Empowering Education

The article that we read this week was called Empowering Education written by Ira Shor.  I really liked this article because it talks about everything that I stand for when teaching and helping young people in the world today.  I agree with what the article says as well as what Zach said in his blog.  The author says what children should be focusing on school and how it shouldn't be solely focused on the three R's but on socialism and peeking ones curiosity.   Shor had quoted Piaget and said "If the aim of intellectual training is to form the intelligence rather than stock the memory, and to produce intellectual explorers rather than the mere education, than traditional education is manifestly guilty of a grave deficiency."  I agree with this.  Things should be taught to children in a way where they can ask questions and form their own opinion on the subject at hand.  Instead as students we are forced to memorize things and believe things taught and not to question.  One particular situation comes to mind for me when I was a freshman in high school and I was in biology class and the subject of evolution was being taught.  Now as an adult I understand evolution and what it is but when I was a child I didn't and I was brought up Catholic and I questioned my teacher about his and said that I was taught that God created everything.  Now I understand this concept but then I made a big deal about it and instead of working with me and trying to understand where I came from I was forced to sit in the office while this subject was taught and then later transferred into another biology class.  Now what if that caused some damage for me and I never questioned things again?  Some children will have one bad experience like that and it would end their curiosity and questioning forever.  I'm lucky that didn't happen for me. 

Like Zach said in his blog again school is very high pressure now a days and everything is related to test.  They make you work alone and then say well how come the kids do not socialize with each other.  It's because they are told not to.  I believe that working in groups and combining thoughts and ideas kids can come up with solutions for anything.  I also believe that as teachers we should push kids to be more and go get more.  Like the article says if empowered to do more kids can do anything they set their minds to.  The children should be able to think for themselves, decide what they want to do when they get older, and form their opinions about society and the world as a whole.  It's the teachers responsibility to do this, to push them to their potential.  This relates to the last few readings.  I believe that kids fail because no one gives them a shot.  It reminds of me this student in my service learning placement and I just talked about this in my journal.  This kid has a hard life and is a troubled kid and everyone gives up on him but his teacher now pushes him to do more and while I was there I pushed him to do more and to be a better person.  In the short time I've been there and watched him he has caught up on his work, got his internship set up and he found a job to help support his family.  I truly believe kids can do anything they set their minds to but it is on us to push them to ask the questions and to strive to make a difference and change. 

I found this video on youtube and it is a ted talk by Dr. Christopher Emdin who was the keynote at the promising practices and I think it fits nicely with this reading.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouudXr-csZg

Questions for the class:
As teachers how will you empower your students?
What changes would you bring to the classrooms?
How would you react to your students question the subjects at hand?

Social Justice Assignment- Promising Practices

I attended the Promising Practices here at RIC this year and I thought it was great.  When I first went in I wasn't sure what to expect and I wasn't sure if I was going to like.  My first workshop was Confidently Working Toward Your Career.  I thought the speakers did well but I didn't really relate anything to class but got some good stuff out of the workshop and how to build myself up and work toward what my goals are and how to achieve them. 

The second workshop was great.  It was called Expanded Learning Opportunities: Students Passions take the Lead.  I thought this workshop was cool and now after reading Kliewer's article it defiantly fits right in with that piece.  The speakers were from Central Falls High School and they talked about ELO programs inside their school and how it helps their students succeed in areas that they are passionate about.  First we sat and talked about the community garden that they set up in the area for students to grow flowers and vegetables and how it gave them experience in agriculture and farming.  The next person was a teaching inside the school and he had a program after school about safety and disaster protocol and fire safety and strength training.  I thought this was great because it gave students an opportunity to learn how to survive in certain situations but not only that they also can save lives like one of the students did.  Next we sat with Elizabeth Ochs who is the coordinator of the ELO program and she explained the program as a whole to use and what it does for students.  Each student has a program and has to follow and is responsible for what they need to do get it done. And then there was a student who came in and showed us one of his projects about code in the computer and how to recognize code but also how to right it down with instructions for the simulation to do and how it could be difficult.  I thought it was really cool.  This workshop defiantly relates to Kliewer's article but it also relates to the culture of power piece we read earlier in the semester and how the students of Central Falls are classified and judge and that the teachers there are working on making a difference to change the stereotypes that are set for their students. 

