EDUC2350-Blog#1

Retracing the Pedagogy of Your Past

When I think about my education, from Kindergarten up until now, there has been plenty of ups and downs. I have had teachers that cared deeply and went out of there way to help me with the materials and content as well as what personal struggles I may have been experiencing. I’ve been very lucky to have some incredible teachers. But this was not always the case. One moment that really stands out for me happened in eighth grade, it was in my social studies class with my favorite teacher (at the time, anyways), Mr. Hughs. Mr. Hughs was also my soccer and baseball coach at Hazel Park Middle School, and I very much looked up to him with respect and admiration. One day in eighth grade we were learning about the holocaust, and as was sometimes the case I was being a bit of a class clown and making jokes. In hindsight I can see how my behavior was distracting and frustrating while he was trying to teach us the lesson. But how he reacted was inappropriate, I was not making any offensive jokes nor where my jokes even relating to the holocaust, I knew better than that at that age. But the subject matter making me uncomfortable had caused me to make jokes and want to lighten the mood. Mr. Hughs decided that he was going to use me as an example while talking about the trains arriving at the concentration camps, and while explaining how the Nazis would separate people upon arrival based on their physical appearances he said “If you would have been on one of those trains, they would have deemed you fat, stupid, and worthless. They would have shot you on the spot.” As an adult now, I can understand where he was coming from. I was frustrating him while he was teaching us an important lesson and he wanted me to stop distracting him and his class. But at that time it was devastating to me, here was my favorite teacher that I had really looked up to, insulting me deeply in front of the entire class. It definitely shut me up, and not just for that class period, but for the rest of the year in his class. I really felt uncomfortable in his class from there on out. I’m not sure why he decided on that instructional method, but humiliating a student like that doesn’t seem to be the best choice for dealing with that. I would like to believe that he somehow had good intentions, or that he regretted his decision afterward, but that’s something I will never know. It’s taught me that I would never do that to a student, and that we have to think about how we can destroy a relationship that we’ve built over a long period in less than a minute. We need to realize, as educators, that our students are young and fragile. Just as we have the opportunity to help them and foster growth, we also have the opportunity to hurt them and create an environment that they don’t feel safe in. People can be distracting or frustrating at times, but two wrongs never make a right.

Final Blog: all that ends…. well, blogs as well.

I feel very fortunate to have wound up in this class, I appreciate and respect all of my classmates as well as their discussions and contributions to our class. Thank you, all of you, and I wish you all the best of luck in your future endeavours (Denice, maybe you would consider pursuing your teaching license? I think you would make a great teacher at any grade level.). And yes Kristy, I will be seeing you in the fall for your Tech for Ed class, I am very much looking forward to it.

I feel that the most important lesson that I learned in EDUC1500 was educational philosophy, as well as blogging. I had never blogged before this class, and I feel like a blog will be a very useful tool for communication with families of my students in my own classroom one day. The educational philosophies that we explored, and the methodology behind them have really impressed upon me the importance of not only identifying your philosophy, but owning it and living it. I know that I will continue to grow as a person, a student, and an educator; I have faith in the lessons I learned in this class, Delpit’s principles have really encouraged me to examine how much effectiveness I could have in my students lives and that it is very beneficial to be aware of the impact that a teacher truly has on a student. I feel like this class definitely reinforced my beliefs in the importance of cultural application to education; I feel honored that I have the opportunity to provide a welcoming experience to my students one day as well as change the traditional educational experience of marginalized populations, providing lessons that will include and appreciate rather than exclude and ignore their backgrounds and origins.

What is going to keep me going? Now as a student, and in the future as an educator, what will be my driving force? I have a real concern for education, that it be fair and equitable. My driving force is that I want to know that the job is being done right, many students that fail have truly been failed by their education; we live in a systematically biased and prejudiced society that mostly chooses the blissfulness of ignorance. Standing by and doing nothing is just as bad, if not worse, than participating in such discrimination. And I refuse to be ignorant to the fact that I can make a difference and provide equality in education that has been lacking in our country since it’s foundations were established.

I will continue to grow by not being afraid to challenge ideas and theories, even my own. I  will always contribute to discussion with a passion and vested interest in education. I will never allow myself to feel like I fully “get it”, I will continue to reach for the answers to my many questions and not be satisfied with anything less than personal and professional progress.

