Myth Busters

This article was great. It was a combination of my recently researched effective multicultural literacy and the women’s studies classes that I took in undergrad.  Much like the author I too was astonished at how prevalent the secret education is and how hard it is dismember its hold on oneself and society.  I hope to be able to take a similar approach in my classrooms.  I want to create literacy invitation that has students look at different multicultural books and allow the room to see where the stereotypes are prevalent. 

This article was a great example on how to go about the investigation.  Although it would need to be modified for 5^th graders, the intention is still the same.  To seek out racism and sexism so that we can create a world that is empowering to all!

Choice and Freedom... is it fair to the rest?

I loved chapter 1 and 2 from The Inner World of the Immigrant Child. It is no secret that my passion lies with working with immigrants and English Language Learners.  These articles game me practical ideas on how to set up my ESL classroom and activities to help them learn.  THe film strip, the rug or island, group rooms and an ART TABLE! I haven't gotten this excited about my possible own classroom all semester! It also showed how a teacher that is forced to use the "pull-out", whereas the kids are removed from the classroom for a period or more a day, can work.  I liked that she allowed the kids to choose if they needed more or less and that she set up her room like a sanctuary.
However, there are some quintessential parts to the set-up that are IDEAL, and therefore will not always work.  First her obvious support of the administration and the school as a whole.  She was able to allow kids to virtually come and go when they needed with a maximum of 3 visits. This is wonderful for the needs of the immigrant student, but how difficult would that be to manage as a school or a classroom? You can't let every kid decide so how do you explain that THESE kids get to? How do you convince a mainstream teacher that an immigrant child gets to decide if they stay in their classroom? Is it fair to the teacher or their other students?
Which brings me to my next point. I loved that the first student Dennis wasn't graded until he asked to be graded.  This makes sense.  While a student is dealing with the emotional distress of their recent immigration and the stress of learning a new language it doesn't makes sense to grade them.  However, is that realistic in this standards and test driven curriculum that we are working with? Is it fair not to test Dennis but test other students that are going through difficult time? Are they even allowed NOT to test them?
I hope I am as lucky to get that kind of support and freedom.

MGRP - Just say YES!

After working on at Multi Genre Research Paper I can say with certainty that it is something that I would use in my classroom.  I found that since I was able to select the topic and research it on my terms, I was engaged and excited about every nugget of information I discovered about my topic.  One of the most freeing parts of the paper was the encouragement of finding more questions that I could answer.  Without the pressure of answering every point I discovered, I was able to broaden the scope of my inquiry and questions became exciting, instead of drudgery.

The genre pieces became a creative way in which to express all the exciting nuggets of information that I discovered.  It also reinforced the idea that literacy goes beyond the restriction of books.  While working with the different genres I found that I started looking for literacy everywhere.  Although I wasn’t able to use all my ideas do to time, technology restraints and personal ability, I still came up with at least twenty different genres.  From seasoning salts to obituaries, from candy wrappers to crayon boxes, every trip to the grocery story or walk to class became an exercise in different genre spotting.   What an innovative way to get students looking at their world around them through the eyes of a “literacy spy”. 

In the real world who really wins: The tortoise or the hare?

Slow down! I had this part highlighted and underlined in Alen's Chapter 5. I think Rachel discussed this in her post for last week too. Slow down is the message that we are getting from every content area class that we have.  Science, Math and Language Arts are all stressing the value of discussion and taking time to allow the students to struggle, think of the issues and problems and find creative ways in which you can think about the issue and solve them.  This is lovely. This feeds directly into my idealistic, rose colored glasses.  Its as though every classroom will be one of those movie montages in which there is uplifting music playing while different shots are taking of me, the graceful teacher, walking around the room checking on my actively engaged students as the pursue their quest for higher learning. LOVE IT! but... really?  In the classrooms I have seen more of a message of:
hurry, we only have 20 mins in each session. Hurry you have to finish your packet to go to recess.
Hurry take your seats, Hurry pass the test, Hurry get on the computer, Hurry Hurry Hurry.
If the school in which you teach has a "hurry up and pass the standards" mentality how can you make sure you are keeping a "slow down and take your time" way of teaching? Although I like the idea that the tortoise always wins... I feel that the the external messages in the school is more Be a Rabbit!

Teach poetry?.... ME?!

When I see the word  “Poetry” I am intimidated. Immediately I think: “Well, I will read this chapter, but I know that I won’t be using this genre and I don’t think I will teach my kids poetry!”  In High School, and even in college, the only time poetry was meaningful in a class was when the teacher was able to make connections for us to the words.  My leap therefore is: I am not a gifted enough student to make these connections on my own…so I could never make those connections for my kids so… I shouldn’t even attempt to do it.

What I appreciate about this chapter is that it reminds me that poetry can be about you, the person.  The lessons and poetry represented in this chapter are accessible to everyone. I really liked the Acrostic poems because I think they would be a great way for ENL students to express themselves using simple words that they may already know.  It would also be a great way for them to introduce themselves and their background to the class.  Loved it!

The more time I spent thinking about my positive experiences surrounding poetry the more I am convinced that poetry can be a great community builder! AND I also think that they would be great first week activities for the class to get to know each other.  Because it helps students express themselves it could also be a great way in which to deal with a death in the school or a tragic current event. Options are unlimited.

