I did not attend kindergarten-there was none when I was growing up in the sixties. I started class one at a government primary school then called council school in Kumba Town. That would be an equivalent to a public school in the USA. The school building was a standard government school building and I really do not remember anything about resource availability. There was no technology in the classroom-not that any school had one or that teachers had to use them then so it did not matter. There was a blackboard that stood on an aisle and the teacher used chalk-so did pupils in class one who had to write on smaller hand held black boards called 'free arm boards, aka 'slates'
I attended class three thorugh six at a Presbyterian primary school (P.S. Wum) owned and managed by the Presbyterian church in another town where my mother was transfered to work as a nurse in a government hospital. Also this town was the capital of another Division, Menchum Division, it was not as populated and diverse as my previous school. Most of the pupils in the school were the indigenes (from Wum region) and spoke their language in school. Almost all the non indigenous students' parents were civil servants who had been posted to work in different public offices. Most of the teachers were also from Menchum division and were trained. The school buildings were not as presentable as those of my previous government primary school. Major instructional resources included the blackboard on aisles and chalk. Textbooks were not provided to students who had to buy them. Like my K2 primary school, there was no library in the school.
My mother was transferred again to another city, Bamenda, which was and is still the capital of the North West Province. I attended a Presbyterian primary school, (P.S. Azire) class seven, located in a bigger city that was more cosmopolitan than Wum. The student population was more diverse. The school structure was typical of the Presbyterian schools and students had nothing against the buildings. However, looking back, I would say the structures of all my primary schools, especially the church schools, had much to be desired.
All my elementary aka primary schools were located in the township with a diverse population in terms of tribes except one, P.S. Wum that had mostly indigenes. English was a second language for every student as it was a common language for communication introduced by the colonial master, England. The primary language spoken by all the students was broken English aka pidgin English aka African ligua franca or 'bush English' Teachers had what they were required and needed to teach the students-blackboards and chalks-I do not know if the school provided them with the textbooks they used, but I believe they did.
Were my primary schools urban schools? Tough question. To be honest, I do not know based on my current knowledge on urban education.
Samantha Fairless
ReplyDeleteUrban Education 471
My K-12 Experience Assignment
Although I currently live in Naperville, Illinois I spent the majority of my life in Southern California, where I attended three public schools throughout my k-12 schooling. I lived in the suburbs of California and all three of the schools I attended were what I would categorize as suburban schools. I attended a public elementary school from Kindergarten to 6th grade called Linda Vista. The majority of students and faculty came from white, middle-class families, and although this elementary school offered a wide variety of cultural lessons academically, there were few cultural differences between the people occupying it. This elementary school had numerous resources such as a library, computer lab, before and after school programs, and dedicated teachers who for the most part had been teaching there for many years. My classrooms were not overcrowded and the teachers could provide each student the attention they required. The Middle School and High School that I attended were very similar to each other, and the majority of students that attended my middle school Cerro Villa filtered into my high school Villa Park. Both of these schools offered me a more diverse setting than my elementary school, but I would not categorize either as urban. Although my middle school and high school were overcrowded and fewer resources were available in comparison to my elementary school we still had many resources available to us such as: before and after school programs, sports, tutoring, various clubs, teacher availability and college prep programs. I consider my middle school and high school experiences different from my elementary school experience because from 7th to 12th grade my schools offered a more diverse mix of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and culture. In southern California many public schools are comprised of a large majority of Hispanic, Asian, and Caucasian students. The least represented race in my schools was African Americans. However, even with a more diverse population, the largest percentage of students attending all three of my schools was white. I would not consider any of my k-12 schools urban, but in fact I would consider then the opposite of urban. The majority of students were very successful, we had high graduation rates, and the majority of students moved on to four-year universities, two-year junior colleges, or trade schools.
Sheri Florio
ReplyDeleteEDU 471
Growing up as a child I attended elementary school at St. Ignatius Loyola Grammar School on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The majority of students who attended school there were white and from upper to middle class families. Aside from the classrooms for each grade level, the building contained a gymnasium, cafeteria, computer lab, art room, and an advanced mathematics class room. As I approached my last few years of grammar school I can recall the excitement of seeing “Smart Boards” for the first time. When I entered 9th grade at Archbishop Molloy High School, “Smart Boards” were found in almost all of the classrooms. Archbishop Molloy is located in the borough of Queens, New York. Queens is known for its diversity, and the student population at Molloy reflected this diversity. However, Molloy was still majority white and students were from middle class families. The high school I attended had many more students than my grammar school, but there was adequate space to meet the needs of all of the students. The school had two gymnasiums, an outdoor baseball field and outdoor track, chemistry, computer, and biology labs, a library and more. Both my grammar and high schools had devoted teachers and guidance counselors who were always willing to help. I would not be where I am today without them and my success as a student is largely due in part to them. That all being said, I would conclude that my elementary and high schools were not urban. They did not lack resources, the students were not of low socio-economic status, graduation rate was high, and there was equity among the students and faculty. Both schools also offered many after school clubs and extra-curricular activities. Therefore, the schools I attended do not seem to fit the description of an urban school.
I first attended kindergarten through 2nd grade in an affluent suburb in upstate New York. The school was k-5, and I remember thinking it was huge. It was a very nice school from what I can remember. The teachers and principal were very nice; I remember the principal dressing up in funny costumes and visiting classrooms. Looking back, this was a very nice school. Before starting 3rd grade my family moved to Uxbridge, MA. I went to Uxbridge public schools for grades 3-12. In 3rd grade we started with about 120 kids, nearly all of whom were white upper middle class students. Taft Elementary school was a relatively new building with a lot of resources. I remember it had a wonderful library, art room, and computer room. The gym was not very nice but since I was in 3rd/4th grade I didn't notice. I moved up to Whitin Middle School for grades 5-8. A little older, the school was still pretty nice. There was a relatively new gym and a large library. There were plenty of extracurricular activities and clubs to participate in. People complained of overcrowding, but I never found the classes overly large. I attended Uxbridge High School for grades 9-12. The academics were very good, and the teachers were dedicated and knew each student personally. However, the building was falling apart. The ceilings leaked when it rained or snow melted, the ac/heat didn't work properly, the parking lot was too small, the auditorium was made out of old gym floor, and things were always falling off and breaking. However, my class thought of this as adding to our "small town charm"; it was something we were used to. We had few computers and they were mostly old. We did not have a lot of textbooks either. None of this really bothered the students, but we almost lost our accreditation. I graduated with 98 other people. Most of the losses came from people school-choicing out because of the accreditation issue, some moved, only 2 or 3 dropped out. It took the town 11 years to finally pass the vote to build a new high school. Construction has started, our accreditation is saved, and within a few years students will enjoy a gorgeous new building with real science labs and tons of space. Even though my high school wasn't perfect, I would not classify it as urban because the education I received there was still very good and there was no diversity.
ReplyDeleteJUST WONDERING!
ReplyDeleteIn our recent class sessions we have examined characteristics of urban schools that include limited resources, lack of qualified teachers, low graduation rates etc. Will these schools become'non urban schools'if they acquire most of the needed resources?