Prompt #7
Much of what I have observed these past few weeks will serve to remind me how not to be, and act as a teacher. I will remember to treat volunteers respectfully and make them feel appreciated. I will remember to be positive with my students, use positive tones when I speak, and use preventative discipline as much as possible. I know that teaching is a huge challenge, even when done badly. So the trick is not to waste ones time doing it badly, and to do a good job. It is especially challenging if we are to be culturally aware when we are teaching a diverse group of students. Being sensitive to their various needs will be an ongoing hurdle.
I can see why involving and engaging the parents ought to be an essential part of being a good teacher. I can feel the disconnect between parents and staff as they stand in the schoolyard watching their children line up. Of course, there are language barriers which make communication difficult. And cultural differences are evident too. I think that maybe as a teacher becomes more familiar with the populations that she is working with, she will succeed more and more. Even more important than all this, I want to remember to bring joy and humor to the classroom. I know the students will internalize much of who we are, especially in the younger grades, so if we can convey a lightness and happiness about learning, we will have done a lot for them. Also, helping them have confidence and believing in themselves will probably be the most precious gift we can give them, knowing they will go out the door as a less advantaged minority in out society.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
"Racism" 5/24
All our writings confirm that institutional racism continues in our society. The overt, hostile racism of the past, (although not completely gone), has been replaced with subtle, ingrained practices that still discriminate against minorities. Tim Wise (2003) asks if a fish really knows what water is if it's so much a part of the fish's world that it can't really define it or distinguish it from anything else. So too, with internalized racism, we cannot always recognize it for what it is, especially those of us from white middle class backgrounds.
Clearly there is an undertow of attitudes in white middle class America that are always happy to reallocate money away from the education of inner city youth, toward more affluent communities. In the name of freedom, efficiency, even fairness they have clearly prevailed in the last 30 years. I believe this has been one large factor that has contributed to the process of "re-segregation." Another factor that is talked about in our readings, is the subtle and insidious racism, whereby we do not account for or understand cultural differences or socio-economic differences. As white middle class Americans who are sympathetic to minorities achieving equity, we need to examine these subtleties and work toward being sensitive to them. We, as teachers can help to move society forward. The backlash and result of re-segregation, that appears to benefit white middle class society, is not an ultimate benefit to them. Ultimately, society as a whole will benefit from desegregated schools. Why? Because this will, in turn, help create an integrated society where all individuals have the opportunity to realize their potential to the fullest extent. This will create a more efficient and effective system for all.
At my volunteer placement, one can clearly see the line between the white teachers from middle class backgrounds and the students and aides. The school is segregated, not just because the student body is primarily black and Hispanic, but because there are primarily white teachers. The culture with power prevails in the classroom over the minority cultures. Clearly, we as teachers cannot be fully cognizant of all aspects of the students' culture. Trying to be sensitive to their needs takes an effort in itself. Then on top of that, being aware of cultural differences is a monumental task. As reflective and culturally aware teachers, we must work on this, being open to learning new things about the various cultures that we serve.
All our writings confirm that institutional racism continues in our society. The overt, hostile racism of the past, (although not completely gone), has been replaced with subtle, ingrained practices that still discriminate against minorities. Tim Wise (2003) asks if a fish really knows what water is if it's so much a part of the fish's world that it can't really define it or distinguish it from anything else. So too, with internalized racism, we cannot always recognize it for what it is, especially those of us from white middle class backgrounds.
Clearly there is an undertow of attitudes in white middle class America that are always happy to reallocate money away from the education of inner city youth, toward more affluent communities. In the name of freedom, efficiency, even fairness they have clearly prevailed in the last 30 years. I believe this has been one large factor that has contributed to the process of "re-segregation." Another factor that is talked about in our readings, is the subtle and insidious racism, whereby we do not account for or understand cultural differences or socio-economic differences. As white middle class Americans who are sympathetic to minorities achieving equity, we need to examine these subtleties and work toward being sensitive to them. We, as teachers can help to move society forward. The backlash and result of re-segregation, that appears to benefit white middle class society, is not an ultimate benefit to them. Ultimately, society as a whole will benefit from desegregated schools. Why? Because this will, in turn, help create an integrated society where all individuals have the opportunity to realize their potential to the fullest extent. This will create a more efficient and effective system for all.
