Reflection Post #6

 Culturally Relevant Pedagogy

    As educators, we must strive to be culturally well-versed. We must be aware of different cultures and sensitive to the ideas and needs that accompany them. Teachers must learn to appeal to and reach all of their students. Educators should be consistently learning, as well as unafraid to try new ideas/methods within their classrooms. I believe it is also important that teachers attempt to learn from their students. Asking questions and presenting an interest in students' culture can help build a beautiful connection. In the video, "Introduction to Culturally Relevant Pedagogy" the speakers mention tangible and intangible culture. Tangible culture is the crafts, music, arts, and technology. Pairing tangible culture with Alfie Kohn's ideas of "good signs" within a classroom can help to cultivate a diverse and welcoming environment for students. Additionally, intangible culture such as values, beliefs, feelings, opinions, and perspectives, should be incorporated into the daily routines/teachings within a classroom. In the video, Jackie Jordan Irvine says, "Teachers take students' everyday lived cultural experiences and make the appropriate linkages between what the students know and do and understand and come up with examples, comparisons, and contrasts. They make the connections. They are cultural translators. They are cultural bridge builders." To be a cultural translator or cultural bridge builder, you must first be knowledgeable and willing to learn about many different cultures. It is not just acceptance, but welcomeness. We cannot give what we do not have, so we must set an example for students and be excited to learn! 

These are some notes I took from the video embedded in this post. 

Reflection Post #5

 Children as Canaries 

    As someone who wishes to become an educator as a means to provide a safe space for children, this week's reading was very powerful to me. When it comes to advocating for children, I am the first one to speak up on the "trouble" or "problem child's" behalf. I wholeheartedly agree with Shalaby that some behaviors (typically disruptive ones) are a "loud sound of their suffering and a signal cry to the rest of us that there is poison in our shared air" (Preface, 7). The way that the author in this text compared children to canaries in a mine was a beautiful and insightful analogy. The "poison" in our air that the author refers to, is the broken and outdated methods within our schools. Our children are regularly telling us that something is wrong! Yes, it is challenging to regulate and deal with disruptive behaviors, however, if we continue to ignore them or punish the children rather than sort out the issue and find a new solution, these behaviors will continue. The children's cries will become louder, and the frustrations will only fester. It is not that the children aren't suited for school, it is that our schools are not suited for our children. Our schools are not meeting the needs of these children. Recently, I attended a professional development training via Inspiring Minds. It was a training in trauma-informed classroom management, and there was one statement that stuck with me. Our speaker compared children within our schools to soda cans. When you buy a pack of soda cans, it is impossible to tell with the naked eye which cans have been shaken before being purchased. Therefore, you approach each new can with caution and with care, so as not to have an explosion. Meaning, that when you walk into your classroom of children--of soda cans--you cannot tell which ones have been shaken before being dropped off at school. Maybe, there are issues at home, maybe they were just yelled at, or perhaps they haven't eaten. It could be that they did not sleep well, or that they are just having a rough morning. Whatever it may be, you must treat them with care. They are children and deserve to feel safe within the walls of their school. If a child's needs are not met before being in your classroom; if they are feeling any type of dysregulation, that will affect their ability to learn and function within the class. The least we can do as teachers is act with compassion and take care of our soda cans. Currently, misbehavior is met with harsh and humiliating consequences. The child is isolated from their peers, made to sit out and miss important activities or free time. They are learning that they do not matter and that their presence is not needed. So, it is no wonder why children who present disruptive behaviors at a young age and are then isolated from their peers continue to struggle throughout school. As they get older, they may stop coming to class or participating, because, from a young age, it's been ingrained in them that their presence is not needed. Shalaby states, "Many cases of dropout are actually cases of pushout" (Intro, 4). How can we learn to embrace our children and their behaviors? What can we do as a new generation of educators to make dysregulated students feel secure? 

Here is a link to a connecting blog post. blog link

It is about holding space for your students and being present with them. A quote I enjoyed was, "The most noteworthy events in our classrooms are often the least seen or the least momentous, and yet they can be the most meaningful. They are the magical moments in which we are connecting with our students through inquiry, personalized assistance or having a light bulb moment in the classroom, which can be spontaneous. To experience those fully, we need to open ourselves to their existence. These moments are not measured by what goes into it as a recipe, but rather by our actions and reactions to it."

