Urban Studies
  EU81
  Spragins
  Spring 2007 Odd Days; Drop Down Day 6

   
     
     
 


Recent Articles on Education
and the Urban Poor

Recent Articles on Education and the Urban Poor
     
    Second Semester Topics:
 

Urban Injustice: How Ghettos Happen (2004) by David Hilfiker, MD
     
 


William Paca Elementary School, Baltimore MD

 The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America (2005) by Jonathan Kozol
     
 


Cliffdwellers (1913) by George Bellows

 Maggie: A Girl of the Streets (1892) by Stephen Crane
     
  The Promised Land (1991) by Nicholas Lemann, Clarksdale and Chicago
     
 


Richard Wright (1908-1960)

 Native Son (1940) by Richard Wright
     
 


LBJ Signs War on Poverty Bill, July 23, 1964

 The Promised Land (1991) Nicholas Lemann, Washington
     
 

Tally’s Corner (1964) by Elliott Lebow
     
 

Jitney (1977) by August Wilson
     
 

The Corner (1992) by David Simon and Edward Burns
     
 

William Julius Wilson, New Yorker Profile
   
  Month Day Cycle Assignment
           
 

1           

22 3 Mon Exam Make-up Day
  1 23 4 Tues.  
           
 

1           

24 5 Wed.
     


William Paca Elementary School, Baltimore MD

  

Course Description and Booklist

Preliminary Poll

Situating William Paca Elementary School 2007 (ppt) (Google Earth)

Baltimore City Police Department Online Map
Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance: (Interactive Map)
2000 Census Fact Finder: Patterson Park

Use the Following Criteria:
 
Housing and Community Development
Children and Family Health, Safety and Well-being
Workforce and Economic Development
Sanitation
Urban Environment and Transit
Education and Youth
Neighborhood Action and Sense of Community.

Find Information on the following neighborhoods:

  • Patterson Park North and East #42 (Paca's Location)
  • Madison/East End CSA #33 (Paca Kids' Home)
  • Sandtown Winchester and Harlem Park #47 (New Song Academy's Home)
  • Greater Roland Park Poplar Hill #22 (Our Home)

Homework:

Urban Injustice: How Ghettos Happen by David Hilfiker, MD, Introduction and Chapter One, "Building the Ghetto: A History" (Study Guide)
 

1           

25 6 Thurs.
     

 

Video: Gary McCullough in The Corner (2000)

Preliminary Poll Results

Urban Injustice: How Ghettos Happen by David Hilfiker, MD, Introduction and Chapter One, "Building the Ghetto: A History" (Study Guide)

Homework:

Hilfiker, Chapter Two, "Pillaging the Ghetto: Other Causes of Poverty" (Study Guide)

From the Sun:
           
 

1        

26 7 Fri.
     


"On Their Own", a series on homeless high school students from The Sun (Oct. 2005) by BMS grad Liz Bowie


Todd Heisler/ The New York Times
1-3-07 Elissa Gootman, Trying to Find Solutions in Chaotic Middle Schools NY Times

  Driver Permission Forms: (Only 14 riders and 1 driver fit in a Gilman Van)
Paca Saturdays #1 February 3rd

Hilfiker, Chapter Two, "Pillaging the Ghetto: Other Causes of Poverty" (Study Guide)

Homework:

Hilfiker, Study for Quiz (Study Guide)

For further reading:

 
           
 

1 

29 8 Mon  
     

 

  

 
 

1

 30 9 Tues
     


Norberto Felix-Cruz, at left, says, "I'm letting my spark up, trying to focus."


Julissa Torrez, with her siblings Analissa, Isaiah, Ashley, and Zerina


Denver Schools Superinetendant Michael Bennet with students from Manual High  (Katherine Boo, "Expectations", from New Yorker Jan. 15 2007 photography Robin Bowman)

   Driver Permission Forms: (Only 14 riders and 1 driver fit in a Gilman Van)

Hilfiker Quiz

Essay Project: What Is To Be Done About William Paca Elementary School?

Brainstorm: Questions about our working routine at Paca for Thursday's Orientation Meeting.  (Orientation Questions) (Kozol Questions)

Debate on the Proposed Minimum Wage Increase Before Congress:

1-26-07 Gary S. Becker and Richard A. Posner, "How to Make the Poor Poorer" vs.
1-11-07 Timothy Egan, "For $7.93 an Hour, It's Worth A Trip Across the State Line", NY Times and
11-27-06 Peter Coy, "More Ammo for a Higher Minimum Wage"; New research says a ripple effect would hike the pay of a lot of family bread winners.  Business Week

Homework:

Journalistic Model: 1-15-07 Katherine Boo, "Expectations" New Yorker (Study Guide) (More by Katherine Boo)

For further reading:

Articles about William Paca Elementary from The Sunpapers:

 
 

1

31 10 Wed. Parent Conference Day
 

2    

1 1 Thurs
     


Norberto Felix-Cruz, at left, says, "I'm letting my spark up, trying to focus."


