Students Speak Out: Minnesota
Abdi Aynte, senior fellow/reporter at the Center for Independent Media
This is the eighth in a series of adult commentators discussions.
Click here to see the other discussions.
Abdi Aynte is a senior fellow/reporter at the Center for Independent Media, writing for MinnesotaMonitor.com. Born in Mogadishu, Somalia, Abdi grew up in Egypt, where he finished high school, before moving to Minnesota and studying journalism and political science at Metropolitan State University.
Abdi also edits Hiiraan.com, the largest Somali bilingual (Somali/English) website in the world, with over 1 million visitors a week.
Among the pressing issues Abdi covers for Minnesota Monitor are: immigration, education, labor, faith and values. He broke several national stories and appeared on CNN, MSNBC and a host of national radio stations, including NPR. Abdi is a regular commentator on Minnesota Public Radio.
ABDI'S QUESTION FOR THE PANEL:
Hello, I’m Abdi Aynte. a senior fellow/reporter at the Center for Independent Media, writing for MinnesotaMonitor.com. I also edit a Somali bilingual website at Hiiraan.com.
My question is, do you feel that you have access to equal education both in the context of your high school or as you think about going to college? If not, what would you like to happen to make that possible for you?
STUDENT RESPONSES TO ABDI'S QUESTION:
In my opinion, I know that especially in my school there are so many opportunities for students of color to pursue higher education. This is because there is a career center that has computers and so many helpful staff to guide students to thinking about colleges. I think that the most important aspect of the career centers is not just access to equal education but, by attending a Minneapolis Public School in the Twin Cities, I have access to the career centers which make a huge impact to the colleges I’m applying too. With this I see it as my access to an education that no other students who’s not a student of color will receive.
I actually find this rewarding and happier when thinking about my future because there are so many opportunities out there that all students of color need is that extra push. I feel that the access of getting to college in my school is quite equal to everyone because there are different kinds of students that make up the demographic of the school and we all value education as a key to being successful.
I have to say that our school is not like the rich schools that receive so much money from the government, although I do see that colleges tend to want urban students going to their school. Not because rich suburban students are bad or anything, but the majority of these colleges and universities are full of these rich students already. Therefore, coming from a different background, with different experiences of life, I see that I definitely receive access when thinking about going to college.
In high school I didn’t think there were equal opportunities between the inner city schools and the suburban schools because suburban schools seem to be superior to inner city schools technology wise. But as school continued and budget cuts continued to happen more and more often it became apparent that not much was going to change in the funding department, so it became a point of making the best of what resources I had available. As I allowed my mind set to change from focusing on what I didn’t have to what I did have, it allowed my to appreciate what I did have, and I was better off for it.
However in college I think that there is balance of opportunity because there are so many different avenues to pursue verses high school. In high school you are basically told that you have to have this class, at this time, in order to continue in your high school career. Verses college which still says that you have to meet certain requirements, but offers you a better variety of ways to fill that requirement.
Next year I will start high school and will be in a program that required me to have a 3.5 GPA, 95% attendance, and write a convincing entrance essay. Again, I think that all students in my grade could have gotten into this program had they tried hard enough. There has been some controversy at the school I'm going to, Southwest High School, because there is not enough racial diversity in the program. According to a Southwest Journal article, next year the entrance criteria will be dropped and students will be selected randomly. I'm not sure how I feel about this: One opinion is that students work hard to get into this program, and should be allowed in by meeting the criteria, that there is no link between race and grades and anyone meeting the criteria should be able to get in regardless of their race. Another is, to quote the Southwest Journal, the old entrance criteria were "seen as favoring white students in the placement process." They believe this new method will create more diversity in the IB program.
Because I go to public school, I feel like everybody has an equal opportunity to get a good education if they choose. There are many opportunities to get ahead, and work on what you're interested in, like Small Learning Communities. I think of public high school as our chance to take advantage of a great, free education. It's there for everyone.
In my former middle school, it's very diverse...high income, low income, kids of all races. Everybody had equal opportunities and everybody was encouraged to do their best. I can't really speak for other schools, but I think pretty much wherever you go in the district, there are chances to do really cool things and succeed.
