Blog #11 Reflecting on the Semester

 Reflecting on the Semester

This course has given me a lot of useful knowledge that I plan to use in my future classes at RIC and my future art classroom. I have learned more about the struggles that people face in school or in their lives that I may not have experienced. 

One reading that really stuck with me is "Troublemakers" by Shalaby. This reading focused on students who are considered or classified as "troublemakers" by others. Teachers should be aware that children aren't born bad; they have bad experiences, which can cause them to act out or misbehave in the classroom. If teachers look deeper and try to figure out what causes students to act out, then they can work to make all of their students successful in their class. A quote that I really enjoyed reading focused on a canary in a coal mine. Shalaby writes, "...we are in the habit of incarcerating the people from whom we could learn the most about freedom, we cage the birds singing most loudly." People that we can learn from, we tend to ignore and just punish them, but if we take a second to listen to them, we could help them, or we could help ourselves to learn more about others. 

Another reading that will stick with me is "Aria" by Richard Rodriguez because it focuses on the author's experiences of learning English in the U.S. school system, with Spanish being his first language and the language spoken at home. Rodriguez struggled in school because his English wasn't that strong, which led to him being enrolled in extra English help classes. Even with the extra help, his teachers felt like he needed further assistance, so they visited his home and spoke with his parents. After this conversation, the teachers told the parents to no longer speak Spanish at home. This caused Richard to not feel sure of himself at school and at home because he couldn't be who he wanted to be anywhere. As a future teacher, I would want my students to feel comfortable with being who they are and expressing their culture. I would want my students to feel comfortable with speaking their native languages, and I should meet them halfway and translating assignments and learn vocabulary that I would use in the class. 

A video that will stick with me is "Precious Knowledge" because it focuses on the values of ethnic studies. The school in this video originally had no ethnic studies courses, but they eventually added them because they thought it would be valuable for their students to learn about their culture and history. But the superintendent found the ethnic studies inappropriate because he didn't understand their value. By being ignorant of the struggles and cultures of other people, we prevent people from being successful in school and in their lives. I would want my students to express their cultures in my class because the other students would learn more about each other and other people who aren't similar to them. 

How a Sanctuary for Self-Expression can Change Lives Video Reflection

I enjoyed watching this video because I was able to get more insight on the struggles that LGBTQ+ people face when they show signs of being different than what society deems "normal", "boy", or "girl" things or activities. Society and people who don't understand those who are different fear that difference and aren't accepting to the change the world is experiencing. By people becoming more educated, understanding, and accepting of all people no matter what they wear, do, or the people they are attracted to our society and world will become a better place. Everyone will feel welcomed in our society and world and they won't fear what could happen to them if they show who they really are. 

Blog Post #10 on "Woke Read Aloud: They, She, He Easy as ABC" and RI Department of Education Guidance for RI schools on transgneder and gender nonconforming students

 Argument for Woke Kindergarten Video and RI Department of Education Guidance to Schools

In the Woke Kindergarten video, they describe the book's main message, which is for people to accept and respect all people and to understand what pronoun or pronouns someone may use to describe themselves. The argument for the RI Department of Education Guidance for Schools is to describe a school's responsibilities and expectations towards its students who are transgender or gender nonconforming. The video and reading both explain how important it is for people to be understanding and aware of students or people who don't use the gender that they are assigned at birth. 

The video described people and the pronouns that they may use, even if a person wouldn't assume that those are the pronouns they use due to their visual appearance. A student may appear to be female due to the way they are dressed, but internally, the student could classify as male or they or something else. A person could also use multiple pronouns. One character in the book used both he and she to describe themself. Another thing the video mentioned is that if you aren't certain of a person's proper pronouns or you forgot, then you should refer to them by their name. But if you know a person's preferred pronouns, then you should use them to show your respect and understanding towards them. By not using someone's preferred pronouns you are telling that person that you don't respect, accept, or understand them.

