Two Hundred Years of Pedagogical Thinking: Amber Band Explores Theories of Education
Where does the Long-View model come from, in terms of its theoretical orientation? How does it compare to other educational experiences? Since Winter Break, Amber Band – generally, this year’s oldest group of Long-View learners – has considered these questions and more as a part of a sustained inquiry into pedagogical models in Literacy Block. Dr. Flider, who leads Amber Band in Literacy, described the goals of the unit, saying “the idea here is to really give the learners an intimate sense of the educational project that is Long-View and the way that it truly is informed by two hundred years of pedagogical thinking. I also want them to be more informed "consumers of education" as they move into high school and college.”
In service of these goals, learners have listened to their teachers describe their own formative experiences in the “Educators on Education” interview series; read theories of education by writers from Bronson Alcott to Paulo Freire; debated each other over best practices; and conducted their own research into areas of interest in this field.
Today’s post features the research writing of Amber Band learner Makhai Lee: “Education in the Juvenile Justice System.” We’ll examine several excerpts from Makhai’s essay (full text here).
Makhai begins with a powerful overview of the context for his topic:
“Roughly 2,000 kids are detained every day in the U.S. Of the approximately 730,000 children arrested each year, roughly 86,900 remain incarcerated in public or private detention centers or some form of correctional facility. This is historically the lowest juvenile incarceration rates have ever been in the United States. However, even though the number of incarcerated children is at a record national low, there are still thousands of children in custody, many of which are at a middle school or high school age.”
Shortly afterward, Makhai poses his research question for the reader to contemplate, and explores several of its implications:
“Incarcerated children are legally required to receive an education, but is that education comparable to an equivalent public school education? One stark difference in their education is that detention centers are designed to prioritize keeping the children detained, rather than educating them. While these children are required to receive an education, and are as deserving as anyone else, they have still been convicted of breaking the law. “It’s nearly impossible to provide [a] good education in an environment where children often come to class in restraints, complete homework in their cell and are closely monitored by staff members armed with tasers,” says News 21 at Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. In fact, according to Peter Leone, a professor at the University of Maryland, “Routinely, [the students] can’t take books back to their unit. Routinely, there is no quiet time in the evening to do homework.” Aside from the fact that these children are considered prisoners before students, a second problem arises. According to Sino Esthappan and Victoria Lee, both writers for the Urban Institute, “more than half of all incarcerated youth possess math and reading skills below their grade level, and the majority have been suspended, expelled, or otherwise pushed out of traditional public schools.” Ironically, the lack of education and resources is potentially what lands children in detention centers.”
Makhai goes on to discuss the difficulty of providing an adequate “social education” in the context of detention, especially in conditions of solitary confinement. Further, he considers the disproportionate impact of detention-based education on people of color. In his conclusion, Makhai offers a clear argument for change in the policies that engender these conditions.
“Many experts agree that the education provided to our children in the justice system is lacking – both academically and socially. We have a responsibility to these kids to provide a standardized education, and arguably a better education in order to increase their likelihood of becoming productive and successful citizens. The state governments have a very unique – and currently very wasted – opportunity in that they have the ability to change these children’s future for the better. But instead, they are keeping them at the status quo, if not pushing them farther down.”
In composing extended research writing like Makhai’s, Amber Band learners synthesized the diverse elements of the unit.
As Dr. Flider commented, “They were picking up on themes that the Long-View teachers brought to the table during the Educators on Education series and tying those together with areas of interest. Moreover, they were just becoming aware of different pedagogical approaches and gaining schemas to speak to them.”
