Blog Post #11 3 things that stuck.

Johnathan Kozol explores dispirates and equalities in the American education system, focusing on poorer areas often populated by Black and Hispanic Students. In his findings and research he conducted an intestine study over five years, visiting over sixty schools. What stood out to me and felt morally wrong was the consistent pattern  schools with predominantly Black or Hispanic student populations were significantly underfunded. These students were not being given the same access to enrichment opportunities as those in more predominantly white districts. Which creates an inequality in education. These schools didn’t have programs like art and music. Despite their frustrations and complaints, nothing changed, largely because of the neglect in the school system. Kozol didn’t just write about these issues he visited classrooms, listened to students, and used his platform to speak out about what he witnessed.

It said in Sleeter’s passage that Black history was rarely discussed in class and students felt like teachers avoided the discussions of race and racism out of fear Black students would react out of anger and get violent and feared these students. I thought this was crazy from a future educator's standpoint who is supposed to be the role model  for every student in the classroom. I know it was a different time period but still these teachers who are supposed to be guides to their students through life and education can’t even acknowledge their students' culture without having to be fearsome of how they would react when brung up.

In shalaby’s troublemakers kids who don’t follow the expected rules or routines of the traditional school system whether that’s sitting still for long periods, learning in a specific way, or staying quiet and obedient are often labeled as “troublemakers.” I thought this  label can be unfair, because it doesn’t always mean the student is misbehaving on purpose. Sometimes, they just learn differently, need more support, or express themselves in nontraditional ways. Unfortunately the school system isn’t always designed to recognize or support different learning styles, especially for students from marginalized backgrounds. As a result these kids are often misunderstood, disciplined more and excluded from positive opportunities, which can affect their confidence, motivation to keep going to school with this environment, and future success

Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education+ The Trevor Project's guide, Being an Ally to Transgender

Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education main point and argument is that All students need a safe and supportive school environment to progress academically and developmentally. Their main keys of tackling this problem and strategies include. Fostering inclusion and safety for all students in schools. Teachers and administrators need to create a safe discrimination-free environment for all students including: Sex,Sexual Orientation, Gender identity, Gender expression. The Rhode Island Department realizes they need to follow state and federal  laws relating to bullying,harassment,discrimination behaviors. Legal framework and guidelines they use to ensure this is referring to the Federal civil rights of 1964 which prohibited not only race but sex,religion,national origin,  In 2016 Federal Guidance U.S. Departments of Justice & Education Issued to support transgender students' rights in schools:  Schools are required and  must respond promptly to sex-based harassment, including harassment based on Gender identity Transgender status Gender transition Schools need to treat students in accordance with their gender identity, even if school records show a different sex. With this need low enacted teachers now need to allow access to sex-segregated activities and facilities (e.g., bathrooms, sports) based on gender identity. To protect the privacy and safety of the students, If a student has legally changed their name, school records must reflect the legal name. If not, schools should use the student’s preferred even without legal documentation. Now with Confidentiality of Information, such as: transgender status legal name Gender assigned at birth, may be considered confidential medical information. It’s also imperative that staff and other administration doesn’t disclose this important information to parents,other staff,other students. In Fact disclosure without consent may violate laws like FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act).

 The Trevor Project's guide, Being an Ally to Transgender and Nonbinary Youth, offers comprehensive insights into understanding and supporting transgender and nonbinary young people. The guide emphasizes that allyship involves continuous learning, respect, to foster safe and non discriminative environments.​ The guide’s purpose is to get staff and educators to do better and be more accepting and supportive  to learning about it even if you make mistakes. It talks about how gender identity can change over time, and is not necessarily tied to sex. It also touches on respectful communication, including the use of correct names, pronouns, to those students who identify differently. It mentions the right way to avoid personal questions and space about such topics such as transgender or nonbinary person's body, medical history. The guide’s purpose is to teach students that educating themselves and others, allies can create environments where these individuals feel seen, respected, and valued. It’s a problem in schools and outside with transgenders and nonbinary youth feeling oppressed and not included.  By posting this guide it proves that we need to recognize that gender identity is personal and can evolve over time and handle this dilemma with care because educators don’t want to negatively affect students.

Link to learn how to support more 

Tips to Make classroom more gender inclusive 

Questions for Dr. Sidorkin

 Questions about AI

What role do you think AI can play in supporting school staff members in administrative tasks (like grading, course planning, etc and will this impact the quality of education

What role do you see for AI in fostering collaboration among students, particularly homeschooled or hybrid learning environments?

How do faculty and students feel about the increasing presence of AI in educational environments? Is there resistance or excitement?

How can Colleges balance the use of AI tools with the need to preserve true academic success and prevent potential misuse, such as cheating or plagiarism?