Reflection Post #4

    Our schools are outdated. I don’t just mean the structures themselves (though the small classrooms, harsh lighting, and lack of common areas are jarring). In this blog post, I am referring to the outdated daily schedules and the curriculum that’s fed to the students. In the video we were assigned to watch this week, it mentioned how the school day is set up to resemble the industrial work day. The students are conditioned by the bells so when they move on to the workforce, they have an idea of what is expected of them within the factory or some other industrial age job. Clearly, however, there is not a need for this any longer. So why is it that we are so reluctant to change? 

(Here is a link to an article further explaining how the school day is modeled for the industrial age https://montessorium.com/blog/industrial-revolution-and-american-education ) 

    Resistance to change is also an issue in regards to the schools curriculum. The article, “The Academic and Social Value of Ethnic Studies,” written by Christine E. Sleeter explains how the modern curriculum is very centered on white history. When educating about POC history, “racial and ethnic minorities are added consistently in a ‘contributions’ fashion to the predominantly Euro-American narrative of textbooks” (Sleeter, 3). From my own experiences in learning about Black history or Native American history, it is limited to the struggles they’ve endured, or how white people have impacted or been impacted. This writing piece by Sleeter also highlighted how African American, Native American, Latino, and Asian students would be interested in learning about their own culture in school, and how it would make engaging in classroom discussion less of a struggle. This is similar to the movie we watched in class this past Wednesday. That movie did a fantastic job of showing how ethnic studies can have a positive impact on a student’s learning and performance in school. My thought is, America is a blend of all cultures, so it is only right that we teach about these cultures within our schools. America is centered around liberty and justice for all, so therefore what we teach in school should reflect that.

For my images this week, I have chosen to include photos from a high school experience. During my sophomore and junior year we had an exchange student who was very passionate about Chinese culture and dance. For Lunar New Year, she got permission from the school to organize an after school Chinese cultural dance club, and we were able to do a performance at Bryant College’s Lunar New Year Celebration. This was the first time my school had done anything in relation to my own culture and I was so elated to be a part of it. Though I had never been interested in dance, I found the day to be heartwarming. I felt a type of connection and sense of community that I had not before, and was thankful to experience it. 

Reflection Post #3: The Four “I’s” of Oppression

 This week's reading, “The Four “I’s” of Oppression,” by TREC and video with Luna Malbroux touched on the ways that systemic oppression appears in our society. Of the four “I’s,” what stood out to me was institutional oppression. It is no secret that discrimination exists within societies policies, laws, and practices, but it is shocking to connect how it affects communities and the members that reside in them. In Malbroux’s video she mentioned, “the way our parent’s experience race, shapes our society.” So when a minority parent has experienced racism and discrimination all throughout their lives, it affects the quality of education they received, the job they secured, and the area they settled down in. Not to mention the type of insurance and amenities they are able to obtain. Since our class has been working with the readings of Johnson and Delpit, as well as getting ready to volunteer within the Providence schools, I have been thinking a lot about how our community is affected by such prejudice. I decided to compare two different elementary schools in two distinctly different areas of Rhode Island. Just from a quick google search, it is clear that where you live has an immense impact on the school you attend. From the actual school building to the demographic of these elementary schools, they are complete opposites. Webster Avenue Elementary School is in Providence, and it is the school I will be volunteering in with Inspiring Minds. Raymond C LaPerche is the school I attended from kindergarten to fifth grade. While growing up, I never knew how lucky and privileged I was to be able to attend this elementary school. The images I have posted of the school’s demographic piqued my interest in the area where it says “economically disadvantaged.” You will notice that within Webster Avenue Elementary, 268 out of the 307 students fall into the disadvantaged category, while at Raymond C LaPerche, only 24 of the 261 students are in that very same category. Not only are the students within Providence school systems “economically disadvantaged,” they are also in a school where the student to teacher ratio is higher than Smithfield’s, as well as the infrastructure of their school is vastly different. There is a lack of greenery, and the school is extremely close to the road. It has unattractive fencing, and it seems like a lack of internal cooling systems due to the AC units hanging out the windows. While volunteering, I am very interested to see what differences I can spot between the infrastructure and overall school climate.