Dana Suleiman

PS 1010

Dr. Cavin

21 April 2017

PS 1010 Reflection

When I first began doing research on the topic of education in Detroit, I was not prepared

for the information I would find. The complexity and depth of the problem with education in

Detroit saddened me. I was extremely surprised to learn that several Detroit Public Schools

lacked basic resources to teach their students. I was also surprised once I learned more about the

cycle of poverty and educations role in it. All of the research I did inspired me to seek out

solutions for this problem. Although I am not sure that there is one specific solution, this group

project has shown me the importance of being an active agent in society.

Through my service learning I also learned a lot about the educational system. I tutored

students at Neinas Elementary School once a week. During these sessions, I taught and quizzed

them on words that they need to know for the MSTEP. These children were almost all Spanish

speakers which greatly hindered their ability to understand MSTEP vocabulary. This experience

opened my eyes to another structural barrier that affects the Detroit educational system.

Language is a great barrier for students in the public school system. If students can not

understand basic English vocabulary, then they can not achieve good test results on standardized

tests. This experience made me want to do more work with students who speak English as their

second language. I hope to, at least, continue doing work on a civic sphere level with Detroit

Public School students. I also want to continue doing research about the problem and different

potential solutions.
 One of the main things that I learned this semester was the importance of being informed.

I feel that I did not actively seek out information about problems that are happening so close to

me because they did not involve me; however, through my experiences this semester, I have

learned that whether a problem affects me or not, I should be informed about it. In addition, I

learned a lot from evaluating the types of news sources which I gain information from. I want to

aim to diversify my news sources so that I get information from both sides of the spectrum. I

think that it is a persons duty to stay informed so matter what the problem is. In society today,

people are only informed about things that they want to hear and only from one side of the

spectrum. Therefore, it is important to not only remain informed, but to make people aware that

they are not receiving information from diverse news sources.