This chapter really serves as a great ending for the class, bringing together the main points and things we as future educators should keep in mind. At times, I felt as though many of the course readings were simply complaining about one injustice or another, never offering a solution. However, this chapter gives advice about what we as educators can do to ensure an equal education for all. For example, as shown by an interview with a student, most students just want teachers to accept them as unique individuals. We need to stress to our students that they can be whatever they set their mind to. We need to dump our traditional, one size fits all expectations and use judgement on a case by case basis that makes sense. We need to be racially aware in our classrooms, even with issues that are not blatantly discriminatory, such as not having the culture of a student represented in some way in the classroom. Though the text states that we need to build on the identity of our students, I fear that due to all of the demands on academics and standardized testing that exist, it may be difficult to explore the cultures and identities of every student due to time constraints. However, I will try my best to find creative ways to solve this problem.
Through my ELL class and this one, I think it is integral that foreign languages are not only allowed, but encouraged in our classrooms, as we know it will help students of other cultures learn. The book makes note of the need for multicultural programs, which I do indeed agree with to a certain extent. However, my only fear is that students benefiting from these programs may feel different than other students and this is not our intention. I think to a point we should be more focused on bringing students from different cultures into ours and including them, though I do understand the benefits of such programs. Our readings and this chapter really highlighted for me just how much power we really have as teachers to change the lives of our students, positively or negatively. Furthermore, out of all the points this chapter raised regarding dealings with students, I feel the most difficult part will be getting parent involvement and dealing with parents. Adults seem like the hardest people to connect to in a way. Lastly, the part of the reading which emphasized that one cannot be a multicultural teacher without first becoming a multicultural person made lots of sense to me. I am glad that the book went over ways for teachers to reach this objective, such as by confronting deeply hidden racism within all of us. I feel after reading this section that I may be able to take some of the tools given to me and apply them to my own life and most of all, my future teaching practice.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
From Moral Supporters to Struggling Advocates
Parental involvement is an important topic in the field of education. This article by Auerbach highlights some important flaws in assumptions we make about parental involvement in education. For example, we know that it is good that parents are involved with their children's education. However, we assume that every demographic has the same involvement and ability to be involved with education. In reality, discriminated groups such as African Americans do not have the economic ability to be as involved in their children's education in the same way as whites. I think we as educators forget, as the article highlights, that these groups have been discriminated against over time with the educational system failing them. Therefore, these groups are more likely to be skeptical and not want to participate in the educational system. We need to restore their faith.
Though the article highlights the inequality that contributes to less minority parent involvement, I think solutions are what we need most. Teachers need to do all they can to work in a team-like fashion with parents to make them feel comfortable and welcomed by the educational system. If not, they will feel alienated and participate less rather than more. It is our jobs as educators to reach out to these families, such as by a friendly phone call in the evening, to try to warm them toward involvement. If we don't make all demographics feel welcomed, it will be impossible to get them involved in the educational system.
The biggest thing I got from this article was that we need to look at this topic from the minority perspective, as up until now educators use their white middle class perspectives to inaccurately explain why minority parental involvement is limited. For example, they do not realize that minority families may make sacrifices to enable their children to go to better schools or might limit chore responsibilities of their children so that they can focus on school (pg. 252). Teachers may not see this and view minority parents' apparent apathy towards attending things such as conferences or back to school nights as laziness and a lack of care. However, these educators need to realize that minority parents may have different cultural assumptions, such as that parents do not have a role in their child's education and should not be actively involved in the school. This is simply miscommunication between cultures and results in misunderstanding and an end result of continued non involvement in education by minority parents. Instead, we need to let them know it is alright to be involved and welcome them, not making assumptions of these people who are from different cultures. This article suggests it is possible to find a way in to get minority parents involved in their children's education, we as educators just need to stop finding these ways through a strictly white middle class perspective.
Though the article highlights the inequality that contributes to less minority parent involvement, I think solutions are what we need most. Teachers need to do all they can to work in a team-like fashion with parents to make them feel comfortable and welcomed by the educational system. If not, they will feel alienated and participate less rather than more. It is our jobs as educators to reach out to these families, such as by a friendly phone call in the evening, to try to warm them toward involvement. If we don't make all demographics feel welcomed, it will be impossible to get them involved in the educational system.
