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A Home in the Classroom

Alex LaForest

Post University
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Introduction

A home, a backyard, a mother’s arms, all phenomenal examples of safe spaces for

children. Amongst that list most teachers would include school. However, the classroom has

becoming less and less of an all-inclusive environment. Expectations while not be unattainable

are being enforced through lenses that do not agree with majority of student populations.

Additionally, when teacher evaluations are based off of these expectations, added pressure is

doled out to both teacher and student. What was once a safe space for students is now becoming

an antagonist for their development and growth. Students are no longer comfortable in the

classroom, and thus stop attending or trying in school. If teachers can develop relationships with

their students, then the students will be more inclined to be present and strive to be successful in

school. Nevertheless, with English Language Learners and minority students, teachers need to

develop their relationship basis, opposed to the value of grades in the classroom.

Relationship Based Teaching

When teachers focus more on social factors opposed to the physical data, their teaching

can transcend the walls of the classroom. If a mathematics class is laced with a hidden

curriculum of humanitarianism, students are more inclined see the hidden lessons in the everyday

life. This can lead to students feeling as if school has more to offer than one to two meals a day

and books they are forced to read. As of 2010, 84% of Hartford, CT’s population was made up of

minorities, and White Non-Hispanic citizens that were college graduates outweighed the rest of

the population by almost 30% (Becker, 2014). With a skewed ratio as so, there is a disconnect

between minority students, the classroom, and their achievement. One of the main issues

administration holds with relationship-based instruction is the lack of enforcement on teaching.

Common core is viewed as the golden standard by some, and as a plague to the classroom by
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others. While it establishes a level playing ground, for many immigrant and minority students,

the level ground is still out of reach. This is where many teachers create practices to formulate

bonds with their students to peak interest, but again administration will view this critically as it is

not furthering the curriculum-based agenda.

Comforting the Classroom

Between academic struggles and language barriers, students maintaining a voice in the

classroom can be a struggle when it comes to a rigorous curriculum. Chris Emdin (2017) writes,

“A young person who is emotionally to the classroom as a cosmopolitan space will not only be

willing to learn in that classroom, but is committed to that classroom” (p. 105). This is what

educators strive for in their schools. Students who are champions for their classrooms. While a

student may not absorb every last word out of a teacher’s mouth, being present and open to

learning is the beginning of this venture, and through cosmopolitanism this can be accomplished.

The notion of cosmopolitanism is one facet of the larger Reality Pedagogy. Taher,

Mensah, and Emdin (2017) performed a case study where the Reality Pedagogy was

implemented with two urban immigrant students. The following was their findings, “[the] reality

pedagogy creates a socially supportive space for immigrant students, and promotes overall

growth of students in urban classrooms” (p. 1860-1861). Teachers fight for the success of their

students day in and day out, being able to connect with students on a level deeper than the course

material ensures success beyond the classroom. Student-teacher connections do not need to be

life changing conversations, it can be a simple bond over a common interest, show, music, etc.

School Culture
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Just as the phrase goes, change starts at home, student success starts with the teacher. In

order to procure successful students, administration needs to obtain teacher success. Kathy

Pechtold (2018) writes, “that a poor climate and culture for the adult leaders has a

direct effect on student performance” (p. 46). She goes on to discuss how administration can

alleviate teacher concerns. Pechtold boils adult leadership down to visibility, communications,

and relationships. By being able to assist teachers in these three capacities, student success can

be developed. Patrick Rodwell (2017) writes, “A TNTP study found that the average student

proficiency rates at schools with strong instructional cultures were 21% higher in math and 14%

higher in reading compared to schools with weak instructional cultures in the same district or

charter sector” (p. 1). As it is with most inner-city schools, students from shifting family

dynamics create a transient population, resulting in low test scores and attendance. This can

make it hard for teachers to continually push for proficiency without getting burnt out. Same

with administration. However, creating a workplace dynamic that promotes collaboration with

teachers, will extend to the students. Eventually the culture surrounding the school will become a

positive atmosphere striving towards success.