Next the Key Note Speaker Dr. Christopher Emdin was absolutely fantastic.  Again I wasn't sure what to think going into it and wasn't sure if I was going to like it but I did.  He spoke a lot about what we read in class and culture of power and segregation inside the schools in the country.  He stated at one point in the speech about how schools are still segregated and that because of the social classes in America basically separate race inside the schools.  He also talked about the military drill style that teachers have at times, which I am always talking about.  I could go on and on about how many topics he related to in our class but I'd be here typing all night.  I really like how he related Hip-Hop to the classroom and the norms of culture and the how expressing your mind is just like the music that he relates it too. 

Overall I really enjoyed the day and learned a lot and related a lot as well.  I didn't think it was going to be to too fun and it might be boring but it really wasn't.  It was fun and interesting and very motivating.  I love Dr. Emdin's speech and it really motivated me but the workshop with the Central Falls High School was fun and inspiring and interesting.  It motivated me to look at different ways to reach kids and make sure I do my best to have them strive to meet their dreams and goals.   

Kliewer-Citizenship in Schools

In this article the author Kliewer talks about the citizenship inside the classroom as it relates to children with down syndrome.  In fact any child with a disability is placed in Special Education classrooms whether they have down syndrome, autism, or some other type of disability.  I love how the Kliewer talks about teachers who made it the norm to intergrade their students with disabilities into the communication and community of the classroom.  As Kliewer states that is very important to live as we know it.  Networking, communicating, social interaction.  Students need social interaction to feel part of and motivate them to be better humans.  It is human nature to want to be part of and students with disabilities want to be part of too.  I love what Jessica said in her blog. "they have a disability, but their disability is not who they are."  I can not agree with her more.  People with disabilities are people too the disability is not who they are.  Just like Shayne's aide Anne was her own person and to be honest didn't really like working with children and yet the committee put her as an aide and she was going to have to do that for the rest of her life and not be happy.  But what she was happy with the most was movies and she wanted to be a Hollywood director and Shayne helped her get a job in a movie store. Shayne said "It's not Hollywood, but it's a start." And she is right.  Anne got a job and is good at it and knows everything there is to know about movies.  But because the committee didn't really listen to her they didn't know that and didn't think she could do it.  That is the problem, people in society think that people with a disability can't do certain things but if they just stopped and listened to them they might find out that they really can.  For example Isaac.  Just because he couldn't speak in words doesn't mean he didn't know what was going on or couldn't communicate.  He communicated in sounds and acting things out and was really passionate about it and good at it.  It was Shayne who had to figure out how to learn from him in order for her to teach him.

Now here is where the problem sets in.  Students with disabilities are segregated into classrooms with other students who have disabilities and not with the other students in the school for the most part.  Some students with disabilities are more severe than others.  Now I agree that every person with a disability is his or own person and I can only relate this to my own experience.  My fiancé's brother has sever autism and is one of the smartest people I know but struggles in social events and large crowds of people.  He can learn very quickly and can retain information but has a hard time staying focused.  Now in my opinion I do not like that they segregate the students but in my future brother in law's case this classroom helps him.  Now I believe that every student with a disability can be integrated into "normal" classrooms.  Some students with disabilities are good with music and can function in a normal music class.  Some can play an instrument and can be in band class.  Others are great in math and can take classes with the rest of the students in math class.  I believe every student with a disability can be in gym class with the other students.  This gets them into social interactions with other students and they can express their individuality.  Now in the case of my future brother in law, he is fantastic with computers, movies, and tv shows.  He can tell you how to play any type of computer game but not only that he can show you have to use computers, fix them and set up different programs on them.  He knows almost every movie and tv show.  So why couldn't he be integrated into some type of film class.  Or even better a type of tech class fixing computers?  He most certainly could be but isn't.  This is what Kliewer was talking about in the article and the citizenship of students and the dialogue.  Because people do not think that people with disabilities can think for themselves or even make the right decisions for themselves but they can.  They are their own person and know themselves better than anything and if people just took the time to listen to them and get to know them they would know what they want and what they are capable of doing.  It's human nature and yes people with disabilities might seem different but they feel the same way as everyone else does and in reality they just want to fit in.  Especially kids, every kid in high school wants to fit in and it is not different with kids with disabilities.  They want to interact with other kids and play with other kids and do what other kids are doing.  So why can't they?  This is a very touchy subject for me and I am very passionate about it.  I have always treated people the same way and that everyone is equal and that means people with disabilities as well.  My fiancé is a Special Education Pre-School teacher and I love volunteering in her classroom and working the little ones.  My brother works with adults with disabilities and I love visiting with his clients and talking to them about their day and their jobs and what is going on with them.  Like I said people could do so much more to make people with disabilities feel more part of and that is what this article is saying and what I am talking about here in the blog. 

