Christy’s Blog Page

This chapter reminded me of my passion for teaching and learning.  It’s very rare that you find one who can honestly say that they LOVE their job…but I do!  I am very lucky to have been prepared to teach by (in my opinion) one of the finer institutions in the state of Georgia…Georgia State University.  Teacher education programs serve teachers well in preparing them for the teaching career.  I attended Georgia State for my undergraduate, masters, and now specialist degree.  As hard as it was at times, it paid off in the end because I was ready for the students I received my very first day of teaching.  Some people don’t have that kind of preparedness their first year of teaching.  That is why it is so important that they are supported by fellow teachers, mentors and administrators.  These novice teachers need mentors who want to assist them and help them improve in the teaching skills.  They should be trained in a training support program such as the TSS program to be able to assist novice teachers better.  This kind of support could have many positive impacts on the rate of teacher retention in our schools. 

In order to see change happen, one must make change happen.  I find that I can do this better when taking on a leadership role within my school.  I currently serve as grade chair over 16 kindergarten classrooms and have been a mentor in previous years.  I find that these roles allow me to have a voice within my school.  This is how I hope to make change happen.  I read on p.502, “Hope sustains the actions, and people must act or the the hope turns against them-empty.”  This is an issue that Paulo Freire talked about…I find this to be true.  One who just hopes for change will never see it…you have to be activist for change in order to see it…otherwise there is nothing but hopelessness.

I have learned through this program that I must be one who stands up for social justice and change in order to be counted as an activist.  I must sit back and watch others…I must be one of the ones who leads the path for change within our schools.

Assessment has been an issue that I have struggled more with personally, rather than professionally.  As I was reading this chapter, I began to think about some of the standardized tests that I was administered as a young child in elementary school.  The only ones that I could remember was the IOWA and the ITBS.  I remember taking these tests having no idea and frankly, not even caring about, why I was being given these exams.  In my mind, they measured nothing about who I was as a learner or said anything about me as a student.  How could a test tell someone about me?  I remember getting the results back and seeing the dots telling me where my score fell and in which category they fell in…whether it was “below average, average, or above average.”  My score never fell in the above average section very often and I didn’t really see anything wrong with that.  As an elementary school aged child, school was something that I HAD to do.  It was my job and at that point I cared more about playing than about making good grades.  Nobody told me what those tests measured and I was not pressured by the tests.  I found them boring, but an excuse to get some extra recess time.  So, as you can probably tell, I was not so much the studious child that I actually turned out to be as an adult.  As I write about my experience as a young child being administered these tests, I write about my innocence as a young test taker being foolish to think that a test could not possibly tell my teachers who I was as a student or a learner.  Granted, I didn’t do that well in elementary school…I mean, I didn’t do bad, I just didn’t really care all that much.  As an adult looking back, I now can see that those tests really did have an impact on me as a student and the educational path that was assigned to me by my teachers based on those tests that I was given.  

Standardized testing can have such an impact on children and the path in which they are lead down by educators.  Those tests label students and create misconceptions within students that are hard to overcome as young children.  I have literally seen the stress that standardized testing puts on young elementary aged students, as well as teachers.  I recently heard that in some states, teachers were actually going to get paid more if their students performed better than other teachers within their school, district, whatever.  What kind of message are we sending young children when their level of performance is going to be measured by a test, rather than the teachers who actually know the students?

I’m going to be very honest and say that I didn’t get accepted into many colleges because of my SAT scores, however I graduated from a private college preparatory school with a GPA of 3.8…yet, because of my ”lower than average” SAT scores had to feel as though I was not good enough to be enrolled in some school’s institution for higher learning.  I was being judged not by who I was as an actual learner and student, but how well I performed on a test that I was given on a Saturday morning for 4 hours!  I read on p.224 that the SAT’s goal is to predict how a student is likely to perform in the future and that the test is used to predict the grades that high school students will earn when they get into college.  I am a walking testimony that those tests do nothing to predict ones future success or how well one will perform in the future.  I went to college on the Hope Scholarship and maintained it throughout my entire undergrad career as a college student.  I graduated with honors and maintained a 3.7 overall GPA and a GPA of 4.0 within my major classes the last 2 years in undergrad.  I say all of this to make the point that…there is no test that one can be given to predict, tell, define WHO someone is a learner, student, or person.  Should we do away with these exams?  I don’t think doing away with them is the answer, but it should NEVER be the only measure one looks at to determine the success of an individual.  

