suggesting that universities which espouse heterogeneous grouping drop

their contention that it works better, I am asserting that a more even handed dialogue needs

to take place which at least acknowledges the arguments for tracking and includes

experienced urban high school teachers in the discussion.

C. The Mountain of Sisyphus: The Difficulty of Working with Low Groups

When student teachers are given basic level classes (a frequently occurring

phenomenon), many of them become disheartened quickly. When tied in with discipline

problems and attendance problems, low tracked classes become the mountain of

Sisyphus—a dreadful, never-ending, laborious process where no progress is ever made.

Robert Greene outlined the dreadful environment he found himself in:

What English class was to the kids in the freshman basic class was this place that you
went, and there would be three or four people there. Nobody ever went. You were
never able, you didn't really do anything because no lessons could build from day to
day. You couldn't do any lesson today that you did yesterday or anything that built on
any homework that you did. It was not possible to build consistency into instruction. I
sure as hell wouldn't have wanted to be a student in that class.

The dwindling number of students in Robert's basic level class added to the dilemma

and fueled a cycle which continued to spiral downward. Often low level classes in urban

high schools start out as high as thirty and end up with less than ten students by the end of
115

the year. The remaining students see the classroom as a sinking ship. They cut class more

often and end up failing the subject.

Jennifer Benares echoed a similar concern and saw apathy and poor behavior as side

effects of placing students in lower tracks: "I really got to see how in the tracks apathy is a

characteristic even more. And the kids in the lower tracks are so immature it is ridiculous."

Apathy and immaturity are difficult obstacles to overcome. If the immaturity is dealt with

by strong restraint, the classroom can become didactic, and apathy can become the

students' mode of resistance. If the immaturity is ignored and allowed to go on, the student

teacher can lose control, and the classroom can become anarchic. Many student teachers

struggle through their basic classes and become exhausted.

Julie Boswick fought the good fight but lost in the end. Her fierce determination,

however, is inspiring:

You know, I was going to turn that class around. They were going to be different.
They were going to learn more. I was going to teach them the way they had never been
taught before. I was going to get through to them God damn it. That's how I felt. But
at the end, I was going to have a break-down. I cant do it.

Julie started out the way every student teacher should start out-with fire in her eyes,

confidence in herself and a desire to overcome obstacles no one else had ever been able to

overcome. The fact that she finished the practicum is a testament to her perseverance.

The fact that she felt as if she were going to have a break-down if she continued to try is an

indication of the tremendous difficulty of teaching a basic level class in an urban high

school.
116

D. Setting Priorities: The Criteria by Which High Schools Judge Their Success

On what basis is the success of a high school judged? That clearly depends on where it

is located and who makes up its population. Some schools pride themselves on the number

of National Merit Scholarship winners they produce or the number of students who score

high on the AP exam or the average SAT score. Some note the quality of the colleges its

seniors are accepted to and the percentage of the graduating class that goes on to four-year

schools. Some showcase their athletic talent and look to outstanding records of various

sports teams. Some are judged by their dropout rate. It should not be surprising to

discover that many urban high schools fall into the latter category. How urban high

schools choose their priorities was a matter of concern to some of the student teachers in

this study. Robert Greene was one of those:

Do you work on your top level kids and get them to be really successful and create a
school that sort of manufactures a few kids who really succeed every year and hope that
the rest will kind of drift along with them? Or do you work harder at guaranteeing that
everybody comes out sort of at an equal level, and forget about the kids who are
achievers and go after the kids who are dropping out?
It's not a choice you ever want to make in education, but I suppose when it comes to
allocating resources, you're constantly making choices like that. It seems to me if
you've got a twenty-five percent dropout rate in the ninth grade, that's your number
one priority.

Robert points out a dilemma that urban high schools are facing today. On whom do

you focus the bulk of your attention? If you go with the numbers, you target the students

who aren't making it. If the bulk of your budget is spent on textbooks, material and

personnel designed to reach a broad audience, you risk teaching to the middle and

marginalizing the students on both ends of the spectrum. If you are not selective about

who qualifies for an honors program, for example, you have the obligation of working with
117

eveiy child, individually if necessary, to make sure they pass. That requires the kind of

time that is not available to teachers in most urban high schools. Regardless of

philosophical rationale, budget and time restrictions may play an increasingly important role

in determing whether or not urban high schoools will be homogeneously or

heterogeneously grouped.

E. Approaches to Untracking: Student Teachers' Reasons for Rliminatinp Tracking

The student teachers in my study varied in their desired solution to the tracking dilemma

from immediate heterogeneous grouping across the board to an intensification and greater

refinement of the tracking system. Robert Greene reflected seriously about the

ramifications untracking might have had on his classes:

A number of those students, if they had been in my freshman academic class, would
have blossomed. And the kids that didn't do any work in the freshman basic class? Put
them in the freshman academic class. They were not going to do any work there either.
Throw them in with kids who are academically serious. Make that the rule rather than
the exception. Instead the kids who were not as skilled are put in a group with other
kids who are not as skilled, and the result is they don’t see what skilled is. They're not
good students, and so they are kept apart from good students, and the result is that they
stay bad students.

Robert's argument makes sense. If students in low level classes are exposed only to

other students with limited abilities, they never see what good students can do. In my high

school a house system was imposed three years ago. It segregated the freshmen into one

section of the building. From the onset their behavior in the corridors and at lunch was

particularly immature. Without the benefit of seeing how upperclassmen behaved, they

simply mimicked their peers, the silliest who seemed to get the most attention.
118

James Ramaska thought untracking might improve the performance of some of the low

level students, but he also recognized the possibility of an opposite effect on high level

students:

I see kids in the standard level, and I know if I put them in the academic class they
would rise to that level. In the same case, I have kids in the academic that if I brought
them down to standard level class, they would get caught up in the lower echelons of
behavior and effort.

A common defensive argument against untracking is the difficulty of teaching students

of differing ability levels in the same class. Robert Greene thought it would, in fact, be

easier:

Heterogeneous grouping might make it easier on teachers. A lot of teachers sort of


fight that saying, "Well it would be harder to teach." My guess would be that it would
make it easier on teachers because you wouldn't have a whole classroom of kids who
were tanking it; you would have three or four out of thirty.

Robert made a valid point, but he is indeed very naive in terms of numbers. Three out

of thirty is a mere ten percent. In my high school nearly thirty percent of the student

population is absent on a daily basis. Unless attendance improved drastically, that figure

alone would diminish Robert's daily class attendance to twenty-one.

One could easily say that even this figure is an improvement over the three or four

survivors in Robert's basic class, and it is. But what do you do on the following day when

the absentees return and have no clue about what is going on in class? Ignoring them will

only provoke poor behavior. Repeating the lesson will help them but punish those who

were there to hear it the first time. Assigning more advanced students to help slower

students might help, but is it right to take their time away to teach other students concepts
119

they have ahead}’ mastered, and will not the amount of work covered by the end of the

year be substantially reduced?

Julie Boswick, however, agreed with Robert She phrased it a bit different!}’ but hit the

same target: "I can handle one or two in a class, but a whole class full of them is just like a

grease pit" Making progress in a grease pit can indeed be slippery’ business. Julie's

comment cuts to the core.

Although Trevor Mood}’ thought he too could teach in an untracked class, he foresaw

problems with grading, something he was already having difficulty with in a homogeneous

: "My sense is I could work with them. But at the same time, I w onder how’ you
I ! I

a kid. Do you grade a kid in comparison to the brighter kids in the class? Do you

him based on what he or she can do?" Trevor's question is one which experienced

teachers still grapple with ever}’ day.

Still, despite the difficulties that Trevor was having, Julie Boswick saw tremendous

academic advantages for untracked classes in terms of contributions to discussion:

Maybe, the academic kids have never been arrested or never been a product of a
divorced family, so when you're in social studies class where issues of your own
experience come up quite often, it's to everyone's advantage to have people of groups
together.

Julie’s observation speaks to the importance of diversity in the classroom. Even in an

urban school, classes at the honors level can still be primarily white. Without

representatives from the factions who are discussed in the classroom, meaningful

discussion is limited on the basis of what people within the group perceive about people

who are not


120

While Julie wished to do away with tracking completely, Jack Wilson wanted to see

tracking abolished but with specific conditions attached:

I would advocate the doing away of tracking but only with the incredible burden of a
support network. And it is a burden. It will require some additional monies, additional
people, but I think the end result is equality.

Jack, unlike many anti-tracking advocates, realized that you just can't simply do away

with tracking unless you provide a means of taking care of those students who fall by the

wayside. That includes support staff such as reading specialists, special needs personnel

and tutors as well as materials including computers, software and textbooks. Budget

restrictions make that extremely difficult to accomplish.

John Bulinski who student taught in the English Department at Lane Vocational saw

altering the curriculum by carefully selecting books as a means of reaching students with

varying ability levels:

We've all got there [understanding] pretty well because The Chocolate War, which I
spent a lot of time on has a couple of different levels. I tried to get the highest level of
interpretation through, so the brightest kids liked that, and there was another level for
eveiyone else, and I tried to get everything through, and I think they all enjoyed it.
You've got to find books like that.

It is true that many novels can be taught at different levels, but what John may not

understand is that the reading level of the book is the sole determinant of whether or not a

student can get through it There is a world of difference between The Chocolate War and

War and Peace. What has inevitably been happening is that English departments in urban

high schools and to a lesser extent, suburban high schools, have been ordering books which

are classified as "high interest / low level." While teachers can demand higher level

interpretation and more in depth papers from some students, the bottom line is that the
121

book is probably written at a sixth grade reading level. That does not bode well for the

future of the "Great Books" in urban high schools.

Sal Cheblanc addressed this issue directly when talking about altering curriculum

requirements. Many would say that tossing classic texts aside in order to find a happy

medium is a fallacious argument, but this young neophyte was interested in a different level

of communication:

All the way through graduate school I had these college topics in my mind, and that's
just not the way it is. It is not practical to think that kids are going to be fascinated with
Nathaniel Hawthorne. I think a lot can be gained by doing practical work with some
people—not like occupational development or anything like that but getting them to
communicate in words and in writing their ideas, their thoughts.
I think that's what they need. If they don't care about Hawthorne, and they don't
care about Shakespeare, they should care about how they carry what they communicate
with others. If you don't get anything else out of school, you should learn how to
communicate.

Sal's comment raises an important question. Do you shape the student to the

curriculum or the curriculum to the student? Should we throw away "Ode to the West

Wind" and substitute it with "Gangsta Rap?" You don't simply eliminate certain subjects

from the curriculum because students don't want to learn about them. Both student

teachers and teachers often present material which they think appeals to students in order

to keep their interest. Some would argue that something is better than nothing. But that is

not enough. Mediocrity perpetuates mediocrity. Student teachers need to keep their

expectations high and not simply present material which students find enjoyable.

F. The Need for Student Teachers to be Aware of the Systemic Consequences of Changes
in the Tracking Process

Although the number of course levels varies from school to school, the criteria which is

generally used for ability grouping is based on class and/or test performance. While this
122

sounds like a simple procedure, it is clearly not perfect. Many bright students choose

tracks lower than what they can handle for an easy ride. Many students who struggle

attempt tracks higher than they can handle to avoid being labeled as slow. Terry Anson

proposed a different alternative:

There are students who take science because they like science, and they want to learn
science. There are students who take science because they need it for college. There
are students who take science because their parents say so, and there are students who
take it because they need two years of it to graduate. Id rather track it more that way
so you know what group of kids you're working with. Allow them to choose which
one they would want to be in. I know it's rather unrealistic, but I would think that
would make the teacher's job a lot easier.

Being slotted into a course based on the criteria of one's motivation for taking that

course is a novel idea but clearly, as even Terry naively admits, an unrealistic one. The

scheduling process is very complicated; room utilization, contract stipulations and budget

limitations often take priority over sensible placement. And even if Terry's scenario were

possible, who would want to teach the section of students who take science only because

they had to?

And what about the students in the higher tracks? Terry surmised that her honors level

students were quite proud of their academic status within the school and wary of how they

might fare elsewhere:

The kids that I have in honors level are happy to be here because they're the best here,
and maybe somewhere inside them they know if they were somewhere else, they might
not be the best. They’re very conscious of their status within this school.

Clearly an advantage of tracking is the pride in achievement and the competitive spirit

engendered in those who strive to attain honors status. Recognizing students for academic

scholarship reinforces good study habits and a strong work ethic. Those students who have
123

a competitive spirit and the willingness to apply themselves to their studies deserve the

same amount of attention as those students at the other end of the spectrum. All students

need to be pushed to the limit to develop their potential; good students do not simply make

it on their own.

The satisfaction gained from working with a high level group is unmistakable;

sometimes it is critical. Julie Boswick talked about some of the reasons why:

I felt personal rewards from my academic classes at Leighton High. I had classes where
I could almost cry because we talked about something so in depth, and I felt that I really
reached them, and I need that reinforcement that Pm doing a good job.

Julie points out that reinforcement is needed by student teachers as well as students.

The worn out cliche about teaching being a rewarding career is founded on the premise

that you get something back for what you give. If student teachers give day after day and

get nothing back, self doubt and/or cynicism can negatively affect their attitude and

performance. Julie's high level class gave her the opportunity to recharge herself

emotionally by seeing the results of her effort.

At the other end of the spectrum are the basic level students. Although students in the

upper levels should serve as models and inspire similar performances from others, they

often become stark reminders to low level students of what they seemingly can never

become, and that can cement the self defeating attitude which will dog low achievers for

life. Timothy Meehy displayed an uneasiness when discussing the question of whether or

not low level students were negatively affected by being placed in a basic class:

I dont know if it places a state of mind in a kid. I don't know in this school if a kid
says, 'Tm in basic" and says it with shame. That's not necessarily something I want to
ask. I think some might be affected.
124

But in some school sites the feelings of students in the lower tracks were perfectly

obvious. Jennifer Benares easily observed the pain of the low achievers at Sussex High

School:

They said, "We're the stupid kids. That's why we're not going on that field trip." They
know it, and that is hurtful. They have nothing to really look up to or live up to at all,
and if they were mixed in with some other kids with higher abilities, they would have
something to live up to, to work up to.

Through the process of induction it does not take long for students to recognize they

have been labeled as "stupid" kids. Students who find themselves in marginal groups at the

lower end of the echelon then find a common denominator to bind themselves together;

even the link of "stupidity" can become acceptable in a darkly humorous way.

Interestingly enough Peter Macelroy saw the process from a different angle. He took

decisive action in moving students to higher levels because he felt teachers had retained

them at lower levels in order to have a few "good kids" in class:

There's a stigma. They go from second to third grade in these classes, and they don't
move up because they're top of the heap. They're king of the hill, and teachers aren't
going to want to move them because they think, "Hey, this kid is smart. He's good. If
he leaves I'm going to have more of these types of kids." I moved up quite a few kids
which I felt positive about.

I have observed many students not moving up a level because they were comfortable

where they were and too lazy to do the extra work in a more academically challenging

class. I have observed students not moving down a level even if the work were too difficult

because they did not want to be viewed as "basic" students. I have not, however, seen

teachers discourage upward mobility if they thought the student was capable of handling

the more rigorous course. Peter's observation may have been based on a comparison of

students within his classroom but perhaps not with those in higher levels. Many student
125

teachers are often quick to criticize based on what they see in front of them. What they are

often unaware is the "big picture"; in systems with top down management the same

phenomenon occurs with teachers.

G. The Anxiety of Student Teachers about the Tracking Tssue

While the idea of an untracked school may be appealing, the problems created may be

equal or greater to the problems solved. Trevor Moody expressed anxiety about a problem

that would be difficult to overcome in a heterogeneously grouped class:

If you can create the environment and get over the discipline problems, you could push
these kids too better, but I don't know about the reading comprehension. I don't know
if someone in basic freshman English can read Of Mice and Men and get the same
meaning out of it as someone who is in academic or honors. It does bother me. I try to
push them, but there's just that reaction that they're not going to do it. Not that I think
the kids I have are dumb or anything like that; you go in knowing that they're not good
readers.

The issue of reading comprehension coupled with the issue of language acquisition are

serious factors in determining whether or not untracked classes can function. And

although computer technology has revolutionized the way the world goes about its

business, it, with the exception of software which is specifically designed to enhance

writing skills, has made the writing process more of a selection of predetermined

alternatives than a natural flow from within. Much like a multiple choice test, recognizing

a logical answer does not mean the same thing as writing an essay which reveals what you

think, how you think and how you are able to express what you think.

Jennifer Benares also acknowledged that the idea of untracked classes was good but

impossible to handle with a full load:

The behavior and the maturity levels of the ninth graders at the high track and the low
track were so different it was amazing. It would be so difficult to teach in a classroom
126

where you have all different ability levels. It's a great thing that could be worked out,
but I can’t see myself as a teacher teaching five classes that are all mixed. I think it
would be hell.

Viewing one class as a microcosm of society and trying to structure it so that it contains

diversity in terms of ability levels as well as race and gender is a noble idea. Trying to

move students in that classroom along in a fair and productive way is an extremely

challenging and exhausting undertaking. Multiply that by five, and it is easy to see why

Jennifer's prediction that "it would be hell" could lead to teacher burnout and constant

turnover in the teaching force. In fact having a five to seven year term followed by a

sabbatical is one of John Goodlad's (1991) ideas which will keep urban teachers fresh.

Teaching five sections of heterogeneously grouped classes may be better than teaching

several low level classes. New teachers are often "dumped" upon with basic freshman

classes while veteran teachers often get upper level senior and junior classes. Many student

teachers are often assigned basic level freshman classes as well. And while most teachers

would readily acknowledge that basic level students deserve good teachers (and some say

they need die best teachers) very few teachers want to teach them. Julie Boswick honestly

admitted that she didn't want to teach low level classes even though she was aware of the

unfairness of the situation:

If they distributed it so that you're just getting one group, it would work out better
because no one wants to teach those kids. These kids deserve good teachers too.
They've just been given crap their whole life, so they expect crap. It's awful, but I also
don't want to teach them either, do I? No, so Tm just as bad as everybody else.

If Julie, who was a marginal student herself during high school, has no desire to teach

low level students, what then can be expected from student teachers who have even less in

common with their charges? The only other student teacher in my group who was a
127

marginal student during high school was Chris Ristous. Like Julie he shot from the hip and

voiced his opinion loudly and clearly:

As a teacher, I don’t think that you should throw them all together. It may not be right,
but there are reasons why. Some people are just a little smarter than others; they grasp
things a little quicker than others. And then there's this cultural stuff. My parents read
tome. I was encouraged to read. These kids don’t read a lot; they never had to. I
think if you threw those middle level sophomores in with those honors, you would
really rob from those honors kids because you'd be worrying about discipline.

Chris tried to illustrate the ability grouping question as diplomatically as possible. In

fact some people are not "just a little smarter than others"; some people are a lot smarter

than others, and by that I mean their ability to perform better than others. Colleges and

universities acknowledge that when they choose their incoming freshman class on the basis

of college board scores, rank in class and athletic or extracurricular prowess. They choose

people who can handle the academic requirements. With the exception of affirmative

action programs, they do not utilize heterogeneity in their selection process. Students who

do not make the cutoff end up in alternative sites such as community colleges or prep

programs where they can develop the skills which may eventually qualify them for

acceptance. Ability grouping is very similar to this process.

It seems rather hypocritical that universities and colleges which are selective about

accepting their own students should espouse heterogeneous grouping for other institutions

of learning. Although the influence of the university is strong during the coursework part

of teacher education, the practicum can diminish that influence significantly. When

coupled with his own secondary education experience, James Ramaska's perspective turned

around:
128

I grew up with tracking. I always thought that was the way to go. Then we go to
graduate school, and we're told it was the worse thing you can do. Now, that I'm
teaching, I'm swinging back towards it. I'm in favor of it. Take my academic class for
instance. If I had a lot of those kids mixed up with the real behavior problems or the
lower level of my standard classes, it wouldn't do justice to both cases. I couldn't really
find a happy medium in teaching to them.

James was influenced by his university training, but when he was m the urban arena

and not merely talking about it, he reverted back to what he originally perceived was the

most reasonable way to teach. Of all my participants, however, Raymond Strathmore put

the dilemma of tracking in its proper location: limbo.

When I went in there I was thinking, like everybody from American University,
"Tracking, there's no reason for it; it's baseless, it creates problems rather than cures
them." Being at Halifax, I dont know what I think about tracking now because I know
within that classroom I had kids that were really good with the material and kids that
weren't, and that was so hard to manage. And it was tracked already! What I was
saying in my mind is, "Boy, this isnt tracked enough," which is really terrible because I
never thought that way, so at this point I'm in limbo. I was catering to the kids that
were struggling. I figured the kids at the top had it made in the shade, but they were
becoming bored and weren't listening after a while. By the time I started saying,
"Alright, let me get the people on top interested," I was losing the bottom half, and that
was the big struggle. I dont think I solved anything.

As of September, 1995, all public high schools in Massachusetts must have eliminated

the general track. How that task is accomplished is up to the individual high schools

involved. Although this mandate does not demand the end of all ability grouping, it

certainly sets us on a path heading in that direction. From personal contacts with educators

in other high schools, I have learned that many are simply retitling courses or levels without

changing content or prerequisites. My high school, on the other hand, is eliminating all

ability levels for incoming freshmen; that includes elimination of the honors program in

freshman year. In the name of fairness for all, those students at the top will be forced to
129

become teachers in a collaborative setting that will hopefully raise up those students at the

bottom. Only time will tell who benefits and who suffers in the end.
CHAPTER Vm

SUPERVISION ISSUES IN THE URBAN PRACTICUM

A. The Cooperating Teacher

In the 1960's in Basic Training Camps, young men who had enlisted in or who had

been drafted by the United States Army were greeted by their Drill Instructors on their first

day with these words: "There are only two people you will remember when you die: your

mother and me!" During the next eight weeks, the DI's did their best to shape the raw

recruits into battle-ready soldiers who would soon stand on the front lines next to seasoned

veterans.

Cooperating teachers also have a mission: to shape student teachers into teachers.

Although the roles of cooperating teacher and student teacher are not nearly as well

defined as Drill Instructor and trainee, the nature of the relationship is almost equally as

important. This section will examine the issues surrounding that relationship from the

perspective of the student teachers in my study.

While we can draw inferences about the relationship between the cooperating and

student teacher in general, we must be careful to remember that each team is unique. The

"chemistry" which exists between two people in any relationship can never be analyzed so

finitely that it can become defined. We simply observe it and collectively infer from it.

The setting in which the team works has an effect on it as well. A young married

couple who work and live in Amherst are not subject to the same pressures that might

affect their relationship if they worked and lived in New York City. And while parts of

their relationship may seem to have nothing or little to do with their environment, there is

130
131

no way to definitively assess how much influence environmental factors play in the success

or failure of the marriage.

The urban high school and its students and problems are, in many ways, different than

the suburban high school and its students and problems. And even, for example, when we

view a cooperating teacher's personality trait or habit that would appear to have nothing to

do with the setting, the possibility exists that the setting may have caused that trait or habit

to surface and develop over time.

1. Disenfranchisement and Resentment: Dominant Themes Concerning


Cooperating Teachers

Only two of my participants were openly hostile to one of their cooperating teachers;

conversely only one of my participants was totally satisfied with his. The rest felt a sense

of disenfranchisement—being deprived of their perceived right to run their classroom as

they see fit. Lack of ownership was a feeling commonly mentioned along with the

difficulty of satisfying the dual roles of student and teacher. A longing to return to the

relatively comfortable expectations of being a student only was also evident.

Although most of my participants expressed admiration for their cooperating teachers,

they also harbored resentment for lack of support. Except for cursory visits, most of the

cooperating teachers stepped out of the picture after two weeks, some after two days.

Classroom management and evaluation were areas many student teachers felt they needed

help with.

2. Birds of a Feather: Choosing a Cooperating Teacher Who Ts Similar in Style

When the student teachers in my study had some say in choosing their cooperating

teacher, they often sought out someone whom they perceived similar to themselves in style.
132

Not having to lock horns seemed to promise to make the experience less stressful for Terry

Anson:

I was looking for someone who was close to how I wanted to do it because I wanted to
have someone to look as if I needed pointers or someone who would understand where
1 was coming from. I tried not to be drastically different so as not to send a culture
shock to the students, but I needed to do it my way or I would have pulled my hair out
and left two weeks after I was here. I have some leeway there also. I just don't go and
make my own decisions and do whatever I want. We'll discuss it.

Terry makes good sense here. It is in the pre-practicum that observations of teachers

with very different styles should take place. That kind of exposure will help student

teachers decide the kind of teaching they'd like to emulate and glean from. Whenever

possible the student teacher should have some choice in determining who the cooperating

teacher will be. In my study student teachers who were able to choose their cooperating

teachers had far less difficulty than those who had no choice in the selection.

Choosing someone he admired provided John Bulinski with a worthy role model. Like

Terry he chose a cooperating teacher who was relatively similar to him. When he referred

to her in his interview, it was always in a positive light because their relationship was stable:

That's the way I want to teach. That's probably the reason I picked her. She seems a
little similar to me. I am a little bit less compassionate to the kids. Maybe, it's because I
have been teaching a lot less time, and I didn't know them as well. That was one of her
greatest strengths. I tried to be as dynamic, but I dont think I am.

Because John had chosen his cooperating teacher and because he was happy with that

choice, he was able to successfully rationalize his lack of compassion for his students in

comparison to hers. Even his acknowledgement of failed attempts to be as dynamic as she

was had no hint of bitterness to it. John's middle class parochial background which is
133

diametrically dissimilar to that of his urban students may also have contributed to the

amount of distance he chose to put between himself and his charges.

3. A Pressurized Coke Can: What Can Happen When the Student Teacher and the
Cooperating Teacher Are Not Similar

When the styles of the cooperating teacher and the student teacher are radically

different, tension can build up quickly, especially when it involves classroom management.

