Blog #8 on Richard Rodriguez on being bilingual

For this week's blog post we had to read the quick reading on Richard Rodriguez.  In this reading Richard is talking about what it was like growing up speaking Spanish and having to learn English at such a young age and how it impacted his life.  As I was reading this it did make me think about the school that I am currently placed in to help students with math.  Although I have only picked up on one student being bilingual due to hearing them speak, I have been told from the other teacher in the room that some of the students do have a second language.  The class is also very diverse so this would not come as a shock.  Whether this is true or not,  I would never be able to tell since the kids within this first grade class all speak English really well.  Richard Rodriguez story has me thinking about all the students that are bilingual in my room, school and about kids growing up in general.  This really makes you realize that everyone has different experiences and different stories.  It makes me wonder if a lot of bilingual students do end up dropping their first language at home when learning a different language.  It also makes me question if all families have this same experience as far as losing family connections.  Although I am not bilingual, I did remember having to take Spanish class in high school.  Although I found it sometimes easy, it took a lot of studying.  Many things I found hard and now that I haven't practiced or thought about it in so long I don't remember it.  Although my experience is different, I have sympathy for those that are trying to learn English at any age.  When I am a teacher I want to do my best to make my students feel as comfortable as possibly when they are in my room.  Richard Rodriguez mentions it in his reading but prior to this reading I have always thought about how if I get students that are bilingual how I would want to learn a few words from their language in order to show to them that I am trying to learn from them, they do not have to completely give up their language, and that I am trying my best to make them feel comfortable in my room. 

Blog #7 Literacy with an Attitude

    For this week’s blog I read Literacy with an Attitude by Patrick J. Finn.  A little background about Finn is that he is from the south side of Chicago and part of a blue collar, Irish catholic big family.  Finn was the eighth out of nine children.  Unlike the other men in his family, Finn was the odd man out and went to school to be a teacher and not a plumber like his brothers.  After reading this article from Finn there are many quotes that I find important.  However these are the three quotes that I connected with and wanted to share about. 

1.) “The reality was that as the year wore on there were spaces available in the “lower” classes to dump troublesome students from “higher” classes.

I chose this quote from the article because not only do I find lowering kids into different classes because they are troublesome is wrong for the student but it is also wrong for those teachers.  Just because a student may be “troublesome” does not mean that they should be lowered from the class that they deserve to be in due to their intelligence.  This is not only unfair for the student because now they are not getting the education that they should be getting.

“Schooled to take orders, to replace their parents at the bottom of the economic heap” 

This quote I found to be important in showing that as teachers it is important to encourage our students to dream big and reach for their big dreams no matter their background.  It's important that students are aware of their career choices and realize they do not have to do what their family is known to do.  I believe that as a teacher it is important that we encourage students that they can do and be successful in a career path that they want to be in if they work really hard.

“They’re lazy. I hate to categorize them, but they’re lazy” “Because children in this school don’t know anything about the U.S, so you can’t teach them much”. “You can’t teach these kids anything. Their parents don’t care about them, and they’re not interested”

These were all a bunch of quotes that I found in the same paragraph describing what teachers have said about their students.  I think that these quotes are important to look at to see how as a teacher you should not be talking about your students in this way.  I feel that what is being said within these quotes is assumptions being made about students and their families.  As a teacher, you shouldn’t be making assumptions that all your students feel a certain way about their education.  Although some students may fit in this category of not being interested in learning or even lazy it does not mean that all students are.  I also think that it is unfair for a teacher to assume how much a student’s family cares about them.  It is important to keep in mind that students are all going through different life situations and that you never truly know what your students are going through outside of the classroom.  Just because a student may act a specific way does not mean that they actually don’t care or have a family that doesn’t care about them.  They may just be going through a hard time that makes it difficult to be in a good head space for learning and hard for families to support their children’s education at all times when there could be bigger issues going on. 

#6 Alfie Kohn's What To Look for In a Classroom

When looking at Alfie Kohn’s What’s to look for in a classroom it goes through what are good signs and possible reasons to worry when it comes to categories within a classroom.  In class this week we looked at this chart within our groups based on the schools we have for our placement this semester.  In this blog I will be looking at each of the categories and explaining where my placement classroom falls under each category.  The categories in the charts are furniture, on the walls, student faces, sounds, location of teacher, teacher’s voice, students reaction to visitor, class discussion, stuff, tasks, and around the school,  

    Starting with the first category furniture I would say that my classroom falls under the good signs category.  In the good signs category it says that the chairs are around table that facilitate interaction and that there is open space for interaction.  My classroom falls under the good signs category because within the classroom there is an area in the front of the room where students can gather on the rug to learn together along with having their desk in groups allowing them to interact with each other.  Looking at the one the walls category my classroom also falls under both the good signs and the signs to be worried category.  My classroom falls under the signs to worry classroom because my teacher does have a reward system for the class as a total. If the kids do something really well they can earn a little reward that fills up a jar and when they reach the top of the jar they can earn extra recess or a choice in a different reward.  The class also falls into this category because of some of the poster in the room are commercial posters.  However, the classroom also falls under good signs because it does have student projects and work on the walls too. 