I would be lying if I said I had never complained about a parent spending too much time in the classroom or at the school or one that never comes and shows any kind of support at all for their child’s educational success.  Every teacher has complained about one of these two things, if not both before.  On p. 385 it reads, “Whereas educators stress participation in organized school events and parents who keep up with the details of lessons, parents often see the care, support, encouragement, and cultural values they give their children as the foundation for their success in school.”  I found this interesting because as so many of us complain that the parents aren’t working with their children at home, sometimes we forget to stop and think about the time in which those parents have with their children while their not working trying to put support their wellbeing.  They lend their support to their children by saying words of encouragement to them, caring for them, and instilling their values and beliefs within them.  It would be interesting to walk in their shoes…maybe we would understand a little better and maybe some would care a little more. 

It is important to show parents that you care about their child.  I read on p. 386, “Hard work and patience are essential.  Parents may not respond immediately to teachers’ goodwill and invitation to become an active part of their children’s success in class.”  Just as one doesn’t run before walking, relationships take time to form and maintenance is needed to contain them.  Some things that I do that make a positive difference is call parents and tell them something positive about their child.  Not only does this make the child feel good, but the parent takes ownership in the behavior as well.  The parent won’t cringe the next time you introduce yourself on the other line of the phone call and wonder what terrible thing their child did to deserve a phone call home.  A new thing our school just started is sending positive postcards recognizing students through the mail.  All postage is paid for by the school and it only takes a minute to write a positive note acknowledging a good deed or task done by the student.  Wouldn’t you just love to see that student’s face when the parent brings that postcard to the child and reads it?  Wouldn’t you love to see the parent’s face?  Both of these things let the parents and the students know you care and by showing that, you are developing a trusting parent/teacher relationship. 

I read on p. 399, “Learning from families and community members enhances teachers’ capacity to care, but care is not only about “knowing”; it requires doing as well.  W.E.B. DuBois addressess this crucial element of care.  He instructs teachers to reach back in time and acknowledge the history of their students’ and community’s social circumstances.”  He calls this notion…”sympathetic touch.”  He continues to go through three qualities of care that “bridge schools and communities” (p.399)  If you read through these qualities, you will find (as I did) that they mirror the Critical Child Project that we are doing for this class.  My question is, however, while I feel it is important to understand the culture of our children critically, is it feasible to do a cultural in-depth study of each student in ones class?  How can we understand each of our students culture (history, aspirations, values, etc.) if time is not permitted to actually do an in-depth study?  What is the alternative?  Is the culture quilt assignment something that we as teachers can utilize to learn more about our students culture or is there more?  I wish I had a checklist that I could pull out to assist me in my culturally responsive teaching.

One last thing I found interesting and made note of was the response Mary Ann Pecheco gave to some parents on p. 401 when they were concerned that their child was talking too much.  She responded by saying, “in higher education, the willingness to initiate conversations, participation in group projects, and dialogue were required of students and highly valued.”  What a great response!  I think I may actually use that response in a parent/teacher conference…but it so true!  As students ourselves, we all know how important it is to initiate conversations, participate in group projects, and carry on dialogue during conversations.  While some of us don’t do this often…that doesn’t necessarily mean we don’t have a lot to say.  :0) 

School culture is everything!  Without it, one could lose the fire and passion for teaching and learning.  This chapter focused on school culture and how new teachers and seasoned teachers learned from one another to improve their school culture and the instruction in which they teach.  On p. 340, it read, “New teachers can make use of their heightened perception, but they also need to be aware that the existing culture does not take happily to those who challenge it abruptly.  After all, the culture is normal; challengers are not.”  I have known more than one teacher who didn’t like to experience change.  Change is uncomfortable, especially when change is conducted by someone who is new to the learning community.  I have always had the opinion that if changes need to be made, they should be made slowly and collaboratively.  A true leader, I believe, throws an idea out and allows others to elaborate and make changes where one sees fit.  The leader then takes those ideas and puts action into place where needed.  It may not be exactly what everyone wants, but it is a decision that was collaboratively made and was not made abruptly. 

 I like the idea on p.345 that reads, “When schools offer all students an intellectually rich curriculum and expect all of them to perform well, students get the message “We believe you can do it.”  This is key, although unfortunantly, not all teachers feel this way.  Do you ever wonder what teacher your students are going to get for the following year, what kind of instruction they will be exposed to, or how they will be treated?  Will the next teacher care about them like I do or will those that you have worked so hard with fall between the cracks because they lack the support they once had?  I think about these things.  Each teacher is different-we differ in personality and teaching styles.  What if I act one way with a child one year and they get something totally different the next year?  Does that impact their academic development in a negative way?  How can we be activists for social justice and the development of caring student/teacher relationships if one doesn’t have the same passion for teaching that you carry with you on a daily basis?  I feel as though I am blessed to work in a school in which I feel that most teachers value the kind of school culture described in this chapter.  Our teachers are dedicated to student learning and acheivement and caring relationships are noticable by the looks on children’s smiling faces.  This is not the case in every school, that is why change begins with those who are activists for social justice and a positive school culture.  We, as a result of some of things I feel we have learned by going through this program, begins with us…         