Sal Cheblanc likened his cooperating teacher's style to the lid of an agitated can of soda,

but he was quite adamant about maintaining his own style:

It's like opening a can of coke. When the coke is flat and you open it, you're fine. In
this class someone had shaken up that can because the management had been so tight.
I'm not a person that screams. I'm not a person that blows up and says, "You know
what I mean!" And that's what they had. That's not my style. My idea is "I respect
you, you should respect me." Every time IVe said that in class, someone next to them
will say, "Yeah, knock it off"

Classroom management of urban students, in particular, seemed to bring out the

greatest differences in philosophies and approaches between my participants and their

cooperating teachers. What makes this area even more complex is the perception of what

is successful and what isn't. Sal may be perfectly comfortable with allowing a class to act

up until someone says "knock it off." But the teacher who has a class taking a test next

door might not find Sal's approach acceptable nor might Sal's cooperating teacher.

Sometimes compromise is prudent—and necessary

In searching for a style, Peter Macelroy deliberately went out of his way to be different

from his cooperating teachers and often overdid it:

Most teachers are very passive where Fm very active, for instance, my cooperating
teacher just kind of gets up there and sits and talks from the book, whereas, I'm jumping
around yelling, sometimes singing, doing weird things, and I give more thorough
reviews.
134

Taking risks is something educators do less and less of as they gain experience. Most of

the time we tend not to do those things which previously failed or put us in an

embarrassing position. It is the willingness of many student teachers to try different

approaches which gives them their freshness and makes them appealing to students who

recognize that wonderful naivete. "Doing weird things" may not always have endeared

Peter to some of his urban students, however, who might view his antics as condescending

or demeaning.

It is not only student teachers who have to adjust to their students. Students must adjust

to the student teacher and eventually back to the teacher again. That too can be difficult as

Bill Colletta noted:

I guess the kids had a hard time getting used to me because she was intensely one way,
and it was successful, and then I was intensely another way, and they had to get used to
me. Once they got used to me, she told me afterwards, it was difficult for them to get
back and be used to her again.

In the struggle between the student teacher cooperating teacher and college supervisor,

students often play the role of guinea pigs. When something doesn't work, they lose

ground. When classroom management is not successful, they can become victims of other

students. They have to adjust first to the classroom teacher, then to the student teacher and

then back to the classroom teacher again.

If people were ill, few would choose to temporarily replace an experienced physician

with a medical student during a prolonged illness. People who do choose to be treated at

teaching hospitals are generally assigned a large team of experienced doctors and medical

residents. Students in the classroom have no choice; they are given one student teacher.

That may be part of the reason they often give student teachers a hard time.
135

Sometimes the student teacher recognizes that students will react differently to the

teacher just because he or she is the teacher—even if an identical request were made. Here

Monica Pellante acknowledged the respect accorded to her cooperating teacher who had

"paid his dues" over the years:

I thought it was amazing, especially the Antigone debates. The little amount he said,
"You defend the state, and you defend the individual. Now get together in your
groups, and talk about it." I couldn't believe it. That's all he had to say. It amazed me
because I think if I had said that same thing, I would have had fifteen million questions.
"Oh, how can we do this?" It's just the way he said it, how he said it, who he is, twenty
three years. They take that in, and they listen to it. I would go with the side of the
person I knew and respected too.

Although initially amazed by student cooperation, Monica eventually understood that

respect is something that is earned over the course of time. Veteran teachers with an

earned reputation need only confirm what new students expect of them by being consistent

with that reputation—good or bad. Student teachers are pummeled with questions that

veteran teachers are never asked. It's an issue of paying one's dues.

If the teacher is very demanding, students see the student teacher as a welcomed change

and a break from the rigor of the teacher. That can be advantageous and disadvantageous.

It might make it easier for the student teacher to be liked if he or she is perceived as a

softer touch, but it also can make it difficult for the student teacher to demand the same

effort from the students. Such was the case with James Ramaska:

It was tough; the transition was tough. He is such a demanding teacher academic-wise
and discipline-wise that they saw a change to be a break from him. "This is vacation
now from him. We're not going to have someone as demanding as he is." It was hard
to fill his expectations, so the kids initially saw it as "this is a break."

This scenario puts student teachers in an awkward situation. If they chooses to be less

demanding than their cooperating teachers, they win immediate popularity with their
136

students but undermine themselves as educators with low expectations. If they demand as

much as their cooperating teachers, they meet with immediate resistance and will be tested

by their students to see if they can back up their demands. If the high school itself is

structured and regimented, as many urban high schools are, anything other than a

structured and regimented approach in the classroom might be perceived by students as a

sign of weakness.

If the cooperating teacher is intensely disliked by students, and the reasons for that

become obvious to the student teacher, the situation can become very uncomfortable.

Although Raymond Strathmore respected his cooperating teacher, he immediately

perceived a problem:

Even on the first day she did not give them the benefit of the doubt. She was
practically yelling at the kids, telling them not to do this in class as if they already had it
in mind to do it. The kids didn't like her at all. At every point they were trying to think
of a way to get out of the class because they were terrified of her.

This is clearly not a match made in heaven. Raymond's initial reactions clearly indicate

his feelings about his cooperating teacher’s unfairness and preconceived opinions. This

was further intensified by what he viewed as possible prejudice making him even more

uncomfortable:

She was uncompromising, especially with the lower class and Hispanic kids. She was
extremely unwavering in her stance. She may have had a prejudice against some of the
Hispanic kids. She said something like, "He was Hispanic too, and he was really caring.
You just don't find that."

Raymond has to be careful. He is a stranger to the urban high school and a neophyte in

the world of teaching; but he can recognize prejudice. There is no easy way to tell

someone else that they are acting in a prejudiced manner. Defensiveness immediately
137

comes into play, walls go up, and communication permanently breaks down. There are

three choices Raymond can make: 1) do the practicum elsewhere; 2) try to diplomatically

show the cooperating teacher the error of her ways and challenge her if necessary; 3)

unconditionally surrender, and acquiesce in order to complete the practicum. Raymond

chose the third option:

If I were able to relax a little bit more, then I could have been creative, but I was never
able to relax because I didn't get a lot of positive reinforcement. Instead of developing
my sense of being a teacher, it just made me scatterbrained. In the end I was adopting
anything she had to say just to appease her because it gets to a point in your student
teaching where you're just saying "I want to pass this thing, and HI worry about my own
style later. And this person is the one who is going to tell me if I pass or not." You
want to satisfy that need even if it doesn't really coincide with your own feelings on the
matter.

Raymond's remarks support the finding that student teachers work in a finite range of

required classroom activities that result in limited control by the student teacher and

limited interaction with students other than what is related to the task at hand (Tabachnik,

Popkewitz, & Zeichner, 1979). Although Raymond did complete his practicum, he paid a

high price. Not only was he still resentful at the end of his practicum; he had decided

urban teaching was definitely not for him nor any teaching, in fact, for a little while. He

had become disenfranchised from the teaching profession probably because of an

incompatible placement.

Perhaps the ideal balance occurs when the student teacher is able to recognize and

accept similarities and differences in style and learn to work around them. Jennifer

Benares was quite clear in what she saw and was able to develop a close rapport with her

cooperating teacher while still satisfying her own needs:


138

She and I are alike in some ways and very different in other ways in regards to our
teaching. I envied her ability to talk about things. She was much more a disciplinarian
than I was. While she did on occasion do some group work or dialoguing, there wasn't
as much as I would have liked. She was very much into vocabulary. I wasn't, but in
the end I decided this is the one aspect of the class that I'm going to keep the same
because the kids need that consistency. Tm not as gifted or skilled as she is, so I was
going to have to be doing some different things.

Jennifer was wise enough to know that she had to provide some continuity by retaining

vocabulary work even though she wasn't excited about doing so. Many urban students

who have been in structured environments throughout their grammar and elementary

education, particularly those at basic levels and those whose native language is other than

English, are most comfortable when they know exactly what is expected of them. They

like vocabulary because it is finite; they can learn it by rote and succeed with it. They are

conversely generally uncomfortable with open ended questions. It is interesting to note that

most of the cooperating teachers in this study were identified as strong disciplinarians and

good talkers. Since Jennifer acknowledged she did not share those strengths, she decided

to take a different route but retain the vocabulary.

4. Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone: What Happens When the Cooperating
Teacher Cuts Down Observing Time

How often should the cooperating teacher observe the student teacher? Of the nine

participants in my study who were rarely observed, only one was happy about it. The

pattern which emerged was less than a week of observation before shifting to sporadic

drop-in visits. Jennifer Benares was on her own after only two days: "She pretty much

was there in and out all semester, but she wasn't there very much. In the beginning, maybe

the first couple of days." Much has been written about teacher burnout in the urban high

school. Having a student teacher allows the cooperating the teacher the freedom to come
139

and go as she or he pleases. Putting the student teacher in control quickly in order to build

a strong rapport is advocated by many cooperating teachers; but assuming the student

teacher is doing fine and walking out alter a mere glimpse can leave the student teacher

feeling abandoned.

Another typical pattern involved the teacher having the opportunity to do other things

under the guise of letting the student teacher get his or her feet wet as Trevor Moody

indicated: "We would talk, but I think it was a lot more hands off. By the second week,

she would be "Okay, I have to run and do this." The cooperating teachers mentioned in

my study were not compensated monetarily or by a reduction in classes. In an already

difficult schedule, the added burden of a student teacher provides an adequate rationale for

leaving the class to perform other functions.

Perhaps even more disconcerting is when the student teacher is not told what he or she

is going to teach or who the cooperating teacher is going to be. Peter Macelroy was left in

the dark until the last minute: "The thing that I regretted was he didn't give me a definite list

of what I would be teaching and who I would be working with. He just gave me some

books here and there."

And to make matters worse Peter ended up with an entirely different class. "I had no

support. I had to prepare every single night because I thought I was doing Geography, and

I ended up not getting a Geography class." Whenever possible, student teachers need as

much preparation time in advance as possible. The situation is unfortunately true for

teachers in urban high schools as well. Because of the incredible transiency rate in many

large cities, classes often can not be scheduled until September. Most veteran teachers
140

have built up an arsenal of materials through the years to get them through such times of

stress when classes are as large as forty and there is an inadequate number of textbooks.

Student teachers, however, have no such arsenal and many struggle as Peter did.

The normal reaction of most student teachers when asked the loaded question, "Can

you handle the class?" is of course "Yes." But overconfidence and false pride can lead to a

practicum of uncertainty and anxiety. It's a realization which inevitably comes too late as

Trevor Moody learned:

Sink or swim. That was me. The only way you're going to learn is if somebody
watches you and says, "Nope, you're making a big this, this and this." Your first
reaction is, "Yes, I can handle it," and then you don't have anybody watching you.
Ultimately that's not a good thing.

One methodology employed in teaching babies to swim is to throw them in the pool;

remarkably most of them float to the surface and eventually become good swimmers. That

may work with many babies, but it doesn't work with adults; throw an adult who cant swim

into the deep end of a pool, and you will cause permanent trauma. Student teachers may

have had some previous training, but putting them in the front lines of an urban high

school class and then walking away may cause tremendous anxiety for some of them.

Without the support of the cooperating teacher, the student teacher is left to the mercy of

the students. As Trevor observed, the results can be difficult to handle:

That absence of support; a system like that can suck you in, but at the same time it
makes you grow up real fast. You have to be independent. You have to remember that
you are a student. It's the first time you're getting up in front of a room. And kids are
beautiful in their ruthless honesty, and they will tell you exactly how they feel. That can
be real tough.

Trevor's second and third sentences are almost an oxymoron. Having "to be

independent" and having "to remember you are a student" seem to say you have to be self
141

sufficient, but it's okay to make mistakes. Urban kids are street smart, and Trevor is right

on target when he describes their "ruthless honesty." It's impossible not to take things

personally, and yet somehow student teachers have to rise above their errors.

In the nature documentaries the mother bird somehow manages to push the babies out

of the nest at precisely the right time, and the tiny birds magically are able to forage for

themselves. Not so with Trevor who continued to bemoan making decisions he felt

unprepared for:

I remember a couple of times asking her about grading. She would say, "Well, I don't
know. You've got to learn that for yourself." What the hell do I know? I've never
done this before. I wasn’t lazy. I was scared. Tm not "Take that bull by the horn."
I've got to work through stuff. I understand that we have to learn everything for
ourselves, but knowing that we're students. You know a teacher's job is to guide people
through things. I could have used a lot more.

Trevor's lack of hesitation in wanting more guidance points to a need to expand the

prepracticum into a forum where he could be more of an apprentice learning the tools of

his trade rather than simply an observer. Perhaps team teaching during the prepracticum

would help make the transition to student teaching less painful.

Reinforcement is something stressed in any learning situation. Even though most

student teachers are older than the high school students they teach, they are students

nonetheless. Without adequate observation by their cooperating teachers, there can be little

or, at best, meaningless reinforcement. Just how important that reinforcement is can be

seen in Jack Wilson's comment: 'Tm a little disappointed in that sense, and maybe it's my

own insecurity. Maybe Tm looking for some positive reinforcement, a pat on the back

saying That's a good idea,' and 'You're not a complete screwup."' Jack was one of the
142

most independent and mature participants in my study, and even he acknowledged the

need for observation and feedback as did most of the others.

5. Just Let Me Be: The Happy Medium between Too Much and Not Enough
Observation by the Cooperating Teacher

For the student teacher who is blessed with self confidence and a clear sense of

direction, being left alone may be a desirable situation. Chris Ristous saw the practicum as

a proving ground for himself and preferred to face the challenge alone:

He came twenty minutes at the beginning of the year and didn't come back, so it was
my class, but that's the way I wanted it I didn't want someone watching my every
move if I had a problem. I ended up doing the grades, and with the exception of one
girl, I was within three or four points on everybody.

Chris, the cocky and brash upstart from the West Coast, clearly reveled in being in a

power position. He had the confidence to survive and the street smarts to avoid situations

where he might be judged negatively. But Chris had also conned his way into having a

cooperating teacher who was a previous friend and was therefore willing to give Chris free

reign. Such was not the case with most of my participants.

Just when is too much too much? When the cooperating teacher remains in the

classroom most of or all of the time, some student teachers feel as if they're in a fishbowl.

There is more than enough pressure being in front of students for an entire period; the

presence of someone in an evaluative position can sometimes make an already difficult

situation an uncomfortable one as James Ramaska noted:

I'm a lot more at ease when there's someone not watching me. I like it if 1 can go to
someone and talk to him after the class and tell him something happened. But I don't
know, for some reason, just when someone's breathing down my neck, it kind of makes
me nervous.
143

Urban students, in particular, understand power. People who are nervous are not

perceived as powerful. That eventually affects what will happen when the authority figure,

in this case the cooperating teacher, leaves the room; it’s testing time.

With the presence of one of her cooperating teachers in the classroom, Julie Boswick

never knew for whom the students were behaving or misbehaving for that matter. That

can lead to a sense of powerlessness: "I never really felt like they were looking at me for

behavior management because she was there." Julie missed the opportunity to discover

whether or not it was truly she in control; the constant presence of her cooperating teacher

made sure the class was orderly.

Yet James Ramaska, who disliked the fishbowl effect, sometimes preferred the

presence of the cooperating teacher in his room precisely because the students did behave

better making it (at least in his eyes) easier to teach: "He's there if I need him, and he

comes in once in a while, but it's easier discipline-wise when he's there because they still

sense his presence. They're afraid of him, and you can notice the difference."

A vicious cycle can be created when the cooperating teacher remains in the classroom

too long. Being observed constantly can lead to edginess; edginess can lead to mistakes;

mistakes can lead to negative criticism by the cooperating teacher; negative criticism can

lead to more observation which then causes more edginess for the student teacher as was

the case with Raymond Strathmore: "I got a lot of negative feedback from her because of

the way she is. I had a lot of problems with that because I was always someone that

needed the encouragement, and I still am." Positive feedback is important; the mistakes
144

made by Raymond were due not only to the teacher's constant presence but to the kind of

criticism she was offering.

In my study only one student teacher, John Bulinski, enjoyed being observed daily, but

that observation was apparently nonjudjmental and therefore nonthreatening: "She was

there every day; "What happened? What do you think of this?" Every single day. I think

it was great. She didn't say, "You shouldn't do that." That's the difference between helping

and getting in my face." John's cooperating teacher seems to be the exception to the rule.

A good mentor discusses but does not judge during the learning process-at least not on the

early stages.

For Terry Anson the presence of her cooperating teacher was a two-edged sword. Her

desire for help and/or recognition was countered by her desire for independence.

It seems as though whenever he wanted to get involved, I wanted him to be involved.


Whenever he was involved, I wanted him to stay out. At the beginning I could have
used more even though I didn't like it at that time. I wanted to do it on my own, but I
was running into problems that I didn't know how to fix, and I needed more guidance.

Terry's honest admission of her inability to make up her mind seems very much like that

of typical teenagers seeking independence from their parents: the 'Tm perfectly capable of

doing it myself' stage to the "I hate to admit it, but I should have listened to you" stage.

The dilemma for many cooperating teachers is whether or not they are jeopardizing the

student teacher by severing the umbilical cord too early. In any classroom and in particular

an urban classroom, that can be risky.

The necessity of watching oneself constantly when being observed by an evaluator can

be discomforting, but not having the cooperating teacher there at the times when the

student teacher does something outstanding is like not having anyone around to hear the
145

tree when it falls to the forest floor. Is there a noise? Bill Colleta made this apparently

clear: "I felt much more comfortable when she wasn't there because then I wasn't watching

myself, but on the flip side is when I was doing well, and I wanted somebody to say, Tiey,

nice work.’" Unfortunately as Bill learned, you cant have it both ways.

6. Do What I Sav: Acceding to the Cooperating Teacher's Demands

The idea behind curriculum development is to have a format, a set of goals and

objectives carefully spelled out to meet the needs of the student population. Some

administrators choose to enforce it as a bible; others, a framework. Ideally the curriculum

should undergo as little interruption as possible during the transition from the teacher to the

student teacher and back to the teacher again. Continuity is the bottom line. There is a

good deal of leeway in how the curriculum is interpreted by teachers, however, and within

my study the range which was allowed my participants extended from total freedom to

absolute adherence. Their attitude towards their cooperating teachers was directly related

to the amount of freedom they were allocated.

Jennifer Benares was elated with the amount of freedom she had and the openness of

the communication with her cooperating teacher:

It was great because she started off being a mentor, and towards the end we were giving
and taking and sharing. It worked out really well. That's the key ingredient in an
effective student teaching experience. You have to be given freedom, flexibility to try
everything out on your own.

Flexibility is extremely important when the students you are teaching are different than

those you have been with for the majority of your life. To expect student teachers to deal

with urban students in the exact same manner the cooperating teacher does is unrealistic

and unfair. Jennifer's camaraderie with her cooperating teacher is evident of a relationship
146

that emphasizes sharing. It is also a relationship that gives Jennifer the opportunity to fail as

well as to succeed. Some lessons need to be learned by trying and failing.

Well-intentioned cooperating teachers, like well-intentioned parents, can cause resentment

by smothering their charges with an overdose of manipulation. Jennifer’s cooperating

teacher understood the difference.

Conversely Julie Boswick found herself in a position of "executing" someone else's

curriculum. Although she had some say in how she presented material, she felt confined

by the curriculum and by her cooperating teacher's demands.

It was all laid out for me. I wasn’t establishing a curriculum; I was executing her
curriculum. She liked not having to teach that class, but she used to always view my
tests with such scrutiny. "That wasn’t hard enough, you're too easy." I got a little
leeway on how I taught the required curriculum on Wednesdays and Thursdays, but the
basic three days a week, she decided how it was going to go.

The issue Julie brings up is not as clear as it appears to be. Should student teachers

have to demonstrate that they can execute someone else's plans before they can develop

their own? In any major organization there are standard operating procedures which are

set up to ensure proper delivery of service. In urban high schools there are building rules

involving curriculum, discipline and responsibility of personnel, and there are classroom

rules which are set up by the teacher. As a guest in the classroom, is not the student

teacher responsible for adhering to those rules? Do student teachers have a right to expect

that they should be able to establish their own rules, whether they be related to discipline or

curriculum because they are temporarily in control? Even in teaching hospitals discretion is

sometimes granted under circumstances that do not fall under normal activities. In such a
147

sensitive area what is wise is that both student teacher and teacher agree to the rules before

the practicum begins.

There are choices student teachers must make when they are asked to follow a

particular set of guidelines. They can accept; they can question; they can refuse. The

latter is clearly a poor choice and can abort the practicum. The former is the easiest choice

although it can lead to the student teacher feeling guilty or hostile if he or she does not

believe in what is expected. The middle choice, questioning, must be handled tactfully and

sensitively or it can sabotage the relationship between the cooperating teacher and the

student teacher.

Sal Cheblanc questioned and was rebuffed: "In one of the classes I was told to stick to

the curriculum that I was handed. I thought a lot of these kids needed help writing, and I

was basically told not to do it. 'Go with the grammar lesson, stick with it.’"

This case is similar to other case studies which show that student teachers are denied

involvement in the reasoning process of their cooperating teachers (Feiman-Nemser &

Buchmann, 1987) and is an example of something that should have been straightened out

before the practicum. Sal will leave the class in a short time, and the teacher must pick up

where he left off. If either the teacher or the school administration feels that grammar is

the way to go (urban systems which are under financial stress often use older grammar

based texts), then grammar is the way to go. Sal can still make some suggestions for future

curriculum changes, but those must be reviewed and approved by the department faculty

members before being implemented.


148

Sometimes the student teacher has to develop a sixth sense. It can save a great deal of

trouble later on as James Ramaska noted:

She sets the way—what I have to teach and what I am going to do. She leaves a lot of
room for me, but she has set requirements. Even though she says, "You don’t have to,"
I know that she would want me to present this.

James is sensitive to his cooperating teacher’s needs. He is willing to use his intuition in

knowing what the cooperating teacher wants without having to confront her, and he is

willing to deliver. That is the beginning of learning to work as a team within a building, a

concept that is difficult for student teachers to understand when they primarily work in a

one-classroom setting.

Jack Wilson was uncomfortable imposing his own expectations on students who would

eventually have to meet the expectations originally imposed on them by his cooperating

teacher:

I thought that it would be an injustice for me to use them as guinea pigs to the extent
that I wouldn’t fill the requirements of what they would be expected to keep, so I
compromised myself. I'm a little disappointed with myself. HI be honest.

Jack's self disappointment is understandable, but the course of action he chose may

have been the best course for his students. Intuitively Jack understood something all

student teachers need to understand—that the most important party in the teaching or the

student teaching process is the student. An apprentice carpenter can miss-hit a nail and

damage the wood around it. It can be replaced. Student teachers, however, are working

with live subjects. While it is important that student teachers explore as many

methodologies as possible, it is the student's learning that takes priority. Working with

inner city students with whom he was unfamiliar, Jack recognized his own limitations in
149

terms of experience and bowed to the wishes of his cooperating teacher; that was a wise

decision. If either the cooperating teacher or the student teacher is unwilling to agree on a

course of action, however, the team should be changed.

7. Purgatory: The Urban Practicum as a Dispenser of Humility

In certain Christian doctrine, purgatory is defined as a state or place where those who

have died in the grace of God suffer for a certain time for their sins. In education

purgatory may be defined as student teaching-a state where those who have been trained

in the grace of teacher education programs suffer for a certain time for their inexperience.

Even the term "student teacher" is an oxymoron, and the juxtaposition of the two functions

is often uncomfortable as Monica Pellante stated:

It's hard to ever feel like it’s your own turf when you’re a student teacher. Right away
you're under somebody else's wing, and the students know it, and the other teachers
know it. It’s like being in purgatory-that in-between. Teachers still call me a kid. The
students know you're just learning. Some expect you to be perfect like a teacher, and
some think they can get away with anything and know they can abuse you in certain
ways. It's never your turf. I never felt like it was my turf.

Turf is an important concept in the urban practicum. Turf indicates ownership of an

area which is recognized by others as a separate entity. Owning a turf gives one a sense of

power and a commitment to protect it. Even a Cocker Spaniel will defend its turf against a

Pit Bull. Monica was aware of how nebulous her turf really was, and that is why she

described it as purgatory. Like the students in her class, she too needed to know what the

limits of her turf were or, for that matter, whether she owned a turf at all.

"I act like a teacher, I look like a teacher, I think like a teacher, I feel like a teacher-but

fm not a teacher." That is the dilemma many of my participants found themselves in. The
150

feeling of subjugation lurks beneath the surface as is evident in this comment by Raymond

Strathmore:

They were my classes, but I wasn't steering them in my direction. As far as authority of
the room, I didn't have any problems with that, but as far as what I was doing in the
classroom, that was really steered a lot by her (cooperating teacher). The lessons I
came up with after a while were catered to her more than they were catered to me or
the students or anyone else.

Raymond's remarks are understandable and deserving of consideration by cooperating

teachers. What works for one teacher may not work for another no matter how foolproof

or simple it appears to be. There are too many variables which play a role in the success or

failure of any approach to give it full praise or blame for what occurs. But Raymond also

needs to consider the responsibility of his cooperating teacher before castigating her for

what appears to be self concern.

Like any parent that nurtures a child, a teacher feels protective and possessive of his

charges. Giving up a class to a stranger with very limited experience is not an easy thing to

do. It takes a long time to establish a successful rapport with students. It is sometimes

difficult to re-establish that rapport when the student teacher leaves. Letting go completely

is sometimes an impossible task for some teachers. Such was the case with Julie Boswick

whose cooperating teacher left her feeling ownerless: "Mrs. Brown is very reluctant to give

up her ways of doing things. She never really relinquished enough control for them to

think I was boss." Julie's confidence in her own ability to direct the classroom is partially

responsible for her frustration, but not every student teacher shares that confidence.

Monica Pellante, who took over an honors class but found herself well over her head,

asked and was allowed to team teach the class for the last few weeks with her cooperating
151

teacher. Her comment reflects an acceptance of herself and an understanding of why it is

so difficult for teachers to give up ownership of their classes.

