>My concern deals with an ethical dilemma previously discussed on the list
>which is related to the above second paragraph. Bringing it to praxis,
when
>we attempt to deal with the massive inequality that dooms certain groups
of
>children (via changing the ways they are cultured, both in and out of
their
>immediate contexts), I think we are aware that we seek a bilateral change.
> I think we are past the old let's change/fix them attitude now.
I guess I am not convinced we are beyond the change/fix them stage. I am
speaking as a society not necessarily xcma members, but it seems that
change/fix them mentality is making a strong come back. On a local level
my kids school is in the process of becoming a Title school and the we will
beat the code into them if it kills them mentality is coming across very
clear. They of course are not saying it so bluntly, but rather framing it
as bilateral change. A notion of parents and teachers being partners which
really means parent replicating the school environment in their home.
>Eliminating the inequality in access and dev. of key literacy tools seems
>to be one of the few ways available in diminishing the transmission of
>poverty-related effects in a capitalist context where a small group owns
>most of the wealth anyway. In so doing, are we really deluded in thinking
>that success in such goals won't change us or the system/relations? I
think
>we do know it will change the us/them relations over time and that is
>precisely what the goal is (a meritocracy but only after dev. of the
>cultural line is made more even).
I am curious of what a more even cultural line would be? For me its
important to separate what you term as poverty related effects which sees
the poverty totally in the negative and value-belief systems that differ
from the middle-upper class. Often in teacher education class differences
is seen totally in the negative. While I would be the last to disagree that
there are certain elements of the capitalist system that cause poverty
related effects, I fear a more even cultural line would become more or less
assimilating one into the dominant class.
Nate
Nate Schmolze
http://www.geocities.com/~nschmolze/
schmolze who-is-at students.wisc.edu
People with great passions, people who accomplish great deeds,
People who possess strong feelings even people with great minds
and a strong personality, rarely come out of good little boys and girls
L.S. Vygotsky