Some questions for the class.  How many are looking to teach in Special Education?  How can you work on integrating your classroom once you are a teacher?  What can you do to change the "norm"?    

Literacy With An Attitude

 

While reading this article I keep thinking back about how school was for me and how I could relate to a lot of the things that were being said in the article by Finn.  I love the part of the piece where he talks about the study that Jean Anyon did inside the classrooms and how they are divided up into social classes in America.  I get so frustrated about the lack of encouragement inside classrooms and the lack of actual teaching.  What I mean by that is in every classroom that Anyon was in each teacher just followed the way its been for years like a robot.  Either right from the books or right from how it has been for years.  I put the picture above because schools are getting smaller and smaller and less participation and less of uniqueness and creativity for students.  Schools are getting shut down and children are dropping out more and more.  I believe that it's not just the lack of encouragement inside the classroom but it is the lack of enthusiasm from teachers and creativity to push the students to not only do better but to think outside the box and relate to the readings and the assignments.  Who says the classroom has to be boring?  Yes you have to teach certain material and the students have to learn it and follow certain guidelines but why does it have to be like a military drill style?  For example look at the way the seats are aligned in the picture above.  Why? Why not space them out differently?  I believe that kids learn through what they are interested in.  Get to know your students and relate your teachings to the way they learn.  Every child learns differently.  Instead teachers for decades teach the same way and I'll post a video to show this.  It has to do with social class like Finn shows in part of the article.  Teachers see how they were taught in the classroom and use it and some times never adapt to changes.  If the students aren't getting it so what as long as the follow the guidelines and do their job they will get seniority and move to a better school.  But what about when they get to the "better school" they teach the same way and students still struggle.  I am a believer that showing is the best way to teach, not just giving notes and reading from a book and just doing work and if a student doesn't get it you just assume that you know and can read it and understand it. But because people are programed to do things a certain way if you do it different than it's wrong.  For example this quote from the article. "When a girl realized what they were making and said she had a faster way to do it, the teacher answered, "No you don't.  You don't even know what I'm making yet.  Do it this way or it's wrong." Why is it wrong.  I see this a lot now in the classroom.  If I come to the same conclusion the teacher did why is it wrong if I did it differently.  This takes away from uniqueness and creativity for that particular student.  That's telling me I can not think for myself and it has to be done the way the teacher tells me.  There is no acceptance of change by the teacher.  Also due to lack of test scores teachers assume that students do know certain material therefore do not teach it to make things easier for students instead of expanding their minds to learn more material.  But not only that if the teachers give easier material and students get better grades they get better evaluations and can move on to making more money.  Since when did becoming a teacher matter about making the most amount of money rather than seeing students succeed and do better?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHzTUYAOkPM

 

This video is an old video and it shows right and wrong about teaching.  I thought it was good because it shows a lot of the stuff that was talked abo

ut in the article and what I have talked about in my blog.  I agree with the second half of the video about how to really teach the kids but again it is still like a military drill they way the students stand up and answer and are in the rows.  The first part of the video is awful and this still happens today.  Teachers say something and expect you know what it means. The harsh discipline for not doing well, and for acting up and getting punished.  Yes sometimes kids do things that are deserving of punishment but there is a way to handle certain situations and this video is from the either the 50's or 60's and they were trying to teach teachers to do better then and it still happens today.  Follow orders and just teach rather then teach and show. Things can be taught from the book but if you relate to your students and understand them and make things fun and interesting and test their knowledge and make students think, isn't that better?  Instead classrooms are boring and some students don't like to go because it's boring and some students don't like class because they are not pushed to their ability. 

 

In conclusion there is a major problem inside our schools and with some teachers.  I say some teachers because not every teacher is like the ones talked about by Finn but they are out there.  More than we think. 

Questions for the class:  As teachers how will you be different then the "normal" classroom that we all know?  How will you push more uniqueness and creativity inside the classroom?

