Week #6

 Other People’s Children 

Written By: Lisa Delpit 

Reflection 

This piece of writing was a lot of information at once for me. However, I resonated with the piece that there is “power” in specific cultures or racial groups. Students in classrooms are always instructed to listen and follow directions of their teacher. I can remember vividly that discipline was huge in elementary school! A majority of students have the understanding of why we listen to our teachers on the level of respectfulness.  One major pull away from this is that your culture at home can have an impact on how you act towards authority at school. Our school education systems are mostly focused on the western beliefs or even more specifically the beliefs of white individuals. These ways of teaching are not conducive to all the children in our education system. Students who are a part of a minority have the short hand of the stick rather than those who are not of color and rule in majority. These ways of teaching have become biases to educators who as a society could make a major change to help our students. Authority in schools must not ignore cultural differences but embrace them to show significance to all of our students.

To share: 

After reading this article I honestly  learned some new approaches for teaching in an educational environment. I  believe I have realized some personal biases that I wouldn't have realized without reading this piece. Realizing the flaws within yourself is a crucial step before becoming an educator. You must be aware of yourself before you imply your knowledge on someone else or even groups of people. Self-reflecting is a key part of a teacher which will also help to make you a more well rounded individual. 

(Biases are not always bad but could also be a learning curve for you and others!)

Biases

Week#5

 The Academic and Social Value of Ethnic Studies 

Written By: Christine E. Sletter 

Reflection: 

Throughout this reading, I drew a large connection in relation to the fact of students in United States schooling. In most classes, curriculums focus on mostly White Historical figures and downplay those of color. For many years, I can mostly remember studying about the Holocaust focusing on the idea of Hilter. The concept of the Nazis, concentration camps, and Hitler himself. The history of people such as Martin Luther King or Rose Parks did not get as much attention to those of white skin color. After thinking about this fully I came to a realization that the education system must make a change. We must shift our curriculums away from the Eurocentric bias and allow room for different histories and cultures to be represented. As a society, I believe we treat racism as something of the past but fail to recognize it’s something that is current. Even outside of our schools people face daily racism which is something that blows my mind. After all these years we still can’t get a handle on treating everyone equally.  We have grown such a bias to racial views that I believe sometimes we don’t even realize our actions and our words. 

As a white female, I find the concept of racism hard to explain. For the rest of my life I will never face discrimination, or hate regarding the color of my skin. I almost feel a sense of awkwardness around this topic because I believe in some ways my opinion doesn't matter. I don’t have to go through the awful social hatred just based on my culture and skin color. Not only in our schools but out in our daily lives, we must strengthen our ethnic identity and self-esteem. As each individual we  must work on ourselves to then one day help our community as an entirety.  

Week #4

 Shifting the Paradigm 

Written by: Shannon Renkly and Katherine Bertolini 

Reflection: 

After reading this article I learned the difference between Deficit vs. Asset Models. Looking back on my many years of schooling I can see how important it is for teachers to use the asset model. When teaching a large number of students, it's easy to pick out the flaws or the things they aren't doing correctly. While on the other hand teachers should be assisting the students with their struggles and focusing on what they can do. This shift in teaching would more effectively promote student growth and offer a more positive, proactive, and inclusive school culture. When students answer a question incorrectly or feel as if they did something wrong it is more than likely that they won't answer that question again. If we instead applaud the child for effort and communication it will encourage them to try again even if they answered the prompt inaccurately. 

Coming from someone who dreaded school as a young girl, the only thing that could make it worse would be getting to school and having  a teacher you dislike for the entirety of the day. My 4th grade teacher in elementary school was very strict, not very lenient, and most certainly very boring. She used the method of popsicle sticks in which every student's name was on one. Each lesson she would pull a stick and that specific child would have to answer the question that was being asked. For someone like me who was very shy this was awful. I would get so anxious and really hope that my name would never get called for the prime reason of humiliation. If we answered the question wrong she would automatically assume we were not paying attention which was not always the case. Sometimes the students simply just didn't know the answer. She would question us or even state “No, you should know this by now.” I always remembered this teacher because she made me keep this specific thought process in mind… never be like this if I were to become a teacher. Instead I will praise the child for effort and then explain why it was not what they stated. I will ask children things I know they are confident in so when it’s their turn to get called on they won't feel as shy to answer the question. 

The Asset Model

Blog Week 3

 What “Counts” as Educational Policy? Notes towards a New Paradigm 

Written by: Jean Anyon 

Reflection: 

After reading this short story I gained one piece of really important information. Most urban schools experience failure which most tend to believe stems from poor curriculum or bad teaching. However, it is strictly rooted from the concepts of poverty, segregation, and economic policy. These three components play a huge role in students' day to day lives which will carry over into the classroom. It’s crucial to put our attention to the students who need these supports but also keep a main focus on the whole class in general.  When we support the economic well being of our students in urban communities, it will help to create a stronger foundation for our schools.

Comments to share: One big discussion point that could be discussed in class is, how do we help those students who struggle at home in our classrooms. In what ways can we support their mental and physical well being? To help with these issues my mom had opened up a food pantry in her elementary school. Each week students who struggle outside of the classroom get to fill a backpack for those they live with at home. These backpacks may have simply just food or maybe even clothes, hygiene products, or supplies they may need in their classroom. My moms elementary school also offers help to families around holidays with food and gifts for the children. The school and the nearby community help to contribute to my moms pantry with fundraisers and contests to help raise money. This pantry has helped so many children throughout the years and touched the lives of so many who struggle. I have helped my mom stock shelves and fill backpacks which is such a rewarding aspect to the pantry. Knowing I am helping so many young children makes me so happy.

https://www.nassp.org/poverty-and-its-impact-on-students-education/

Blog week 2

 Blog #2 

The Broken Model written by: Salman Khan 

After reading this short story I was able to make many connections throughout the text. As someone who has grown up in public schools my whole life, many parts of the text really spoke to me. 

The author uses the analogy of three meals a day. Most people begin to believe that eating three meals a day is the usual or norm when in reality it's just what we know or have been taught.  Who's to say that only eating two meals a day could be just as fine. This can relate back to schooling in how we just follow only what we know. The education system has been the same for many years with little to no changes ever being made. What we have as our educational system may not benefit all or any students but as a society it seems too hard to change or alter the system. Waking up at 7 or 8 am every morning can be a struggle but who's to say that we really need all the schooling? What if we just made children learn the crucial and most beneficial information in schooling rather than making them sit there for 45-60 minutes in a specific class everyday. Coming from someone who had 80 minute classes in middle school, I could simply not pay attention for that long. I was missing key information in lessons and dazing off after the first hour. Being a young 8th grader sitting in an 80 minute math block, first thing in the morning was dreadful especially for someone who didn't love school. Although that may be a great way for some to learn, what about those students who couldn't? In what ways can we change the education system or even the way we teach to help those who struggle in school?

Hyperlink- Ways to improve the educational System