I am in my third month as a teaching intern. It has been fascinating seeing different classes, different schools and different teachers and their various teaching styles. Between the schools assigned to me by the university and working with my own children's teachers, I feel I have been exposed to a wide variety of teaching styles.
My main placement is very similar to my children's school. It is very middle class, predominately white and pretty easy overall.
My dyad placement is a school outside of my comfort zone. It is 72% free and reduced lunch. It has a large minority population, as well as a large ELL population. They also have a big turnover because of the large rental population, so almost half the students who start the year, don’t finish the year there.
There are huge differences in the obstacles these kids must overcome, and some of the stories they tell are outside of my zone of experience. They tell stories of living in shelters, about another family moving out of the shelter and so they finally get a bed. They tell about sleeping in their van in the Grandma’s driveway, because there isn’t enough room in the house. They list the probability of their sister getting out of jail as likely during math exercises. They tell about CPS showing up and how this is probably the last chance, and if they aren’t in school tomorrow it is because their mom got her last chance and is drinking again. A little girl is matter of fact as she tells me about being taken away from her mom because she spilled hot coffee on her head. She calmly tells me that it was a bad situation, and she doesn’t live there anymore because it is for the best.
I have learned about homeless camps and shelters in a city I have lived in for 14 years and I never knew about their existence. I have found out about kids whose address is listed as Olympia because they are under state protection, whether for custody reasons, or something else, no one is really sure.
But the biggest thing I have learned is that these kids really aren’t any different than in any other school I have been in. They smile. They joke. They need attention. They want to learn. They have the ability to learn. They need someone to believe in them.
In one of our math groups, we worked on a probability line. One of the probabilities I mentioned was that I thought it unlikely that M would miss his high school graduation ceremony. I don’t think I will ever forget the look on his face when he looked at me and said “ You think I am going to graduate from high school?”
“ Of course”.
The other kids looked at me, and all asked – “ You really think M is going to graduate?” It seemed like such an odd thing for them to be questioning. And yet, I think it may have been the first time that someone told him they believed that he would graduate from high school.
When M walked out of class that day he seemed to be walking a little bit taller. I really hope that he does graduate someday.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
Teaching is like a pizza
Teaching is like a pizza. It is shaped like a circle, so it has no beginning and no end, it is continuous. It is easy to slice into as many pieces you need so you can share with everyone, and everyone gets the same thing, some crust, and some center. It is made up of layers, and you can add as many toppings as the class needs, or wants.
First you start with the crust, the bare bones of the curriculum. Crust is good. A strong base to build on, filling, tasty-like bread and you can survive on it. Of course if all you have is bread and water, it starts to feel like you are in prison. You can survive, but it is not very fun.
So you add sauce. You can add tomato sauce (the expected), or you can surprise everyone by putting on a garlic white sauce, or a tomato sauce filled with spices, or with chunks of tomatoes in the sauce. Then you add cheese. Mmmm… cheese. Many kids love just plain cheese pizza. They thrive on it. They could eat it every day and never get tired of it. Of course, they may not know any different. You could add other cheese, maybe sprinkle in some parmesan with the mozzarella cheese, or add some cheddar, just a little bit to see if they like that.
Of course you can add pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, olives, peppers, onions, pineapple, tomatoes, chicken, or a variety of other ingredients. Let them try a taste. Maybe they will decide they love it, or hate it. Maybe they will pick everything off, look at it, sniff it, leave it on the plate and just eat the cheese pizza. Maybe next time though, instead of just sniffing it, they may try a taste, or maybe not. Perhaps they will see their friends eating their pizza with anchovies on it and think, if John likes it, maybe I should try it.
Teaching is like making that pizza. You have a plain curriculum you are given. It is good, basic, filling, but can get boring after awhile. You start to add things to your curriculum, and make it more appealing, more nutritionally diverse, and more tasty. You find a program that almost everyone likes and is happy with, like that plain cheese pizza. Then you can try to add more. You don’t have to, but you can. Like the pizza toppings, not everyone will embrace everything you do. They may pick and choose what you offer, look at them, put them aside, and maybe think about them. Sometimes they will learn something new right away and really like it, other times it may take them a couple of times experiencing it, looking at it, trying it out, before they will understand it and learn it. Sometimes they will ignore it until they see a friend enjoying it, then decide they want to try it out too. Sometimes they will never like it, but at least you have opened up the door for them to be able to explore, to experience something new.
Of course it is also possible to pile too many things on a pizza, where it just is overwhelming and looks unappealing, and tastes gross too. If a teacher has too many things piled on, they all get lost in the pile, and the students are overwhelmed and give up on learning anything. While individually or in small groups these toppings may work well together, too many spoil the plan. The trick it to try out different combinations to find the combination that works the best for the group of kids you have, with the realization that what toppings everyone likes this year, may not be the favorites for next years kids. This year’s class might love pizza with pepperoni and olives, while next year’s class is more Canadian bacon and pineapple. You just never know until you let them try it out.
First you start with the crust, the bare bones of the curriculum. Crust is good. A strong base to build on, filling, tasty-like bread and you can survive on it. Of course if all you have is bread and water, it starts to feel like you are in prison. You can survive, but it is not very fun.
So you add sauce. You can add tomato sauce (the expected), or you can surprise everyone by putting on a garlic white sauce, or a tomato sauce filled with spices, or with chunks of tomatoes in the sauce. Then you add cheese. Mmmm… cheese. Many kids love just plain cheese pizza. They thrive on it. They could eat it every day and never get tired of it. Of course, they may not know any different. You could add other cheese, maybe sprinkle in some parmesan with the mozzarella cheese, or add some cheddar, just a little bit to see if they like that.
Of course you can add pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, olives, peppers, onions, pineapple, tomatoes, chicken, or a variety of other ingredients. Let them try a taste. Maybe they will decide they love it, or hate it. Maybe they will pick everything off, look at it, sniff it, leave it on the plate and just eat the cheese pizza. Maybe next time though, instead of just sniffing it, they may try a taste, or maybe not. Perhaps they will see their friends eating their pizza with anchovies on it and think, if John likes it, maybe I should try it.
Teaching is like making that pizza. You have a plain curriculum you are given. It is good, basic, filling, but can get boring after awhile. You start to add things to your curriculum, and make it more appealing, more nutritionally diverse, and more tasty. You find a program that almost everyone likes and is happy with, like that plain cheese pizza. Then you can try to add more. You don’t have to, but you can. Like the pizza toppings, not everyone will embrace everything you do. They may pick and choose what you offer, look at them, put them aside, and maybe think about them. Sometimes they will learn something new right away and really like it, other times it may take them a couple of times experiencing it, looking at it, trying it out, before they will understand it and learn it. Sometimes they will ignore it until they see a friend enjoying it, then decide they want to try it out too. Sometimes they will never like it, but at least you have opened up the door for them to be able to explore, to experience something new.
Of course it is also possible to pile too many things on a pizza, where it just is overwhelming and looks unappealing, and tastes gross too. If a teacher has too many things piled on, they all get lost in the pile, and the students are overwhelmed and give up on learning anything. While individually or in small groups these toppings may work well together, too many spoil the plan. The trick it to try out different combinations to find the combination that works the best for the group of kids you have, with the realization that what toppings everyone likes this year, may not be the favorites for next years kids. This year’s class might love pizza with pepperoni and olives, while next year’s class is more Canadian bacon and pineapple. You just never know until you let them try it out.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
ugly nappy hair and the wigs
I had intended to write about the second half of You Can't Say You Can't Play this week, and my children's reactions, and their friends' reactions, but something happened this week that I can't seem to get off my mind. So I decided to explore it instead, and try to figure out why it bothers me so much,and if it would have registered as much before these two classes.
Twice a week I work in my son's kindergarten class. I love it. The kid's love it too. It is called readng workbook time. Each child is given a workbook, and they progress through the books at their own pace. It is something that I somewhat rebel against in my anti-kindergarten is the new first grade rants, but the kid's don't have a problem with it. I think in part because they are all working at their own pace. At the end of each page the kids hold up their ruler and the teacher, myself, or the two other mom's come and check how they did, or answer any questions as they come up. Some kids are just figuring out letters, some are coloring in pictures that begin with a certain sound, then they do ending sounds, middle sounds, words and then some kids are reading sentences, some are working on comprehension of what they read, and one little girl is reading chapter books and writing reviews of each chapter. It is a fast paced hour. They really keep us jumping to answer their questions and check their work. Whenever they see me in the halls, or if I drop off my son, or at the bus stop they ask me if it is reading workbook day.
Anyway - some of the pictures they have are difficult to interpret, even for us parents. Some of these pictures we ponder over and wonder what on earth they want the kids to see-- is it a cap or a hat? a rug or a mat? wheat or grass( and how on earth are these city kids supposed to know what wheat looks like? or if it grass why it has seeds at the top?) ? A whip -- why would a kindergartener know what a whip is? And they often interchange the same pictures, but want the kids to identify it as something else, is this picture supposed to be show a boat, a wave or a sail?. I have to say that these books are odd. When I am checking their work and I see something that I think should be colored, or not, I ask the kids what that picture is then go from there.
