Himelfarb EMAT515 Blog

Pedro Noguera speaks at Salisbury University, 10/10/09. Photo Source.

March 10, 2009 Salisbury University continued the E. Pauline Riall Lecture series with speaker Pedro Noguera. Noguera’s lecture “Challenging Racial Inequality in Our Schools” addressed the state of race relations and inequality and factors that promote and decrease student achievement. Noguera told a story about working at a school where kids would remain in the parking lot, rather than attend classes. The school developed a relationship with area businesses to create institutes that upon completion, students could begin working at the partnered company. This story highlights the importance of relating material to students lives, such that they have a reason to learn. I think technology can be a great tool for relating material to students interests and also to their future career goals. Technology is present in nearly every occupational field, more importantly to students, they use technology every day. Most students have cell phones, surf the internet, keep blogs, e-mail, etc… Creating lessons where material is introduced, reinforced, or assessed with technology would be a good way to get students who are not usually enthusiastic about learning, back into classrooms.

Another Anecdote Noguera shared was about a school in the Bronx that housed a museum related to the history of the Bronx. The student giving Noguera a tour of the school was shocked when he asked if the school worried about students vadalizing the museum. She said the students didn’t vandalize the museum because they were proud of it. A related tale told of a school that only took science equipment out when students were being “good” because they were afraid the students would break it. The difference between a school that trusts its students and a school that doesn’t will be reflected in student attitudes toward the school. If schools do not expect much from their students, they won’t get much from them. This relates to use of technology in schools as well. Schools and teachers need to be willing to trust their students to conduct experiments, make videos, and use computers. Even the most impoverished and low achieving schools need technology. It is up to the school to create an environment in which the technology will be safe. In response to James Hesen’s Blog on the use of clickers in the classroom. Conor McLennan wrote “Although there are challenges associated with the use of innovative teaching strategies and technologies, this doesn’t mean that professors should stop trying to develop new and exciting ways to engage students, to make classes and course material more interesting, and to improve instruction and student learning.” Facing the challenges of providing all students with an adequate education is challenge, but a challenge that we must face and win. Technology, appropriately used, can be a great means toward the end of equal education, and the unequal access to technology in our schools illustrates the distance we are from this end.