Julissa Torrez, with her siblings Analissa, Isaiah, Ashley, and Zerina


Denver Schools Superinetendant Michael Bennet with students from Manual High  (Katherine Boo, "Expectations", from New Yorker Jan. 15 2007 photography Robin Bowman)


Jonathan Kozol

 

  

1st Visit to Paca: Orientation with David Lewis, Assistant Principal of William Paca Elementary School, and the teachers with whom you will be working.

Model: Narrative Journalism: 1-15-07 Katherine Boo, "Expectations" New Yorker (Study Guide) (More by Katherine Boo)

Essay Project: What Is To Be Done About William Paca Elementary School? (Kozol Questions)

Homework:
 

The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America (2005) by Jonathan Kozol, Chapters Intro, One and Two (Study Guide)
For further reading:
 

The Conservative Argument:

The Liberal Argument:
 

2    

2 2 Fri  
           
  2 3 0 Sat Paca Visit to Gilman 9:00 am to 12:30 p.m.
           
 

2    

5 3 Mon.
     


Per Pupil Funding for Levels Public Schools State of Maryland 2004-05 (Source: Maryland Department of Education Factbook 2004-05 pdf)


Title 1 Statistics Maryland Public Schools (2004-05) (Source: Maryland Department of Education Factbook 2004-05 pdf)

 

Paca School Visit (11:30-1:15)

Essay Project: What Is To Be Done About William Paca Elementary School? (Kozol Questions)

Jonathan Kozol, Chapters Intro, One and Two (Study Guide)

Homework:

Kozol, Chapter 3: “The Ordering Regime” (63-87) and Chapter 4: “Preparing Minds for Markets” (89-108) (Study Guide)

 (Compare Kozol's argument to Charles Dickens' criticism of factory methods in this excerpt from Hard Times (1854).)

See also:

 
 

2    

6 4 Tues
 

2    

7 5 Wed
     
Elementary school results MSA Test Elementary school results Jun 21, 2006
 
Elementary and middle school summaries MSA Test  Elementary and middle school summaries  Jun 21, 2006

MSA scores
MSA scores   Jun 21, 2006

Passing rates
MSA Test Passing rates
 

Paca School Visit Snowed Out.

2-04-07 Brigid Schulte, "How Not to Pick a School" Washington Post

Nicholas Lemann on The Consequences of the Supreme Court decision in Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1

Essay Project: What Is To Be Done About William Paca Elementary School? (Kozol Questions)
 
Kozol, The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America (2005)
Intro, Chapter 1: "Dishonoring the Dead" (13-37)

(Missouri v. Jenkins (1995) vs.
Warren Opinion in Brown v. Board of Education (1954))

Chapter 2: "Hitting Them Hardest When They Are Small" (39-62) (Study Guide)
Chapter 3: "The Ordering Regime" (63-87)
Chapter 4: "Preparing Minds for Markets" (89-108) (Study Guide)

  • What is Kozol's thesis?
  • How does he answer the question, "What is to be done?"
  • How is he organizing his argument?
  • What evidence does he amass to support his thesis?
  • Is it convincing? (How does your experience at Paca square with his observations and arguments?)
  • What, then, do you believe should be done?

Homework:

Chapter 5 “The Road to Rome” (109-134)
Chapter 6 “A Hardening of Lines” (135-160)(Study Guide)

Standardized Test Results:

 
 

2    

8 6 Thurs
     


Per Pupil Funding for Levels Public Schools State of Maryland 2004-05 (Source: Maryland Department of Education Factbook 2004-05 pdf)

Malcolm Lawson, 14, listens during a morning class taught by Anne Claire Tejtel at KIPP Ujima Village Academy. Students at the school wear T-shirts of different colors according to grade level, with a variety of slogans such as, "Go Hard or Go Home!"(Sun photo by Amy Davis) May 10, 2006


Calverton Middle School student Tynesha McGougan,13, sits at her house listening to a conversation between her mother and sister.
(Sun photo by Amy Davis)
May 17, 2006

From Disparity in city middle schools
(Sun photos by Amy Davis)

2-04-07 Liz Bowie, "Tailoring learning to tough middle years" Baltimore Sun

Maryland Report Card
 State schools identified for improvement

  

Essay Project: What Is To Be Done About William Paca Elementary School? (Kozol Questions)

Paca Business: Gift Drive?