At my volunteer placement, one can clearly see the line between the white teachers from middle class backgrounds and the students and aides. The school is segregated, not just because the student body is primarily black and Hispanic, but because there are primarily white teachers. The culture with power prevails in the classroom over the minority cultures. Clearly, we as teachers cannot be fully cognizant of all aspects of the students' culture. Trying to be sensitive to their needs takes an effort in itself. Then on top of that, being aware of cultural differences is a monumental task. As reflective and culturally aware teachers, we must work on this, being open to learning new things about the various cultures that we serve.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Prompt #5
Communicating with parents is always a challenge. Often the parents of inner city youth do not show up for conferences, don't respond to notes sent home, don't answer phone calls or e-mails. The first thing that I would do is to write an introductory letter at the beginning of the year. Introduce myself and let parents and guardians that I am very open to communicating at any time during the year. I would include a short and very understandable survey asking about class activities, outings or other school related activity. If the parents do not speak English, I would find out how I could get communication translated. Trying to make contact right away, at the start of the year can set the tone. Let them know that you are interested in their ideas, that you value what they have to say about their concerns for their child, what they want in an education for their child, etc.
Each family will be a unique situation. Some will communicate and others may take a long time to respond. The trick will be to find what works best for each family and adjust my tactics accordingly. I may find that one family prefers a phone call but can only be reached Friday afternoons. I may find that another situation is that the only communicative adult is the grandmother and she must be reached by text messaging. Adjusting to these differences, and contacting parents at their convenience will facilitate communication.
Setting up special events and inviting parents in to see children's work, or perform a play or skit will allow the students to show the parents what they can do. In addition, it will be an opportunity for the parents to get to know me. Having parents come in to talk about what they do for work is also another idea that may not work for all parents, but even if a teacher could get one of two parents to do this, it would be beneficial to the class and give the child of that parent a lot of pride. I think the key will be not to give up on attempting to make contact, even if it is not happening. I will always listen to their ideas and incorporate them if appropriate and possible. A weekly blog or news letter is a good idea. On a blog, parents would have access to other parent's ideas, which might inspire more ideas. Active attempts on the part of the teacher is key to success.
Communicating with parents is always a challenge. Often the parents of inner city youth do not show up for conferences, don't respond to notes sent home, don't answer phone calls or e-mails. The first thing that I would do is to write an introductory letter at the beginning of the year. Introduce myself and let parents and guardians that I am very open to communicating at any time during the year. I would include a short and very understandable survey asking about class activities, outings or other school related activity. If the parents do not speak English, I would find out how I could get communication translated. Trying to make contact right away, at the start of the year can set the tone. Let them know that you are interested in their ideas, that you value what they have to say about their concerns for their child, what they want in an education for their child, etc.
Each family will be a unique situation. Some will communicate and others may take a long time to respond. The trick will be to find what works best for each family and adjust my tactics accordingly. I may find that one family prefers a phone call but can only be reached Friday afternoons. I may find that another situation is that the only communicative adult is the grandmother and she must be reached by text messaging. Adjusting to these differences, and contacting parents at their convenience will facilitate communication.
Setting up special events and inviting parents in to see children's work, or perform a play or skit will allow the students to show the parents what they can do. In addition, it will be an opportunity for the parents to get to know me. Having parents come in to talk about what they do for work is also another idea that may not work for all parents, but even if a teacher could get one of two parents to do this, it would be beneficial to the class and give the child of that parent a lot of pride. I think the key will be not to give up on attempting to make contact, even if it is not happening. I will always listen to their ideas and incorporate them if appropriate and possible. A weekly blog or news letter is a good idea. On a blog, parents would have access to other parent's ideas, which might inspire more ideas. Active attempts on the part of the teacher is key to success.
