Parts of a Whole

These past few weeks my mind has been geared towards the purpose and roles of school district Board meetings. It was almost a month ago that I participated in Northshore's and it wasn't until this last weekend when I began writing my paper on their agenda that I really began to disect and analyze the meeting in its entirety.

I arrived fairly early to find only a few people preparing for the day's meeting. I sat quietly as I curiously ran over possible scenarios in my mind. I began asking myself in wonderment if all the seats surrounding me would eventually fill up. My biggest concern as the newby was how formal and uncomfortable I would feel sitting in this meeting. My preconcieved notions were fairly accurate when I found myself struggling to understand the agenda and all of the initiatives being discussed. I found our assignment to be highly valuable in the sense that now I am no longer hesitant or curious about what goes on during these meetings. I assume this to not be the last meeting I attend.

To my surprise, the room quickly filled and the meeting began. I began writing notes as quickly as possible to not miss a single important word. I found the guest speakers to be admirable. Teachers, parents, principals, students, and community members were present and I felt as if my own presence was worth something. Is it not important to know what decisions are being made in our schools? Why weren't more families there?

As far as budget goes, I feel the topic has been exhausted over time but that doesn't go to show the topic is ever any less important. Budget affects each and every member of the community and this was evident at the meeting. Passionate members of the district stood to voice their opinnions regarding I-728. While this discussion was depressing for it brought about a pessimistic dark cloud above us all, there was one uplifting presentation that followed. While this next presentation was not closely linked to budget issues it did however touch upon much needed resources for the Spanish speaking families within the district. Iram Aguilar's words were inspiring. Irma shared with us her dedication towards Natural Helpers. With much of the readings we have been sharing in class, multiculturlism has been a bold topic of choice.

As we have discussed from the beginning, it is often extremely difficult to meet the needs of every individual even without language barriers. It was Irma's presenation at the meeting that almost brought light to a situation I knew little about. How are teacher's helping ELL students? Lets be honest, it is not realistic for teachers to learn every native language, this does not mean we stop or give up when we find ourselves struggling to relate or communicate with eachother. If we seek outside help and if the help is willing to be there, then I see a strong communial commitment setting a positive example.

From the movie we watched in class based on the struggle for educational equality, the 1950's was an extremely segregated time for schools. Not only was race a means for separation but so was gender. Teachers were not left out of this equation either. American history is known for separating people into groups and I believe that we aim to de-track but it's always easier said than done. If language barriers create another means for grouping students it is obvious that education is often unequal and many would argue it's often unfair. Linda Perlstein mentions in her book "Tested" that "Vast gaps in abilities exist in any given school" (p. 145) So what is there to be said about unequal fairness? In all reality, there really isn't a whole lot to be said. I am still trying to figure out how to keep a happy medium of helping the individual while still making them feel part of the whole.