How is this experience shaping your teacher identity? Give specific examples/stories.
This experience has taught me so much. I have learned so much about myself that I never knew. Because I am working with my aunt in this classroom she allowed me to teach a literacy lesson. I stood up in front of the entire class and taught the whole lesson. I had to read a story and ask them questions which made them think deeper in the story and connect them to outside experiences. This made me realize that so much in the classroom is related to a child’s background and what they have learned at home. When I was teaching, I kept thinking to myself that when I was a student I hated being talked down to. I remembered in 6th grade I felt as though I was old enough to be talked to as an adult. I began a discussion by asking them a question which allowed them to answer me as an adult, not as a child. 6th graders are beginning a stage in their life in which they are confused whether they are too old to act like a child and too young to act like an adult. As a teacher I must help a child understand where they are in their life and where it is appropriate to use their own sense of direction. I feel that the students were able to connect with me and feel comfortable with the questions I was asking. Other examples are students are now asking me questions and I am feeling confident enough to answer the questions and help them with their work. I am beginning to trust myself in that I am making a good decision for this child. My teacher identity is still going to develop as I interact with children and I really am sure that this is the field of work that I want to go into.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Question 4
Imagine that you are the teacher of this classroom. What challenges might you encounter in collaborating with the parents of your students? How might you address these challenges? How might you demonstrate respect for the concerns or contributions of parents?
If I was the teacher of this classroom I feel as though I would have a few troubles collaboration with the parents of my students. I have spoken to the present teacher and we have discussed parental involvement and it is at a minimum. Children’s parents are not involved in their learning and they do not believe that they should be. I was told a story by my teacher the other day about how she called home to report that a child had not done his work and the parent’s response was “but he’s only a kid. You can’t expect him to do all the work”. This stunned me. When I was in school my mom would have grounded me for not doing my work. I was also told that some parents do not want to get involved because they feel like they do not have the power in their child’s education to be actively involved. Many parents feel like their voice is being lost. The thing that I find most interesting is when reading All Speech Is Not Free: The Ethics of “Affirmative Action Pedagogy” by Megan Boler she discusses how a classroom should be a place where “they provide a public space in which marginalized and silenced voices can respond to ignorant expressions rooted in privilege, white supremacy, or other dominant ideologies” If I was to teach this class I would allow the parents to say what they want and for me to be the voice that they are looking for. Sending notes home with the children is not an affective was of communication in my classroom and the parental involvement needs to be lifted. How would a person do this? Calling home and allowing parents to talk about their concerns. Telling parents that as a teacher I am here to hear what they want for their child and what they think is best for the education system. Allowing parents to understand that their child needs support from home and most of the time home is where the support lies in. I would bring together school and home life for the children by having meetings with parents every few months about their general concerns, and if the parents do not want to come, call them. I would need to be on my toes at all times to allow each child to get a fair voice in the classroom.
If I was the teacher of this classroom I feel as though I would have a few troubles collaboration with the parents of my students. I have spoken to the present teacher and we have discussed parental involvement and it is at a minimum. Children’s parents are not involved in their learning and they do not believe that they should be. I was told a story by my teacher the other day about how she called home to report that a child had not done his work and the parent’s response was “but he’s only a kid. You can’t expect him to do all the work”. This stunned me. When I was in school my mom would have grounded me for not doing my work. I was also told that some parents do not want to get involved because they feel like they do not have the power in their child’s education to be actively involved. Many parents feel like their voice is being lost. The thing that I find most interesting is when reading All Speech Is Not Free: The Ethics of “Affirmative Action Pedagogy” by Megan Boler she discusses how a classroom should be a place where “they provide a public space in which marginalized and silenced voices can respond to ignorant expressions rooted in privilege, white supremacy, or other dominant ideologies” If I was to teach this class I would allow the parents to say what they want and for me to be the voice that they are looking for. Sending notes home with the children is not an affective was of communication in my classroom and the parental involvement needs to be lifted. How would a person do this? Calling home and allowing parents to talk about their concerns. Telling parents that as a teacher I am here to hear what they want for their child and what they think is best for the education system. Allowing parents to understand that their child needs support from home and most of the time home is where the support lies in. I would bring together school and home life for the children by having meetings with parents every few months about their general concerns, and if the parents do not want to come, call them. I would need to be on my toes at all times to allow each child to get a fair voice in the classroom.
