February Conversation Topic

Here is a New York Times article (February 2012) that falls right down the center of this Discussion Group's emphasis. It discusses the realities of increasing inequity in education (both public school and college) between the wealthy and the poor in the US.

It's a quick read and it can lead a broad range of discussion and related literature and research.

Enjoy!
Steve

Link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/10/education/education-gap-grows-between-rich-and-poor-studies-show.html?pagewanted=2

Initial Conversation Starter

I am attaching an article that parallels some of the general thinking I've come across in recent months regarding rural poverty and teacher education. I selected this article because it's something I can actually attach. It speaks within a particular context of the tendencies for rural talent and skill to outmigrate toward urban settings, leaving rural communities less equipped and underresourced.

My thinking in this vein has been most recently influenced by a book entitled, re21: Rural Education for the Twenty-First Century (Schafft, K.A. & Jackson, A.Y, editors, 2010). In this compilation of works, there is an underriding theme of establishing a sense of community identity, a valuing of 'place' within a specific rural setting, and developing networks that foster appreciation for sustained viability of heritage and meaningfulness for small communities across the country - and to embed this posture into the educational process in smaller communites so that the tendency to 'run off to the big city' is a decision made from a more informed, and locally-considered, perspective.

Anyway, here is the article. Feel free to also suggest other topics of conversation. I am new to this blog site and presume you can begin a new, separate posting on other topics related to this discussion group. I understand it's a lot broader than this intial conversation starter. Welcome!

Here is the link: Sharman & Sage (2011)

"Sending Off All Your Good Treasures: Rural Schools, Brain-Drain, and Community Survival in the Wake of Economic Collapse"
http://jrre.psu.edu/articles/26-11.pdf

Welcome

On behalf of the International Christian Community for Teacher Education (ICCTE) organization, welcome.
This is a Discussion Forum available for people interested in issues relating to racial and economic equality. It is an outgrowth from initial discussions held at the most recent conference (May 2012). Expect specific content for discussion here at this site to begin within a few days of this posting (if not sooner).

For more information regarding this discussion site feel free to contact Dr. Stephen Metcalfe at smetcalf@mvnu.edu.