Part of empowering the teacher stems from the teacher’s pedagogical and social

competences. Administration while establishing relationships with their staff need to also help

their teachers continue their practice of learning. Maja Brust Nemet (2018) writes:

Teachers with high social and pedagogical competences can act to create a positive

school culture and positively influence students’ development. In effective and

productive schools with a positive culture, teachers are open, willing to help, make joint

decisions, are collegial, excellent at teaching, share the same goals and responsibility for

the results, and are thus a positive role model for their students and their parents. (p. 153).
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As teachers further their social and pedagogical competences they will be able to work towards

establishing a positive school culture and classroom climate. This will result with students being

more willing to take a stake hold in the classroom. As students do so, staff and student will be

able to continue working on closing the achievement gap.

Achievement Gap

The achievement gap between suburban schools and urban schools full of a minority

population is on the rise. As of 2017 minority groups form 39.3% of the United States population

(United States Census Bureau, 2017). With an increasing minority population being pushed

towards urban schools, students are feeling less inclined to partake in school activities. Parents

while speaking towards school success are making less of a physical effort to push academics.

Students need to be grasped by the school in a different manner. This needs to be relationship

based teaching. Once students have something to hold on to other than grades, their school

success will come afterwards.

When students continually shift schools and fail classes they come to believe the lie that

they are stupid. With false notions coming in from every direction for minority and English

Language Learners, they find it hard to fight for their own education. These students are

consistently told they are wrong because they do not know the language or they are fighting

through information they have not yet comprehended. Mark Rober (2018) discusses “The Super

Mario Effect” in his TedTalk. When failure occurs and points are continually deducted there is

less drive to continue to strive for success. Although, when failure occurs and there is permission

to try again, success is inevitable. Rober (2018) notes this as, “focusing on the princess and not

the pits”. Currently, when students fail tests, they fail, there may be an allowance to make it up,

but their grades will never be the same. Through the utilization of “The Super-Mario Effect”,
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students may fail one, two, three times, but once they have grasped the concept, or standard, they

pass. Students are allowed to try until they succeed. This sort of mindset promotes student

achievement and the ability to continue without self -depreciation.

Conclusion

While there is no clear answer to solve the issue of the achievement gap, this paper serves

as a means to offer a few strategies of how to help close the achievement gaps in learning.

Through pushing for cosmopolitanism in the classroom, teachers can help provide students a safe

space. By building up teacher skills and school culture, administration can work towards creating

a positive school climate and culture. This can be done by furthering pedagogical and social

competences and culturally responsive teaching practices. Finally, with the pressing issue of the

achievement gap, offering students the chance to attempt material again without repercussion

will promote student success. A teacher’s goal is to help students grow and develop their skill

and human beings, not to measure the speed of how fast students understand material. The more

teachers can work towards establishing students as leaders of the classroom, the less time, they

will have to stress about test scores and the race for success.
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References

Becker, P. C. (2014). Hartford Connecticut: Demographic Report. Retrieved from

http://www.hartford.gov/images/facts/HartfordDemographic2014_Complete.pdf

Emdin, C. (2017). For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood ... and the Rest of Yall Too: Reality

Pedagogy and Urban Education. Random House.

Nemet, M. B. mbrust@foozos. h. (2018). A Correlation between Teachers’ Social and

Pedagogical Competences and School Culture. Journal of Contemporary Educational

Studies / Sodobna Pedagogika, 69(3), 142–155. Retrieved from

http://search.ebscohost.com.postu.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=13

3472379&site=eds-live&scope=site

Pechtold, K. (2018). Changing School Culture A Case Study: It’s the simple things that realty

make the difference. Principal Leadership, 18(5), 44–47. Retrieved from

http://search.ebscohost.com.postu.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=12

7254667&site=eds-live&scope=site

Rober, M. (2018, May 31). The Super Mario Effect - Tricking Your Brain into Learning More |

Mark Rober | TEDxPenn. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vJRopau0g0

Rodwell, P. (2017). 3 Statistics That Prove Positive Behavior Drives Higher Student

Achievement. Retrieved from https://www.kickboardforschools.com/blog/post/3-

statistics-that-prove-positive-behavior-drives-higher-student-achievement

Taher, T., Mensah, F. M., & Emdin, C. (2017). Exploring the Impact of Reality Pedagogy:

Understanding Its Implementation on Urban Immigrant Students. Universal Journal of

Educational Research, 5(11), 1853–1862. Retrieved from


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http://search.ebscohost.com.postu.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ

1159753&site=eds-live&scope=site

United States Census Bureau. (2017). U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: UNITED STATES.

Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045217

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