Journal #10

I enjoyed the article Finding Ways In because it tied together a lot of concepts that we have been learning in this class and other classes in the GSE. I feel that ignorance is the biggest factor in why many teachers can struggle with students of different ethnicities. I know that some people are racist and/or just do not want to try but I have a feeling that being ignorant of different cultures is what holds a lot of educators back. 

First of all, many people assume that people immigrant to the United States because they want to be here and take advantage of our system. This could not be more false. Many people come here because they are refugees and have no other place to go. So we should deny them a good education and compassion because their home has been torn apart and blown up? Yes, that makes perfect sense. We also question why students have not had proper education and have been in and out of classrooms. Page 31 points this out by saying, “Eventually in Cambodia there were no classrooms, students, teachers or government-level education departments. Textbooks of all types were burned. Students in higher grades were condemned to die with their teachers.” Sadly, these people did not have the luxury of an education and here in this country some people are denying them their second chance at it. The last time this country was at war did the schools shut down? Were textbooks burned? Were teachers killed? No. It is impossible for anyone to judge the education or lack thereof that these students are coming into our schools with. What we have to do is understand what they have been through have some compassion and help them get what they deserve. 

Also, the article points out that “traditionally, parents believed they had full responsibility for children at home, and teachers or adults in authority had full responsibility for children at school or in other learning settings.” (pg. 32). Just because a parent is not calling, emailing or coming in about her child does not mean that she does not care about that child. A teacher might say, “ oh that parent doesn’t really care about her child because she does not come in.” What we need to understand is that this is a different culture and way of life. That parent may not want to come in because she might think she is insulting us and our authority as teachers by “stepping on our toes” and coming into school. The best way to get by this is more education. We need to educate ourselves on different cultures and customs and we need to reach out to parents and communities to let them know they can not only come into our schools but they are more than welcome and we want them involved. 

Lastly, what stuck with me was the student saying “I was placed in the Special Education program because of lack of English.” (pg. 37). After taking Michaela’s class and this one placing a child in a special ed program because he does not know English is just completely ridiculous. Just because a student does not know English or is not yet proficient does not mean he isn’t smart or capable. The article was able to hit on many important points that I think we all need to be aware of and ready for when we start our teaching careers.

Journal #9 - The Dream Keepers

Reading The Dream Keepers by Gloria Ladson-Billings helped me understand a little more about race and culture in the classroom. I was and am committing one of the downfalls that Ladson-Billings points out that many teachers do. On pages 34-35 she points out how teachers make the statement “I don’t really see color” and “I don’t care if they’re red, green, or polka dot I just treat them like children.” I always thought that this was a good way to go about it; just treat all of my children the same way. This might not be the right way to approach teaching or a classroom. The fact of the matter is that these children are different and not just different based on color. We cannot just look at all of our students the same because let’s face it all of our students are NOT the same. Some are going to come with learning challenges; others will come from challenges at home. It is truly our job to be able to recognize these differences from student to student, be able to accept them and be able to adapt our teaching to reach each student.

I think that the teachers in the book demonstrate teaching wonderfully because they all involve a sense of community and holding students to high-standards in the classroom and in life. Ms. Dupree dressed well every day because she believed she was working with the most important people in the world (pg. 38). What a confidence boost it must have been to those children to have a teacher say that each student was the most important person in the world. Another teacher Ms. Devereaux points out that “you’ve got to get a good education because the community needs your brain power.” (pg. 43). Not only is the teacher pushing the students to excellence but she is telling them that it is essential to give back your gifts to the community to help the community grow and thrive. Ms. Devereaux also created a parent phone chain that allows parents to contact each other if there is something going on. The book shows an example of a parent’s concern for her son being missing and the parents call around to find out where the boy is. The teacher can not only get in touch with parents quickly but she clearly has their trust and that goes a long way.

Something else that I wanted to point out was a quote that I highlighted on page 13. It says “[m]y father often worked two jobs, yet we still lived more modestly that most of my classmates did.” It disgusts me when some people argue that black people are lazy and they are kept in a “circle of poverty” because they do not work hard enough to get out of it and do better for their families. If they are raised in an educational system that is deprived they are less likely to go to college and get well paying jobs. Now laws have changed so employers cannot discriminate based on race but I am sure some companies still find ways to do that. Not too long ago a white person and black person could hold the same exact position and the white person would make more money. No wonder the black family had to work two jobs and still made less than the white family. How can we point fingers and blame people for being lazy when they have been put into a situation where there is no positive outcome or no outcome that builds them up as people? Like this book points out, there needs to be a stronger sense of community in the classroom and link that sense in the classroom to the greater community.