The biggest thing I got from this article was that we need to look at this topic from the minority perspective, as up until now educators use their white middle class perspectives to inaccurately explain why minority parental involvement is limited. For example, they do not realize that minority families may make sacrifices to enable their children to go to better schools or might limit chore responsibilities of their children so that they can focus on school (pg. 252). Teachers may not see this and view minority parents' apparent apathy towards attending things such as conferences or back to school nights as laziness and a lack of care. However, these educators need to realize that minority parents may have different cultural assumptions, such as that parents do not have a role in their child's education and should not be actively involved in the school. This is simply miscommunication between cultures and results in misunderstanding and an end result of continued non involvement in education by minority parents. Instead, we need to let them know it is alright to be involved and welcome them, not making assumptions of these people who are from different cultures. This article suggests it is possible to find a way in to get minority parents involved in their children's education, we as educators just need to stop finding these ways through a strictly white middle class perspective.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Dreamkeepers
For this week, we had to read Dreamkeepers, a book that complimented my experiences with African American children in the classroom well. One of the important premises is that despite popular opinion, African Americans and inner city children can attain the same educational standards as any other student in the classroom. I think that it is very important that as teachers we engage every audience in our classrooms regardless of culture or background. In this way, the book verifies other readings we have conducted over the semester that talk about the importance of engaging students and their prior knowledge to help them learn. Therefore, African American history and the histories of underrepresented populations that may be in our classrooms is something that needs to be integrated into each daily lesson, rather than on one or two separate occasions during the year. Therefore, I will try to find readings from varied authors of varied backgrounds for as many assignments as possible.
Another way teachers can engage African American students is by embracing their experiences and by encouraging them to share and stay active within the classroom, something the book highlights as well. While race relations have come a long way in contemporary America, the book highlights how there is still separate educational practices in modern schools. As a teacher with limited power, I will attempt to make sure African American children are being included as much as possible during class assignments. One of the strengths of this book is that it not only discusses the history of the education of African Americans, but also provides possible solutions and practical applications teachers can use in the classroom. Furthermore, the book explores issues from every perspective, something other readings have not done so well. I believe a very important point in this book that we should all take away is that teachers need to accommodate to student's needs and not be rigid and inflexible, as it does a disservice not only to African American students, but all students in the classroom. Another point that stood out to me in the reading was how many new teachers assimilate to their school's cultural environment and practices. This could be a challenge to myself as a first year teacher because I will be focused on just getting through the year while not creating any trouble or tension, something that might pressure me to assimilate and not truly be looking out for the interests of my students. This is something I will be sure to keep aware of, as my responsibility is to educate EVERYONE in the classroom. I find it appalling that African American students are blamed for their own failures, when from the beginning they never had a fair chance due to unintended oppression even within the educational system from an early age. We as teachers need to be less focused on blame and more on solutions. As a quick side note which relates to the topic, in another class many of us tutored K-12 students who were almost exclusively African American and I found that these students were more motivated to learn than many white suburban students I had come across in substitute teaching. They were fun and easy to work with. They did not fit the educational stereotypes of how African American youth "should" perform. Overall, this book made me more aware of any possible unintended discrimination I may have been at fault for in my future classroom had I not read this book.
