School to Prison Pipeline

We are blogging a little bit today about the school to prison pipeline. I wanted to offer a few links to the wider issue of the drug war and incarceration.

The Drug War - some facts.

The New Jim Crow.

Drugs and New Jim Crow.

On Mass Incarceration.  

My own thoughts on the subject tend to tie back to two things: money and race. First, targetting low-income kids of color makes sense for the criminal justice 'industry;' that is, all the jobs and salaries that depend on increasing amounts of criminals. Ever-expanding police and prison forces need new bodies to fill their cells - and coffers. Getting students into the system early is like tobacco companies marketing cigarettes to children: the young are your best customers. Eerily enough, students are the young "customers" for the criminal justice industry.

So why do they target low-income communities of color? Well, here race and class co-exist in a self-perpetuating cycle. Low-income communities of color have been historically disadvantaged - decades, if not centuries, of disinvestment by mostly white politicians and leaders have left many communities without many options, particularly for education. The lack of resources means that these young "customers" make for inviting targets. They can't afford lawyers, bail, and court costs like higher-income neighbors and citizens, whether those neighbors are white or not. So even if the individual cops making arrests aren't overtly racist themselves (just "following the law"), they are operating in a system where the consequences and effects of their actions are explicitly racialized: this is called institutional racism. It's how we get a racist criminal justice system even though no one administering the system believes they themselves are racist.

On the subject of black on black crime, which is a favorite mark of newspapers like the The Wall Street Journal, I have a few quick thoughts. Like Police Commissioner Kelly or Mayor Bloomberg with Stop and Frisk, these folks like to argue that low-income neighborhoods of color get targeted because that's "where the crime happens." I have to arguments: one, this is where class comes in. People without opportunities and choices tend to make decisions that only make short-term sense in the larger scope of their lives. Why invest years in a bad education in a bad school system when you can provide for yourself faster by making different choices, such as dealing drugs for quick cash? If people had better choices to make, they might make them. Two, if you look for crime in certain places, you'll find it, because "crime" exists everywhere. If you start to police other neighborhoods, perhaps you'll find more illegal behavior - that is, if you start Stopping and Frisking NYU students, you're bound to find drugs on their person. Then crime rates will go up and - wallah - that, too, will be "where the crime is." In part, their tactics rely on a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Class Agenda 7.25

1. Problem Posing Exercise Presentation
2. Films:

The US Schools to Prisons Pipeline
 School to Prison 
 Chomsky on the Purpose of Education

3. Quick in-class blog reaction

4. Video teams: screenplays

Letter to Bert

Assignment: Letter to Bert Eisenstadt Evaluating Tutoring at the Writing Center
Peer Review: Wed 7.31
Due: TH 8.1

For this assignment, you will turn the problem-posing assignment shared in your groups and present it as a letter to the Manager of the Writing Center. The Manager, Mr. Bert Eisenstadt, knows about this assignment and is looking forward to reading what you have to say.

The letter should be 2 single-spaced pages, and should address the 3 steps from the problem-posing exercise you worked with to produce your group presentation. While what you presented in groups was excerpts from the observations of particular individuals in your group, the primary evidence in your letter should be based on your own personal observations. As you did in your problem-posing exercise, name strategies, cite sources for strategies named, and describe observations in detail. It is especially important that whenever you identify a strategy or diagnose a problem, you provide support for your ideas by quoting from the course reading materials, citing all sources, and providing a works cited page at the end of the letter. You will want to take certain moments and link them your overall teaching philosophy.

Mr. Eisenstadt will be much more likely to follow your advice if you seem like you’re basing your assessments on up-to-date tutoring theory. He may also want to read for himself certain sections of a text to which you refer.

In establishing the voice you will use in this letter, try to use the tutoring skills you have learned this semester. Remember that while it is often important and useful to be critical, it is also important that you be constructive. Remember that tutors can have bad days just like anyone else; don’t make your criticisms personal, but instead try phrasing things as problems that may need for the overall improvement of the center. Think of the Writing Center, like an essay draft, as a work in progress. Imagine your audience, Mr. Eisenstadt, as someone who will continue with his practice of managing the center long after you give him this feedback. There is a future for the Writing Center, and by writing this letter you can become a part of it.

Board Notes

Class Agenda 7.24

1. Tutoring! We are heading to E-229 at 9.23 on the dot. Please come there if you arrive late.

2. Return to class: write up your notes on the experience.

3. break

4. quiz

5. Problem-posing exercise.

6. Video teams

7.   Video: Difficult Situations

  Video: Plagiarism and Tutoring

  Video: How to Write Introductions

  Video: How to Write a Good Argumentative Essay

Class Agenda 7.22

1. Welcome to the new class.

On Monday we will meet in room C-128 and Wednesday we will meet in room C-245 from 9:15 - 12:45 pm.

