User:Adna Abdirahman/sandbox

What is Urban Education?
Urban Education is a response to the mainstream Eurocentric education system. It is a method of curriculum and instruction that does not look at seeking equality, but rather equity, within classrooms. An education that does not include equitable teaching practices in favour of ensuring the success of all individuals seeks to disempower students and prevent them from progressing academically. As noted in “Towards Race Equity in Education,” students are exposed to “negative messages” that the “Eurocentric school curriculum sends to racialized youth, [which includes] alienation of Black students, lack of Black teachers, and how low expectations and the streaming practices of teachers and guidance counsellors continue to discourage Black students from pursing post-secondary education.” The absence of representation coupled with these mitigating factors seek to distance, exclude and marginalize Black students while inevitably pushing them to the margins of society. The experiences of racialized students and data suggests that they are prevented from obtaining a high quality learning experience due to low educational expectations, lack of belief in academic merit and ability. As such, it is important to analyze the unequal distribution of power in classrooms and how meritocracy is established. Racialized students are met with unfavourable attitudes and bias due to areas of race and class. This hierarchy and power dynamic is sustained by what Duncan-Andrade and Morrel refer to as the “deficit model.” The failure of urban students is perpetuated by the notion that some students are meant to fail and succeed, whilst conveniently placing racialized students at the bottom of the pyramid. The unjust treatment and low expectations and outcomes for Black students is tolerated, when it is in fact a function of “academic apartheid”. Urban education acknowledges that individuals begin their journey in school at different places in life and that this unequal start does not dictate a student’s journey towards success.

Culturally Relevant Pedagogy and Urban Education
Culturally relevant pedagogy is integral to Urban Education in order to cater to the diverse needs of students. Similar to the approaches mentioned in Pedagogy of the Oppressed , importance is given to dialogue and an equal exchange of knowledge and power between student and teacher. This anti-oppressive framework seeks to reconcile the relationship between the teacher and student, promote meaningful dialogue in education, liberation through the process of humanization, and critical and cultural consciousness. Freire proposes that these factors can eventually lead to social awareness and further develop into transformative action. Rooted in the work of Patricia Hill-Collins, Ladson-Billings expresses an urgency for care and cultural competency to be the foundation of teaching practices. Within this framework, students are accepted for their identity and are not asked to discard their culture at home. Unfortunately, urban students “are asked (sometimes tacitly, sometimes explicitly) to exchange the culture their home and community for the higher culture of the school in exchange for access to college.” (Duncan-Andrade, Morrell 7). Alternatively, Urban Education seeks to dismantle the dichotomy between cultural identity and education. Being culturally responsive informs the educator to improve the learning experiences of urban students who fall between the gaps by incorporating transformative teaching practices.