Part Of The System: Infoworks

I recently took a look at Infoworks again to find that my school is below proficient in both Math and Reading. I was also shocked to see that although the school is majority Black and Hispanic their is no ESL education services. It makes me upset to see that these students are not receiving such services and to me seems to be an explanation of as to why such insufficient progress is being made within the school.


Additionally the students in the school seem to all be between middle to lower-middle class.

I also looked at the involvement with parents within the school community since I was greatly upset to hear that the teacher within my classroom said parents are not involved. Infoworks sadly, reveals that to be true.



As one can see parent involvement has dropped since 2005. What is even more surprising is as suggested in one of my earlier posts is that parents want to be involved. Info works reveals this information as well.



I think the underlying problem is that parents think they are saying that they are more involved or active in their child's life than they are or may wish to admit. With most parents working, school and time are restricted on behalf of the education.

And finally, What teachers say:



Hence, I will say it again, if parents were to be more active in the education of there students then perhaps some of the issues facing these students could be resolved.

An Interesting Read

I happened to come across this article while I was doing research for a paper today. I found it related very closely to some of the topics we discussed in class and how democracy plays it's role into our schooling. Thought maybe it would serve as an interesting read! Click Here for Article

Goodbyes To You , So Very Dear

I have one more week left of service learning. I can't believe it is already here. The kids I work with have so much passion now when it comes to reading and writing. I can see the differences in how they view their education and it has only been a few short weeks. I took so much out of the classroom itself. It is indeed true that teaching is only part of education and we never truly stop learning. These children have showed me what it is to be a better tutor and I will miss them dearly.

Though FNED 346 is over, I must say that I will miss it! We all became very close throughout the course of the semester and the year and it is hard to say goodbye. I wish all of you the best of luck in what you do, whether you choose to stay in education or switch your major!! Remember we are the future and we hold the power to change the system. = )

Also, thank you Professor August for everything you have taught us this semester. I hope I can remember the lessons and apply them to my own classroom down the line. I want to be someone who can make that change; someone who children can look up to, yet feel comfortable going to.

Good luck to everyone applying to the Feinstein School program. I hope you all have a great summer! I wish you the best on your exams and whatever you may choose to accomplish in the future! ♥ ^_ ^ Mary

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.

Prompt 5: Parent Involvement In Schools: Dewey and Kozol

Parent involvement is key when students are in school, especially at a younger age when most students are excited to go home and tell their parents what they learned in class that day. I know much of my elementary school years were spent detailing every aspect of my day to my mom the second I got into the car to go home! I liked her knowing, that way if I ever needed her, I knew she would be able to help. ♥

In the following video, children in grades 5 and 6 talk about how their parents help in and with school and why they feel it is important:






The unfortunate thing in my classroom is that parent involvement is very limited. She send notes home which never come back, calls parents to hold meetings, but still nothing; just the same few who are willing to help! My teacher has told me multiple times about how she wants her students to excel and do well, but she relies on the parents to support her and they are not.

Parent involvement is requested by teachers but not always granted. This is a big issue in the classroom. Even in the video it is mentioned, where one girl says how she would serve as a translator to her mother if she had to. This is one of the many difficulties teachers face, not only are they worried about the uninvolved students, but when parents who don’t speak English fluently (and may be embarrassed) or parents feel their lack of education means that they cannot help their children, the conditions to talk are severely restricted. Parents want to help, but they don't know how and more importantly, kids want their parents to be involved! They say without them they feel that they would be lost. With silence lurking in the shadows, however, and communication being placed into the hands of only the child and teacher, without that outside source, problems arise.

John Dewey’s article focuses on the relationships between social groups. Such social groups are made of people with common interests and common ideals. Born without any culture we are structured by our parents, friends, family, teachers, and peers what is deemed right. This is known as socialization and it teaches us that our morals greatly influence who we are and how we act.

I feel privilege plays an extreme role here, or there of the lack of privilege participation. Parents have the opportunity to help out, but the parents, it seems, always seem to have an excuse.

Involvement might also be contributed to the working class of the parents. Typically, if both parents work it is hard to schedule time to volunteer within the classroom or attend PTA meetings.