Another way teachers can engage African American students is by embracing their experiences and by encouraging them to share and stay active within the classroom, something the book highlights as well. While race relations have come a long way in contemporary America, the book highlights how there is still separate educational practices in modern schools. As a teacher with limited power, I will attempt to make sure African American children are being included as much as possible during class assignments. One of the strengths of this book is that it not only discusses the history of the education of African Americans, but also provides possible solutions and practical applications teachers can use in the classroom. Furthermore, the book explores issues from every perspective, something other readings have not done so well. I believe a very important point in this book that we should all take away is that teachers need to accommodate to student's needs and not be rigid and inflexible, as it does a disservice not only to African American students, but all students in the classroom. Another point that stood out to me in the reading was how many new teachers assimilate to their school's cultural environment and practices. This could be a challenge to myself as a first year teacher because I will be focused on just getting through the year while not creating any trouble or tension, something that might pressure me to assimilate and not truly be looking out for the interests of my students. This is something I will be sure to keep aware of, as my responsibility is to educate EVERYONE in the classroom. I find it appalling that African American students are blamed for their own failures, when from the beginning they never had a fair chance due to unintended oppression even within the educational system from an early age. We as teachers need to be less focused on blame and more on solutions. As a quick side note which relates to the topic, in another class many of us tutored K-12 students who were almost exclusively African American and I found that these students were more motivated to learn than many white suburban students I had come across in substitute teaching. They were fun and easy to work with. They did not fit the educational stereotypes of how African American youth "should" perform. Overall, this book made me more aware of any possible unintended discrimination I may have been at fault for in my future classroom had I not read this book.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Affirming Diversity: Chapters Four Reaction
A major claim in chapter four is that schools are not reflective of our society's democratic principles. I feel this is not only true, but that inequality in schools is even greater than it is in general society. For example, the social stigma poor kids face in schools by richer children and even teacher bias is horrendously great. Furthermore, if you add in racial differences, there is a clear pecking order whereby the rich kids are at the top and get many more opportunities than those at the bottom. This was shown in my experiences, as when I was in high school all the richest kids were all white, the most popular, and could afford things such as studying abroad and to play on all the sports teams, something that all students could not do due to the hefty fees involved in playing. I feel that it is fine as a society to let those who fail fail and those who work hard and are intelligent succeed. However, I feel that as a democracy it is important to give EVERYONE a LEVEL playing field with equal opportunity in the school system so that everyone is prepared with equal tools to succeed. It amazes me how in a free country there are such stark differences in treatment and opportunity not only within a single school or school district, but even between different school districts that are geographically very close to one another. It is just that one school is deemed failing and bad while another is suburban and good. We cannot stand to have these disparities in our schools any longer and change needs to be made at the macro level. For example, funding needs to be equal across the spectrum of schools and schools need to stop charging for extra curricular activities because it ends up having the effect of a poll tax, banning minorities and poorer children from having character building experiences and opportunities from a young age.
The reading mentions problems of tracking and standardized testing in particular. Though I agree there are many problems with both, they are necessary evils. Tracking allows students to be grouped in a sensible manner. However, the reform that does need to take place is that instead of changing the entire system, schools need to provide opportunities, tutoring, and the necessary help for students at a lower level track to be able to rise out of their situation and status to join high achieving peers. The same theory goes for standardized testing. Though many students are discriminated against unjustly in our school system, the solution is not to hold students to no standards and drop testing altogether. Instead, it is the job of the teacher to bring under performing, discriminated students up to the point where they can pass these tests and do well like their higher achieving peers. I am saying that rather than abandoning the notion of holding students to high standards, teachers need to wake up, stop being lazy, and help EVERY student get to the standard. We know that students are products of their environment, which means that if they go to an old dirty school with few resources, they are at a disadvantage. However, with quality teachers who practice a philosophy of caring, they can counter poverty and give these students a real chance to get out of their oppressive places in society.
The reading mentions problems of tracking and standardized testing in particular. Though I agree there are many problems with both, they are necessary evils. Tracking allows students to be grouped in a sensible manner. However, the reform that does need to take place is that instead of changing the entire system, schools need to provide opportunities, tutoring, and the necessary help for students at a lower level track to be able to rise out of their situation and status to join high achieving peers. The same theory goes for standardized testing. Though many students are discriminated against unjustly in our school system, the solution is not to hold students to no standards and drop testing altogether. Instead, it is the job of the teacher to bring under performing, discriminated students up to the point where they can pass these tests and do well like their higher achieving peers. I am saying that rather than abandoning the notion of holding students to high standards, teachers need to wake up, stop being lazy, and help EVERY student get to the standard. We know that students are products of their environment, which means that if they go to an old dirty school with few resources, they are at a disadvantage. However, with quality teachers who practice a philosophy of caring, they can counter poverty and give these students a real chance to get out of their oppressive places in society.