Journal #8

I just wanted to take the time this week to write about going to the Teen Coalition Center in Lowell. I think that going here is a very important part of this class and an important part of the program in general. I am not teaching right now and I know that many others are not teaching either. This is such a great way to not be in school yet but still have the opportunity to work with high school-aged students. 

One thing that I have learned is that my students (or young people in general) are going to teach me a lot. On one particular day that I went students did not have much homework to do so a group of boys were playing chess. I know nothing about chess so I sat down with them and watched them play. At first it was just a couple boys but then one of the volunteers, he is a teacher at Lowell High, sat down to match one of the boys. I walked into the room knowing nothing about chess and walked away knowing at least something about it. I could not believe how gifted these students are! Chess is not an easy game and these students were flying through games with one another. They were nice enough to show me a few things about the game.

By going I am able to learn a lot about myself, too. The first time I went there I spent a lot of time talking with the people who work there and the people who volunteer there. Someone was nice enough to give me a little tour and go over the programming and other activities that they do at the LCHC. After talking with the adults for about an hour I realized that I should be talking with the kids! I was so excited to be there and learn all about the program that I was trying too hard. I just needed to sit down and talk with these kids. At first I felt awkward because it was their space. I felt like an intruder because they are used to familiar faces there and need to be there in order to get homework, college work, etc. done. I quickly learned that I needed to get over feeling awkward because they are happy to have other people there. It is just another adult they know cares enough about them to be there and help them out. 

The time there flies by because it is such an inviting, great place for these kids to be. I was talking to one of my friends (not in the program) about how we had to do service learning and that it was in Lowell. The person’s reaction struck me because she said “oh wow, that must be really tough, good luck doing that.” And I just thought it was funny because it is not tough at all. They are just a great group of kids. Granted, they are kids that want to be there or have been suggested to go by a teacher or perhaps a friend, but they are truly some of the nicest kids that I have met.

Journal #7

When did sexual education and reproductive rights become such a political issue? Not to get political but I find it ironic that the same political groups that are against birth control and teaching safe sex are the same people against welfare and public-assistance programs. This article is proof that women who drop out (and are not getting proper education whether it is sexual or otherwise) are having sex and getting pregnant as teens. Fine and McClelland point out in Sexuality Education and Desire: Still Missing after All These Years, “[i]n fact, 38 percent of teen women who left school prior to graduation had a subsequent pregnancy and birth while still a teen…” (p. 302). By making sexual education a political issue we are allowing students to be ticking time bombs. Whether adults like it or night young people in high school are going to have sex. Since that is a reality I think we need to do whatever possible to educate our students properly. Who knows, with proper education some of these students might decide to NOT have sex. Many young people just succumb to peer-pressure and do not necessarily fully know the consequences of having sex. 

As teachers we need to try to support our students better. Reading this made me think of a story that a friend of mine told me recently. He is currently teaching in Massachusetts and had a senior boy come up to him a few weeks ago and asked him to buy Plan B. He had unprotected sex with his girlfriend and was worried that she was pregnant. The student had the money to buy the pill but was not old enough (or possibly embarrassed to buy it, I cannot remember). My friend was mildly horrified that a student was asking him this. I looked at it a different way. If I were teaching I would hope that my students would be able to trust me and come to me with things like this. This student was obviously concerned, worried and needed to talk to someone that he trusted. It’s not like he was asking to borrow $5 for lunch; this is a serious issue. After all, isn’t this all why we are doing what we are doing? We want to be able to teach and help students. 

Places such as the LCHC give me hope that programs are going in the right direction. This is a positive place for students to be. The subject of sex, STDs, and pregnancy are not taboo and teenagers feel like they have someone who will truly listen to them. We need more of this in our schools. The Fine and McClelland article does point out on pg. 324 that are “a number of comprehensive sexuality education courses available for use in and outside of school settings” and this is relieving to me. If schools are not going to step up (or are too afraid to step up) and teach kids about sex in a way that works then hopefully the community can step up to the challenge. I wouldn’t use a history book from 1950 to teach my students so why would I preach abstinence-only to my students? Times have changed and like it or not in order to be successful teachers and give the most to our students we need to change and adapt as well.

Journal #6 - Hardcore

Can we blame them?

