Post #6

What to Look for in a Classroom, Kohn

Introduction to Culturally Relevant Pedagogy

Reflection:

After reading the chart from Alfie Kohn, I realized a lot of my school experience especially in elementary school connected and were very similar to what was in the "good signs" column. For example, in the chart it says chairs around tables to facilitate interaction, comfortable areas, and open space for gathering. I remember specifically in kindergarten there were tables with several seats around them so we could work in groups and be able to socialize with others, we also had an area with comfy chairs near a book shelf so we could either have quiet reading time or do a worksheet, near the whiteboard there was also a big area rug where we everyone would go to sit every morning. Also, in all my classrooms there was always some kind of student work that would be on the walls or in the hallways, however, some teachers in elementary school had behavior charts hanging up on the wall or some kind of poster that had a list of classroom rules. Most importantly, the types of qualities of the teacher, students seem to be more comfortable and like teachers who are respectful, genuine, and warm, unlike teachers who are controlling, condescending, or saccharine-sweet. It is a good sign when the students' facial expressions are showing that they are engaged and eager to learn rather than showing a blank or bored face, especially in the younger grades, they have so much energy and it is important to keep them occupied and busy with intriguing activities. Students are more likely to be successful and want to learn when there are good books, art supplies, and items they are interested in rather than textbooks, worksheets, and other materials that don't interest them. It's important that students are put in an environment that makes them comfortable, engaged, challenged, have fun, socialize but also be learning at the same time. 

A point I would share in class is something I heard from the "Introduction to Culturally Relevant Pedagogy" video, it mentions that rather than the students having to adapt culturally to the school, the school needs to adapt and modify some of its sending messages. 

Hyperlink: https://brightthemag.com/the-perfect-classroom-according-to-science-5b23c4a33c1a

Blog post #5

Preface and Introduction from Shalaby, TroubleMakers

Quotes

After reading Preface and Introduction from Shalaby, TroubleMakers, I decided to pick out a few quotes from the text that stood out to me and thought were important to talk about. First, "Kids learn the culture of school quickly. In a second-grade classroom I visited, children were tasked with drawing illustrations to accompany newly acquired vocabulary. 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." After reading this in the text I knew it was something I wanted to talk about because school should be a place where students can learn in a fun, interactive, and social way and it is now a norm where children in school have to sit in a seat all day and just listen to the teacher. Especially for students that are so young it is important for them to start thinking for themselves and figuring things out hands on and interacting with others. Also, "By and large these are not the schools we have now. For the most part, schools value quiet children over loud ones and operate as though adults are the only teachers in the room. The adults get to speak while the young people listen. Questions are answered rather than asked. Our schools are designed to prepare children to take their assumed place in the social order rather than to question and challenge that order. Because we train youth in the image of capitalism instead of a vision of freedom-for lives as individual workers rather than solidary human beings-young people are taught academic content that can be drilled and tested rather than understanding literacies and numeracies as forms of power, tools for organizing, fodder for the development of their own original ideas." Students that are louder shouldn't be labeled as a bad thing, it is important for the students to be themselves and not be afraid to want to share with the class. It mentions students are being taught things that they can be tested on rather than being able to learn for themselves and come up with "original ideas". "Children- especially the youngest of children- are masters of imagination. When I am burdened by the heavy weights of reality, soul-weary and stuck, young children are able to inspire my imagination for a more playful, more creative way forward." Young children have a huge imagination and should use that to their advantage rather than it slowly getting taken away from them because of how they are being taught how to learn and act in schools.

A point I would share in class is one of the quotes, I think they are all important and have a topic that would be very beneficial to talk about.

Hyperlink:

https://www.cato.org/education-wiki/educational-freedom-an-introduction

Blog Post #4

The Academic and Social Value of Ethnic Studies, Christine E. Sleeter

A Short History of Public Schooling

Carlos didn't have much interest in school, he claims that school was very boring for him so he decided to join the military rather than go to college. He ran into a friend from school one day who was going to a community college and mentioned he was taking Chicano studies courses and encouraged Carlos to go check the classes out. He decided to check out the classes and realized the curriculum was centered around his reality, that lead him to completing two years of community college and then went on to complete a BA degree in Spanish. I feel this related a lot to the Precious Knowledge video we watched in class because they also didn't really like school and felt like school was against them. However, once they started taking the Ethnic studies they were really interested in what they were learning and could relate to the material. They felt like they could be themselves and became more confident, overall there was a positive impact on the students both socially and academically. Also, "Whites continue to receive the most attention and appear in the widest variety of roles, dominating story lines and lists of accomplishments. African Americans, the next most represented racial group, appear in a more limited range of roles and usually receive only a sketchy account historically, being featured mainly in relationship to slavery. Asian Americans and Latinos appear mainly as figure on the landscape with virtually no history or contemporary ethnic experience. Native Americans appear mainly in the past, but also occasionally in contemporary stories in reading books. Immigration is represented as a distinct historical period that happened mainly in the Northeast, rather than as an ongoing phenomenon." They wanted textbook companies to produce and offer curricula that reflected the diversity of the United States population because the texts were saying almost nothing about contemporary race relations, racism, or racial issues. "Like the eighth graders interviewed by Epstein, 43 gifted Black middle school students interviewed by Ford and Harris (2000) all expressed a desire to learn more about Black people in school; most agreed that this would make school more interesting, and almost half agreed that they got tired of learning about White people all the time." Therefore, Epstein concluded that African American students “learned to distrust the historical knowledge taught in schools and turned to family, community members, and Black oriented texts” for their education.

In the video, "A Short History of Public Schooling", it shows the history of school and how kids used to be taught at home and out in the real world and then by 1918 every state required students to complete at least elementary school. They thought that obedience to authority, attendance, and organizing time according to bell ringing would help students prepare for future employment. In the video they mentioned, "The whole purpose of it is to create a docile military work force" and to "Get them in that mindset of being subordinated". The system is designed to regiment a large group of people and to get them to all do the exact same thing, and for children to take their place in society. For a point I would share in class, one would definitely be this video and another would be a quote from the text, “learned to distrust the historical knowledge taught in schools and turned to family, community members, and Black oriented texts”. 

These images are from the "A Short History of Public Schooling" video.

Hyperlink: 

https://news.ucdenver.edu/what-is-ethnic-studies/

Blog Post #3

The Four I's of Oppression with Luna Malbroux

After reading and watching "The Four I's of Oppression" I was able to get a better understanding on what oppression is. While watching the video with Luna Malbroux, something that really stood out to me was the first thing she started with was explaining how when we were in the womb ideas about gender and race were already shaping the way that we would show up in the world. First, ideological oppression is when poeple dehumanize, exploit, or harm other individuals or certain groups. "A common feature in many ideological oppressions is biologism–interpreting the value of human life from a strictly biological viewpoint. Ideological biologism might shape how accepting someone is of others with chronic illness, non-traditional family formations, non-binary gender identities, etc." In the video she uses examples with sterotypes, for example being a "real girl" or "real boy" and how boys shouldn't cry and girls should be pretty, these things are being normalized. Also, internalized oppression, "Addresses the way individuals absorb belief systems that then contribute to feelings of false supremacy or false deficiency within themselves in relation to others–especially those who are not part of the dominant social group." That can lead to people having anxiety, depression, fatalism, self-hatred, or even suicide. In the video she mentions the "dominant narrative", which is telling us that there is a standard/norm and if you aren't that you are considered "other".  Next, there is interpersonal oppression which is when one group may feel they are better than the other and they have more rights then the other. She uses the word "exclusion", and there has all been a time in our lives where we have left excluded or experienced being treated differently. "When expressed across groups, interpersonal oppression can normalize biased behaviors and violence. Such actions seem justified, normal, or reasonable–especially if oppressive values are tacitly or explicitly supported by the group. It is the most identifiable expression of oppression because its impacts are immediate. When someone is a target of interpersonal oppression, they feel diminished, exploited, attacked, and dehumanized; their safety is jeopardized, and their life may even be threatened." There is also institutional oppression, which is demonstrated in how institutions reinforce and manifest their ideology. Luna Malbroux gives many examples on how institutions do that, like the way our neighborhoods are comprised, school systems and how some are funded more than others, or there are still laws for people with different abilities/mental health diagnoses to show up to work and be supported. 

A point I would share in class is something I heard from watching the video with Luna Malbroux, in our everyday lives we should look for the four I's of oppression and see how they show up and intersect with each other. Also, the primary modes of socialization and before we were even born ideas on our gender and race were already "shaping the way we would show up in the world." 

The Four I's of Oppression Link