This past week I was checking a little girls W page. She is African-American, and the only one in the class. When I was going through her page, there was a picture of a head, no face, with long hair flipped up at the ends. I asked her what she thought it was. "Hair" She was right, which is why she didn't color it, it looked like hair and hair doesn't start with a W. I told her I thought they meant for it to be a wig, and did she know what a wig was. She shook her head. I told her it was fake hair, or pretend hair, that people put on when they wanted to dress up, or play pretend, and that it is called a wig. Her face lit up and she said, I know what those are, I wear them all the time.
I asked her if she wore them to play dress up or pretend. She told me no, her mom put them on her when her grandma came over because she needed to cover up her short, ugly, nappy hair. I was stunned. I had no idea what to say. Luckily I didn't need to say anything at the moment, because she just went on. She told me how her mom told her she had the ugliest hair around, and couldn't figure out why it didn't grow, and how she wished it was straighter. She told me how her hair was too short to straigten or braid, except for this part on the back. Then she proceeded to tell me about her three wigs her mom put on her head, depending on who was coming over.
I finally told her that I thought she looked beautiful just the way she was, and that her hair was part of her, so it was beautiful too.
It has bothered me all week. She was so matter of fact about it, cheerful even. Maybe her mom says it to her in a joking, teasing way and so it really isn't that bad. I've tried to think of things we say to our kids in a teasing manner that wouldn't sound that way to an outsider. But then, even if she does mean it in a joking way, there is still the matter of the wigs. It obviously didn't bother Damoneisha, but it bothered me. Why does it bother me more than her? I know virtually nothing about African American hair. Perhaps wearing wigs in very normal, no big deal.
Am I bothered more by the fact that someone doesn't like this little girl's hair, that they told her, that they cover it up, or that she doesn't seem bothered by it. Or am I more bothered by the fact that I don't know how to handle the situation, and that I will probably be faced with many situations that I have no answers to in the future. Or am overreacting, trying to be ultra sensitive to racial differences? Did I handle it ok? Am I showing racial prejudice because I never would have dreamed about putting a wig on a 5 year old to hide her hair?
I have been dwelling on this, and wondering how I should have handled it, or maybe not handled it at all. We talked about cultural differences and accepting those differences, being aware of those differences. I have been thinking this week how little I know about other cultures, other people of different skin colors. We touched on it, in both classes, how there are differences, how not to assume that everyone learns the same, has the same backround, thoughts feelings about things. How to learn. I have always had a hard time asking people personal questions. When do you know it is a big enough matter to ask parents about, or when to let it drop.
This wig thing obviously bothers me more than Damoneisha, so I will let it go, but how do I tell in the future when it is serious enough to pursue. Do I just judge by whether it bothers the child? I think about the recent Mormon issues in Texas, the sect that still practices polygamy and marries off girls at a young age. They don't think there is anything wrong with it. For them it is culturaly acceptable, but for me, it is not. How do I determine the difference between what just bothers me, and what is cultrally acceptable to them, and what is really wrong and needs to be addressed.
I guess wig is a small dilemna compared to facing polygamy and young girls, but the question of when it becomes a teacers job to figure stuff out is going to happen more often I'm sure.
Twice a week I work in my son's kindergarten class. I love it. The kid's love it too. It is called readng workbook time. Each child is given a workbook, and they progress through the books at their own pace. It is something that I somewhat rebel against in my anti-kindergarten is the new first grade rants, but the kid's don't have a problem with it. I think in part because they are all working at their own pace. At the end of each page the kids hold up their ruler and the teacher, myself, or the two other mom's come and check how they did, or answer any questions as they come up. Some kids are just figuring out letters, some are coloring in pictures that begin with a certain sound, then they do ending sounds, middle sounds, words and then some kids are reading sentences, some are working on comprehension of what they read, and one little girl is reading chapter books and writing reviews of each chapter. It is a fast paced hour. They really keep us jumping to answer their questions and check their work. Whenever they see me in the halls, or if I drop off my son, or at the bus stop they ask me if it is reading workbook day.
Anyway - some of the pictures they have are difficult to interpret, even for us parents. Some of these pictures we ponder over and wonder what on earth they want the kids to see-- is it a cap or a hat? a rug or a mat? wheat or grass( and how on earth are these city kids supposed to know what wheat looks like? or if it grass why it has seeds at the top?) ? A whip -- why would a kindergartener know what a whip is? And they often interchange the same pictures, but want the kids to identify it as something else, is this picture supposed to be show a boat, a wave or a sail?. I have to say that these books are odd. When I am checking their work and I see something that I think should be colored, or not, I ask the kids what that picture is then go from there.
This past week I was checking a little girls W page. She is African-American, and the only one in the class. When I was going through her page, there was a picture of a head, no face, with long hair flipped up at the ends. I asked her what she thought it was. "Hair" She was right, which is why she didn't color it, it looked like hair and hair doesn't start with a W. I told her I thought they meant for it to be a wig, and did she know what a wig was. She shook her head. I told her it was fake hair, or pretend hair, that people put on when they wanted to dress up, or play pretend, and that it is called a wig. Her face lit up and she said, I know what those are, I wear them all the time.
I asked her if she wore them to play dress up or pretend. She told me no, her mom put them on her when her grandma came over because she needed to cover up her short, ugly, nappy hair. I was stunned. I had no idea what to say. Luckily I didn't need to say anything at the moment, because she just went on. She told me how her mom told her she had the ugliest hair around, and couldn't figure out why it didn't grow, and how she wished it was straighter. She told me how her hair was too short to straigten or braid, except for this part on the back. Then she proceeded to tell me about her three wigs her mom put on her head, depending on who was coming over.
I finally told her that I thought she looked beautiful just the way she was, and that her hair was part of her, so it was beautiful too.
It has bothered me all week. She was so matter of fact about it, cheerful even. Maybe her mom says it to her in a joking, teasing way and so it really isn't that bad. I've tried to think of things we say to our kids in a teasing manner that wouldn't sound that way to an outsider. But then, even if she does mean it in a joking way, there is still the matter of the wigs. It obviously didn't bother Damoneisha, but it bothered me. Why does it bother me more than her? I know virtually nothing about African American hair. Perhaps wearing wigs in very normal, no big deal.
Am I bothered more by the fact that someone doesn't like this little girl's hair, that they told her, that they cover it up, or that she doesn't seem bothered by it. Or am I more bothered by the fact that I don't know how to handle the situation, and that I will probably be faced with many situations that I have no answers to in the future. Or am overreacting, trying to be ultra sensitive to racial differences? Did I handle it ok? Am I showing racial prejudice because I never would have dreamed about putting a wig on a 5 year old to hide her hair?
I have been dwelling on this, and wondering how I should have handled it, or maybe not handled it at all. We talked about cultural differences and accepting those differences, being aware of those differences. I have been thinking this week how little I know about other cultures, other people of different skin colors. We touched on it, in both classes, how there are differences, how not to assume that everyone learns the same, has the same backround, thoughts feelings about things. How to learn. I have always had a hard time asking people personal questions. When do you know it is a big enough matter to ask parents about, or when to let it drop.
This wig thing obviously bothers me more than Damoneisha, so I will let it go, but how do I tell in the future when it is serious enough to pursue. Do I just judge by whether it bothers the child? I think about the recent Mormon issues in Texas, the sect that still practices polygamy and marries off girls at a young age. They don't think there is anything wrong with it. For them it is culturaly acceptable, but for me, it is not. How do I determine the difference between what just bothers me, and what is cultrally acceptable to them, and what is really wrong and needs to be addressed.
I guess wig is a small dilemna compared to facing polygamy and young girls, but the question of when it becomes a teacers job to figure stuff out is going to happen more often I'm sure.
Monday, May 12, 2008
You can't say you can't play~
We started reading "You Can't Say You Can't Play" by Vivian Gussin Paley. It is an in depth look at something that happens in playgrounds, classrooms and neighborhoods every day. How do you handle it when one child is excluded, when someone says"you can't play with us". Paley discusses with her class, and then approaches the older classes, the feasibility of making a rule saying "you can't say that you can't play". The kids themselves are torn about how well this would work.
I asked my own kids about their experiences, and how they felt, and if they thought this rule would work. I was suprised at their responses.
My oldest daughter, who is 14, was the one I thought would be the most in favor of a rule like that. I can recall many years of watching her wander alone on the playground, sitting outside of a group of girls who were laughing and talking. It always seemed like she was the odd girl out. The one being told that she couldn't play. I remember both the ache in my heart when I watched her being excluded and her tears she cried when she got excluded. I thought she would be in favor of this rule, but she wasn't. She felt like it would be unfair to make people play with someone they didn't like or thought was too "weird". She didn't think it would be a realistic rule.