As I listened to Gorski the other night, I kept thinking…Wow!  He knows a whole lot about culture and what we’ve been talking about over the past year!  It was almost a bit overwhelming…how does one get to know that much about something and he looked so young!  For me though, I guess that is why we are here, in this program, learning about the things we are learning.  Our minds have begun to think about things that I had no idea we would be thinking about when signing up for this program.  It’s a good thing.  Culture is apart of all of us…it’s how we identify with who we are.  Wouldn’t it just make sense for us as educators to tap into our students culture to understand who they are a little bit better.  Shouldn’t this be how we should drive instruction?  Gorski made a good comment…”We should just throw out all those tests.”  I agree…when are we going to begin teach our students instead of teaching our standards?  When is what’s best for our students going to be the driving force of how we plan our curriculum?  Why is the CRCT the measure of what is important for our children?  It’s silly and it’s only going to get worse with NCLB.  Gorski made many good points…ones that I never really thought of before…such as the perceptions made by the media on certain socioeconomic communities.  We see more of the bad with the lower socioeconomic groups because it is not hidden as well as it is in the higher socioeconomic communities.  Gorski makes me want to learn more about the message he brought to us. 

I read the article the was written by Anita Bohn and found it interesting because I had always heard great things about Ruby Payne and her strategies for teaching children who come from poverty.  I heard of Ruby Payne about six years ago when I first began teaching.  My principal had introduced our staff to the book and told us a little about its content.  I never read the book after that, though I wondered about her message to educators.  This article surprised me because I did not know some of the things that it described.  For example, the article said that she owned her own publishing company so that gave her rights to publish really anything she wrote.  It also accused her of publishing and holding conferences based on unresearched information.  While I do not know this to be true (as I am only going by what this article implies), I wonder about the validity of the message she brings to educators of poverty stricken schools.  Is her message true or is it false?  I cannot say, more research is required of me to make an accurate analysis.  I found her questions on the second page of the article interesting as well.  I found myself asking the question about the lower class questions…”does the lower-class really know the answers to these questions or is this some kind of stereotyping?  Where did Ruby Payne get these questions and how valid are they of the lower-class?  Again, more research is needed to answer this question.  I thought the same of the middle class questions as well.  Bottom line…teachers don’t need someone to come in to their school and tell them how to teach poverty stricken kids based on the questions listed in this article…kids need to know you care and that you are going to stand by them and help them to succeed.  Trust can make the biggest difference in whether a child succeeds or fails.  No graphic organizer is going to give that kind of assistance to a child…all they need is YOU… 

I believe culturally responsive teaching begins the first day of school as you are trying to build your community of classroom learners.  We always begin our school year with reading “All About Me” themed books and talking about the topic “I am special!”  In the past, I haven’t really focused on culture identies as I have done this year.  In doing so, I have really seen a difference in the friendships in my classroom.  My students seem to be closer to one another and respect each others differences instead of outcasting them because of their differences.  I really see an appreciation for culture within my classroom.  I think that the culture quilt really brought a lot of this out in the students.  We had talked about how each of us were different prior to that activity, but we never really focused on the cultural idenities in the classroom.  They learned that even though some of them may look different on the outside from one another, they share some of their identities with other students in the classroom.  It was exciting to see them find a little identity within themselves as we shared each others culture in the classroom.  I was once one the teachers that said that I didn’t see color.  I taught in a school that consisted predominantly of African American students.  I loved those students!  I felt like they needed me and in return I needed them just as much.  When I think back, people would ask me about the class context and I would respond by telling them the racial makeup of my class.  So in doing that, I did see color.  We all see color and V. Paley has taught me that it is not only good that you do see it, but that it is respectful to recognize it.  I DO see color, I don’t judge based upon color.  This has been one of my ah ha’s this year.  When I look at my identity as a teacher, I see myself as a facilitator.  I ask my students a lot of questions and try to guide them to solutions.  I rarely tell a student exactly how to go about getting to a particular solution, but I am constantly asking questions to guide them (hopefully) in the right direction.  I also see myself as one who offers many hands-on materials for learning in the classroom.  I am a very visual learner and therefore I offer those oportunities for my students as well.  In addition, I try to be culturally sensitive and I think I have done more of that this year than in past years.  I am looking forward to being able to spend more time planning and reading about cultural opportunities I can implement in the classroom for next year.  I loved reading the guide to choosing and evaluating books in the classroom.  I never knew there were so many things that one should be aware of when choosing books, but it made sense.  I close by saying I am not an expert when it comes to exposing and teaching students how to appreciate each other culturally, but I want to learn more about it.  Just like Dawn, I’d like to have that grocery list…