Key Supreme Court Rulings on Segregation and School Funding Since Brown v Board of Education

Rodriguez v. San Antonio (1973) 
Milliken v. Bradley (1974)
Morgan v. Hennigan (1974) 
Oklahoma City v. Dowell (1990) 
Pitts v Freeman (1991) 
Missouri v. Jenkins (1995) 

Chapter 2: "Hitting Them Hardest When They Are Small" (39-62) (Study Guide)

Why are inner city schools struggling?
 
  • dilapidated infrastructure
  • inequitable school funding levels per pupil
  • inequitable teacher salaries
  • private fund raising for middle class public schools
  • inadequate public preschool

Conservative Response:

"Pumping more money into inner city public schools is like pumping more gas into a flooded carbuerator."

We need higher standards and better teacher accountability.

Kozol's rebuttal:

  • The same conservatives who argue against spending more money in inner city public schools spend heavily on their own children's educations including expensive preschool, private schools and tutoring.
  • We expect all inner city kids to be like Ben Carson and overcome disadvantages with extraordinary discipline while we have normal expectations for middle class kids.


Chapter 3: "The Ordering Regime" (63-87)

What impact has NCLB had on the curriculum and teaching methods of inner city schools? Are teachers at Paca using the kind of drill and response, rote teaching methods that Kozol abhors? Are the kids learning or are they being programmed? What is the difference? Look at the walls. Do you see student work of evidence of the achievement of a business goal?


Chapter 4: "Preparing Minds for Markets" (89-108) (Study Guide)

What are the characteristics of the dual public school system that is emerging? (What kind of future are the kids at Paca being prepared to enter?)

 
 

2    

9 7 Fri
     

 


"Moo-ray for Milk"

  

Paca School Visit (11:30-1:15)

Essay Project: What Is To Be Done About William Paca Elementary School? (Kozol Questions)

Chapter 5 “The Road to Rome” (109-134)(Study Guide)
 

  • To what degree have the NCLB standardized testing requirements taken over Paca's curriculum? (Are traditional courses like history geography and science still being taught? Have art and music programs been reduced? How much of the school year is spent specifically preparing for the MSA test?)
  • Are these tests useful diagnostic tools? (Are they used to help prepare an individualized educational program for the student? Are any other diagnostic tests administered to kids in less stressful situations?)
  • What happened to Paca's test scores when an influx of new students from another area school took place last year?


Chapter 6 “A Hardening of Lines” (135-160)(Study Guide)
 

  • Why does Kozol believe that magnet schools are discriminatory?
  • Is Paca turning into a magnet school, or will it serve as a model for other traditional elementary schools?

Homework:

Kozol, Chapter 7 “Excluding Beauty” (161-186)
and Chapter 8, “False Promises” (187-214) (Study Guide)

 
           
 

2    

12 8 Mon.
 

2    

13 9 Tues.  
     

 


Sen. Barack Obama


Rep. John  Lewis

2-11-07 Andrew A. Green, "Thornton Subverted Study Says" Baltimore Sun

2-11-07 Laura Barnhardt, "School closure strategy assailed
City wants to shut 10 facilities to save over $20 million" Baltimore Sun

2007 CONMAR Report on Recommended School Closures

  

Paca School Visit (11:30-1:15) Essay Project: What Is To Be Done About William Paca Elementary School? (Kozol Questions)

Kozol, Chapter 7 “Excluding Beauty” (161-186)
and Chapter 8, “False Promises” (187-214) (Study Guide)

Homework:

Kozol, Chapter 9, “Invitation to Resistance” (215-236) and
Chapter 10, “A National Horror In Plain View: Why Not a National Response” (237-263) (Study Guide)

For further reading:

From the Sun:

 

 

 
 

2    

14 10 Wed.
           
 

2    

15 1 Thurs.
     

 


Tommy G. Thompson, a former Cabinet member, is a panel chairman of the No Child Left Behind Commission

2-14-07 Amit Paley, "'No Child' Commission Presents Ambitious Plan" Washington Post

  

Paca School Visit (11:30-1:15)

Kozol, Chapter 9, “Invitation to Resistance” (215-236) and
Chapter 10, “A National Horror In Plain View: Why Not a National Response” (237-263) (Study Guide)

Homework:

Read Kozol, Chapter 11, “Deadly Lies” (265-284);
Chapter 12, “Treasured Places” (285-300) and Epilogue (310-317)(Study Guide)

Lead articles in the Sun today:

 
 

2    

16 0 Fri. Professional Day
           
 

2    

19 0 Mon. President's Day
 

2    

20 2 Tues
 

2    

21 3 Wed.
     