Jonathan Kozol talks about the challenges associated with different classes in schools. Class may be correctly referred to as the status an individual or group achieves by virtue of its economic strength, the influence among other groups, and the power to affect change in its community of choice. Perhaps the most elusive of all the social ills confronting us today is this issue of class. The issues cut across the social dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, economical background, and educational background. Which serves as a reminder that, while it may be true that it is not as defined as it had been in the past, racism is still present and will not change unless we change how we participate in it. It also represents the idea that we have the privilege, or should have the privilege to choose where and how we live.


Clearly there are still inequalities. We find that, on average, parents strongly prefer teachers whose principles are to promote student satisfaction; though parents also value teacher ability to improve student academics. Parents want to do the best by their children and most want to be involved, but are scared or don't know how to be.

Kozol focuses on the quality of schools. He explains that resources are needed to even the playing field- to allow the lower and middle class to be able to reach the high class- whereas, the lower classes have to exhibit more diversity and creativity into their school systems. Perhaps this is an issue as well. The better the resources, the better ideas the students will have and the more chances they will have to grow to be the best student they can be, but they need that encouragement to succeed.

Privilege holds true here as well. Power is given based on knowledge/ unwilling acknowledgment so privilege is based on the hands of those who have it and those who don't. If parents were to be more active in the education of there students then perhaps some of the issues facing these students could be resolved.

Exploring Diversity in the Classroom: A Look At Carlson

Just a video I happened to come across that related a lot of topics from class. I think the student who created it did an excellent job of portraying diversity in the classroom and a set of guidelines/suggestions on how to incorporate it! ^_^

A few things to consider:

What is diversity? Diversity is a variety! In society, we have a diversity of people. We need tolerance for this diversity to accept one another for who we are. By teaching children about diversity, you are showing students, of younger generations, that being prejudice or generalizing people is "wrong" if you don't even know who they really are.

After watching the short film "It's Elementary" and reading the article, "Gayness, Multicultural Education, and Community" by Dennis Carlson, I can see the importance of teaching about diversity within the classroom. Carlson set forth this idea of five principles:
First, protection and extension of democratic values, hence the protection of minority rights and individual freedoms, equity, respect for differences, development of webs, supportive relationships, etc. It stated that educators should involve youngsters into the discussion of identity within the context of human rights.
Second, challenge essentialistic views, such as categories of gender, sexual identity, and race that are "natural" and have a fixed meaning. This shows that people have different perspectives on what is considered morally right or "normal".
Third, crossing/rupturing borders, where education is reconceptualized based on the norms set by society.
Fourth, build alliances to help younger people see the interconnectedness between different areas of identity and cultural struggle.
And fifth, all voices are heard as partial and positioned, which clarifies the differences and agreements and builds relationships based on equity and care.

With these five principles it can be determined that the differences can be clarified. One particular thing about the short film is the women who, in a conference meeting, questioned "Are we telling them (the students and their parents) that they have to accept/believe that homosexuality is right?". The fact of the matter is no. We can not impose upon anyone "politically correct" beliefs, but we should engage them in the discussions. People need to feel safe and find their own voices.

Teaching diversity is often considered a difficult task among teachers because of the sensitivity of the topic. The main difficulty in teaching about differences, however, is the fear and anticipation behind the effort. Teachers should teach students to be forward about their differences and help them to see there is no shame in being different.

By introducing the many cultures that surround them in school, where they spend six hours, five days a week, you can give them an understanding and knowledge for the future so that when they go into the real world they will not be scared of what they see or have as many questions about why people are so different. Most importantly it will teach them that no matter the color of your skin, your ethnic background, your religion, your race, your disability, and anything else... you are who you are! = )

Prompt 4: Bias Backgrounds: Delpit and Johnson

Bias is a tendency to prefer one person or thing to another. My FNED professor always says "No one comes from nowhere, and no one comes from everywhere." I believe this quote ties in rather nicely here. Put simply it means that everyone has grown up to some sort of bias towards a group or groups of people, an idea, or a stereotypical viewpoint. As a teacher, however, you need to realize where your children come from, and what experiences they have encountered in their life, compared to your own. In fact, becoming a teacher requires you to be aware of the diverse cultural groups that will be in your classroom. = )

Have you ever tried to communicate ideas to someone only to find they couldn't understand/ were having a hard time understanding? How did it make you feel? If you were to take those feelings it is almost one hundred percent guaranteed that there is a student in your classroom with the same reaction to your lessons as you had in regards to that person. These students are "culturally diverse", perhaps students who are English Language Learners (ELL), students who are English as a Secondary Language (ESL) learners, or students who have Limited English Proficiency (LEP). This means that they often have to learn what everyone else is learning, PLUS English.