The reading described multiple acts and documents that explain the responsibilities and expectations that schools and staff must follow regarding their students who are transgender or gender-nonconforming. One thing that schools must do is to create a safe, supportive, understanding, and bully-free environment. If the students don't feel safe or welcomed at the school, then the students won't want to participate in school activities, or they won't attend school altogether. A survey was done on 10,000 gender-nonconforming students in RI, and over half of the students don't participate in school activities due to fear of discrimination. Another thing schools must do is to promptly and effectively respond to sex-based harassment of all students. A school can't turn a blind eye in certain situations due to what pronouns a student may use. Schools and school staff are expected to respect a student's identity and to not inform parents or guardians if the student does not wish to inform them because it may jeopardize their home. A final thing schools should do is modify their dress code to make all students feel comfortable with what they wear.  

I found this video and reading very important for us future educators because we must know our future responsibilities and expectations we have toward all of our future students. We must be understanding and respectful to all of our students and not allow any of our students to face bullying or harassment due to the pronouns they use or for any reason. Our students must feel welcomed and should want to come to school every day, if we fail to create a welcoming environment then we have failed the students. 

Blog #9 Hehir, Judith Butler, and Sunaura Taylor

Hehir, "Toward Ending Ableism in Education" and Judith Butler and Sunaura Taylor "Examined Life":

Hehir describes Ablesim in the education system and its impact on students with disabilities. Those disabilities could either be an IEP, being deaf, being blind or other disability that a person may have. People have different attitudes or beliefs about students or people with disabilities. Hehir describes a mother and her son who were born with a disability and their experiences as a parent of a disabled child and a child with a disability. Hehir states, "At a workshop for parents of disabled kids, Penny was told that she had to go through a period of mourning the arrival of her disabled child. DEpply insulted Penny's response was, "I have lost a child at birth and I have had a disabled child. I know the difference. My son is a gift, not a tragedy"(2). Penny, the mother of Joe, was sharing the frustration she had with the workshop due to what they believe about her child and other children with disabilities. Saying that when her disabled child was born she had to mourn, is incredibly rude and terrible because even though Joe has a disability he is still a person and has a life to live. 

Hehir later writes about the "poster child" of children with disabilities. These children need your help, and it is terrible to have a disability and these children will never achieve anything amazing or spectacular in their lives. Hehir writes, "Cyndi Jones, a disability activist and former poster child, argues that 'the poster child says it's not okay to be disabled... but it says if you just donate money the disabled child will go away'"(4). Jones was explaining the terrible message that the "poster child" is sharing with people about children with disabilities. If people just ignore those with disabilities or just think giving money to them makes a difference it doesn't. Disabled people should be treated like any other person and shouldn't be babied, but that doesn't mean we should help them as we would any other person. This relates to the video "Examined Life" as Judith Butler and Sunaura Taylor talked about Sunaura's disability she described going to the coffee shop and carrying her coffee cup in her mouth, and people seemed shocked or confused. Instead of staring or judging, people could offer to help her even if she doesn't want or accept the way she is carrying her cup because she can't hold a cup of coffee in her hand like other people tend to do.  Hehir later described the term "supercrip", which is a disabled person who did something that people don't expect a disabled person to be capable of. 

Hehir later talks about how the education system for deaf children started off fine but took a turn for the worse when "oralism" entered the classroom. Oralsim taught deaf children through lip-reading and speaking, but this wasn't successful for all deaf students because it was extremely difficult for deaf children to learn this way. Hehir states, "Leo Jacobs, a deaf educator, compares lip-reading with breaking eighty in golf or painting a masterpiece, since under the best of circumstances only 30 percent of speech can be read from lip movements (Jacobs, 1989)"(8). Leo Jacobs explains that is very difficult for a deaf person to learn to lip reading because it isn't always possible to understand what someone is saying. Deaf children are now encouraged to learn American Sign Language as soon as possible, which allows them to be very successful. 

This reading and video open eyes to more of the struggles that students and people with disabilities face either in school or in the world. Teachers still have work to do to make the classroom welcoming to all students with disabilities or without disabilities. Teachers should educate themselves on a student's disability in their classroom, so they can understand what struggles their students face and what they could do to make their students successful in their class. Society has more work to make all buildings accessible for people with disabilities, so it shows that people with disabilities are welcome in our society. 

