their socialization experience
For the last two weeks before school started this fall, I was sent as a student teacher to an elementary school. I didn't have a choice which school or grade I would be assigned to. It was luck of the draw. I ended up in a fifth grade class room. I had two weeks alone with the techer before the students would arrive. In those two weeks, I saw only the tip of what was to come.
In the first half hour, I found out that my lead teacher is ex-military. She is a republican...far right Christain Fundamentalist. There are 40 American flags or American flag paraphenelia around the room. I did actually count them and then I tried to ignore them and any other pro-conservative-American-government propaganda I saw, including 8x10 photos and bumper sticker for the Bush campaign and a tiny thumnail photo of Kerry.
Then, the students came. One parent transfered their child to another school on account of the room being too politically one sided. The teacher defended herself against the principal's questioning by pointing to a poster of Bobby Kennedy, and to a flag with Bob Marley's face on it that says Freedom across the bottom.
The first two days were spent going over the rules, teaching them, reinterating them, learning the pledge of allegiance, and drawing American flags. The weekend homework was a packet of sheets on the American government. Never mind reading, writing, creative thought processes, or community building in the classroom. Never mind that 1/3 of the class speaks English as a second language. Never mind that 5 of the students don't speak English well enough to read/write at a 2nd grade level. As long as they know the rules for the room and all about the government, they'll be fine. She made sure to tell them that the government isn't perfect, though. Following, she promted with the question, "How can you make a change if you don't like the way things the government is doing?" She gave them about 2 seconds to think, and then said, "You vote." That's it. We can all see that that worked really well in 2000.
The following two weeks were filled with misery. She'd tell them to be prepared, and then scold them for doing something that she didn't tell them to, or having work out that she didn't specifically ask them to get out. She filled out problem reports that are kept online through students' academic careers that stated students were having academic problems. When she filled in the area of the specific concern, she put 'too chatty'. When she filled in the area for student strengths, she put 'sweet, comliant'
Compliant?? Since when is that an academic strength?
Other things she did that I saw that I couldn't believe:
-saying a student is special education when a student is reading a few grades behind because english is their second language
-grading unfinished standardized style tests that were untimed like they were finished and basing decisions about curriculum on the scores
-ignoring that three students said they can't see the board because they need glasses
-isolating a student at the back of the room for weeks
-using an accent when talking about latino/latina food and culture
-saying to me personally that the US could win the war by dropping pork over iraq to feed the people so they would starve to death
-for questions more than one answer, accepting answers from students she likes and telling students that she doesn't like they're answers are wrong
(example: telling one child she doesn't like that magic isn't involved in fantasy stories,the same girl that she told me has nothing in her head)
-telling a student if he doesn't stop twirling his hair (because it annoys her) that she would tell his dad to shave his head
-telling a student that if he didn't stop fiddling his pencil that she would duct tape his hands to the floor
-kids cannot use the bathroom, get a drink, or sharpen pencils unless the class is on break (2 times daily + lunch)
(this means if their pencil breaks, they can't do any more work. Then she yells at them for not having it done.)
-taking away a month of recess for one student who forgot to come inside to fininsh work at recess one day
-telling them they are never allowed to talk without raising their hands, then getting frustrated with them when no one chimes into group discussions
(they never know when she is asking a group question, or when she wants them to raise their hands)
-putting children in the corner for more that ten minutes at a time
(sometimes, she has all three corners full and multiplt people on the floor with clipboards)
-yelling at a student because they didn't know their father's phone number
(she doesn't even know the child's parents are divorced and the child lives with her mother and step-father, let alone what the situation is between
the childs mother and father after the divorce)
-upon finding out that one of her muslim students would not be allowed to enter a christain church sanctuary during a practice evacutaion, she
commented sarcastically to me that 'we wouldn't want her to turn into a frog or anything'
I could go on and on, but I'm tiring myself out
My point is that these kids are being socialized to be 'yes' people, do whatever authority tells them to without questioning (well, they could vote...haha), and pledge their allegiance to a country that won't take care of most of them.
I didn't even get started on the sexual socialization taking place.