In playing the simulation game of Barnga, a card game played in small groups of four and five, one can realize several different things. The first, is that people initially believe they share the same understanding of the basic rules. The second is that in discovering that the rules are different, we, as the players, have to adapt and learn the new rules.



Lisa Delpit's article, The Silenced Dialogue, discusses that as teachers we should encourage diversity and that not all children come into a classroom with the same knowledge and not everyone will come to the table with the same experiences. Delpit introduces the absence of discussion about how different students need different teaching methods to learn. Barnga, relates this idea to a “culture shock” similar to what may be an actual experience when entering a different culture (like in the game, where we struggled to understand the new sets of rules brought to the table in order to effectively play the game.)

This also corresponds with “veiled authority”. Playing with the other members we had to figure out a way to say “These are the rules and this is how we are playing” without totally losing insight of the five tricks and fairness needed to advance in the game. In a school with such diversity, I would stray away from the idea of veiled authority. It often gets in the way of the initial meaning and discourages students when they don't understand that what you were hinting at in that authority is not clearly stated.

Those with power are frequently less aware of its existence or least willing to acknowledge it, hence those with less power are often most aware of its existence.
One might also contribute, to this diversity, privilege and oppression. Many people take for granted the conditions, or terms of labor associated with our everyday lives and our ideas about others.

Although I know it's almost impossible to be completely bias free, I believe that I am very close to it. I am the type of individual who sees a person first, before all else. I appreciate people for who they are and where they come from and really try my best to get to know them before I pass judgment. It is very possible, however, to keep an open mind about new, unfamiliar environments and situations. Depending on which path we chose, we mark out the decisions that affect, not only us, but also our world.



I remember both last semester and in my Sociology class last year we discussed the idea of conformity and the ever changing openness to new points of views with the “upcoming” generation of children. People often conform to receive a sense of security from within the group. Typically it influences the formation of norms and any unwillingness to cooperate carries with it the risk of social rejection. This idealogy of mental categorizing seems to be inescapable. Perhaps this same concept carries with it connection to Johnson as well. Johnson states that “Human beings are fascinated, not repelled by people whose appearance differs from their own.” If this is true then why do these prejudices exist? To answer, the problem is not race, but the societal organizations and labels we give them.

Often in a setting of diversity, people will demonstrate what is called impression management, trying to control the impressions that other people form. Though we often talk about self as one whole identity we display multiple selves and we choose to present ourselves depending on our situations. In such a case of diversity, people might try to pretend to be something that they are not in order to avoid the stereotypes that have been imposed upon them.

I have both advantages and disadvantage working in my classroom. The children in my classroom are mostly of a Black or Hispanic decent. Because I have gone to school and associated with Blacks, and others of mixed cultures, I somewhat understand some of their experiences. A disadvantage on the other hand is that some of the students that I work with are multilingual whereas I am not. Sure I took a year of Spanish and three years of Italian, but I am not fluent. I feel that if I were I would be able to connect to the students on another level, but I, unfortunately, can not. I do not understand what it is like to speak two languages and how hard it is to fully learn a new one while also balancing school. I know that when I learned the teacher broke it down for us. We did vocabulary and discussed what everything meant in English, our native tongue. But I know from watching my English teacher last year, work with ELL students, and being good friends with a student who was ELL, that picking up on the language is harder since all the directions are given in English.

The article, "Who me? What It Means to Be Involved in Privilege and Oppression" by Allan Johnson, discusses this similar ideal. Johnson says in his article that just because we do not intend to make people suffer (as a result of race/skin color), does not mean that we are bad people, but instead involved because we are part of the system that produces it. We are unaware. And by being unaware we chose not to address the problem which contributes to the low income of schools and their fail.

Johnson defines privilege as a social advantage that is both unearned and comes to people simply because they happen to belong to a particular social category. We are simply a part of the game.

The success to the game, or in this case the classroom, lies in the dynamics. Since we were not forewarned that each table/person in society was/is playing by different rules- it was/is a struggle to understand why the other players didn’t/don't seem to be playing correctly. This identity helped to show that, as future teachers, it will be our duty to understand while also helping our students to comprehend and understand. We need to be part of that solution to help. In such, we will have to compromise our rules together in order to make sure the foundations for successful learning are made.