I know I must have come off not great, but he's a hard act to follow. Fm not
embarrassed to sit in that class. I thought it might be embarrassing to sit in the class
afterwards, but I'm not. I kind of felt like he never really wanted to give it up, and he
shouldn't; it's a treat. To have the bright and shining faces of twenty six students
reading, looking at him saying, "We want to learn. We want to discuss."

Monica's willingness to team teach in that class after being unable to teach alone is a

credit to her desire to succeed and an indication of her humility. It also provides support

for my recommendation that all cooperating teachers should consider team teaching with

their student teachers during the prepracticum or the initial part of the practicum as a

gradual way of giving up ownership but still providing some of the direction.

8. The Good Old Davs: The Tension Caused bv the Duality of Being a Student
Teacher

In most stages of life, people look back to previous stages as "the good old days" when

things were easier and more carefree. So too did Terry Anson who not only felt the

dichotomy between being a student and teacher but yearned to be only a student again:

I don't feel comfortable with that, honestly. Sometimes I have problems relating to the
students just because I forget that Pm in that teacher role now-not in the student role.
Right now I would still prefer to be in that student role, and I'm having a tough time
working that one out.

Terry is in a rut caused by twelve years of being educated in what Freire referred to as

the banking system. What she was used to as a student—being a sponge who soaked up the

knowledge of her teachers—was far more comfortable for her than having to be not only

the progenitor of the knowledge but the facilitator of a more egalitarian relationship with
152

her students than those she previously experienced. In some cases that yearning is not even

conscious. Monica Pellante found herself lapsing in and out of the two roles:

I'm not always thinking of it. I'm still thinking like a student sometimes. A lot of times.
Most of the time. It's a constant struggle because your brain wants to think like a
student. It wants to be passive. It wants to listen.

Monica interestingly chose the word "passive" to illustrate her impression of her student

mindset, another reminder of the banking system. James Ramaska also suffered from the

tension of balancing the roles of student and teacher. The practicum is like on the job

training for apprentice air traffic controllers. The responsibilities are immense, and the

stress is difficult to cope with:

It's difficult. It's almost like you're not one solid thing. You're getting tugged at from
both ways. You're expected to be this teacher who knows everything that should go on
in school, and yet you're still learning. And then you're being tugged at from the college
to still be a student while you're supposed to assume the role of teacher. I told the kids
in my class, Tm a student teacher. I'm still a student. Fm just like you."

James's last comment indicates the identity problem which exists among many of the

student teachers in my study. James is not just like his students, but he feels as if he is.

The problem may be that we infantilize our student teachers by giving them too many

masters. Pulled in many directions, Raymond Strathmore often lost sight of his function.

That kind of tension led to disillusionment and unhappiness:

Tm trying to figure out just why I wasn't happy. I was catering to a teacher. I was
catering to myself. I was catering to students. I was catering to a supervisor and
anyone else that came in and just observed on a day to day basis.

The answer to Raymond's problem may lie in the following proposal: During the

prepracticum, student teachers first observe several teachers and then team teach with their

cooperating teacher and participate in all facets of preparation, presentation and grading.
153

The following semester the student teacher does his student teaching for one full semester

and gets paid a stipend Funding for the stipend would have to come from university

grants or through legislation as most urban locations could not afford it. The practicum

would have to be set up so that it had no impact on the loss of jobs for other teachers. The

cooperating teacher would act as a mentor and be given time and professional development

points to consult with the student teacher. The student teacher would be evaluated in the

same manner as the rest of the teaching staff. The student teacher would teach three

periods per day, observe for two, meet with the cooperating teacher and perform duties

required of all teachers.

9. Working with an Incompetent Cooperating Teacher

Only two out of the fifteen participants considered their cooperating teacher or one of

their cooperating teachers (eight had more than one) incompetent. Some student teachers

do not have a choice of locations or teachers for their practicum. That can result in

feelings of anxiety, helplessness and even hostility. Julie Boswick ran into the problem on

her first day:

My first day of observing it was chaos. He was just flipping out worksheets left and
right. None of the worksheets related to any theme, anything. I ended up helping kids
because I just felt so bad for them. He didn't really explain anything. I felt like the kids
were not learning anything in here. This was busy work, this was not right, and he was
mean to them too.

Teacher burnout is not a myth, and teacher burnout in an urban location may be an

even larger problem. Goodlad (1991) had suggested that urban teachers be retrofit at the

end of every five or seven year period. Without a chance to revive and renew, some urban

teachers can be worn down over the years to the point of simply putting in time and even
154

developing bitterness. In this case the adage, "never judge a book by its cover," can be

nullified by another adage, "where there's smoke there's fire." The following conversation

between Julie Boswick and her cooperating teacher illustrates what can happen to some

urban teachers after years in the trenches. Although the situation is humorous in a bizarre

sense, Julie's cooperating teacher shows signs of paranoia, sexism and vindictiveness—not

exactly role-model qualities:

He said he had to talk to me, and I said, "Okay." He said, "Watch your back!" And I
said, "What?" He said, "Don't turn your back for a second. Something will happen."
I said, "What will happen?" And he said, "Let me tell you a little story, dear." And I
said, "Okay." You know-hearing him while apprehensive. This is my first day, my big
debut, and I wanted to come on strong because if I didn't, the whole thing might be a
disaster the rest of the year.
"I used to turn my back, and they threw batteries at me. Batteries, big batteries, and
I couldn't catch who it was," he said, "I had a whole plan."
I really thought the guy was psycho. I mean, he had a whole plan over how he was
going to catch the culprit.
"I knew it was coming from the right side of the room. I pretended that I was
reading, but I rigged the book. And out of the comer of my eye, I'd be watching to see
where the batteries were coming from. I just want to tell you, you dont want
something like that to happen to you. Dont turn your back for a minute. You wouldnt
believe how good it felt when I finally nailed him. I saw him reach into his bag, pull the
battery out, and I said, Ah Ha!" He must have stayed up nights thinking of how he
was going to solve this problem. Those were his words of wisdom for the year. This
guy is sick. And I was biting my cheeks while he's telling me this story. I'm going to
die laughing.

But as Julie points out here, the ultimate victims of this incompetent teacher are his

students. The message is unmistakable:

I think he's giving them negative vibes about who they are. "We dont get the good
teacher. We get this guy who gives us movies. He must think we're idiots. We're not
worthy of anything." He should at least preface his classes with "Please, dont take it
personally. You're not worthless; I am."

Julie was one of only two student teachers in my study who identified one of then-

cooperating teachers as incompetent. Most of my participants were in line with the


155

thinking of Julie's students in that the best teachers in their schools or at least the most

experienced generally taught the upper level classes. The lower level classes were often

taught by the newest teachers in the school.

The other incompetent cooperating teacher was described by Chris Ristous in less

complimentary terms. Still the results are the same, and Chris's astute observation

involving the lengthy amount of service remaining in the teacher's career spells trouble for

future students who are unlucky enough to have him:

Bob Dumphy is kind of an asshole. He's very antagonistic to the kids. He doesn't want
to be there. He complains that he's not making enough money for what he does. The
guy's forty-eight. He's got a long way to go. I knew he could be abrasive, but then I
saw him five straight days in a row. This guy's a jerk.

While I think Chris's description of Bob Dumphy makes him an exception to the rule, I

have often heard the comment within my high school that urban teachers are not paid

enough for what they do. The common pseudonym for salary is "combat pay." In order

to collect a decent percentage of his pension. Bob would have to teach until the age of at

least sixty-two. He is a prime example of why early retirement incentives should be

offered.

Gaining perspective is important. This piece of advice offered to Julie Boswick by one

of her cooperating teachers has some merit:

I used to tell him, 'Tm not learning anything from these people," and he used to say,
"You know Julie, I don't mean to criticize you or anything, but these people have been
teaching for twenty years. And you should be able to learn something from them. You
could learn something about why they are the way they are by observing them. You
cant just discount people like that."
I had a tendency to do that. Tm new, Tm enthusiastic, Tm up on the current
teaching methods, and I feel like saying, "Get the hell out because you dont know what
your doing!" I really felt like that was a little bit too bold. I realize that now.
156

While it has been my experience in teaching education courses at the graduate level that

many student teachers do have inflated egos and clearly feel superior to many of the

teachers they observe because they feel they are "up” on current methods while teachers in

the field still use the same old stuff, it is also my opinion that no student teacher should

have a cooperating teacher who is not properly suited or trained to be a mentor. A

negative practicum can sour student teachers for a very long time or possibly change their

minds about pursuing a teaching career completely.

B. The College Supervisor

Although the basic function of the college supervisor, working with the student teacher,

is essentially the same at most colleges and universities, the depth and width of involvement

vary considerably. The participants in my study also varied considerably in their

perspectives of the effectiveness of the role of their college supervisors.

1. Preservation and Denigration: Dominant Themes Concerning College


Supervisors

Preservation of the student teacher's sanity and the practicum site's sanctity became the

paramount concerns of many of my participants' college supervisors. Reinforcement and

incentive were the byproducts of observations. The college supervisor had limited

influence in the choice of instructors and classes. Most made a conscientious effort to

maintain rapport with the staff on site.

Denigration of the role of college supervisors was prevalent among a smaller number of

my participants. In most cases of this type the college supervisor was a graduate TA

enrolled in a doctoral program who had little to no teaching experience in an urban high

school. The enormous responsibilities of being a TA assigned to several student teachers


157

caused broken appointments and cursory visitations. The lack of meaningful involvement

caused some student teachers to disregard any advice that was proffered by the college

supervisor.

2. The College Supervisor as Broker: The Tension Involved in Balancing the Interests of
the Student Teacher, the University and the Urban Site

In some cases college supervisors decide which sites are appropriate for their student

teachers. That decision is based on their knowledge of the site and their perspective of

how well the student teacher can adapt to that site based on his or her strengths and

weaknesses. Terry Anson was discouraged from selecting her urban choice based on her

performance in a graduate class taught by her college supervisor:

My professor at Lane University tried to discourage me from coming here. Her opinion
of me was that I do what is necessary to get by, and that's all I do which is what I
showed her in the class that I had with her. She was just forewarning me, "Are you
sure you don't want to go to another school? You can go there if you want, but are you
sure? Maybe, you would be better in an easier more relaxed environment."

What this strongly suggests is that Terry's college supervisor perceived the urban

environment as more difficult and tense than a suburban environment. It also suggests

that, in the supervisor's eyes, only those students who are willing to do more than what is

expected of them will survive. The effect on Terry was a strengthening of her resolve to

succeed in the urban high school where she chose to do her practicum. The college

supervisor may have been using reverse psychology in trying to suggest that an easier

environment might be better suited for Terry. She may also simply have been warning

Terry of the level of difficulty. Either way Terry chose to stay knowing she had to prove

to her supervisor as well as to herself that she could succeed in an urban environment.
158

Negotiating placement in any high school site is not easy, but choosing placement in an

urban high school requires consideration of additional variables that are unique to this

environment. Lawrence High School, for example, is located in the heart of the downtown

area as is the case with most urban high schools. There is no parking lot for teachers.

Those who arrive earliest vie for spaces on the streets nearest the high school. Some

choose to park in a municipal garage several blocks away for a fee. Others take their

chances. More than two dozen teacher's vehicles have been stolen and countless others

vandalized during my tenure there.

While I have always encouraged student teachers to do their practicum at Lawrence

High School because of its rich diversity, I would be remiss if I did not mention the

possibility of property loss or damage. In fact during the third quarter of this school year

one student teacher's vehicle was stolen twice. Those are fairly grim statistics to consider

when considering placement. That also includes the selection of an appropriate college

supervisor who, although only on location sporadically, faces the same risks. Two years

ago one college supervisor, after a brief discussion with some faculty members in the

teachers' lounge, fled the building without conferencing with the student teacher she had

observed!

The condition of the physical plant, room utilization (which might cause itinerancy),

availability of texts, AV resources, computers and adequacy of library are all factors which

need to be considered by the college supervisor in finding a student teacher who can

handle a particular urban site. Attendance, discipline and grading issues which are

discussed elsewhere in this dissertation also present unique difficulties which must be
159

accounted for in the placement decision.

There is no clear answer concerning who has the ultimate power placing the student

teacher. Not only are the college supervisor and cooperating teacher involved, but

sometimes department heads and administrators are involved as well. Sometimes college

supervisors can advocate for their charges only so far or risk the possibility of losing the

site. Placing student teachers is no easy task, and treading the line of authority must be

done with care. This college supervisor attempted to right a wrong but found herself on

the losing end of the battle involving the placement of Julie Boswick:

My college supervisor was a bull. She said, "They can’t do this to you. You can’t have
four different preps. By law they can only give you three. You're a student teacher.
It's not fair, you can’t do it." But after talking with everybody, nothing changed.

Julie not only ended up with four preps at Leighton High School; she also had to work

with three cooperating teachers. Sometimes a cooperating teacher who is selected to work

with the student teacher is not perceived as an appropriate choice by the college supervisor.

In Julie's case a historical basis proving the ineptness of one of her cooperating teachers

had already been established. Despite her efforts, the college supervisor was unable to

effect a change. The department head's philosophy further complicated matters and

cemented her assignment. Julie found herself in an awkward position:

She was totally pissed off that I was getting his classes. She said, "Every year I bring a
student teacher here, and every year they’re put in one of his classes. The student
teacher doesn't learn anything. They're put in a circumstance where the class is out of
control. From day one the student teacher has a really tough role to play in there."
And she really went in there and pitched saying she didn't want me to have him for a
cooperating teacher.
The philosophy of the department head was that you have to have a lot of respect
for someone who has taught there for so long. And if he's having a bad personal time,
you have to respect that. He tried to help the situation as much as he could without
pulling the guy out. His rationale was that if there's an option to get a student teacher in
160

there for one or two of his classes, get them in there because those kids are going to
learn more with a student teacher.

Julie's dilemma was irresoluble. The alternatives were staying or leaving. With no time

left to find another site and with a desire to teach at Leighton High School, she opted to

stay. Julie’s college supervisor was also put in a compromising position. She could only go

so far before damaging the relationship between the high school and the university.

Although Julie survived her ordeal, she had to undergo severe emotional stress because of

the incompetence of one her cooperating teachers and an imbalanced teaching schedule.

When an urban site develops a pattern of problems, the university can even become

overly sensitive about the student teachers who are placed there. During his prepracticum

at a different site, Jack Wilson had been asked to critically evaluate the teachers he had

observed in what he thought was a confidential journal. Unfortunately the contents of that

journal were shared with the teachers producing a political furor. The college supervisor,

forced to act in the best interests of the university, was then doubly fearful of placing Jack

in an urban practicum site with a history of placement problems:

They said, "What school did you pick?' I said, "Leighton," and they said, "Can you
work with people there? Are we going to have a problem with you?" I said, "This is a
rhetorical question. I know what answer you're looking for, and I'm going to give it to
you. Yes, I can work. I’ve never had a problem in my entire life with other people." I
was even asked, "Do you give respect to teachers?" It was so patronizing and
insulting, and I really felt like I wanted to laugh in everybody's face, but I swallowed my
pride, and I said, "Yes, I do. There's never been a question."

Jack wisely chose not to lose his temper. At his practicum at Leighton High School, he

proved himself to be cooperative and effective. He did, however, remain bitter about the

treatment he received from his college supervisor during his prepracticum at a clinical site.
161

3. loo Little. Too Late: The Inexperience and Time Constraints of Some College
Supervisors

A common complaint made by most of my participants was their college supervisors'

level of competence in terms of a lack of secondary experience and their college

supervisors' time constraints because of heavy loads. This was particularly observable

when the college supervisor was a teaching assistant as was noted by Chris Ristous:

He came in seven times. He dropped the ball on us a little bit too. He's in the middle
of his doctorate. He'd say, "Seven people-I have to do this—I have to do that." He'd
make appointments and then forget them.

Chris's remarks support the finding that student teachers denigrate the role of their

college supervisors (Goodlad, 1990). Chris's college supervisor was a teaching assistant

who had no secondary experience as a teacher. Overloaded with coursework and

responsible for seven student teachers, he was unable to meet the needs of his student

teachers. His inability to keep a consistent schedule of observation coupled with his lack of

not only urban but any secondary experience reduced his credibility and therefore his value

to the student teachers he worked with. These conditions, when coupled with the

temporary nature of their position, results in the powerlessness of teaching assistants who

serve as college supervisors to make significant changes (Zeichner, 1992).

The inevitable comparison of the college supervisor to the cooperating teacher was

often made as was the case here with John Bulinski. Although the results of that

comparison may be valid, the circumstances of time and place make it unfair:

A little more help from my teacher at Lane University would be better. I didn't get
nearly as much input from him as I did from my cooperating teacher, but I think the
stuff I got from her was probably a lot better than the stuff I would have gotten from
him anyway. He was there for the class and then for maybe five minutes afterwards.
162

John's remarks are reflective of all the participants in my study whose cooperating

teachers worked closely with them. They support the finding that student teachers

disregard or minimize the teachings of their university instructors and attribute their

practices to their cooperating teachers (Richardson-Koehler, 1988). John's skepticism

about the value of his college supervisor's advice is warranted at least on the basis of the

paucity of time spent on post observations. While the overload of cases per advisor

accounts for much of the rushed treatment, I surmise the inconvenience of driving into a

large city, trying to find a parking space, worrying about car theft or vandalism and

observing a classroom situation which is foreign by experience have something to do with it

as well.

4. Providing Reinforcement: The Nature of Criticism

Being observed is, for most of my participants (and for most of the teachers in my

English Department), an anxiety producing, unwanted requirement —especially when that

observation is tied to evaluation. Although the ultimate purpose of evaluation is to provide

feedback for reinforcement and/or improvement, it is still perceived as an on-the-spot trial

judging competency—and it is feared by many.

Terry Anson was concerned with the nature of negative feedback based on what she

had been encouraged to do in her college supervisor's class. Although comfortable as a

graduate student receiving negative feedback from another graduate student, she was

clearly fearful of receiving negative feedback as a student teacher:

She was always very critical and allowed the rest of us in the class to be very critical
too, but we didn't really mind that because we were learning. But when we went to
start teaching, we all of a sudden went, "Oh my God, what's going to happen here? Is
she going to be like she was before?" She told us she wasn't going to be, but we didn't
163

believe her because we didn’t think she knew how to be any other way. The first time
she came to see me I was rather nervous because I was afraid of what type of feedback
I was going to get, and that carried over to me being afraid of having my cooperating
teacher give me feedback too. I understand the negative feedback, and I take it as
criticism, but at the beginning I was too afraid of it.

There are differing opinions among educators concerning the nature of the criticism we

give to students in teacher preparation classes. While most of my university colleagues

were genuinely concerned about not stepping on toes and being sensitive to the feelings of

students, most of the students in my education classes wanted to know what needed to be

improved and literally told me they were tired of being pampered by their previous

instructors. Despite what Terry said above, my feeling as an urban educator is that all

students in teacher preparation classes need to be held to a higher level of performance

standards and that they learn to accept constructive criticism in the spirit in which it is

given.

Generally the college supervisor gives the student teacher a chance to settle in before

coming to the site to observe. Not so in Julie Boswick's case. She realized the reason for

an early evaluation by her college supervisor only in retrospect:

She wanted to make sure that I was going to be all right. I thought it was a little
strange. I said, "Why are you going to evaluate me on my first day? I don’t think that’s
really fair. No one else is going to be graded on their first day." She said I just want to
observe you. I don't want to evaluate you on your first day." But on reflection, she
probably wanted to make sure that I survived.

Julie's college supervisor, although well intentioned, made Julie's first day a traumatic

experience. As viewed earlier in this chapter, Julie's placement with a historically inept

teacher was a matter of great concern. Her college supervisor was probably trying to

protect her and to make sure that Julie would be able to handle a class in an urban setting
164

that was already out of control. Instead she turned Julie into a basket case who rightfully

questioned a first-day observation. Yet Julie eventually came to rely on her. Knowing

how difficult the practicum can be, the college supervisor can become a friend and a

confidante. Julie acknowledged the importance of her reinforcement:

She used to tell me that I did great. I always did really well in all of my observations.
She used to write, "She can do it, she can turn the class around. I know she can. She's
trying so hard." She used to tell me, "Just dont exhaust yourself trying to do it. Do the
best you can." That class was wicked hard. She said, "I felt bad for you. I'm going to
get you a drink." She said, "You’re driving yourself crazy with this class."

Julie's college supervisor was aware of what can happen to a student teacher in an

urban high school classroom where attendance problems alone can squash the enthusiasm

of the most buoyant neophyte. Exhaustion from preparing and correcting can happen in

any environment, but the frustration of not being able to accomplish objectives day in and

day out because of factors beyond the student teacher's control such as excessive

absenteeism and language acquisition make the urban environment a far more formidable

challenge.

The effect of having an outsider observing in the classroom can also have positive and

negative ramifications. Students can crucify or beatify their student teacher by adjusting

their behavior on observation day. If the student teacher is liked, the results are generally

positive as was the case with James Ramaska: "I notice when the professor comes in from

Lane, the kids make an effort to behave. They can equate to that student mentality:

wanting to do well for your teacher." While this kind of loyalty is not particular to an

urban site, it is important that urban students can develop an affinity for their student

teachers and teachers regardless of how different their backgrounds are.


165

Another positive side effect of observations is rising to the occasion. Being in the

spotlight brings out the best and sometimes the worst in people. Fortunately James

Ramaska found being observed an incentive to perform at his best. His follow-up

question, however, indicates the temporary nature of his effort. "When the professor's

coming in to school, I step it up a notch. Then I say to myself'why cant I do this

everyday?' but I dont." Inadvertently James stumbled onto one of the ways urban

teachers increase their longevity, and that is pacing themselves. Stepping it up a notch

every day would result in burnout. High but reachable expectations for students and

student teachers are what is needed.

The dilemma of college supervisors can be solved only by a combined effort of

university and practicum site. As I see it the college supervisor may provide the dialectic to

the cooperating teacher, both parties supporting the student teacher through the perspective

provided by their individual philosophies. In order to increase their credibility and their

influence, however, college supervisors should have some experience in secondary teaching

and have a mentor load that allows them to visit frequently and to be available to their

charges. Part of the responsibility of the college supervisor is to explain to the cooperating

teacher and the student teacher what the university or college would like included in the

student teaching experience and to help work out a plan which is satisfactory to all

concerned. The high school site must listen to the needs of the student teacher through the

advocacy of the college supervisor as well. If university training is to have any lasting

effect on student teachers, it will be the responsible college supervisor who makes sure that

it is properly utilized.
CHAPTER DC

ATTENDANCE ISSUES IN THE URBAN PRACTICUM

Without exception my participants talked about excessive absenteeism as one of the

most difficult problems they had to cope with. On any given day absent rates ranged from

twenty to fifty percent, and that became problematic when student teachers attempted to

put into practice the cooperative learning methods they had learned in graduate school. In

many cases the problem was overwhelming.

There is a marked difference between attendance rates in urban and suburban areas.

That rate is largely determined by the amount of parental support from the home. In an

area such as Lawrence, for example, that has a transient population, many students live

with uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters, relatives or even friends. Finding an adult who is

willing to take responsibility for a student can become an impossible task.

On parent/teacher night at North Andover High School, a suburban high school, I have

to wait as long as thirty minutes to meet with some of my son's teachers. On

parent/teacher night at Lawrence High School, an urban high school, many teachers stand

in the corridors hoping to see two or three parents for the entire evening. Those that do

show up are generally the parents of students who are doing well. This lack of interest

which is mostly caused by ignorance or fear rubs off on students. Without parental

encouragement or guidance, many students are chronically tardy, and many cut classes or

simply choose to be truant for one or many days.

166
167

A. Hopelessness and Embitterment: Dominant Themes Surrounding Attendance

If someone were to ask me what I perceived to be the most difficult problem in my

urban high school classroom today, I would answer "excessive absenteeism." In urban

high schools with absence rates as high as thirty percent, many of my participants felt a

sense of hopelessness. Cooperative learning became a nightmare; continuity, an

impossibility. Laboriously constructed lesson plans went by the wayside as bodies shuffled

in and out of the rooms indeterminably. Makeup exams became the rule rather than the

exception.

Hopelessness is a logical prerequisite for embitterment. Many of my participants indeed

became embittered when they could not set up a project longer than one period in length

and even more embittered when one out of four students was not present for the original

demonstration. Creating a different makeup exam and arranging for a mutually agreeable

time almost never worked. Embitterment eventually led to mundane teaching and makeup

exams on class time.

B. The Scope of the Attendance Problem

Only those with experience in urban high schools understand fully what excessive

absenteeism means. At Lawrence High School, for example, it is not uncommon to have

as many as six-hundred students absent and/or tardy on any given day. For student

teachers who were brought up in the suburbs, the impact can be too great to cope with.

Generally the larger the high school, the greater the problem. Because of the constant

influx and egress of students, accurate records are difficult to keep. When high

absenteeism is the rule rather than the exception, it is common not to see students for
168

several days. Sometimes students drop out, and teachers are not informed for days as was

the case with John Bulinski who did his student teaching at Lane Vocational: "It wasn't rare

for someone not to be in for a week. It happened more than a few times. Someone was

once absent for a week, and on the fifth day, I talked to her guidance counselor. The girl

was gone."

John's frustration is shared by many urban teachers. Although the shock of excessive

absenteeism wears off, the hopelessness of the situation remains. Several initiatives in my

high school have been attempted: all have failed miserably. Teachers volunteered to call

homes, for example, but only those who spoke Spanish were able to get through. Many

students lived with relatives or friends, and most of them came from homes with an

absentee father and several siblings. Often the mother was at work and could not be

reached. Older brothers and sisters would frequently cover for the truant student.

Sometimes the only available telephone number was a neighbor's.

