Emotions rise as we talk about our differences and perceptions of each other. Even if we are of the same race, emotional reactions tend to surface . . . its human nature and should be accepted and respected. I tried my best to see if my group could get another topic when we presented Race and Ethnicity due to the fact that it is such a highly charged topic in this country. Trying to be sensitive to other people views when dealing with this topic was a difficult task in itself; especially when there are those who are still plagued with ignorance about other cultures and have never exposed themselves to the world or even have the desire to do so. I am glad that this class brings up topics that make us uncomfortable and hope that it opens our eyes and hearts to true acceptance of one another. Who better to make uncomfortable than a group of educators? I recently read an article that I am going to try to attach to this blog, which addresses how a group of educators took an online diverse learner’s class and how emotion rose in the discussion boards. What was truly interesting to me was how comments were made more freely online; that I believe would not have been said in person. I look forward to the day when we are just as open face to face.
Acceptance is something that many of us, in my opinion, lack as a group of educated people. What I mean by that is one of the questions that we received, which was not addressed, was why African/Black Americans don’t just get over what happened so many generations ago. Well, I found this offensive because it is just like saying ‘Jewish people should just get over the holocaust’. Or imagine someone very close to you died. You are hurt, because of the loss, in time the wound would heal of that person no longer being there, but you never forget the hurt of losing them. An injustice was served to a group of undeserving people and was legally justified for generations. Forgiveness is inevitable, but to forget is to forget the ones who were sacrificed, sometimes for sport, for the freedom of those who live today. In other words the generations of torture and injustice will take generations to overcome and heal.
Respecting each other’s points of view is the first step of harmony. The next step is a little bit more difficult for most of us to do. That is putting ourselves in the other shoes, a task that many of us refuse to do. We may question why all day long, but when it comes down to it we won’t trade places with a race that has been discriminated on for nothing in the world. This makes me question human nature all together; we say we want to understand to be more sensitive to those who are oppressed. So why not take the time to get into the thick of the situation to understand it all the more. One of my favorite movies is ‘A Gentleman’s Agreement’. When the fiancé of Skylar Green realizes why he is so passionate about the injustice of the Jewish community, due to the fact that he lived in it as an undercover reporter, a light goes on in her head as to her own prejudice that she didn’t realize she even possessed herself. Then and only then could she address her own issues of trying to take on the responsibility of trying to change herself then try to change the world in which she lived in.
I couldn't attach the article but it is entitled "Engaging with issues of cultural diversity and discrimination through critical emotional reflexivity in online learning". It was written in 2008 in Adult Education Quarterly volume 59 number 1.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Blog #8 - Exceptionality
Due to the fact that many educators have not exposed themselves to other cultures and have a complete misunderstanding of the African American culture, placing children in special education has become a place of behavior issues versus mental/learning disabilities. So many children of color are viewed as SPED due to the fact that they do not learn as the mainstream does. Hence their needs are not being met and become bored in the classroom. Through this boredom they either become disruptive or despondent and unfortunately too many educators view this as an issue with the child and not themselves. If we were to take a good hard look at a number of students who are mislabeled as SPED we would see that many of them should be GT. Their thinking is abstract and far beyond the norm of a mainstream student their age. Due to lack of patience and foresight educators immediately begin to fill out the paperwork to have them tested for special education versus gifted and talented. One of the things that my mentor told me when I began my career was 'There is a very thin line between genius and insanity, as well as, intellect and idiocy; it is up to us to delve into our students to see what process they go through to get to an answer rather than observing if they can mimic what we give them." As I have spent several years as an educator I have discovered how true the statement is . . . when students say certain things a lot of the time teachers get impatient with their statements because on the surface they appear to be nonsense. But if we would just take a moment and listen to the logic, not always mainstream, their comments and statements are quite profound.
