Teaching Equality

            A low achieving high school is defined as one which fails to educate its students to be contributing members of society. In addition, they should have an understanding of who they are, what they would like out of life, and where they are going. A high achieving school yields graduates who have been exposed to the various options that life offers in terms of career paths as well personal and cultural growth.  A school which fails to provide its students with these things instead creates individuals with neither direction nor self-awareness.

            An educator working at a low achieving high school should be most interested in created an environment that attracts the student’s attention. The best way to accomplish this is to have the students learn about themselves. Especially as a teenager, there is no individual more important than one self.  Students tend to be interested in where they came from and how things came to place; who governs, which and why things are valued, and who has the control. Locke’s philosophies of education are most adequate in this situation. In a high school composed mainly of beaten down, directionless, inexperienced African American students, what they most need is to learn and be proud of who they are and their value to the society in which they live.

            Locke’s philosophy calls for self-identity. Students in the described school are not motivated because throughout their lives they have been exposed to a society that ignores their value. Since they are not valued by society, they feel like they have no reason to value themselves. Teaching the students how their race has contributed and continues to contribute will allow them to feel more proud of who they are. Creating this personal pride leads to self-respect and a demand to be treated fairly (Locke). Black students have grown in a predominantly white society, resulting in a broad knowledge of the white culture and little of their own. If one expects the students to succeed they must have an understanding not only of the culture they live in, but also the culture the come from: understanding of both cultures is necessary for an adjustment in their lives (Locke). Having self-worth will motivate them to pursue greatness and to create a better place for their loved ones.

            Neither Washington’s nor Du Bois’s philosophies of education will solve the problem. They may help treat the symptoms of poverty, crime, and violence by giving the students enough knowledge to get a job and support themselves, but they will not treat the root cause of the problem, inequality. Washington’s approach focuses on teaching the students skills that they could use immediately after high school. This approach will most likely allow them to easily find a job, however they will find themselves at a dead end: they have been trained to blindly follow directions and to be satisfied with what is handed to them. A similar thing occurs with Du Bois's perspective. Du Bois’s idea of the Talented Tenth only puts a small portion of the community (those who have demonstrated greater potential) through educational growth, but does nothing to mobilize the entire group. In both cases we see advancement, but it is one that will be short-lived and with little room for personal and communal growth.

            Changing to a different setting where the student population is composed mainly of White individuals and the school is highly ranked, Locke’s philosophies could also be applied to encourage student activism to create a more just society. It is difficult to motivate a group to work towards a more equal America when they have not been affected by the injustices. Although many could argue that the previous statement is true, the reality is that even though the White students have not been directly exposed to the racism, they have been affected simply by living in this segregated hostile environment.   

Locke’s approach in their case would also teach them about themselves and of personal pride, but by exposing them to how their race has treated African Americans, Native Americans, Asians, Latin Americans, and other races other than their own, they will be motivated to push for a more equal America. Doing so will increase their cultural pride because aside from being part of a powerful country, they could also be responsible for making this society inclusive. Exposing the oppressing culture to the reality of things will show them that there could be many more reasons to be proud of who they are. They will be able to learn of the appalling ways that their culture has treated others, but the goal here is not to create shame, instead the goal is to give them the opportunity to repair something that their parents and grandparent were not able to fix. By making adjustments on how other cultures are perceived, respecting instead of fearing them, a society could be formed in which diverse cultures work together towards a common goal, a free and happy live.