Communication is one of the most important aspects of education. Both verbal and non verbal communication if used effectively can help a student to grow and learn. However, sometimes in a diverse classroom, communication can become a challenge. Whether the children speak a different language or have different socially accepted norms, it is hard to effectively communicate with every student. In the school I am tutoring in, the classroom teacher emphasizes communication every day. Her students sit in tables of four, and are all of different cultures. The children learn to understand each other and get a good sense of ways of fitting in and adjusting to society. On top of the students learning from each other, the teacher also makes a conscious effort to make sure she understands where every student is coming from and communicates with them based on their needs.
This prompt reminded me of John Dewey and how he said that education is a social function. Students thrive by learning from each other and their differences. The classroom is a nice mix of children from different cultures and the students are benefitting from communicating with their peers. These students are lucky to have such a culturally competent teacher. Even at the kindergarten level, they are learning not only the essential educational concepts, but also how to be a active member of our society.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Blog 5
As a white male who comes from the backwoods of northern Rhode Island, not all of my students and parents of my students are going to look like me or have had the same life experiences. However, it is my job as a future teacher to realize that learning comes through collaboration and the willingness to listen to other’s opinions and ideas. You cannot be an effective teacher without being part of the bigger picture; the classroom, the school, the community and our society. Some challenges that I expect to have to face is talking to other teachers, parents and members of the community about effective ways to teach their children. Not everyone agrees on everything, but I feel as long as there is an understanding that everyone’s opinion is valued that there will be able to be an effective learning environment for the students. Also, in talking and collaborating with others, I accept that some, if not many will speak a different language, have different morals and different expectations of education.
I believe that most effective way to handle these situations and show respect to the parents is to not just listen, but hear what they have to say. It is a teacher’s job to be willing to make change and to grow as a person and an educator. Parents and members of the community can play a very important role in this personal growth. We can never ignore what someone has to say, even if we don’t agree. We have to hear every word and take it and use it to become the best teacher we can possibly be. It’s not to say that you have to change your teaching style or morals based on what someone else says, however every opinion and criticism can be used to learn and build up our experience. The teacher in the kindergarten class I am tutoring in says she has to speak to parents all the time that do not communicate well in English and parents who are upset with the perception of things in the classroom. She says she uses it to better understand her students and it helps her be a better teacher. She said that for some of her students, this year was the first year they have seen a book. So it works both ways, not only do we have to hear the parents and members of the community, but we need to encourage them to get involved in their children’s education. Encouragement at home to learn and to want to educate yourself can go a long way in a child’s life.
I believe that most effective way to handle these situations and show respect to the parents is to not just listen, but hear what they have to say. It is a teacher’s job to be willing to make change and to grow as a person and an educator. Parents and members of the community can play a very important role in this personal growth. We can never ignore what someone has to say, even if we don’t agree. We have to hear every word and take it and use it to become the best teacher we can possibly be. It’s not to say that you have to change your teaching style or morals based on what someone else says, however every opinion and criticism can be used to learn and build up our experience. The teacher in the kindergarten class I am tutoring in says she has to speak to parents all the time that do not communicate well in English and parents who are upset with the perception of things in the classroom. She says she uses it to better understand her students and it helps her be a better teacher. She said that for some of her students, this year was the first year they have seen a book. So it works both ways, not only do we have to hear the parents and members of the community, but we need to encourage them to get involved in their children’s education. Encouragement at home to learn and to want to educate yourself can go a long way in a child’s life.