My sons -- who are 12, 8 and 6 - I didn't think had ever been excluded. I have never seen them be excluded, and they have never come to me upset about being excluded. I thought perhaps it was a girl thing, and that boys just didn't do those mental games. They always seem more physical, being more apt to get into a tussle rather than the angry, mean words that girls seem to get into. I know -- a stereotype, but it is also my own observation of my kids and their friends. My oldest son, who I would have thought would be in favor of this rule, was the most vocal in his belief it was a "dumb" rule that wouldn't work. He felt like no one would follow it, and didn't think it was a big problem anyway.
My eight year old did think it was a problem, and said it happens alot(which makes my heart hurt for him now). He said that he thought it was a good rule, and that while some people wouldn't follow it, the recess teachers could help remind people of it. He felt like most people would follow it if it was made a rule. He felt you should expand it somehow. He used these examples: the same kids are always it in tag, because they are slowest, or the kids who are the worst at tetherball get short turns, or the kids who are picked last for football because they aren't the best. While they aren't told they can't play, they are made to feel bad because they aren't the best. My older kids pointed out that you can't make everyone the best, that there will always be someone who is slower, or not as good. My 8 year old agreed, and then pointed out that everyone has something they are good at, and sometimes they just need it pointed out to them.
My six year didn't think it was a problem in his kindergarten class. He felt everyone always gets along and plays with everyone all the time. I would like to ask the other kindergarteners in his class if they agree with that assessment. Is it because he hasn't experienced it? Or has his teacher really solved the problem of exclusion in her students? If so I really need to find out how she did it. :)
I can recall my own school days, where I felt excluded. There have even been times as an adult where they may not have said"you can't play", but the feeling of exclusion is still the same. Can a teacher eliminate this? Is it right to? Should you interfere? Is this part of their own self-journey of discovering the power, for good and bad, over other people and their feelings? Over their own feelings and actions? Maybe they must experience it first hand to really understand why it is bad, or can they just be told "don't do this". Will they learn if they are just told that it is bad. I am a big believer in learning through hands on experience, learning through play rather than just book learning, or rote learning. Is this just another example of kids being told - do this, learn this, just because.
I have to admit I am torn. I don't like seeing anyone's feelings being hurt, and I don't like seeing any one being excluded or made to feel bad. I feel like this has happened in the past and has helped lead to racism, religious intolerance, sexual intolerance and other practices that should not be acceptable.
On the other hand if kids are given the opportunity to say no, you can't play with me will that give them the empowerment to stand up for themselves later in life? Will they be able to stand up to bullies, or other predators who come along, or will it make them the bullies?
I think I have come up with more questions than answers. I guess I will see if Paley has come up with any of these questions and has any suggestions or answers as I continue her book.
I asked my own kids about their experiences, and how they felt, and if they thought this rule would work. I was suprised at their responses.
My oldest daughter, who is 14, was the one I thought would be the most in favor of a rule like that. I can recall many years of watching her wander alone on the playground, sitting outside of a group of girls who were laughing and talking. It always seemed like she was the odd girl out. The one being told that she couldn't play. I remember both the ache in my heart when I watched her being excluded and her tears she cried when she got excluded. I thought she would be in favor of this rule, but she wasn't. She felt like it would be unfair to make people play with someone they didn't like or thought was too "weird". She didn't think it would be a realistic rule.
My sons -- who are 12, 8 and 6 - I didn't think had ever been excluded. I have never seen them be excluded, and they have never come to me upset about being excluded. I thought perhaps it was a girl thing, and that boys just didn't do those mental games. They always seem more physical, being more apt to get into a tussle rather than the angry, mean words that girls seem to get into. I know -- a stereotype, but it is also my own observation of my kids and their friends. My oldest son, who I would have thought would be in favor of this rule, was the most vocal in his belief it was a "dumb" rule that wouldn't work. He felt like no one would follow it, and didn't think it was a big problem anyway.
My eight year old did think it was a problem, and said it happens alot(which makes my heart hurt for him now). He said that he thought it was a good rule, and that while some people wouldn't follow it, the recess teachers could help remind people of it. He felt like most people would follow it if it was made a rule. He felt you should expand it somehow. He used these examples: the same kids are always it in tag, because they are slowest, or the kids who are the worst at tetherball get short turns, or the kids who are picked last for football because they aren't the best. While they aren't told they can't play, they are made to feel bad because they aren't the best. My older kids pointed out that you can't make everyone the best, that there will always be someone who is slower, or not as good. My 8 year old agreed, and then pointed out that everyone has something they are good at, and sometimes they just need it pointed out to them.
My six year didn't think it was a problem in his kindergarten class. He felt everyone always gets along and plays with everyone all the time. I would like to ask the other kindergarteners in his class if they agree with that assessment. Is it because he hasn't experienced it? Or has his teacher really solved the problem of exclusion in her students? If so I really need to find out how she did it. :)
I can recall my own school days, where I felt excluded. There have even been times as an adult where they may not have said"you can't play", but the feeling of exclusion is still the same. Can a teacher eliminate this? Is it right to? Should you interfere? Is this part of their own self-journey of discovering the power, for good and bad, over other people and their feelings? Over their own feelings and actions? Maybe they must experience it first hand to really understand why it is bad, or can they just be told "don't do this". Will they learn if they are just told that it is bad. I am a big believer in learning through hands on experience, learning through play rather than just book learning, or rote learning. Is this just another example of kids being told - do this, learn this, just because.
I have to admit I am torn. I don't like seeing anyone's feelings being hurt, and I don't like seeing any one being excluded or made to feel bad. I feel like this has happened in the past and has helped lead to racism, religious intolerance, sexual intolerance and other practices that should not be acceptable.
On the other hand if kids are given the opportunity to say no, you can't play with me will that give them the empowerment to stand up for themselves later in life? Will they be able to stand up to bullies, or other predators who come along, or will it make them the bullies?
I think I have come up with more questions than answers. I guess I will see if Paley has come up with any of these questions and has any suggestions or answers as I continue her book.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Thinking and Teaching
The article by Mara Sapon-Shevin "Building a Safe Community for Learning" was great. I really enjoyed reading it and thinking back about different teachers I have had and my kids have had and how they made students feel in their classroom. I hope that I will be able to build a safe community in my classroom. I really like some of the ideas that she discussed and would like to incorporate them in the future.
A couple that really hit home for me were the example of the roll call, the singing, the daily "news and goods", and especially the spotlight child book.
Taking the time during roll call making sure everyone knows that someone will be missed, and is an important member of the community is wonderful. I know in my own experience, one of my sons was having a difficult time with nerves and school, and didn't want to go. At first I kept him home thinking his stomach ache was the flu, but after it kept happening, we had to start exploring other options. His teacher letting him know how important he was to the day to day classroom discussions really made him feel good. I think everyone, no matter how young or old, wants to know they are missed.
Singing -- I cannot sing my way out of a bucket. I have worried about becoming a kindergarten teacher because I can't sing worth a darn. However, I see song as a intergral part of learning at that age, at any age really. It helps to ease transitions, helps in remembering things, and just makes things fun. Now I have another reason -"because it builds a sense of community because we sound better together than we would individually"(p101). It is so true. There is nothing like hearing a group of children singing. They may not hit the right notes, but they are having fun and are too young to be embarrassed about singing yet. If they can do it, I figure I can too.
Another idea that Sapon-Shevin brings up is a variation on show and tell called " News and Goods"(p104). She says the kids go around and take turns telling about something good that happened in their life. Too often in today's society the focus is on the bad. I love that this is a focus on good, on accomplishments, a way to appreciate everyone. While not everyone will have good news everyday, sometimes people will have bad experiences, I like how it is set up to support each other. I hope I can accomplish the environment she talks about, although I think it would sometimes be challenging. I know with my own kids, it is sometimes hard to get them to be supportive of each others accomplishments. When my sixth grade son got his first 100 % on a spelling test, my 3rd grade son's response was "So -- I get those all the time", and my 8th grade daughter's response was " You've never gotten 100% before?!?". It was difficult to get them both to understand it was a huge accomplishment for him, and that everyone has different strengths, is better at different things, and that this was a big achievment for him, and we should be happy for him.
My favorite of her ideas was the Spotlight child book(p108). She gave each child a week - whether it is called Child of the Week, Spotlight Child, Student of the Week, etc., they got to bring in special items to share, maybe have special jobs and tell the class more about themselves. That is pretty standard in many classrooms I have been in. The thing that she did that I think makes this more special was having each child make a page for that student of the week saying"What I like about_________". Then she collects them and turns them into a book to give to each student. I think this is something that kids will cherish for a long time. It is hard sometimes to know what other people like about you, and reading that people like things about you would be a huge boost to anyone's self esteem.
I love reading about great ideas that others have, about things that teachers have tried that have worked well in their classes. I feel like it is better to have examples of good things that have worked, rather than to be constantly faced with things that haven't. I need to start compiling a folder of ideas that I would like to try out.
