Group 3 Discussion

McDonough discusses how many white teachers enter the profession holding numerous stereotypes about the minority students they will be teaching. BC states “teaching for social justice” as part of its mission. In light of McDonough’s article, do you think BC is fulfilling this part of the mission? If not, how could the school do a better job?

Picower states, “Of course, asking all professors to address issues of equity in their courses also requires professional development opportunities for faculty. Successful teaching experiences in urban public schools should become mandatory qualifications for any new faculty hires.” Based on Picower’s analysis in the article, how would you define “successful teaching experiences in urban public schools”? Would traditional views of successful teaching experiences be enough to guarantee that a faculty member would be successful in this role?

Question 3- Based on Freedom Writers

Last year, as a teacher's aide in a BPS middle school class with a white female teacher, I was part of a class in which students watched Freedom Writers and then participated in a discussion based on the movie. Why do you think the teacher decided to show this movie to the students in school? Do you think this was an appropriate learning tool? If you think showing this film was a good choice, what sort of questions and discussion do you think should have accompanied the film?