Tied into the problem is the issue of welfare. Eligible students have to be registered in

the school system in order for their parents to receive welfare benefits. In my school

system a student is declared inactive after being out for ten consecutive days. Many

students simple come in every tenth day in order to remain on the active roles. Many

students are over eighteen years of age. Legally they can sign themselves out any time they

desire. The problem does not only exist in basic level classes.

Even in the upper level classes, absenteeism can be a problem. In the urban high

school, no class remains unscathed by the epidemic of absenteeism as Terry Anson noted:

"In the freshman honors class there are six students who are absent frequently. There are
169

eighteen students who are supposed to be in there all the time." Having one third of a class

absent on a daily basis can rattle even the most organized student teacher. Blaming oneself

for the occurrence is not uncommon.

C. Who’s at Fault: The Difficulty of Placing Blame

When there's a problem, blame has to be placed somewhere. That urban students are

excessively absent is acknowledged by urban educators. Why they are absent gives rise to

many possibilities. The distinction between cutting a class and staying out of school is also

significant. Bill Colletta found students showing up more once he took over the class. He

attributed that to the level of interest he generated: "A kid is not going to cut your class if

you're exciting in the classroom. If you're boring, nobody is going to want to see you or

talk to you. When I started teaching, they started showing up."

Bill may have been right. A new face, a younger person, an energetic student teacher

can have that kind of effect. But that is not always the case. Robert Greene went a step

further after blaming himself initially. His investigations showed that students were simply

not showing up at school, a far different problem than cutting a class:

Initially I thought, "Hey, maybe it's me," and then I found out the kids weren't going to
any of their classes. The kids are not showing up at school. The kids are not going to
class every day, and there's not a whole lot teachers can do. What makes the kids not
want to go to school? They’re not successful at it. Everyone likes to do what they do
well. If kids are in a situation where they cant do well or they don't do well, then
they're not going to want to be there.

But sometimes all the rationalization in the world does not work. In attempting not to

be boring, Trevor Moody tried a variety of approaches, especially those that were

interactive. Unfortunately, when coupled with excessive absenteeism, those approaches


170

only made things worse. That kind of negative experience can cast the lecture method in

cement and start the cycle of boredom all over again:

There were kids that I never saw in my class. Just names on a list. Just never came.
Twenty-five percent—sure. I ended up saying to myself, "You’re lazy," getting down on
myself. "You never try anything innovative." But you try group work. You try to get
people responsible for things. On the first day, all these kids are here, and they take
part. Then the second day, the new kid comes in, and he has to get into that group.
Then the one kid who’s done all the work doesn’t show up when you do the
presentation. I didn't know how to pull that stuff together. I did group work once, and
I never did it again.

Trevor clearly felt the hopelessness which many of my participants experienced. With

cooperative learning one of the primary methods covered in education classes today,

student teachers are even more likely to find absenteeism an absolutely impossible obstacle

to overcome. Sometimes the odds are so overwhelming that student teachers simply give

up as Tim Meehy warned:

I know who's going to be there, and I know who may be there, and that's frustrating
because you give up. How many times can you tell them you're going to have a quiz,
and then they're not there for three days?

As indicated here, hopelessness can degenerate into embitterment, even in the short

time span of ten weeks. The practicum should be a learning experience filled with hope

and joy. What is truly frightening is the long term effect on teachers who remain in the

urban setting for their entire careers. Learning to survive under these kinds of adverse

conditions is essential.

D. Makeup Exams: Expediency Versus Reality

One of the main problems with excessive absenteeism is how to handle makeup exams.

When to give the makeup becomes problematic. Expediency becomes a practical means of

getting the exam made up; the simple truth is that you have the student in front of you.
171

Trying to arrange mutually agreeable makeup time becomes difficult at best, and it

basically punishes the student teacher for the actions of the student as Jack Wilson noted:

You give a test one day, and the next day you have five kids come back who weren't
there. That’s troublesome because they're missing what you gave them, and technically
you shouldn’t give them that test during class time, but when do you give it? When
these kids are filled up during the day or are just unwilling? You know you have them
there. My attitude is why not just let them go with it.

But what is Jack teaching them by allowing them to make up a test during class time?

Short term solutions are often short sighted solutions. It's easy to say "I have no choice"

and use that as a rationale for doing something that instinctively feels wrong. When James

Ramaska gave a makeup exam during class time to students who had been absent, it

negatively affected all the other students in class. That is clearly unfair and

counter-productive:

It's hard because you have kids coming and going. Who's not there, who needs to catch
up on the notes, and then it's really hard to give a test because a lot of kids have been
absent. I can never give a test on a day and know that all the kids will be there. Today
is a makeup day, and I probably have more kids taking the makeup than I did the
original test. And it disrupts. The kids that have been in class and took the test on
Friday are not going to be able to do much today because of the kids taking the
makeup.

What are we saying when we punish students who did the right thing in order to cope

with those who did the wrong thing? Peter Macelroy decided arbitrarily not to give

makeup exams for those students who cut class. Although this policy would not have

worked for students who simply chose not to come to school (they are protected by the

school's official makeup policy), it did make it easier for him to deal with class cutters:

Absences pose a problem because when I wanted to do group work there were kids that
were absent all the time. I'd want to give a test. I'd have to give tons of makeups
because kids wouldn't show up. My philosophy was if you skip the class, you get a
zero on every assignment, whether it be a test or homework. The first test I gave, half
172

the kids skipped thinking, "Well get a makeup test, or well get the same test." I gave
them all zeroes. They knew the policy.

As clear as Peter’s policy is, however, it too can be compromised by forces beyond his

control. A note from a sympathetic assistant principal, for example, can undermine the

efforts of a student teacher. In a large urban high school there can be several assistant

principals and noticeable differences in the way each handles student offenders.

School policies which protect student offenders can also contribute to the undermining

of a student teacher's authority. In my high school, for example, students who are

suspended in-house are provided with work from their teachers. Students who are

suspended from school can not be held accountable for missed work or missed exams

because they were forcibly prevented from coming to school during that time period.

Students who are excluded from school are provided with home tutors free of charge.

With those kinds of opportunities, it is no wonder the absentee rate is so high. Schools of

education need to be aware of these factors and prepare students to cope with them long

before the practicum begins. Without preparation student teachers revert to trial and error

and/or the advice of the cooperating teacher.

One methodology Bill Colletta chose to utilize was factoring in attendance as part of the

grade. How closely (or loosely) this methodology was watched by the cooperating teacher

in conjunction with school policies had much to do with its success:

There were kids who were very good students who did all the work. They’re smart, but
they wouldn't come to class thirty percent of the time. So what do you do? You want
to fail them because they're lazy, however, every single thing that they turned in was A's
or B's. I took them a grade down, but I gave them significant warning that that was
going to happen.
173

For every rule there is a loophole, some which are advantageous to students and some

to teachers. In many school systems absenteeism can not be factored into the grade; in

others there are extremely finite rules. Educators who prioritize individual performance on

some type of evaluative tool rather than focusing on (or at least including) collective

understanding achieved through active participation in group activities only add to the

dilemma. Hypothetically test scores should be low if a student is absent a great deal; in

reality that does not work. Street smart students often sign up for low level classes which

are far too easy for them. They show up for exams and do major assignments and achieve

passing grades with veiy little effort. One way to offset that strategy is for the student

teacher to allot twenty-five percent of the grade to daily participation using a cumulative

point total. These too are ideas which student teachers must be exposed to before

beginning the urban practicum.

Coming from a totally opposite point of view from Bill's, Jennifer Benares chose to

ignore the absentee policy at Sussex High School altogether because she thought it was too

harsh. By following her own conscience, she failed to realize that she was jeopardizing

every teacher who followed the policy. This kind of behavior is not uncommon among

seasoned faculty members, but the results of it are the same-unfair labeling of teachers

who follow school rules. The adage of "a chain is only as good as its weakest link” applies

here:

There was a twenty-five percent absent rate in the basic class, and there were some
students that I saw maybe four times in my fourteen weeks. Iam supposed to take
absences into mind when Tm giving grades. Policy says five absences, and you
automatically fail. I felt that five absences wasn’t very many for a term. What I would
do if they Fad over five absences is bring their grade down a little bit, but I didn’t want
to fail someone for being absent.
174

Arbitrary decisions made by educators concerning personal enforcement of absentee

policies are precisely the reason why many policies do not work. Although I applaud those

who are unafraid to express their discontent, I am opposed to those who choose to use

their own discretion in terms of which policies to uphold and which to ignore. Changes

must be made through legitimate channels. Well intentioned neophytes who take this

stance during the practicum can eventually become long-term arbiters of school policy.

That situation is desirable for neither students nor teacher.

E. Work With What YouVe Got: Pushing Onward

Faced with the inevitably of the situation, James Ramaska opted to push on and make

the best of a bad situation. Whether it’s called lowering expectations or refining the

approach, it's simply doing what you have to do:

YouVe just got to try to find a way to still make progress. Today I will have kids do
something which will be similar to what I wanted to get into, but it wont be the full
blown thing that I wanted to do. Ill have to do that tomorrow.

When you have to meet certain requirements, it's tough. At the very least James is

fostering a positive attitude towards making progress; that will serve him well during his

career. Being realistic is the key to survival in the urban school. Even within the relatively

short span of fourteen weeks, Jennifer Benares underwent a remarkable metamorphosis in

attitude and came to the conclusion that students must ultimately be held responsible for

their actions:

I now know that everything is open to change, and my great lessons that I plan will be
completely screwed up and come out awful. In the beginning I was feeling like-"Well
this many kids aren't here. I'm not going to go through with this." Towards the end I
started saying, ''Well if they're not here, they’re not here, and that's that. I'm going to
cover the material, and if they miss something good, that's too bad."
175

It all comes back to haunt them when they're failing all their tests and not knowing
what's up. That's something that students have got to learn to take responsibility for.
They have to be personally accountable for that kind of thing, and I'm not going to
spend hours and tons of effort and energy making up for them what they missed when
they weren't in school.

Jennifer finally realized that student teachers cant be all things to all students. Giving

students carte blanche to make up a test is giving them a license to make up excuses for the

rest of their lives. If we want students to become responsible adults, we have to teach them

what responsibility means.

The absentee issue is one that can not be ignored by teacher educators. One of the

skills that student teachers need to develop is how to adapt to sudden fluctuations in daily

attendance. Part of the student teacher's portfolio should include related backup plans

which can be put to use should the lesson become impossible to accomplish. If cooperative

learning is to be even minimally successful the student teacher must also be taught to

identify responsible students and place them strategically in separate groups as key players.

The student teacher's absentee policy should be clear and consistent and in line with the

school's policy. Deviations from this policy will cause it to fail miserably. A safeguard

system allowing for extenuating circumstances such as medical emergencies or a death in

the family should be built on. Students must be aware of this policy from day one and

adhere to it for the rest of the year. Consistency and fairness are the keys to coping with

this urban dilemma.


CHAPTER X

GRADING ISSUES IN THE URBAN PRACTICUM

In an urban high school, grading is often an extremely difficult requirement. Although

all of my participants took at least one course loosely entitled "Measurement and

Evaluation," most found their training inadequate and abandoned many of the principles

they learned when they had to apply them to human beings.

A. Compassion and Self Righteousness: Dominant Themes in Grading

For most of my participants, grading was a dilemma. Early in the practicum many

student teachers spent endless hours trying to grade subjective tests and writing

assignments. The real difficulty, however, involved the issue of failing students who, for a

myriad of reasons, did not achieve a 65 average. Compassion for children who had been

brought up in poverty and ignorance, particularly if their first language was not English,

prevented many student teachers from assigning failing grades. Some of my participants

who originally refused to fail anyone eventually modified their stance for students who put

forth little or no effort.

A considerably smaller number of my participants were absolutely sure that giving

passing grades to students who could not read or who chose not to put in the necessary

effort would only perpetuate mediocrity, reward indolence, and burden the next teacher

who inherited the problem. Their sense of self righteousness spared no one except for

those students who had legitimate medical documentation. In an urban high school,

however, the line between what is right and what is fair is nebulous at best.

176
177

B. If You Try. You Pass: Reinforcing Effort

The number of variables which go into assigning a grade to a student makes the process

uncomfortable and inexact at best. In this section I have grouped the student teachers who

agree on one basic principle: if you try, you pass. What differentiates them are the reasons

they provide which hinder urban students from making the grade. Julie Boswick focused

on the difficulty of grading students whose first language was other than English:

I pass kids who put in effort. If kids do all their homework and participate in class, are
genuinely trying, I’ll pass them. Maybe that’s wrong, but I don’t have that much belief
in tests, especially in a school that's made up mostly of minority students where they
might have a problem with English. Maybe I'm soft, but in my classes I have kids who
don’t test well.

For those of us whose native language is English and especially for those of us who

have only a fleeting exposure to another language it is difficult to understand the thought

process of students whose first language is other than English. They read the question in

English, translate it into their language, think about it in their language, translate it back to

English and attempt to write their answer in English. There are debilitating factors that

must be considered: 1) what is lost in the translation from English to their language; 2)

what is lost in the translation from their language to English; 3) what is lost in the transfer

of their thoughts to writing; 4) what is lost because of the amount of time it takes to go

through this process.

Many of my participants wanted a level playing field for their urban students. For some

the only way to level that field was through adjusting grades arbitrarily for those students

whose first language was other than English. But this decision left them uneasy. Is this

process fair to English-speaking students? Is it fair to bilingual students who can function
178

well in two languages? Does it give those students who struggle a false sense of security

and set them up for failure down the road? If the final product is poorly written or even

unintelligible, is it fair to rationalize its acceptance by finding some nebulous redeeming

quality in it?

The difficulty of grading urban students is not caused solely by language acquisition

problems. Because of the poverty level that they live at, many urban students work after

school and on weekends. Some students are mothers or fathers and have parental

obligations. Because most of these issues cannot be compromised, many of my

participants found reasons to sympathize. Sal Cheblanc was one of those:

I’ve been told to fill in zeroes for everything that was missed, but I try to give them a
break because I know that a lot of them have kids of their own. A lot of them work
until midnight every night, and I empathize with them as long as they put forth an
honest effort. Why do you want to kill somebody because they have a bad day or a bad
week? We’ve all had them.

Time constraints on students are not unique to urban high schools. All students have to

face the difficulty of juggling schedules to accommodate extracurricular, athletic, social,

family and work obligations. But there is a huge difference between those above and

below the poverty line. Urban students from poor families do not have the option of

choosing whether or not to work. My participants were faced with the dilemma of failing

students who neglected to do homework or to study because they had to work. My

participants had to choose between what was fair and what was right. What is fair may be

judging all students by the same standard. What is right is may be to take into account

individual circumstances. It is precisely these kinds of ethical considerations which must be

discussed in teacher preparation classes.


179

While many of my participants focused on specific variables that cause students to fail,

Jack Wilson concentrated on what he perceived his job to be:

As a teacher it's not my job to fail somebody; it's my job to teach them, and students
will fail themselves by die simple standards that the school has set: not doing their work,
missing too many days. As long as a student comes and tries and does work that is at a
level that shows that they've tried, and maybe I'm being too liberal, they're going to
pass.

Interestingly Jack questioned whether or not he was being too "liberal." Part of his

doubt stems from the dichotomy between the "simple standards that the school has set" and

work that "is at a level that shows that they have tried." Jack fails to see that despite his

insistence that his job is to teach and not to fail (he doesn't have to because "students will

fail themselves"), it is he who arbitrarily decides what does and does not constitute an

effort that merits passing. While some students may need this help to boost their self

esteem, however, others may use it in a less noble manner.

Because some students are cognizant of their shortcomings, it can be helpful to promise

them a passing grade if they put forth a credible effort. Otherwise they might give up

before they even give themselves a chance to pass the class. But promising that can also

encourage excessive absenteeism among students who know they can pass the tests without

the benefit of class time. James Ramaska tried to solve both of these problems while still

being aware of the necessity of justifying the grades he gave to his cooperating teacher:

I gave them the expectations that if they came to class and they did the work and they
behaved, they would pass, no matter what they did. If a kid came to class and was right
on the borderline of failing, I gave them a D. I had kids that were out thirty times, but
when they took a test, they got an A, and then they got a D or a C on their report card,
and they wondered why they got that. It's tough to balance everything and then justify
the grades to your cooperating teacher.
180

James rewarded students who showed up and behaved with a passing grade regardless

of the quality of the work. He also rewarded students who scored high on tests with a

passing grade regardless of the number of days they were out (some even expected higher

grades). Having taken these measures in light of the considerations discussed above, James

had one more hurdle to cross—his cooperating teacher.

Justifying the grades to the cooperating teacher sometimes forced student teachers to

fail students they would have otherwise passed. How much leeway in grading was granted

to student teachers by their cooperating teachers was a significant factor in the grading

process. Jack Wilson was forced to adhere to the criteria set by his cooperating teacher:

I've actually failed a couple of people in class that met my expectation but didn't meet
the expectation of the cooperating teacher I was working for. He had assignments that
were weighed so heavily that if students missed them, they were going to fail. They
missed them, and I had to fail them, and I really didnt have a choice.

Having had to struggle through the issues of how to grade urban students fairly and

having come up with a rationale he could live with, Jack was now forced to fail some of his

students because of someone else's criteria. This again points to the need for extensive

meetings between the cooperating teacher and student teacher before the practicum so that

differences in expectations can be worked out.

Differing expectations caused problems beyond the immediate circle of student teacher

and cooperating teacher for one of my participants. Peter Macelroy was criticized by

fellow department members for giving tests that were too easy. He felt the other

department members were jealous; they felt he was buying popularity. In terms of grading,

he made the following comment: "I loved grading a test. I loved seeing the result. I would

write comments, and the kids would feel great because they were getting B’s and A's on
181

tests.” Interestingly enough he mentioned only the students who were successful on his

tests in finding the grading experience enjoyable.

Student teachers should also know beforehand about the amount of support their urban

high schools provide for students who fail. Because Jack Wilson saw no such support

system in the school he was assigned to, he refused to perpetuate the problem:

Are there provisions in the system to address what that student is lacking or deficient in,
and if there's no provision, I think it would be criminal to send a student back into a
class after failing him to face the same situation. There's no provisions for that student
to address his deficiencies. If I fail him, I am continuing to perpetuate mediocrity.

For many students appropriate support can make the difference between dropping out

or staying in school. If remediation is not provided, the problem is never addressed, and

the student is doomed to repeat the history of failure.

C. Pont Placate Them: The Importance of Earning a Grade

Perpetuating mediocrity can also be accomplished by passing students who have not

achieved a grade of 65. How often have we seen reports on high school graduates who

cannot read, write or perform simple computations? By assigning grades on the basis of

effort rather than performance, are we not shortchanging students and discrediting the

value of a high school diploma? Feeling sorry for students is not an acceptable reason for

passing a student according to John Bulinski:

You still have to grade, you still have to evaluate, you still have to show them how to
improve because if you let them slip by, if you give them a higher grade because you
feel sorry for them, they will not improve, and that's really what you want.

John's statement that students will not improve by giving them undeserved grades

deserves serious consideration. It falls in line with the larger urban issues surrounding

welfare. Like many welfare recipients, struggling students may never break free of the
182

pattern of receiving something they did not earn. Some of my participants became

increasingly conscious of this problem during the latter stages of the practicum.

Trevor Moody conceded the necessity of individual consideration when assigning

grades but still maintained the bottom line: "I would say, grade more to the student, but I

do feel that is very different than just kicking a kid along who really cant If that kid can’t

read, you’ve got to give him the TV"

"You've got to give him the "F" is strong language. What was left out is "even if you

don’t want to." How do we best serve the urban student? By the end of her practicum,

Jennifer Benares realized that assigning students a deserved "F" might be more helpful in

the long run than undeservedly passing them:

I know now that Tm not going to ruin their lives by giving them a failing grade. I know
now that to help them at all is not to just slap a grade on something for effort. There's
got to be more than effort there.

Without fair and specific grading the student cannot distinguish between what is good

and what is mediocre. Jennifer's worry that she might ruin her students' lives by giving

them a failing grade is rather ironic. It is precisely by got giving them a failing grade when

they deserve one which will establish an immediate pattern of self delusion, unrealistic

expectations for reward and inability to cope in a competitive society.

D. A Grading Metamorphosis

Trying to weigh all the considerations involved in grading urban students can make this

experience overwhelming for student teachers. By putting too much emphasis on this one

responsibility, they can create enough pressure to affect their other responsibilities

negatively. Jennifer Benares eventually became aware of the difference between being
183

meticulous and being realistic in terms of efforts and time restraints. With the advice of

her cooperating teacher, she found a happy medium:

I would read them all, and I would think about them, and then Td make marks in pencil
so I could erase them if I had to. I had a grading sheet criteria and a scale, and I wanted
to make it very clear to them what and how I was evaluating. Of course in the end they
didn't care how they got there. They said, "You write too much when you give us back
papers."
My cooperating teacher said, "You’re going to drive yourself to a grave if you
continue to do that." Later on I didn't take evaluating and grading to heart as much as I
did in the beginning. It was not going to make or break this kid's chance of college. I
did take into consideration what I knew about each kid. I knew the people who could
take some criticism, and I knew the people that couldn't.

Somewhere between the extremes of compassion and self righteousness lies a place

where the student teacher and the cooperating teacher and the university can agree on basic

principles of grading. Discussed openly and honestly before the practicum begins, the

anxiety caused by the problems involved in grading urban students can, at the very least, be

reduced
CHAPTER XI

DISCIPLINE ISSUES IN THE URBAN PRACTICUM

The bane of school teachers, parents, coaches, drill sergeants, CEO's—anybody in a

position of authority—is how to handle discipline. Any time rules are imposed on people,

they resist. How that resistance is handled determines whether or not peace or chaos

reigns. It is commonly thought that dogs sense fear in a human being and react negatively

to it. Urban students who are used to the streets likewise sense fear in teachers, particularly

new or student teachers whom they perceive as young and naive. For some student

teachers, maintaining discipline in the urban classroom is the hardest part of their job.

A. Subterfuge. Irresolution and Martyrdom: Dominant Themes in Discipline

"This is going to hurt me more than it's going to hurt you" is the classic line

accompanying the picture of a stem father about to administer a spanking to his son's

bottom. The message implicit in this illustration somehow escaped the bulk of my

participants. It was, in fact, through subterfuge that many consciously deceived themselves

into thinking that discipline was simply an annoyance that could be ignored. Many openly

admitted that they were not disciplinarians and had no intentions of ever becoming

disciplinarians.

A smaller group of my participants who labored beneath the affliction of irresolution

could not come to grips with when and how to administer discipline. By waffling they sent

a clear message of indecisiveness to students who took full advantage of the situation.

Some in this group acknowledged the desire of students for structure and their penchant

184
185

for testing the limits when limits have not been imposed. Some participants in this group

relied on the students to police their classmates.

Successful terrorists have unfortunately learned the value of following through on a

threat. Produce a martyr, and everyone knows you mean business. A small number of my

participants followed this procedure and achieved success. Even some participants who

fell into the previous two groups talked about the probable effectiveness of making an

example out of someone but never went through with it

B. Preconceived Notions: Who Has the Power

People in authority have only as much power as other people are willing to grant them.

Even the policeman is beaten up by those who choose not to respect the uniform.

Policemen rarely deal with thirty to one odds; teachers do it every day. Controlling a class

is a difficult task because most students who openly disrupt the classroom are seeking an

audience, and many students love to see the show. While one-on-one confrontation may

be exciting to the spectators, it can be devastating to student teachers.

The urban classroom offers a special challenge. Most of the student teachers in my

study and most of the teachers I know who work in suburban systems have a preconceived

idea about the violent nature of urban students. When they see, for example, four hooded

young African Americans heading down the corridor towards them, they are afraid; the

image evokes apprehension. That apprehension, admitted or denied, conscious or

unconscious, is enough to make urban students suspicious, edgy and powerful. Some take

full advantage of that situation. I offer and then comment on the following real incidents to
186

illustrate what happened when four of the student teachers in my study attempted to

enforce the rules.

Although John Bulinski was not physically attacked, it is clear from his initial comment

and from his numerous references to this incident during his interviews that he was

emotionally traumatized by this challenge:

Eddie Dumbrowski-ni remember that name for a long time-physically challenged me.
He really was a problem. He wouldn't talk in class, wouldn’t even look up, wouldn’t do
anything. Then he started getting disruptive. A few days later I asked him to do
something, and he got up and said, "I want to beat you! We all want to beat you up!"
Then I did my intimidating voice and said, "What do you think you’re doing?" I wrote
him up, and I sent him down.

The following incident involved a nineteen year old student who was repeating his

freshman year for the third time. A known troublemaker, he had managed to use his street

smarts and his size to intimidate many of his teachers. Peter Macelroy decided to confront

him; fortunately the student backed off at the end but not before alarming the student

teacher and some of his students:

One scary circumstance was when I gave a nineteen year old student an "F" grade. He
stood up, came towards me, didn’t run, walked towards me and said, "I'm going to pass,
aren't I?" I said "No, I'm not going to pass you. Fll talk about this with you after class.
Sit down." He didn’t sit down. 'Tm not sitting down if you're failing me." I said, "Billy,
listen I don’t want to have a problem with you. I think we can talk about this like two
civilized adults," and he wouldn’t move, so I said, "Fine, if you're not going to move,
Tm not going to make you move, but I can have a vice principal come down and talk to
you, and maybe hell help you move.
He sat down and after class, he came towards me. I thought he was going to hit me
because he had his fists clenched. Two of the guys in the class stayed there, looked at
him like, "Don’t even think of it," and I said, "Guys, thanks, I can handle this with Mr.
Marrero. I appreciate your help." "Are you sure, Mr. Macelroy?" "Yeah I can handle
it."

