Views about the Pedagogy of Poverty by Martin Haberman

In my view this is an attempt not to define what the pedagogy of poverty means, but to make teachers, and administrator’s aware of the methodologies and ideologies that strangle the system. This article is a scholarly attempt to be forthright about issues that plaque urban schools. Haberman attempts to engage in dialogue about teacher and student, analyzing from both perspectives what works and what doesn’t. He also makes a good argument for what it means to be a successful teacher, who is in control and one who is not.

It is my view that in order to create environments that produce progressive students in today’s society; all constituencies have to be involved. This shall include parents, business people, local politicians and anyone who interacts with the community at large. With this involvement the student will and should feel that there is genuine concern about the quality of their education.

Of course there are inherent problems with the pedagogies in urban schools. However I don’t think that they are insurmountable. It is my belief that in order to have positive results one has to recognize what works and what doesn’t, and we can’t look to place blame. Doing so accomplishes nothing; therefore critically thought resolutions to the problems are more effective.

There is a plethora of ideas that becomes mindful, while reading this article, and I can go on for pages dissecting the dialogue with my personal views. However Habeman is successful in bringing the most mundane issues regarding the pedagogy of poverty to the forefront.

New Approaches to Learning

I had the opportunity of viewing a documentary, Common Miracles: The New American Revolution In Learning, on new approaches to learning that was evocative and made me reflect upon the way I have seen our educational system work for many years. It was an exemplary laboratory of new approaches to learning. This documentary clearly demonstrated that the old ways of learning just aren’t adequate to tap the unlimited potential of the human mind.

While there were several excerpts that were thought provoking to me, there is one that stands out most poignantly. It involved some elementary school kids. They had to complete a classroom assignment that required the use of computers. The assignment was brought up on the monitor and the children weren’t given any further instructions. They were allowed to collaborate with other pupils and work in groups. The teacher wasn’t to give any help or instruction; they were left alone to accomplish the assignment.

This should have been called a course in wonderment, because the kids were so excited when they figured out for themselves how to accomplish the assignment . It became an exposition for the kids to display their cognitive skills and work on their own. They were using what is known as metacognitive skill. The teacher was interviewed and she stated ;“It was very hard not to intervene in this learning process”, however she was astounded at the results of this new approach as she watched. She was use to the old way of teaching; show and tell style.

It is so important for the new teacher to familiarize themselves with these new learning methodologies, because it cannot only make a difference in their lives-a sense of self fulfillment- but most importantly have a profound effect on the students’ level of comprehension and learning ability.

Thoughts, Views, and Observations relative to the Hodgkinson article.

This article deals specifically with the demographic changes that will affect not only urban school districts but suburban as well. It is neither perplexing nor a shock to me that the dynamic changes in demographics will impact all counties of the U.S in the not so distant future. About four years ago I was confronted with this reality on a trip to my home in Washington, D.C. I was returning to New Jersey and I stopped in Langley Park Maryland, only a half mile from Maryland University in Adelphi Maryland, which borders several middle class neighborhoods that at one time were dominated by white and black Americans. I only saw people of Latin descent and it became apparent that they were now the dominate culture in the area. I think it is imperative that educators, administrators, and civic leaders (politicians) take these changes seriously for the well being of us all. Most of these diverse individuals will become our future educators, doctors, lawyers, mathematicians, and administrators. I think these changes can be beneficial to society because we can become more enlightened about a multiplicity of diverse cultures. Being able to share and interchange views with diversity will enhance our awareness and make us all civil intellectual humans who can understand and tolerate each other. Educators, teachers specifically, need to work hard at fine tuning their curriculums to challenge and bring out the best in all students. It is so important not to stifle a student’s learning by using text only. The use of multimedia and various technologies may aide in better understanding the content matter.