Blog #8 "Aria" by Richard Rodriguez

 Quotes from "Aria":

Richard Rodriguez describes his experiences as an English learner in school, while Spanish was the main language spoken at home. He explains the effect that learning English had on himself and his family's dynamic. Richard was at first nervous to learn English and to speak it in school, which led to his teachers visiting his home and speaking to his parents. The teachers asked his mother and father if English was spoken at home, and they learned it wasn't. The parents and the teachers made the decision to speak only English at home to allow Richard and his older brother and sister to be successful in school. Rodriguez writes, "In an instant, they agreed to give up the language (the sounds) that revealed and accentuated our family's closeness"(1). Rodriguez was shocked that his parents were willing to give up speaking Spanish at home. Spanish brought their family together in Rodriguez's mind and didn't understand why they should stop speaking it at home. Besides speaking only English at home to improve his and his siblings' English speaking skills, they had to attend extra help classes. His teachers also worked to be sure to keep his attention. But they called him Richard instead of the name he was born with, Ricardo.

As his family began to speak only English at home and as his and his siblings' English-speaking skills improved their relationships began to change. His family began to spend less time together and the time they did spend together they didn't really talk to each other. The kid's English improved, but the parents still struggled, and at some point, the kids didn't want to repeat or explain what they said. Rodriguez states, "The family's quiet was partly due to the fact, as we children learned more and more English, we shared fewer and fewer words with our parents. Sentences needed to be spoken slowly when a child addressed his mother or father"(2).  Due to the kids receiving lessons in English, it created a rift in their family because the parents were not learning English. The kids felt ashamed to speak Spanish in school, which caused them to feel ashamed to speak Spanish at home or in public. This made talking to their parents difficult. 

Rodriguez later described the effect English had on his parent's roles. His father's English was not as good as his mother's, which made the father uncomfortable speaking when they had guests or when in public. His kids and wife would laugh at him while he led prayers at the dinner table, this caused his wife to eventually do it. Rodriguez describes how his father changed from when he spoke Spanish to English. Rodriguez states, "In Spanish, he expressed ideas and feelings he rarely revealed in English. With firm Spanish sounds, he conveyed confidence and authority English would never allow him"(3). Rodriguez's father was able to express himself when he spoke Spanish, but when speaking English he was unable to share information about himself. 

I personally don't know how well the education system has improved to include bilingual classes because I  speak English in an English-speaking community. But last semester I observed bilingual classes, where they delivered lessons in English in one class and then would do another class in Spanish. The students in both classes were paired up with either strong English speakers with poor English speakers or strong Spanish speakers with poor Spanish speakers. This classroom structure seems very interesting because it allows all of these students to learn two languages while they are in school, which allows them to become bilingual. In my Inspiring Minds classroom lessons are delivered in English and English is the main language that I hear the Preschoolers speak, but I do hear the students occasionally switch over to Spanish.  

Blog #7 "Literacy with an Attitude" by Finn

Quotes from "Literacy with an Attitude":

In Finn's "Literacy with an Attitude," he describes his experiences as a teacher and the experiences of Jean Anyon when they observed five schools in New Jersey. Finn's first teaching job was at a school that split the students up into sections based on how well they performed in their classes. The newer teachers had the students that performed the worse in their classes and the teachers with experience had the students that performed the best in their classes. This is strange because to make all of these students get a fair education the students who are struggling need a teacher who knows what they are doing and what they need to do to make their students successful. Finn later became a professor and taught teachers who were trying to receive their doctorate, which allowed him to understand one of his professors.

When Finn first started teaching he was teaching lower level classes and he described how he handled his classes. Finn states, "I made the assignments easy so the least able students could do them. I had 'extra credit' assignments for students who finished early, usually not too challenging, but time-consuming. I corrected and graded and returned every paper by the next class so the students felt that completing assignments mattered,..."(4). Finn made his assignments easy for his students to complete because these students either struggled in school or weren't as interested in school as other students. I like that Finn would return work back with a grade very quickly because when my teachers would take a while to grade work it would be aggravating and annoying. Also, I like how he gives students the chance to do more work if they finish their assignments early, but by making the assignments easy the students may not be getting challenged enough to catch up to their fellow classmates.