Monica Pellante was "toyed with" by male students. Pulling her hair was considered by

her assailant as nothing more than a macho prank. He at first denied it, then admitted it
187

and then simply walked away. She was left angry, stunned, stripped of her self confidence

as a teacher and her dignity as a young woman:

I was in the hallway trying to get my students into the classroom, and the brother of one
of my students pulled my hair, then denied it, then said he did it. Then I asked him to
stay, and he walked away. Nobody likes being thought of as a joke. That's something a
fifteen year old does to a fifteen year old girl. What's that say about my authority here,
my presence? To me it doesn't say much.

Raymond Strathmore confronted a student who was behaving erratically in the hallway

and reported him to administration. What Raymond said to the principal in a later

conversation indicates his fear of retaliation and his anxiety over taking decisive action:

I was talking to the principal. He said, "Okay, I found out about the situation. Dont
worry about it. He's a known drug dealer. We think he might have been high at the
time. You did the right thing." And I said, "Are my tires going to be slashed
tomorrow? What does this mean for me?"

The first two incidents involve the testing theme. I surmise that Eddie, whose initial period

of silence and deliberate lack of involvement foreshadowed trouble, threatened John in order

to see his reaction. Billy, who had advanced his career by successfully intimidating other

teachers, was doing the same thing to Peter. If Eddie and Billy had meant what they said, they

would have followed through; they didn't. The hair pulling incident was in fact a playful

macho prank gone bad. The boy walked away because he knew he had overstepped his

bounds. Raymond's worrying about having his tires slashed is indicative of the preconceived

notions he entertained about urban students. While all of these incidents merit concern, none

of them ended in violence.


188

C. A Difficult Balancing Act: Maintaining Order and Maintaining Interest

Balance-in almost every endeavor in life finding balance is the key to success. In terms

of discipline finding the balance between maintaining order and maintaining interest becomes

paramount. Terry Anson expressed perfectly what many of my participants felt:

I ran into discipline problems quickly, and that was tough. They’re a very rowdy bunch
of kids. They can’t stay still, they can’t keep their mouths shut, they can’t stay in their
seat, and that just drove me nuts, and I didn't know how to keep them quiet. I tried to
make the lessons more interesting and include the students in discussion to get them all
to pay attention, and that worked. They all paid attention, but they got almost too into
it. Everyone was screaming and yelling out answers at the same time, and they were
arguing over who was right and who was wrong, and then I wasn’t in control anymore.

Leighton High School, where Terry did her student teaching, is a school of tremendous

diversity. There are cultural differences which contribute to the noisiness. Years of

observing E.S.L. classes have shown me, for example, that Latino students tend to be

highly emotive and Asian students relatively quiet. Factors like these need to be considered

before attempting to control a classroom. Maintaining order while promoting enthusiasm is

difficult but not impossible.

What constitutes acceptable behavior in the urban high school of the 1990's? When

compared with behavioral standards that were expected of them during their primarily

suburban schooling, many student teachers are not sure where to draw the line. Changes

in dress, language and culture, particularly for people who are unfamiliar with the terrain,

can cause confusion. Jennifer Benares had a difficult time judging what was and was not

acceptable behavior:

Eventually the students figured out that ’’Miss Benares is not going to send people to the
headmaster." The only thing that I felt strongly about was that it was important that
they don’t speak over each other. And they would speak over me often too. The
disrespect is just overwhelming.
189

Once her students knew she would not follow through, Jennifer was indeed in trouble.

When she could not enforce "the only thing" that mattered to her, she handed over control

of the class to her students, something they didn't really want.

D. Recognizing the Problem: The First Step Towards Taking Control

At AA meetings, members stand up and start with the following words: "My name is

-, and I'm an alcoholic." It is said that recognizing the problem is the first step in

treating it. At a hypothetically analogous meeting of student teachers, many of my

participants might have stood up and said, "My name is-, and I'm not a disciplinarian.

This section contains comments from student teachers who acknowledged they had a

problem with discipline. Recognizing that problem may indeed be their first step in solving

it.

Tim Meehy faced a philosophical dilemma in having to compromise his principles. He

also admitted having a problem knowing when he should apply management tactics:

• I have to become more of a disciplinarian or make an example out of one or two of


them. That's against everything I stand for-everything. I'm not really a disciplinarian.
I have a hard time with that. I'm not sure when to pull the trigger.

If Tim had done his practicum at a suburban high school, would he have had an equally

difficult time pulling the trigger? My conjecture is that Tim's inability to be a disciplinarian

stems from his fear of how urban students would react. He knows how suburban high

schoolers would react; he was once one of them. Fear of the unknown is always greater

than fear of what is known.


190

Inadequate classroom management can cause the consumption of inordinate amounts of

time leaving the student teacher frustrated and non-productive. Using the metaphor of a

funnel, Monica Pellante voiced a mix of desperation and hope:

I couldn't teach in that class. I had to take care of discipline, and then I couldn't seem to
get to other things. Many teachers said, ’’Just read to them. They don’t want to learn.
They don’t want to be there." I couldn't give up on that group. There's so much energy
there if I could just tunnel it. I just didn't expect the constant discipline thing I had to
deal with. That threw me off.

"Just read to them. They don't want to learn" is poor advice probably coming from a

teacher who had suffered urban burnout long ago. It is precisely that babysitting mentality

that convinces urban students that education is meaningless. All of my participants were

excited about teaching and, at least initially, brimming with optimism. In many cases

discipline problems disrupted even their most carefully tailored lesson plans and

undermined their confidence.

Non-productivity not only stems from lost time but also from the unwillingness of

student teachers to be open and flexible because of the fear of losing control. "All

discipline and no play makes Jack a dull student teacher" might apply in the case of Monica

Pellante:

I just really like to have fun with what I teach, but it's so hard to have fun. Fun comes
to me when there is comfort and security, but if I am stuck in an awkward position or if
I'm unsure of things, then I close up.

"Closing up" is precisely the thing not to do when faced with behavioral problems. It

sends an "I cant cope with you" message to urban students and causes even more

problems. Juvenile misbehavior should be dealt with swiftly and consistently. Subtle

messages such as "closing up" only exacerbate the situation.


191

Disciplinary measures are created to punish those who break the rules, but sometimes it

is the disciplinary measure which creates the misbehavior. When urban high school

students are treated as if they are elementary students, they begin to behave in a like

fashion as was the case with Monica Pellante: "The basic class would get mad at me and

tell me I treat them like they were in elementary school. Then I would have to think about

what I was doing to make them feel like that."

There is a clear difference between punishing students and humiliating them. Urban

students expect to be punished; in fact some desire it as a means of establishing their limits.

But humiliating them by treating them like little children needles their pride and puts the

student teacher in a no win situation.

When some students were so uncomfortable that they had to tell Jennifer Benares her

classroom management was inadequate, she was devastated:

It became such a problem that the kids were starting to say, "Miss Benares, why don't
you send him to the headmaster? Miss Benares, you have to yell more. You need to
be more strict." The first time that it happened I felt pretty badly. I definitely sunk. I
said, "Oh God, I know this is a problem." It was really tough to keep them down. It
was noisy, and I always got complaints from other people.

The theme is reiterated again and again: students want discipline, but if you set the

rules, you better keep them. Allowing students to break the rules only confuses the issue as

Raymond Strathmore stated: "Surprisingly a lot of kids said, *you should have disciplined

us more.’ That was a shock to me because I knew that I was a little laid back. I was

allowing them to get away with things.'"

Like Jennifer, Raymond was already aware that he had a problem controlling his

students. It's almost as if they were waiting for someone to say "you've got to take
192

control." According to Raymond Strathmore, the reason why students ask for discipline is

to provide them with structure-to know where the boundaries are: "All kids like structure.

The reason why they press the line is because they want to know where the limits are."

Yet neither Raymond nor Jennifer ever did gain control.

There is a new device on the market for dog owners in the suburbs. It's an invisible

electric fence. A wire buried underground creates an electric barrier which shocks the dog

when it attempts to leave the property. It works-but only after the dog has tested the

perimeter at several points and learned where the boundaries are. James Ramaska

ultimately realized that setting the boundaries was not enough. Students need to find out

whether or not the teacher will enforce the rules:

I said, "This is it—right here." They tried things. They try to see how far they can
push you—to see what you actually will do. Are you going to give detentions? What
kind of work are you going to give? What are you gonna expect?"

Students have a right to know what to expect. They do not simply learn by osmosis.

They expect rules, and they expect teachers to enforce those rules. Many of my Hispanic

students have told me that in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic teachers are very

strict, and many use corporal punishment. These students often do not know how to

handle the relatively large amount of freedom they are given in American classrooms.

Student teachers must be prepared to fulfill the expectations of their urban charges.

F. Rationalizing the Problem: Putting the Blame Elsewhere

One of the major pitfalls student teachers can fall into is rationalizing their inadequacy

in classroom management. It is easier to blame the students, the administration or the


193

nature of discipline itself rather than to blame themselves for their inability to control their

students.

Although Monica Pellante initially spoke about her difficulty in finding balance, she felt

a need to absolve herself from the problem by stating that discipline was boring: "I was

trying to find a way to find some balance between keeping order in the classroom and not

being a hardass. The hardest thing with discipline is discipline. I find anyway that

discipline is a bore.

This is precisely the same logic that led to the comment that students did not want to

learn so why bother teaching them. It's easier to let behavior slide—as long as you're willing

to sacrifice your academic integrity and the respect of your students. After dismissing

discipline as boring, what next? Perhaps grammar or equations or the table of elements or

historical dates? In an urban classroom nothing should be boring, but everything should be

consistent.

In a similar situation Terry Anson, who had experienced serious discipline problems in

her classroom, simply passed off the discipline issue as annoying. Although she states the

problem as an unwillingness to take it on as a challenge, she is simply using this

rationalization to avoid facing the issue:

I like challenges that make me think. The challenges with classroom management just
annoy me. I haven't really seen or taken it on as a challenge. If I could rearrange it so I
could think of it as a challenge, I wouldn't hate that part of it so much.

How many graduate students have fallaciously said "I don't want to teach at a middle

school or an urban school because it's not much of an intellectual challenge. I want to get

into my subject." But teaching is not about taking; it's about giving. In order to give, you
194

have to maintain order. It's a challenge well worth facing. The limited time span of a ten

week practicum, however, allows some student teachers to avoid meeting that challenge.

Although Jennifer Benares was concerned with the discipline dilemma at the beginning

of her practicum, she eventually found a way to solve it; she simply decided not to take it

personally: "I realized that I was just going to kill myself if I continued to take it

personally." But how else does one take it? It was far easier for most of my participants to

criticize the teachers they observed than to recognize faults in their own teaching.

Another means of excusing oneself from providing adequate discipline is not wanting to

be disliked by students—especially in an urban location. Not wanting to appear racist or

classist, many of my participants went out of their way to become "buddies" with their

students. Unfortunately that sometimes meant compromising their behavioral expectations.

Imagine what would happen if every teacher in the school opted not to be the "bad guy?";

still Jennifer Benares chose to be the "good guy":

I earned the respect that I needed not in the same way a traditional teacher would have.
It took a while, and they did walk all over me on certain occasions, but they knew I was
a person, and they liked Miss Benares as a person.

They may have liked Miss Benares as a person, but I surmise they didn't respect Miss

Benares as a teacher. Jennifer's need to be liked was far more powerful than her need to

be effective. While understandable her decision is still an injustice to her students and to

her profession. If earning respect the way a "traditional" teacher would means maintaining

control of the classroom, perhaps Jennifer should have tried the traditional route. Monica

Pellante used the excuse of what might happen if she became angry. By the time she got
195

around to it, it was too late: ”1 tried to put off getting mad for as long as possible, but I

didn't think I could stop getting mad after I let it go."

Monica was afraid of the boys at Leighton High School—pure and simple. And perhaps

she failed to realize that there is a difference between getting angry and losing one's cool.

Tim Meehy who had major problems with discipline became aware of what can happen in

a shouting match and wisely avoided doing so, but he backed up too much, internalized his

anger and ultimately negated the benefit of his own advice by unconsciously substituting

being complacent for being "cool":

I don't like to get into a shouting match with them, and I haven't done it, but there were
a few times when I could feel myself ready to explode and yell and scream. 1 didn't do
it, but now, even when Tm angry, I keep cool because I think that is one of the ways
that kids like to defeat the teacher.

Keeping cool is one of the first lessons learned in mediation. It prevents escalation of

an argument. Tim was right when he stated that becoming flustered was a surefire avenue

to defeat But being disrespected and not taking action in order to remain cool is an open

invitation to abuse. Urban students will immediately get behind any student who

challenges a teacher and gets away with it.

Threatening detention was equated with becoming "harder'' by Jennifer Benares, but in

the classroom actions speak louder than words. If threats are not backed up, they weaken

the student teacher's authority even more. The latter part of this comment indicates a

staunch resistance to employing what was called harsh disciplinary actions:

There are times when I wasn't enough of a disciplinarian, and because it just got me
frustrated and got me mad, and it was noisy and things were out of hand, I would all of
a sudden threaten detention for everybody. It did make me harder, but I was still
conscious of the fact that I wasn't going to fall into harsh disciplinary actions as a way
of dealing with it all the time.
196

Good intentions unfortunately are not enough to control a classroom of students.

Jennifer was consciously avoiding becoming a disciplinarian. In fact she was determined

not to do so despite the advice of graduate instructors and veteran urban teachers:

Everyone always says you start out hard, and so when I went into my student teaching,
I went in there with the intention of being a firm teacher, a firm disciplinarian. People
would suggest "Throw a couple of kids out the first two days just so they know that
you're serious about it."

But Jennifer listened to her heart instead of her head. Rather than acknowledge that

there must be a reason so many educators and so many urban teachers in particular

recommend being firm initially, she chose, as many student teachers do, to try it her way.

And while she could say something like "Well I had to try it," she would have neglected to

consider the students who were hurt by a noisy, chaotic classroom. Students are not

variables in an experiment; they have a right to learn.

F. Using the Class to Police Itself: Self Control as Methodology

One occasionally successful method of employing discipline is to let the class police

itself. If the student teacher is liked enough, "good" students sometimes come to their

rescue. Sometimes peer pressure is far more effective than a strong hand as Julie Boswick

stated: "I wouldn't really have to discipline them because the rest of the class would say

•you're being an idiot' to them."

Even in the hallways and parking lots peer pressure is important. But here too the

student teacher must be wary. In the world of street smart, a favor is always expected to

be returned as Peter Macelroy might eventually discover:

Overall, a lot of the kids would stick up for me which I really didn't need. They were
very protective of me. I was walking down the hall, and I heard someone say, "Look at
that goofy white boy." Karen said, "That’s Mr. Macelroy. He’s not goofy. You better
197

shut up, or I'll knock you out." Andy and Cosmo saw me driving in, and I beeped the
horn at them. They saw where I parked, and they said, "Mr. Macelroy, that's a nice
Chevy that you got. We have someone watching that for you all day, so you dont have
to worry about it."

Peter may have been well liked, but letting a student defend him from a "goofy white

boy" epithet rather than handling it himself will earn him a reputation he will not find

desirable when isolated. And someone keeping an eye on his car for protection can quickly

switch to someone keeping an eye on his car as a threat.

G. The Romans and Every Tenth Guv: Making an Example of Someone

Chris Ristous, the only participant in my sample who grew up and attended schools in

an urban location, had the least amount of problems with discipline. He instinctively knew

exactly what would work for him and used an example from history to make his point:

I smiled a lot, but I laid the lines down, and I told them I'd make an example. I told
them flat out, "First kid I'm making an example of. Ill give you a little history lesson.
The Romans did every tenth guy. HI do that." I got one kid for a minor thing. After
that it was all right: "He's got some teeth. He's got a bite along with his bark."

There is far less pain in breaking something quickly than bending it slowly. Chris did

what he had to do quickly and decisively. "Busting" someone for a minor infraction

prevented the necessity of busting someone for a major infractioa Urban students

understand power, and they respect those who know when and when not to use it.

The strategy of making an example out of one student is apparently a popular one. It is

interesting to note that even those teachers who saw themselves as non-disciplinarians

mentioned how often they were given the advice of "nailing" one or two students to

establish order. Here again, James Ramaska acknowledged the necessity of doing so.

"Sometimes it’s a whole group of people that are being disruptive, and I pick out one kid.
198

It's unfortunate for him, but sometimes things like that have to happen to set an example or

lay down the law.”

But no system is foolproof. There are some students in urban schools who are angry at

the conditions they live in and who vent their bitterness on the school. They can poison the

best of teachers. 'Tool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me” is a Chinese

philosophy reflected in the comments of James Ramaska who, regardless of his initial

flexibility, acknowledged his awareness of becoming hard:

I try to give every kid a fair shake, but there are kids who gnaw at you. You give them
a chance. You give them breaks, and they don't appreciate it. They just want to keep
testing you and testing you. It's very easy to just turn those kids out or get turned off to
those kids. It's easy to not want to put the effort in to help them.

John's changing attitude supports findings that student teachers experience a significant

increase in custodial pupil ideology by the end of the practicum (Hoy, 1967; Hoy and

Rees, 1977). It's easy to identify that some students misbehave, but it's difficult to identify

why some students act the way they do. A boy who watches his single mother sleeping

with a variety of boyfriends might never be friendly to a female teacher. A girl whose

father abused her mother might never trust a male teacher. Coming down on either of

these or other students who have a bevy of legitimate reasons for being angry could cause a

violent reaction. Turning away from students like these will only deepen their depression.

Raymond Strathmore regretted maintaining too great a distance between himself and his

students. He was honest about his fear:

I didn't really get to know them as much as I should have. Partially that's just my
personality and partially because I was trying to hold back a little bit because I was
afraid of being taken advantage of being so young and being a new teacher. I knew
they would try to make as many problems for me as they could. I was kind of turning a
cold shoulder on them to a point.
199

Neither Raymond nor Jennifer were ever able to relax in the classroom; he, because he

held back too much and she, because she held back too little. Some of the lessons they

learned can only be taught through experience. That is one reason why a prepracticum

that involves more teaching might be far more beneficial than a prepracticum based on

observation.

H. The Questionable Benefits of Cracking Down

Maintaining discipline requires consistent enforcement of the rules. One of the

byproducts of following through on threats is reaping the questionable benefits of getting

wayward students back in the classroom. While that may be annoying initially, James

Ramaska understood the importance of doing the job right:

In that standard class period eight, we were having a lot of kids skipping class, and we
cracked down on the AWOLS, and I got them all back, and it really disrupted the class
for awhile. So, by enforcing the rules I made the class worse. But obviously that's part
of the job. Now a lot of those kids aren't even coming to school. It's better when
there's fewer kids there.

James took the high road and paid a bittersweet price. Many urban teachers take a

different approach. In several urban systems part of a teacher's evaluation is predicated on

the number of times students are sent to an assistant principal for disciplinary purposes. If

a student who is likely to misbehave cuts class, it's far easier to ignore it and thereby

eliminate the necessity of sending the student out. Without the troublemaker in class,

things go more smoothly. Since the student will fail for lack of participation, the teacher's

conscience is clear; the student has chosen to fail. It may be the easiest choice, but it is not

the right choice. Somehow James knew that instinctively.


200

Like it or not discipline is a game that must be played by student teachers and their

students. The object of the game for student teachers is to make their classroom a safe

place, a place of learning which focuses on intercommunication in an atmosphere of

mutual respect and caring. The object of the game for students is to test student teachers

and the rules they impose. The winner of the game is the party which gains control first.

The game is fun for the students but anxiety-provoking for the student teachers. Ironically

both sides are interested in the same commodity: respect. The difference is that student

teachers want to be given respect; students expect them to earn it.


CHAPTER Xn

JULIE BOSWICK: A PROFILE

A, Introduction

Of the fifteen participants I interviewed for this study, Julie Boswick was the most

memorable. A single mother with an impish quality, Julie was highly opinionated and

extremely candid. Proud of her accomplishments and her self suflfciency, she was never

apologetic or regretful about having a child out of wedlock. She was passionate about her

teaching. She loved her students, especially those who, like herself, were stereotyped by

others. She enjoyed being interviewed. She spoke from the heart. I never tired of hearing

her voice. I felt compelled to share her story.

B. The Early Davs

I was really introverted when I was little. And I used to read. Nancy Drew was my

favorite. My parents used to fight a lot, so I think reading was kind of an escape. I still

read when I get stressed out. I always wanted to have a good vocabulary.

The town I grew up in is not diverse at all. I don’t think that the values projected in the

school system were good. I didn't like it. They didn't have any acceptance for anyone that

didn't fit the mold that they wanted. And the kids that didn't fit the mold that they wanted

were dismissed rather than trying to tap into them in some way.

I don't judge a person because they have long hair. The kids with long hair in my

classes that might smoke marijuana or something, the kids that are anti-establishment; some

of those are "A" students in my class. They are in my class even though they might fail in

other classes because I don't pre-judge. I have girls in my classes who have dog collars and

201
202

pink hair, and they are brilliant. In my own school system, at least when I was there, I

didn't think there was any room for differences at all.

The reason that I really never reflected negatively on tracking up until high school was

because I was always in the higher levels. It didn't really bother me because I was one of

the smart kids. I became cognizant of it when we had a test to see who was going to be

able to take foreign language. When you got to sixth grade, certain kids could take foreign

language, and certain kids couldn't. I flunked the test to take foreign language. My mother

had a back operation that day. I was really worried about my mother, and my grandmother

wouldn't let me stay home from school. I just bombed the test by chance.

They were all shocked that Julie Boswick flunked the test. "She's going to have to retest

because there must be some reason why she didn't pass the test." I had to go retest, but I

knew how it felt to be one of those kids when they read off the names that weren't going to

get to take foreign language in sixth grade, and it was horrible. I was really upset, so I can

imagine those kids who knew they weren't going to get called. How they must have felt.

But they probably expected it by them

I had several teachers that had a negative impact. Mrs. Grames-she's probably dead

now—in first grade, who told my mother I would never learn how to read. Mrs. Grames

was getting very frustrated with me and called my mother in for a conference because my

reading wasn't up to par. And I remember being really upset. "She’s never going to learn

how to read." She said it right in front of me. And it was horrible. By the end of the year

I was in the first reading group, so it shows how much Mrs. Grames knew. I remember

her. I didn't like her.


203

I was always considered the smart one in the family, and my sister, Alyson, was always

the one that struggled. She used to get really upset because I never really had to study in

school to get decent grades, and she would work so hard, and she'd get a "C." I used to

say, "If s not fair. I get an' A,' and I don't do any work, and you really try. You should be

the one getting 'A's." That used to get me really mad. The grading was unfair because she

tried so hard. She really, really tried, and she could never get above a "C."

Seventh grade was my transition year from my introverted childhood to my extroverted

life. I got voted class clown in seventh grade. The brains were in my classes. The jocks

were in my classes. And the burnouts were my friends. I didn't even fit in with them. I

didn't fit in with anybody. I really didn't. And I hated it.

I didn't want to be categorized because I thought the whole categorization thing was

wrong. I didn't understand why everyone just couldn't be friends. I

wasn't like any one particular group. I was smart, but I wasn't a little geek. The ones that

were the real brains were, for the most part, the real rich kids. Their parents would get

them computers. I didn't fit in like that; all these private little things that they did on the

side to better their education process.

C. High School Days

I didn't really fit in with the jocks category although I used to like to date the jocks.

Those were usually the cutest guys. And the burn-out category; I spent most of my time

with them. My sister was in that category. They seemed most accepting of people's

differences out of any other group. They were the most looked down upon by the school

and by the other students. I really didn't want to be fully affiliated because I didn't want to
204

be labeled like that, but I thought that they were the most accepting of people’s differences.

Anyone could believe whatever they wanted to believe and be who they wanted to be.

I thought they were more like, "If you're poor, oh well; if your parents are divorced, oh

well." Some of the kids' parents were divorced. Some of the kids just lived with their

moms, some of the kids didn't have a father or whatever, and that was okay. No one

judged anybody based on that. I didn't feel like I had to compete with them.

The rich kids didn't understand how life really was. I felt that they were handed

everything. They didn't have to work for anything. They didn't value anything, and they

were snobby. We weren't poor, but we weren't like that. And our value system was

different I was brought up differently.

They were just given such opportunity, and I really didn't think they appreciated it or

realized it. I think they negatively judged other people who didn't have it, and that's not

right You can say, "I have every color Levis, and my parents are buying me a car when I

get my license," but you should be humble about it.

Terry was my best friend. She was really smart, and she was the person that was most

like me. Her father left, remarried someone young, and left her mother with five kids.

They all haH two pairs of pants for school, and she had to wear them all the time. People

would make fun of her. And that used to make me mad. That's just not right.

There were a lot of things going oa My parents weren't getting along; they didn't help

me at all. I didn't really fit in anywhere. I think a lot of people feel that way when they

were seventeea They don't really fit in anywhere. I really think that I'm a good high

school teacher because I hated high school. I have a lot of reasons why I didn't like it, and
205

I think I can make high school a better place, so I'm a Julie Boswick mold. I know the

things I didn't like about it, and I think I can conduct my classes and make people feel

differently.

I really think that it gives me an edge on somebody else who didn't have that

experience because I know why people don't like school. A lot of the complaints that I

voiced when I was seventeen are the same feelings that my students articulate when they

say what they would want to change about the educational system.

I didn't like people judging people on how they looked or teachers judging students on

how they looked and thinking just because you have long hair or purple hair, or you only

have two pairs of pants that you are stupid. That's not necessarily true. Some of those

people are "A" students in my classes. I think that's wrong, and I think a lot of teachers do

it.

I think a lot of teachers have one standard for their advanced classes and one standard

for their lower classes. The kids used to call basic classes "fun for the mentals;" it would

be fundamental Math or fundamental Reading. The teachers had a different way of

teaching them.

I think I just question authority. Part of it is that I wasn't getting discipline at home.

My mother was working. She was just starting a job. She was

really very busy, plus my parents didn't get along. We really didn't get a lot of authority at

home, and I was in charge. I used to make dinners for my sisters and take care of them

and do a lot of stuff at home. And I would be like "Who are you?" to teachers. "Who are

you to say that is true?" I question authority a lot.