As I think of those students who are forced to work in general education classes that should truly be in self contained classes I shake my head at the disservice we give these children. I do believe that they are entitled to an equal education, but how equal is it when they are in a classroom with 18 other students and no inclusion teacher? Especially when their testing is modified and they don’t count against a school ranking score. I know this sounds very pessimistic and negative, but when I see children being thrown to the wolves without the skills needed to survive it angers me. Or let’s look at it from another point of view . . . how about the same students who are being disservice because too many students are in their self contained class who are mislabeled and are behavior issues due to boredom. It is time for our school districts and universities to start giving aspiring teachers a real world view of what the classroom is really like and train them to go back to the drawing board instead of documenting enough paper work to SST a student away because you don’t want to ‘deal’ with them any longer.
If educators don’t stand up for their profession and students, with the help of parents, to make schools more equitable I often wonder who would. Education has never been a ‘cash cow’ therefore it gets put on the back burner when it comes to equality in the classroom. Money is such a powerful force in this country it is a shame that it comes before education. Truth is we tell our children every day that their education is based on their parent’s income. If you just look at the difference between Title 1 school's versus schools in upper middle class neighborhoods. Then you are left with the endless debate of who is responsible of making sure ALL children get an equal education. So many people look at teachers . . .but teachers have their own families to support and take care of, if the continued to spend hundreds of dollars to keep their classrooms competitive, especially on the salary they are paid, who takes care of their children? This is why many teachers, in my opinion, are compelled to take legal action against school districts when students and their families get the short end of the stick. It is going to take parents, teachers, administrators, and political leaders getting on the same page to fully make education fair and just for all students.
As I think of those students who are forced to work in general education classes that should truly be in self contained classes I shake my head at the disservice we give these children. I do believe that they are entitled to an equal education, but how equal is it when they are in a classroom with 18 other students and no inclusion teacher? Especially when their testing is modified and they don’t count against a school ranking score. I know this sounds very pessimistic and negative, but when I see children being thrown to the wolves without the skills needed to survive it angers me. Or let’s look at it from another point of view . . . how about the same students who are being disservice because too many students are in their self contained class who are mislabeled and are behavior issues due to boredom. It is time for our school districts and universities to start giving aspiring teachers a real world view of what the classroom is really like and train them to go back to the drawing board instead of documenting enough paper work to SST a student away because you don’t want to ‘deal’ with them any longer.
If educators don’t stand up for their profession and students, with the help of parents, to make schools more equitable I often wonder who would. Education has never been a ‘cash cow’ therefore it gets put on the back burner when it comes to equality in the classroom. Money is such a powerful force in this country it is a shame that it comes before education. Truth is we tell our children every day that their education is based on their parent’s income. If you just look at the difference between Title 1 school's versus schools in upper middle class neighborhoods. Then you are left with the endless debate of who is responsible of making sure ALL children get an equal education. So many people look at teachers . . .but teachers have their own families to support and take care of, if the continued to spend hundreds of dollars to keep their classrooms competitive, especially on the salary they are paid, who takes care of their children? This is why many teachers, in my opinion, are compelled to take legal action against school districts when students and their families get the short end of the stick. It is going to take parents, teachers, administrators, and political leaders getting on the same page to fully make education fair and just for all students.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Open Blog #7 - Book findings
The benefits of gender based learning are endless. I am a very vocal advocate of this theory due to the fact of the positive results that have come out several case studies and public school progress that use this model. There is an infinite amount of studies and statistics that show that female students struggle with math and science, the exception comes about when you look at those females when they are in all female classes they excel in those subjects as well as others. The same can be said for male students who struggle with Language Arts and History, they excel in all male classes in these subjects. What is so significant or vital about this type of class setting that students break the sterotypes and gender bias when it comes to learning? According to ‘Gender Matters’ it is imperative to separate students by sex to get the best out of them academically. In our society we admit openly that females and males are different in the way that we communicate, listen, and observe. . .so why don’t we see, as a society, that this would effect the education in which we give our students? As I go through my book chapter by chapter, I have had the opportunity to find great articles that focus on this topic and the research article after article supports the benefits of gender based learning. I look forward to see how the book ends.
