As I move through my summer writing journey, it is important for me to read different types of writings from different authors who will stretch my understanding of writing and expand my intellectual understanding of issues. Recently, I read an article by Cindi Katz (read article here). Her writing style is very interesting. The type of interesting, when you can’t think of a good word to describe something and your parents have always told you “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all” but you are forced to say something. You know...that kind of interesting. To say the least, personally I did not like her writing style. I found Katz’s article to be very confusing and hard to read at time. By her writing, you can tell that Katz is very intelligent, thoughtful and is able to think outside of the box. In this article, she used the concept of children as spectacles and waste as a metaphor and an actual concept within the reading. Katz discussed how children are used with the economy both with in the US and globally. She showcased how the school to prison pipeline, militarization of children and the exploitation of child labor has played a huge role in social reproduction, capitalism, and the education of children.
In addition, you can also see Katz’s creativity for thinking outside the box when she uses the word “countertopography”, for which I discovered is not a word identified in any online dictionary I could find (Word is also telling me to its not a word as it appears with red line under it). However, Katz did an amazing job defining this term, helping the reader understand the term as a theoretical framework and connecting it to the overall concept of the article. She also connects her thoughts with those of Marx and the idea of play that he discusses (for which I have to admit she lost me!). One of the largest takeaways from this article is when Nolan mentions that children as young as preschool age are entered into the school to prison pipeline. A child who hasn’t entered into the school system is being told that they will never amount to anything and that they are headed to prison. One can only imagine that these children feel like waste, act like it and have been treated as such their whole life.
As I read more about the school to prison pipeline, I became interested in learning more about the role that the college system plays in the pipeline process. Katz mentioned briefly how The City University of New York was a participant in the pipeline process as they once offered free tuition and now required tuition and fees for students. What is the colleges’ role and responsibility in helping these students move out of this pipeline and view college as an attainable goal? However, once these students enter into college will they be able to stay? As I think about the educational demands of college, I realize with the lack of academic resources at K-12 schools these students will not be prepared. The research shows that even at the college level these students will be treated as waste because they will not be able to with stand the academic rigor and most likely will not be retained due to their lack of preparedness. As a college administrator, it would not be fair to the students, who struggled to make it out of one bad situation, to be entered into another situation that reiterates the feeling that they are waste or undeserving of a better life. Should colleges, specifically junior colleges and/or community colleges, offer specific types of programs to help these students progress and become academically prepared? These colleges should be funded by the government to make up for the lack of resources offered in K-12. This will also help with the retention of these students once they enroll in the 4 yr college or university.
I can definitely see Katz’s framework connecting to my research. As I read more about the pipeline process the more I see it connecting to the retention and engagement of students in college. When researching the retention and engagement of marginalized students, this concept along with the achievement gap is important to discuss as it shows the lack of academic preparedness, and low self-esteem these students may face when enrolled in college.
I can’t wait until I get my degree, so I can make
up words and call them theoretical arguments.
I will say in my very prestigious voice, “this is the word I created,
I am sorry you don’t understand it”. Then sip my tea.
Chiquita, I really appreciate your question about the role of colleges and the school-to-jail pipeline for urban students. In Central Falls, the RI colleges are almost completely silent. Sure, there are some students that go on to college and even some college students visiting our school (e.g. observers, students teachers), but few professors/faculty ever visit and/or offer assistance to our school. Imagine the power of having experts (professors/researchers) help teachers become more proficient at reaching all students. The areas of expertise could include education (i.e. special education), and specific subject areas (e.g. sciences, arts, etc.)
ReplyDeleteIf students were to see college professors interested in them - these students may in fact, see a different potential future for themselves. I know this model works, because I have a close relationship with a few professors from Providence College - who come into our classroom and run laboratories that would otherwise not happen (due to material limitations). Although this is working for that one class, it is not enough - we need to systematically create opportunities for the colleges to participate directly in urban students' lives.
Hi Chiquita -- I really like how you connect Katz's ideas around "waste" and the school-to-prison-pipeline to the failure of higher ed to deliver mobility and security to students. We can think about how prisons "absorb" or "manage" populations of people who have been rendered disposable not only by the k-12 system but higher ed as well. What would happen if you mapped the concept of "school-to-prison pipeline" onto higher ed?! What would be revealed about the ways colleges/universities channel certain students into prisons? What relationships exist between colleges and prisons, and how are student activists challenging or opposing or transforming these relationships?
ReplyDeleteYou don't have to wait till you have your PhD to make up words -- you can start now! Seriously though -- naming things that haven't been named before or need to be named more accurately calls upon us to use language creatively, to build new concepts through creating new words or phrases. Again you bring up how academic language can be alienating to the reader -- so we are faced with a challenge: to develop/use a language sophisticated and specific enough to name, describe, and analyze our very complex reality, while at the same time ensuring that our audience can engage it.
Hello Chiquita,
ReplyDeleteI also agree with your opinion that her writing and ideas were difficult to understand at times. I had a problem with her description of students as "waste". I guess because I have children of my own and I work with children that it was difficult to get past the term. I do understand that her choice of terms or word are meant to be forceful to get her point across as children, especially urban children, as being waste since they will not be resourceful toward our capitalist system. They take resources but don't necessary reciprocate as children or adults. Part of the idea behind Marx's social reproduction theory. The part I could easily connect with was her description of the necessity of play in child development and other enriching opportunities for cognitive and social development. These are types of practices that are continuously being substituted with core academic subjects. I continuously try to embed enriching opportunities in my lessons, where students are inquirers, collaborate and find enjoyement in this type of independent learning.