When it comes to the category of students faces, sounds, location of teacher, teacher’s voice, and students reaction to visitors all fall under good signs in my placement classroom.  These categories mean that my students are excited to learn and are welcoming to others that are invited into the room along with the teacher moving around the room to work with students and is also respectful and nice to her students and to visitors.  Every week when I enter the classroom I am greeted with a few hugs and waves from my students along with a positive greeting from the teacher.  Each week I go it has been nothing but a comfortable place for me to be in.  Within the classroom you can also hear frequent noice of activity happening within the students working. When it comes to class discussion the class mainly falls under signs to worry about because in the class students are raising their hands and are waiting to be called on by their teacher and are racing each other to see who can answer the question even if they do not know the answer right away.  For categories stuff, tasks, and around the school my classroom and school falls under the good signs.  This means that the school provides an atmosphere that is pleasant to be in and that in my classroom activities are taking place and that within the classroom it is filled with good books and supplies for the students to learn.

Overall my school and classroom fall under the good signs category with occasionally falling into the signs to worry category.  Although my classroom has some signs of worry in it I overall feel that what is being shown as a sign to worry really isn’t something that is to be worried about and I find is normal to have within a classroom.  I think having this chart from Kohn is nice to not only have to look at the experience that I am currently in within the classroom this semester but also to have for a future resource on things to keep in mind when teaching and setting up a classroom. 

My classroom troublemaker

    Looking back at my tutoring hours this semester and reflecting it back on the reading Troublemakers I have noticed that there may be a trouble maker in the classroom.  The boy, who we will call Billy, is a child of color, comes into class dressed in clean, comfortable, and warm clothes.  Although in the reading, it is thought that these students who are seen as troublemakers are trying to question the school system and stand up for the freedom, I do not see the student in my classroom doing this just yet.  I think that this student is not questioning the school system just yet is because things that he is getting in trouble for things that are not a big deal.  This student is in first grade and is doing things such as not being able to stand in line, possibly putting his hands on others, or being a distraction during lessons.  For example the students were on the rug trying to learn a lesson of math and this particular student had to go back and sit at his desk because of what I believe is he put his hands on someone else like their shoe.  This student is not consistent with getting in trouble though.  Although he is in first grade now it makes me wonder what will happen when he gets older. 

#5 Troublemakers

 This weeks blog post is about the preface and introduction of Troublemakers.  The very first thing that is stated in the preface is “I care about the lives of children at school because I am an educator, and as an educator it is my job on insist on every child's right to a classroom experience that daily honors her, reveres her smarts, engages her curiosities, and ensures her dignity.But I also care about the lives of children at school because I am a human being, and as a human being I recognize every child's unalienable right to be free”.  I think this statement right here is so relatable and is part of the reason why I want to be a teacher.  I think this sentence for me can reflect my own personal experience of why I am going to school to be an art teacher.  I want to work with children because I care about them and want to help the next generation of students grow.  However, I also know that as a teacher I will have a huge impact on children’s life and that I believe I can recognize the rights that children should have and the way they should be treated.  Teachers have a strong impact on students and making sure that children are treated appropriately and teaching them their rights are extremely important. Another line from the preface on page 1 is "A free person can expect to be seen and treated as a full human being, free from any threats to her identity, to her cultural value...." This made me realize that I want to be a teacher that embraces students culture and who they are.  I want to be a teacher that will care and provide support for all kinds of kids no matter the differences we all share or how the student behaves. I want to be a teacher that doesn’t give up on any of their students. I want to be a teacher that doesn't believe in stereotypes and not judge my students.  I want to support my students when they are questioning their freedom and help them be treated the way they deserve to be treated. 

On page two of the preface it says " 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 order".  This quote from the preface made me realize that I fall into the category of being one of the quiet students.  I avoid getting or being in trouble and most of the time in school I only talked when I had to or I knew what I had to say was right or important.  The students that were seen as the loud ones and were quieted by school officials were made to be seen as "troublemakers".  I think at that time I saw it as a distraction to the classroom. Although at the time I never questioned it, looking back now, they had every right to question school policies if they felt that it was something against their rights.  These students were really just trying to stand up for what they thought was right and try to find answers for questions that they had about their rights and freedom.