Post 12: Teaching to Change the World

The title of my blog seems like a daunting task for public school teachers. However, as I think about a teacher who is retiring at my school after 25 years in the profession and I think of all the students she had taught over the years it could be close to 500 students! So to say that a teacher can’t change the world is a mistake. I think indeed a teacher can.

Last year at around this time I was staying up late to do something for school that I vaguely recall what.   My husband remarked that I can’t change the world and I replied that no I just want to change my school. It is just as simple as this. A teacher has to start small and has to start with what she or he has control of changing.

Chapter 12 of Oakes and Lipton is entitled Teaching to Change the World. The authors talk about the struggles new teachers entering the profession today will be faced with and the task of becoming change agents for social justice in their teaching.  As I read the chapter I don’t think it is any different than it was 13 years ago when I started teaching. Actually I may think in some ways it is easier. There is new research every day on how to mentor new teachers and teaching a diverse student body. When I started teaching being a new teacher in my school was a new phenomenon and something that my school didn’t know how to handle. Teaching will never be easy no matter what issues are at hand.  Teaching isn’t a 8-3 job but a job that gets into your blood ad becomes who you are. As the authors state of high school teacher Judy in chapter 12, “clearly teaching is not an 8-3…Rather, her professional and “lifestyle” merge into a single if not complex identity” (p.491)  This is so true. The line of my personal and professional life are often blurred. Teaching is my passion.

Now as I near the end of my journey as an Ed.S student at Georgia State, I have a broader view of my role as a teacher teaching children from many different backgrounds and cultures. However, I am still left with many questions and wondering. A lot more than when I came into the program. It has left me unsettled. But I think that is a good thing.  I must teach social justice if I ever want my students to have an equitable education. Oaks and Lipton state that “when teachers struggle for social justice, they engage in social justice.” For me this will be an on going process and journey that I look forward to take. May I never quit learning and always be an advocate for the children I teach. So that when I retire in the next 17 years I would have taught in a way that changed the world for the better.

5 comments April 22, 2009 almoon

Post 11: Teaching the Why

Knowledge emerges only through invention and re-invention, through the restless, impatient, continuing, hopeful inquiry human beings pursue in the world, with the world, and with each other- Paulo Freire

The most profound aha moment as I read Black Ants and Buddhists by Mary Cowhey, was that she taught the why. What do I mean by the why? Most teachers, including my self, teach the what and how but not the why. To teach children to think critically teachers must also teach the why. Mary Cowhey makes sure her students know why they are learning.

There are many powerful examples in her book of teaching the why. One such example involved the food drive at the holiday season to help the poor. Even though having a food drive has good intentions, it can reinforce stereotypes, over simplify the problem and solution, fail to teach an understanding of the causes of poverty and further stigmatize low-income children in the school (Cowhey, 2006 p. 25). By teaching children why the school is holding a food drive and about poverty, you challenge the stereotypes, teach understanding of the complexity of poverty, introduce local activists, empower children to take responsibility in their own community and remove the stigma of poverty. She does this through children’s literature, sharing stories from her childhood and class discussions. 

Another powerful example that she gives in the book is during the election she taught the children why people were voting and the importance of the right to vote. The children took action and set up a voter registration drive at their school.  

Mary Cowehy also taught her children the meaning of the pledge of allegiance and why the students recite it every day. She taught them key words in the pledge and what it means. The children had a better understanding of the pledge of allegiance than before. She states that to have children recite something that they don’t understand “trains people to be non thinkers” (p.220). Teaching children the why and letting them discover the answer teaches children to think critically.  

Children need to understand the world beyond their school. As teachers it is important to teach children to think of themselves as a member of a community . If we want children to grow up to be productive citizens, then we need to teach children to think critically and  inquire about the world around them. One way that teachers can do this is to teach the why of learning.  

3 comments April 17, 2009 almoon

Post 10: Politics of Language

The politics of language I have to say is alive and well on many school campuses. I often hear when a child does not speak standard English that that child needs an intervention usually it is speech (articulation) or otherwise. The language the child speaks should be respected and valued. It is part of who they are and their identity.

As a teacher of young child, the majority of the children do not speak standard English. They are still learning and playing with the language. I’ll often hear looktid for looked. I also hear children leave off the endings of words with s or ing. In Reading Recovery, Marie Clay (2005b) states that when a child composes a story to be written, it is important to let the child compose in his her own language because to make one “alteration from the teacher may be enough to throw the child so that he can not recall what he composed” (p. 56) She also emphasizes that it is not the time to correct grammar. She cautions teachers that by correcting a child’s grammar will confuse the child and he/she may not remember the story that he/she just wrote. She advises teachers to use correct grammar when they speak. This way the teacher acts as a model for the child. This is telling me that I have to value what the child says and writes or else I may silence the child. If I silence the child, then the child is not willing to take the necessary risks to learn. But I am wondering how many times in the past have I been quick to correct a child’s grammar or what they have written?