Blog 4 (Johnson)
No two people in the world are exactly the same. We’ve all had different life experiences and come from different backgrounds. This is what makes us who we are. Unfortunately, our society today has many stereotypes of people from different and diverse cultures. It is impossible to escape these narrow minded ideas wherever you go. Bias is a natural feeling based on our personal history. However, as an aspiring teacher it is crucial to realize that bias does not have to hinder your ability to be an effective teacher. If we can confront our biases rather than ignore them, we as teachers can use this knowledge to overcome these biases and to give every student, no matter what shape, size, or color fair and equal opportunity. However, this is easier said than done. It is difficult at times to escape the trap that is bias in today’s society. When a specific ethnic group is criticized and portrayed as less than another ethnic group on the nightly news, it becomes difficult to think otherwise. This is a challenge that all teachers must face in their classroom. This challenge can destroy a classroom or enhance it. If met head on, and a conscious effort is made to fight these biases we have, and to learn about children’s history and culture, we can start to appreciate and value every single child’s individualism and what they can bring to the classroom to create an effective learning environment.
The classroom I am tutoring in is a mix of Hispanic, Asian and African American. However, the teacher is a middle class white female. She told me that coming to this school was a culture shock for her and something she was not used to. She told me that talking to the children’s parents and finding out about each and every child made it easier to incorporate the values of different cultures and make a classroom based on acceptance and understanding. The children in this classroom are very friendly with each other and there seems to be no cliques or ethnic groups that stick together. Everyone talks and laughs and learns with each other as a classroom. This classroom is a small example of an ideal society; different ethnic groups working together and utilizing their talents and abilities to create a comfortable atmosphere.
After reading this prompt, I immediately thought of Allen Johnson and the articles we read in class. Johnson says that being bias is not the problem, its ignoring the fact that there is bias. Being ignorant to the truth cannot help yourself and cannot help your students. Johnson goes on to say that it is not our fault that the world is the way it is or that we feel a certain way about a certain race of people. However, it is our job to acknowledge that world is this way and to work on ways to fix this. As aspiring teachers, it is not our job to feel bad for our students, but to make the changes necessary to incorporate diversity and to teach acceptance and understanding.
The classroom I am tutoring in is a mix of Hispanic, Asian and African American. However, the teacher is a middle class white female. She told me that coming to this school was a culture shock for her and something she was not used to. She told me that talking to the children’s parents and finding out about each and every child made it easier to incorporate the values of different cultures and make a classroom based on acceptance and understanding. The children in this classroom are very friendly with each other and there seems to be no cliques or ethnic groups that stick together. Everyone talks and laughs and learns with each other as a classroom. This classroom is a small example of an ideal society; different ethnic groups working together and utilizing their talents and abilities to create a comfortable atmosphere.
After reading this prompt, I immediately thought of Allen Johnson and the articles we read in class. Johnson says that being bias is not the problem, its ignoring the fact that there is bias. Being ignorant to the truth cannot help yourself and cannot help your students. Johnson goes on to say that it is not our fault that the world is the way it is or that we feel a certain way about a certain race of people. However, it is our job to acknowledge that world is this way and to work on ways to fix this. As aspiring teachers, it is not our job to feel bad for our students, but to make the changes necessary to incorporate diversity and to teach acceptance and understanding.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Prompt 3 (Shor)
If I was to take a written test today on a concept I learned in the second grade, but it was written in Chinese, I would fail. It simply is not fair or helping students to continue to teach them while being ignorant to their backgrounds. The most important part of being able to be an effective teacher is to know your students, to know who you are teaching. In order to be a truly effective teacher, you need to have an understanding of where your students come from and how they learn. A small example of this that I witnessed during my tutoring is the way directions are given in the classroom. First the teacher writes them on the board and then gives them verbally multiple times. Although this is a small example of accommodating everyone, it can be used on a larger scale. A teacher is not doing a student any justice by assuming that they learn exactly the same as every other student. It takes effort and initiative to find out about your students culture to ensure that you are providing them with the best education possible.
During my tutoring, myself and two students were working on a sight word game. We started out by seeing the word, spelling it together and then using it in a sentence. However, when I asked Jon to spell the word we just went over without looking at it he couldn’t do it. At first, I thought he was just struggling with the words. However, when I asked him to write the word down on paper, he spelt them perfectly. Jon was just nervous to spell the words out loud because his English wasn’t perfect. Jon knew how to spell the words and therefore he should be assessed on his knowledge, not on the fact that he was nervous or that he couldn’t speak perfect English. This can be applied to all students. Every student is different and deserves the attention and responsiveness of their teacher. Students from different cultures are valuable assets to a classroom and should be seen that way by all teachers.