A couple that really hit home for me were the example of the roll call, the singing, the daily "news and goods", and especially the spotlight child book.
Taking the time during roll call making sure everyone knows that someone will be missed, and is an important member of the community is wonderful. I know in my own experience, one of my sons was having a difficult time with nerves and school, and didn't want to go. At first I kept him home thinking his stomach ache was the flu, but after it kept happening, we had to start exploring other options. His teacher letting him know how important he was to the day to day classroom discussions really made him feel good. I think everyone, no matter how young or old, wants to know they are missed.
Singing -- I cannot sing my way out of a bucket. I have worried about becoming a kindergarten teacher because I can't sing worth a darn. However, I see song as a intergral part of learning at that age, at any age really. It helps to ease transitions, helps in remembering things, and just makes things fun. Now I have another reason -"because it builds a sense of community because we sound better together than we would individually"(p101). It is so true. There is nothing like hearing a group of children singing. They may not hit the right notes, but they are having fun and are too young to be embarrassed about singing yet. If they can do it, I figure I can too.
Another idea that Sapon-Shevin brings up is a variation on show and tell called " News and Goods"(p104). She says the kids go around and take turns telling about something good that happened in their life. Too often in today's society the focus is on the bad. I love that this is a focus on good, on accomplishments, a way to appreciate everyone. While not everyone will have good news everyday, sometimes people will have bad experiences, I like how it is set up to support each other. I hope I can accomplish the environment she talks about, although I think it would sometimes be challenging. I know with my own kids, it is sometimes hard to get them to be supportive of each others accomplishments. When my sixth grade son got his first 100 % on a spelling test, my 3rd grade son's response was "So -- I get those all the time", and my 8th grade daughter's response was " You've never gotten 100% before?!?". It was difficult to get them both to understand it was a huge accomplishment for him, and that everyone has different strengths, is better at different things, and that this was a big achievment for him, and we should be happy for him.
My favorite of her ideas was the Spotlight child book(p108). She gave each child a week - whether it is called Child of the Week, Spotlight Child, Student of the Week, etc., they got to bring in special items to share, maybe have special jobs and tell the class more about themselves. That is pretty standard in many classrooms I have been in. The thing that she did that I think makes this more special was having each child make a page for that student of the week saying"What I like about_________". Then she collects them and turns them into a book to give to each student. I think this is something that kids will cherish for a long time. It is hard sometimes to know what other people like about you, and reading that people like things about you would be a huge boost to anyone's self esteem.
I love reading about great ideas that others have, about things that teachers have tried that have worked well in their classes. I feel like it is better to have examples of good things that have worked, rather than to be constantly faced with things that haven't. I need to start compiling a folder of ideas that I would like to try out.
Friday, April 25, 2008
The classroom environment I would like
This week is about classroom environments. Bill Ayers talks about the things he has in his classrooms to encourage exploration and learning. As I read his descriptions of some of his classrooms, I thought of my childrens' preschool. My three youngest went to a co operative preschool, and I was very involved and loved it. I actually thought about going into early education because I did love it so much, and loved the children so much. I think that is why I would like to teach kindergarten.
He talks about having a paint easle out, and an art area, a sensory area, a cozy book corner with lots of pillows, an area with blocks and other building materials, a dress up/imaginative play area, and a sand or water table. He talks about displaying the childrens' art work. He talks about cooking in the classroom. These are all things that perfectly describe the preschool environment. I think it is because of these things that I loved preschoolers and thought about teaching them. I have never really seen a classroom set up like that for elementary students, and yet he talks about continuing this basic set up, with adjustments, through high school.
In the preschool my kids went to we emphasized learning through play. We didn't have the worksheets and flashcards that some preschools do. We didn't focus on the academic that many parents want today. When I took parents on tours I had to constantly explain to them why we did things this way, and how they translated into academic success in later years. I would tell them that children are only young once, they have playful spirits and learn best at their own pace. That hands on learning sticks longer than rote learning and flashcards or worksheets. Not every child is going to be reading when they enter kindergarten, and that's ok. We had many parents who chose other options because they were conditioned to want a "strong academic" preschool for their child's future success.
Now my children are all past preschool age, and I look at their classrooms, and even the kindergarten classroom is a bare echo of this environment. Sure there are kids' artwork in the hall. Yes, they have a shelf with books on it. There are some math manipulative blocks in the tubs below the window. They pull out the art stuff once a week-- and the older kids sometimes less than that. Many schools have parents who volunteer to be Art Docents and come in to teach a lesson once a month, and for some classes, that is all the art they get.
Cooking in the classroom? They don't even allow homemade treats anymore. They have to be storebought in a sealed package. And with so many allergies, even that is sometimes discouraged. The preschoolers loved cooking. We made all sorts of stuff tied into what we were doing at the time. When we read The Gingerbread Baby we made gingerbread cookies, when we read Stone Soup, we made soup. We had pancake breakfasts, fruit salad, gorp, and muffins. While I think it would be wonderful, I can see the school saying no, for safety reasons, for health reasons, for allergy reasons, for sanitary reasons. It is hard in today's environment to do things like this because people are so afraid of the worst case senario. " What if someone gets food poisoning?" Sad, but true. And cooking is such a great way to tackle math - especially fractions, and culture, and science, and reading, and .. well the list could go on.
I would love to have a classroom environment like the one that Ayers described, like the preschool environment. I just don't know if it is possible today. With so many schools going towards set curriculum -- as Perlstein wrote in Tested -- even a bank teller could teach some of these lessons. I look at my children's classrooms over the years, and think about how they have changed. They have gotten more sterile. When I was young, and even when my daughter was younger, the teachers would change the decorations for each upcoming holiday. No more. More and more holidays are getting transferred to the do not celebrate in school list. There was talk this year at my kids school about Halloween and Thanksgiving celebrations being eliminated. Even day to day classroom decorations have been limited. One of the teachers said it was considered to be a fire hazard to have too much paper on the walls, so they had to limit the amount of posters, art, letters, charts, maps, etc. on their walls to comply with fire safety guidelines.
I like the idea of projects for kids to work on. I think they are wonderful and engaging, and capture the kids natural enthusiasm. I hope to include lots of projects in my curriculum when I am a teacher. I have watched my own kids, and other groups of kids I have worked with get so involved and excited about projects. When I was a Girl Scout Leader, I had a wide variety of girls in my troop; some very book smart, some who struggled in special ed. Every year we would do a project for Thinking Day. This is a special celebration the Girl Scouts have where the girls learn about the world, have special get togethers, and each troop usually does a project to share with the other troops. They each have a country and research food, traditions, geography, dances or songs. The girls all worked together, and did really well, regardless of where they were placed in school.
I hope that I can make a welcoming environment for my students. I had in my head that the things Ayers described were for preschool. Period. After reading that he carried these things through his classrooms, all the way up to college, I would really like to include more of these things in my own classroom.
He talks about having a paint easle out, and an art area, a sensory area, a cozy book corner with lots of pillows, an area with blocks and other building materials, a dress up/imaginative play area, and a sand or water table. He talks about displaying the childrens' art work. He talks about cooking in the classroom. These are all things that perfectly describe the preschool environment. I think it is because of these things that I loved preschoolers and thought about teaching them. I have never really seen a classroom set up like that for elementary students, and yet he talks about continuing this basic set up, with adjustments, through high school.
In the preschool my kids went to we emphasized learning through play. We didn't have the worksheets and flashcards that some preschools do. We didn't focus on the academic that many parents want today. When I took parents on tours I had to constantly explain to them why we did things this way, and how they translated into academic success in later years. I would tell them that children are only young once, they have playful spirits and learn best at their own pace. That hands on learning sticks longer than rote learning and flashcards or worksheets. Not every child is going to be reading when they enter kindergarten, and that's ok. We had many parents who chose other options because they were conditioned to want a "strong academic" preschool for their child's future success.
Now my children are all past preschool age, and I look at their classrooms, and even the kindergarten classroom is a bare echo of this environment. Sure there are kids' artwork in the hall. Yes, they have a shelf with books on it. There are some math manipulative blocks in the tubs below the window. They pull out the art stuff once a week-- and the older kids sometimes less than that. Many schools have parents who volunteer to be Art Docents and come in to teach a lesson once a month, and for some classes, that is all the art they get.
Cooking in the classroom? They don't even allow homemade treats anymore. They have to be storebought in a sealed package. And with so many allergies, even that is sometimes discouraged. The preschoolers loved cooking. We made all sorts of stuff tied into what we were doing at the time. When we read The Gingerbread Baby we made gingerbread cookies, when we read Stone Soup, we made soup. We had pancake breakfasts, fruit salad, gorp, and muffins. While I think it would be wonderful, I can see the school saying no, for safety reasons, for health reasons, for allergy reasons, for sanitary reasons. It is hard in today's environment to do things like this because people are so afraid of the worst case senario. " What if someone gets food poisoning?" Sad, but true. And cooking is such a great way to tackle math - especially fractions, and culture, and science, and reading, and .. well the list could go on.