Prompt 3: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: A Look At Goldenberg and Shor In Terms Of Class

Teaching isn't just about all the small stuff like grading papers and teaching the alphabet, but a deeper connection as well. In fact, it even goes beyond the walls and the students since it is culturally diverse. As educators, we have to realize the set of basic rules and adjust them in order for all to understand.

Currently, our school systems are an instrument to keep the white middle class in power and the less privilege, under privileged. Even more so my classroom is diverse on many levels of race, comprehension, ability, and economic background. This idea of diversity is high strung among them all. For a teacher to plan a lesson to fit everyone would be extremely difficult. Sure the needs are the same, but teachers also need to be able to address lessons in different ways that incorporate the differences one may have in learning.

There is, in fact, a “culture of power” in almost every classroom and codes and rules that go along with this power. The teacher needs to make sure that all the students in the classroom participate in the culture of power so that every student can progress to the best of their ability. If you have a student that does become aware of the rules, then it’s best to tell the student exactly what the rules are, because there are still some boundaries between these students and where they “should be”, according to certain standards set by the norms of society and the people within that society. If a teacher ignores these boundaries and the different characteristics their students have, they are just holding them back from reaching their full potential.

According to Claude Goldenberg, a professor of education, teachers need to teach at different levels and provide a foundation for students at a young age. They need to support/ provide guidelines in order to break those boundaries by encouraging questions, encouraging curiosity, and encouraging participation. He also says that by modifying the curriculum or instruction within the classroom students who have difficulty can be looked at on the same level as students without linguistic differences. This idea can also be applied to generalities. Do you remember that one teacher who was your favorite? Think back to why. Were they the type of teacher who talked in a monotone voice in front of the room all day long, or were they hands on? Maybe they were even a little crazy! But it got the your attention, right? Teaching should be just like that! You need to have fun while you are doing it or the children won't have fun. It is okay to stray away from topic if it keeps them on their toes. Especially at a young age they can learn anything because they soak up knowledge like a sponge.

The idea of a scaffold might work as well, since students learn on different levels. As teachers we need to make sure we know where each of our children is on their learning path and we need to relate our lessons in a way students can connect and understand with keeping the languages separate. Thus, this will increase the participation and development by comparing what they do and do not know and giving them the power to learn away from a "script".

Ira Shor, is another important figure here. He frequently used the questioning technique to push his students into futuristic thinking. In such, encouraging students to think critically about their education and help them to see the connections between individual problems/experiences and social outlooks. Shor centralized that a student centered pedagogy, with certain motives such as democracy, moves away from the dominate teacher centered learning and helps students to be critical agents of their own education. Teachers should empower their students and lay the foundation for their interactions within the classroom in a free flowing, non judgmental, participatory way.

At the school the students are given a type of monopoly money that they are allowed to use to go to the special events. Students are rewarded based on good behavior, prompt delivery of notifications to parents, etc. I remember the first week I went into the school the students were attending a magic show in the cafeteria. Most of the class had the required 25 to go, but there were a select few who did not have enough. I remember asking the teacher why and she replied that because they were the “good” students she sometimes overlooked their efforts and didn't always reward them, whereas the money served more as a bribe for the “troublemaker” kids to strive to do better. That made no sense to me. A teacher should not bribe her students with cash for events, just to get them off her back, but find out what she can do to get them interested, perhaps by changing the way her lessons (or his lessons) are structured. Perhaps if changed, it could be used as a positive means to motivate all students, like Shor says, to the best of their ability.

Shor also states, “To teach skills and information without relating them to society and to the student's contexts turns education into an authoritarian transfer of official words, a process that severely limits student development as democratic citizens!” Children will not remember anything in the classroom if what they are learning is not related to something in their own lives. Standing at a head of a classroom just saying things means nothing without reference or reinforcement. Of course, any education tends to socialize its members, but what you get out of it depends upon the aims of the lecture and the responsiveness of the group.

In this case, privilege is in terms of what we, as future teachers, will have to offer. One of the major tasks that education must perform, in a democratic society, is the proper preparation of young citizens for the roles and responsibilities they will have to take on as they get older. Teachers at all levels must think beyond their classroom practices. In such, it is through communication and participation that we learn to view ourselves as social human beings with responsibilities.