Sexual Issues of Gender #6
Gender????? I asked quite of few educators how gender affects their classrooms. Most of them responded by saying that boys are noisy and girls are sassy. Then I asked how gender affects your interaction with your students and most replied “Very careful . . . wouldn’t want any child to get the wrong idea.” Exploring this thought process when it comes to gender in education most teachers of the past, in my opinion, didn’t have much of a preference. Yet over the past 15 years a trend has developed out of fear that has many teachers wanted to teach students of their own sex. Students who have falsely accused educators of sexual relationships and those who have tarnished the profession by being involved with students sexually have caused a great rift in the nurturing aspect of education. What I mean is this . . . to be an educator that takes a certain amount of nurturing for some students to even open themselves up to be educated. With the fear of being accused of being ‘too’ attentive many teachers have shut down and just give assignments and have abandoned the natural instinct to be nurturing all together. For example, in 2003 a first grade teacher in Boston, MA was accused of being cruel to her students when she would just send them to the nurse office if they fell down and hurt themselves, but two years prior was accused of inappropriately touching a student when they fell down and hurt themselves because she gave them a hug to calm the student down. Her question was, “What do you want from me?”
As a 7th grade teacher my students throw me off guard at the beginning of the year by wanting to hug and hang around my desk in search of doting attention from me. Yet I find myself feeding them with a long handle spoon so that nothing I do will be misconstrued. Although I know a lot of my students come from broken and dysfunctional homes and the only safe haven they have in their life is my classroom it saddens me that I choose not to give them the attention that they desire so that I don’t put my career at risk.
Another aspect of gender that has a tendency to come about frequently is homosexuality. There are quite a few students that are open with their choice of sexuality on my campus, which amazes me due to the fact that I am dealing with11 and 12 year old children. They appear to have a grasp on their choice and although they are open on campus they tend to hide it when they get home around their parents. For instance I have a student who let me know that she was dating an older girl. She was quite comfortable in sharing with me her feelings for this young lady and as I responded to her by asking what her parents thought she became terrified with the fact that I might talk to them. I assured her that I would not but did let her know that I was referring her to her counselor so that she could work out her insecurities on the matter. Even though I and the counselor suggested that she sits down and speaks with her parents she was against it in every possible way. This led me to wonder, ‘How could she be so open and free with who she thought she was and not with her family?’
As an educator I have done my best not to judge students based on race, ethnicity, or culture . . . but I have never thought that I have judged them based on gender or sexual preference. I am uncomfortable when students disclose to me that they are sexually active or what sexual preference that they may have. I wish that was a topic that was illegal to talk about within school hours, but unfortunately is not. As teachers we are expected to educate, counsel, protect, nurture, and direct. Yet we are left to decide certain boundaries that won’t offend parents and administration, it is this catch 22 that lead a lot of GREAT teachers out of the profession. I have to go back to the first grade teacher’s question, “As an educator, what do you want from me?”
As a 7th grade teacher my students throw me off guard at the beginning of the year by wanting to hug and hang around my desk in search of doting attention from me. Yet I find myself feeding them with a long handle spoon so that nothing I do will be misconstrued. Although I know a lot of my students come from broken and dysfunctional homes and the only safe haven they have in their life is my classroom it saddens me that I choose not to give them the attention that they desire so that I don’t put my career at risk.
Another aspect of gender that has a tendency to come about frequently is homosexuality. There are quite a few students that are open with their choice of sexuality on my campus, which amazes me due to the fact that I am dealing with11 and 12 year old children. They appear to have a grasp on their choice and although they are open on campus they tend to hide it when they get home around their parents. For instance I have a student who let me know that she was dating an older girl. She was quite comfortable in sharing with me her feelings for this young lady and as I responded to her by asking what her parents thought she became terrified with the fact that I might talk to them. I assured her that I would not but did let her know that I was referring her to her counselor so that she could work out her insecurities on the matter. Even though I and the counselor suggested that she sits down and speaks with her parents she was against it in every possible way. This led me to wonder, ‘How could she be so open and free with who she thought she was and not with her family?’
