School and society relationships and influences

Education

Reaction to the Reading - Chapter 15

The subject for discussion in this chapter is the culture of youth, and how it affects learning. It is extremely significant in that the educator must understand youth culture (or many youth cultures) to effectively reach and educate youth in the classroom, and making sense of this youth culture may be difficult for some educators. In addition, these cultures rapidly change, creating the need for the educator to consistently reevaluate and relearn the youth culture of the present. The position of the reading is that it is vital to understand these cultures and what shapes them to effectively educate the student. I selected this topic because it seems especially important in developing a relevant curriculum and classroom understanding of the students.

Perhaps the most significant part of this reading was the importance culture and ideology have in learning, and there are so many outside factors that illustrate this and add to the difficulty in learning ability. The school is a part of this culture, but often it can be seen as an outsider in the culture and community, and this helps put up barriers to learning. It is also important to note that there are several perspectives on these outside forces and how they affect learning and culture.

In addition, there is a distinct "youth culture" as well, and educators must understand that and understand how to deal with it effectively for education to be effective. In fact, there may be several different youth cultures present in the same school, making it more difficult to successfully understand and reach each one. The text states, "(Youth culture comes partly from local neighborhoods and partly from advertising campaigns, artists and performers, and so on") (Tozer, Senese, and Violas 469). In addition, youth culture is influenced by local and community culture and values, etc. All of this is somewhat surprising, and yet it makes sense. Today, more than ever before, the values of society come from a variety of outside sources, such as advertising, music, and television, and that it influences education and learning should come as no surprise.

Another important message in the chapter is how violence contributes to youth culture. The text states, "This is worth bearing in mind when we think that violence may be a part of youth culture. It is adults who create the television programs and movies and who create and sell the firearms and write the laws about them" (Tozer, Senese, and Violas 470). This is not surprising, and yet, it is often adults that are the most critical of youth and their specific cultures. It is true, youth have little say in what influences them, only that they are influenced and mostly at the choice of adults, whether it is family, the community, peers, or other elements of society. One wonders if it is possible to change this sphere of influence to something more positive without the agreement of all the elements - which would seem to be near impossible to accomplish.

It was also interesting to note that so many young people have trouble with the student-teacher relationship. It would seem that younger teachers might relate better to students, but this does not seem to be the case. The Hispanic students noted that teachers often gave them the answers, but did not explain how to arrive at the answers. It seems there is a wall between students and teachers that grows the longer the teacher is in the educational system, and that gives students a definite disadvantage. I am not sure how to conquer this, but it is clear it needs to be addressed and managed for educational opportunities to be effective and legitimate for all students, regardless of their background and youth culture.

It is not surprising that families play a vital role in the culture of youth, but it is surprising that family, and educating educators how to effectively deal with and include families in the process, is so lacking, especially as the student progresses through school. The text notes, "Researchers Hargreaves and Fullan claim, 'Nowhere is the two-way street of learning more in disrepair and in need of social reconstruction than [in] the relationship among parents, communities, and their schools'" (Tozer, Senese, and Violas 476). Frankly, this seems to be one of the most vital areas to understand, and yet, it seems to be at the bottom of the educational list. I would reconstruct these relationships if possible, and urge schools and curriculums to include more information to help prepare educators to blend these elements into the classroom and the curriculum.