I enjoyed reading about the classroom management techniques that other teachers offered in this chapter.  I also enjoyed our discussion today on-line and wrote down some things you had said that I would like to try in my classroom.  For example, I liked Diana’s “positive discipline” method.  I also liked how Camden had the students take ownership in writing down classroom issues for discussion in daily meetings.  I had not heard about Love and Logic, but will be visiting the website to learn more about it.  I was taken by Amy Lee’s method of classroom discipline with a particular student named Hector.  I loved how she not only told Hectorthat she would not give up on him, but showed Hector that she was NOT going to give up on him.  At first, Hector did not believe her and this is because believing in him was not something he was used to teachers doing for him.  But Amy Lee was different and in time he saw that and eventually started to change.  Amazing…however there are so many teachers who would rather give up than fight the good fight for some of their students.  In the section, “Teachers Who Make Lessons Interesting,” it said “a good rule of thumb is that good teaching cannot be based on knowledge or teaching methods that the teacher herself finds boring.” (p.263)  This is so true!  I find this the case everyday when I have to do calendar!!!  So, to make it a little more interesting, we add funny voices to songs we sing, we speed songs and rhymes up or we slow them down.  Sometimes, at least once or twice a week, I pick one of the students to deliver calendar to the other students.  They love this!  I have also added a money test to learn the coins and values and they earn treats.  This makes it a little more interesting.  I also find that if I don’t want to do something with the students, chances are they don’t want to do it either.  Always remember, attitude is everything…if you are excited, the students will be too.  It is important to begin the year with building a safe classroom community where students are allowed to express themselves and talk about differences and how we can appreciate those differences.  I must say that I get better as the years go by, but I’m always looking for new ideas to improve the way I manage my classroom.  I do use treats, candy, and a treasure box.  I don’t see anything wrong with those things.  But, I also encourage the students in positive way and try to make them feel good about themselves and the work that they do.  I love my students and they know that because I make a habit of telling them each week.  They take me seriously, but they also think I’m funny and we can play together in the classroom.  I think I have a good balance, but am always looking for ways to improve.  There is always room for improvement and am looking forward to learning more by reading your blogs.  :0)

I have just one big question after reading this article…why are teachers encouraged and instructed to attend professional development opportunities to learn more about effective teaching, only to be silenced by those in political power positions or even by administrators?  I think that those who feel the need to question “effective” teaching practices need to think about spending some time in the classroom or attending a professional development opportunities themselves.  I once had an administrator come to me and question my way of teaching…my question to her was…”How do you know what, how well, or who I’m teaching…you’ve never been in my classroom?”  This happened 1/2 way into our school year.  Funny, she was in my classroom the next day and didn’t question me after that.  We as educators take the time and strive to help our children only to be slienced by those who claim to know more about our students than we do.  As I have said before, it is so frustrating to be so committed to the education profession, yet not have your voice heard.  

This chapter basically laid out the debate between traditional and progressive education in the different subject areas.  For me, a traditional education is more of teaching students skill and drill, while progressive education allows the students to construct their own meaning behind skills that are taught.  The author kind of laid this informative chapter out in a persuassive way to allow the reader to choose one over the other as the more appropriate way to educate students.  However, I found myself asking the question…why can’t it be both?  Why does it have to be one over the other?  I grew up with the traditional approach to teaching and learning.  It worked for me….however, I do feel that there are areas within my learning that I struggle with….for example, accepting the fact that there may be more than one way to approach a particular question, etc.  Progressive education does allow more creativity, but also has the potential to hinder those who are real strugglers…those students need concrete teaching…tools that can assist them and allow them to be able to construct meaning.  On p.124 Lipton and Oakes write, “Progressives also point to the U.S. system of ability grouping that keeps students from ever being taught higher-level math, noting that most high-scoring contries shun that practice.”  I have thought about this in the past in reference to how I teach math.  I struggle with deciding whether to place my students in differing ability groups and differentiating instruction to meet each of my students needs or putting them in mixed ability groups and allow them to assist one another with the construction of knowledge.  I find that when I put them in mixed ability groups, one ends up doing all the work, while the others just sit back and watch or play, etc.  (this is kindergarten, remember).  Even when I give countless lessons on how every student needs to be included in the learning process, it still comes out that someone finished the activity not learning anymore or less than when they began it.  It is frustrating…when does one pose the question…maybe they just are not developmentally ready for this type of instruction?  I don’t know…I’m opening it up for discussion…