Prompt #2
The make up of the class that I am volunteering in is largely Spanish speaking. About a third are African American and there is at least one girl who appears to be white. Most seem proficient on their speaking ability and very little Spanish is heard on the class. Clearly the reading group levels are distinct, with the highest reading more difficult material. I see the teacher accommodating individuals who need a little more help or repeating directions when needed. This may be because their English is not as proficient as others.
Other than this intervention, I do not see a lot of cultural sensitivity in the classroom. I heard the teacher gossiping with another teacher about how one student's mother does not respond to notes, does not communicate well. It seems to me could be a direct result of a language barrier. The ultimate challenge is to be able to successfully run a classroom and bring the essential ingredients of sensitivity toward individual circumstances into it. If we paint our students with the same brush they may not benefit as much, on the other hand they may at times arise to the challenge of doing well despite their differences. They were writing a paragraph on what they would like to share with their neighbors. One boy couldn't think of anything. I suggested that maybe it did not have to a thing, maybe he could share by playing something with his neigbor in the yard. He said,"We don't have a yard." I realized it is important to be sensitive to the students' circumstances and not make assumptions such as having a yard. Clearly diverse circumstances of students bring challenges for the teacher to sharpen her sensitivity toward diverse populations.
The make up of the class that I am volunteering in is largely Spanish speaking. About a third are African American and there is at least one girl who appears to be white. Most seem proficient on their speaking ability and very little Spanish is heard on the class. Clearly the reading group levels are distinct, with the highest reading more difficult material. I see the teacher accommodating individuals who need a little more help or repeating directions when needed. This may be because their English is not as proficient as others.
Other than this intervention, I do not see a lot of cultural sensitivity in the classroom. I heard the teacher gossiping with another teacher about how one student's mother does not respond to notes, does not communicate well. It seems to me could be a direct result of a language barrier. The ultimate challenge is to be able to successfully run a classroom and bring the essential ingredients of sensitivity toward individual circumstances into it. If we paint our students with the same brush they may not benefit as much, on the other hand they may at times arise to the challenge of doing well despite their differences. They were writing a paragraph on what they would like to share with their neighbors. One boy couldn't think of anything. I suggested that maybe it did not have to a thing, maybe he could share by playing something with his neigbor in the yard. He said,"We don't have a yard." I realized it is important to be sensitive to the students' circumstances and not make assumptions such as having a yard. Clearly diverse circumstances of students bring challenges for the teacher to sharpen her sensitivity toward diverse populations.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Prompt # 6
My experience in a first grade classroom continues as before. The children are getting to know me, just by my presence, not because we have much interaction. I have noticed that much of the students' written work is phonetic. The teacher has a policy of not spelling any words for them, they must spell it phonetically if they do not know the correct spelling. It seems to me that this is very good practice for sound symbol relationship, but might reinforce bad spelling if this method is practiced for too long, but maybe for ESL students this is best. I have noticed one boy, who has was off task for quite a while. He appears to have special needs. He was peeling the paper off of crayons and playing instead of doing the writing assignment. Since I was monitoring the group, I attempted to get him back on task, but with no success. When the teacher was done with her reading group, she had him come sit by her. She worked with him one on one, with some success as far as I could tell from a distance. Again, the angry tone of the teacher was disturbing. I felt that clearly this boy was not up to par with his work, nor was he on task, but an angry tone did not seem appropriate. It seems that she could have had him come sit next to her without singling him out quite as noticeably. Many of the students are Spanish speaking, but most of them seem up to par with their English. It is difficult for me to tell if there are big gaps in achievement at this point. The students are all doing the same writing assignments. Reading group may be at different levels.My impression over all is that more sensitivity could be going on toward the students in general and probably also in regard to their backgrounds. The students generally get along and appear to interact well. Occasionally the teacher will have to separate two of them because they are fooling around, not because of conflicts.