Can we really blame students for some of the gangster-like behavior that they are emulating? There are many students who are just trying to be gangster or they are “wannabe hardcore.” As the article points out ‘I do not want to be a gangster, but I can behave like one if the situation demands!’” (pg. 52). Of course some kids want to act gangster. What do they see on TV, in music and films? They see rappers acting “gangster”, doing drugs, demoralizing women and they’re millionaires from it. If being a gangster is going to make you a millionaire who wouldn’t want to be one? Page 60 also points out that “sometimes black and white kids act hardcore because it’s like kind of a trend.” If this is the message that media is sending students it’s hard to blame them for acting like that. I know that many would say that’s not reality and kids can’t act what they see on TV but many kids do. Unfortunately many of these people are “role models” for young people and it’s pathetic. You can argue all you want but society glorifies this kind of “gangster” behavior in many very real and noticeable ways. 

Of course there are many situations where students need to take the blame for their actions and not just because they are “gangster” but because they are dangerous and illegal. The “jacket incident” was particularly disturbing to me. Pages 59-60 outlines a scenario where a student wants to assault another student over a jacket. What does it really prove that you are willing to physically harm someone over a jacket? Was he actually going to hurt him or was this just a “front” to show that other boy that he would hurt him and not to mess with him again? Maybe it’s because I’m a girl or perhaps because I grew up on the mean streets of Pelham, New Hampshire but the thought of hurting someone over a jacket just seems a little out in left field to me. If this is really how it is and kids need to act this way to survive why aren’t we trying to do something to help them? Why do children have to grow up like that?

I think that all of this gets back to being good role models in the classroom. We obviously aren’t going to save every kid that walks through our doors; it’s unreasonable to think that we are going to. But if we can make one kid feel safe, change one person’s life then we are on the right path. We’re all here because we had teachers who truly impacted our lives. Hopefully 10-15 years down the line a troubled teen or otherwise labeled “gangster” will be in our shoes ready to teach because we made a difference in his or her life.

Journal # 5

 I was looking through different news stories online and I found the following article and video. I think it is worth taking a few minutes to look at and read.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-prep-rally/middle-school-girls-hoops-player-benched-game-saying-155532292.html

The girl, Miranda, was not allowed to play in her middle school basketball game because she said “I love you” in her native language, Menominee. The teacher told her to stop speaking in the other language, but she really wasn’t speaking in the other language she just said one phrase. The teacher also said, "[H]ow would you like it if I started talking Polish?" I would imagine that the young girl would not mind if she said “I love you” in Polish. She is just saying one phrase, why is this such a big deal? I was reading the same story but by a different writer and it said that Miranda was taken out of the game because she had an “attitude” problem after be reprimanding by the teachers. I would have an attitude problem too if I got in trouble for that. It’s not like she was talking negatively about the teacher in the language she simply said one phrase and got in trouble for it. I would understand if she was plotting against the teacher with her friends in another language but this is just ridiculous. What if there was a student who did not know English or had limited English proficiency? What if a student only knew how to say a word in his/her native language and could not express it in English?

Maybe the school has a policy that students cannot speak other languages in class and that is another argument but this girl said one phrase. If another person said “hola” jokingly would that person not be allowed to play a sport or get a detention? I just think it sends the wrong message to students to punish them for being culturally diverse. Instead of looking at this as a negative the school should be happy they have diversity within the school and embrace the culture of the local tribe. The only message this girl gets sent home with is that her language is wrong; why else would she not be allowed to utter even one word of it in class?

I’m sure there is more to the story than we are seeing in this one article but I was still outraged by this. You would think that in this day and age something like this would be a non-issue or non-factor but apparently there are some people out there who just like to cause a scene.

Week 4 - In a Different Voice

I have to say that I wasn’t as pleased with the reading this week as I have been with the past two. I thought the book was good and informative I just think that it is very outdated. The book itself obviously looked very old when I bought it but it wasn’t until I started reading it that I realized just how outdated it really was. I wasn’t even 10 pages in and I decided to look at the copyright date of the book – 1982. Not to sound like an angry feminist, but I wasn’t even born in 1982. I think good portions of the people in this class were not born in 1982. Most of the research was done in the 60's and 70's. Don’t get me wrong some of the information in the text was very good and informative; I think that many of what these reports say may still follow true and translate to today. I feel like even a book on women’s/gender issues written when I was in high school in the early 2000’s would be outdated. For example, just on gender and sexuality, when I was in high school we talked about gay/lesbian issues and had a club. We did not talk about trans-gender or bisexuality. It wasn't until 3-4 years later when I went to college that this became the norm. Maybe I went into this with my hopes too high. I was excited to be reading about gender and women’s issues because for one I am a woman and secondly I am very interested in these issues. Again, I am not trying to completely knock the book or the selection of the book. I think that in Chapter 3 when Gilligan gets into talking about abortion and other sex-related topics is interesting because these topics are very prevalent in young girls these days. It would be very interesting to see the numbers and statistics of what happened 5-10 years ago rather than 30 years ago.