The theorist that came to mind when talking about Jon was Ira Shor. Shor’s article entitled “Empowering Education” talks about a critical democratic pedagogy in which education is centered around a multicultural democracy in both school and society. Appreciating and understanding a student’s background creates an effective learning environment for everyone and will help them thrive as both students and valuable members of our society. As the students grow and learn in the classroom, they can take those lessons outside of the classroom setting and into everyday life situations. It all starts with a strong teacher student relationship. Volunteering at this school has really shown me how much of an impact teachers truly have on their students lives.
During my tutoring, myself and two students were working on a sight word game. We started out by seeing the word, spelling it together and then using it in a sentence. However, when I asked Jon to spell the word we just went over without looking at it he couldn’t do it. At first, I thought he was just struggling with the words. However, when I asked him to write the word down on paper, he spelt them perfectly. Jon was just nervous to spell the words out loud because his English wasn’t perfect. Jon knew how to spell the words and therefore he should be assessed on his knowledge, not on the fact that he was nervous or that he couldn’t speak perfect English. This can be applied to all students. Every student is different and deserves the attention and responsiveness of their teacher. Students from different cultures are valuable assets to a classroom and should be seen that way by all teachers.
The theorist that came to mind when talking about Jon was Ira Shor. Shor’s article entitled “Empowering Education” talks about a critical democratic pedagogy in which education is centered around a multicultural democracy in both school and society. Appreciating and understanding a student’s background creates an effective learning environment for everyone and will help them thrive as both students and valuable members of our society. As the students grow and learn in the classroom, they can take those lessons outside of the classroom setting and into everyday life situations. It all starts with a strong teacher student relationship. Volunteering at this school has really shown me how much of an impact teachers truly have on their students lives.
Prompt 2 (Goldenberg)
As Chris said his sight word out loud, spelt it, and then used it in a sentence, it became very clear that English was not his fist language. I encouraged him to keep trying as his cheeks became flushed and a look of embarrassment came over him as the other students were staring. As a freshman in college tutoring this student, it was difficult to determine what exactly the best plan of action was to help him be able to effectively communicate what he was trying to say. However, as an aspiring culturally competent teacher, these are the kinds of things that need to be given the most attention to when teaching. In the kindergarten classroom that I am volunteering in, there is not a single white student. All of the students are Hispanic, Asian or African American. Yet none of them have been labeled as ELL. I used the term “labeled” because after some observation and time spent with the students there seems to be students that may be having difficulty learning in English. Info Works shows the breakdown of race in this school to be 62% Hispanic, 17% Asian, 12 % African American and 8% White. It is hard to believe that in a school made up of 62% Hispanic students, not a single one of them is an English Language Learner. This is hard to believe because I noticed it right away just as a casual viewer of the classroom. As I said before in prompt one, I am extremely impressed by the teacher I am working with and believe she gives her students equal opportunity to come to the culture of power. However, when the state gives her 25 Hispanic students and tells her that none of them are ELL’s, when clearly some of them are it creates an unfair situation for everyone in the classroom.
My experience tutoring Chris and observing other students in the classroom can be related to Goldenberg’s article on ELL. As stated before, the difference in linguistic, ethnic and sociocultural characteristics in the classroom (although great for diversity in education) can create an unfair situation if it is not handled correctly. It is unfair for the ELL student that has not been labeled as such because he or she is not being given the proper tools to fully achieve their potential as a student. It is also unfair to the teacher because even if they recognize students as ELL, they may not be qualified to teach them in the most effective way. Like Goldenberg says, these students would benefit most from having a Spanish speaking teacher who could help them learn English while teaching them other important concepts in Spanish at the same time to aid their development. It seems to me that some students in the school and classroom that I am volunteering in need to be evaluated as an ELL and could thrive in a classroom setting with a teacher who speaks Spanish.
