Equality 101

In my last post, I discussed how I might use the seemingly elementary activity of show-and-tell to introduce students to a foundational concept of college-level composition: the Burkean Parlor metaphor. Frequently expressed as the simpler conversation metaphor, this metaphor illustrates what thinkers, researchers, scholars and, most importantly, writers do: we listen to a conversation; we form our own opinions about this topic of conversation as a result of listening; we eventually add our own voices (opinions) to the conversation; and our voices become part of the conversation that others listen to and use to form their opinions. Read the rest of this entry →

In my last post in the Contingent Equity series, I wrote:

The inherent nature of adjunct teaching creates situations where teachers do not and cannot work at their best level. Just as students need to have their basic needs met to learn, teachers need to have their basic needs met to teach. Adjuncts often do not have their basic needs met, and this needs to change.

Last week, The Chronicle published an article called “A Canadian College Where Adjuncts Go to Prosper” that outlined the ways in which one community college is making inroads toward equity for adjuncts. Read the rest of this entry →

Twenty years ago today the first President Bush signed a landmark bill into law for Americans with disabilities known the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  According to the United States Department of Labor’s website, this act “prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, transportation, public accommodation, communications, and governmental activities. The ADA also establishes requirements for telecommunications relay services“.  While the ADA certainly does not mean that the battle for equality for people with disabilities is finished, the bill took an enormous step in the right direction. In terms of employment and accessibility, the ADA laid some groundwork for a system of checks and balances to ensure equality for people with disabilities.  Obviously the battle for equality for people with disabilities still rages on and the ADA is not perfect despite the various amendments that have been made to it over the decades, but the most significant part of ADA is the government’s attempt to raise the American public’s awareness of, respect for, and expectations of people with disabilities.  Unfortunately, it did take a country as wealthy as the United States until 1990 to take this step, but our government finally took that step.  Personally, the ADA and the future amendments to the ADA have brought me some comfort having a sibling with mental retardation.  As she toils in the workplace like the rest of us I feel better knowing that there are some layers of protection ensuring that my sister gets more than a semblance of fair treatment in the workplace. Read the rest of this entry →

During my vacation with my boyfriend and a couple of our friends (to Maui! So fun!), we had a discussion about whether the US should name English as its official language (ironic considering that Hawaii names both English and Hawaiian as official languages). This is a debate fraught with political, emotional, and cultural turmoil, primarily because laws that proclaim English as the official language of a state or nation have far-reaching consequences, especially when it comes to education. Indeed, my conversation with my friends bordered on dramatic simply because we all have had vastly different experiences with people who speak other languages in our work and personal lives (it should be noted that we are all white native speakers).

Before this conversation, I hadn’t really questioned what I learned about the English-only/official English movement as an undergraduate, which is summed up rather nicely by this position statement by CCCC/NCTE:

The National Language Policy is a response to efforts to make English the “official” language of the United States. This policy recognizes the historical reality that, even though English has become the language of wider communication, we are a multilingual society. All people in a democratic society have the right to education, to employment, to social services, and to equal protection under the law. No one should be denied these or any civil rights because of linguistic differences. This policy would enable everyone to participate in the life of this multicultural nation by ensuring continued respect both for English, our common language, and for the many other languages that contribute to our rich cultural heritage. Read the rest of this entry →

Every year, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) evaluates US public school students in the 4th, 8th, and 12th grades on a set of predetermined subjects. (Not all the subjects or all the grades are tested in any given year, although it’s not clear to me how they decide). The results are aggregated in what they call “the Nation’s Report Card,” and they post the report data on their website as well, so you can play around with it. The “Report Card” gives the national average on the tests, compares each of a bunch of test sites to that average, and then compares each test site to the average of its state. Each site’s page also includes a graph which compares the performance of students in different racial/ethnic groups at that site, and another chart comparing the average scores of kids at the site who qualified for the free lunch program and the average scores of the program’s participants nationally. Read the rest of this entry →

I am testing out a new novel with my English II classes: Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya. The traditional English II syllabus called for To Kill a Mockingbird, a classic modern American piece and a standard in traditional high school curriculum. There are several reasons behind my decision: (1) Several of my students were in Pre-AP English last year and they already read Mockingbird (and most had nothing positive to say about it). (2) To Kill a Mockingbird takes awhile to get into, and I am afraid that at this point in the year, if I don’t get my students’ attention right away, I will lose them now rather than sometime in May. (3) I am wondering if this novel will appeal to my students more? (I have a strong Hispanic population and influence.) Bless Me Ultima focuses on weaving the complex cultural tapestry between Spanish, Mexican, and Native American cultures in the Southwest. Seems a perfect fit for grabbing my students’ attention! It is, like Mockingbird, a bildungsroman story, but it is a coming-of-age of a young boy that may have more in common with some of my students. Quite frankly, my students don’t seem to be that interested in the racial inequalities of the ‘past’ (and yes, many consider the U.S. to be a post-racial environment). I am also at a loss of how (and a bit apprehensive) to touch the racial issues in a small town where I still have a student or two who sees no problem using the n-word on practice TAKS essays… Read the rest of this entry →