Becoming Something Different

In this article a group of professors followed a young student by the name of Esme.  She is a Latina student in America but her heritage and home was Mexico.  This article shows the struggles of Spanish speaking students in America and how they are developmentally behind in school to American standards.  I really enjoyed reading this article.  It reminded me of the Rodriguez piece we read earlier in the semester.  Esme strived to well in school but some of the teachers didn't really understand how to teach her.  This happens a lot in schools and teachers do not focus enough on some of the other students and they loose interest and get frustrated which Esme did early in her schooling.  She wasn't confident to ask questions because she never really was given answers and that is how she defined teachers.  It wasn't until 7th and 8th grade that she became more aware of better teachers.  It was because she was placed in different classes or what they call resource classes.  The teachers here helped her more and taught her how do things rather than assuming she knew these things.  The resource classes helped Esme tremendously but it made her put a label on herself as if she wasn't in "regular" classes.  She understood she needed these classes but also understood that she needed to more to make something of herself.  Now what happened to her in high school I didn't like.  She was in three AP classes and she was doing well in two of them and struggling in the math class.  Now I agree with her taking herself out of the AP math class because she didn't fully understand it in the first place, could she have gotten yes probably but because she struggled from the beginning I think it was good for her to go down and pass the "regular" math class.  Now for the other two AP classes she was doing fine but the first sign of struggle she wanted to move down because she knew she could do it, but at the same time she wanted to stay up in the class too and if the teachers motivated her a little more to do better I think she would have done fine.  But because there was no motivation for her that she could do it she was fine with moving down.  I get so angry by this because as teachers they are supposed to bring the best out of children or at least try and encourage them to do better and make them feel like you are in their corner to succeed.  This didn't happen for her.  They also touch on the need to fit in in high school and Esme really wanted to make sure she fit in.  The pressures to fit in are so bad today but she really adjusted to it and didn't let it effect her school work. 

I love the shift in her speaking.  You could really tell throughout the article that she was getting better at speaking in English.  We also saw the shift in believing in herself which is exciting.  She first thought that college wasn't an obtainable goal for and as the article went on she really wanted to go to college and knew she could.  What I hate is that test that are mandated by the states.  Even though Esme was passing her classes and getting involved in school she still couldn't pass the TASK's and hadn't when she moved, and it said she wouldn't be able to graduate because of them.  I think that's awful because sometimes people do not test well or have other issues or even these tests are just hard in general and they make it very hard almost like they are weeding children out.  At the end of the article I enjoyed reading that Esme was doing to the cosmetology program so that she has a skill to have but wanted to go to college and use cosmetology to work while in school to provide assistance to her parents to help pay for it and to have money for herself. 

In conclusion I had my likes about the article but it made me think about what we are doing inside our school systems to really help children.  I know that I never want to discourage a student away from doing better for him or herself.  I also hate the standardize testing and I wish I knew how to go about changing this stuff because it really bothers me that it sets kids up to fail or that's what it seems like it does.  My goal is to push children to their full potential and to believe in them in whatever it is that they do or what to do.

My question for the class is: Social status in school is important to kids.  How important do you think it is?  What were some of your experiences with fitting in?  How would you teach children to either fit in or not to worry about it?

Teaching After Brown v Board of Education: Gloria Ladson-Billings, Michael Lomax, Gary Orfield on "The Other 3 Rs

The video called teaching after Brown v Board of Education: "The Other 3 R's was all about the problems inside the schooling in this country.  I enjoyed this video because it had a lot of information in it and I got a lot out of it.  I also enjoyed it because it hit on every reading that we have had in class this semester.  I found myself thinking back on our readings when they talked about the fact of race inside the class room and how students of color are set back and do not have the same opportunities as white's.  I thought about the Rodriguez reading when the panel was talking about the language barrier inside the schools and how teachers are not properly trained or schooled in how to teach children where English is their second language. 

