Miscellaneous Post #1

Today, in my Western Literature class, we discussed a book, Ceremony, written by Leslie Silko. The book is about a man named Tayo who is conflicted with his life. He is half Native-American and half white. In his mixed race he has trouble deciding whether to assimilate to the white culture or stay with the roots of his Native-American culture. I saw this story had a relation to Delpit's Culture of Power along with Rodriguez's talk of loosing your culture. I found it interesting how the readings of FNED tied into another class. I was able to use my outside knowledge in the class discussion to bring a new aspect into the conversation.

Talking Points #10: Shor

1.) "He urged teachers to encourage students to question their experience in school: "You must arouse children's curiosity and make them think about school..."

-This quote stood out to me, even though it is only on the first page, it one of my favorites because i think children should be allowed to question authority. They should not only do as they're told, but also be curious as to why they're learning it and think what it will do for them in the future. In a way I took this as creating a discourse between kids and authority.

2.) "In school and society, the lack of meaningful participation alienates workers, teachers, and students. This alienation lowers their productivity in class and on the job. I think of this lowered productivity as a performance strike, an unorganized mass refusal to perform well, and informal and unacknowledged strike."

- This resinated with me because it so true that the more people don't want to be teaching or students don't want to learn, the less productive the school community will be. Each school member, whether teacher or student, feed off of each other and essentially lead people to strive for better, or produce worse material.

3.) "The teacher plays a key role in the crucial classroom. Student participation and positive emotions are influenced by the teacher's commitment to both."

- This statement is not only completely true, in the sense that if a teacher can motivate a child, they will want to be in school much more, but it also reminds me of the culture of power. In the reading of Delpit, in which the culture of power is discussed, people should conform to the culture of power. This quote reminds me of that because it is children conforming the the culture of power, yet in a good and helpful way. If students like their teacher, then they will strive to please and do right by them, opposed to students who don't care and don't want to conform.

This reading summed up a lot of what we have talked about in class, and I liked it as the last reading because it focused on simply education and classrooms. I liked the focus of how teachers effect classrooms because that's why we're all in class, to learn how to be unbiased, and well-rounded teachers.

Talking Points #9: Kliewer

1.) "How absurd to be judged by others at all, especially by those who have never experienced a disability or who are unwillingly providing us with support ow who don't listen to the voices we have."

- This statement is completely true. It goes back to the saying of put yourself in someone elses shoes. People should not be judged on how fast they learn or what they can and can't achieve, but the person they are to other people.

2.) "Dialogue cannot occur... between those who deny others the right to speak their word and those whose right to speak has been denied them."

-This idea of a discourse is something that all too often doesn't happen between people with disabilities and people without, and it needs to. The talk of a discourse, as mentioned in Carlson, is something that needs to happen in order for people to come together and function as a society.

3.) "Such acceptance as the aim when children with Down syndrome join their nondisabled peers the classrooms, and many school and individual teachers have entered into this effort, which seeks and finds community value in all children."

-I agree completely that children with Down syndrome should be allowed in an all inclusive classroom and not have to be separated from children that will probably, in the long run, help them grow.

This article is one of my favorites because it was something I can relate to having a cousin with Down syndrome. I see my Aunt's struggle to keep him included in classrooms when the school system wants to separate him, and it is unfair. Children with disabilities that are not profound enough to need a special classroom or school should be allowed to join in with others as a foundation for growth. This reading tied in greatly to Carlson in that it talks of creating a discourse and that if the minority in a society is heard and talked about they won't be such a minority any more, just a diverse community.

Journal #7: Elementary School Visit

For my 7th visit to the elementary school, I was eager to start lesson plans as usual. There were new games in the folder today that consisted of a matching game using sight words. I was excited to start working on the words with them because I know they could always use more work on becoming fluent in reading. The sight words seem to help them make their phrases more fluent. I started working on a timed game in which the kids had to read simple phrases correct and with the correct inflection within a 3 minute period. They love competition among each other so this was great fun for them.

We then read the story of the three little bears and they each took turns reading their lines as if it was a play. We talked once again about periods and commas, they seem to be getting better at reading than at the beginning of our meetings and I am happy to help.

On another note, the girls in my class told me about how they are all dating the same boy, and it's okay for them to do so as long as they don't fight over him. I found this a funny little side note to my visit to the school and I hope to have more fun moments as I continue volunteering.

