19 Urban Questions: Teaching in the City

S. Steinberg & J. Kincheloe. (Eds.). (2004). NY: Peter Lang.

Kincheloe, J. Why a Book on Urban Education? (pp. 1-27).

Kincheloe theorizes urban education, a neglected subject in reality but an overwhelming topic in hyperreality. He states that many Americans from suburban and rural areas know about urban youth and ethnic groups more through media than from real contact. He argues that a sociocultural chasm between pre-serivce teachers and their students produced through media even entails real obstacles to urban students' success in schools. Nevertheless research about urban educaiton is often done through its media representation. Henke argues that this frivolous form of study contributes little to the study of teaching and learning. (cited on p.4). Here are the unique features of urban education defined by Kincheloe:

- operates in areas with high population density.
- have more students.
- funtions in areas marked by profound economic disparity.
- have a higher rate of ethinic, racial, and religious diversity.
- less likely to have policy-level discussion over student success,etc.
- more likely to have health problems.
- have higher student/teacher mobility.
- higher immigrant populations.
- linguistic diversity.
- transportaion problems.
- teachers who don't belong to the community.

It seems not so common that urban students are described as dangerous criminals or savage animals. In emphasizing teacher education in urban context, Kincheloe stresses, "urban teacher education must work to help teachers avoid the prejudiced view of poor urabn students as dangerous criminals incapable of learning or, at the other extreme, as communicants who may be reformed bu the gospel of white culture as pedagogy" (p. 12).

S. Steinberg. What didn't We Ask? Keepin' It Real. (p. 281-286).

"Part of understanding urban schools is to keep it real; the only way to enlighten and empower ourselves and our students is to tell it like it is, analyze it; understand how power works to maintain conditions--and then change it" (p.284).

"Urban life is not gentle, yet it is not always rough. It is not spacious, yet it is not necessarily cramped; it is energetic, yet it can be lazy" (p. 282).