All posts by Dave Rameau

Work-Life Balance

Urban Adolescents

“One strategy involves pursuit of higher education
through a combination of schooling and steady,
moderate employment. Having learned to balance
school and work during high school, many youth are
able to follow a path that continues this effective time
management while in college. A pattern of steady
work across the high school and college years has an
even bigger impact on adolescents in weaker academic
positions those with fewer academic resources
to draw on in their pursuit of a Bachelor’s
degree”(Johnson, Crosnoe, Elder p.175).

I don’t know why this never occurred to me before; developing the ability to balance work and school would bring advantages later on in life, especially in college. Continue reading Work-Life Balance →

PAR & Descriptive Review

Observing to Learn and Learning to Observe

“Photovoice is a participatory action-based research process that allows its
participants to tell their own stories through photo exhibitions, public presentations, and
school displays […] Photovoice allows members of marginalized communities to
share their experiences with others and empowers them to become positive change
agents within their communities.” (Roxas et al. 2017 p5)

The first time I heard about Participatory Action Research was around this time last year. I was working on a project with a friend of mine, also in education, which we would present later on in the semester. Reading this article made me realize that I didn’t really understand what PAR was when he was explaining it to me then (or after, either).

Continue reading PAR & Descriptive Review →

Too Little or Too Much

Culturally, Linguistically, and Socioeconomically Diverse Adolescents in Urban Contexts: Framing the Conversation, Urban Adolescents

” If the Black body is not fully, or really, Human, then it can be subjected to pain beyond that which is regarded as humanly possible (Hartman, 1997).Further, the Black may be seen as requiring heightened and sustained levels of pain in order to learn, as might a dog or a beast of burden.”

What struck me the most about the video of “The Assault on Shakara at Spring Valley High”, beyond the sheer violence of how the police officer removed the girl from her seat, was the fact that there was an adult black man, tucked shirt and pants, calmly ambling around the center of the room – the teacher, presumably… Continue reading Too Little or Too Much →