Portrait of a Classroom Assumptions

Before going into the classroom, I guess I assumed there were groups of students who would be excited to learn and groups of students who would hate school and never participate. This assumption came from thinking back to my fellow high school classmates. At my high school, we were separated from 9th grade into two groups: those who planned to go to college and those who did not. This may have a lot to do with my assumption. I have realized this is not a black and white situation but has a lot of gray area. There are days some students are excited and engaged and there are days that the same exact students are falling asleep or doodling on their page while chatting with neighbors. Something I have come to realize while being in the classroom, however, is that regardless of what the students say to their friends about hating the book or not wanting to do the work, more often than not, they are at least trying. No one actually wants to fail.

Going into this experience, I had a lot of people asking me what the students would be like at the school. They assumed the students would be rude, violent, and poor because it is a public school in the city. I think I assumed the students at this school would be more disruptive and violent than they actually are. I think this stems from reading about issues many public schools deal with when it comes to behavior and gang violence within their schools (a student was stabbed in the hallway recently at the high school around the block from my apartment). After finding out my placement, I researched The Urban Assembly (I did not realize at the time how many different schools there were). Based on The Urban Assembly website, I thought this school was only for students who were ‘at risk’ and from low income homes as the website states: “Reaching New York City’s most underserved children”. I assumed there would be more behavioral issues and perhaps there are more than I realize as I have not observed that many other classes.

In my Portrait of a Classroom, I wrote that I found it difficult to break down the socioeconomic status of the students through observation, but I had assumed that the students came from lower-middle class or lower class because the website says that 69% of the students receive free or reduced lunch. I guess it surprised me that many students had expensive backpacks, such as North Face, and designer name glasses. Because the students have a dress code to adhere to, it also makes it difficult to determine socioeconomic status based on the way students dress. Many students wear Hollister. I know that Hollister and North Face are not the most expensive brands, but I grew up in an area where most students came from lower class families and could not afford such clothing. The students who wore name brand clothing did not always have the money for it, though. Their parents would go to outlet stores and the Salvation Army in order for their children to keep up with the status quo. I have not asked the students about how they identify as far as their socioeconomic status because I do not feel comfortable doing so. I am not sure how I would talk to them about this.