One connection to the readings I could make from this visit would be the kids that were being pulled out of class for special help. This reminds me of the Oakes reading on tracking, and that the kids all learn the same, and the smarter children aren't held back, yet the ones who need extra help attain that as well. I see this system work very well each visit and yet children aren't separated for any reason, making the tracking system unneeded.

Talking Points #8: Anyon

1.) "It may be shocking, however, to learn how vast the differences in schools are - not so much in resources as in teaching methods and philosophies of education."

- This quote stood out to me because I didn't think that it would truly make a difference in what type of schooling someone received. To me, you're schooling is all how you perceive it. If you apply yourself and attain a good then I didn't see how income could change anything.

2.) "In the two working-class schools, work is following the steps of a procedure. The procedure is usually mechanical, involving rote behavior and very little decision making or choice. The teachers rarely explain why the work is being assigned, how it might connect to other assignments, or what the idea is that lies behind the procedure or gives it coherence and perhaps meaning or significance."

-This stood out because it is clear to see that the children in the middle class are being prepped to work as blue collar employees. They use methods like; follow procedure and rote behavior, this is something that would be greatly used during a regular skills using job.

3.) "The teachers were very polite to the children, and the investigator heard no sarcasm, no nasty remarks, and few direct orders. The teachers never called the children "honey" or "dear" but always called them by name. The teachers were expected to be available before school, after school, and for part of their lunchtime to provide extra help if needed."

- This exemplified to me a great deal of power and privilege being put into use by the school, teachers, and by the children themselves. The kids had the privilege to do as they pleased in the class room, and the teachers treated them with equal amounts of respect. I saw this as being a great difference from the "working class school' in which the kids were to do as told and follow all rules.

This reading opened my eyes to many of the differences in teaching at schools of lower to higher class. I also saw it tying in greatly to readings of Delpit's culture of power and Johnson's philosophies on power and privilege.

Journal #6: Elementary School Visit

I had a very great day today at my elementary school. I came in to find that the teacher that is present in my classroom, was out for the day and there was a substitute. The children were not respecting the teacher, and her culture of power, as discussed in Delpit, was clearly being taken away do to lack of privilege given by the students. I grouped my children together and we worked on a matching and writing game with sight words. They seem to be getting a lot better with knowing sight words off hand, and the improvement is helping them when reading.

Then, we moved on the recognizing blends, as in: sh, ch, st, they have a hard time recognizing that you don't pull the syllables apart. While learning these, the kids started to get off track, and talk about how a girl in the class was Puerto Rican, but was "too" white. I kindly informed them that was not the task, and that it did not matter skin tone of a person, her heritage could be Puerto Rican. I could also relate this to talk of Rodriguez and that a person can loose their identity in main stream life.

I enjoyed teaching again today and I look forward to next week too because the kids seem to be making progress. They also wrote me little notes that said, "I love you." I must say, it was the most adorable thing I've ever seen.

Talking Points #7: Weil

1. "Separating schoolboys from schoolgirls has long been a staple of private and parochial education. But the idea is now gaining traction in American public schools, in response to both the desire of parents to have more choice in their children’s public education and the separate education crises girls and boys have been widely reported to experience."

- I am unsure as to my reaction to this reading, because I think separation, in anyway, especially at a young age, can be harmful to the growth socially of children. The idea of one group being better than another and, "privilege", as talked about by Johnston, can be applied.

2. "Currently, there are 49, and 65 percent of those have opened in the last three years. Nobody is keeping exact count of the number of schools offering single-sex classrooms, but Sax estimates that in the fall of 2002, only about a dozen public schools in the United States offered any kind of single-sex educational options. By this past fall, Sax says, that number had soared to more than 360, with boys- and girls-only classrooms now established in Cleveland; Detroit; Albany; Gary, Ind.; Philadelphia; Dallas; and Nashville, among other places.

- I find this number very low, if the article says that it is such a good idea, I think this shows that people have apprehensions of separating kids, regardless of the learning rate they have.

3. "Sax also goes out of his way to note that Bender had this conversation with the boy “shoulder to shoulder,” not “face to face.” “Just remember this rule of thumb,” Sax tells readers: “A good place to talk with your son is in your car, with you driving and your son in the passenger seat.”

- This was an interesting point of view on the situation, that kids open up more when they are not directly facing a person. I can remember back to elementary school when I would talk more to my parents (not like I didn't talk enough all the time), when I was in the car and not indirectly speaking to them

-I am still unsure how I feel about the single-sex classrooms. In a way I see it as going backwards instead of forwards in the bridging the gap of who is "better" than another.