I would love to have a classroom environment like the one that Ayers described, like the preschool environment. I just don't know if it is possible today. With so many schools going towards set curriculum -- as Perlstein wrote in Tested -- even a bank teller could teach some of these lessons. I look at my children's classrooms over the years, and think about how they have changed. They have gotten more sterile. When I was young, and even when my daughter was younger, the teachers would change the decorations for each upcoming holiday. No more. More and more holidays are getting transferred to the do not celebrate in school list. There was talk this year at my kids school about Halloween and Thanksgiving celebrations being eliminated. Even day to day classroom decorations have been limited. One of the teachers said it was considered to be a fire hazard to have too much paper on the walls, so they had to limit the amount of posters, art, letters, charts, maps, etc. on their walls to comply with fire safety guidelines.
I like the idea of projects for kids to work on. I think they are wonderful and engaging, and capture the kids natural enthusiasm. I hope to include lots of projects in my curriculum when I am a teacher. I have watched my own kids, and other groups of kids I have worked with get so involved and excited about projects. When I was a Girl Scout Leader, I had a wide variety of girls in my troop; some very book smart, some who struggled in special ed. Every year we would do a project for Thinking Day. This is a special celebration the Girl Scouts have where the girls learn about the world, have special get togethers, and each troop usually does a project to share with the other troops. They each have a country and research food, traditions, geography, dances or songs. The girls all worked together, and did really well, regardless of where they were placed in school.
I hope that I can make a welcoming environment for my students. I had in my head that the things Ayers described were for preschool. Period. After reading that he carried these things through his classrooms, all the way up to college, I would really like to include more of these things in my own classroom.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Palmer High School
So we have had quite a few readings about disadvantages that minorities face in education, and then we wrote an educational biography last week as well. The two things combined have had me thinking a great deal about the high school I went to this week.
My parents moved into a neighborhood primarily because of the new high school being built, unfortunately many other families did the same thing, so it was overcrowded before it even opened. ]= While I could walk to this high school in 15 minutes, I spent 20-25 minutes on a bus each way every day to attend Palmer. I don't know if we were sent over there simply because our area was overcrowded and Palmer wasn't, or if they were trying to integrate the school more. At the time it didn't matter to me. I enjoyed my high school years. My parents hated my high school, and my younger brother and sister went to a different high school. They drove them, until they were old enough to drive themselves, just so they wouldn't have to go to Palmer.
Palmer had a diverse population, but it was still segregated. It was self segregated. The hispanics, we called them low riders because of their cars, all hung out at the Vocational Tech building. Their souped up cars parked over there, and they didn't come much to the main building. We had the African American gangs who hung out in the courtyard. I don't know which gangs they belonged to, I wasn't in the know about the politics of gangs, I just know that the smokers had one corner of the courtyard, the cowboys another, and two separate groups of black students divided the other two corners and no one crossed between them. We did have racial tensions.
The main road out front of the school was where everyone cruised on Friday and Saturday night. It was also rumored to be where the hookers hung out, although I don't think I ever saw one. The park across the street had homeless people, and it was rumored to be where the drug dealers were too. We all used to joke that Acacia park was the safest place in town because of all the undercover cops in it. My senior year there was a big fight on Nevada Ave outside the school, between some black students and some hispanic students- no guns, but someone got stabbed. It didn't happen during school hours, and while I was aware of it, it didn't affect me.
Now, I look back at all of this and think OMG! No wonder my parents didn't put my brother and sister in that school. At the time, it was normal. I wasn't afraid of going to school, I wasn't afraid of the other groups or cliques or gangs, I just didn't interact with them, our paths never crossed. I didn't feel scared to go to school every day. I was proud of my high school. I was involved in many extracurricular events.
I had all the honors and advanced placement classes, and the same group of people in all of the classes every year. There were two minorities in our classes - one whose father was African American and her mom was from Germany, the second girl whose father was caucasian and her mother was from Korea. Both of their fathers were retired Air Force, and had met their mothers while stationed overseas, married and brought them back to the USA. Melinda and Rita happened to be two of my best friends. They were minorities, even among the minorites. We were the good kids, we didn't get into trouble, we studied and we wanted to be there. We had the best of the teachers, and equipment. I can remember pulling out microscopes for Biology -- the "good microscopes"-- that were kept locked up. There were other microscopes out. I don't know if other classes used the good ones sometimes too, and I can't remember if we only used them for certain things, and used the regular ones for other things.
We were in a separate little world from the rest of the school. We didn't interact with the other students at all really. Even with our electives and non-academic requirements like PE, we didn't cross over much. Since we only had a couple of free periods, we were still all together for those too.
For us, the tracking, the separation of classes by skill level, or intelligent level, or whatever it is called, was advantageous. But for the other groups? I have never really thought about what happened to them. There were 333 people in my graduating class. I only remember because I was 33rd out of 333, so I just barely made the top 10%, which among my immediate classmates was a big deal. I wonder now how many others didn't graduate. I wonder what happened to those who weren't in the honors track, or what would have happened to them if they had been. How would my life have been different if we were all mixed together.
On one hand I think it was an advantage to be in classes together with the best and brightest, but then I felt dumb in those classes because I wasn't the smartest, ever, among them. I was the bottom of the top. If I had been in mainstream classes with others, would I have had more self esteem? Or would I have been pulled down and rested on my laurells, perhaps not have strived to compete as much?
Before this class I have always been in favor of separating students by ability level, or learning style. I thought it would be good for all involved. If you pull the higher achieving students out, then the ones who are left have a better chance to shine. They are grouped with students who are learning at the same pace, who have a similar learning style. The higher achieving students aren't held back and since they are usually more independent learners they can have a larger class size, therefore making the other classes smaller, which would mean more teacher attention for those other students. It seems to make sense.
But then I read the articles stating that while it helps the middle and upper class, college bound whites, it doesn't help minorities. So then the question becomes, what can you do to help ensure the future of everyone. How to make sure everyone gets the best education possible, the best chance for the future. I don't know. Is it fair to hold back some for the good of the many? Or to run the risk of holding back what may be the brightest of the future generation in the hopes they will help pull everyone else along?
Will the brightest really pull the slower learners along and mentor everyone else, or will they just make the others feel bad about themselves? Make them feel inferior because they don't learn as quickly or in the same way. I remember the taunting and teasing and anger and meanness that came along with the teenage years. I see if happening to a smaller degree in the elementary school, but it is there. The kids that get pulled out for extra help are usually alone on the playground. Is it because they are different to begin with, or because the extra help singles them out as different? Even if they are all in the same classes, will they still self-segregate, like attracting like?
My parents moved into a neighborhood primarily because of the new high school being built, unfortunately many other families did the same thing, so it was overcrowded before it even opened. ]= While I could walk to this high school in 15 minutes, I spent 20-25 minutes on a bus each way every day to attend Palmer. I don't know if we were sent over there simply because our area was overcrowded and Palmer wasn't, or if they were trying to integrate the school more. At the time it didn't matter to me. I enjoyed my high school years. My parents hated my high school, and my younger brother and sister went to a different high school. They drove them, until they were old enough to drive themselves, just so they wouldn't have to go to Palmer.
Palmer had a diverse population, but it was still segregated. It was self segregated. The hispanics, we called them low riders because of their cars, all hung out at the Vocational Tech building. Their souped up cars parked over there, and they didn't come much to the main building. We had the African American gangs who hung out in the courtyard. I don't know which gangs they belonged to, I wasn't in the know about the politics of gangs, I just know that the smokers had one corner of the courtyard, the cowboys another, and two separate groups of black students divided the other two corners and no one crossed between them. We did have racial tensions.
The main road out front of the school was where everyone cruised on Friday and Saturday night. It was also rumored to be where the hookers hung out, although I don't think I ever saw one. The park across the street had homeless people, and it was rumored to be where the drug dealers were too. We all used to joke that Acacia park was the safest place in town because of all the undercover cops in it. My senior year there was a big fight on Nevada Ave outside the school, between some black students and some hispanic students- no guns, but someone got stabbed. It didn't happen during school hours, and while I was aware of it, it didn't affect me.
Now, I look back at all of this and think OMG! No wonder my parents didn't put my brother and sister in that school. At the time, it was normal. I wasn't afraid of going to school, I wasn't afraid of the other groups or cliques or gangs, I just didn't interact with them, our paths never crossed. I didn't feel scared to go to school every day. I was proud of my high school. I was involved in many extracurricular events.