John Roberts 17th Chief Justice of the United States 


Samuel Alito, Associate Justice of the United States

  

Paca School Visit (11:30-1:15)Essay Project: What Is To Be Done About William Paca Elementary School? (Kozol Questions)

Chapter 11, “Deadly Lies” (265-284)
Chapter 12, “Treasured Places” (285-300) and Epilogue (310-317) (Study Guide)

On the Supreme Court's Docket this Spring: 12-2-06 AP Article on Supreme Court Decision to Hear School De-Segregation Case

Homework:

Kozol Essay Project: What Is To Be Done About William Paca Elementary School? Due Monday at 3:30 pm
 

2    

24 4 Thurs.
 

2   

23 5 Fri.
         

Paca School Visit (11:30-1:15) Essay Project: What Is To Be Done About William Paca Elementary School? (Kozol Questions)

Homework:

Kozol Essay Draft due Monday by 3:30 pm

From the Sun:
  2 26 6 Mon.  
     


5 Cents a Spot (1890) Jacob Riis


Typical Toughs (1890) Jacob Riis


A Black and Tan Dive (1890) Jacob Riis


42 Kids (1907) George Bellows


Cliffdwellers  (1913) 
by George Bellows

  

Essay Project: What Is To Be Done About William Paca Elementary School? (Kozol Questions) Due Monday by 3:30 pm

The Underclass Debate:

  • "The Underclass"- a group beyond the help of government
  • Term emerges in 1977-82 era
  • Time: drugs, crime, teen pregnancy, unemployed,
    socially alienated, school dropouts, welfare moms,
    Urban decay, black hole of welfare spending
  • Ken Auletta in 1977 Time Magazine article entitled "The American Underclass" suggested that a whole class of people were emerging in the inner city who might be beyond the reach of any form of help: a) passive poor, b) hostile street criminals c) hustlers,  d) drunks/addicts/homeless

Michael Katz: Responses to Poverty Outline

Mid-19th Century Vision of the City: "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" by Walt Whitman
 Introduction to Maggie: A Girl of the Streets (1892) by Stephen Crane

Homework:

Read Maggie: A Girl of the Streets (part one) Study Guide
 

2  

27 7 Tues.
     


Henri, Salome 1909
Mead Art Museum


A Melodrama from the Period
 

  

Essay Project: What Is To Be Done About William Paca Elementary School? (Kozol Questions)

Essay on Maggie due Monday at 3:30 pm.
Hard Determinism vs. Soft Determinism

Realism vs. Naturalism (narrative perspective)
 

Discuss Maggie: A Girl of the Streets (part one) Study Guide (Maggie Outline)

Homework:

Read Maggie: A Girl of the Streets (part two) Study Guide

 
 

2   

28 8 Wed.
 

3   

1 9 Thurs.
     


Anshutz, "The Iron Worker's Noontime" (1880)


Stag at Sharkey's (1909) George Bellows

   Paca School Visit (11:30-1:15) Essay Project: What Is To Be Done About William Paca Elementary School? (Kozol Questions)

Maggie: A Girl of the Streets (part two) Study Guide

Homework:
  3 2 10 Fri.  
           
  3 3 0 Sat  
           
  3 5 1 Mon.  
     




National Child Labor Committe(1905) Lewis Hines


Lange,  Migrant Mother Photos from Farm Security Administration
Photos (1936-38) (LOC)

 

Paca School Visit (11:30-1:15) Essay Project: What Is To Be Done About William Paca Elementary School? (Kozol Questions)

 

Maggie Essay Due by 3:30 pm

Photography and Ideology:

Changing Attitudes Towards the Poor (1890-1935): Jacob Riis, Lewis Hines and Dorothea Lange (ppt)

Introduction to The Promised Land (1991) by Nicholas Lemann

Homework:

Lemann, The Promised Land Clarksdale (pp1-58) (Study Guide)

 

 
 

3   

6 2 Tues.
     

 

    
 

3   

7 3 Wed.
     


McCormick-Deering Cotton Picker (1932)


Lawrence, "The Great Migration: A Story in Paintings"

 

Paca School Visit (11:30-1:15) Essay Project: What Is To Be Done About William Paca Elementary School? (Kozol Questions)

Lemann, The Promised Land Clarksdale (pp1-58) (Study Guide) (Answers)

Clarksdale Discussion; Julius Discussion Guide

Homework:

Lemann, The Promised Land Chicago (59-107) (Study Guide)
  3 8 4 Thurs.  
  3 9 5 Fri.  
     