Observation #5

I am still at Bancroft Elementary, I have logged 56 hours so far. I have been continuing my work with my reading group, doing reading evaluations for the entire class, and working one-on-one with one student. 

I gained the impression that the school is very welcoming to families, and seen many members of the faculty interacting with family members of students on many occasions. I feel that the students “funds” are being recognized and utilized at Bancroft, the school is very aware of the different cultures that constitute it’s make up (from almost every example I have observed). There is a school newsletter that gets sent home, and this newsletter as well as many other hand outs to bring home are printed in English and Spanish (as well as Hmong and Somali on some papers, or they have them available in other languages. In Ms. Monjeau’s class she doesn’t try to simply copy or recreate what students may experience in their home culture, but rather provides a uniquely different environment from their home that recognizes their home culture and doesn’t distance them from it.

The biggest strength I saw in Ms. Monjeau is her classroom management skills, she handles things very well and maintains an orderly classroom. Another strength is her attentiveness, she seems to have the ability to hear everything in her room regardless of how much talking and noise is taking place; she responds quickly and aptly to her entire class. She also has a strength in her example of equality, she treats her students very fairly while recognizing that no two students are exactly alike; while students may not get the same exact response for similar things, no student is more important than the next. I also feel her dedication is a huge strength, I see a deep love of her job and appreciation of her students in her actions and methods. I have learned a lot from Ms. Monjeau and feel more confident in my ability to manage a classroom and reach my students the way that she has shown me.

The question that I would ask is, “What is the most effective way to reach a student who is very uninvolved in the class?” The reason I would ask this is, for one reason out of my personal goals of becoming a teacher and also another reason being it would make her reflect on how she has approached the situation in the past. I personally feel that there is more than one way to do this, but there is probably a way to do this effectively with some variations depending on the student; whether it be culturally or individually each student is unique and therefore may require a unique approach. But there may be a universal way of initiating this, due to the nature of her classroom.

My lingering thoughts, are mostly about letting go of your students at the end of the year. How do you get so attached and then move them on, year after year? I know that I will miss the class after this year is up. And I would definitely suggest Bancroft for future students to observe, it provides a rich diversity of students and a sense of school pride that is quite contagious; a very good place to do your observations.

Observation #4

I have still been at Bancroft Elementary in South Minneapolis, I have 48 hours (as of 4/22/2013). I have been assisting in a first grade classroom, I have a reading group of six students and conduct weekly reading evaluations of the entire class. I have also been working with one student one-on-one, serving as a mentor and tutor.

I have observed lessons in the classroom that pertain to class, race, gender, and culture. In one lesson the students had filled out a paper with information about their family and the things that they enjoy doing as a family. I saw this as a great way with first graders to experience encounters with those different than them in background. These papers are hung proudly on the wall and on many occasions students were very eager to share with me about their families. I think it is difficult, but not impossible, to address these issues with first graders; but raising awareness of what each other experience in their individual lives can impact them greatly both consciously and unconsciously. One thing is for certain though, I have not observed the teacher (Ms. Monjeau) treat any students better or worse based on class, race, gender, or religion. Even between the students there is a sense of equality and open-mindedness.

I still feel that Ms. Monjeau has an essentialist philosophy, she teaches a standard of learning in her classroom. But her lessons are not subconsciously biased, and do promote and encourage a willingness to explore new perspectives and be open to what they may have previously thought to be different from “the norm”. Her classroom is a place where white privilege, male privilege, and class privilege are absent and students of multiple backgrounds are present.

The only lingering thoughts I am left with, is what is the appropriate way to introduce first graders (or pre-k, or kindergarten) to privileges such as class, race, or gender? How do you introduce them to the disadvantage? I feel that it could help them greatly as individuals and society as a whole to have such early awareness of such privileges and disadvantages, but done the wrong way and you may just create a divide within their classroom. I know that leading by example is a very good start, but not talking about it could be as bad as reinforcing it. And it does students no service to be ignorant of such aspects of our society. What age is appropriate to address the issue head on?  