Politics of Caring and Other Readings
Rolon-Dow's Critical Care article was very interesting and highlights some important issues that we as perspective teachers should be paying attention too. Though this article is basically a case study of middle school Puerto Rican girls and their experiences in the school system, a theme emerged that I noticed in the article. This theme was that teachers need to use caring language and teaching methods that cater to each individual in the classroom, regardless of background. This made me think that as a teacher a very significant challenge will be balancing teaching to the entire class content that they must know yet keeping awareness of the backgrounds, needs, and pedagogical demands of every student in my classroom.
A claim in this article is that the existence of race and the relationships between races greatly shapes the school experience for many minority individuals. Though I am weary of racial claims generally, this article had many valid points that made me think about race relations in American schools and how they can affect each student. I think it is important as perspective teachers that we understand the history of race relations and how they shape the lives of our students so that as educators we can do the best job possible to help them deal with these burdens and to help them succeed. The article briefly also discussed something that I thought was important. It discussed how teachers must be aware of their own biases, political or otherwise, so that they do not detract from teaching students of different backgrounds. A theme emerged in the article that I translated to advice. The article infers multiple times that teachers must deeply understand and be comfortable with themselves, be aware of their biases, and really stay in tune with their teaching methodologies to truly be effective in the classroom. Furthermore, the article says that teachers must use counter narratives in the classroom which represent the diverse learners in the classroom. I feel that as a history teacher this will be easy, as being a trained historian I know the importance of viewing issues from every angle and perspective to get the truth. I will look forward to approaching historical topics from multiple perspectives. Overall, this article highlighted just how emotional and human interaction based the teaching profession is and I look forward to trying to change the lives of my students for the better. The guest speaker we had a few weeks back from inner city schools in New York really complimented this article and highlighted the importance of caring for one's students. He really gave me hope that through deep caring I will be able to change my student's lives and was a great inspiration for me. I think the most important thing we can do as teachers is to help overcome our differences with students in order to reach them, change their lives, and help them learn in a caring environment.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Week 9 Readings
The first reading, Sexuality Education and Desire, was the most interesting one to me. This reading discusses how with sex education, there is an undue burden placed on discriminated populations such as women and minorities. The article discusses how women that are sometimes abused are left to their own devices in terms of sexual health. This highlights to me the importance of sex education. I do not believe we can leave sex education in the hands of parents, because some parents will neglect to pay attention to such a sensitive issue. Furthermore, even well intentioned parents may try to educate their children about sex, but leave out important information accidentally. Although my parents tried to have "the talk" with me, they were well intentioned but it was such a sensitive and awkward topic that I had trouble openly asking questions. In a school environment, I was in a sea of students all asking questions so therefore I was more comfortable. Furthermore, I was taught in a school setting about all of the various STDs, something my parents didn't touch on. This is just why sex education is so important, because even the most well intentioned parents might miss important information and school-sponsored sex education is a way for administrators to make sure youth are all on the same page.
The article did bring out some concerns about sex education though. It discusses how students come from many diverse backgrounds such as different religions, and therefore sexual content may be more sensitive to them. However, I reject these claims after taking them into consideration because I feel the health of young people and stopping pregnancies and the spread of STDs is much more important than catering to these fringe groups. Furthermore, the other option to sex education, abstinence, has been an abysmal failure. Teens are going to have sex and these radical religious people need to realize it and we as a society have an obligation to make sure they are safe while doing it. One of the strengths of this article was that it delves deep into the history of sex education, exposing some things that I was not aware of such as the bitter fight that existed against it. I feel like though the right has many legitimate claims, they need to compromise and realize that as a society there are some things that the government needs to do, sex education being one of them. Not every last thing can be an individual's choice, and this is coming from a staunch right wing Republican! I look forward to discussing this reading in class.