206

This is the kind of thing that would happen to me. There would be twenty girls

smoking in the bathroom. A teacher would walk in, and because they didn't like me and I

skipped school a lot, I would be the one that she would point out. So me, seeing that there

should be equity, would protest. I would go down and say, "Listen, Mr. Assistant

Principal, rm not saying that it was right that I smoked in the bathroom, but there were

twenty other girls smoking in the bathroom, and that teacher just chose to single me out,

and I really resent that because I am trying to turn over a new leaf, and I'm trying to come

to school more and trying to fit in here and trying to do what I can, and this is

discrimination," and the guy agreed with me. I still got my five days suspension, but he

went and talked to all of my teachers and gave me makeup work.

D. Post High School Days

I was kind of glad I was going to college because they would treat me like an adult. I

just thought it would be better because you could come and go as you

wanted and get a decent lunch. I just liked the idea of college. I always knew I was going

to go to college. Some of my teachers were surprised when I went to college.

I graduated from community college, then I went to Lane University, then I got

pregnant my first semester, so I withdrew, and I dropped out of Lane for five years, and

then I went back. I had my son. I stayed home the first year with my son, and then I took

a class at night, and then I worked at the IRS for two years. Then I worked at the local

newspaper for a few years. The reason I decided to go back to school was because they

wouldn’t promote me because I didn't have a Bachelor's Degree, so I said "Well fine, Fm

going back to school then."


207

E. Teacher Education Classes

I had Measurement class which teaches you how to grade. They give you a bunch of

statistical crap; some of it is useful, but some of it isn’t. I don’t do very well with statistics,

but I always like a challenge.

Once we got to be teachers and did our student teaching, we realized how good those

teachers that we were critiquing really were. But we'd go in and trash on the teachers.

That was fun.

The one thing that I felt lacking about the program at Lane University was, and maybe

it's because you can’t teach it, was how to discipline. It was the thing that I was the most

nervous about. It is the hardest thing about teaching. They should have some kind of a

class dedicated to it, even if it's only a role playing thing where people get to do the most

hellacious things that you can think of in a classroom and then see how people acting as the

teacher would handle it. I didn’t think there was any preparation for that at all.

The best class that I had was my Methods class in Teaching. That was with Priscilla

Fucella who I think is an excellent instructor. Hard as hell, this woman. She made us

work so hard. Every other Methods class was a breeze, and ours was hard as hell. We

had to do a thirty page paper minimum, a ten day lesson plan complete with test, quizzes,

any resource that we used, any extra material. But she was just excellent. We had to do

several mock lessons for the class, and she evaluated them, and she was not easy on you

even though you were a wreck to get up there. She would still give you the hardest time.

It us much more prepared that the other Methods classes were.


208

There would be philosophical debates among us student teachers. A lot of people felt

like if the kid doesn’t want to learn, if the kid doesn’t want to participate, he’s out. I was

always the liberal advocate. I felt if the kid doesn't want to learn

it's your duty as a teacher to find out why he or she doesn't want to learn. You have to

look at the reasons behind the behavior. Find out why they don’t want to participate. Is

there something wrong at home? Send them to guidance. It's not going to do anybody

any good to be just tossing the kid out everyday for a behavior problem.

We had another class called Issues of Educating Minority Students in Schools. That

was a class I was more than excited to take because by that time I was in the second

semester, and I was pretty sure I was going to go to Leighton High to do my student

teaching. I thought this class was going to help me so much. Til love it. But I didn't.

What was the problem with the instructor? She didn't, for some reason, she didn't like me.

I think it was when I told her that single parents were a minority; it was like she thought I

felt sorry for myself or something.

The class was really lacking. She discriminated against me. She was minority. Black,

African American. I thought she didn't have as much of an open mind as you would

expect someone who was teaching Minority Class to have. I just expected something

different. She seemed like she had her favorites.

If you are the teacher of "Minorities," you should be overly conscious of equality.

Maybe she thought I was a little too outspoken. Maybe I was because when I got really

adamant, I would yell. But it was when people were advocating tracking and how it would

improve students, and I was just totally against it. I used to always say that my sisters had
209

been tracked, and they don’t believe in themselves now. And I really feel that it doesn’t

help anybody. She just didn't like me. Maybe I was a little too strong in my opinions, but I

think that is a good thing.

I didn’t want to go to Choctaw High where the experience might have been easier

because I thought that anyone could teach at Choctaw High. What's so special about you?

So, I wanted to put myself in the hardest element so that I would be a guaranteed a good

shot at getting a job.

I went to observe at Leighton High. No one wanted to go. We went to observe as a

group once because it was one of our required schools. And that was okay. I didn't think

any of the teachers were great. I thought a lot of them were horrible. And then I went

back for a second time because I couldn't decide if I was going to go there or not. I was all

gung ho to go there, and then I observed, and I blanked.

Then I went back the second time. I was by myself, and I stayed a whole day, and I

liked it a little bit better. But I thought they needed help. I thought, "Boy, I cant do too

badly here because these teachers arent that great anyway." This sounds really

judgmental. It really does. This is how I thought at the time. In retrospect, I realize how

difficult it is. The conditions they're working under are hard, and I’ve come to see why it is

the way it is, but at the time I felt "These people don’t deserve to be employed. They

should open the gate for us because we couldn't do worse than this." There was just

nothing interactive; it was all lecturing.


210

F. The Urban Practicum

The person that I learned the most from was Mr. Roberts [a cooperating teacher]. We

got along well personally. I like him a lot. I used to tell him, Tm not learning anything

from these people," not from him but from a couple of the other teachers that I had. And

he used to say, "Julie, I don't mean to criticize you or anything, but these people have been

teaching for twenty years, and you should be able to learn something from them. You cant

just discount people like that" which I think I had a tendency to do. Tm new, Tm

enthusiastic, Tm up on the current teaching methods, and "get the hell out because you

dont know what your doing," you know? I really felt I was a little bit too bold. I realize

that now.

I tend to be an adamant person. I have a vision of how I think education should be, and

anything short of that I dismiss. I have a tendency to do that with a lot of things. I realize

that about myself, and I try not to do it as much. Most people are a lot more humble going

in. Most people were a lot more like, "I dont know how to teach, I dont know what to do.

These people are going to show me." I was cocky actually to go in thinking "Get out.

You dont deserve your job," and I really was like that for the majority of my student

teaching experience. I think the whole experience did help me to a degree, but I still think

Tm kind of like that. I have to admit it.

I ended up with four preps and four teachers.

Mr. Petralia should be fired. I did learn some things about what can happen after years of

fftarhing in a school system that you think doesn't care about your needs or wants.

Whatever the reason for his own sanity, I think the guy should either peacefully resign or
211

retire or put himself out of his misery because it's just not working in there. The classes are

not working.

I walked into his classroom which was out of control from day one. You, as someone

that has never taught before in your life, are in a situation where you have to get control

over that class. It is the hardest thing that I ever did, and I still dont know if I ever did it

right. He didn't really explain anything. He just passed out worksheets that didn't seem to

have anything to them. I felt Tve got to liberate these kids!" That’s what I felt like. I felt

bad. I felt like "They're not learning anything in here. This is busy work, this is not right."

Priscilla Fucella {college supervisor} came in the first day to evaluate me. In retrospect

she wanted to make sure I was going to be all right. I thought it was a little strange. I felt

"Why are you going to evaluate me on my first day? I dont think that's really fair. No one

is going to be graded on their first day." She said, "I just want to observe you. I dont

want to evaluate you on your first day." But on reflection, she probably wanted to make

sure that I survived. So, I did that. It was great.

My first class in there was great. I came in, and I was demanding participation:

"You're gonna get up, and you're gonna speak for your group, and this homework's due,"

and the class never really got to where I wanted it to be. Priscilla Fucella used to tell me

that I did great. I always did really well in all of my observations in there. She used to

write, "She can do it. She can turn the class around. I know she can. She's trying so

hard." She used to tell me, "Just don’t exhaust yourself trying to do it. Do the best you

can."
212

That class was hard. Doing a group activity would be like running around in circles.

"So do you know how to do this? You're doing this," "You're staying on

task." Priscilla said, "I felt bad for you. I'm going to get you a drink." She said, "You're

driving yourself crazy with this class.”

I lost momentum towards the end when I knew I only had three weeks left. I fought it

tooth and nail. I did everything I could think of to try to turn it around. I really did. I tried

everything, and I think there were times when I reached them, and that's the only thing I

can say on my behalf. I did reach some of them sometimes. The class was a wasteland to

begin with. I tried the best I could. I really did, and that*s all you can really expect from

yourself. From that class I've learned you have to look how things are when you get them

rather than expect miracles from yourself.

What I started thinking was "Supposing they never take another history class. What do

I want them to know about history? This might be the only thing they ever learn," so I just

went into the 60's because I think that's important, especially for them. I just threw the

required curriculum away. Sony Leighton High. I constantly felt the pressure of "They're

not gonna learn a damn thing after I leave." I did the role of women in history. I did the

things that I thought were really important.

"Isn't there any way these seniors can pass?" I asked Mr.Petralia, and he said, "If you

want to do that kind of extra work, then you go right ahead." I made

up packets for the seniors who were going to fail and told them, "You do this in addition to

your regular work, and Til change your two failing grades to the minimal passing standard

for this school." So I did that.


213

I pass kids who put in effort. If a kid is genuinely trying, HI pass them. Maybe that's

wrong, but I don't have that much belief in tests, especially in a school that’s made up

mostly of minority students where they might have a problem with English. Maybe I'm

soft, maybe HI toughen up over the years.

The other student teachers and I went out every Friday afternoon. We went to the Pub

every Friday afternoon and talked about our week and played pool and had beers. It was

fun. It was great, we continued it through the whole summer.

It depends on my mood really. I have some days when I just don’t want to get up in

front of them, and I have a lecture planned, and I just rack my brains for something else to

do because I hate it. I’ve come to think every teacher must be like that. They must have

days when they say Tm just not up to this today" I can wing it a lot better than I ever

thought I could which is surprising. I work my ass off now. I really do. I put in a good

four hours a night on work, and I have nothing left to give so Tm not too hard on myself if

I have to wing it. It's not very often that I wing it.

There were a few challenging kids. Nazem Assadd, I hated that kid. I didn't hate him.

I actually liked him, but he would just challenge my authority every single day. And I

probably should have tossed him, but I liked the kid, and I didn't really know that I had

power. I had some behavior problems with those classes anyway. They were both

big—thirty kids in them.

"You shouldn't have done it," {abortion discussion} Priscilla Fucella said, "You set

yourself up. You had an excellent lesson, you should have known your population a little

better than you did." They got charged and emotional about the issue, and all of them
214

wanted to talk at once. I said, "You cant continue this unless eveiyone speaks one at a

time." And for ten minutes eveiyone would be respectful, and then it would just get the

heaves again. I was just glad when the bell rang.

I think now if I were going to do it, I would have prefaced it with, "This is a very

emotional and controversial topic. We are not going to disrespect each other while we're

discussing it. We are going to discuss it like the young adults that we are. Anyone that can

not do that, we will stop discussing this topic." And I should have done that. I should have

switched the topic when it got too charged, and I didn't. I was just too amateur. I just

didn't know what to do.

Some of the faculty is sexist. I was so caught up in getting my own things done I guess

I didn't really analyze my environment as much as I probably should have, but I thought

Mr. Roberts was a little sexist. He would say "Glad Miss Boswick is teaching you about all

these women in history because I certainly wouldn't." And Td say, "You're joking right?"

And he'd say, "Absolutely not" He would go off on some real chauvinist thing, and I was

just supposed to be observing and I couldn't sit still.

I would jump in and say, "I just cant believe you said that," and the kids would love it.

They would love it because we'd go back and forth. "I cant believe you said such a sexist

thing." There was a few times when I just couldnt sit back and take it.

Mrs. Buford, she's really involved in the student council and making sure they have a

good prom and all that. On the face I guess it looks like teachers dont care about the kids,

but if you really look at it, by the time I left I thought that each one of them had their own

way of caring.
215

The fact that I'm a single mother makes me a little more sympathetic to the girls in my

classes that have children and are trying to stay in school. I will definitely bend over

backwards; there's no question about it. Some teachers will have an attitude that you are

an idiot for having a child when you were in high school. "You shouldn't have been doing

that, and so I'm not giving you any breaks. You tow the line.” With me they feel like

"Miss Boswick I'm sorry I was absent yesterday. My daughter was really sick. I had to take

her to the doctor's. Can you please give me my week report?" And you know, of course, I

will. And maybe they're giving me a song and dance. I don't think so. IVe been there.

Well, first of all I know how discriminated against you are by society. I came from a

nice family. I was always fairly popular in school and had a lot of good friends, and I was

pretty liberated. I wanted to do what I believed was the right thing to do. I was twenty

years old. I wanted to do what I thought was right. I didn't think my life would change

that much. I didn't think people would look down on me, and boy was I wrong.

From my friends to members of my family, I went from having no problems with men

to having a major problem with men. A lot of people wouldn’t even want to go out with

me because I had a child. I wasn't asking them to come in and support it. I just faced a lot

of attitudes, and I think it's really an area of discrimination that people don't look at, but

you're looked at like you're a loser for getting pregnant in the first place, and that was a

stupid thing to do. Then you were doubly stupid not to just have an abortion. And I think

they [girls who become pregnant illegitimately] should be given credit for sticking up for

what they believe in.


216

rm not saying there’s anything wrong with someone having an abortion if that's what

they choose. I think you have to be true to yourself in this life because you're the one who

has to live with what your doing. I thought more people would think I was brave. And

they didn't. People thought that I was dumb. And I always try to let the girls in my classes

know that. Td say "Hey, anyone can make a mistake. You aren't doing anything different

than everyone else is doing. Dont let people make you feel bad, but it's not an excuse not

to perform in life either. I did it, you can do it too. All it is, is a matter of how hard you

are going to work. You're going to work harder than everybody else.”

"Don't use that as an excuse. And I'm sorry if you're tired doing your homework. I

stayed up plenty of nights tired doing my homework. You've got to. You have twice as

much of a reason to make it as someone else does because you do have that child. And

that's responsibility."

There are some that use it as an excuse. Most of them suffer from very low self esteem

because of the way society views it although maybe society doesn't view it as badly as it did

when I was pregnant. Times have changed a little bit over the past ten years, and I found

that in my classes the single mothers are not treated as badly as I would expect.

You shouldn't just label the one who you can see had sex. That's wrong. It's like

wearing a scarlet letter. I think that teachers have to be in a position where they do have to

be accepting of the society that we're given, and single parents in our classrooms deserve to

have an equal chance in life. They shouldn't be given an attitude. No kid should be given

an attitude for any reason by a teacher. Teachers can have their own personal beliefs

about promiscuity, about homosexuality, go ahead. But the second they start inflicting
217

their viewpoint on a kid and making her feel bad, then they shouldn't have that job because

that's wrong.

A lot of people are judgmental. People that you would never anticipate to be like that

are like that. Like my grandmother; I was not too shocked when she was mortified. But

my father was horrible. I was always the smart one. My father thought I was going to be

a lawyer or something really important, and he thought my life was over. I said, "Dad, I

didn't die. You know, I didn't die. I'm still alive, and I'm still going to be a success. Just

you watch." He cried for weeks. Not because someone hurt his poor little girl or because

she was going through a hard time but because she was going to be a failure. Her life was

going to be horrible, and there was no hope for her now. Half of my motivation to

succeed is based on everyone telling me that I couldn’t.

I think it's a problem for women from the Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico that

come over here because the mark of womanhood for them in their culture is to have a

child. And then they come here, and their parents still believe those cultural values. And

they're mixed up, and they still kind of believe the cultural values that are passed down in

their family. But those values aren't respected in America. I noticed that at Leighton High

with single parent girls. They were proud of it. They were proud that they had a child,

and everyone saw their pictures, and I didn't see that much shame in it.

I was a little taken back by that. That they were like that. I was always a little humble

about it. I wouldn't go announcing it because I wanted to be judged on me. I didn't think

people would judge me on me if they knew. I think all their stereotypes of a single parent

come flooding through their head. And I wanted to be judged on me, so I wasn't like that.
218

But a lot of times a baby is the only thing that they have that is their own. And they're

proud of it for that reason.

After awhile it beats on them hard. Let them have pride in their kid; at least they will

love the kid if they're feeling like that. That is a cultural thing with the Latin American girls

where it really isnt a disgrace to have a child at sixteen or seventeen. A lot of their parents

did. A lot of their parents are only thirty years old, and these girls are sixteen years old in

the classroom.

I would tell them that I was a single parent. 1 could relate any minority situation, any

feeling of inferiority to how I felt in that circumstance. I don't think it's only for single

mothers. I could understand anyone who feels disadvantaged in any certain way. lean

relate to how they [girls who become pregnnt illegitmately] feel better than maybe another

teacher who didn't experience that. I was deeply affected by my getting pregnant. I had

always been treated better than a lot of people, and all of sudden people who I never

expected to give me an attitude did. And I lost a lot of Mends. The expectations of me

and my success rate in life went down. I just think it's opened my mind to a different way

of thinking, and I think it helped me a lot at Leighton High.

If I accept a homosexual student in my class, I'm not condoning homosexuality. Tm just

not going to insult you because you are. That's not right. I think the same standards

should apply for a single parent.

Angelica said to me, "You know, yours is the only class that I got a decent grade in

because all the other teachers took a lot of points off because I was absent." And I said,

"Didn't you have a baby? Isnt that why you were absent? That's a legitimate absence." A
219

lot of people don't think so. She did feel some kind of an attitude from her teachers. Her

life revolves around school and taking care of her baby. School should be a nice place for

her to socialize with people her own age. She shouldn't be bombarded with an attitude

from teachers.

They're just very affectionate, the Spanish male. They're very affectionate. A couple

of them tried to hug me when I was there: "Oh, Miss Boswick." A lot of them have that

macho attitude. I think it's kind of cute. I think it's funny. I used to laugh about it because

they used to think they were so cool-these little sixteen year old kids. I just laughed and

said, "Sit down Jose." I would just joke it off. I would say, "Jose, you're cute. Sit down,

and dont let that happen again. You know that's inappropriate," but I didn't really make a

big fuss.

How did I survive? Part of it is how I felt about high school and how I knew I was

going to be different when I got to be a teacher, and I think that helped. Things that IVe

been through in my adult life with being a single parent really made me able to. I'm a

strong person. IVe been through a lot in life. I didn't think it was easy. I thought that

program was hard as hell, but I'm a perfectionist too.

Being young makes it harder to be a student teacher. Some kids said, "It was like

having a friend, having you as our teacher." And that got me mad. I dont want to be your

friend. On the cards they would write, "You are a nice friend as well as being a teacher."

Did I even have a personal conversation with that kid? I dont think that I did. And it was

strange, but I think students have more of a tendency to view you as not an authority

figure, so I think you have a bigger burden to establish yourself as an authority figure than
220

someone who's older. They're like, "Hey, a young teacher." They think that you're going

to know how they feel and all that. And part of it is true, but you have to get their respect,

so you have to set up that authority, and I think it is hard to do.

I would say that girls would be less likely to come up and talk to me after class. You

know, "Oh have a nice week-end Miss Boswick." Some of them would say, "Oh Miss

Boswick, we like you, but we're not going to kiss up. See you later." And the guys would

be a lot more willing to kiss up.

This [enjoying teaching academic level classes more than teaching basic level classes] is

totally against eveiything I stand for because I do believe in everyone having an equal

opportunity. Evetyone needs a good teacher. Basic level kids are only acting the way

they've been brought up, and they’re only acting the way people have treated them in the

past, so maybe I have to think about it a little more. But I felt personal rewards from my

academic classes at Leighton High. I knew I reached them. I had classes where I could

almost cry because we talked about something so in depth, and I felt that I really reached

them.

I felt like I got somewhere. I could see tangible results just about every lesson, and I

need that reinforcement that I'm doing a good job, and so I was motivated because "ooh

they loved this lesson." My creativity; I would be constantly rewarded because they would

like it, get into it, even go tell their regular teacher that "Oh she did this in our class, and we

really liked it," and those teachers would come back and say "Oh my kids are excited to go

in your class. What have you been doing in there?" so I would feel rewards from it.
221

My attitude was Tm going make this work. They're going to change,” over and over

and over in my mind. "They're only acting the way that they've been treated." By the end

I was like, "Well Tm not here to rewrite the wrongs of the whole dam society. I'm only one

person." It was really hard for me at the end because I just lost motivation for it. I was

just burnt out I was tired. I was working really hard. I had never done it before. I had a

son, I had a boyfriend who was new them Now our relationship is solid enough if I have

three months where he's not on the top burner, then that's fine. But at the time it was still

so new. I felt that had to be a priority also. I was burnt out by the end. I still never

abandoned ship, but I wasn't trying cooperative learning lessons in Petralia's class by the

last month whereas the first month I was going full steam.

I was going to turn that class around. They were going to be different. They were

going to learn more. I was going to teach them the way they had never been taught before.

I was going to get through to them God damn it. That's how I felt. But at the end, I was

like Tm going to have a break-down. I cant do it. It's not like I started handing them out

worksheets all the time, but my lessons weren't as creative. I didn't know what else to do. I

really didn't.

And there were many different ways that I was feeling rewards and being reinforced

that I was doing a good job. In these basic classes maybe that would

happen once a week, and that felt so much better than the rewards that you would get in

the academic class because there it was so consistent. I had a few times that it was really

good. I did this thing on the 1896 Election; it was a cooperative learning thing. Priscilla

Fucella said I was a brave soul.


222

They broke into four groups, and they were all part of a campaign. There were four

candidates in the 1896 election, and they each had to do a whole packet and draw a map of

the states their candidate covered and make a campaign speech. I figured three days to

work on it; it took them much, much longer to get it down. By the end of it, I felt "No one

is really into this." Priscilla observed me, and she said, Julie, you must be exhausted."

Then at the end of it I thought no one really cared about it. Just had to pass it in. I thought

Tm not even going to do the speeches. The heck with it. They're not really into it. I'm

not going to even bother giving the speeches and having the election to see who will win.

Ill just grade them on what they gave me."

"Well, wait a minute, we didn't have our election! We've all been talking about it all

week!" That was so great that they really did care. I was so excited that they really had

been looking forward to it, and even though they didn't express that to me by their actions

in the classroom or their effort on the work,

they really were doing it, and that class went great. All the people got to speak; no one said

anything disrespectful while they were up speaking. Everyone clapped for everyone else.

And it was great.

Well, maybe they should distribute the people in the classes, not based on ability. If

they did that then no teachers are going to feel burnt out because there's only a few of

these people in each class. Rather than giving a whole class full of them. I can handle one

or two in a class, but a whole class full of them is just like, the class is a grease pit.

If s to everyone's advantage to have people of different groups together. Maybe the

academic kids have never been arrested or never been a product of a divorced family, so
223

when you're in social studies class where issues of your own experience come up quite

often, it's to everyone's advantage to have people of different groups together.

If they just distributed it so that you're just getting a group, it would work out better

because no one wants to teach those kids. The teachers that don't want to do anything but

get paid are the people who want to teach it. These kids deserve good teachers too.

They've just been given crap their whole life, so they expect crap. And you know, it's

awful. But I also dont want to teach them either, do I? No, so I'm just as bad as

everybody else I guess.

All I know is if I'm put in a situation where I have to do it, or if I elect to do it, which I

doubt, I would quit my job before I treated those kids badly. I swear to God I would. If

I'm put in a position where I have to do it, I will at my own expense if necessary, find out

what methods are going to work for them. I will not treat them like waste dump. I just

won't do it. M probably kill myself, but I feel that obligation. I would treat them and work

with them as hard as I do for any other class. I know that That's how I am.

I don't want to teach elite little kids like Avellan has to offer. I think they're going to be

okay in life. Their parents care about them; they're going to college. They're going to be

exposed to social studies in their home at least. Their parents read the paper or watch PBS

occasionally. They dont need.

I feel kids at Leighton High School might not have that. And they need that. I really

feel like I want to help, and I dont want to teach a bunch of spoiled brats. And I shouldnt

even say that because they might not be spoiled, and they do deserve good teachers. But

they have everything going for them already. For the most part, they come from a family
224

where, if they want to go to college, they can afford to go. Their parents, even if they're

divorced, are caring for them.

At Leighton there are a lot of kids that work full time to help their mother. There are a

lot of kids whose parents dont know English, and they're trying to go through high school.

I really dont want to help students that I feel will be okay anyway. I want to make a

difference. And I want to be in a place where I feel that I'm making a difference, that Pm

getting somewhere. Tm making a difference in their whole life-whether or not they will

ever vote in America because of me. It's important to me to make a positive contribution

to society.

Tm not saying I wouldn't make a positive contribution in Avellan High. It would be a

hell of a lot easier, but it's just not me. I dont even know if I can relate as well to them.

That's not my experience. I havent had that experience. That's so funny because one

would look at my life and say, "Well, you grew up in North Avellan, went to North

Avellan High, you're a college graduate, you have your Master's degree." One would on

the face say, "Well, Avellan High would be more her style." But I dont identify with them

at all, I identify with a group that's totally not even my ethnic group. It's just an attitude. I

dont know what it is, but I wouldnt feel comfortable in Avellan.

Student teaching at Leighton High was challenging and rewarding. It was the hardest

thing that I ever loved I guess. That would be the best thing to say. Even if I was just a

happy face that they saw. Some of them, maybe that's all they got out it, but at least that

was something.
225

I learned more than I taught about history and government too. There was a lot that I

didn't know. Mr. Roberts used to tell me, "Don't worry about it. You know more than

they do," and I said, "I don't think so." There were some classes like that one before 1877.

I didn't know crap, but that was the part that was the hardest. One of the hardest things

was you go into a whole social situation. You have to gain authority, you have to try to

differ your methodology and you don't even have that great of a base of the subject to go

on. If you have that, you're golden because you can bluff. But if you dont have that, oh

boy, that sucks. That really is hard, and that is the situation that I was in because I really

did not have the knowledge that I needed for that class.