While it may be true that schools are not as defined as they used to be it is evident that in order to succeed we have to change how we participate. We need to view things in a different perspective, that is open to the ideas of change- whether it be mental, physical, and/or social. Teaching should be consistent and balanced.
Shor also speaks of socialization which the students learn from being in a classroom setting.

During the time spent in the classroom on my weekly visits, I have not seen my teacher give many assessments. However, while I am working with the students they will often ask me to help them with their spelling or vocabulary works or question what a word means or how to pronounce it. After spending sometime with the students I began to see the students who were ahead of the class, and the students who were behind. When I asked my teacher about the two students I work with individually she said they were in the lowest reading group.

It took me a while to wrap my brain around this figure- the lowest. Is that what they are being taught? That if they are not in the other groups they aren't as smart or capable. As a future teacher I do not see it in this light. I see it as these students simply need more help because they either lack the assistance from the outside or do not wish to read because they find they can't understand. Additionally, Shor stresses that because some teachers still follow the “traditional” style of teaching, it’s giving unequal opportunities for students to learn.

Finally, Shor says that interaction between students and teachers and amongst each other is political and critical. There are always those unwritten classroom rules that require raising your hand to speak, keeping quiet while doing class work, etc. But if this interaction is so important, why is it not stressed? By allowing the children to talk to each other, they can reinforce what they are learning and ask questions. Sometimes they need that "same" voice; one that talks in the same terminology as them in order to understand.

Once a person has an understanding and some sort of support system within a given language, it will be much easier for that person to relate and transfer information. These students are going to be the future and school is about the students and helping them to learn! = ) By helping them to be motivated now, we are ensuring their success further down the line.

Prompt 1: First Impressions: Let The Truth Be Told

It has been quite some time since my last post. I guess I have gotten caught up in the drama of life again. Ha Ha. = ) It seems I am always busy these days. But I am happy to be able to have a lot to write about, because during that time I have been busy taking observations and enjoying my time both at the school in which I volunteer and the college atmosphere.

Anyways, every Friday morning, I have the privilege of walking through the doors of my Elementary school. From the second you enter the parking lot it is clear that diversity is knowledgeable among it's students. There is no playground area and very little grass, but the children still manage to be loud and have fun at recess. You can hear them, first thing in the morning, rolling with laughter and screaming with joy as they run around the vacant lot behind the school. It reminds me of how I could find pleasure in the little things much easier when I was younger and how now I often take those things for granted. Being able to work within this school and start teaching again, has reminded me that everyday will be a new adventure and I will have so much to learn in going back a "second time".

More about the school itself: Infoworks shows that the entire school is just as diverse as the classroom, with 35% white, 33% Hispanic and 26% African American. This is much different my own elementary schools, where the majority of students were white. The neighborhood is rural. It's quiet and the houses are closely spaced together. I don't really know much about the poverty levels, but I would say that it is lower-middle class. In my classroom alone, 5 of the children come from a bilingual/multilingual family and many of them have parents that are either not a part of the child's education or do not wish to be involved within the school. = (

The entrance is a small door on the left side of the building. It has an intercom system to gain entrance and the main office is up the stairs. I go in and fill out all the necessary forms I have to and say hi. Everyone is nice there. They are always striking up conversations. It makes it easy for me knowing that if I ever had a problem that they are approachable and would be able to help me out. Once all that is done, I am on my way.

The building has many more levels than I remember my elementary school having. Had I not had a mini tour the first day I showed up, I would probably have gotten lost. The building itself is dimly lit with narrow hallways and the bathrooms have very little room to move. The classrooms are really close together and somewhat cluttered. There is a hall next to each room with hooks to hang your coat and backpack on. Personally, I think that is a nice touch. Not only because it frees up some classroom space, but also because it is organized and the students know where to find their stuff if need be. It also gets them into the habit early on of lockers, which is a good aspect for the future in both middle and high school. Also they switch classes. I have a 9:00-10:35 time slot. At 10 the schedule changes and they go off to meet another teacher for art, gym, or music. I think that helps too since when you first switch over to another school the transition is hard enough without having to worry about a rotating schedule and "I have to meet this teacher when and where?" or "I have to go to another room?". I know when I first started middle school I was overwhelmed by that fact, so I think it is nice that they are starting these students on it, or the concept of it, early on.