As an educator I have done my best not to judge students based on race, ethnicity, or culture . . . but I have never thought that I have judged them based on gender or sexual preference. I am uncomfortable when students disclose to me that they are sexually active or what sexual preference that they may have. I wish that was a topic that was illegal to talk about within school hours, but unfortunately is not. As teachers we are expected to educate, counsel, protect, nurture, and direct. Yet we are left to decide certain boundaries that won’t offend parents and administration, it is this catch 22 that lead a lot of GREAT teachers out of the profession. I have to go back to the first grade teacher’s question, “As an educator, what do you want from me?”
Monday, February 15, 2010
Ooops. . .Foundations #5 for #2
As educators we make the mistake, sometimes unknowingly, of making presumptions about student abilities on appearance only many times on the first day of school. Human error shows up so often in the profession of education. Their clothes are slightly dirty, their bodies a little smelly, and hair unkept . . . well I learned a lot from one of my mentors my first year in a classroom. What a wonderful woman she was, but her stereotypical views caused her and me to question why we ever entered this honored profession.
The students name was Thomas. He would come into class very boisterously daily and announced that he was not going to work on any assignment and he would take a nap before lunch each day. My mentor would sigh of disgust each day and say ‘I can’t stand him!!! I wish he would just drop out!!!’ The statement bothered me very much and I told her how it made me feel. She let me know that she had been in the profession long enough to identify a lost cause and Thomas was most definitely lost. She also went on to let me know that my attitude of all children can be taught would soon change. I prayed that her skeptic view would not affect me and that somehow it would change . . . that would be a long journey.
My mentor had been teaching a total of 33 years and was only two years from retiring. She was Caucasian and Thomas was Hispanic, I African American . . . before I assumed that she was just prejudice I decided to hang back and ask if I could work with Thomas when time allowed. She agreed and said it would be a good lesson for me. As the school year went on I tutored Thomas so that he could catch up to his classmates. What I realized is that Thomas didn’t need to catch up . . . he was ahead. Thomas had been retained for two years due to absenteeism because his family was migrant workers and he was completely bored with the 7th grade.
I began to give Thomas work from the 8th and 9th grade curriculum and he excelled. He liked coming to my class and performed well. The only downer was my mentor. She was a constant negative reinforcement in his life and when she came around Thomas shutdown. So I decided to take a free write journal paper to her that Thomas wrote. It revealed how teachers mistreated students by being negative and how the student may react. She completely agreed with the student and raved at how well written the paper was . . . when I told her who the student was she sat there frozen in silence. She asked if she could make a copy to keep for her records.
After that meeting with her Thomas began to come to my class less and less, but still saw fit to come after school for tutoring. Eventually he told me a month or so later that no one had ever stood up for him and he was glad that I did. I asked him what he meant then he told me that my mentor apologized to him and said that they needed to start their teacher/student relationship over. I told him it was nothing that I had done, but he assured me that it was. My mentor never spoke to me about Thomas, but she did make sure that he tested into the tenth grade when he left her classroom. She went on to teach for another 10 years and always e-mailed me to ask for strategies when she encountered a student she couldn’t quite reach.
What I learned from her is that you are never too old to learn in this profession and hopefully she learned the same thing. Thomas taught us both not to judge a book by its cover and how important it is to make a connection with each of your students, no matter their background. This was a multicultural situation in which a veteran teacher had been poisoned by her environment, a student poisoned by inattentiveness, and a rookie naïve enough to work through it. Learning each other is the best education any educator can have.
The students name was Thomas. He would come into class very boisterously daily and announced that he was not going to work on any assignment and he would take a nap before lunch each day. My mentor would sigh of disgust each day and say ‘I can’t stand him!!! I wish he would just drop out!!!’ The statement bothered me very much and I told her how it made me feel. She let me know that she had been in the profession long enough to identify a lost cause and Thomas was most definitely lost. She also went on to let me know that my attitude of all children can be taught would soon change. I prayed that her skeptic view would not affect me and that somehow it would change . . . that would be a long journey.