Literacy with an Attitude by Finn

Argument 

Across the preface Finn asks what powerful literacy is and why and why it's beneficial for all human beings. He then continues and states that if the wealthy get powerful literacy nothing will be different but if the poor people receive the powerful literacy they can make a change if they choose to soak it up. He states that to exist in a higher quality and  world with social justice, the poor and wealthy are empowered through powerful literacy and empowering education. He ensures that the citizens who belong to the working class that have been provided with powerful literacy and quality education can produce change through their perfectiveness in order to face struggle with inequality and injustice. He is prone to compare the situation against injustice and inequality to the past like colonial times in the case of democracy or communist organizers after world war 2. He feels that in the United states,education is structured and along social class and economic lines among the working class and the upper class or high earners. He says and doesn’t deny the truth that schools are trying to provide equal opportunities and not reaching out to their students in significant ways that will break the mold. He describes the disparity between yearning literacy to the upper class will not be effective or this literacy is oftentimes taught in school to match the higher class's values. While the worth and experiences of working-class children are devalued and  irrelevant. He also makes remarks on how literacy is usually taught in a manner that does not put any respect on the experienced or cultural knowledge that the working-class children already have to contribute to school. If the teachers  teach powerful literacy to the working class, things will be different. Which means that if the working class are provided with this empowering literacy they will have the knowledge and motivation to achieve high-level jobs and positions in professions and employment. Finnis central argument: that working-class children are often taught a "working-class" form of literacy which keeps them in positions of subordination in society. They never achieve their potential and think out of the box to bring about change and chase hard working high places careers, if they don't receive a powerful education. Without this “powerful literacy” change of the system will never occur and things will remain the same,Finn explains that education can give children the power to change the world around them. Finn is demanding a change of thought in relation to literacy in education. He argues that schools should not merely look to deliver a normative model of literacy, but should ensure that all students, and particularly those from the working-clas

Aria By Richard Rodriguez

 Aria by Richard Rodriguez

Argument/Position

Aria is about a boy named Richard who grew up with immigrant parents and wrote about his experiences as a kid who spoke Spanish at home compared to at school in a public environment where English is the dominant language. In this passage he talks about the challenges he faces mixing the two worlds together at home and in education and in schools. Since he never heard Spanish spoken in school only at home he never really talked and was shy and would ignore the teachers since he didn’t know english. Him and his older sister spent a year being really shy and timid and not speaking in class until the nun’s at his school contacted his parents and told him about their behavior. Since Richard and his sister didn’t speak English at home the Nun encouraged his parents to speak and learn Spanish at home sometime. His parents agreed and it became a game after dinner to learn English. They struggled to learn and got made fun of with their pronounciations. Richard opened up and stated that he needed a full year of extra attention. One day Richard came home and his parents were speaking Spanish and then when he entered the room they changed to english. They made Richard feel like he didn’t have a safe place anymore with his brothers and sisters now speaking English in the house also.The family became more assimilated. Finally this pushed him to learn english and one day he had the courage to speak up in class and speak english and the class understood him. Up until this point Richard never felt like he belonged and he was an American citizen. He acknowledges that while this transition led to greater public success, it also created a distance between him and his family's traditional values and language. His family has changed, still a loving family but values have shifted and highlighted their individual separateness. His parents got more confidence and even started talking to people on their block and set up a telephone in the house for communication. The word gringo had less meaning to his parents now after time adapting. As time passed and Richard and his siblings learned more and more English his house became quiet. Often as his parents had a difficult time becoming fluent and understanding the children. At one point after he learned English, old Spanish words lost their sense of belonging and Richard didn’t even know how to address his parents. He said the need to say papa and mama  he used to say became unnecessary and he would often try to get their attention by eye contact. These painful reminders that revealed how much his life has changed since learning english. His mother tried to question him and have a connection through small talk with his english. His father even though he tried less English, he grew to be a quiet man or a man of few words. That in english ricard said he only says his dad conveys his words in spanish and he couldn't communicate with the public yet foreign language to him. Richard challenges the notion  through his writing that maintaining one's native language within the educational system is always beneficial. Throughout his essay he reflects on the delicate balance/line between preserving cultural heritage and embracing the cultural norms of the dominant society.​

Link to More Info On Richard

Aria Full essay

Trouble Makers Shalaby

 