I had all the honors and advanced placement classes, and the same group of people in all of the classes every year. There were two minorities in our classes - one whose father was African American and her mom was from Germany, the second girl whose father was caucasian and her mother was from Korea. Both of their fathers were retired Air Force, and had met their mothers while stationed overseas, married and brought them back to the USA. Melinda and Rita happened to be two of my best friends. They were minorities, even among the minorites. We were the good kids, we didn't get into trouble, we studied and we wanted to be there. We had the best of the teachers, and equipment. I can remember pulling out microscopes for Biology -- the "good microscopes"-- that were kept locked up. There were other microscopes out. I don't know if other classes used the good ones sometimes too, and I can't remember if we only used them for certain things, and used the regular ones for other things.
We were in a separate little world from the rest of the school. We didn't interact with the other students at all really. Even with our electives and non-academic requirements like PE, we didn't cross over much. Since we only had a couple of free periods, we were still all together for those too.
For us, the tracking, the separation of classes by skill level, or intelligent level, or whatever it is called, was advantageous. But for the other groups? I have never really thought about what happened to them. There were 333 people in my graduating class. I only remember because I was 33rd out of 333, so I just barely made the top 10%, which among my immediate classmates was a big deal. I wonder now how many others didn't graduate. I wonder what happened to those who weren't in the honors track, or what would have happened to them if they had been. How would my life have been different if we were all mixed together.
On one hand I think it was an advantage to be in classes together with the best and brightest, but then I felt dumb in those classes because I wasn't the smartest, ever, among them. I was the bottom of the top. If I had been in mainstream classes with others, would I have had more self esteem? Or would I have been pulled down and rested on my laurells, perhaps not have strived to compete as much?
Before this class I have always been in favor of separating students by ability level, or learning style. I thought it would be good for all involved. If you pull the higher achieving students out, then the ones who are left have a better chance to shine. They are grouped with students who are learning at the same pace, who have a similar learning style. The higher achieving students aren't held back and since they are usually more independent learners they can have a larger class size, therefore making the other classes smaller, which would mean more teacher attention for those other students. It seems to make sense.
But then I read the articles stating that while it helps the middle and upper class, college bound whites, it doesn't help minorities. So then the question becomes, what can you do to help ensure the future of everyone. How to make sure everyone gets the best education possible, the best chance for the future. I don't know. Is it fair to hold back some for the good of the many? Or to run the risk of holding back what may be the brightest of the future generation in the hopes they will help pull everyone else along?
Will the brightest really pull the slower learners along and mentor everyone else, or will they just make the others feel bad about themselves? Make them feel inferior because they don't learn as quickly or in the same way. I remember the taunting and teasing and anger and meanness that came along with the teenage years. I see if happening to a smaller degree in the elementary school, but it is there. The kids that get pulled out for extra help are usually alone on the playground. Is it because they are different to begin with, or because the extra help singles them out as different? Even if they are all in the same classes, will they still self-segregate, like attracting like?
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Myth 5 revisited
April 12, 2008
Revisiting Myth 5 - Good Teachers begin with the curriculum they are given and find clever ways to enhance it . I have been thinking about this one all week, and I think I have to disagree with it. I have thought back over my own teachers and the ones that really stood out for me. I made a top ten list of my favorite teachers. It is funny to me that 4 of them I had when I was in ninth grade. At the time I didn’t think that year was anything spectacular, but looking back it turned out to be a real turning point for me. I was at Horace Mann Junior High. At the time I had no idea who Horace Mann was, and when I asked, didn’t really understand what he did to deserve to have a school named after him. Maybe his name on the building did something to inspire the teachers there. Of course the teachers I had in seventh and eighth grade didn’t really do anything special that has stuck in my head.
The four teachers I had in ninth grade that have stuck in my head were Mrs. Ferrarini- Geometry, Mrs. Sutton – English, Mrs. Ryan – Civics, and Mr. Crumb – Science. I feel like each of these teachers took what was outlined for them, then built upon it, went above and beyond what would be standard. Because of them, I think they really helped forge who I am today.
Mrs. Ferrarini was a crazy, brave woman, who thought Geometry was fun, and tried to make it fun for everyone else. I can still hear her little song for A squared plus B squared equals C squared. And the copy dot flip dance when dividing fractions. She was fighting cancer that year, and going through chemo therapy, and losing all her hair. As a fourteen year old girl, the thought of losing my hair was unimaginable. I would have stayed home and never left my room. Mrs. Ferrarini showed up every day, with loud colored head scarves covering her patchy scalp, and never acted like it was any big deal, or that there were any worries in her life at all. Again, as an adult looking back, I have no idea how she did it. I know now all the pain, fear, sickness and uncertainty that goes along with cancer and chemo, but at the time I was blissfully unaware of her struggles. Even though I was terrible at proofs – I couldn’t prove my way out of a paper bag with a pair of scissors—I still remember many of the formulas she taught. Her class was never boring, and she taught us many “tricks” for remembering things. I had another teacher who said that tricks and songs were not the “real” way to learn. All I know is that 30 years later I can still figure out the area of a square.
Mrs. Sutton was my English teacher. Her encouragement of my writing gave me a sense of pride and a love of literature. I had always loved reading, but she introduced us to many “classics”, like Shakespeare, Thoreau, Hardy and others. She also told us that just because a book wasn’t a “classic” didn’t mean you couldn’t enjoy it. While I can’t think of any specific things that she did that went above and beyond, her quiet confidence in me is still with me many years later.
Mrs. Ryan taught Civics. Prior to ninth grade I was a quiet, insecure girl, who tried to blend into the walls and stay out of people’s way. In fourth quarter of ninth grade the three Civics classes came together in what they called “Mock Congress”. We chose parties, elected majority and minority leaders, and a Speaker of the House. It was one of the scariest things I ever did, but I ran for Speaker of the House. I thought there was no chance I would win, since I was running against a member of the popular click. Mrs. Ryan told me it didn’t matter, to base my speech on my experience, and stay away from the popularity issues. I did, and was so surprised when I won. We spent the quarter writing pretend bills, debating them in committees, introducing them on the House floor, and voting them into law, or defeating them if they didn’t get enough votes. While many would say( and did) that spending a whole quarter pretending to be the House of Representatives was a waste of time that could be spent studying real stuff, it was a fun learning experience for all of us. The actual doing of what Congress does really made it clear, and made it more real for all of us. Mrs. Ryan and her cohorts could have spent the quarter lecturing and testing us about what the House and Senate did, sticking with the district basic curriculum, but it wouldn’t have been as fun, wouldn’t have been as meaningful, and wouldn’t have stuck with us so long. I have run for several offices now, Chair of the Co-op Preschool where my children went, Vice President of the PTO, Manager when I was working, participated in the two Snohomish School District Bond elections, and other smaller political and social offices. I don’t think I ever would have had the courage to do any of that, or the belief that what I did could make a difference, without having participated in our “Mock Congress”.
Mr. Crumb was the head of the science department. His great love was Earth Science. He did all the cool science stuff that makes you go wow, and instilled his students, or at least me, with a love of science. Before that science was ok, but nothing I really got excited about. I don’t remember doing science in elementary school at all. For Spring break that year he took a group of students to the Grand Canyon. I was one of the lucky 30 to go. I spent many months attending car washes, selling candy and other stuff to everyone I could find to make enough money to go. I had never gone camping before, and the idea of hiking and camping in the Grand Canyon –without parents- was exciting. We had trip homework. We had to walk three miles every day, we had to practice hiking with a pack, we had to make sure our pack didn’t weigh too much. We had to buy good hiking boots; I still remember spending $103 for my boots. My mother was flabbergasted at how much they were. I earned the money on my own to buy them, and then wore them every day for months to break them in. I lovingly coated them over and over with waterproofing spray. I had these boots for years – they went hiking across England with me, hiking in Mexico, all over Colorado, New Mexico, Washington and Montana. I finally got rid of them a few years ago, when my feet grew out of them after my third kid. They still looked pretty good. But I digress again. We took a bus from Colorado to Arizona. We then spent 6 days hiking all the way to the bottom of the Grand Canyon with heavy packs on our backs. We talked about how the canyon was formed, we looked at the layers which indicated the passing of time as the sand and soil were laid down and turned into sedimentary rocks. We found a few fossils, had a run in with a rattle snake, and cooked marshmallows over the campfire while we tended our blisters. My major in college was Geology, and I am a total science geek through and through. I don’t think I would have had the same appreciation for rocks, science or the great outdoors if I had just learned earth science straight out of the textbook with nothing more.
So while Ayers says the good teachers don’t have to build upon the curriculum they are given, I think that good teachers do go above and beyond what the basics are. Or at least find a unique hands on way to help their students learn and remember what they are teaching. Perhaps my teachers didn’t vary from the curriculum them were given, perhaps it was all in the presentation, or perhaps I was just at a good age to soak in the way these teachers were teaching that year, but for me, they made a difference.