The classroom is also home to tons of papers and backboards posted all over the walls. I still don't know a hundred percent what each one is covered in. I know that there is some student work, and spelling, and math, but much other than that I couldn't tell you. In fact, I was having some difficulty deciphering what was most important. And I have yet to see if the teacher actually applies all the concepts to her lessons.



Additionally, there is a bookshelf in the back too, but the selection is limited to big textbooks and kiddie books(aside from the Dr. Suess selection which was brought to the school in honor of Dr. Suess's birthday), which seem much too easy for third graders to be reading and many of them carry their own books to school to read. I noticed the "Diary Of A Wimpy Kid" comic strip-like books are highly popular. = )

The morning routine is very much chaotic to me. The kids sit in close proximity to each other in small groups of chairs. I don't even think there are enough chairs for the 24 students in the room. The teacher does her best to take control and I think she is good at what she does. She cares about them, but at the same time knows she has to be stern in her order to get the point across. Obedience is critical I noticed. Since I often show up about fifteen minutes earlier than the school opens I have gotten to meet quite a few of the teachers and they all have the same approach. Even more so, the teacher who I work with encourages questions. I found that if I ever had a question about something she always has an answer and if she doesn't she tells me how I can find out.

The two students I work with are amazingly adorable. They both have an enthusiasm for reading and playing a weekly game of Candyland. Already I can see that the 40 or so minutes I give to them each week is helping. They are always so eager to participate. = ) Hence, if the experience is fun then learning will be too. The best way to teach is actively and the product is simply that in which we make it, or how we produce it in how we carry it out.

Participation challenges the experience of education. If a student feels that they cannot get a positive benefit out of a lesson they will become uninterested. Uninterested students learn that education is something to put up with and that asking questions is prohibited. This is in fact is wrong, we need to support differences in opinion and curiosity; let them ask questions, let them experiment. Students need to be involved! This is one thing I believe the school strives on. The students don't belittle each other for their ideas and often try to help each other.

Diversity is also a big thing in the school. Students don't seem to have problems seeing themselves as different, but rather knowing they are and respecting each other for that. On the other hand, the curriculum does not take into account the diversity of the classroom and therefore the students do not know that the differences between them are important.

A society's strength is based on the common interests it has and the communication across those differences. In order to make that known, communication between student, teacher, and the norms set by society, is key! I recall an incident in the hall outside the gym the other day where a boy said that the girl could not join them because she was Chinese. Her friend looked over at the boy and said "Why not? She's just like me and you! (pointing she continued) Ears, eyes! You see? And look she even has a heart! Who are you to judge her?" The boy apologized and then invited the girls to play with them. It is evident then that the stereotypes still exist, but the children are also aware that they shouldn't be. Perhaps it is a lack of the understanding of these differences that is causing such conflicts.

There is another girl there at the same time as me too. We became somewhat friendly and started working together. What we do now is start off by working one on one with our students and then we meet up for the last 10 minutes of our 40 minute lessons to play some sort of game or act out a skit. So I have gotten to know her students as well. I think working together is an advantage on our part. We get the honor of working with someone as coworkers, much like we will be when we are certified teachers, while also playing into the strengths of each other to better help the minds in which we are molding literature and literary skills.

One thing I have noticed, as I am working with these children is that each student needs help in different ways. This is probably an obvious fact, but sometimes I tend to overlook it. Whereas one may be good at coming up with sentences, another may have some problems deciphering the difference between the words he/she reads. I love the differential challenges it uses to test my mind and my capabilities in effectively helping them to understand.

Lisa Delpit discusses, in her article, "The Silenced Dialogue", that as teachers we should encourage diversity and that not all children come into a classroom with the same knowledge. In such, teacher educators must help create the attitudes and skills to articulate their values and effect social change, the act or process of changing the way individuals or groups interact with social systems or structures. Hence if the system is biased, children will get hurt.

Prompt 2: It's All Elementary Here (a discussion of John Dewey)

This third week of classes has seemed to come and end so quick. I started teaching at the elementary school Friday morning and was relieved to find out that my nerves didn't get the best of me. All of the students seem very nice and it was a trip to see the school! = ) (more information to come in later posts)

I also met up with the supervisor of the reading buddies. It seems like she encourages reading to be fun, which makes me that much more interested in being able to work with my small group of students. Her room is set up so that we have easy access to multiple activities, literacy folders, and short story books. There is also a revamped version of Candyland, which encourages different aspects of sentence structure and organization.

