Part of the Plan, Part of the Problem

       Reading Notes #2     

        To reiterate the point from last week’s reading: government systems are functioning as intended. Lipman (2011) and Anyon (2014) deftly connect neoliberalism (an economic concept that evolved from the erosion of Keynesian economics) to the American education system and explains how the former has deeply affected the latter with toxic capitalism. While many teachers and administrators are blaming families and communities (and each other) for the “gap” in test scores, it can be argued that specific and intentional federal policy is the root cause (Anyon, 2014; Lipman, 2011; Noguera & Syeed, 2020).

Close to Home

My high school is what Anyon (2014) would describe as a part of the “urban, financially distressed suburbs” adding that “most metro area poverty today is urban poverty” (p. 34). Today we had what has been termed a digital learning day which is asynchronous instruction that is intended to give teachers more planning time. In the four and a half hours I spent in meetings, we only managed to reduce students and instruction to test scores and indicators of performance aligned with our county’s version of the common core. Those in charge know little more about our students than test scores.

            My high school also exists in a suburb undergoing gentrification, utilizing policies such as the “’revitalization’ for a new middle class clientele” as new “high-profile gentrification complexes” are taking over the downtown area just a mile from the school (Lipman, 2011, p. 32). Minimum wage, which has decreased since 1967 due to factors like inflation, makes affording the thirty-dollar latte and lunch sandwich at the upscale, nonbrand-named coffee house nearly an impossible reality for most of the people who originally lived in the area (Anyon, 2014). Despite the incredibly diverse group of students I teach, I see mostly White families frequenting the comic shop, bars, and restaurants. Lipman (2011) writes “the consequences of all this for low-income and working-class people can be disastrous as real estate speculation pushes up property values and property taxes and leads to the displacement of public housing residents and working class renters and home owners (p. 32).

Part of the Plan, Part of the Problem

            Anyon (2014) has been an incredibly challenging read for me because it is forcing me to face parts of my racist ideas that I had thought I had risen above, or some-such nonsense. The reality of intention versus impact has been playing out in my classroom with conversations about hard work, skills, and college. The neoliberal agenda explains that the reason why standards based, measurable assessments are so important is so student growth can be quantified, and teachers can best prepare students for the real world of literacy practices that are deeply married to critical reading and writing (Behrent, 2016; Blanchett & Zion, 2011; Fisher-Ari et al., 2017; Lipman, 2011). Yet, as Anyon (2014) argued, “this mantra is highly misleading” as most jobs are simply seeking workers – especially from marginalized communities. Discriminatory hiring practices, involving employers’ desire and judgement of soft skills, prevent people of color from obtaining entry level jobs based on dialect and/or appearance (Anyon, 2014). This discrimination starts in classrooms.

Teachers who internalize neoliberal messages, such as I have, are unwittingly setting up students for failure. Telling my students to work hard for test scores when there are not available jobs or opportunities to welcome or support them is simply feeding the pyramid needed to keep white men and the wealthy few at the top of the system. Because the system is working as intended, helping my students to work hard in the neoliberal system will never lead to their liberation.

            Ultimately, I am hopeful to explore the “workable solutions” that Anyon (2014) promises are available once the root of poverty is first examined (p.41). That said, “no amount of school reform as presently conceived will make the economy accept minority high school graduates in a more human manner” (Anyon, 2014, p. 62). I can work to create space for my students beyond neoliberal constructions, and work to see them as whole people who are so much more than test scores. Better yet, I can create space, experiences, and opportunities so my students can explore themselves, their culture, and the world in our classroom space.

These opportunities might look like reading groups where students explore characters and society and make connections to their world. These experiences could be researching gentrification in our community, and how to best support businesses that are locally owned. Our space will be filled with their voices as they share the beauty and joy shining through their spirits as they explore the possibilities through their ancestors who have written on the page before them. But before this work can continue, I first must admit to myself that I have been part of the problem and recommit to being part of the solution.

This is continued in a more personal and closer-to-home reflection here.

References

Anyon, J. (2014). Radical possibilities: Public policy, urban education, and a new social movement (Second edition. ed.). Routledge.

 

Behrent, M. (2016). More than a score: Neoliberalism, testing, & teacher evaluations. Workplace: A Journal for Academic Labor, 26(1), 50-62.

 

Blanchett, W., & Zion, S. (2011). [Re]conceptualizing inclusion: Can critical race theory and interest convergence be utilized to achieve inclusion and equity for African American students? TEACHERS COLLEGE RECORD, 113(10), 2186-2205.

 

Fisher-Ari, T., Kavanagh, K. M., & Martin, A. (2017). Sisyphean neoliberal reforms: The intractable mythology of student growth and achievement master narratives within the testing and TFA era. Journal of Education Policy, 32(3), 255-280. https://doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2016.1247466

 

Lipman, P. (2011). Neoliberal urbanism and education policy. In The new political economy of urban education: Neoliberalism, race and the right to the city (pp. 22-44). Routledge.

 

Noguera, P., & Syeed, E. (2020). City schools and the American dream 2: The enduring promise of public education. Teachers College Press,.