Revisiting Myth 5 - Good Teachers begin with the curriculum they are given and find clever ways to enhance it . I have been thinking about this one all week, and I think I have to disagree with it. I have thought back over my own teachers and the ones that really stood out for me. I made a top ten list of my favorite teachers. It is funny to me that 4 of them I had when I was in ninth grade. At the time I didn’t think that year was anything spectacular, but looking back it turned out to be a real turning point for me. I was at Horace Mann Junior High. At the time I had no idea who Horace Mann was, and when I asked, didn’t really understand what he did to deserve to have a school named after him. Maybe his name on the building did something to inspire the teachers there. Of course the teachers I had in seventh and eighth grade didn’t really do anything special that has stuck in my head.
The four teachers I had in ninth grade that have stuck in my head were Mrs. Ferrarini- Geometry, Mrs. Sutton – English, Mrs. Ryan – Civics, and Mr. Crumb – Science. I feel like each of these teachers took what was outlined for them, then built upon it, went above and beyond what would be standard. Because of them, I think they really helped forge who I am today.
Mrs. Ferrarini was a crazy, brave woman, who thought Geometry was fun, and tried to make it fun for everyone else. I can still hear her little song for A squared plus B squared equals C squared. And the copy dot flip dance when dividing fractions. She was fighting cancer that year, and going through chemo therapy, and losing all her hair. As a fourteen year old girl, the thought of losing my hair was unimaginable. I would have stayed home and never left my room. Mrs. Ferrarini showed up every day, with loud colored head scarves covering her patchy scalp, and never acted like it was any big deal, or that there were any worries in her life at all. Again, as an adult looking back, I have no idea how she did it. I know now all the pain, fear, sickness and uncertainty that goes along with cancer and chemo, but at the time I was blissfully unaware of her struggles. Even though I was terrible at proofs – I couldn’t prove my way out of a paper bag with a pair of scissors—I still remember many of the formulas she taught. Her class was never boring, and she taught us many “tricks” for remembering things. I had another teacher who said that tricks and songs were not the “real” way to learn. All I know is that 30 years later I can still figure out the area of a square.
Mrs. Sutton was my English teacher. Her encouragement of my writing gave me a sense of pride and a love of literature. I had always loved reading, but she introduced us to many “classics”, like Shakespeare, Thoreau, Hardy and others. She also told us that just because a book wasn’t a “classic” didn’t mean you couldn’t enjoy it. While I can’t think of any specific things that she did that went above and beyond, her quiet confidence in me is still with me many years later.
Mrs. Ryan taught Civics. Prior to ninth grade I was a quiet, insecure girl, who tried to blend into the walls and stay out of people’s way. In fourth quarter of ninth grade the three Civics classes came together in what they called “Mock Congress”. We chose parties, elected majority and minority leaders, and a Speaker of the House. It was one of the scariest things I ever did, but I ran for Speaker of the House. I thought there was no chance I would win, since I was running against a member of the popular click. Mrs. Ryan told me it didn’t matter, to base my speech on my experience, and stay away from the popularity issues. I did, and was so surprised when I won. We spent the quarter writing pretend bills, debating them in committees, introducing them on the House floor, and voting them into law, or defeating them if they didn’t get enough votes. While many would say( and did) that spending a whole quarter pretending to be the House of Representatives was a waste of time that could be spent studying real stuff, it was a fun learning experience for all of us. The actual doing of what Congress does really made it clear, and made it more real for all of us. Mrs. Ryan and her cohorts could have spent the quarter lecturing and testing us about what the House and Senate did, sticking with the district basic curriculum, but it wouldn’t have been as fun, wouldn’t have been as meaningful, and wouldn’t have stuck with us so long. I have run for several offices now, Chair of the Co-op Preschool where my children went, Vice President of the PTO, Manager when I was working, participated in the two Snohomish School District Bond elections, and other smaller political and social offices. I don’t think I ever would have had the courage to do any of that, or the belief that what I did could make a difference, without having participated in our “Mock Congress”.
Mr. Crumb was the head of the science department. His great love was Earth Science. He did all the cool science stuff that makes you go wow, and instilled his students, or at least me, with a love of science. Before that science was ok, but nothing I really got excited about. I don’t remember doing science in elementary school at all. For Spring break that year he took a group of students to the Grand Canyon. I was one of the lucky 30 to go. I spent many months attending car washes, selling candy and other stuff to everyone I could find to make enough money to go. I had never gone camping before, and the idea of hiking and camping in the Grand Canyon –without parents- was exciting. We had trip homework. We had to walk three miles every day, we had to practice hiking with a pack, we had to make sure our pack didn’t weigh too much. We had to buy good hiking boots; I still remember spending $103 for my boots. My mother was flabbergasted at how much they were. I earned the money on my own to buy them, and then wore them every day for months to break them in. I lovingly coated them over and over with waterproofing spray. I had these boots for years – they went hiking across England with me, hiking in Mexico, all over Colorado, New Mexico, Washington and Montana. I finally got rid of them a few years ago, when my feet grew out of them after my third kid. They still looked pretty good. But I digress again. We took a bus from Colorado to Arizona. We then spent 6 days hiking all the way to the bottom of the Grand Canyon with heavy packs on our backs. We talked about how the canyon was formed, we looked at the layers which indicated the passing of time as the sand and soil were laid down and turned into sedimentary rocks. We found a few fossils, had a run in with a rattle snake, and cooked marshmallows over the campfire while we tended our blisters. My major in college was Geology, and I am a total science geek through and through. I don’t think I would have had the same appreciation for rocks, science or the great outdoors if I had just learned earth science straight out of the textbook with nothing more.
So while Ayers says the good teachers don’t have to build upon the curriculum they are given, I think that good teachers do go above and beyond what the basics are. Or at least find a unique hands on way to help their students learn and remember what they are teaching. Perhaps my teachers didn’t vary from the curriculum them were given, perhaps it was all in the presentation, or perhaps I was just at a good age to soak in the way these teachers were teaching that year, but for me, they made a difference.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Twelve Myths of Teaching
As I read the 12 myths of teaching in Ayers I found myself nodding at some, and wiping my brow in relief at others. Some of these I have seen myself working in my own kid's classrooms, or have learned from being a parent, but it is always reassuring to see it from someone else as well.
- Myth 1 - Good classroom management is an essential step toward becoming a teacher- This was a "whew" for me. One of the examples he used was the "don't smile until Christmas" philosophy. That is so totally not me. I have seen teachers at both ends of the spectrum. I have enjoyed them both, and so have the kids. I think it is important for kids to have many different styles of teaching. While I don't think my own style will be as chaotic as one teacher I know at the far end of the chaotic spectrum, I am not going to be the most rigid and organized I have ever come across either. I like organization, but I also think learning should be fun, and that the classroom should be comfortable for the kids.
- Myth 2 - Teachers learn to teach in colleges of education- I think you learn every day how to be a teacher, and you started when you were a baby. You absorb parts of every teacher you have ever had, from your parents to your college professors. I think my own children may have been my greatest teachers in this path I have chosen. I have had to learn many different ways to teach each of them every day. None of them learn the same way I do, or the same way as each other. I joke that as soon as I figure out how to teach them something, they change all the rules and I have to learn a new way.
- Myth 3-Good Teachers are always fun- This was another whew for me. I am a little too serious of a person to always be fun. I do think learning should be fun, but I am by no means a stand up comic.
- Myth 4- Good Teachers always know the materials- Another whew. While I consider myself a well educated, intelligent person, I,in no way, think I know everything. I had images of myself cramming the night before a lesson, like when I was in college the night before exams. One thing that I have learned from a teacher I am working with this year is that it is ok to admit you are wrong and you make mistakes in class. She was working a math problem on the overhead, and got to the end and realized it didn't match the answer in the book. One of her kids pointed out she had multiplied something wrong earlier on. She laughed it off, said she sure did, thanks for catching it, and this was a good reason why everyone needs to double check their work. I have a tendency to get defensive and embarrassed when I make mistakes, and I am too much of a perfectionist to handle mistakes I make well. Watching her handle this really gave me some thing to strive for when I make mistakes.
- Myth 5- Good Teachers begin with the curriculum they are given and find clever ways to enhance it- This is one that I thought was true. I am not sure I am ready to give up on this one. I will have to ponder this one some more, and watch the teachers I work with to see how I feel about it. My gut tells me that it is true, but so far I have agreed with his myths. hmmm....
- Myth 6- Teachers are good performers - Another whew. I am a pretty shy person most of the time, and don't see myself as a center stage person, so reading this made me feel better about the future in the classroom.
- Myth 7- Good Teachers treat all students alike- This is one I found myself nodding as I read it. I have four kids, and I entered into parenthood thinking I would treat my children equally. I found that each has different needs at different times, and that it is okay to spend extra time with one while they need it. In the long run, it is more important that they all feel loved.
- Myth 8- Students today are different from ever before - I agreed with his arguement on this one too. While each decade may bring changes in focus of education, or new challenges in environmental impacts, children are children.