Question 3
No one enters a classroom without a personal history; thus no one enters a classroom completely free of bias. How might your personal history/sociocultural characteristics intersect with those of your students? What challenges or advantages might you have as a teacher in this classroom? What misconceptions about various cultural groups have you confronted during this experience?
All of the schools I have attended throughout my childhood were inner city schools. I went to Tolman High where I was a minority in most of my classes, and I loved it. I was able to learn so much about other cultures that I feel that I am a better person because of that. I feel that I am much more accepting of other cultures by going to a school like I did. Most of my best friends in high school were of other races than my own. I spent many days and nights at their houses and begun to realize how different cultures speak to their children and how the children respond to their parents. I was able to adapt to the way that the culture functioned in that household and what their level of respect was. Many of my Caucasian friends did not respect their parents the same way that my Colombian friends respected their parents. Going to a school like this I believe that I will be a much better teacher because of this. I will understand how to connect to parents of other races because of the diversity in my past. Many of the students in my classroom are many of the same races as my friends and I have a valued respect for them because I know what their lifestyle might be like and I know that their parents may not speak English. I know what is funny in other cultures and I know what an insult is as well. In Lisa Delpit’s article The Silenced Dialogue she describes how different cultures give instructions to their children such as teacher or parents. She gives an example of how a Black woman might ask her child to get into the bath and how a White woman might ask her child to get into the bath. They are very different ways of asking, but they all mean the same thing. I believe that all parents want their child to succeed; it’s just how they approach their child that is different. I have been able to reach deeper into the children’s mind and begin to feel how they feel in a classroom. I feel as though this experience is allowing me to become a better person.
All of the schools I have attended throughout my childhood were inner city schools. I went to Tolman High where I was a minority in most of my classes, and I loved it. I was able to learn so much about other cultures that I feel that I am a better person because of that. I feel that I am much more accepting of other cultures by going to a school like I did. Most of my best friends in high school were of other races than my own. I spent many days and nights at their houses and begun to realize how different cultures speak to their children and how the children respond to their parents. I was able to adapt to the way that the culture functioned in that household and what their level of respect was. Many of my Caucasian friends did not respect their parents the same way that my Colombian friends respected their parents. Going to a school like this I believe that I will be a much better teacher because of this. I will understand how to connect to parents of other races because of the diversity in my past. Many of the students in my classroom are many of the same races as my friends and I have a valued respect for them because I know what their lifestyle might be like and I know that their parents may not speak English. I know what is funny in other cultures and I know what an insult is as well. In Lisa Delpit’s article The Silenced Dialogue she describes how different cultures give instructions to their children such as teacher or parents. She gives an example of how a Black woman might ask her child to get into the bath and how a White woman might ask her child to get into the bath. They are very different ways of asking, but they all mean the same thing. I believe that all parents want their child to succeed; it’s just how they approach their child that is different. I have been able to reach deeper into the children’s mind and begin to feel how they feel in a classroom. I feel as though this experience is allowing me to become a better person.
Question 2
Describe the linguistic, ethnic, and sociocultural characteristics of the students in the classroom in which you arte tutoring. What cultural capital do the children bring into the classroom? What assets can be developed that will strengthen our society/democracy?
The elementary that I am working at reminds me much of my high school. There are many students which speak all different languages and everyone seems to blend in together. In my class there are Russian speakers, Spanish speakers, Creole speakers, Portuguese speakers, Indian speakers, and English speakers. That is so much for a teacher to handle and to make sure that everyone understands what is going on within the classroom. I go to my classroom from 10-11:30 twice a week. At 11:15 every day about 5 students go to ESL (English as a second language). Here they are given multiple worksheets and study guides in which they are to learn every day in order for them to become better speakers. These students are very intelligent because they are able to connect much of their first language to English, just like Claude Goldenberg says in her article Teaching English Language Learners. She states that students would understand the second language more if they are able to connect it to their first language. Many of the ESL students help each other out when one of them does not understand something because they are able to describe it better to the student than the teacher can. The children in my classroom are so awesome. They love to learn about each other’s cultures and embrace the diversity in the classroom. I have seen multiple times the children discussing what they do at home and why they do things a certain way in their culture. Many of the children do not have a great home life and they are able to open up their issues in the classroom. I have seen children bringing forth their issues and solving it together. The children show me that they have no preference of race and they do not see color, but see each other as equals and who they really are as people. The teacher of the classroom always allows the students to share their experiences from home when it relates to the subject they are discussing. The children bring forth a cultural capital in which all of them participate in. They are all able to open their eyes to new ideas and concepts. If our present society was able to adapt the way that these children do to one another, the world would be a much more accepting place.