 
Apartment Building inChicago's
"Black Belt" (LOC)

 

Final Paca Visit

Lemann, The Promised Land Chicago (59-107) (Study Guide) (Answers)

Homework:

Wright, Native Son, Book 1: "Fear" (Study Guide)
 

 
  3 10 0 Sat. Spring Break
 

3   

19 0 Mon. Spring Break
 

3   

20 6 Tues
     


Canada Lee as Bigger Thomas

3-17-07 Elissa Gootman The Critical Years: For Teachers, Middle School Is Test of Wills NY Times

Schools unveil budget
$1.2 billion city plan targets class size, middle schools (Mar 14, 2007)

Worry grows on Md. testing  Groups, lawmakers voice concerns on '09 diploma requirement (Mar 12, 2007)

  Paca Essay Due at 3:30 p.m.

Essay Assignment on Native Son, due Thursday, March 29th

The Underclass Debate:

  • "The Underclass"- a group beyond the help of government
  • Term emerges in 1977-82 era
  • Time: drugs, crime, teen pregnancy, unemployed,
    socially alienated, school dropouts, welfare moms,
    Urban decay, black hole of welfare spending
  • Ken Auletta in 1977 Time Magazine article entitled "The American Underclass" suggested that a whole class of people were emerging in the inner city who might be beyond the reach of any form of help: a) passive poor, b) hostile street criminals c) hustlers,  d) drunks/addicts/homeless

Photography and Ideology:

Changing Attitudes Towards the Poor (1880-1940): Jacob Riis, Lewis Hines and Dorothea Lange (ppt)

Michael Katz: Responses to Poverty Outline

 
 

3   

21 7 Wed.
     

'Buddies' program lauded
Special-education students gain a friend, develop self-esteem (Mar 11, 2007)

Middle school algebra scores  (Mar 18, 2007)

 

Wright, Native Son, Book 1: "Fear"  (Study Guide) (Discussion)

Homework:

Wright, Native Son, Book 2, "Flight" (study guide book 2)

"Bessie's Blues" (See Bessie Smith on Pittsburgh State's Jazz and Blues Page)

For further reading:

 
 

3   

22 8 Thurs
  3 23 9 Fri  
     


Richard Wright as Bigger Thomas and Gloria Madison as Bessie Mears in the 1950 film version of Native Son

   Essay Assignment on Native Son, due Thursday, March 29th

Wright, Native Son, Book 2, "Flight" (study guide book 2) (discussion)

Homework:

Wright, Native Son, Book 3, "Fate" (Study Guide) (discussion)
           
  3 24   Sat Paca Visit to Gilman
           
  3 26 10 Mon.  
     

 

    
 

3

 27 1 Tues.  
     


Josh Cochran, New York Times 3-26-06


Kashai Galloway (left) and Tyron Edmonds, pupils at the independent, public New Song Academy in West Baltimore's Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood, tackle some math.
(Sun photo by Chiaki Kawajiri)

 

Wright, Native Son, Book 3, "Fate" (Study Guide) (discussion)

For further reading:

Homework:

Essay Assignment on Native Son, due Thursday, March 29th

 
 

3 

28 2 Wed.
 

3

 29 3 Thurs.
     


The Problem We All Live With, Norman Rockwell (illustration for Look 1964)

   Essay Assignment on Native Son, due 3:30 p.m.

The Post-War Liberal Consensus 
Helpful Chronological Framework

Homework:

Lemann, The Promised Land Washington, part one (study guide)

For Further Reading:

  • America's War on Poverty: Part One: "In This Affluent Society" (1995) (PBS)

 
 

3 

30 4 Fri.
 

4  

2 5 Mon.
     


LBJ

  

Lemann, The Promised Land Clarksdale (pp1-58) (Study Guide) (Answers)
Lemann, The Promised Land Chicago (59-107) (Study Guide) (Answers)

The Post-War Liberal Consensus 
Helpful Chronological Framework

Class Discussion: What does it take to fight a “War on Poverty”? (just like a “War on Drugs” or a “War on Terrorism”)

 Lemann, The Promised Land Washington, part one (study guide) (answers)

Flow Chart Assignment, Due Wednesday, April 4 by 3:30 pm

Homework:

Lemann, The Promised Land Washington, part two (study guide) (discussion)

 
 

4  

3 6 Tues.
     


Malcolm X

  

Flow Chart Assignment, Due Wednesday, April 4 by 3:30 pm

Lemann, The Promised Land Washington, part two (study guide) (discussion)

Homework:

War on Poverty Flow Chart due Wednesday at 3:30 pm

 
 

4  

4 7 Wed.
     