I don't know a lot about the situation with college, seeing as I'll only be a freshman in high school this year. However, I've heard and read about it, and I don't think the playing field is as equal. If you have a high income family, you can pretty much go wherever you want. If you're middle-class or low income, your options are noticeably less. Ivy League, prestigious schools are so incredibly expensive! I worry about when I will apply for college, since my family is definitely not rich and I don't have savings set aside specifically for college. I don't want to be paying off college until I retire, so that automatically limits where I can go.
One way to make it a little more fair would be to give more options to people with less money. There should be more ways to get financial aid, so that income isn't getting in the way of our dreams. We should all be able to go for our dreams and succeed. I'm not sure if there will ever be total equality, but if every student had access to scholarships, we'd be much closer.
This question is actually very interesting to me because I have talked about this subject with other people of color and it intrigues me because I feel that no doors to achieving a higher level of education have been closed on me. It may be because I have always been a very well rounded student who got involved in almost every extracurricular activity and was also a student with a GPA that shows that I was dedicated to my studies.
I am a strong writer and that may have played a part in that I also felt that I was equal to those who were not minorities. I was never discriminated against but rather praised for my success from my family, my teachers and administrative team as well as my community.
I have, however, seen when students are not treated equally, but this is more in the students who are not doing well in classes. The students of color who are not doing well seem to be less likely to be nurtured, one could say, in that the teachers are not offering them as much help as they are to the student who is struggling just as bad, but is not a minority. To me, this looks like the education system just gives up on any minority that in the beginning is not showing the level of promise that society accepts.
ABDI'S RESPONSES TO THE STUDENTS:
submitted 7/26/2007
Your responses are very intriguing and reflective of how access to equal—or unequal—education is today in this country.
As an immigrant who came to this country barely seven years ago with very limited English skills, I learned one principle that I think served me quite well: There's nothing like giving equal education to yourself.
No matter how your curriculum is improved, and not matter how wealthy or poor your parents are, you can always excel in your own little world, notwithstanding serious challenges.
If you beat the odds—and many of you show that you did—you proved naysayers wrong. Remember that "unequal education" is a real problem in this country, especially in urban-suburban settings.
But as my mom, who taught me the first words of all the three languages I speak, used to say that "no one is innately unintelligent, but many people become progressively unintelligent."
That's a powerful statement in the sense that it talks about self empowerment, or lack of it thereof.
Let me tell you something that may sound too intuitive to most of you: You have access to a wealth of educational resources in this country that most people in your age in where I was born don't have. All these smart people who are now taking American jobs in places like India and China don't have nearly similar resources, but they employed the full potential in themselves.
That's the best thing you can do for yourself.
You are welcome to get involved in the discussion. Please post your comments below.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Michael Atherton on
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Research shows that the educational level and values within families have a significant impact on student achievement. Middle-class kids have a big jump on students from poor and dysfunctional homes and this difference appears to have a major influence on the "achievement gap." So even if opportunities are equal, does this fulfill the responsibilities of the schools? If not, what might the schools do to equalize the differences in preparedness between students?
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Permalink Reply by Brett on -
I don't think it completely does, but it’s a good start right? Have you looked at the forum about paying students for good grades? (I am against it,) and some of the points I make are that we want an equal start for students and to give them equal support and resources along the way. The rest is out of our hands as a school. I think that if students who will have more of a challenge to perform at the same level as Middle-class kids are giving the equal start and support along the way, and have the motivation the sky is the limit. They may have to work harder to get to “the top,” but the school can only do so much.
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Permalink Reply by Annie W on -
I agree...I think public school system does the best it can to equalize opportunities for students. Education really starts before kindergarten, though...from the time you're a toddler. The environment you're in affects your readiness for school. Some kids may have been to a different country before kindergarten, while some kids have never been out of the state. Some kids may have parents that read to them everyday and some kids' parents don't read to them at all. I don't think officials realize how complicated closing the "achievement gap" is...some kids will have an advantage starting school and some will have a major disadvantage. Schools can't control what happens before students walk in the doors, which is what makes it really impossible to close the gap.The best thing schools can do is have a supportive, encouraging and challenging environment for all kids, and teachers can really care, so kids realize that they do have the resources and opportunities to succeed. Officials talk and talk about "closing the gap" but how would you begin to do that?