Observation #3

I have been at Bancroft Elementary School in South Minneapolis, I have documented 24 hours (as of 4/1/2103). I am in Tish Monjeau’s classroom, she is a middle-aged white woman, and there are three other volunteers in that classroom at various times. The three volunteers, besides myself are: Faduma (from our class), Jesus (mid-20’s Hispanic male), and Kathy (middle-aged white woman).The rest of the staff and administration are predominantly white and female. In my class it is predominantly Hispanic and female, but Bancroft as a whole is 50% Hispanic, 30% Black, 11% White, 7% Native, and 2% other (I find it weird that they classify Asians as other). By gender it is 53% male and 47% female, although this is not reflective of Ms. Monjeau’s classroom. 

Delpit’s Principle’s

• See Their Brilliance: Do Not Teach Less Content to Poor, Urban Children But Instead Teach More!

Ms. Monjeau is not the type of teacher that will “be nice” and teach a student based on an assumption that they have limitations tied to their socio-economic status, ethnicity, or gender. I have observed her challenging her students, and having high expectations on their work. She doesn’t “go easy” on any of her students, Bancroft is a IB-PYP Candidate school and she is utilizing the learning targets to challenge her students and give them all a quality education.

• Provide the Emotional Strength to Challenge Racist Societal Views of the Competence and Worthiness of the Children and Their Families

I have never seen any racist stereotype (intentional or not) guiding Ms. Monjeau in her method of teaching. Every student is equal, and differences are celebrated rather than overlooked which can be the case in “color-blind” classrooms. We should see color, and we should see gender, we should appreciate our differences and embrace our similarities; and I am confident that her students are learning this. When working with students’ reading, some students have wanted to read Spanish books and I very much encourage it. Ms. Monjeau expects the same from all of her students, and doesn’t treat anyone different or adhere to racist societal views.

• Honor and Respect the Child’s Home Culture

Ms. Monjaeu shows a great amount of respect to her students and their families, and definitely honors their cultures. Her classroom is a very diverse place, the students backgrounds vary by socio-economic status, ethnicity, and gender. There is never a moment that she is not honoring and respecting both the students themselves and their cultures. It is a blessing to have such diversity present, and I know that these kids are gaining knowledge of and respect for each other. I have observed her reaching her students, and her students take pride in their cultures.

Lingering Thoughts

My only lingering thoughts are of an incident when Kathy (one of the volunteers) was working with a student, this student is a boy who I have been working one-on-one a lot with, while working with him she grew frustrated at his lack of concentration on the material. Her solution was to smack him in the face with the packet of readings, I was outraged. It took all the strength I have (and some from God) to not “rip her a new one”, I wanted to scream at her and tell her to leave and never come back. But I am more mature than that, and I kept my cool, hard as it was to do because this boy has been someone who I have grown to care very much about. My lingering thoughts are what is an appropriate way of confronting someone about this type of behavior, that I feel has no place in the classroom? I know that yelling or getting aggressive is not the answer, and I want to show the students that there are proper ways of dealing with problems. But when you truly care about these students it hurts to see someone disrespect them, and I know that I won’t stand for it in my classroom.

 

School Funding

After reading about the current funding for public education, it makes me wonder why is there such a lack of value being placed on education? Why does the federal government punish schools with lower test scores rather than help them to achieve higher? If we cut programs and resources, how can we expect better results?

I would propose a plan that would be all about providing the educational system with the resources that they need. Decreasing the educational debt is the start, there are needs of the students and staff at far too many schools in America that have not been met. Property taxes need to be collected state-wide, and distributed evenly to the districts per student. That way the areas that receive higher property taxes don’t get more per students than the lower income areas. Sales taxes, Income taxes, Gambling/Lottery taxes, and gas taxes should also fund schools state-wide. But federal funding should be distributed based on need, schools with higher poverty rates may need more funding for the needs of their students to be met. Nutrition, counselling, health care, school supplies, clothing/uniforms, and many other basic needs are out of some students’ reach. The federal funding should not come with the punishment of schools and teachers for not meeting adequate yearly progress, these schools may not have adequate funding to meet the standards that are placed before them. Not to mention by who’s standard are we measuring achievement by. And Federal funding should come though a progressive tax plan that collects more from wealthier citizens and corporations. I believe in vertical equality, and believe that it is a good way to start repaying the educational debt and eliminate any achievement gaps. My primary concern is society and everyone who is a part of it, the children today will be leading the nation one day, starting them with a good education is the best thing we can do.

