Ana Maria Montanez

ENG220

8/8/13

Prof. Rogers

                                                           FINAL ( Did not use texts)

          I had never seen the relationship between tutoring and teaching before taking a course dedicated 

to tutoring. For some reason I thought of tutoring and teaching as separate even though they are 

strongly connected.  Tutoring is necessary in our education development and it has a big impact on how

students learn. Individual tutoring is seen as a way to help the student’s individual needs outside the 

classroom. My teaching and tutoring philosophy emphasizes the importance of focusing on a student’s 

needs and getting to know their strengths and weaknesses to help them grow without necessarily giving 

them the answers. Tutoring is correlated to teaching because being able to receive tutoring increases the 

chances of succeeding academically according to Michael Argyle in “The Psychology of Social Class.”  

Education is supposed to be equal for everyone but unfortunately no matter how much our society has 

progressed, there are still students being left behind. Examples of inequality are depicted in Jonathan 

Kozol’s “Savage Inequalities” and “The Pedagogy of the Oppressed” by Paulo Freire. Our educational 

system is in dire need of a reform and none of these issues will be solved until we demand change and 

equality for all students.

           In “The Psychology of Social Class,” by Michael Argyle, he emphasizes the affect that social class has on our lives, including our academic achievement. We cannot choose what lifestyle we are born into and we cannot choose our parents. The way we are raised and the culture we are raised in also have a great influence on whether or not a student will be successful in school. The aspect of this article directly related to tutoring is when Argyle mentions that middle class parents implement more parental tutoring than working class parents. Parental tutoring can include games, hobbies, extracurricular activities, etc. Tutoring that takes place outside the classroom is very influential and surprisingly a luxury that many working class parents cannot afford. Argyle states that extracurricular activities, which can include outside tutoring, can be expensive so it has become a privilege that applies mostly to students from middle class families. In my opinion, I’ve seen tutoring being offered inside the public school system but not all schools can afford this and some are very limited on time and staff. Ultimately, additional tutoring outside the classroom can offer students the help they need to keep up or get ahead with their studies.

            Although I have seen many tutoring programs inside the public school system, I have also seen schools that simply cannot afford them and some that had to give up the privilege of providing tutoring in after school programs due to budget cuts.  It seems as though budgets cuts for the educational system are occurring more and more often but not many people seem to notice. Those that do notice simply believe that there is nothing we can do about it. Our children, the future of our country, are being oppressed and no one seems to care or notice. In “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” by Paulo Freire, he explains how the oppressed are the ones whose rights are being violated and controlled. In order for the oppressed to be truly free, they have to change their situation but without ultimately becoming oppressors themselves. Freire states that the oppressed, which in this case are working class families, have gotten used to the circumstances they live in and they simply give in to the rules of the oppressors. Working class families and students from working class families are at a significant disadvantage from the second they enter the public school system. Some have no choice but to enter failing schools and some have single parents that cannot provide additional help at home. As mentioned in “The Psychology of Social Class” children from middle class families normally receive more intellectual stimulation such as educational games, computers, Internet access, books, and books instead of television. In order to fight the oppressors we have to unite and demand a better and equal form of education for all students, not only those that are lucky enough to be born into middle class families.

           
            The purpose of education in general is to provide a safe environment in which students can learn and grow with the help of the staff in the school they attend.  After the courts ruled against “separate but equal” in the Brown v. Board of Education case in the 1950’s, it seemed as if the educational system would change. Unfortunately, “separate but equal” is still seen in society today and “Savage Inequalities” by Jonathan Kozol is a perfect example of this. The disturbing conditions that the schools in St. Louis are in are the reason why I am positive I want to become a teacher. My teaching philosophy is that all students deserve the opportunity to a good education despite their families’ income, ethnicity, location, etc. I am disappointed to find out that we have been living in a racist society long after slavery was abolished. Kozol gives several examples of how the children are being neglected a safe environment to learn in. Aside from the city being a dump, the issues with the sewage system are affecting the public schools. Martin Luther King Junior High School had to be evicted when the sewage reached the school. Kozol explains that this is a reoccurring problem therefore; the students are missing valuable time from school.  The injustice of the school conditions mentioned is only one of the issues that the people of East St. Louis must live with. The reason why these injustices occur here is because this is a community made up of mainly poor African Americans. This is where teachers need to go to make the most difference and these are the inequalities that I believe should be fought against. The fact that not all students are receiving a decent education due to their families’ income and ethnicity is proof that our educational system is in need of a reform.

            My teaching and tutoring philosophies used to be separate from one another but now they both focus on the same thing, the students’ needs. I am aware that our educational system is flawed but that does not mean that I am going to give up. The students are the ones that end up paying the consequences of this flawed system but it is up to all of us to do our part to improve it. My teaching philosophy is now to help those who need it the most regardless of their social class. Unfortunately we cannot choose what “class” we are born into and we pay for our parent’s mistakes but everyone should have an equal chance to succeed and move up in life. Tutoring plats a huge role because having the privileges of receiving any kind of extra help outside the classroom increases a student’s chances of succeeding academically.