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Given that I believe that the function of the public schools is to educate students so that they can participate in a democratic society, then it is the schools' responsibility to motivate students, or at least insure that they meet minimum standards of literacy. Part of my perspective comes from being a manager. In private industry it makes no sense to leave employee morale and motivation solely up to the providence of employees themselves.
I also think that it's very difficult for most middle-class kids to understand the advantages that are intrinsic to their social class and families. Before we can even begin to talk about how schools can motivate students we need to understand how poverty and family dysfunction limit the ability of students to perform.
Depending on how effective paying students for grades is, I might support it, but once again I believe that this places too much emphasis on "Pull." When you put it all together I think the schools do a wretched job of motivating students.
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Permalink Reply by Brett on
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What about your "push" and "pull" theory? That was saying it is the responsibility of society and the parents for motivation . . .
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:-) Saying that schools have a responsibility to insure that students are educated, does not conflict with the idea that students have a responsibility to perform well. I'd said that there is too much Pull and not enough Push. No conflict here; they're just reciprocal responsibilities.
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Permalink Reply by Citizens League on
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Abdi submitted a reply to the students responses on July 26, 2007. We have added it to the end of the main post above. Please scroll up and read Abdi's responses to the students!
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Permalink Reply by Kelly Trius on
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The program College Summit has been doing wonderful work helping low-income students gain access to college. They began with the question: How can we translate the potential of low-income, college ready students-many of whom may not have the best grades or test scores due to a lack of financial and structural resources including financially stable living arrangements- to colleges whose applications "quantify" a student's potential largely based on grades and test scores?
Their solution (from their website www.collegesummit.org): Across the country, thousands of students attend College Workshops each summer. They arrive on a host college’s campus as “rising seniors” and leave four days later as Peer Leaders, students with a postsecondary plan, all the tools to realize that plan, and the leadership skills to create a college-going culture in their own schools.
One of the most challenging tasks they face at the workshop is writing a personal statement for their college applications. Volunteer Writing Coaches guide them through a process of self-examination and creative expression. Students learn to put their heartbeats on paper. They not only discover their voices; they discover that their stories have the power to shatter our notions of where talent lives.
Today, College Summit focuses on building the capacity of schools to build a college-bound atmosphere, prepare students for college, and work with them individually to showcase their talents and experiences to colleges. Here's what they do (again, from their website www.collegesummit.org):
The solution starts with teachers. With training and tools, teachers provide personal, direct support each week to a classroom of seniors. This enables the counselor in the school to stretch resources even further and ensures that every senior gets the individual attention needed to navigate the college application process. In high schools that partner with College Summit, every senior graduates having completed a post-secondary plan with the guidance and support of a teacher and the expertise of a counselor.
I love this idea. Not only does the program (which, by the way, I am not directly involved with) work with students to give them voice and express their unique talents and experiences which would otherwise be lost in a sea of application statistics, but it puts the keys in the hands of schools, giving them the tools to create a college-bound atmosphere and college ready applications.
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Adbi, What's most interesting about your response is that your mother took the time to teach you three languages. I'd would be interested in knowing what your elementary education was like and what your class level was in your native country. While I agree that there are opportunities in this country, they are not necessarily available to everyone. What happens to students who parents haven't taken the time to teach them and have been passed though the system without learning how to read and write well? I don't think we will hear from them here unless Annie takes the time to interview them.
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Permalink Reply by Salma Hussein on -
Hello everyone, my name is Salma Hussein and I'm currently a psych major at the University of Minnesota. I do believe that there is an unequal access to education , in terms of where one lives. I feel as though a lot of times educators add to the problem by basing a students intelligent on his/her race. When we do this we are agreeing with what the media's been feeding us, of how African American kids are no good, who use the race card to their advantage. By doing this, students of color who have a drive in learning will be held back by negative stereotypes. I do agree with Aynte, each one of us can decide what path we want to take. Although, we may not have the same resources as those in the suburbs, we must use what we have to our advantage. We need to set higher standards for ourselves and make sure to do well in school so we can do something about these issues. Because through knowledge a number of opportunities are made available to us. Let's make the most of the time we have today, and start within ourselves in bringing about change.
Remember each one of us holds the key to their future, and it is up to us and only us to take that key and unlock the hidden treasure through acquiring higher education.
Salma
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