Mr. Petralia was a terrible teacher. I know that even if it was a detriment to my own

well being, I would not inflict that on children. I just dont think that’s right, or Td just be

up front: "I dont care, so dont take it personally." At least let them know it's not that

they're stupid or something. I think he's giving them negative vibes about who they arc:

"We dont get the good teacher. We get this guy who gives us movies. He must think

we're idiots. We're not worthy of anything." He should at least preface his classes with

"Please dont take it personally. You're not worthless; I am" or something.

This interview pointed out the contradiction in my philosophy that I didnt really see as

existing; with teaching basic classes and how I feel about people, so maybe I should be a

little more willing to teach them. It's just such a challenge. That's my reasoning, but that's

not acceptable. I know that, and I feel bad now. I feel a little upset that I'm like that. I

really do. I feel a little down. My philosophy is contradictory. I see that.


226

G. Ruminations

What I liked most about Julie was her honesty. She said what was on her mind, and

she said it without compunction. Her early days as a rebel culminated in an unexpected

pregnancy at twenty years old which changed her life. This pregnancy sensitized her to

discrimination of any kind, and she became an advocate for young single mothers in

particular. She was very clear, however, about not using single motherhood as an excuse

for doing nothing. By having and raising her son alone and going back to college to

become a teacher she showed a sense of independence, responsibility and great tenacity.

She is a survivor.

Julie's bias against the wealthy is obvious, and her observation that the burnout group is

the only non-judgmental clique is quite profound. Her hatred for her high school

experience was predicated on her school system's refusal to recognize and respect students

who did not fit the preferred mold Julie refused to be categorized That she wanted to

student teach at Leighton High School is a reflection of wanting to work with students who

were marginal. She felt an alliance with them along spiritual rather than ethnic lines. That

she did not want to teach at a suburban high school is a reflection of her bias against elitism

of any kind.

Julie is not without shortcomings. Despite her warm smile and buoyant personality, she

is guilty of the fault she despised in so many others—being judgmental. She was quick to

form assumptions and to criticize people-especially teachers. Along with people who were

wealthy and powerful, she lambasted teachers she deemed incompetent, racist or sexist.

She entered her practicum with an egotistical swagger, and she relished the opportunities to
227

display her combativeness. Although she was aware of this fault, she acknowledged that

she continued to retain it.

Julie was down to earth. Her observations on the "Spanish male" and the way she

handled sexual advances demonstrated her understanding of machismo and her

ability to work with it. She saw the dangers in her youthful looks and was very adamant

about not establishing personal relationships with students which would jeopardize her

control.

Julie was unafraid to tackle controversial topics with her students which many seasoned

teachers would have shied away from. She threw herself enthusiastically into all that she

did. She believed in passing students if they tried. She said that she learned more than she

taught, evidence of her dislike for lecture and her love for intercommunicative teaching.

Because she witnessed what labeling did to her younger sister, Julie despised tracking

and suggested distributing basic level students and/or classes equally among all teachers.

As a result of reflection and honest discussion in her interview, however, Julie realized that

what she wanted and what she professed did not match. Although she championed

marginal students, she found the consistency of the rewards of teaching academic students

life nurturing. She did cherish those few fleeting moments of success with her basic level

students, but the rarity of those moments overshadowed their intensity. Trying to balance

the priorities of a son, a new boyfriend and a difficult teaching schedule caused her great

stress. By the end of the practicum she was close to broken; so exhausted and frustrated

she no longer wanted to teach her basic level students.


228

Julie was profoundly disturbed by the philosophical dilemma she discovered within

herself. That uneasiness is a sign of care and will serve as a dialectic for continued growth.

Her struggle is a testament to all student teachers who choose the road less traveled—the

one that leads to the urban high school. More than anything she wanted to make a

difference in the lives of her urban students. I believe she did.


CHAPTER Xm

CONCLUSION

My responsibility in analyzing the data I gathered was enormous. Forty-five

ninety-minute interviews transcribed onto approximately 1,800 single-spaced pages

provided me with the raw data which I shaped using categorizing and contextualizing

strategies. From the thousands of excerpts which I gathered from the interviews, I

identified categories which continually evoked the strongest responses from my

participants. Those included issues involving race, gender, tracking, supervision,

attendance, grading, discipline and the influence of critical pedagogy.

A. Thematic Retrospective

Intimacy with the interviews of the participants is the fundamental requirement for

thematic analysis. Listening to the tapes and studying the transcripts over and over

eventually yield a sense of knowing. Once a category has been identified, the next step is

to group the excerpts which best exemplify the participants' feelings or reactions within that

category. Studying the group of excerpts then yields a theme—a thread of understanding

which links the tapestry of excerpts.

Many themes can run through a work. One of the tasks of the researcher is to identify

those that are pervasive. In order to provide a balanced perspective, I identified the

dominant themes which ran through each issue. Only the category of discipline, perhaps

the most difficult aspect of urban student teaching, yielded three. Although each has been

examined individually within the chapters, I list the themes together here to provide a

panoramic view of the thematic scope of this study in retrospect:

229
230

1) Racial Issues in the Urban Practicum: Uncertainty and Alienation

2) Gender Issues in the Urban Practicum: Discomfort and Playfulness

3) The Influence of Critical Pedagogy in the Urban Practicum: Exploitation

4) Tracking Issues in the Urban Practicum: Frustration

5) Supervision Issues in the Urban Practicum:

The Cooperating Teacher: Disenfranchisement and Resentment

The College Supervisor: Preservation and Denigration

6) Attendance Issues in the Uiban Practicum: Hopelessness and Embittennent

7) Grading Issues in the Urban Practicum: Compassion and Self Righteousness

8) Discipline Issues in the Urban Practicum: Subterfuge. Irresolution and Martyrdom

B. Interviewing Technique and Considerations

As I continued the interviewing process, particularly the transcribing process, I began to

see another dimension of people. In many comedies and cartoons, the villain is portrayed

as a one-dimensional character-and for good reason. You are allowed to see only one side

of him so that the playwright can control the way you feel about him or her. After all, how

can you feel the pleasure of good over evil if you discover that the villain had lost his or her

parents as a child and been abused by nasty relatives?

To avoid engendering these mixed feelings in the audience, the playwright includes only

those details necessary to produce what he or she wishes you to perceive. Provided only

with negative facts and impressions, the audience has little choice but to give in to the will

of the playwright. The result is a stick figure-the "Pantalone" of the "Commedia

DeirArte" is a case in point.


231

Almost always the old, rich, unattractive, lecherous, easily deceived, jealous husband is

duped by his young, sensuous wife who is attracted to a young, dashing but often penniless

suitor. When the old man is swindled out of his fortune and his wife, the audience

laughs—thinks he deserves it. When the wife is in the arms of her passionate lover, the

audience feels good. It's perfectly acceptable to have an affair-to cuckold such a buffoon

and rub it in his face . It's all in fun. But when you paint people deliberately for effect,

you paint stick figures- empty caricatures devoid of human tumult.

Human beings are complex and contradictory. They defy categorization no matter how

often we attempt to do just that. We judge people from the minute we see them. The

cliche that first impressions are lasting is not without wisdom. How then, faced with our

own inability to withhold judgement, faced with our own moral values and preconceived

bias, faced with our goal to be friendly, non-intrusive, non-threatening—how do we

interview someone and capture the spirit of that person? How do we, as we try to elicit

meaning from our participants, prevent ourselves from directing the play? From

contributing to the results-from becoming part of someone's story rather than the reporter

of it?

Sometimes I laughed when I typed a transcript. Sometimes I saw the great sadness in

people's lives, and I shared someone's pain. Sometimes I recognized a similar experience,

and the story I was listening to produced feelings in me dredged up from an entirely

different story—my story—and it was difficult to separate the two. I was often not even

sure if I should have tried to separate the two, for in doing that I might have lost the

empathy I felt. I might have lost the moment.


232

I am inextricably a part of this storytelling process. It is my role to free the story from

the participant—to indulge in his or her reverie and to get that on tape and eventually on

paper. Once recorded, the moment is preserved in time. Viewed later, I can work with it,

try to capture it in the sense that it was given, try to make sense of it in the context of a

study and yet keep its identity in tact. It's almost like trying to assimilate to another culture

without losing your own, a kind of phenomenological acculturation.

Are we allowed to like our participants? To dislike them? How can we not help to at

least occasionally feel anger or happiness or surprise or disgust with what we hear? How

do we stop ourselves from digging for a purpose; do we want to flesh out the possibility

that this person is really racist? sexist? classist? Is that our purpose—or is that none of our

business? Won’t the words show that anyway? But we pick the words that go into the

final report. Are we not then responsible for reporting them in a way which will produce a

planned response from the reader?

Aesthetic distance, a term I use often in the classroom, is something required here I

think. Perhaps something like Peter Elbow’s idea of initially immersing yourself in your

writing—pouring out your thoughts—spilling your guts without the worry of mechanical

error or someone correcting—perhaps that is the way to interview and transcribe? Get it all,

and then refine it. Be fair to the participant. What does that mean? Should we avoid

embarrassing our participant at all costs? Are not the participants' words a fair

representation of what the person thinks or feels? If we present them in a way to avoid the

person embarrassment, will we actually be doing him or her a disservice? If we do not take
233

the person's words out of context-if we do not deliberately try to script a play-can not the

words of a participant serve as a means of representing what he or she stands for?

I am in awe of people who can fluidly talk for hours about themselves—about their

experiences, but I wonder if what they are saying is what they are all about or what they

want me to think they are all about. The difference between public and private voice is not

a concept 1 take lightly. In asking participants to sign a consent form, I asked them to allow

me to use what they said for my purposes—even though I gave them certain inalienable

rights to remove whatever they found unacceptable. Does not that act of signing invalidate

every response because it takes on a contractual nature? Would the dialogue be the same if

there were no such paper?

How often have we been involved in discussions or arguments when someone says

"and this is off the record" or "May I speak off the record." " What if you said "No,

everything you say is on the record." Would that stop it ?—or "OK Til let you speak off the

record, and then Til let you tell me what you don't want me to repeat, and I will honor

that." Will that make the response more honest? And what about emotion, anger or joy?

When people are in a state of high emotion, is what they are saying indicative of the truth

or just what they are feeling in the heat of the moment, and what is my obligation in terms

of recording and then reporting it?

I am amazed, troubled, baffled by this process. It brings me moments of reflection that

say "I understand, I really understand what this person is saying." It brings me moments of

"this is just a bunch of baloney- it says nothing; it says only what the participant felt

obligated to tell me out of a sense of commitment to fulfill the contract.


234

By then gleaning certain passages, I automatically, no matter how good of a job I do, I

automatically distort the conversation-pull it out of context-and subvert it to my will. And

then I take passages from different participants and attempt to find some kind of thematic

pattern so that I can make some discovery—some sociological observation that is of value to

others who are observers of humanity—but am I not even further desecrating the truth of

their original interview? Am I not taking the original shape of the interview and

hammering it into the form which I will use for my purposes? Am I creating something

new or re-creating something which was uttered in some succinct, understandable study?

How much of an interview is bias free from the needs of the participant? If the

participant is feeling guilt about his or her bias, what then does he or she say when the

issue comes up? Is it fair for me to assume that his or her bias—that all bias is wrong

—when I can never relive the experiences of that person and feel what he or she feels, see

what he or she sees. Am I not shoving my own sense of fairness— my own bias—down his

or her throat? The ideas of objectivity and subjectivity are old journalistic dilemmas that

place considerable weight on this process. It demands reflection.

Clearly it demands that I reveal information about myself that will at least let the reader

know the possibilities of reporter bias. I am part of the process—inextricably involved in

the heart of the interview. I therefore am of equal importance with my participant. In fact

I may be of more importance because I become the center of the process as I am the

interviewer of all the participants—I am the connecting thread. I am the common

denominator, and I bring to this process the means of fulfilling the equation. It is I who
235

will ultimately provide the meaning through the words of all participants-through a

synthesis of what they had to say filtered through my brain, my feelings, my purpose.

Knowing this, it was my obligation to at least be aware of that and to be honest about it

so that I could proceed without fear of messing up. I needed freedom to interview—to ask

questions that opened up the conversation—to gather as much information about every

topic as possible and later on-to throw out the garbage-the petty-the fancy—and keep the

meat-the essence of the argument-the distilled product. Ah the distilled product-is it the

same as the original? Is gasoline the same as crude oil? Is it a fair representation? We

know where gasoline comes from, but is the final product like the final product of our

interview? How can we make the original useful? Is the original useful in its crude form?

What can you do with it? Unless you put it in some form that can provide humanity with

some kind of service, it loses its utility—and its value—regardless how magnificent or huge

or formidable it is in its original state.

Is the essence of this study or any phenomenological study the production of a

document that sheds some light on the way people make meaning of their experience?

And if so, what does that mean for the rest of us? Do we extrapolate from there and say

that we, as human beings, might make the same meaning in a similar situation?

I hope I did justice to this process, to my participants and to myself as I continued along

this difficult, time consuming trail. It was figuring out how to "do justice" that often eluded

me. Perhaps it is possible to capture a small piece of time that has a smattering of whatever

the truth is in it. Certainly it is different from quantitative research whose rigidity causes

the data to fit a shape rather than the data suggesting the shape.
236

Are the words of an interview like water? Should they take the shape of the vessel they

are placed in? The water doesn't change; the shape of the vessel puts it in a different

context. Do we still say "That's water. I know what it is.” Or do we say something else

about the fact that the water is in a tall, frosty glass. Does that change our impression of

the water— or simply give us another dimension of it? So too with the interview. We see

another dimension of experience and the way that one person in conjunction with the

interviewer makes meaning of it. That is our job-to report the meaning of that experience

to a public which is not obligated to draw any other meaning than that this is the way this

participant understands his or her experience.

In order to conduct my research using the methodology of phenomenological

interviewing, I had to believe in the legitimacy of the method and the appropriateness of the

method to my topic. I also had to believe in my intellect, that part of me which early on

raised the myriad of questions I now report here. It is in fact the dialectic formed by my

uneasiness in opposition to my desire to do justice to the process which allowed me to

produce a work which I truly believe is representative of the way my participants made

meaning of their urban experience.

From the first interview to the last, I let the conversations develop naturally. Before

each interview began I casually chatted with each participant about topics in the news or

other topics unrelated to education until a level of comfort was reached. When the taping

began I boosted their confidence by starting with easy-to-answer factual questions such as

"Where were you bom?" before proceeding to open ended questions such as "What was it

like living in a rural community?" I watched their eyes and their expressions. I listened
237

carefully for changes in tone, speed and pitch. I was careful never to squelch enthusiasm,

even if I had heard enough about a particular topic. I did not judge the importance of what

they said immediately; everything they said was important to them and therefore to me.

I nodded only to imply my understanding but never to agree or disagree with. 1 avoided

proffering my opinions about anything, but I made sure to probe diplomatically until I

understood their positions clearly. I often summed up what I thought they meant about

particular topics and asked if my summation were accurate. I made no subject taboo nor

did I wince at language I deemed inappropriate or obscene. At the end of every interview I

asked if there were anything at all that my participants felt needed to be clarified or added

to the conversations. 1 asked them to reflect on our dialogue and gave them the

opportunity to discuss those reflections in the subsequent interview.

I consciously put aside any emotional feelings I had about specific topics and

deliberately treated each topic equally. I never assumed that my credentials or experience

gave me a right to approve or disapprove of positions my participants took on any issue.

The length of the interviews created many opportunities to discuss topics which

overlapped. As a result consistencies and inconsistencies in participants' views about

particular subjects could be analyzed later.

By the time I was ready to cut and paste excerpts, I had listened to and studied the

transcripts so closely I could recognize the speaker and the context without needing a

reference. I came to know my participants. Although excerpts are clustered into categories

and analyzed in the light of thematic considerations, they are never used for a purpose

which would belie their original context; that is essential in maintaining my participants' and
238

my integrity. I have not created something new. I have reconstructed what my participants

said and put it in a format which sheds collective light on what it is like to student teach in

an urban high school while respecting the individuality of each contributor.

In writing a profile of Julie Boswick, I provided an in-depth look at one individual by

presenting her story in her own words. Because of the spatial and temporal context which

profile development offers, the tapestry of her life was carefully interweaved with her

student teaching experience at Leighton High School. The perspective gained by viewing

the urban student teaching experience through her eyes is indeed phenomenal and should

prove valuable to future student teachers and to educators as well.

If I have unknowingly allowed my personal biases to affect my presentation, I pray that

I have done so equally. I more fervently pray that I have been fair, honest and judicious in

presenting my findings. Just as a grain of sand embeds itself in an oyster, so too did the

uneasiness about this phenomenological process embed itself in me. Eventually the

dialectic created by the grain and the oyster's efforts to deal with it produces a pearl of

considerable value; I hope the dialectic created by my uneasiness and my desire to do

justice to this process has produced a study of value as well.

C. Connections to Student Teaching Literature

Including the words, "Neophytes in Neverland," in the title of this dissertation was far

more than an attempt to come up with a catchy phrase to attract attention. Student

teachers are indeed novices, and urban high school practicum sites are certainly as

mysterious to them as any mythical kingdom. The question around which this study is

centered is "What is it like to student teach in an urban high school today?" In presenting
239

the results of my research, I hope I have partially answered that question by reconstructing

the experience of the fifteen student teachers who participated in this project. In addition

to pertinent studies already discussed in earlier chapters, an examination of how relevant

student teaching literature informs various aspects of my study will more clearly illuminate

my findings.

My study supports the contention that teacher education programs have little influence

on student teachers' previous beliefs (Goodman, 1988; Hollingsworth, 1989; Lortie, 1975;

McNeil, 1986; Zeichner & Tabachnick, 1981). In dealing with students in urban high

schools, most of my participants proceeded in one of two ways: 1) delving into their past

and duplicating experiences which they remember as effective, pleasurable or informative

(working in the content area they love; fostering individual friendships with students;

providing reinforcement and positive feedback to students; serving as a role model for

students); 2) delving into their past and avoiding experiences which they remember as

negative, hurtful or unfair (disciplining students, failing students, negatively criticizing

students, humiliating students in front of others, discriminating against students on the basis

of race, gender, sexual orientation or class).

In focusing on the liberalizing role of the university, my study agrees with those

researchers who view it as a myth (Goodman, 1986; Tabachnick, Popkewitz, & Zeichner,

1979). With very few exceptions, my participants found their university training: 1)

redundant and overly reflective of critical aspects of teaching; 2) sparse and insufficiently

reflective of factual aspects of teaching. Although they acknowledged that the few

methods courses they took did little more than aid them in teaching lessons to large
240

numbers of students (Tabachnick, 1980), they complained there were not enough reality

based courses with a hands on approach. Neither were all the effects of the university

washed out by school experience (Zeichner & Tabachnick, 1981). While factors such as

excessive absenteeism may have prevented the use of cooperative learning (a university

taught methodology), for example, most of my participants clearly regretted not being able

to utilize it.

In terms of the influence of the practicum, this study was split in supporting the finding

that student teachers work within a finite range of required classroom activities that result

in limited control by the student teacher and limited interaction with students other than

what is related to the task at hand (Tabachnick, Popkewitz, & Zeichner, 1979). In those

cases in which the cooperating teacher backed out almost immediately, student teachers

were given-carte blanche to run the classroom as they saw fit provided they met the general

objectives of the curriculum. Conversely in most of the cases in which the cooperating

teacher stayed actively involved, student teachers had to follow a strict regimen in terms of

activities, assignments and tests and had to adopt the student expectations prescribed by the

cooperating teacher rather than implement their own.

Some of the problems associated with the triad (the student teacher, cooperating

teacher, college supervisor) which studies have identified were also reflected in my

findings. Again how actively the cooperating teacher pursued his or her role had much to

do with the amount of stress suffered by my participants. Without exception student

teachers in my study whose cooperating teachers remained in the classroom disregarded

the teachings of their university instructors and attributed their practices to their
241

cooperating teachers (Richardson-Koehler, 1988). Moreover those same student teachers

further denigrated the role of their college supervisors by doing so. (Goodlad, 1990). The

assignment of TA's as college supervisors not only supports the finding that the temporary

nature of their position results in their powerlessness to make long term changes (Zeichner,

1992); it also provoked anger and disappointment from student teachers who were unable

to receive adequate support from TA's whose inordinate work loads restricted their

involvement.

Most of the cooperating teachers in my study were described by my participants as

frenetically busy educators. In part this accounted for the forgiveness factor displayed by

many of the student teachers who, while resenting a lack of observation and support, were

in awe of the energy and involvement of their mentors. Cooperating teachers did not have

the luxury of adjusted schedules to help fulfill their mentoring duties. This lack of

adequate planning time supports case studies showing that student teachers are denied

involvement in the reasoning process of their cooperating teachers (Feiman-Nemser &

Buchmann, 1987).

The dichotomy between the more liberal, democratic framework of university training

and the more custodial, authoritarian framework of urban schools clearly pulls the student

teacher in two directions. My study supports findings that indicate student teachers

experience a significant increase in custodial pupil ideology by the end of the practicum

(Hoy, 1967; Hoy and Rees, 1977). Even my participants who abjured the notion of

discipline modified their stance as their frustration with classroom management increased.
242

Many were advised by faculty members or fellow student teachers to impose more

stringent rules.

Most of the participants in my study did not do their student teaching at clinical sites

and found the quality of their experience dependent on locations which were not

specifically designed to prepare student teachers for teaching (Copeland, 1981). Besides

the obstacles of conservative attitudes and rigid curriculum requirements, practical

considerations such as excessive absenteeism, disciplinary problems and, in many cases, the

nonparticipatory involvement of cooperating teachers contributed to the difficulty of

implementing inquiry-based approaches. The fear of upsetting the fragile balance in the

triad and jeopardizing the availability of the urban high school as a student teaching site

caused considerable tension in some cases among college supervisors and cooperating

teachers or department heads. At worst this led to an unwillingness to discuss controversial

issues (Zimpher, DeVoss, & Nott, 1980) such as the student teacher's course selections,

teaching preps and duties. At best it led to limited, critical responses to each other or to

their student teachers such as a carefully articulated argument concerning the

inappropriateness and incompetence of a cooperating teacher.

While there were conceptual and structural obstacles to student teacher learning in the

classroom (Zeichner, 1992), they were neither consistent among nor pertinent to all of my

participants. Although most of the student teachers in my study initially attempted to

replicate university-sponsored, empirical research in their teaching, they were largely

unable to do so because of unworkable restraints such as excessive absenteeism or

discipline problems. Rather than neglect their own or teachers' practical theories, most
243

were then forced to implement them. While student teachers did reflect on the means of

instruction (the teaching skills and strategies), it was not at the expense of reflecting on the

ends (the value of instruction) nor did their focus on their own teaching cause them to

neglect the consideration of the social conditions in the schools. All were legitimately

sympathetic to the plight of inner city students. Most student teachers were, however,

encouraged to think by themselves and find their own solutions to problems rather than to

reflect with others as a social practice.

Two of the four structural barriers to student teacher learning in the practicum

(Zeichner, 1992) were observable in my study. Student teachers were placed in individual

classrooms, thus reinforcing the perception of teaching as an isolated activity. Most of my

participants also were affected by the nebulous evaluative roles of their college supervisor

and cooperating teacher. Except for two, all of my participants were allowed to select their

practicum sites, however, and all selected multicultural settings which resulted in excellent

preparation for teaching in schools with diverse populations.

My study adds to the body of current student teaching literature by employing in-depth

phenomenological interviewing as a method of analyzing the way fifteen student teachers

made meaning of their urban high school practicum experience. Rather then focusing

specifically on one issue or one relationship within the urban arena, I discussed a wide

range of issues determined by the concerns voiced by my participants. I offered a thematic

analysis of each of these areas as well as a panoramic thematic analysis of the entire study.

I presented a profile of one of my participants and a lengthy reflective discussion of in-

depth phenomenological interviewing as an appropriate methodology for this kind of study.


244

The result is a dissertation which provides greater understanding of what it is like to student

teach in an urban high school.

D. Recommendations

In reflecting on my twenty-four years of teaching experience in an urban public high

school and what I have learned in my doctoral program, I am, like many of the student

teachers in my study, affected by the pull of two distinctly different and sometimes

diametrically opposed worlds. Because I have immersed myself in my doctoral program

for the past four years, I know how important it is to implement change based on sound

research. Because I work in the midst of a complex urban high school, I know how

difficult it is to implement change. No obstacle, however, should stand in the way of

progress.

New teachers will bring with them new energy and new ideas. Our obligation as

teacher educators is to give them the best possible preparation not only to survive in the

world of urban education but to flourish in it and to improve it. While I am not advocating

a separate certification for urban education, I am suggesting a revamping of teacher

education programs to include the following:

1) Universities and colleges which have not done so already must work their certification

programs around the schedules of the high schools in which they place student teachers.

The semester setup in most universities and colleges is simply not in sync with the quarterly

setup in most high schools. A two year program would be required, the first year devoted

to coursework and the prepracticum, the second year to the practicum and follow up

courses.
245

2) In the first year there should be two required courses on issues in urban education.

Topics would include race, gender, attendance, discipline, grading, tracking and critical

pedagogy. Both sides of the tracking issue should be presented evenly. Under gender

issues the topic of machismo should be a primary area of concentration. Hispanic, Anglo,

African American and Asian American students from urban high schools should be

recruited as consultants to discuss cultural differences, explain street language and break

down communication barriers. An urban high school teacher should co-teach the class

with a university instructor as Haberman (1988) suggests. Student teachers should develop

a portfolio of at least twelve one-period, lesson plans in their content areas which they can

utilize in their practicum on an emergency basis.

3) Student teachers should have the opportunity to observe and work with the suggested

cooperating teacher during the prepracticum to determine compatibility. I strongly

recommend a team teaching project to build camaraderie and ease the student teacher into

a classroom leadership role.