Although I have discussed some of the negatives that can go along with a multi linguistic classroom, there truly are many positives as well. These students are experiencing their first taste of society and democracy. They are working together as an effective unit to help one another. Being in a classroom of students of ethnic diversity creates an atmosphere that can’t be taught. Tolerance and understanding come about and are characteristics that these students are developing that can truly strengthen our society.
My experience tutoring Chris and observing other students in the classroom can be related to Goldenberg’s article on ELL. As stated before, the difference in linguistic, ethnic and sociocultural characteristics in the classroom (although great for diversity in education) can create an unfair situation if it is not handled correctly. It is unfair for the ELL student that has not been labeled as such because he or she is not being given the proper tools to fully achieve their potential as a student. It is also unfair to the teacher because even if they recognize students as ELL, they may not be qualified to teach them in the most effective way. Like Goldenberg says, these students would benefit most from having a Spanish speaking teacher who could help them learn English while teaching them other important concepts in Spanish at the same time to aid their development. It seems to me that some students in the school and classroom that I am volunteering in need to be evaluated as an ELL and could thrive in a classroom setting with a teacher who speaks Spanish.
Although I have discussed some of the negatives that can go along with a multi linguistic classroom, there truly are many positives as well. These students are experiencing their first taste of society and democracy. They are working together as an effective unit to help one another. Being in a classroom of students of ethnic diversity creates an atmosphere that can’t be taught. Tolerance and understanding come about and are characteristics that these students are developing that can truly strengthen our society.
Prompt 1 (Delpit)
Growing up in a small rural town where 99% of the population is white and the most abundant things around are trees; it was a culture shock to come volunteer at a school in the city. Driving to the school, I could see the transformation in the environment. Crowded streets lined with apartment buildings and small convenient stores with bars on the windows. It had an entirely different feel to it than anything I had experienced before. Small children were walking on the sidewalks, some with adults, and others by themselves to the large brick building they attended school in. There were no buses to be seen, and when I asked a teacher if any kids were transported by bus, she told me that only around 2o students took the bus and the others all walked or were driven by their parents. As I walked in and looked at the students coming in from their morning recess time, one thing was very apparent; this school was not diverse. Diversity is a difficult concept to grasp sometimes. We often fall into the habit of confusing diversity with being “not white”. However, this school was just like the school I attended, only the opposite. Rather than all white kids, and a few different ethnicities here and there, this school was primarily Asian and African American with a few white students. Although the student population was mostly made up of non whites, the faculty was all white. Every teacher that was in the building was a white female.
This particular school that I am volunteering in is only for kindergarten and first grade. There are three classrooms for each grade, kindergarten on the first floor and first grade on the second floor. The school to me seems extremely small to what I am used to and seems to lack sufficient funding. There is one room used for music, art and health and I have yet to see a library. Despite the size of the school and not having all the newest materials, there is a strong sense of unity among the students and teachers and most of the children seem very happy. The kindergarten classroom I was assigned to has inspired me and motivated me to continue my path to becoming a teacher. The teacher I am working with is an amazing individual and her classroom could be confused for a college setting. Her students are well behaved, respectful and extremely independent for kindergarten students. From writing in their journals, to student centers, the students know exactly what is expected out of them and effectively utilize their time in the classroom. It seems like the students look up to their teacher not only as their teacher but as a motherly figure. She is able to be affectionate while keeping her sense of authority at the same time. It is clear to me that one of the values that she promotes in her classroom is go above and beyond what is expected. In a conversation I had with her, she told me that most of these children had never seen a book before entering her classroom. Education is not on top of the list of priorities at home and some parents think of schooling as a babysitter for their kids during the day. However, she told me that in this school, the faculty never lets that discourage them and continues to push their students to learn the material and the proper tools they need to be a valuable asset to society.