My mentor had been teaching a total of 33 years and was only two years from retiring. She was Caucasian and Thomas was Hispanic, I African American . . . before I assumed that she was just prejudice I decided to hang back and ask if I could work with Thomas when time allowed. She agreed and said it would be a good lesson for me. As the school year went on I tutored Thomas so that he could catch up to his classmates. What I realized is that Thomas didn’t need to catch up . . . he was ahead. Thomas had been retained for two years due to absenteeism because his family was migrant workers and he was completely bored with the 7th grade.
I began to give Thomas work from the 8th and 9th grade curriculum and he excelled. He liked coming to my class and performed well. The only downer was my mentor. She was a constant negative reinforcement in his life and when she came around Thomas shutdown. So I decided to take a free write journal paper to her that Thomas wrote. It revealed how teachers mistreated students by being negative and how the student may react. She completely agreed with the student and raved at how well written the paper was . . . when I told her who the student was she sat there frozen in silence. She asked if she could make a copy to keep for her records.
After that meeting with her Thomas began to come to my class less and less, but still saw fit to come after school for tutoring. Eventually he told me a month or so later that no one had ever stood up for him and he was glad that I did. I asked him what he meant then he told me that my mentor apologized to him and said that they needed to start their teacher/student relationship over. I told him it was nothing that I had done, but he assured me that it was. My mentor never spoke to me about Thomas, but she did make sure that he tested into the tenth grade when he left her classroom. She went on to teach for another 10 years and always e-mailed me to ask for strategies when she encountered a student she couldn’t quite reach.
What I learned from her is that you are never too old to learn in this profession and hopefully she learned the same thing. Thomas taught us both not to judge a book by its cover and how important it is to make a connection with each of your students, no matter their background. This was a multicultural situation in which a veteran teacher had been poisoned by her environment, a student poisoned by inattentiveness, and a rookie naïve enough to work through it. Learning each other is the best education any educator can have.
Money Matters in America - #4
When it comes down to it color does matter . . . and the color that matters is green. . . MONEY!!! When it comes to race, education, or gender in the USA money is the driving factor. We are a capitalistic system and unfortunately it finds its way into education where all things are suppose to be equal. When you look at chapter 3 it is apparent that as a society we have accepted this truth to be the norm. Proof??? Why do we have title 1 schools??? Why do we have Robin Hood programs??? Why are there schools in the same district without technology while others across town have it??? Why are educators looking for the best school district to teach in versus all districts are the best to teach in??? What a sad state we are in. . . .
I grew up in a time where my teachers were not ‘use’ to students of color being ‘intelligent’ enough to handle the given curriculum. When my parents realized that I was not expected to perform, regardless of their conversations with my teachers, they transferred me to an all girl private school. Again I wasn’t ‘expected’ to perform on level, and since my parents could afford the tuition and I excelled I became a novelty item rather than a student to further challenge. It wasn’t until I was sent to a Christian private school that my race and my parent’s economic class didn’t matter. I was challenged to perform and go beyond the next level. It was the first time I received clear expectations from all of my teachers and was expected to meet them.
It was this experience that makes me, as an educator; look at all of my students as well capable to achieve any tasks that I set before them. Race, class, and gender are irrelevant. My job as an educator is to impart in them the capabilities to achieve no matter what. Even when I hear the excuse ‘I don’t have the resources to do that’, as an educator I scream, camp-out, and mandate to the powers that be until they do have them. Now I am not saying that some students don’t have personal issues that hinder them from achieving to the best of their abilities, but I believe that it is my job to modify, to a certain degree, so that they can succeed. A teacher’s job is one of sacrifice so many times so that the students we teach do not go without a fair and just education. This is unfair not only to the student but to the teacher as well. Whether students come from homes of the working poor or the upper middle class, they are entitled to an equal education. Yet our society over and over again dismantles its own truth of all men created equal. . .
