Prompt 6: Goldenberg and Brown

Each student has individual characteristics that make them who they are. The classroom teacher should be very aware of this and accommodate that it’s not about how much money you have, the clothes you wear, or where you live but for everyone to get along and understand each other. In a classroom, I think, that the best thing a teacher can do is communicate to his or her students. After all, the probability of having all children with the same experiences, who have had the privileges, is highly unlikely.

Though I usually work outside of the classroom in the hallway I have noticed and tried to do things different while I tutor the students that I work with. I like to keep them involved with the lessons in a way that they can relate and so as we go through the work I tell stories that relate to what we are doing and let them ask questions about that they do not understand. One of the students I work with is bilingual, therefore there are sociocultural differences between them. It is our job to get them to realize, as I believe the teacher has to do, that it does not matter who they are working with but that they are working together. = ) We were taught to embrace these differences and explore them. They all bring some information with them into the classroom for everyone to learn from. Once that is set into place they often try to help each other out. Sometimes I even mix it up and let them share their roles in a skit or swap sentences during our Candyland games. I don't think it matters that they aren't reading the card they picked, but that they are learning together and having fun! = )

I was able to relate this experience to Goldenberg. His article is based on research about English Language Learners and suggests that not all students learn on the same level, but teachers must modify their work to be sure all students are learning. This is called scaffolding. We must use scaffolding to start where the student is and built on that. Hence, we must build on the differences and show them that they can work together.



This also connected too Lyn Mikel Brown. Brown argued that the typical stereotype is that of how certain people live their lives. I remember last week we followed the kids to their gym class. The teacher had the students break up into small groups of four, five, and six. Most of them broke up into groups with friends: the girls with the girls, the boys with the boys. The teacher then mixed them up, saying that she wanted to try something new. Not only were the students mixed up in terms of gender, but also between the two third grade classes in gym at that time. It was evident that this idea of separation exists not only in the classroom, but outside of it as well.

A few rotations later the game was paused and a group of girls got in trouble for playing tug of war with the jump ropes. The whole class started talking about it naturally, in particular this group of boys off to my left, saying that they were glad they got caught cause usually the girls never get in caught.

This also reminded me of Brown and how he said that femininity is idealized. Girls are expected to be kind and caring and proper whereas boys are expected to cause scenes and attract more attention, be aggressive, and loud, and show excitement! There is an evident lack of encouragement that these stereotypes are not necessarily true. I believe the gym teachers separated the students for this reason. Not only had, she been trying to prove a point that though all her students are different, in one way or another, but also that working in a group with other people can be beneficial. We need to think of more than just ourselves, because when we think of just ourselves it leads to judging and misconceptions. By understanding we can work together with people who are not our friends we can understand that we are all alike.

Groups make up much of our life. Wherever we go we are categorized into a certain group of people. Among these groups are in-groups and out-groups. The in-groups are viewed as normal and superior, and are generally the group one associates with or aspires to join. An out-group, on the other hand is simply all the other groups.

In the case of these children groups seem to play a huge part of how they think of each other. Because the get accustomed to working with the same people, they are not always open to working with others. However, this is an important skill to learn, as it stands children in good stead for future life, whether in education, sports, or an office-based situation. A related benefit is the responsibility children can be given through groups, which teaches them the skills of leadership, responsibility, and reliability.