Quotes 

This week's blog post is going to be about “trouble makers” Shalaby speaks about disciplining students in classrooms with forms of punishment.She later talks about how these forms of punishments and timeouts are taking time out of their academic learning and prohibiting them having a good attitude towards education. It also questions the way students address troublemakers and students who act out. The reader gets a glimpse into the personal and societal struggles that drive activism in the region.Shalaby speaks on punishments to being late and absent results in suspension and expulsions. Young students who misbehave are often punished therefore missing more academic content leading to failure in school. This also threatens their sense of belonging which leads to drop outs. In fact a recent report published by the Annie Casey Foundation 6 finds that children who do not read pro-efficiently by the end of third grade are four times more likely to leave high school without a diploma. I will be analyzing two quotes, the first addressing the issue in the classroom and the expectations and misguided values. It speaks on how the wrong idea with the word obedience means to students. The quote is the following:  “For the word obedience,where I expected a picture of a dog, perhaps, I instead found a young artist who had drawn a row of pupils at their desks sitting straight, hands clasped, facing forward. It was a haunting image and, also, a deeply resonant one.” This quote captures the misguided teachings put on students by teachers and schools to always be perfect and show 100% attention and be a good “soldier” like student. The second quote in the introduction I will touch on brings up the fact that students who act out are looking at something to fix and change. The teachers never look into why the students behavior is like this instead of saying it's a problem. Teachers need to take a step back and see how they can really connect with their students and solve this issue. They can look internally and see how we can learn from these students and apply knowledge to all students. “This book is interested in Anthony, certainly, and in kids likehim,but not what to do about him. I am concerned instead with what we might learn from him about what to do with, and for, all of our children.” This quote highlights the issue between student and teacher and the cultural barriers and how teachers need to understand their students. In fact mentioned in the article, up to 50 percent of novice teachers who leave the profession in their first five years cite student behavior as their foremost reason. This basically states that teachers can’t handle their students because they won’t change and address the students' reasons for acting out and how to correctly go about it instead of punishment that will hinder them academically and socially. 

'Link to Excerpt

Link to Shalaby Youtube Video

Culturally Responsive Pedagogy

This week's blog post was Alfie Kohn's  What to look for in a classroom. He is an educational theorist who advocates for progressive in education practices and a video which also brought up how things should be in the classroom, and teacher and student relationship. The chart brought up how students have choices and opportunities in a good classroom. With these advantages and extra care from teachers they can progress in their education rather than in a bad classroom where they don't have these resources. The chart can be depicted as students body languages and responses to classroom and teacher environments. It also states the differences between classroom signs and bad signs.The Chart gave bullet points between the two categories good classrooms signs and bad classroom signs. I think it’s important to see what a good classroom looks like, if not more important to see a bad classroom. How in the good classroom there was more of a community and the teacher made connections with students and their collaborating learning and student discussions  and had different tasks and in the bad classroom when students weren’t listening to the teacher they were working alone. In good classrooms students have meaningful curriculum and lessons connected to real world issues and students interest. Including various subjects rather than isolated learning. These classrooms are also filled with support and focus on social and emotional learning. Students benefit from positive encouragement and feedback rather than just being graded with worksheets and assessments. As educators they want to increase engagement and have students take away the lessons as much as possible. The video complemented this chart well, Pedaglogy is an education theory that focuses on culture references in all aspects of learning and as teachers it means all aspects of teaching. The video focused more on culturally responsive pedagogy and how it builds on other students' prior experiences and knowledge. Teachers being culture translators help students and create lesson plans and come up with specially comparisons and connections.The video highlights why it's important to create a more inclusive environment by valuing students  ethnic backgrounds.This will increase student engagement including cultural contexts and curriculums. It mentions how educators have to adapt to students from different cultures beliefs and have that be an asset just like Lisa Delpit stated. Teachers have to implement action in classrooms by incorporating culture based lessons. Rather than the student adapting to the school culture the school needs to step up and adapt to the students culture. The video also talks about how Teachers and Schools think of culture as students trait and associate it with race and ethnicity and mix it up with culture. This way of thinking would be problematic because different students need different things and have different ways of learning and in the classroom.

https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&sca_esv=de440a0fa76b08e6&rls=en&q=lessons+to+incorporate+cultural+practices+in+schools&source=lnms&fbs=ABzOT_Dpa8JZqP72JXMeSGIVrBy63q1rM4A7skr1w7fA2MCT3UtoasyNauq_OW2ql_bLjMhBRyxK3wZc2Qpvr9kEoBKU1z3CoWjk4ktHfzm0dXt2fLE3vULhNCWfgiaVePbXP25DLAqVxB2kH-VH4WsNPdxbsTqhNs8Q0_i5NNqw1aoM5AtR3DbggpjePZJaCnFbjfpTccqHb7slAR8x5zNqI-MnjQvt-A&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjgor666-KLAxWCrYkEHTV_KA0Q0pQJegQIFBAB&biw=1324&bih=823&dpr=2

Ideas and Cultural Lessons to incorporate into classrooms.