2. Quiz

3. Writing Center Rules: discussion.

4. Blog roll: Shanae; Fizza; Lauren.

5. Group work / problem posing.

Shanice; Lupe; Rebecca

Shereen's Letter to Bert


6. Discuss Perl and Rose.

7. Film: The US Schools to Prisons Pipeline

School to Prison

8. Film: Video: Chomsky on the Purpose of Education

9. In-class writing.

Shereen's Letter to Bert

To Mr. Bert Eisenstadt,

 

            My name is Shereen Brown and I am a student in Dr. Justin Rogers- Cooper's Seminar in Teaching Writing. I registered for this course because I have a genuine love for writing and I wanted the opportunity to improve on my skills while helping others. This course provides the perfect blend and I am thankful for the learning experience. The course texts Tutoring Writing by Donald A. Mc Andrew and Thomas J. Reigstad and Active Voice by James Moffett outline key strategies in teaching writing. These books provide the necessary tools for a student tutor to have in their arsenal. However, in order to truly learn the art of tutoring writing, I believe it is necessary to see these written theories in practice. As you know, an important component of the course is observing actual tutoring sessions in the Writing Center. It is an involved, yet rewarding process that should be taken seriously as many students rely on their tutor for guidance during the writing process. As I completed the four observations at the Writing Center, I observed Collaborative Learning tutoring styles that were effective as well as excessive emphasis on LOCs that may need to be omitted for higher efficiency in the Writing Center.

 

            The most effective tutoring session I witnessed occurred during my third observation. The student came in with a paper that had been completely covered in red ink by her professor. The professor also stated numerous times that the student completely missed the subject of the assignment. The student was discouraged and did not think she would be able to accurately complete the assignment. The tutor, in this instance, encouraged the student by pointing out that the overall language and tone of the paper was well done. To assist the student in editing the piece, the tutor used Collaborative Learning to get a better understanding of what the student wanted to convey in the piece. This theory is fully explained in the book, Tutoring Writing by Donald A. Mc Andrew and Thomas J. Reigstad. The Collaborative Learning theory is described as a process in which "the tutor and the writer are connected as they question, propose, and evaluate both the draft and their interaction" (McAndrew and Reigstad 5). Using Collaborative Learning is effective because it allows the writer's voice to be heard while the tutor guides the process in the right direction. The Student needed assistance with the structure and organization of her piece. The tutor used the strategy coined “just talk about it.” The tutor simply held a conversation with the student, discussing the thesis and the major issues within it. The student was able to refine her thesis and further develop her draft (McAndrew and Reigstad 50). In Active Voice, Moffett asserts that talking about ideas that a writer will add to a written work is a natural process because “people first learn to speak through vocal exchange” (Moffett 46). Developing inner speech into writing often occurs later and in stages, in other words, it is easier for one to speak about ideas before the actual written work can be completed. This theory held true during this session because the student was more confident that she could correct the piece and had some good leads to finish the paper on her own. She promised to return to the same tutor the following day and left with a smile on her face and I left the session with a new technique to use when a student comes to tutoring deflated and distressed.

            On the contrary, I also observed techniques that I would not use during my own tutoring sessions. During my fourth observation, I witnessed a tutor that had a great rapport with a student but it crossed the fine line between professional and “too friendly.” While it is important that the student feel comfortable during the student session, I believe the tutor should maintain an air of professionalism throughout the interaction. The tutor was very honest with the student about errors made in the paper, even pointing directly to the errors and telling the student to correct it. McAndrew and Reigstad state that, "if a tutor zeroes in only on surface errors- what we refer to as lower order concerns (LOCS)- the effect on the writer may be harmful and adverse to the goals of tutoring" (McAndrew and Reigstad 17). This was evident during this session. The tutor mainly focused on LOCs during the entire session with the student. The tutor explained that she had a great rapport with the student and she could be blunt with her pointing out all of the errors in the paper because the student should “know better.” The tutor did not discuss any HOCs with the student at all. Instead of primarily focusing in LOCs, the tutor could have concentrated on helping the writer perfect the overall development of her ideas. Since the tutor and writer had a great rapport, the tutor could have utilized their positive relationship and the strategy of “Oral Composing.” When a tutor uses this strategy, he/she instructs the writer to speak about what the writer thinks he/she may write in the paper. As the writer is speaking, the tutor takes notes. This strategy can help the writer develop relevant ideas, sentences and phrases that will aid in making the paper more cohesive (MsAndrew and Reigstad 46). Since the tutor only focused on the LOCs it interfered with the tutoring process and the student left with a piece that was grammatically correct but lacking the further structural development it needed.

            As I begin the process of tutoring students, I am impelled to use as many of the positive strategies I witnessed during the observation sessions. I realize that every student will be at a different writing level and it is important to have many different tools to be able to help any student. In addition to different writing levels, students will enter the Writing Center at varying emotional states as writing can be an emotional process. As I saw with the discouraged student, it is important to give positive feedback while working with the student to improve the weaker areas of their paper. Also, it is important not to become overly friendly. The student needs to feel comfortable and the tutor must maintain an air of professionalism at all times. I believe I am prepared to tutor student and I look forward to the experience. Thank you for the opportunity.

Sincerely,

Shereen Brown