White Privilege and Racial Identity

I never wanted to go to an urban school. I felt as though I wouldn't fit in, wouldn't be able to feel safe. Obviously, I overcame those "fears" and chose Marquette University at the end of last school year. However, when I was first deciding on a college, I went on quite a few college visits. They became quite repetitive and dull. One of them, however, was quite unique. I had to choose a professor (one of three) in my major and he would show us what a typical college class would be like. I chose a political science professor and took a seat in a hot and humid classroom. It was middle of July of my Junior year and I wanted to go home then decide my future. However, once the professor began lecturing he talked about something that ws particularly interesting. He talked about doors and how as soon as you're born they begin closing. For example, he mentioned if you are born a male, certain doors are closed. A female, same thing. He continued through a natural progression of childhood and mentioned a few very important factors. One of which was race.

The professor mentioned the drastic differences in the "number of open doors" for caucasians and african americans. In particular, he referred to the perceptions that people have versus the actual truth. Studies have been done and theories have been tested in all ranges of society. Psychological, economical, and sociological angles have been studied and they have only added to the evidence for one thing: white privilege. Sure the professor in this lecture never said that "whites" had it easy, but he said that perceptions were so different that, in the eyes of society in general, that was the fact.

Living in the south suburbs of Chicago, I had the unique opportunity of going into the city quite a bit. Besides just on field trips, my parents would bring me downtown a few times a month and, as I grew up, I noticed a few things. I noticed that, whenever we were in a "not so good" area, the car would be still and all of a sudden, the doors would be locked. Now, its important to understand that this was not just my parents and definitely not only in the area that I grew up in. This is an example of a perception and a perfect reflection of what that professor was talking about.

Perception links back to White Privilege in a direct way. Employers, government officials, and other people who determine someones future are not blind to race. In fact, it is something that, in college applications in particular, it is suggested to embrace. Show who you are, how you overcame a difficulty, how your race did or did not define who you became. Why they focus on these things and treat them with such importance is because they realize how difficult it may have been to overcome the events of their childhood. Overcoming social inequality and perceptions. White privilege surrounds the idea that whites have much more likely to be successful in life. They are thought to have many more opportunities than blacks or Asians or any other race have. Even in today's society, white privilege is still prevalent. While it is not (and should not be) a brush stroke across the Caucasian population, white privilege is readily viewed as one of societies inequalities.

Service Learning Experiences

I actually had my first experience with service learning through Marquette this week. On Tuesday, I went south west of the Marquette campus to the Burnham Park Neighborhood. Carmen High School of Science and Technology was where I will be doing my service learning throughout the semester. My role is to serve as a tutor for chemistry, physics, and possibly biology. My major is Secondary Ed/Science/History, and this tutoring experience is an excellent opportunity to me. Carmen High School is a public charter school which holds a lottery to get in. It is a relatively new school, last year was the first full graduating class, but its popularity is growing. Because this was my first week tutoring, I got a quick tour of the school (Carmen classes are only held on one floor), and then I went right into the classroom. Tuesday I helped a student with his homework that he chose not to do or turn in. I realized that they used the same chemistry text book that our academic classes did in high school. It was interesting to see the level of education that these students had and it was cool to be able to compare them to my high school experience. The teachers seemed nice and my site contact was very helpful. Taking public transportation wasn't as nerve racking as I thought it would be (though I did almost miss my bus and my stop). I am looking forward to going back every week and am even looking to go more than once. Its great experience for what I hope to do in the future and awesome that I can start in the classroom this early!

Education, Power, and Control of Schools

"Teachers are the end all be all of the educational system. They create curriculums, lesson plans, and supply creativity in every lesson they make." For most of us, this is what we thought through 8th Grade and even high school. However, as we have grown up we have been exposed to the harsh reality that is todays education system. Even so, we don't necessarily know what to do with it. In a way, we feel that we can't do anything because we don't know much about it. From our perspective as the "youth" of America, we're still going through the process and the only ones who can take a stand are those who completed their education. Its time for that to change. We must express our opinions and bring light to the important parts of the educational process. From test scores to text books, patriotism to politics, we must take a stand.

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America...." These words became second nature to me and I said them every school day through my high school graduation. While it was tempting to be a rebellious teenager and NOT say the Pledge of Allegiance, it was something I didn't mess with. To me, saying the pledge every morning is the right thing to do. To me, stopping and honoring the country that has provided me with my excellent education is very important. I believe that schools should teach patriotism from grades 1-12. In high school, patriotism should be taught through service learning requirements and analysis of what congress and the government is doing. Teaching patriotism in high school should be focused on creating better citizens and should be inherently separate from History requirements.

