EDUC272

Description

The challenges that young people face in urban schools has been a fixture in educational discourse and media for quite some time. From Stand and Deliver (1988) to season four of HBO's The Wire (2006) to the Boston Globe's The Valedictorian's Project the problems that students of color and teachers face in urban schools has been continuously presented in Hollywood movies, documentaries, the press for several decades. But what has recent scholarship about students of color urban schools revealed about the about their struggles and successes. Additionally, what are the shortcomings of this body of research. This course will draw on sociological lenses to provide an empirical, historical, and theoretical overview of issues that impact the education of students of color in urban schools. Through the analysis of various readings and other cultural artifacts, we will first explore the sociological framework for understanding how institution racism has and continues to shape the experiences of young people of color in urban schools. Next, we will examine the relationship between public discourse and policy as it relates to quality of the educational experience that students of color receive in urban schools. In essence, how has public discourse about urban schools and helped to shape the policies that guide the behaviors and approaches of its adult stakeholders. Moreover, how have urban school education policies throughout the past half-century impacted students of color? We will then move to a dialogue about the equity in public education in the United States. How different are urban schools from their suburban and rural counterparts? Is there equity? Next, we will forge forward with a series of conversations about the classroom, considering the various ways that racism impacts urban students' of color everyday academic experiences. To conclude, we will look toward potential interventions and counter narratives in research, policy, art, and activism that have the potential to help improve the experiences of students of color in urban schools.