While Finn was teaching he was working to receive his doctorate. His favorite professor said something that stuck with him, which was that Finn and the other teachers who were trying to get their doctorate working at poor schools were "hard-bitten". Finn writes, "And we didn't think that John Carter, or any other professor, had anything to tell us about what would work in our classrooms. We were out there in the trenches and we took no advice from anyone who wasn't out there with us. I think that's what John Carter meant when he said we were hard-bitten"(7). Finn's professor John Carter meant that these teachers experienced the schools and communities that have few resources to make their students and classrooms successful. This made these teachers ignorant because they didn't want to take advice from anyone else unless they were in the same position as them.

Finally, Finn described Jean Anyon's experiences of observing five schools in New Jersey. Each of the schools had different financial resources. The five schools were either working-class, middle-class, affluent professional, or executive elite children. Each of these schools had teachers with different backgrounds and relationships to the community they taught in. Each school taught similar topics but were taught in different ways. Anyon finalized her observations of the school and described what the students were learning due to their financial class. Finn states, "The working-class children were learning to follow directions and do mechanical, low-paying work,.... The middle-class children were learning to follow orders and do the mental work that keeps society producing and running smoothly. The affluent professional children were learning to create products and art, "symbolic capital," and at the same time they were learning to find rewards in work itself and to negotiate from a powerful position with those who make the final; decisions on how real capital is allocated. The executive elite children? They were learning to be masters of the universe"(20). These results show that students at these schools were being taught to stay in their classes and to not challenge them or try to get out of them, but to accept that they are stuck in that class their whole life.

I found this reading very interesting. Future teachers need to be aware of their additional job of teaching students how to challenge what society and the world classify the students as. Teachers shouldn't let their students accept or embrace what society thinks of them, they should help them break free of these expectations. 

Blog #6 Kohn: "Introducation to Culturally Relevant Pedagogy" and "What to "Look for in a Classroom":

 Alfie Kohn's Argument

Alfie Kohn's argument is that there are many things to make a classroom or school appear as good or bad, without even listening to a teacher or student discussion. You can tell by the appearance and layout of the school and class. But after making your observations, you can observe how the teacher runs the class. The teacher could either be the dominant voice in the class or the one who starts the discussion and lets the students all speak.

Alfie Kohn created a table that lists good and bad signs to look for in a class. Good and bad signs aren't just the teacher and student's relationship, but also the classroom and school environment and setup. Is the school welcoming? Are the staff welcoming to new people and questions? Is it a place where you would want to spend your time? These are some questions that you could ask when in a school to see if the school has good or bad characteristics. The table emphasizes that the layout of the classroom can show many good and bad signs. If the class is arranged in rows with no student work on the walls, these would be considered bad signs. If the class has large tables or desks in clusters with student projects on the walls it makes the class feel more inviting and welcoming, which are good signs. Another section is the teacher and staff's voice and attitude. If the teacher isn't the main one doing the talking in the class and the students can share their thoughts and opinions, that is a good sign. But if the teacher does most of the talking for the entire class and the students can't speak, this would be a bad sign. The main point from the chart is what makes a school or a classroom a success or a failure. 

The video "Introduction to Culturally Relevant Pedagogy" the connection between culture and school. Teachers can make their lessons or assignments connect to the student's personal life experiences and culture. By doing this it makes the students more engaged with the lesson or assignment, which can lead to more creative and unique work. It says that culturally relevant pedagogy builds on students' prior knowledge, mainly their cultural knowledge. The students can learn about their culture through courses that teach with culturally relevant pedagogy. By doing this it would also result in unique and creative work. If teachers fail to incorporate the students' culture or life experiences, students might not be as engaged in the lesson, and class results may not be as successful.

This chart and video are especially useful for us education teachers right now because we are currently in a class and school and we can use this chart to see how the school and class would do. We can see where the class and school can improve to make it more welcoming or successful. Some schools may need to work on the way they layout their classrooms and others may need to work on displaying student work.