Streetcorner Men in Washington, 1963

  

War on Poverty Flow Chart due by 3:30 pm

Lemann, The Promised Land Washington, part two (study guide) (discussion)

Introduction to Talley's Corner by Elliott Liebow

Homework:

Talley’s Corner by Elliott Liebow, 1 and 2 (Study Guide 1,2)
 

4  

5 8 Thurs.  
     

 

    
 

4  

6 0 Fri. Good Friday
           
  4 7 0 Sat Paca Visit to Gilman
           
 

4  

9 0 Mon. Professional Day
 

4  

10 9 Tues.
     


Romare Bearden: Rocket to the Moon (1971)

 

Talley’s Corner by Elliott Liebow, 1 and 2 (Study Guide 1,2) (Lesson Plan 1)

Talley's Corner Essay due Thursday, April 19th at 3:30 p.m.

Homework:
 

Talley’s Corner, 3 and 4 (Study Guide 3,4)

 
 

4  

11 10 Wed.
 

4  

12 1 Thurs.
     


Streetcorner Men in Washington, 1963

Interview with David Rusk: Fixing schools by mixing them by Michael Hill Sun reporter April 9, 2006

4-11-07 Funding for charter schools argued in state's high court Sun

4-8-07 Spending deal is reached  O'Malley budget keeps funds for schools, stem cells Sun

 

 

 

  

Talley's Corner Essay due Thursday, April 19th at 3:30 p.m. 

Paca Saturday set for April 28th. Please plan to be there.

Who's voice do you trust most?
 

  1. Hilfiker (doctor)
  2. Kozol (educator)
  3. Crane (journalist/novelist)
  4. Wright (novelist)
  5. Lemann (journalist)
  6. Liebow (sociologist)

Talley’s Corner, 2,  3 and 4 (Study Guide 1,2) (Study Guide 3,4)

Chapter 2. "Men and Jobs" Main Idea: Why is getting and keeping a job a low priority on the corner scale of real values? What conclusion is Liebow leading us towards? Is his evidence convincing?

4-10-07 Md. will be the first state to provide 'living wage' Sun

Chapter 3: "Fathers Without Children": Main Idea: How can we inform our judgment of "deadbeat dads" by considering the influence of environment and culture?

Homework:

Talley’s Corner, 4 and 5 (Study Guide 3,4) (Study Guide 5,6)

For further reading:
 

4  

13 2 Fri.  
 

4  

16 3 Mon.  
     
Streetcorner Men in Washington, 1963		  

Talley’s Corner, 5 and 6 (Study Guide 3,4) (Study Guide 5,6)

Chapter 4: "Husbands and Wives": Main Idea: What impact does economic insecurity have on the relationships between man and woman in the corner culture?

Chapter 5: "Lovers and Exploiters": Main Idea: How does economic insecurity turn physical attraction into 'cynical, self-serving marauding'?

Homework:

Talley’s Corner, 7 and Appendix (Study Guide 7, Appendix)
 
 
 

4  

17 4 Tues.
 

4  

18 5 Wed.
     
Streetcorner Men in Washington, 1963		  

Talley's Corner Essay due Thursday, April 19th at 3:30 p.m.

Chapter 6: "Friends and Networks": Why do attempts to organize and maintain solidarity fail?

Talley’s Corner, 7 and Appendix

(Study Guide 5,6) (Study Guide 7, Appendix)

Homework:

Talley’s Corner Essay Due Thursday at 3:30 pm

 
 

4  

19 6 Thurs.  
     


Jitney at Huntingdon Theatre, Boston
 (1999)


August Wilson (1945-2005)

  

Talley’s Corner Essay Due at 3:30 pm

Introduction to Jitney (1977) by August Wilson
August Wilson Backgrounds

Jitney (1977; 1997)

The Time: 1977 ; The Situation of African-Americans in 1977
The Place: Pittsburgh 
Jitneys in Pittsburgh (Center Stage)

Homework:

Read Act One of Jitney (Study Guide)
 

4  

20 7 Fri.
     

 


Paul Butler, Michole Briana White and Russell Hornsby in "Jitney."


August Wilson (1945-2005)

 

  

 

Act One of Jitney (Study Guide)

Today's the day that Becker will announce to his drivers that the Urban Renewal is moving in, he's moving out, and he's not sure that he wants to keep the business going.

Today's the day that Fielding finally gets himself fired.

Today's the day that the feud between Youngblood and Turnbo breaks wide open.