When it comes to History and Social Studies Education, I have a special bias. I have the goal of becoming a history (and science) teacher one day. I believe that history is very important for students. "You can't know where you're going until you know where you've been." This quote should end all arguments when it comes to removing history from school curriculums. Why should we reinvent the wheel or make the same mistakes that have already been made. The history of European countries in addition to our relatively short history as a country are pinnacle pieces of the puzzle in creating a successful and working society. History can show us political patterns, provide us with a better cultural understanding, show us useful military tactics and identify geo-political issues across the globe. If we focus only on Math and Science, we will be building human robots with few social skills and relatively no understanding of cultural differences.

Even if we continue Social Studies/History education in schools, there must be some regulation. We cannot succeed as a united country if people are learning different things across the country. For example, the Texas and California textbook market shares are too much of a defining factor for textbook companies. Censoring and tweaking events in history to glorify or idolize certain states or political figures is not the right thing to do. Social Studies curricula should force students to look analytically at primary source documents and be inspired by the raw glory and intuition of famous (or infamous) people in history.

As much as the No Child Left Behind Act was a needed improvement to educational policy in the United States, it is far from perfect. Back in my Sophomore year in high school, I wrote an 8 page term paper on its flaws. I pointed out both the positives and the negatives of the plan and, looking back, I don't change my opinion. The plan was flawed from the start and those flaws continue to detriment the education of students across the country. Of course, in the beginning it was promising. However, year after year the plan began to fail and produced more failing schools than it did to help them. While NCLB gave more federal funding to schools across the country, it also forced them to become more stringent on creative curricula and pushed  teachers to "teach to the test" as it has so been called.

Its time for change, most people agree, but its by who that is the important factor. We can no longer rely on our political representatives to speak for us. It's time to send a message ourselves. Our generation must be the one to demand change. Our generation must be the one to speak up for what we believe in. Our generation must be the one to put what we learned to good use and make it even better for those who will go through the education system of the United States. It's time to take control and show that we have the power, the voice, and the people to make a difference.

So What About Me?

So what about me? Why did I choose Marquette? Why the field of Education?


Well, my name is Kyle Polke and I am currently a Freshman at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I am from Tinley Park, Illinois, a southern suburb of Chicago. I attended Victor J. Andrew, a public High School in Consolidated High School District 230.


Simply put, high school was my forte. I enjoyed and took advantage of every day from the time I arrived to the time I departed. Victor J. Andrew (commonly shortened to 'Andrew') gave me numerous opportunities to discover who I am. Outside of the classroom, I was the class president, a multi-sport athlete, and a mentor and role model for staff, students, and administrators alike. Andrew gave me the opportunities to sharpen and practice leadership and social skills. Inside the classroom, Andrew offered me excellent teachers who excelled in their subject areas. My teachers were only strengthened by the educational experiences that they facilitated including Cadaver Camp, a 3-day human cadaver dissection for my Anatomy & Physiology course. This and others like it were part of what defined my high school experience. One of the most influential experiences I participated in was Teaching Internship. The Teaching Internship program at our school allows students to student teach and intern in an elementary or middle school in the surrounding area. I had the unique experience of student teaching with one of my previous teachers. For my last semester of Senior Year, I student taught 8th Grade Science and Prairie View Middle School in Tinley Park, Illinois. I spent my afternoon 4 days per week interning in my cooperating school and the other day was spent in the Andrew classroom learning about the teaching profession and creating a teaching portfolio for my experience. It was one of the greatest experiences I have ever been a part of and allowed me to affirm to myself that I truly want to go into the field of Education.


But why MU?


As I aforementioned,  I loved my high school experience. I loved it so much that I never really wanted to 
leave. That became evident in the days and hours before the May 1st national decision deadline. When I received my acceptance letter to Marquette University back in late January, I never thought it would lead me to where I am today.  I applied to over fifteen different colleges during my senior year of high school (most of which I knew very little about).   Marquette just happened to be one of those schools. When April came around and I began to look more closely at Marquette, I realized how unique it was. Looking beyond how conventional Marquette’s trademark “Be the Difference” slogan was I began to realize that it aligned nearly perfectly with my future goals. The field of education is full of teachers who share the same goal as they walk into their classrooms each day. Throughout high school I was involved with countless organizations and programs that shaped my school, my state, and my country. Even before stepping on campus for the first time, Marquette’s “Be the Difference” slogan connected with me and made me feel at home. And so, though broad, the “Be the Difference” slogan is specific to Marquette students. Not because we will make a difference once we get out into the “real” world, but because, as a current student, Marquette will guide us to be the difference, regardless big or small, in the life of someone each and every day. While I am still discovering what Marquette has to offer, so far I have only been pleasantly surprised. No matter what I discover in the coming years I know that one thing will always stay the same. Marquette, its student and faculty alike, are committed to being the difference in the world day in and day out. And no matter what life throws at me, I am confident that being the difference is always something I want to be a part of.

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