The article did bring out some concerns about sex education though. It discusses how students come from many diverse backgrounds such as different religions, and therefore sexual content may be more sensitive to them. However, I reject these claims after taking them into consideration because I feel the health of young people and stopping pregnancies and the spread of STDs is much more important than catering to these fringe groups. Furthermore, the other option to sex education, abstinence, has been an abysmal failure. Teens are going to have sex and these radical religious people need to realize it and we as a society have an obligation to make sure they are safe while doing it. One of the strengths of this article was that it delves deep into the history of sex education, exposing some things that I was not aware of such as the bitter fight that existed against it. I feel like though the right has many legitimate claims, they need to compromise and realize that as a society there are some things that the government needs to do, sex education being one of them. Not every last thing can be an individual's choice, and this is coming from a staunch right wing Republican! I look forward to discussing this reading in class.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Teen Coalition
During Spring Break, I had the opportunity to go to the Teen Coalition two days in a row in order to minimize time needed off from work, thus completing my requirement for attending three sittings. My main impression was that our services were not needed very much. I thought I would have many opportunities to help them with homework and school related activities, but to my surprise there were few students, none of whom were doing school work. First, I attended the daily meeting where students introduce themselves and say how they are feeling emotionally on a scale of one to ten on that day. I found the students to be very friendly, and many invited me to sit near them. This matches my experience substitute teaching, as all of the students are very friendly. I find both in substitute teaching and in this experience that students are generally very nice and not aggressive at all, so long as they are treated with respect. Prior to my substitute teaching and this Teen Coalition experience, I had a fear that I would be the target of the students and treated poorly by them. I am pleased that I have found the opposite.
The next most memorable part of the experience was the task that students were doing that week. The Teen Coalition was responsible for putting together seemingly thousands of surveys to give to the public schools about their sex practices, drug use, and other risky or violent behavior. It was very repetitive, and my task was to tear off old pages from old surveys and replace them with updated ones. Furthermore, I had to erase any writing in the surveys.
While monotonous, this mindless work gave me the opportunity to converse with the students. Conversation quickly changed to college and the process needed to get there. I was amazed at just how invested students were in their grades, showing up at Teen Coalition daily by their own free will. I gave them as much advice as I could about school and their next steps in their academic careers, something I wish I had done when I was in their shoes. I gave them lots of advice about the application process, when to apply, where to apply, and tried to ease some of their unnecessary stress about such things as being unsure of what to major in, or not having an extremely high GPA. I told them about requirements they would have in college, and I felt all of this advice and discussion about their future was the most helpful part of my visits. A few students I talked with most were even disappointed that I had to leave, telling me I should volunteer there in the future.
The most surprising thing I noticed about this visit was race relations between students. There were whites, blacks, Asians, and Hispanics as well as a student who may have been a homosexual. Their ability to put these differences aside and even tell jokes about them and continue to work together amazed me. It made me happy about the direction of this country for the future. I even got the chance to witness students of different backgrounds teaching each other about their cultures, such as a Cambodian girl teaching another student Khmer. Overall, I was surprised just how easy everyone got along, cared for each other, and respected each other. It amazed me that this occurred in an urban environment because in my rural high school, any differences between students resulted in teasing and harassment. The experience was a great one and challenged my perceptions of inner city youth.
The next most memorable part of the experience was the task that students were doing that week. The Teen Coalition was responsible for putting together seemingly thousands of surveys to give to the public schools about their sex practices, drug use, and other risky or violent behavior. It was very repetitive, and my task was to tear off old pages from old surveys and replace them with updated ones. Furthermore, I had to erase any writing in the surveys.
While monotonous, this mindless work gave me the opportunity to converse with the students. Conversation quickly changed to college and the process needed to get there. I was amazed at just how invested students were in their grades, showing up at Teen Coalition daily by their own free will. I gave them as much advice as I could about school and their next steps in their academic careers, something I wish I had done when I was in their shoes. I gave them lots of advice about the application process, when to apply, where to apply, and tried to ease some of their unnecessary stress about such things as being unsure of what to major in, or not having an extremely high GPA. I told them about requirements they would have in college, and I felt all of this advice and discussion about their future was the most helpful part of my visits. A few students I talked with most were even disappointed that I had to leave, telling me I should volunteer there in the future.
The most surprising thing I noticed about this visit was race relations between students. There were whites, blacks, Asians, and Hispanics as well as a student who may have been a homosexual. Their ability to put these differences aside and even tell jokes about them and continue to work together amazed me. It made me happy about the direction of this country for the future. I even got the chance to witness students of different backgrounds teaching each other about their cultures, such as a Cambodian girl teaching another student Khmer. Overall, I was surprised just how easy everyone got along, cared for each other, and respected each other. It amazed me that this occurred in an urban environment because in my rural high school, any differences between students resulted in teasing and harassment. The experience was a great one and challenged my perceptions of inner city youth.
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