4) All student teachers regardless of content area specialization should do extensive

observations of E.S.L. (English as a Second Language) classes in order to understand the

difficulties of language acquisition for students whose native language is other than English.

5) In the second year one semester should be devoted to urban teaching. It would be

composed of a ten-week practicum at an urban site followed by a course at an urban site

which focuses on the problems encountered in the practicum. This course would also

require further observations of teachers from a post practicum perspective. The ten week
246

practicum should fall within a marking period at the school site. It is essential that student

teachers engender quarterly grades for their classes.

I am in full agreement with Haberman's (1988) contention that a major portion of

university-based preparation should occur within the urban public schools and that courses

should be taught on site by university faculty and teachers from the school site.

6) In the second year one semester should be devoted to suburban teaching. It would be

composed of a ten-week practicum at a suburban site followed by a course at a suburban

site which focuses on the problems encountered in the practicum. This course would also

require further observations of teachers from a post practicum perspective. The ten week

practicum should fall within a marking period at the school site. It is essential that student

teachers engender quarterly grades for their classes.

I applaud Goodlad's contention (1991) that teaching theory first and hoping students see

its relationship to practice after should be restructured by putting the analysis of practice

first and bringing the theory and principles to it.

7) Student teachers should be paid a reasonable weekly or bi-monthly stipend for each

practicum they teach. In most professions apprentices are paid for their work. With less

financial pressure on them and the knowledge that their work is of value, student teachers

would reach a new level of confidence and competence. Funding would come from the

state or the city receiving the service.

8) Cooperating teachers should be required to undergo university training culminating in

a mentor certificate. Most of the cooperating teachers in this study and most of the

teachers I know who have served as cooperating teachers have never undergone training
247

for working with a student teacher. Because most of them are good teachers, they

somehow get by but not nearly as effectively as they could. Teachers who have

demonstrated a history of difficulty with student teachers should not be cooperating

teachers.

9) Cooperating teachers should be compensated for their university training monetarily

or with professional development points.

10) Cooperating teachers should have their teaching load reduced by one preparation to

allow for parallel planning time with their student teacher. This would also reduce the

amount of correcting the cooperating teacher has to do allowing more time for observation

of the student teacher.

11) The cost of reducing the cooperating teacher’s schedule by one preparation period

should be picked up by the state (if the student teacher is enrolled in a public university) or

by the private college or university involved.

12) Each high school should publish an informational brochure for potential student

teachers describing the condition and setup of the physical plant. This would include AV

resources, computer labs, library resources, room utilization, availability of texts and

parking.

13) A copy of the curriculum, texts, faculty and student handbooks should be provided

for student teachers at least ten weeks prior to the beginning of the practicum.

14) Student teachers should be required to teach three classes per day plus be assigned

duties such as homeroom and cafeteria. The length of their work day should be the same

as all faculty members.


248

15) A consistent policy concerning in-class observation by the cooperating teacher should

be established. No student teacher should be totally on his or her own within one week

with only sporadic visits to follow.

16) College supervisors should have had some experience teaching in secondary schools.

17) Teaching Assistants who serve as college supervisors should have a schedule which

allows them adequate time for the number of charges they are responsible for.

18) High schools should delegate one administrator or teacher as the central coordinator

for student teaching to avoid the confusion caused by having to deal with a multitude of

people in various locations within the building.

19) Lastly I strongly advocate a unilateral change in the retirement system which would

provide incentives for early retirement and create positions for new teachers before we lose

any more to private industry.

E. Implications for Further Study

The myriad of issues brought up in this dissertation supports the need for further study

in many areas. I list some of those here which I deem significant.

1) Of the many difficult problems identified by my participants in this study, the most

critical academic issue may be how best to help urban students whose native language is

other than English. There is a movement afoot in Massachusetts to eliminate Transitional

Bilingual Education and replace it with a total immersion program. My experience has

taught me that most bilingual students who stay in an E.S.L. program for four years

perform well when mainstreamed into the regular program. The fourth year concentrates

on learning idiomatic expressions, analyzing literature and polishing writing skills. But
249

cutbacks have forced urban school systems to mainstream students as soon as possible,

some within one or two years, thus creating a problem for teachers and student teachers as

well. More comparative studies should be undertaken to identify the kinds of difficulties

experienced by bilingual students who mainstream in one, two, three, four or more years.

2) One of the mandates of the Massachusetts Education Reform Act (1993) was the

elimination of the basic track. At Lawrence High School students who are ready to

mainstream have historically had tremendous difficulty succeeding in upper level English

classes, particularly those courses which utilize a chronological approach to English

literature. With the exception of those bilingual students who have an extraordinary

capacity for language acquisition, most bilingual students found that taking lower level

English classes initially was a more secure and comfortable way to make the transition.

Beginning in September of 1995 all public high schools in Massachusetts must have

eliminated the basic track. That leaves few options for bilingual students who are

mainstreaming. Studies which might prove useful would involve interviewing urban

teachers at the end of the school year to determine whether or not they had to make major

or minor adjustments in curriculum requirements and methodology to properly service

bilingual students who were forced to mainstream at higher levels. Student teachers who

do their urban practicum during this time period would also be affected. Interviews with

them should focus on the difficulties they experienced with students who have language

acquisition problems. Interviews of both the bilingual students affected by this change and

the other students in class who might be affected by changes in the teacher's methodology

should also prove to be valuable.


250

3) A study comparing student teachers who are exposed to an urban pedagogy and those

that are not should be undertaken. Student teachers would fill out questionnaires on the

major issues discussed in this dissertation and be interviewed prior to the beginning of the

urban program. The questionnaire and the interview would focus on the student teachers'

perception of the importance of these issues, their expectations of the effect these issues

will have on their teaching, the way they plan to handle them and their confidence in then-

ability to handle them. Only the experimental group would participate in urban studies.

At the conclusion of the urban practicum all student teachers would fill out

questionnaires and be interviewed a second time. The focus would be identical to the first

but from a retrospective point of view. The researchers would then study the pre and post

questionnaires and interviews and note changes in perceptions of student teachers

concerning each of the urban issues. Finally the results of the experimental group would

be compared to the results of the non experimental group. This should reveal whether or

not exposure to an urban pedagogy made a significant difference in the way student

teachers perceived specific urban issues and how that perception affected their ability to

deal with those issues in the urban practicum. This study should also point out which

issues require greater or lesser attention

4) In order to develop a fuller understanding of the results of this dissertation, a

longitudinal study would need to be undertaken Following the careers of the same set of

participants over a three-year span would generate new information and add a new

dimension of appreciation to the experience studied here. There is a multitude of questions

that need to be answered. How many participants decided to teach, and what caused them
251

to stay or leave? Which participants went on to teach in an urban location and why? Did

participants feel they were adequately prepared for their jobs through their university and

practicum experience? What areas of preparation would participants suggest need more

concentration in retrospect? As a result of their job experience, how did participants

change their views on the issues brought up in the original study?

5) Any worthwhile study generates more questions than answers. Although the cost and

difficulties of an even longer study would probably make it unfeasible, more questions

could be asked and more answers generated. The contention that urban teachers should

have a "truncated career" (Haberman, 1988, p. 23) of five to eight years because of the

incredible demands placed on them might prove to be sensible. A comparison of long-term

job satisfaction of those participants that went into an urban location and those that went

into a suburban location might provide new student teachers with invaluable insight. My

hope is that this study will serve as a springboard for future research in urban education.

F, Insurmountability: The Panoi r=in ig Thsms

In reflecting on the themes that run through the many issues that affect the urban

practicum, I could not help but feel overwhelmed by the awesome task that teacher

educators, teachers and student teachers face in the urban arena. The obstacles we must

overcome do appear to be unattainable; it is thus that I choose insurmountability as the

panoramic theme of this dissertation. With all the questions that remain unanswered, I do,

however, know one thing for sure; if America's cities are to survive, it will be the public

schools that save them.


252

In the early seventies Lawrence was the scene of racial rioting culminating in national

headlines that screamed "Lawrence Is Burning.” It was the Lawrence School System, its

students, teachers and administrators who banded together, faced the issue and provided

the city's residents with a model of tolerance and harmony. It was the Lawrence School

System that saved the city. The job of teacher educators today is to save America's cities

by furnishing urban school systems with new teachers who are prepared to meet the

challenges they face and, who by surmounting the insurmountable, will erase the

panoramic theme of this dissertation. When that occurs, I will be happy to rewrite my

concluding chapter.

G. Epilogue

During the third interview, I asked my participants to come up with their own personal

image or phrase or sentence that could answer the question, "What is it like to student

teach in an urban high school today?” A long pause preceded each answer; it is a request

that requires a reaction from the heart tempered by a rationale from the mind. The image

which Monica Pellante chose transcended this study; her rationale left me spellbound. I

share this last dialogue with you:

Monica: Student teaching is like being on a roller coaster. I dont really like roller
coasters. The anticipation of coming up and up and up gets stuck in my belly, and
then—the descent; you go up for two seconds, you come down for two seconds, you go
really fast, and your belly ends up in your throat. You go around, and sometimes you
do loops, and you go around, and then it's over, and this—this is just like one big mental
roller coaster. You build up, and then you come down. I like it, and I hate it. It's like
roller coasters. People love the thrill of it, and they love—obey—that feeling. Who likes
that? I dont really like that feeling where you're being sucked so fast and pushed down
so quickly that your cheeks go up, and your mouth goes open, and your hair stands
straight up. I dont know anyone who really likes that.
Bill: Most people on roller coasters end up going back on again.

Monica: Yeah.
APPENDIX

WRITTEN CONSENT FORM

Dear Colleague,

It is with great interest and deep commitment that I am asking you to allow me to
conduct three ninety-minute, audio-taped interviews with you as part of my research for
my doctoral program in education at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. The focus
of my inquiry is what it is like to student teach in an inner-city high school. Part of my
interest stems from my twenty-three years of teaching in this kind of school setting. Your
experience will help me to understand the complex nature of this environment. Parts of
this interview will be used in my dissertation and shared with my committee. There is no
monetary compensation for your participation. All interviewees in this process will remain
anonymous, and all names of persons, schools, school districts and cities mentioned will be
replaced with pseudonyms in transcripts. You have the right to withdraw from the
interview process at any point up to two weeks after the third interview as well as the right
to review any portion of the tapes and to request removal of any portion of the tapes that
you do not wish to share. You also have the right to review the transcripts from the
interviews and to request removal of any portion of the transcripts that you do not wish to
share. This request must be made within two weeks of your review of the transcripts.
Your decision to participate or not to participate in this interview will be acknowledged
with equal respect. Please indicate your decision by checking the appropriate box below. If
you answer in the affirmative, please sign your name, and fill in today's date. Thank you
for your assistance.

Sincerely,

William Compagnone

yes_no_date_

participant's signature_

interviewer's signature__

254
BIBLIOGRAPHY

American Association of University Women Educational Foundation. (1992).


The AAUW report; How schools shortchange girls. Washington, DC: American
Association of University Women Educational Foundation.

Anyon, J. (1981). Social class and school knowledge. Curriculum Inquiry. 11. 3-42.

Apple, M. (1979). Ideology and curriculum. Boston: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

Apple, M. (1988). Teachers and texts. New York: Routledge.

Apple, M. & Weiss, L. (1983). Ideology and practice in schooling. Philadelphia: Temple
University Press.

Aronowitz, A. & Giroux, H. (1985). Education under siege. South Hadley, MA: Bergin
and Garvey Publishers.

Ball, S.J. (Ed.) (1990). Foucault and education. London and New York: Routledge.

Banks, J. A. (1991). Teaching strategies for ethnic studies. (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn and
Bacon.

Bastian, A., Fruchter, N., Gittell, M., Greer, C., Haskins, K. (1986). Choosing equality:
The case for democratic schooling. Philadelphia: Temple Univ. Press.

Belenky, M.F., Clinchy, B.M., Goldberger, N.R., & Tarule, J.M. (1987). Womens wavs
of knowing. New York: Basic Books.

Berliner, D. C. (1992, February). Educational reform in an era of disinformation. Paper


presented at the meetings of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher
Education, San Antonio, TX.

Bernstein, B. (1975). Class, codes and control: Towards a theory of educational


transmission. London: Routledge & Kegan.

Bertaux, D. (Ed.). (1981). Biography and society: The life history approach in the social
sciences. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.

Bourdieu, P. & Passeron, J. (1977). Reproduction in education, society, and culture.


London: Sage.

Bowles, S. & Gintis, H. (1976). Schooling in capitalist America. New York: Basic Books.

255
256

Brandt, R. (1991). On teacher education: A conversation with John Goodlad. Educational


Leadership. 49(3), 11-13.

Braverman, H. (1974). Labor and monopoly capital. New York and London: Monthly
Review Press.

Britzman, D. P. (1985). Reality and ritual: An ethnographic study of student teachers.


Dissertation Abstracts International^, 1585A.

Brodkey, L. (1987). Academic writing as social practice. Philadelphia: Temple University


Press.

Brooks, A.L. & Kelly, U.A. (1992). Writing pedagogy: A dialogue of hope. In K. Weiler
& C. Mitchell (Eds.), What schools can do. New York: State University of New York
Press.

Calderhead, J. (1989). Reflective teaching and teacher education. Teaching and Teacher
Education. 5,43-51.

Carini, P. F. (1975). Observation and description: An alternative methodology for the


investigation of human phenomena. North Dakota Study Group on Evaluation
Monograph. Grand Forks: University of North Dakota Press.

Chenyholmes, C. (1992). Knowledge, power, and discourse in social studies education. In


K. Weiler & C. Mitchell (Eds.), What schools can do. New York: State University of
New York Press.

Cleary, L.M (1991). From the other side of the desk. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook
Publishers, Inc.

Cochran-Smith, M. (1991). Reinventing student teaching. Journal of Teacher Education.


42(2), 104-118.

Copeland, W. (1981). Clinical experiences in the education teachers. Journal of Education


for Teaching. 7(TL 3-16.

Denzin, N. K. (1978). Sociological methods. New York: McGraw-Hill.

DeYoung, A.J. (1989). Economics and American education. New York: Longman, Inc.

Diesing, P. (1972). Patterns of discovery in the social sciences. London: Routledge &
Kegan Paul.

Dreeben, R. (1987). Comments on tomorrow’s teachers. Teachers College Record. 88.


(Spring): 359-365.
257

Eble, K.E. (1988). The craft of teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
J
Feiman-Nemser, S. (1993). Learning to teach. In L. Shulman (Ed.), Hanbook of teaching
and policy, (pp. 150-170). New York: Longman.

Feiman-Nemser, S. & Buchmann, M. (1987). When is student teaching teacher education?


Teaching and Teacher Education. 3.255-273.

Ferrarotti, F. (1968). Trattato di sociologia. Torino: UTET.

Fine, M. (1989). Silencing and nurturing voice in an improbable context: Urban


adolescents in public schools. In H. Giroux & P. McLaren (Eds.), Critical
pedagogy, the state and cultural struggle (pp. 152 -173). New York: State University
of New York Press.

Fine, M. U 991 ^ :Fi^iny dro|k)Uts: Notes on the politics of an urban high school.
Albany: State University of New York Press.

Fitzgerald, F. (1979). America Revisited. Boston: Atlantic-Little Brown Books.

Foucault, M (1972). The archeology of knowledge. New York: Harper Colophon Books.

Fraatz, J. M. B. (1987). The politics of reading: Power, opportunity, and prospects for
change in America's public schools. New York: Teachers College Press.

Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Seabuiy Press.

Freire, P. & Faundez, A. (1989). I .earning to question. New York: Continuum.

Giroux, H. (1988). Teachers as intellectuals: A critical pedagogy for practical learning.


South Hadley, MA: Bergin and Garvey Publishers.

Giroux, H. & McLaren, P. (Eds.) (1989). Critical pedagogy, the state and cultural struggle.
New York: State University of New York Press.

Goodlad, J. (1990). Teachers for our nation's schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Goodlad, J. (1991). Why we need a complete resdesign of teacher education. Educational


Leadership. 49(3\ 4-10.

Goodman, J. (1983). The seminar's role in the education of student teachers: A case study.
Journal of Teacher Education. 34(3), 44-49.

Goodman, J. (1986). University education courses and the professional preparation of


teachers: A descriptive analysis. Teaching and Teacher Education. 29(5), 45-53.
258

Goodman, J. (1988). Constructing a practical philosophy of teaching: A study of


preservice teachers' professional perspectives. Teaching and Teacher Education.
4(2), 121-137.

Goodman, P. (1966). The universal trap. The Urban School Crisis. New York: League for
Industrial Democracy and United Federation of Teachers.

Grant, C., & Sleeter, C. (1986). Race, class, and gender in education research: An
argument for integrative analysis. Review of Educational Research. 56,195-211.

Guyton, E. & McIntyre, D. J. (1990). Student teaching and school experiences. In W. R.


Houston (Ed.), Handbook of research on teacher education, (pp. 514-534). New
York: Macmillan.

Ijfedxennaxi, M. (1988). Preparing teachers for urban schools. Bloomington, IN: Phi Delta
Kappa Educational Foundation.

Heron, J. (1971). Experience and method: An inquiry into the concept of experiential
research. Human Potential Research Project, University of Surrey.

Hollingsworth, S. (1989). Prior beliefs and cognitive change in learning to teach. WiiWi can
Educational Research Journal. 26(2), 160-189.

Hoy, W. (1967). Organizational socialiazation: The student teacher and pupil


control ideology. Journal of Educational Research, 61,153-155.

Hoy, W. & Rees, R. (1977). The bureaucratic socialization of student teachers. Journal of
Teacher Education. 28. 23-26.

Hoy, W. & Woolfolk, A. E. (1990). Socialization of student teachers. American


Educational Research Journal. 27(2), 279-300.

Jacullo-Noto, J. (1992). An urban school / liberal arts college partnership for teacher
development. Journal of Teacher Education. 43(4), 278-282.

James, W. (1947). Essays in radical empiricism and in a pluralistic universe. New York:
Longmans, Green.

Jencks, C., and Peterson, P. E., (Eds.). (1991). The urban underclass. Washington, DC:
Brookings Institution.

Kohli, M. (1978). Soziologie des Lebenslaufs. Darmstadt: Luchterhand.

Kozol, J. (1975). The night is dark and I am far from home. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
259

Kozol, J. (1991). Savage inequalities; Children in America's schools. New York: Crown
Publishers.

Lewis, O. (1968). The culture of poverty. In D. P. Moynihan (Ed.), On understanding


poverty: Perspectives from the social sciences. New York: Basic Books.

Lincoln, Y.S. & Guba, E.G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage
Productions.

Liston, D.P. (1988). Capitalist schools. New York and London: Routledge.

Locke, L.F., Spirduso, W., & Silverman, S.J. (1987). Proposals that work: A guide for
planning dissertations and grants proposals. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.

Lortie, D. (1975). School teachers: A sociological study. Chicago: University of Chicago


Press.

MacLeod, J. (1987). Ain't no makin’ it: T -eveled aspirations in a low-income


neighborhood. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Manny, F. (1915). City training schools for teachers. U.S. Bureau of Education, Bulletin
No. 47: Washington, DC.

Marx, K. (1976). Capital. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

Matus, D. E. (1992). The use of a practicum seminar lead by an urban practicum advisor
(UPA) to help secondary urban student teachers become effective practitioners.
Dissertation Abstracts International. 53,3501A.

McCarthy, C. (1992). Multicultural education: Minority identities,, textbooks, and the


challenge of curricular reform. In K. Weiler & C. Mitchell (Eds.), What schools
can do (pp. 117-131). New York: State University of New York Press.

McLaren, P. (1980). Cries from the corridor. Ontario, Canada: Methuen.

McLaren, P. (1989). Life in schools. New York: Longman.

McLaren, P. (1989). On ideology and education: Critical pedagogy and the cultural politics
of resistance. In H. Giroux & P. McLaren (Eds.), Critical pedagogy, the state and
cultural struggle (pp. 174 - 202). New York: State University of New York Press.

McNeil, L.M. (1986). Contradictions of control. New York and London: Routledge &
Kegan

Miller, J.H. (1993). Gender issues embedded in the experience of women student teachers:
A study using in-depth interviewing. Dissertation Abstracts International. 54/10, 3719A.
260

Mishler, E.G. (1979). Meaning in context: Is there any other kind? Harvard Educational
Review. 49(1), 1-19.

Mishler, E.G. (1986). Research interviewing. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Neuman, W.L. (1991). Social research methods qualitative and quantitative approaches.
Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Oakes, J. (1985). Keeping track: How schools structure inequality. New Haven: Yale
University Press.

O'Donnell, J. (1990). Tracking: Socializing impact on student teachers: A qualitative


study using in-depth phenomenological interviewing. Dissertation Abstracts
International. 51/11.3707A.

Omstein, A. C. & Talmage, H. (1981). A dissenting view on accountability. Urban


Education. & (July), 133-152.

Perrodin, A. (1961). In support of supervising teacher education programs. Journal of


Teacher Education. 12(1), 36-38.

Peterson, P. E. (1985). The urban reality. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.

Reason, P. (Ed.). (1988). Human inquiry in action. London: Sage Publications Ltd.

Richardson-Koehler, V. (1988). Barriers to effective supervision of student teaching.


Journal of Teacher Education. 39(2), 28-34.

Riessman, F. (1962). The culturally deprived child. New York: Harper & Row.

Rodriguez, A. J. (1993). A dose of reality: Understanding the origin of the theory/practice


dichotomy in teacher education from the students' point of view. Journal of Teacher
education. 44(3), 213-222.

Rodriguez, R. (1982). Hunger of memory. Boston: David R. Godine, Publisher, Inc.

Rose, P. L, Rothman, S. & Wilson, J. I. (Eds.). Through different eves. New York:
Oxford University Press.

Rosenthal, R. & Jacobson, L. (1968). Pygmalion in the classroom. New York: Harcourt,
Brace and World.

Sarup, M. (1989). An introductory guide to post-structuralism and post-modernism.


Georgia University of Georgia Press.
261

Schutz, A. (1967). The phenomenology of the social world. (G. Walsh & F. Lenhert,
Trans.). Chicago, Northwestern University Press.

Seidman, I. E. (1991). Interviewinp as qualitative research. New York: Teachers College


Press.

Sharp, R. & Greene, A. (1975). Education and social control: A study in progressive
primary education. Boston and London: Routledge and Kegan. Shor, L, & Freire, P.
(1987). What is the "dialogical method" of teaching? Journal of Education. 169(3),
11-31.

Shor, I. & Freire, P. (1987). What is the "dialogical method" of teaching? Journal of
Education. 169(3), 11-31.

Simon, R. (1987). Empowerment as a pedagogy of possibility. Language Arts. 64.


370-382.

Smith, R. W. (1991). Obstacles to student teacher reflection: The role of prior school
experience as a barrier to teacher development. Dissertation Abstracts
International. 52, 2113A

SmithL- & Geoffrey, G. (1968). The complexities of an urban classroom. New York:
Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Stallings, J. A. & Quinn, L. F. (1991). Learning how to teach in the inner city. Educational
Leadership. 49(3), 25-27.

Tabachnick, B. R (1980). Intern-teacher roles: Illusion, disillusion and reality. Journal of


Education. 162.122-137.

Tabachnick, B. R., Popkewitz, T. S., & Zeichner, K. M. (1979). Teacher education and
the professional perspectives of student teachers. Interchange. 10(4), 12-29.

Taxel,J. (1981). The outsiders of the American Revolution: The selective tradition in
childen's literature. Interchange. 12:2-3,206-229.

Tewel, K. J. (1988). The best child I ever had: Teacher influence on the decision-making
of three urban high schools principals. Urban Education. 23. April: 24-41.

Thomas, W. I. & Znaniecki, F. (1918-1920). The Polish peasant in Europe and America.
Monograph of an immigrant group. Boston: The Gorham Press.

Weiler, K. (1988). Women teaching for change: Gender, class and power. South Hadley,_
MA: Bergin and Garvey Publishers.
262

Weiler, K. & Mitchell, C. (Eds.). (1992). What schools can do. New York: State
University of New York Press.

Weiner, L. (1993). Preparing teachers for urban schools. New York: Teachers College
Press.

Weis, L., (Ed.). (1988). Class, race & gender in American education. Albany: State
University of New York Press.

Willis, P. (1977). Teaming to labor: How working class kids get working class jobs New
York: Columbia Press.

Wilson, W. J. (1978). The declining significance of race. Chicago & London: The
University of Chicago Press.

Wilson, W. J. (1987). The truly disadvantaged. Chicago & London: The University of
Chicago Press.

Wise, A. E. (1991). We.need more than a redesign. Educational Leadership. 49(3), 7.

Zeichner, K. M. (1981). Refelective teaching and field-based experience in teacher


education. Interchange. 12. 1-22.

Zeichner, K. M. (1989). Preparing teachers for democratic schools. Action in Teacher


Education, 22(1), 5-10.

Zeichner, K. M. (1992). Rethinking the practicum in the professional development school


partnership. Journal of Teacher Education. 43(4), 296-307.

Zeichner, K. M. & Gore, J. M. (1990). Teacher socialization. In W. R. Houston (Ed.),


Handbook of research on teacher education (pp. 329-348). New York: Macmillan.

Zeichner, K. M. & Liston, D. (1985). Theory and practice in the evolution of an


inquirv-oriented student teaching program. Paper presented at the meeting of
the American Educational Research Association, Chicago.

Zeichner, K. M. & Liston, D. (1987). Teaching students to reflect. Harvard Educational


Review. 57(1), 23-48.

Zeichner, K. M. & Tabachnick, B. R. (1981). Are the effects of university education


'washed out' by school experience? Journal of Teacher Education. 32(3), 7-11.

Zimpher, N. L., DeVoss, G. G. & Nott, D. L. (1980). A closer look at university student
teacher supervision. Journal of Teacher Education. 31(4), 11-15.

You might also like