Attitudes Toward Education in Minority Youth of Washington Heights (NYC)

Influence of Environment on Education

Many residents of Washington Heights come to New York City from the Dominican Republic with expectations and plans to take advantage of new opportunities. Since only about half graduate high school, and only a small fraction of those graduates go on to college, the opportunities once available to them (had they completed their educations) disappear.

M.Brady

MS324

Introduction

A student’s attitude toward education is a reflection of their broader cultural environment, and students raised can’t help playacting the same kinds of chaos and dysfunction they see in their environment and on TV, in movies, the Internet, Hip-Hop/Rap Music, etc..

Task

Your task is to analyze your community and identify how environmental factors affect its young people’s attitudes toward education. You will work in groups to complete the six steps in the public policy analyst to decide on public policy solutions that will result in raising awareness about the Washington Heights environment and how it is affecting young people. After completing the six steps in the process, your group will make a presentation outlining the public policy analysis process, and describe the public policy solution(s) you've chosen.

You will work with a group of your peers in groups of 5 to answer the following QUESTIONS using the resource material given you in the web quest.

· What is “popular culture”?

· What are some features of American popular culture?

· What are environmental factors?

· What are the environmental factors in Washington Heights that affect a child’s education?

· Why are inner city environments problematic for young people?

· Who or what are the greatest influences in young people’s lives today?

· How much do you think these influences determine who you will become?

· What can you do to reduce the negative impact of environmental conditions and popular culture?

· Which of those solutions should be implemented today to help change inner city environments?

SECONDARY TASKS

· You will create a survey of students at your school to find out how much they know and what they think about their environment.

· You will then do a survey to find out their attitudes toward education.

· Your will then use the results of the survey and the completed PUBLIC POLCIY ANALYST worksheets to write a research paper of five pages presenting your findings from the survey and what you have learned in your research.

· Your group will then prepare a presentation/oral report based on your findings to be used in a classroom presentation. The posters will then be hung up in the hallways so that other students are aware of the issues and your solutions. These posters and the oral presentations will reflect the SIX STEP PUBLIC POLCIY ANALYST format.

Group Member Roles: The class will be divided into groups as follows.

Role#1: Discussion Leader -in charge of making sure the survey is written, the research is gathered and complied, and the other research is read and analyzed

Role#2: Timekeeper-Keeps the group on task and makes sure that the assignment is completed on time

Role#3: Note taker-complies the results in written form to be included in the final paper, presentation and poster

Role#4: Editor/proofreader-makes sure that the paper is well written and that the research is documented, also insures that the presenter is prepared for the final presentation and that the poster is informative

Role#5: Presenter-will present for the group the findings of the paper

Process:

· Students will be required to follow the process of the Public Policy Analyst (PPA) by reviewing the following steps to guide them in the process with their group: Students will complete all the worksheets accompanying each step and use these worksheets to complete the task.

1. Identifying the Problem, and Worksheet #1

2. Gathering Evidence, and Worksheet # 2

3. Identify Causes of the problem, and Worksheet # 3

4. Evaluate the Policy, and Worksheet #4

5. Develop a solution to the Problem, and Worksheet #5

Selecting the Best Solution, and Worksheet #6

Resources

Documentaries:

Boys of Baraka- documentary on Baltimore experiment

The Corporation- piece about how corporate marketing targets kids

http://www.kidscanmakeadifference.org/Newsletter/nf2004b.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_culture

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/13/AR2006101301426.html - gave up

http://select.nytimes.com/2006/08/24/opinion/24herbert.html

http://www.worldpress.org/print_article.cfm?article_id=2450&dont=yes

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/20/AR2006082000527.html- banish bling

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Role_model

http://www.rolemodel.net

http://www.childrenforchildren.org/default.asp

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/10/AR2006091001133.html

http://teenagerstoday.com/articles/952.php?wcat=329

http://teenagerstoday.com/articles/1029.php?wcat=329

Evaluation

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Organization	Information is very organized with well-constructed paragraphs and subheadings.	Information is organized with well-constructed paragraphs.	Information is organized, but paragraphs are not well-constructed.	The information appears to be disorganized.
Quality of Information	Information clearly relates to the main topic. It includes several supporting details and/or examples.	Information clearly relates to the main topic. It provides 1-2 supporting details and/or examples.	Information clearly relates to the main topic. No details and/or examples are given.	Information has little or nothing to do with the main topic.
Internet Use	Successfully uses suggested internet links to find information and navigates within these sites easily without assistance.	Usually able to use suggested internet links to find information and navigates within these sites easily without assistance.	Occasionally able to use suggested internet links to find information and navigates within these sites easily without assistance.	Needs assistance or supervision to use suggested internet links and/or to navigate within these sites.
Mechanics	No grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors.	Almost no grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors	A few grammatical spelling or punctuation errors.	Many grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors.
Use of PPA Worksheets	Complete, thoughtful, and through answers to every single question.	Somewhat complete answers to every question.	Incomplete answers to most questions. Not thoughtful or through.	Did not answer every question. Answers were incomplete.
Oral Presentation	Information presented using effective speaking skills and a useful visual /video.	Information presented using some speaking skills and an adequate visual /video.	Information presented in a somewhat disorganized fashion. Visual /video is poor/missing.	Information not presented/presented in a disorganized fashion. Visual /video is poor/missing.

Conclusion

From this web quest you should have learned that there are serious problems involving urban youth. These social problems must be addressed if we are to make our democracy work for all. You have also experienced the world of the public policy analyst. The recommendations you have proposed and products you have created are one first step in increasing opportunities for urban youth.

Standards

In doing this project students have met the following New York State Learning Standards:

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS STANDARDS

STANDARD 1 - LANGUAGE FOR INFORMATION AND UNDERSTANDING

1. LISTENING AND READING

Listening and reading to acquire information and understanding involves collecting data, facts, and ideas; discovering relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and using knowledge from oral, written and electronic sources.

2. SPEAKING AND WRITING

Speaking and writing to acquire and transmit information requires asking probing and clarifying questions, interpreting information in one’s own words, applying information from one context to another, and presenting the information clearly, concisely, and comprehensibly.

E1 - READING

E1c. - read and comprehend information material.

E2 - WRITING

E2a. - produce a report of information.

E3 - SPEAKING, LISTENING AND VIEWING

E3b. - participate in one to one conferences with a teacher.

E3c. - participate and deliver an individual presentation.

E4 - CONVENTIONS, GRAMMAR, AND USAGE OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

E4a. - Independently and habitually demonstrate an understanding of the rules of the English language in written and oral work.

E4b. - analyze and subsequently revise work to improve its clarity and effectiveness.

MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS

Standard 1: Analysis, Inquiry, and Design

Students will use mathematical analysis, scientific inquiry, and engineering design, as appropriate, to pose questions, seeks answers, and develop solutions.

Standard 2: Information Systems

Students will access, generate, process, and transfer information using appropriate technologies.

Standard 7: Interdisciplinary Problem Solving

Students will apply the knowledge and thinking skills of mathematics, science, and technology to address real-life problems and make informed decisions.

SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARDS

Standard 5: Civics, Citizenship, and Government

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing… the basic civic values of American constitution, democracy, and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.