- Myth 9- Good Teaching can be measured by how well students do on tests- I know that this one is false. Many kids do poorly on tests because of nerves, or time or language or attention constraints. Unfortunately, we are a very test centered society. There is alot of emphasis on tests and their scores. As a future teacher it is something I need to come to grips with.
- Myth 10- A Good teacher knows what is going on in the classroom - While a teacher may know some of the things that are going on in their classroom, no one is able to see, hear, or know everything. That is an impossibility. As Ayers said, even when a teacher thinks she knows what happened, there may be 30 interpretations of what happened. The best you can do is try to keep your eyes, ears and mind open at all times.
- Myth 11-All Children are above average -I admit this one has me a bit baffled when I read his explanation. I immediately thought, well of course not- the definition of average is some above and some below. His arguement about there being no such thing as an"ideal third grader" hasn't really sunk in fully to me either. I need to ponder this one some more as well.
- Myth 12- Kids today are worse than ever before - This is another myth I found myself nodding over as well. I loved his quote from Socrates. " The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority, they show disrespect for adults, and love to talk rather than work or exercise. They no longer rise when adults enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter in front of company, gobble down food at the table, and intimidate their teachers." The fact that it was written 2,400 years ago shows that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
The first day of class -April 2008
My first class in the Teacher Certification program was last night. I have to admit to a small case of nerves, coupled with excitement. It is strange being back in school after so long away. I took American history the past two quarters at EVCC, which helped ease the transition, I think. It was exciting to be in a group of people who share the same goals and outlook on life.
One of the first slides that was put up was very thought provoking. It listed the lenses to view children and education through: developmental, psychological, pedagogical, politically, historical, social, economic, cultural, and ethical/moral. I found myself nodding at many of them because they are things I have seen in classrooms and with kids I know. I have been thinking more about how much and how little control a teacher has over their classroom. On the one hand they are with the kids in their class for so many hours each day, 5 days a week, 9 months out of the year. In my own children I see how their views, habits, actions are influenced by their teacher’s views, thoughts and actions. It is an amazing amount of power invested in a single person. I can remember teachers I had, and things they said to me that are still with me 30 years later. It is a daunting thought that you can have so much influence and that you can make such a difference in a child’s life -- if it is done the right way. It is doubly daunting that it is so easy to misinterpret something and possibly cause much damage to a child unintentionally.
On the other hand, despite the amount of time spent with their students each day, there is also a great deal that is out of their control. I am aware of all the district, state and federal requirements that teachers must follow. I am torn about whether these things are needed or not. By having these requirements, the goal is that every child, no matter where they live, no matter what their background, they should receive the same basic education. It sounds good in theory. In practice, it is much more difficult to enact. There are too many variables in children for it to be easy to follow through on.
April 2, 2008
Last night I started reading William Ayers book To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher. One thing that jumped out at me was the paragraph about being asked why you want to be a teacher, with the implication being that it is beneath your skill or intelligence. That really hit home for me because that is exactly what my father’s reaction was. Especially when I told him my ideal age to teach would be kindergarten. His response was something like “why can’t you at least teach high school and put your brains and degree to use.” He also doesn’t understand why I would work somewhere that doesn’t pay as well as much as I could be making elsewhere, or what the appeal of working with young children are. All you do is “ talk baby talk and wipe noses all day” .
I don’t know that I will ever be able to sway his opinion of teachers and schools. He is very negative about his view of both. He feels that they are not part of the real world. He argues that teachers pay should be tied to their students test scores, and that tenure should be done away with all together, and that the parents should pay for their own children’s education rather than his taxes paying for it. I love my father, I respect my father, and disagree with him on just about every political issue there is. I tease him that he is so far to the right that he is in danger of circling back around the left. I am unsure of how many of his comments he really believes, and how many he just tosses out there to get my sister and I stirred up and debating with him. I suspect the latter in some instances, but the very fact that he tosses some of these comments out there is evidence that people are thinking about them.
When my sister, brother and I were young, of course he didn’t feel that taxpayers shouldn’t pay for everyone’s education. He benefited from that, as I have pointed out to him. I have also pointed out that it is in his best interest to have a well educated youth because their taxes will be supporting him in his old age, and they will become the doctors, nurses, bankers, shop keepers and upstanding society members he will be relying on in the years to come. The money issue is a definite problem in schools. It is hard to run a school without the proper funds.
My own children’s school district, Snohomish, just had a bond fail. I was the citizen representative for our school, and so I coordinated parents from our school to send postcards, make phone calls, educate and encourage people to vote. It was very frustrating when it got 57% of the vote, yet it still failed because it didn’t get the super majority needed to pass. We were asking for money to build new schools and update some old ones, improve technology and set up a fund for capital repairs (roofs,etc). I don’t know if I have the energy –both physically and emotionally, to start all over and try again, and I am a small cog in the machine to get this passed. I can imagine what the large cogs are going through. We have to try again, but how to convince people it is important. We have a middle school that was built for 500, currently has 850 and is projected to hold over 1200 in 3-4 years, just based on the current students in the district. It is obvious that we need to do something, yet no one wants to part with their money to support this.
People complain about the test scores not improving enough, but don’t realize that the physical comforts of the school, the environment of the school and the safety of the school is all part of the students being able to learn. Overcrowding of schools is something that needs to be dealt with.
But I digress.
One of the first slides that was put up was very thought provoking. It listed the lenses to view children and education through: developmental, psychological, pedagogical, politically, historical, social, economic, cultural, and ethical/moral. I found myself nodding at many of them because they are things I have seen in classrooms and with kids I know. I have been thinking more about how much and how little control a teacher has over their classroom. On the one hand they are with the kids in their class for so many hours each day, 5 days a week, 9 months out of the year. In my own children I see how their views, habits, actions are influenced by their teacher’s views, thoughts and actions. It is an amazing amount of power invested in a single person. I can remember teachers I had, and things they said to me that are still with me 30 years later. It is a daunting thought that you can have so much influence and that you can make such a difference in a child’s life -- if it is done the right way. It is doubly daunting that it is so easy to misinterpret something and possibly cause much damage to a child unintentionally.
On the other hand, despite the amount of time spent with their students each day, there is also a great deal that is out of their control. I am aware of all the district, state and federal requirements that teachers must follow. I am torn about whether these things are needed or not. By having these requirements, the goal is that every child, no matter where they live, no matter what their background, they should receive the same basic education. It sounds good in theory. In practice, it is much more difficult to enact. There are too many variables in children for it to be easy to follow through on.
April 2, 2008
Last night I started reading William Ayers book To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher. One thing that jumped out at me was the paragraph about being asked why you want to be a teacher, with the implication being that it is beneath your skill or intelligence. That really hit home for me because that is exactly what my father’s reaction was. Especially when I told him my ideal age to teach would be kindergarten. His response was something like “why can’t you at least teach high school and put your brains and degree to use.” He also doesn’t understand why I would work somewhere that doesn’t pay as well as much as I could be making elsewhere, or what the appeal of working with young children are. All you do is “ talk baby talk and wipe noses all day” .
I don’t know that I will ever be able to sway his opinion of teachers and schools. He is very negative about his view of both. He feels that they are not part of the real world. He argues that teachers pay should be tied to their students test scores, and that tenure should be done away with all together, and that the parents should pay for their own children’s education rather than his taxes paying for it. I love my father, I respect my father, and disagree with him on just about every political issue there is. I tease him that he is so far to the right that he is in danger of circling back around the left. I am unsure of how many of his comments he really believes, and how many he just tosses out there to get my sister and I stirred up and debating with him. I suspect the latter in some instances, but the very fact that he tosses some of these comments out there is evidence that people are thinking about them.
When my sister, brother and I were young, of course he didn’t feel that taxpayers shouldn’t pay for everyone’s education. He benefited from that, as I have pointed out to him. I have also pointed out that it is in his best interest to have a well educated youth because their taxes will be supporting him in his old age, and they will become the doctors, nurses, bankers, shop keepers and upstanding society members he will be relying on in the years to come. The money issue is a definite problem in schools. It is hard to run a school without the proper funds.
My own children’s school district, Snohomish, just had a bond fail. I was the citizen representative for our school, and so I coordinated parents from our school to send postcards, make phone calls, educate and encourage people to vote. It was very frustrating when it got 57% of the vote, yet it still failed because it didn’t get the super majority needed to pass. We were asking for money to build new schools and update some old ones, improve technology and set up a fund for capital repairs (roofs,etc). I don’t know if I have the energy –both physically and emotionally, to start all over and try again, and I am a small cog in the machine to get this passed. I can imagine what the large cogs are going through. We have to try again, but how to convince people it is important. We have a middle school that was built for 500, currently has 850 and is projected to hold over 1200 in 3-4 years, just based on the current students in the district. It is obvious that we need to do something, yet no one wants to part with their money to support this.
People complain about the test scores not improving enough, but don’t realize that the physical comforts of the school, the environment of the school and the safety of the school is all part of the students being able to learn. Overcrowding of schools is something that needs to be dealt with.
But I digress.
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