Frames of Reference about Urban Schools

A black teenager swaggers into the school building, backpack slung carelessly over his shoulder. A popular hip-hop song plays in the background as he passes through a metal detector and then fist-bumps an awaiting throng of rowdy, baggy pants-wearing friends.

Yes, it’s the sort of stereotypical urban high school scene you might see on television – one that pops into my mind when I think of an urban school system, having neither attended nor taught in one. But are such gaps in one’s resume necessarily an insurmountable detriment? Not if you use work and life experiences, as I have, to derive lesions about how all people behave in social interactions, regardless of the setting, and remain committed to learning anew as situations present themselves. Leaving aside my assumptions about urban environments, such experiences tell me that the particulars may vary in different cultural contexts, but the core social encounters remain the same. This insight has shown me the importance of striving for professionalism and consistency in a working relationship with students and colleagues, regardless of the work environment.

News reports and popular culture tell us that drugs, violence, gang activity, truancy and illiteracy are problems of urban school systems. Of course: They’re the ones most under-funded and overcrowded, churning out the lowest standardized test scores. So you can expect the problems to be bad there.

But think again. I went to one of the best public schools in New Jersey. In my small suburban high school nearly all seniors graduated, and pretty much all who did went on to college. During all of my high school days I only knew of one dropout, and that was so unusual it was something of a scandal in my town. Yet that’s not to say my school didn’t have its own difficulties – ones stemming from the same social ills besetting cities.

While gangs in the typical sense of the word did not reign supreme in my high school, cliques certainly did. Almost every student could be lumped into a social group. Cliques garnered attention, asserted dominance and became notorious just like gangs in urban schools. Drugs, both illegal and legal ones, were just as much an issue in my upstanding high school as they are in schools with fewer advantages.

Rural schools, to judge from news reports, also face some of the same core social problems as urban schools. Illiteracy, violence and language barriers are all huge problems in these areas as well. One case in point, of course, is the Columbine High School shootings in Colorado, which put to rest any popular notion that violence and social pathologies are exclusive to inner-city schools. Another example is the much-reported abuse of the prescription drug oxycontin among rural youth. Gangs, drugs and violence in city schools get more attention – perhaps because the media are concentrated in cities – but they are problems in many places, if under the media’s radar and on a smaller scale.

I’ve even encountered such typical “urban” problems in education when I lived in rural Spain. As a teacher there for a school year, I found that maintaining student interest in the subject matter at hand was just as difficult as I’d imagine it is in American city schools. Often, I found out from colleagues, students from rural populations exhibited little understanding of the importance of schooling and opted not to go on to college. Just like many American youths (urban or otherwise), Spanish youths had ambitions that were short-term – obtaining an unskilled job and making money right after secondary school. Gangs, drugs and drinking also were prominent in the social life of many Spanish teenagers I observed.

I’ve recognized the same common denominators in college education. The Pennsylvania State University, where I attended as an undergrad, has more than 40,000 students and one of the biggest campuses in the country. It’s bigger and more diverse – in terms of racial, ethnic and social groups – than some places that call themselves cities, so naturally urban social dynamics come into play.

Underage drinking and drug use were probably the biggest dilemmas faced on campus when I went to college. All too often, alcohol abuse and drug problems ended in withdrawal from school. As it can occur with urban high schoolers, many university students are unaware of the effort and participation needed. They ultimately drop out because they confuse their priorities and are not prepared for the demanding academics. This typical urban center problem is all too common in higher education.

What are college fraternities and sororities, but a more elite version of gangs? There were, and continue to be, countless stories of hazing and abuse reported on college campuses. The same sorts of dominance and acceptance issues are as apparent nowadays in universities as in urban high schools.

One of the most looming matters of contention in urban school districts is one of funding. Countless debates have been mounted over the years about where the problems and the solutions to funding issues lie. There’s no denying that bureaucracy plays a major role. And neither urban school districts nor public universities can escape it. Issues about where money should be appropriated and how to measure that appropriation are one in the same when it comes to any type of educational institution.

In my beliefs about urban centers, it’s clear that social groupings have infinite commonalities although the geographical context may change. Urban environments are by no means the only situations in which educational and social hardships occur.

As I’ve now entered the working world, I’m beginning to unearth some of its social intricacies. Many aspects of my current professional environment are essentially like high school, only in a different setting. Issues with authority figures (bosses), cliques (company departments) and bureaucracy (accounts payable) have followed me in my later-life professional experiences. I can’t help but be reminded of newspaper stories of inner-city students acting out when I encounter first-hand managerial problems.

And that’s a lot of what I believe a classroom entails: Management. My social experiences have taught me that as a future teacher I’ll need to become an expert juggler to conduct a classroom. Management of time, lesson materials and student progress are only some of the things I’ll have to focus on. From my experience, most classroom conflicts have occurred when students are idle or perceive a lack of authority. I may have to be more diligent of this fact if I end up in an urban school. I know that I will need to be energetic and exciting as I teach a class, but also sure that appropriate consideration has been placed on discipline and structure.

I’ll also have to place due consideration on the lesson plan and subject matter constraints that are sure to come with any school district. Although these issues in urban schools might shine under a brighter spotlight – like with the strict No Child Left Behind Act – I know that I’ll be dealing with them in any future teaching job. The best I can do now is to prepare myself for the bureaucratic processes that are sure to follow me. These beliefs would serve me well in an urban environment or in the haughtiest of private schools.

As I contemplate my knowledge about urban centers, I can’t help but wonder why many educators face extreme difficulty in this environment. Is the fact that they have preconceived notions about how their students will interact essentially setting them up for failure? I’ve found that cumulative social experiences, whether in the classroom environment or out on the street, unite human beings. People, regardless of their location, tend to behave similarly. Therefore, my future teaching style can only reflect that.

I’m certain of a few unwavering standards. I know that in my interaction with colleagues and students I will always be professional and prepared. I will strive to be relatable and personal when dealing with any subject matter, as I feel it’s a great way to capture attention. I will aim for excellence, both in my work as an educator and in the work of my students. Whether I work in an urban center or in the middle of farmland, I will never change any of these ideals.