There were a lot of different things that I liked about this video but some in particular were when Gloria started talking about the cut aways in the curbs in America for the handicapped, and how people who were not handicapped didn't want them but they were implemented and everyone benefits from them.  From the handicapped people to the women with the stroller and the father with child on his bike.  Then she says how it can be related to schools, where if you implement something for the less fortunate and start it from the bottom even in turn will benefit.  I also like when she brought up the part about how the schools are still segregated and not properly funded and how each school should be funded equally but they are not.  I think this is one of the biggest problems that we face in this country with the school system.  It reminded me of what Dr. Emdin said on Saturday at promising practices about how the population in the country determines the enrollment in the schools and in poor neighborhoods there are mostly people of color and that's what the schools are and in the richer neighborhoods there are more whites. This topic made me think of Kozol's piece we read and the neighborhood he was in and how it was for those people in that neighborhood and the schooling and what the success rate is.  I think that there is a big problem here in this country and we claim that there is equal opportunity here, but really where does the opportunity fall and who gets it? People of color do not get the same opportunities as whites, especially in poorer neighborhoods its even worse.  The fact that teachers do not want to teach in schools that have less opportunity, lower test scores, low success rates, and low pay is terrible but I agree with Orfield that these teachers need to live too.  Those schools do not pay well and the teachers cant survive on what's being paid.  Again it goes back to the funding issue.  Teachers want to make a difference in a child's life but also need to be able to survive in a country that is getting harder to live in then ever before.  Of course they will leave to go to a school for better money.  In my opinion though I want to make a difference in children's life no matter the money but not everyone thinks that way. 

Overall I enjoyed this video and got a lot out of it. I liked mostly everything except that they talked about a lot of the issues in America but didn't specify on some of the things they are doing to change it unless I missed that.  And also Gary Orfield couldn't keep his hands still and didn't stop moving the microphone the whole video that really bothered me because I do a lot of public speaking and that takes focus away a lot and distracts, it obviously distracted me.  Just a little peeve that I have sorry. 

Some questions I have are what is Kip School? And also this one is for the class.  How do you feel about going into the education field knowing that this exists, and how might you try and change this? Either on a small level or a larger scale? 

In the Service of What? Kahne and Westheimer

This article that we read this week was a good look into service learning and the difference between charity and change.  I completely agree with this article that the service learning should be focused more on change.  I like the idea of charity and it should be instilled in young peoples minds that they need to help those in need but in my mind it should be thought not to look through people and think that you are better than them just because you have more.  Young people should always get to know the people that they are helping.  It creates more of a bond and more of a learning experience for them to know what the bigger issue is and how they can help these individuals not only on a level of charity but how they can help change the bigger problem.  The little story about the middle school kids that went to the poor neighborhood school was the one I liked the most.  It showed how the parents preserved the area and how the news portrays the area and how completely different it was than what they thought.  After their show they got to talk to the kids and see who the kids really were and it gave them a different perspective on the area.   Now the author stated what else could have been done in this service learning but overall it was good for these kids and they engaged in conversations and got to know them.  To go further if they discussed and researched why their parents thought like this or why the news makes this neighborhood look bad and then how can it be changed would be going an additional step forward.  I related to this because I had a different perspective on the MET school that I am doing my service learning project at.  I had a student on my baseball team that goes to the MET and he was a socially awkward kid and didn't really fit in with kids in the public school.  He was outgoing and respectful and focused on his studies.  So going into the MET that was what I assumed most of the children were but I was wrong.  A lot of these children have problems at home, get distracted easily, have some authority issues, and need more help than most kids that I have met in the public schools.  So to relate to the reading, I worked on trying to get to know these kids on a more personal level and how I could help them do better in school and out of school. 

I love the aspect of change and how kids can change the world.  I help run a non-profit organization in Warwick RI and we have a lot of young kids volunteer with other younger students and mentor them.  It's like a big brother program.  We also do community cleanups and we get to know why the area has become the way it is and how we can change it.  We utilize the help of the local police officers to get data from the community and we meet in groups to discuss what we can do to change this in the community. Change comes from the people who teach you as you grow up.  When I was a kid there was a man who worked at the boys and girls club in my area, we were always doing service learning around the community that we lived in.  We did community cleanups, homeless awareness, fundraisers for the homeless, etc.  It was from this man that I learned how to better help children and be a positive figure in my community.  This man went on to be a teacher and a mentor to many children, me included and he became one of my best friends.  So when he passed away in 2012 we wanted to do something for him like he did for all of us.  We rebuilt a basketball court down the end of Oakland Beach and named it after him.  It started out as just one project with the Oakland Beach Association and it turned into the George Schmeider Memorial Association.  This is the non-profit I mentioned in the above sentences.  So when we talk about change it starts with the teachers and how they teach you to be better human beings and how you can change the bigger issues.  This is a video that hits close to home it was what we made to help raise money to start the whole association. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csAjYcPg4Vk

Overall I agree with the article and think that service learning is important but it needs to be more focused on the change. It is good to see children being better humans beings but we need to teach them how to make the bigger changes.   Yes the charity is important but the change is how you make a difference.