Today's the day that Rena confronts Youngblood with her suspicions about his running around with Peaches.

Today's the day that Becker's boy, Booster, is getting out of the penitentiary and coming home to meet his father.

Thesis: How are the strands of the action inter-related? (ie, is it just an accident that each of these thunderheads breaks simultaneously?)

Homework:

Act Two of Jitney (Study Guide)  
 

4  

23 8 Mon.
 

4  

24 9 Tues.
     


Paul Butler as Becker


August Wilson's last play, Radio Golf, opens on Broadway.


Planning a Path Through Life on the Walk to School

“I’m thinking, probably, about trying to get out of the neighborhood.”
Janay Truitt

 

Act Two of Jitney (Study Guide) 

  • What problems are Youngblood and Rena having in their relationship? (How would Liebow analyze their situation?) What must they do to make it work? (73-77)

  • How about Becker's problem with the city? Will he work that out? (How would Liebow analyze this situation?) What are the stakes? How important is Becker to this neighborhood? (36-37)

  • How are the problems between Becker and his son Booster related to the neighborhood's crisis? (How would Liebow analyze this relationship?) (What would Richard Wright have to say?) (53-60)

  • What plan does Becker come up with? (84-87)

  • Unpack the political meaning of the play's conclusion. How does Becker's death relate to Wilson's point? What will happen to the jitney drivers? What about Booster's response? (88-96) 

Homework:

Jitney Essay Due Thursday at 3:30 pm.
 

4

 25 10 Wed.
 

4

 26 1 Thurs.
     

 


"Who Gets to Tell a Black Story?", Janny Scott. New York Times. New York, N.Y.: Jun 11, 2000.

  

Jitney Essay Due at 3:30 pm

Introduction to The Corner (1992) by David Simon and Edward Burns:

 

The Corner Video

Homework:

The Corner 1-2 (Study Guide)

 
 

4

 27 2 Fri.
 

4

 30 3 Mon.
     

 


The Corner of Monroe and Fayette in West Baltimore

"Facing Up to Baltimore's Reality on HBO" Pamela Haag Christian Science Monitor Aug 6, 2007

  

The Corner 1-2

Homework:

The Corner 3-4 (Study Guide)

For further reading:

4-15-07 Gus G. Sentementes and Annie Linskey, Gang problem hemorrhaging: Feeding on drug trade, groups increasingly organized, violent Sun special report

 
 

5

 1 4 Tues. Field Trip to Washington
     

 

    
 

5

 2 5 Wed.
     

  The Corner 3-4

Baltimore City Local News (Sunpapers)

Mayor Dixon's New Policing Strategy

Homework:
 

The Corner 5-6 (Study Guide)

 
 

5

 3 6 Thurs.
     

  The Corner Video
 

5

 4 7 Fri.
     

 

The Corner 5-6

Homework:

The Corner 7-8 (Study Guide)
           
 

5

 7 8 Mon.
 

5

 8 9 Tues.
     

 

The Corner 7-8

The Corner 9-10, Epilogue (Study Guide)

 
 

5

 9 10 Wed.
 

5

 10 1 Thurs.
     


From Two Broken Lives to One New Beginning NY Times August 9, 2007

  

The Corner 9-10, Epilogue

Homework:

 Wilson, New Yorker Profile by David Remnick April 29, 1996

 
 

5

 11 2 Fri.
  5 12 0 Sat Paca Visit to Gilman
 

5

 14 3 Mon.
     

 

Wilson, New Yorker Profile;  Reading Guide

The Conservative Final Word: "Are jobs the solution?"  Loury, Glenn C. The Wilson Quarterly. Washington: Autumn 1996.Vol. 20

vs.

"Why Are So Many Americans in Prison?" Glenn C. Loury,  Boston Review July/August 2007

Homework:

Essay due: Wilson on The Corner Wednesday at 3:30 pm

For further reading:

Fifty-three years after Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court will rule this month on two cases that will decide the future of school integration.

 
 

5

 15 4 Tues.
 

5

 16 5 Wed.
         

Essay due: Wilson on The Corner at 3:30 pm
 

5

 17 6 Thurs.
          Senior Exams
 

5

 18 7 Fri.  
          Senior Exams
  5 21 8 Mon.
          Senior Encounter Meeting
 

5

 22 9 Tues..
          Senior Encounter Begins
 

5

 23 10 Wed.
 

5

 24 1 Thurs..
 

5

 25 2 Fri.
 

5

 28 0 Mon. Memorial Day
 

5

 29 3 Tues.  
 

5

 30 4 Wed.  
 

5

 31 5 Thurs.  
 