I grew up in a time where my teachers were not ‘use’ to students of color being ‘intelligent’ enough to handle the given curriculum. When my parents realized that I was not expected to perform, regardless of their conversations with my teachers, they transferred me to an all girl private school. Again I wasn’t ‘expected’ to perform on level, and since my parents could afford the tuition and I excelled I became a novelty item rather than a student to further challenge. It wasn’t until I was sent to a Christian private school that my race and my parent’s economic class didn’t matter. I was challenged to perform and go beyond the next level. It was the first time I received clear expectations from all of my teachers and was expected to meet them.
It was this experience that makes me, as an educator; look at all of my students as well capable to achieve any tasks that I set before them. Race, class, and gender are irrelevant. My job as an educator is to impart in them the capabilities to achieve no matter what. Even when I hear the excuse ‘I don’t have the resources to do that’, as an educator I scream, camp-out, and mandate to the powers that be until they do have them. Now I am not saying that some students don’t have personal issues that hinder them from achieving to the best of their abilities, but I believe that it is my job to modify, to a certain degree, so that they can succeed. A teacher’s job is one of sacrifice so many times so that the students we teach do not go without a fair and just education. This is unfair not only to the student but to the teacher as well. Whether students come from homes of the working poor or the upper middle class, they are entitled to an equal education. Yet our society over and over again dismantles its own truth of all men created equal. . .
Monday, February 8, 2010
Race & Ethnicity #3
When we have to take a hard look at ourselves we become very uncomfortable. Especially when it deals with how we view others. As I read through chapter 2 and pondered how I perceived race and ethnicity, I quickly came to realize that in education I MUST be colorblind. Although that is not a ‘handicap’ that many educators desire to possess. Through my experience as an educator in the USA I have seen more prejudice come from educators versus that that comes from students. As educators our target audience constantly changes and to deliver the information that we must hand across to our students we should understand in which the world they come from. In this I feel as though we are to be just as open as to share ourselves and our world. A connection must be achieved before education can begin.
What surprises me about some educators is how they are not willing to listen or even consider new information that is brought forth in updated textbooks. For example, in the subject of history or science, new information and documents are found constantly that change what we have been taught in the past. Are we not liable to present that information and accept it as progression? So many educators refuse to even entertain these changes due to the fact that is rocks their belief system of what is right or what they were taught. As educator we are constant learners and are required to be to give a proper education to our students.
Teaching a child based on your assumptions of their race is a grave injustice. If educators would begin to look at each child as their own and how they would want their children to be treated I feel as though this would change how they interact with their students. Are we human yes, but the same ethics we expect our law makers and enforcers to abide by so should we. Our students are too precious for us to hold their ethnicity or race against them and shame to any educator who does. For those who do if you ever wonder why your students disrespect and disobey you, look deep within yourself and see how you may be subliminally treating them and you may have the answer to your issue.
What surprises me about some educators is how they are not willing to listen or even consider new information that is brought forth in updated textbooks. For example, in the subject of history or science, new information and documents are found constantly that change what we have been taught in the past. Are we not liable to present that information and accept it as progression? So many educators refuse to even entertain these changes due to the fact that is rocks their belief system of what is right or what they were taught. As educator we are constant learners and are required to be to give a proper education to our students.
Teaching a child based on your assumptions of their race is a grave injustice. If educators would begin to look at each child as their own and how they would want their children to be treated I feel as though this would change how they interact with their students. Are we human yes, but the same ethics we expect our law makers and enforcers to abide by so should we. Our students are too precious for us to hold their ethnicity or race against them and shame to any educator who does. For those who do if you ever wonder why your students disrespect and disobey you, look deep within yourself and see how you may be subliminally treating them and you may have the answer to your issue.
Why Gender Matters -Book #2
For my book selection I have chosen Why Gender Matters by Dr. Leonard Sax. I chose this book due to the fact that it addresses the significance of how we should address our students based on their gender. Dr. Sax also addresses how to overcome gender stereotypes and how students benefit from being seperated in the classroom by gender. Dr. Sax is a physician and psychologist and founder of the National Association for Single-Sex Public Education. Along with this book study I am looking at schools that have implemented single sex education to see how effective the process has been for students and test scores. I look forward to walking through this book and exploring the possibilities of gender based education.
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