Tracking: A Love Story
By Irene Ostberg
I attended a suburban Detroit high school, Adali Stevenson High School. The socioeconomic breakdown of my school was working class to higher middle class. Some students did not have a lot of money and some students did. We also had a very large Middle Eastern population consisting mainly of Chaldean (Christian Iraqis), Macedonian, Serbian, and Albanian. I would say about half of the school was Caucasian, the other half was Middle Eastern, and a small segment was African American.
As I recall my high school experience, I remember wanting to get out of the general education population. It was boring and loud. I was asked to read the chapter and ask questions. I hated English class in 9th grade and worked hard to be recommended to 10th grade Honors English.
Meanwhile, other students sat in the general track English class using rote knowledge. I left them in those classes and happily went off to my Honors and later Advanced Placement classes.
The students I left behind were mainly the Middle Eastern students. Although there were a few in my class, most of the students were Caucasian and from middle to higher middle income families.
Many of the Middle Eastern students in my school spoke English as a second language. I knew this because my locker was between two Albanian cousins. Whenever I went to my locker, they were conversing back in forth in their native language. I quickly retrieved my books and hurried to class, worried they were talking about me.
I loved the tracking because it put me “above” other students. I was seen as smart and treated differently. Our teachers spoke to us as we were intelligent, gave us more meaningful reading and writing assignments, and allowed us to move past recall.
However, for the other students who were not tracked, they were talked down to as “dummies” and not much was expected of them.
Another group I left out of this story so far was the Special Education population. I did not have any of these students in my class, but I know about them because my brother is Learning Disabled. When I went to high school, these students were sometimes taught separately from the other students. They would disappear to a Resource Room and, as my brother recalls, told the answers. My brother stopped going to this room in junior high because he thought it was cheating.
By Irene Ostberg
I attended a suburban Detroit high school, Adali Stevenson High School. The socioeconomic breakdown of my school was working class to higher middle class. Some students did not have a lot of money and some students did. We also had a very large Middle Eastern population consisting mainly of Chaldean (Christian Iraqis), Macedonian, Serbian, and Albanian. I would say about half of the school was Caucasian, the other half was Middle Eastern, and a small segment was African American.
As I recall my high school experience, I remember wanting to get out of the general education population. It was boring and loud. I was asked to read the chapter and ask questions. I hated English class in 9th grade and worked hard to be recommended to 10th grade Honors English.
Meanwhile, other students sat in the general track English class using rote knowledge. I left them in those classes and happily went off to my Honors and later Advanced Placement classes.
The students I left behind were mainly the Middle Eastern students. Although there were a few in my class, most of the students were Caucasian and from middle to higher middle income families.
Many of the Middle Eastern students in my school spoke English as a second language. I knew this because my locker was between two Albanian cousins. Whenever I went to my locker, they were conversing back in forth in their native language. I quickly retrieved my books and hurried to class, worried they were talking about me.
I loved the tracking because it put me “above” other students. I was seen as smart and treated differently. Our teachers spoke to us as we were intelligent, gave us more meaningful reading and writing assignments, and allowed us to move past recall.
However, for the other students who were not tracked, they were talked down to as “dummies” and not much was expected of them.
Another group I left out of this story so far was the Special Education population. I did not have any of these students in my class, but I know about them because my brother is Learning Disabled. When I went to high school, these students were sometimes taught separately from the other students. They would disappear to a Resource Room and, as my brother recalls, told the answers. My brother stopped going to this room in junior high because he thought it was cheating.
An Eternal B
By Irene Ostberg
Why must it always be
When I look down at my paper, I see a "B"?
With each assignment I do my best
But
I always fail your evasive test.
I see red marks on my white page
Below the desk fists clench with rage.
Mrs. Holt, can it be?
Do you even look to see?
You cannot be reading what I write.
If you did you would understand what I mean
But all you see is the name Irene.
Why must it always be
When I look down at my paper, I see a "B"?
With each assignment I do my best
But
I always fail your evasive test.
I see red marks on my white page
Below the desk fists clench with rage.
Mrs. Holt, can it be?
Do you even look to see?
You cannot be reading what I write.
If you did you would understand what I mean
But all you see is the name Irene.
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Only assignment I enjoyed in high school was Writing a Declaration of Independence from my parents. Writing the paper was therapy not work.
