Educational Homogeneity
I’m Taking the Unfavorable Side of the Argument
The United States of America was once lauded as a land of diversity. Diversity has not been nurtured. It has been tolerated. It has even been used as propaganda.
Homogeny keeps us feeling safe, soothes the basest part of our instinct to survive. Throughout every discipline there are myriad papers, research, and analyses—Psychology, Anthropology, Literature—that look through the lens of “Other.” It is both ridiculous and horrifying that we as a species and as a country have taken for granted that we are somehow above—or past—this deep seated instinct. Should we be? I think so. We are not threatened by “Other.” That is a created, knee-jerk reaction to a biological response to survive at all costs. Those who think we are some grand high beings, instead of animals, need only look at our cruelty to anyone deemed as “Other.” More and Different are not a threat, they are another pair of hands, another set of skills, another type of bread to enjoy. These things can only help aid survival. So when did America stop embracing diversity?
It never did.
Okay, I know I’ve said all this before. I am saying it again because yet another perfect example of homogeneity reared its head in the California school system this week. Similar to the No Kid Left Behind program, under the guise of promoting and protecting all students, it does them a disservice. Naturally, it disproportionately affects Asian American, Black, and Hispanic children (and any other child who is different).
A Washington Post article announced that California is hoping to de-track math in the coming year. That means rather than separating kids who have advanced aptitude for math, they will return to pooling them altogether. I see how some could argue that filtering students this way might cause feelings of inadequacy. From a learning standpoint, however, asking anyone to do work they can’t do, mixed with others who can, seems much more demoralizing and sets everyone up for failure and bullying.
A mother interviewed by The Post said, “She saw it bringing children like hers down and said schools should try to bring low-achieving students up instead. ‘Don’t put down other kids who are really hard-working.’” What logic is there in bringing everyone to the lowest common denominator? Especially in education, we should be elevating, not diminishing, not compromising or even equalizing. Equalizing access? Absolutely! Immediately! But “equal” still suggests a balancing act, a seesaw where one side has to fall for the other to stop scraping the ground.
When talking about learning, we need to raise the standard, increase staff, add specializations, programs for teachers to better prepare them for a wider range of student learning needs and abilities. It’s not necessarily that “low-achieving students” aren’t “hard-working.” More likely they struggle with focus, issues at home, or the material itself. There is so much to do and so many ways to improve that DO NOT consist of expecting everyone to learn the same way.
Everyone deserves to be treated with respect and kindness. So many of the flaws in our education system are supposedly due to an attempt to include, when what they expose is fear and denial. If you defend homogeneity by calling it inclusion, you are not showing respect, you are asking for conformity. Celebrating people’s differences is not treating them as “Other.” Celebrating diversity shows respect, kindness, interest, and the ability to achieve more than just survival. In school, it’s the equivalent of accepting the lowest passing grade—pass the test, screw the material. The education system, the state of California, and the United States cannot afford to lower standards any further; we are already drowning.
May Nerd-dom abound!
Katrina pavlovich
The Washington Post “Can honors and regular students learn math together?” by Laura Meckler 6/4/2021
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/06/04/california-math-class-detrack-race-equity/
Highlights:
Cited research from the Post article showing the opposing argument in favor of de-tracking.
Cited research showing the lack of progress on closing the racial achievement gaps in the Post article.
https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-resurgence-of-ability-grouping-and-persistence-of-tracking/