Question 1
Describe the neighborhood, school building and classroom in which you are volunteering. What do you notice about the space and structure of the school? How do people use the space? How does this school “feel” to you? What contributes to this feeling? Describe the classroom, the teacher, and the students. What is valued in this school? In this classroom? How can you tell?
My school is Francis J Varieur Elementary in Pawtucket. I am in a sixth grade classroom with my Aunt being the teacher. It is located in a lower income area of Pawtucket with many apartment buildings and housing projects. Tolman High School and Shea High School are both within a mile of the school. The children from this school go to Slater Jr. High and then to Shea High School. Varieur is a one level building with so much to offer. As soon as you walk through the front entrance, you are looking to the library. The library is one of the biggest libraries that I have seen in an elementary and has so much to offer. The librarian is very interested in the teachers needs and is always updating the accelerated reading list. The library is always getting new books and the children really enjoy going to library. This is obviously one of the main things that the school focuses on. To the left is the main office and nurse’s office. My classroom is located down the hall from the library. When you walk into my classroom you can tell that there is so much attention on the little details. The walls are covered with colorful pictures and students work. One thing I really enjoyed about my class is that all the students work makes it on the walls, even bad grades. No child is left without his/her work on the walls. The students desks are set up in a circle and all of the lessons are discussion based, which I think it very important. All of the walls in this school are covered with student work. This school runs like it is a well oiled machine. All of the teachers work together and the teachers and always working together. The two sixth grade classrooms are connected and they always leave the door open between the classrooms. Both of the teachers are walking between the classrooms and are always communicating. I feel like this school is one that is very comfortable working as a team. The students are very hard working. The teacher in my classroom is very strict and the students have so much respect for her. The students are always willing to redo their work if they feel as though they could have done better. I really enjoy working at this school and I feel like this is a type of school that I would like to work at.
My school is Francis J Varieur Elementary in Pawtucket. I am in a sixth grade classroom with my Aunt being the teacher. It is located in a lower income area of Pawtucket with many apartment buildings and housing projects. Tolman High School and Shea High School are both within a mile of the school. The children from this school go to Slater Jr. High and then to Shea High School. Varieur is a one level building with so much to offer. As soon as you walk through the front entrance, you are looking to the library. The library is one of the biggest libraries that I have seen in an elementary and has so much to offer. The librarian is very interested in the teachers needs and is always updating the accelerated reading list. The library is always getting new books and the children really enjoy going to library. This is obviously one of the main things that the school focuses on. To the left is the main office and nurse’s office. My classroom is located down the hall from the library. When you walk into my classroom you can tell that there is so much attention on the little details. The walls are covered with colorful pictures and students work. One thing I really enjoyed about my class is that all the students work makes it on the walls, even bad grades. No child is left without his/her work on the walls. The students desks are set up in a circle and all of the lessons are discussion based, which I think it very important. All of the walls in this school are covered with student work. This school runs like it is a well oiled machine. All of the teachers work together and the teachers and always working together. The two sixth grade classrooms are connected and they always leave the door open between the classrooms. Both of the teachers are walking between the classrooms and are always communicating. I feel like this school is one that is very comfortable working as a team. The students are very hard working. The teacher in my classroom is very strict and the students have so much respect for her. The students are always willing to redo their work if they feel as though they could have done better. I really enjoy working at this school and I feel like this is a type of school that I would like to work at.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Me
Hello! My name is Shana Girouard. I just transferred to RIC from Wheelock College in Boston, and so far I am really enjoying myself. I am beginning to get used to campus and where different building are. It's really fun! Outside of school I am a nanny for two different families. I also go to the gym and take my doggy for walks. That's about it!
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