Design your own school Reflection

After this assignment I had to reflect on just how much planning needs to go into a school, I feel like although we (the whole class) touched on a lot of very important factors of schools we completely neglected many vital aspects. After my group gave our presentation, I almost instantly felt like we missed so much. What about healthcare? What about security? I had these questions and many more like that lingering in my mind as we wrapped it up. I don’t feel like we didn’t do a good job of creating our school, Rome wasn’t built in a day, I feel like Jerry, Faduma, and myself did an amazing job of carefully and thoughtfully constructing a place of learning and growth. I picked my group’s school, School for eQuality, because I honestly believe in it. I feel that every student’s needs are being met with our school, and that it would be a successful charter school that an authorizer would approve of. I was very close to selecting S.A.L.T., their school had some very intriguing attributes. I would love to see a school have a block schedule from day one, not after years and years of a more traditional schedule possibly with tenured teachers that are not so open to changing their lesson plans to accommodate a block schedule. I am not surprised that all of us opted for a charter school, in contrast to traditional public schools where there is a lot less wiggle room for lesson plans and school structures. As far as private schools are concerned, I share Kristy’s opinion that they should all be closed, I feel that they keep real public involvement away from the public schools (a real shame). If there was no alternative for the privileged to send their kids to, they would have a lot more concern in the public schools. But overall, the grassroots of charter schools and community involvement they possess puts them to the top of my personal list of which type of school would I create.  What this means to me as a future teacher is that I will always put my students first, and that I want to never stop learning. I want to be the best teacher I can be for my students, because each one of them deserve it.

Observation #2

I had a change in plans with my Observation/tutoring site, the Minneapolis Urban League was my first choice but it was taking weeks for them to get back to me with my start date. I had contacted Bancroft Elementary School in South Minneapolis and they informed me that they had an opening in a first grade class. I took this opportunity and made the commitment to the position at Bancroft and respectfully told the Minneapolis Urban League that I was taking a volunteer position through the Minneapolis Public Schools at Bancroft Elementary. After leaving the message I got a call from Rashidah at the Urban League and she had not yet listened to the voicemail I had left her, so I had to inform her of my new position and my inability to volunteer with the Urban League. I asked her if she could keep my information on file and that in the future I would love to work with them. I felt bad about this, I could tell she was excited to call and tell me that my background check came back clean and that they were ready for me to start. But I had to get started, so I started with an orientation with the Minneapolis Public Schools for their K-3 early literacy program. I learned some good techniques and learned a lot about the importance of early literacy. Then I started at Bancroft, and I was a little nervous and didn’t quite know what to expect, but I had a great time right away. I am in Tish Monjeau’s first grade class in room 124, and I love being in there. The kids are great, they are energetic, and they made me feel very welcome in their classroom. I have logged 10 hrs so far and will be logging at least 8 hrs per week. Ms. Monjeau is a fantastic teacher, she has great classroom management skills and does connect with her students. I would say that from what I have observed so far that she is an essentialist, and believes in teaching a certain standard in her classroom, the only thing conflicting with essentialism is her also having one-on-one individualized reading plans for her students, she does not require a certain text to be read. Her room is a sort of controlled chaos, a neat clutter if you will. Yet she is very organized, and has a great command of her classroom. I had learned so much already, these kids are so full of life experience and deep feelings, not that I didn’t already respect children as people but this is one of the first views of this that I have ever gotten. One student shared with me that their dad “hits” their mom a lot, another told me that their mom smokes cigarettes and watches TV all night and that they cook for themselves. A first grader having to cook for themselves? Or themselves and their siblings? As a father that sickens me, but as a teacher it inspires me. My role in their classrooms and lives may have a much more profound impact than I was ready to expect. More than one teacher (not Ms. Monjeau) has said remarks to me about a few certain students in the class who are their “trouble” kids. I was told “That’s just (name withheld), (gender withheld ie:he/she) doesn’t belong at this school.” and “(name withheld) is nothing but problems, don’t even try with (gender withheld ie:him/her)”The one thing that I know though, is that I have never been more certain that I was on the right path, I fell in love with the job, the pride, and 23 kids all in the same day. I never imagined that could happen.