2 comments April 3, 2009 almoon

Post 9: How do we measure progress?

Since reading the article Willing to Be Disturbed by Margaret Wheately, I am more inclined as I read to jot notes on what surprises me. I am going to blog about what surprised and disturbed me as I read chapter 6 in Oakes and Lipton (2007) on Assessment.

I found reading about the history of assessment quite fascinating and disturbing at the same time. A lot of what I read about history reflects the culture and societal beliefs of the time. So I have to keep that in mind. I must say I was dumbfounded when I learned that one way to measure intelligence is through bump analysis of the brain (phrenology). I couldn’t believe it!

However, what made me think even more is the fact of grouping children by grades and having all students master the same material in that grade is a concept that has been around since the early 1800’s. This is still going on today in our schools. I have been attending retention meetings and as I get older and more experienced in teaching the less the fan I am of retentions. How can all children master the same material at the same rate  and be held accountable when clearly there are differences among children?

The concept of grouping children by grade and requiring them to master the same material seems archaic. However, I am not quite sure what the answer could be. But I do know that retention is not an answer for every child who fails to master the required material at the grade level. More has to be done for that child. If a child is retained, aren’t they the ones who are left behind?

4 comments March 26, 2009 almoon

Post 8: Poverty

I started my teaching career in the Los Angeles subburb I grew up in which the majority was mainly lower middle, middle class and upper class. There are distinct areas in class lines that existed when I grew up and that still exist today.  There are also only three full Title I schools and a handful of targeted Title I schools out of the approximately thirty elementary schools in the town. Needless to say my experiences teaching children of poverty was practically non existent.

I was glad that I had experiences teaching at non title one schools and for a small school district that high expectations for their teachers as well as for their students. I brought this with me when as I continued my teaching career in Ga at a Title I school. The first year was challenging. I knew my students were bright despite lack of economic resources. I still held high expectations expectations but worried about meeting their emotional needs. I thought I could relate as a young girl with experiences of struggling for money but I couldn’t. My principal suggested that I read Ruby Payne. I read her book A Framework for Understanding Poverty.  I have to admit that I actually came away with thinking I understood where my students were coming from.

However, years later reading articles for my Ed.S class I am aware of the critiques of her book that she generalizes people and class systems. What disturbed me the most when I read the articles for class is that she is making money off of claiming that she knows the “culture of poverty” and trying to educate those who read her book that we have to “save” people of poverty by teaching them the “hidden rules” of the middle class.  I do agree with the framework that Gorski proposes in his article Savage Unrealities. I think it is important to value students and where they come from and not from a deficit perspective. He suggests as part of the frameowrk to eliminate classism within one’s school or district. I think it starts in a more global way of eliminating classism within one’s own community, city, or state.

3 comments March 20, 2009 almoon

Post 7: Disturbia

As I reflect on the assignment that Rhina gave for us to blog about, I must admit that I am not comfortable writing about this so I probably will not delve too deeply into this. 

The one topic that disturbs me is anything I read by Chrsitine Sleeter especially the article Preparing Teachers for Culturally Diverse Schools: Research and the Overwhelming Presence of Whiteness. I agree with her that there is a cultural gap between children and teachers in schools and the gap is growing.  I also  agree that the teaching profession has to attract and sustain more minority teachers.

However, her statement “White preservice students tend to use colorblindness as a way of coping with fear and ignorance” (P.95) I think this is too general of a statement. All teachers need to be given the proper “tools” to teach in a culturally respective way and learn how to foster dialog among students is critical.

Another quote is that “preservice students of color bring a richer multicultural knowledge base to teacher education than do White students.” (p.95) Is this not to say that White teachers do not have a rich cultural? I think each person is unique and brings a different perspective to teaching be it the teacher who is White, Black, Hispanic, Asian etc. As a White teacher I think I am capable of teaching children from other cultures.  

I grew up in a multicultural area. I think this has been an advantage to me. I also grew up with a father whose first language was not English and the struggles he had to endure. He often talked to me about  experiencing discrimination while growing up because he did not speak the language of the dominant culture and later in his life the struggles of finding work because he spoke with an accent.  I often had long conversations with my father about this issue and also some topics that come up in our class to gain his perspective as well.  When I first began teaching, I was aware of the struggles that my ELLs may have endured and the strengths and richness that they brought to the classroom. I try to be cognizant and respectful of children who are not from the same culture I am.

I think as teachers we need to teach each child as an individual and respect who they are and where they come from. Every child has strengths and unique qualities that they bring with them to school. It is up to the teacher to build on these strengths and make sure every student has a voice and sees themselves as part of a larger community.  

The other topic that has been on my mind is the idea that we often agree with each other. I do not think this is necessarily a “bad” thing. I have read blogs that I often agree with but I have deepened my understanding and perspective and I think that is a good thing. I have learned so much from reading and listening to my classmates in the Ed.S program. I think I am richer for it.