Merideth Garcia, 36, is a high school English teacher in Austin, Texas. She received her BA in English, teacher certification and M.Ed. in Language and Literacy from the University of Texas at Austin, and she is currently working on her MA in English Literature at the Bread Loaf School of English. She has an eleven-year-old daughter, Merlin, and a nine-year-old son, Gavin, and when she’s not teaching teenagers, wrangling elementary school children, or tearing up the house and garden with ever-more unrealistic projects, she keeps a blog at www.existentialmom.com.

I teach English II in an urban school of 1800 students. I spend most of my day with 15-year-olds, and in every class, there are always a few who try my patience like you wouldn’t believe. Sometimes those people are my favorites, but even when they are not, perhaps especially when they are not, I take a moment before I open my mouth to respond to their latest attempt to derail class to remind myself that someone, somewhere, thinks this child is the best thing that ever happened to them.

Being a teacher and a parent of a school-age child sometimes feels like having a split personality. I can spend the entirety of my lunch break irritated that my first period students lacked focus and then defend my son’s right to daydream when his teacher makes the same complaint. For all the advantages of having both perspectives, I worry sometimes that the mother-me lets my students get away with murder and the teacher-me prevents me from storming my children’s school when I have concerns. Read the rest of this entry →

This series began last week with an introduction to the topic of contingent faculty equity and some of the big, broad reasons all educators have a stake in how well contingent faculty are treated.

Among the many problems contingent faculty face in their jobs is the lack of job security, which usually results in a loss of academic freedom. Contingent faculty, by definition, do not have access to any form of official or documented tenure. Typically, adjuncts are renewed just weeks before the start of the next semester; many adjuncts have been given courses mere days before the first day of classes. I actually got my first adjunct gig two weeks before the start of the semester, and I’ve gotten many teaching gigs just weeks or days before the semester begins. Read the rest of this entry →

Although all districts are feeling the financial crunch of recent years putting the equal funding argument aside, I am curious about the potential benefits and consequences. The secret to success on state tests appears to be financial, wealthier schools perform better. Should school funding be equal? Is it fair to the wealthier school districts? How fair is our current system for poorer districts? I can understand both sides of the issue, I grew up in a district that faced a myriad of financial problems which affected my educaton. I am proud of my education, which was excellent, as well as where I grew up, I learned things college did not offer. Nonetheless, financial issues were always visible, but would it have been fair to have another more privileged district supplement the lack of finances? Did the taxpayers of the other district earn their status or does a potential inherent privilege justify equality in funding? I do not have an answer, but I see a large issue looming in front of us.

Over the past few weeks, Ileana and others have been discussing the importance of teacher sabbaticals and self-care. Indeed, teachers need the same kinds of things to do their jobs well as students need: support, stability, guidance, compassion, and time to destress and unwind. Unfortunately, at many institutions of higher education, the majority of teachers do not have access to these basic requirements for a job well done.

These teachers are who we now call the new faculty majority, but they go by many names: adjuncts, contingent faculty, sessionals, seasonals, part-timers, non-tenure-track faculty, and so on. But many of these teachers share one thing: they are underpaid and overworked.

You’re probably thinking, well, yeah, aren’t all teachers underpaid and overworked? Pretty much, yes. Contingent faculty face a unique situation within this larger, systemic problem, which is that contingent faculty are often really, really underpaid:

Contingent faculty members, particularly part-time/adjunct faculty, are paid very low salaries (less than $2,700 per course on average.) They generally receive few, if any, health or pension benefits. This means that they must look for other ways to provide for themselves and their families, which diminishes the time and attention they can devote to the institution and to students. (AFT FACE Call to Action, 4 [PDF])

And really, really overworked:

The teaching loads associated with these positions are generally larger than those given to tenure-line faculty, leaving less time for the fixed-term faculty member to pursue scholarship or even keep up with developments in the discipline. Many of these positions are designated as “teaching only,” and therefore carry explicit limitations on the potential for support to pursue research or attend scholarly conferences, a real handicap for faculty seeking another academic job for the following year. These positions, like all contingent academic roles, are structured primarily to meet the needs of a department for instructional personnel, rather than the career objectives of junior faculty. (AAUP Contingent Faculty Index 2006, 7 [PDF])

Read the rest of this entry →