“Design Your Own School”

This week I read a lot about educational philosophy, it shed some new light and gave some new perspectives to my own views on education. I feel most aligned with Existentialism, I believe that at any level of community we are made up of individuals with free will and our own determinations of what is right and what is wrong. As they say no two snowflakes are alike, neither are any two people. Learning effectively is vital to our communities as a whole, and without it we can never achieve social justice. My group for this assignment is made up of Jerry, Fadumo, Jasmine, and myself. I have explored the category of Decision Making, asking “Who will hold the power in the school?” and “How are decisions made about the school?”. I explored our assigned texts for this week and the Huerta readings put an emphasis on students possessing independence; thinking for themselves, setting their own goals, exorcising freedom of choice, and taking accountability. I take from this that we as a group need strong individuals, we need every “link” in our “chain” to be as strong as the next. Everyone is not experiencing the same reality; we are individuals with individual thoughts, experiences, and goals. I would want my students, in my school I am designing, to have a strong influence of the arts, as the Huerta text tells us, students should explore identity, culture, religion, values, tragedy, interrelationships, and community. Which is what I want to align to Dewey’s belief that when science and art join hands the most commanding motive for human action will be reached. My goal is to provide the future generations with the preparatory work that will guide them as individuals to both our and our communities goals. The biggest part of obtaining success with this philosophy is students truly taking accountability and responsibility for their actions. This is the way the world works, ignorance is not a defense, you are responsible for your actions. School should reflect that, through the power dynamics of both the classroom and the school as a whole. I would distribute the power according to individual progress, not based on “learning targets” or standardized tests, but by level of accountability and participation. Individuals are always going to be at their own level of skill or knowledge, this needs to be understood in regards to curriculum. With an emphasis on the arts and humanities being ever present, the choice of the rest of the curriculum and subject area will be determined by the student. We need to let them make mistakes, and learn from them, we cannot expect them not to question what we teach. And we should promote dialogue about ideas and allow people to learn by being in touch with what feelings and emotions are evoked, by challenging habits we’ve been forming since birth, and by collectively being the best individuals we can be. I align with the existentialist views that the students hold the power, but I feel that decisions about the school should be made equally by the students, the staff, and parents. That way the students can see that misuse of their power can allow them to lose ground in a collective community, allowing them to develop accountability.      

Observation #1

I will be observing and mentoring for the Minneapolis Urban League, at Loveworks Academy and the Friendship Academy. So far I have only documented one and a half hours, that was for my orientation. I did my orientation at the Minneapolis Urban League’s offices. They are located in North Minneapolis at 2100 Plymouth Ave N, there facilities were very nice, very modern. I met with Rashidah Fuller, she is the program director for their college readiness and career development program. She was very nice, professional, and informative. I have not yet had the chance to see either of the schools in person, although I have explored their websites. Loveworks Academy is a visual and performing arts school in Golden Valley right off of North Minneapolis. And Friendship Academy is a public charter school located near 38th and Hiawatha Ave in South Minneapolis. I am familiar with both locales, Loveworks Academy is adjacent to North Minneapolis and that carries some negative attributes such as high crime rate and poverty. Friendship Academy’s location is near some very high traffic areas and has a increased crime rate as well. But North Minneapolis and Golden Valley also has a strong sense of community with many volunteers staffing multiple community programs. And the neighborhood around the Friendship Academy has many homes that are occupied by people of a plethora of backgrounds, this is a very diverse area with intertwined roots. Both have a good reputation and academic record. Friendship academy was in the top 15% of Title One schools in the MMR. Both are committed to providing an excellent education, and show the students that they have high expectations in them. Loveworks incorporates art programs into their curriculum that give students many ways to express themselves and keep them interested in school. I learned in my orientation that I will be assisting in the classroom by helping kids with their homework as well as helping the teacher with their duties. I am very excited to start, I know that I will learn so much from this experience. Neither school is bilingual, although they both work with ELL students. There is a diverse student body at both schools, made up of different cultural, religious, and ethnic backgrounds. And both schools are fine examples of just how ridiculous and wrong that eugenics are, not that I personally ever believed any of that to be true, but these schools are producing excellent students with a passion for learning that are not limited to any one group. It makes me glad to see that the future of education is so very much brighter than it’s history.