4 comments March 15, 2009 almoon

Post 6: Multicultural articles

The articles on multicultural literature and education were thought provoking. I too agree that the emphasis on multicultural education has waned in public schools. I was recently on a language arts committee meeting and one of the questions asked was :are the materials free from bias, prejudice etc… I would say that all committee members agreed that the materials were free of prejudice and bias.. but were they really? Our thinking is that of course they should be. It should go without saying. However, after reading the articles I think that the committee should have taken a closer look at the books and materials. We should never be too trusting of a publishing house. Take for example the article entitled Fiction Posing as Truth. The big publishing house Scholastic further stereotyped Native Americans and left out a big chunk of history in publishing the children’ s book My Heart is on the Ground: The Dairy of Nannie Little Rose, a Sioux Girl Are we trying to dumb down our students and not wanting them see the good the bad and the ugly of history. I think our students deserve to know every perspective of an event in history and not the “Disney” version.   I will definitely use a critical eye when choosing multicultural literature for my students. The article on Evaluating Children’s books I will use as a resource for many years to come.

1 comment March 5, 2009 almoon

Post 5: What do you do?

Is Friere becoming easier to read or is it just that I am becoming use to his style of writing and beginning to understand where he is coming from??? (However, loses me when he talks politics )

I found two quotes that connect and I found intriguing. The first quote is from Freire page 102 “Our relationship with the learners demands that we respect them and demands equally that we are aware of their concrete conditions that shape them…without this we have no access to the way they think.” I chose this quote because it speaks to me and it goes along with a quote by Nel Noddings in Oakes & Lipton. Nel states on page 266 that “schools should be committed to a great moral purpose: to care for children so that they will be prepared to care.”  The authors of the text state that caring “encompasses the moral and cultural vaules of how people relate to others….”  I am wondering if we don’t get to know the children we teach and the “concrete conditions that shape them” how are we going to show that we care for and respect them? I know children see right through adults when they are not sincere. This is even more reason to make a connection with every child you teach and show you care about them and the world they live in.  

2 comments February 27, 2009 almoon

Post 4: What are we trying to do? (Freire)

I have to admit that I find reading Paulo Freire challenging to say the least. I think it may be his style of writing. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I read the Eighth Letter in Teachers as Cultural Workers. Many of the quotes that led our discussion on Thursday eve helped deepen my understanding of what I read.

Our discussion also revolved around the idea of social justice and what that means to educators. I must say the Freire is blunt about what educators are responsible for whether they like it or not. He states on page 129 that it is teachers who need to “assume responsible authority as an educator” and that to assume the responsibility of an educator is knowing that education is political. He even has us repeat this when he states “Let’s repeat…that the educator is a politician.” (p. 129)  I don’t think in a governmental sense but in a social way. He also goes on to state that it is important for an educator to know the concrete world in which students live. This includes culture, language, accent, habits, desires, beliefs which are not “easily accepted in the teachers’ own worlds.” (p129)

Freire is making a case for the importance of knowing the students that you teach. The teacher can not teach a child whom she doesn’t know.  He places the importance of learning about students lives in order to teach the whole child.  I think when educators know the whole child then assumptions won’t be made and stereotypes won’t exist. The quote that most resonated with me was the following:

                  ” Educators need to know what happens in the world of the children with whom they work. They need to know the universe of their dreams, the language with which they skillfully defend themselves from the aggressiveness of their world, what they know independently of the school, and how they know it. ” (p. 130)

I know all children bring strengths to the classroom and school community. I know this from being a Reading Recovery teacher who has taught the lowest children in first grade. The first thing the child’s classroom teacher often says is “he/she doesn’t know anything” . There have been countless times I have met with the child’s teacher and informed the teacher of the child’s strengths in literacy and how to build upon that and to raise their expectation for the child. 

As an educator and Reading Recovery teacher I have learned the importance of building on a child’s strengths and not deficits. I have learned to get to know the child and the importance of making a connection. I have learned that even on a bad day I am a child’s best hope. (Larry Bell) In that respect I am an advocate and a politician for all students I meet.               

3 comments February 20, 2009 almoon

Post 3: Silencing Teachers

Our session focused on advocacy for social justice. Our assigned reading was about teacher leader Elizabeth Jaeger who advocated for that she knew was right and went against what the district was promoting. Jaeger reminded me of movies I have seen about exceptional teachers such as Stand and Deliver, Dangerous Minds and Freedom Writers. All these teachers worked with disadvantaged youth and took a stand and were advocates for these youth. I do not believe this is an easy task, even though Hollywood makes it seem that it is so rewarding and simple.  I believe that being a progressive teacher and teacher for social justice is a daunting task beyond what Hollywood can capture.  I am not comfortable being an advocate for social justice yet, I am inspired to “dig deep” and find out ways I can be an better adovocate for kids in my school.  

3 comments February 13, 2009 almoon