6

 1 6 Fri.  
  6 4 7 Mon. Exams
  6 5 8 Tues. Exams
  6 6 9 Wed. Exams
  6 7 10 Thurs. Exam Make-up Day
  6 8 1 Fri.  
  6 11 0 Mon. Founders Day
  6 12 0 Tues. Faculty Meeting
  6 13 0 Wed. Faculty Meeting
  6 14 0 Thurs.  
  6 15 0 Fri.  
          Recent Articles on Education:
          1-21-04 "Back to the Basics on Thornton: Why it Was Needed and What it Does,"  Maryland Policy Institute
5- 23-05 Alison Perkins-Cohen "Charter funding formula flawed" The Baltimore Sun
 2-15-06 Sara Neufeld, School closings favored by panel: 5,300 students in city will be moved in fall if board OKs plan aimed at increasing efficiency Baltimore Sun
3-3-06 "In Baby Boomlet, Preschool Derby Is the Fiercest Yet" NY Times
3-29-06 Md. acts to seize 11 city schools: Grasmick seeks control under No Child Left Behind;  Baltimore officials furious, contend move is political by Liz Bowie and Sara Neufeld, Sun
4-03-2006 John Cassidy, "Relatively Deprived: How poor is poor?"  New Yorker 
June 2006 "2006 Maryland Report Card"
June 2006 2006 Maryland School Assessment Baltimore Sun
July 2006, Matthew B. Crawford, "Shop Class as Soulcraft" The New Atlantis
Fall 2006 Karen Kornbluh, "Families Valued" Democracy
1-18-06 Lips, Feinberg "School Choice: 2006 Progress Report" Heritage Foundation
11-26-06 Paul Tough, "What It Takes to Make A Student" N.Y. Times Magazine
12-04-06 Yuval Levin, "Putting Parents First" Weekly Standard
12-4-06 David Herszenhorn, "Bucking Tide of School Reform", NY Times OP-ED
12-2-06 AP Article on Supreme Court Decision to Hear School De-Segregation Case
12-3-06 David Brooks, "Teaching the Elephant" NY Times Op-Ed
12-2-06 Derbyshire, "The Dream Palace of Educational Theorists" New English Review
12-7-06 Judith Warner, "The Real Value of Public Pre-School" NY Times Op-Ed
1-1-07 Sara Neufeld, "K-8 school backers call for funding" Baltimore Sun
1-3-07 Elissa Gootman, Trying to Find Solutions in Chaotic Middle Schools NY Times
1-10-07 Sara Neufeld,  "School board meeting disrupted" Baltimore Sun
1-14-07 Susan Gvozdas, "Law doesn't fit all" Baltimore Sun
1-2-07 Liz Bowie, "Can less equal more?" Baltimore Sun
1-18-07 Sara Neufeld, "Plan to shut about 2/3rds of city middle schools" Baltimore Sun
1-18-07 Andrew A. Green "O'Malley to slow spending"  Baltimore Sun
1-19-07 Tom Moore, "Classroom Distinctions" NY Times OP-ED
1-19-07 John Wagner, "O'Malley 'Conservative' In '08 Budget Proposal" Wash. Post
1-22-07 Elissa Gootman, Taking Middle Schoolers Out of the Middle  NY Times
Winter 2007 Albert B. Fernandez,  "The Almighty Facts: A Review of The Knowledge Deficit, by E. D. Hirsch Jr." The Common Review
1-27-07 Katherine Boo, "Expectations" New Yorker (More by Katherine Boo)
2-04-07 Liz Bowie, "Tailoring learning to tough middle years" Baltimore Sun
2-04-07 Brigid Schulte, "How Not to Pick a School" Washington Post
2-11-07 Andrew A. Green "Thornton Subverted Study Says" Baltimore Sun
2-11-07 Laura Barnhardt, "School closure strategy assailed" Baltimore Sun
2-13-07 Andrew A. Green, "Allocations of Funds for Poor Student Questioned" Baltimore Sun
2-14-07 Amit Paley, "'No Child' Commission Presents Ambitious Plan" Washington Post
2-14-07 Richard L. Colvin, "An Incomplete Lesson Plan for Struggling Schools" Washington Post
2-19-07 Sara Neufeld and Brent Jones, "Tensions simmer over school in Federal Hill" Baltimore Sun
2-28-07 Brent Jones, "Sweeping overhaul OK'd for schools: City board votes to close 7, give Towson University control of 4, restructure 3 failing high schools" Baltimore Sun
3-17-07 Elissa Gootman The Critical Years: For Teachers, Middle School Is Test of Wills NY Times