The classroom and teacher I was assigned to volunteer for can be directly related to theorist Lisa Delpit. In Lisa Delpit’s article that we read in class, we analyzed her 5 rules of power. One of the rules was that it is much easier to become part of the culture of power when explicitly told the rules of the culture of power. The teacher in this kindergarten classroom does her best to make sure that every student has equal opportunity to reach that culture of power. When giving directions to an assignment, all of the students are given multiple examples of what she is looking for out of the assignment, as well as having to verbally repeat the directions together as a class. She then goes around to each set of tables to make sure the students fully understand what is expected out of them. She is able to achieve this tastefully without over doing it and still being able to challenge her students and push them to think in new and different ways. Each and every student is put in a position to succeed and has a seeming equal opportunity as everyone else in the classroom. Another aspect of Lisa Delpit’s article that can be applied to this class room is the difference between a demand and a question. The teacher told me that if you respect your students, they will respect you. She treats them like fellow members of society and when they do something they are not supposed to, she lets them know exactly what they did wrong and why it is that way. I clearly am impressed by the teaching techniques of the teacher I am helping and I think that Lisa Delpit would be as well.
This particular school that I am volunteering in is only for kindergarten and first grade. There are three classrooms for each grade, kindergarten on the first floor and first grade on the second floor. The school to me seems extremely small to what I am used to and seems to lack sufficient funding. There is one room used for music, art and health and I have yet to see a library. Despite the size of the school and not having all the newest materials, there is a strong sense of unity among the students and teachers and most of the children seem very happy. The kindergarten classroom I was assigned to has inspired me and motivated me to continue my path to becoming a teacher. The teacher I am working with is an amazing individual and her classroom could be confused for a college setting. Her students are well behaved, respectful and extremely independent for kindergarten students. From writing in their journals, to student centers, the students know exactly what is expected out of them and effectively utilize their time in the classroom. It seems like the students look up to their teacher not only as their teacher but as a motherly figure. She is able to be affectionate while keeping her sense of authority at the same time. It is clear to me that one of the values that she promotes in her classroom is go above and beyond what is expected. In a conversation I had with her, she told me that most of these children had never seen a book before entering her classroom. Education is not on top of the list of priorities at home and some parents think of schooling as a babysitter for their kids during the day. However, she told me that in this school, the faculty never lets that discourage them and continues to push their students to learn the material and the proper tools they need to be a valuable asset to society.
The classroom and teacher I was assigned to volunteer for can be directly related to theorist Lisa Delpit. In Lisa Delpit’s article that we read in class, we analyzed her 5 rules of power. One of the rules was that it is much easier to become part of the culture of power when explicitly told the rules of the culture of power. The teacher in this kindergarten classroom does her best to make sure that every student has equal opportunity to reach that culture of power. When giving directions to an assignment, all of the students are given multiple examples of what she is looking for out of the assignment, as well as having to verbally repeat the directions together as a class. She then goes around to each set of tables to make sure the students fully understand what is expected out of them. She is able to achieve this tastefully without over doing it and still being able to challenge her students and push them to think in new and different ways. Each and every student is put in a position to succeed and has a seeming equal opportunity as everyone else in the classroom. Another aspect of Lisa Delpit’s article that can be applied to this class room is the difference between a demand and a question. The teacher told me that if you respect your students, they will respect you. She treats them like fellow members of society and when they do something they are not supposed to, she lets them know exactly what they did wrong and why it is that way. I clearly am impressed by the teaching techniques of the teacher I am helping and I think that Lisa Delpit would be as well.
Monday, May 3, 2010
About Me
My name is Jordan Perry and I am a freshman at Rhode Island College. I am in the Elementary Education program and am very excited to become a teacher. Currently I teach youth swimming lessons at a local YMCA and I love going into work every day. I play rugby here at RIC and am a huge sports fan. I look forward to a successful semester and a bright future at Rhode Island College.
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