Differences Between Segregated and Desegregated Settings

If the imperatives in the two situations are basically the same, the teacher need not worry about demands on his flexibility and perceptivity beyond those that normally exist in any classroom setting. If, however, these imperatives differ with respect to whether the school or classroom is segregated or desegregated, an instructional approach appropriate in one situation might be inappropriate and hence might require greater or lesser modification in the other. Particularly in view of the fact that teachers who change positions or assignments frequently move from one situation to the other and that educators, like other people, tend to rely on methods and approaches which have worked in the past without critically examining their applicability to a new or changed setting, differences between the two situations may result in ineffective educational programming unless adequate attention is given to analyzing the meaning and implication of these differences. Based on experience and observation in both desegregated and de facto segregated schools, I believe that there are important considerations which differentiate the two situations with respect to the teacher's efforts to help Negro students perform at the highest possible level in the school. Those differences center on -the issues of (1) teaching concerning the history and culture of Black Americans and (2) motivating and encouraging black students to set high standards for themselves in the classroom

Geography · Sociology · Diverse Education Studies and Reforms · Education Systems and Policy · Psychology · School Choice and Performance