I still don't know if I am a hundred percent sure that teaching at the elementary level is right for me, but I do know that I have learned a lot. We are currently discussing Dewey and already I am finding that I can make connections to certain things from his articles.

John Dewey, a philosopher and educator in the early 1950s, said that education will vary depending on social setting. He also emphasized that though societies are different they all have similarities. Going to school in my hometown district and now teaching in an area that is vastly different it is clear to me that this idea is true. And it is evident that children learn through experience and by doing.

Dewey also discusses how education relates to democracy saying that teaching should be consistent and balanced. While discussing some of the experiences of our first visits with the other students in the classroom, I realized that the teaching systems are different. Some teachers feel like they go to work only to follow a script. They do not have the liberty of teaching in a way that works for their children. Others don't enjoy what they do. They pass their students off as just a means to get by and pay the bills. = (

I don't want to be one of those people. Knowing that, it only makes me want to make a difference in the lives of these children. I want to be the positive role model that they can come to for help and that they will enjoy learning from. School should be something fun. After all, learning is only a natural experience. If you can find passion in it then it makes it all that much more better.

Dewey considered schools and civil society, as the main means for exploration. In order to assert that democracy is complete we needed to set a foundation for it.
In doing so, we also have to exercise equity. We have to discourage difference and encourage in a way that helps students to understand. This identity helps to show that it will be our duty, as future teachers, to understand while also helping our students to understand. Such that we will have to compromise our rules together in order to make sure the foundations for successful learning are made.

Teaching is a system of exchange; what you give is returned. In order for the students to understand you have to get them to see at a level which is comprehensible to them and base your lessons off their rewards. By acknowledging this diversity of experience, students will be able to see themselves in the context of social views different from theirs, and thus they will be able to reconstruct/resocialize themselves to include others.

One way that I can apply Dewey's concepts to my service learning is to remember that not everyone learns in the same way. Dewey relates the idea of privilege in terms of what we, as future teachers, will have to offer. Already I can tell that this experience will be different from the other schools/classes I have taught, but I am up to the challenge. I hope that I can continue to make connections from class that will assistant me in my journey to become a teacher. I know the road may not be easy, but I know that in the end the rewards will be worth it. ♥

Blog in the Fog

The second week of classes has begun. I must say I never imagined that things could happen this fast- that in just a short period of time I would be on my way into a classroom filled with young minds and eager to learn eyes. But it is here!! I start February 12th and I will be doing Reading Buddies! I am both excited and nervous at the same time. I have taught before, but in a way it seems like we will be given a little more control in what we decide to do and I've always had some form of instruction. It's down to this now! What I say will affect these children, what I do will affect these children and I hope I can do a fair enough job.

Class itself has been rather interesting too. We did an exercise for homework the other night where we had to take a test about how our unconcious mind works in relation to race. It was done as part of the Oprah Winfrey show a few years back. We also learned about phonics again. It amazes me how we can overlook the simplicities, because we learned them so long ago. Like, for example, how a vowel says it's name depending on the placement of letters (vowel or consonant). Or how sounds help to figure out how to say a word. It seems so easy to us, secondhand nature even, but for them it's the first time. It's nice to know that one day- I could be a part of that nature. = )

Anyways, with only three classes behind us, I hope that the rest of the semester will continue on with such a pace. I don't know what more I can say, so I'll end here. Until next time, Mary.

So Anyways...

Hello. My name is Mary. I don't really know what I should say about myself. I am not, after all, really one to talk openly about how things work themselves out in my typical life. But I am willing to give it a shot. Much of the posts here will be from my FNED class and my experiences there, so let's see how this goes...

I guess I can start with a little about me. When I'm not in class I love hanging out with my friends, listening to music, and writing/ or reading. I tend to be an easy going and understanding person and only wish for the best this semester.

For the most part my second semester has gone pretty well. My professors all seem to be nice and accommodating. I met a few new people and found out some of my friends from the fall were in classes with me again this semester, which is making my transition back much easier than I had anticipated. =) I am surprised that I am saying it, but I am actually looking forward to this semester on campus! *knock on wood*

Since, I have never blogged I hope that I will get a good experience out of this! It will be interesting to look back on the past few months and see how much I have learned when all this is done! I know there is no single right way to do this, but hopefully I won't bore anyone along the way.

Goodluck to everyone else! I'll be back soon.