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Saturday, May 12, 2012
Post #1 FIRST IMPRESSIONS
I was assigned a volunteer position at an urban school in a first grade classroom. According to "info works", this school provides ESL services to 85% of its students and special education services to 17% of the students. The school did not pass AYP, "Adequate Yearly Progress" and NECAP testing appears to be substantially below state numbers. These statistics I think, are very relevant to what I saw and heard in the classroom on my first day of volunteering.
The teacher in this 1st grade class was young, friendly enough but not very communicative. As the students came in and took their places, they gave me curious looks. I bent down and gave one a smile, she smiled in return. After a while the teacher introduced me, said I was going to be a helper.The first 45 minutes I sorted papers. The next hour and 15 minutes I helped to monitor the students as they did a reading assignment and then writing.
My impression of the atmosphere overall was one of stress and a somber feeling. There was no morning circle or morning rituals to start the day. There was little humor or joy expressed by the teacher or students. They jumped right into reading groups. Students were admonished to be quiet and orderly or they would lose their recess. They were very good and appeared to do very well at staying on task for their age. The teachers approach to discipline was in negative terms. I heard: " Some of you will not be going to recess today. I hear voices over there. This is not summer vacation yet." Students quietly using their voice to read seemed like an age appropriate thing, but the teacher felt they were making to much noise. I also heard phrase like: "I need to do more testing today, some of you are still below grade level and this is May!" This did not seem like information that the students needed. I felt like the teacher was passing on her stress to the children. Clearly she is very stressed about her children's testing performance. I am curious to experience this coming week in this class and see if my impressions stay the same or change.
I was assigned a volunteer position at an urban school in a first grade classroom. According to "info works", this school provides ESL services to 85% of its students and special education services to 17% of the students. The school did not pass AYP, "Adequate Yearly Progress" and NECAP testing appears to be substantially below state numbers. These statistics I think, are very relevant to what I saw and heard in the classroom on my first day of volunteering.
The teacher in this 1st grade class was young, friendly enough but not very communicative. As the students came in and took their places, they gave me curious looks. I bent down and gave one a smile, she smiled in return. After a while the teacher introduced me, said I was going to be a helper.The first 45 minutes I sorted papers. The next hour and 15 minutes I helped to monitor the students as they did a reading assignment and then writing.
My impression of the atmosphere overall was one of stress and a somber feeling. There was no morning circle or morning rituals to start the day. There was little humor or joy expressed by the teacher or students. They jumped right into reading groups. Students were admonished to be quiet and orderly or they would lose their recess. They were very good and appeared to do very well at staying on task for their age. The teachers approach to discipline was in negative terms. I heard: " Some of you will not be going to recess today. I hear voices over there. This is not summer vacation yet." Students quietly using their voice to read seemed like an age appropriate thing, but the teacher felt they were making to much noise. I also heard phrase like: "I need to do more testing today, some of you are still below grade level and this is May!" This did not seem like information that the students needed. I felt like the teacher was passing on her stress to the children. Clearly she is very stressed about her children's testing performance. I am curious to experience this coming week in this class and see if my impressions stay the same or change.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Hi Everyone....I'm having a new experience creating this blog site. Life is beautiful, I've lived in California,
western Massachusetts, and now little Rhody. I love the sea and can hear the fog horns in the morning.
Teaching Montessori preschool, tutoring and subbing has been challenging, but embarking on this new
adventure, the intensive MAT program, has already been super challenging. I look forward to what is to
come in the following months!
western Massachusetts, and now little Rhody. I love the sea and can hear the fog horns in the morning.
Teaching Montessori preschool, tutoring and subbing has been challenging, but embarking on this new
adventure, the intensive MAT program, has already been super challenging. I look forward to what is to
come in the following months!
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