So I guess the questions remains: Why not teach poetry?

Keeping with the spirit of the chapter I would like to share one of my favorite poems by Mary Oliver:

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.

Never ending possibilities!

In starting to create my MGRP I am getting frustrated (in a good way) because I feel that I could research this project FOREVER!  I started small.  Got a few articles, which lead to a few more, which lead me to drop some articles and then pick up some more.  In our reading for the MGRP she describes the time commitment that the project takes on.  It is easy to see why students would take months to flesh out their ideas.  I would love to take a week just to read different types of multicultural literacy of all ages.  Then I would need a few more weeks to figure out how to categorize them in a way that is helpful, thus needing to research different ways in which I could categorize them.  I would also love to research the different roles of the teacher, school, the students and the families play in multicultural literacy in the classroom.
One thing is for sure it has helped me discover more of my passion for the topic and my curiosity.
This will be a good reminder for me to allow my students space in which to truly delve deep into their topics.  This is another vote for student centered reading as opposed to text centered reading. Ohhhh see, another branch that I could spend weeks exploring!

Potential Capstone Project

I’ve have had a thought rattling around my brain for the last few weeks so I am going to take this blogging opportunity to get it out.

In all of our content classes it is easy to see how they all relate and how you can utilize one to strengthen another. When you engage the students in a science experiment you can utilize reading and writing to research and write about what you observed and the inferences you made during the experiment.  Another example would be the relationship between Science and Math.  You could utilize hands on science activities to create meaning with counting, dividing and decimals.  All of these things can be found in science experiments. Story problems can also help work on a student’s mathematics skills as well as their ability to read and write.

What fascinates me is utilizing these content areas for creating a curriculum that confronts prejudices, racism and bullying.  In our science class we are reading Taking the Plunge by Wynne Harlen.  He talks about ways in which a teacher can push a student to expand their thinking.  He references things like asking them questions that make them consider different possibilities or asking them for the evidence behind their beliefs.  If you take that a step further you could use science as a way of teaching students that there are different ways to believe or perceive things, much like in different cultures. If a student is being a bully or if they are being prejudice you could use the same terminology that you would use in a science experiment to help them see, without the social pressures or the pressure of the subject area, that there are different ways to view and resolve the issue.

Mathematics as well is a great resource.  We have been learning about all the ways to solve problems and look at numbers.  12 can be 12 individual pieces, 6 and 6, 10 and 2, 4 and 8… It can be added and divided in different ways too. If students can grasp that there are several different ways to see numbers and how to combine and break them apart they can surely see that the components that make up a person is going to look different and break apart different as well.

Then finally, Language Arts.  The topic of my MGR is the affects of multicultural literacy can affect a classroom.  I love this idea.  Some teachers have a science or math focus in their classrooms; I know that mine will be community.  In my Social Issues in Education class I am learning about different perceptions of the purpose of education.  I firmly believe in the power of education to help create better communities, less violence and better citizens.  I am excited to potentially create this passion into my Capstone project for my Masters: Integrated Curriculum to Create Community. How Content Areas Can Promote Community.

Tell a child that you SEE them everyday!

“Reaching one’s potential to learn depends so much on the relationships between the people involved, not so much on the content of what is being taught.” (pg 161)

I love this! I need to cross stitch this on a pillow, embroider it on an blanket or paint, frame, and hang it over my desk. Or perhaps Ill write it on my mirror so I can read it every morning!

Any teacher that goes down in my memory as a good one, or one that I have learned a lot from, was a teacher with whom I was safe and connected.  It is not just about giving “warm fuzzies” either.  It is about being intentional and particular about what you are celebrating in a child.  They know when you are being generic and “just like every other adult”.  The art of making a connection with a child is about telling the child that “I SEE YOU”. It is celebrating a child in a way that brings out a strength that is beyond a surface awareness. That you SEE them for who they are, beyond whoever they are putting out in the world. (This is especially useful with kids who are typically in trouble.)  SEEING a kid, I believe, is one of the biggest motivations that a kid can get from an adult.  It can help them rise to being the kid that you SEE inside them, and not the one that they are choosing to show you at the time.

Hale does an excellent job in demonstrating that the art of giving a strength is not just about being positive.  It is about SEEING a child and letting them know that you SEE them!

Beautiful.  Consider me inspired!

Mountain Language Board

At first the Mountain Language Board at the most recent school we visited seemed a creative way to practice and instruct grammar lessons.  But as I sat and watched I became less impressed with the board and more…. well bored.  

Yes it is a great tool to practice and demonstrate a students’ ability to fill in the appropriate blank in a worksheet.  It could be a potentially useful tool for standardized testing if the students are asked to diagram sentences out of context.  It is also a great way to have students utilize “typical” resources: dictionary, grammar wall of terms, textbooks.  However, were any of those questions meaningful? Would they be able to utilize them in their own writing or identify them in the books that they are reading?  Much like in math, if they can do the standard algorithm for an addition problem but don’t understand why it works, is it meaningful and does it support positive critical thinking and learning skills?  Is it a teaching tool that is more meaningful and useful for the teacher than for the students?

I enjoyed Hales perspective on creating meaningful resources.  The Mini Lessons and Try-Its seem a great way for a student to learn a specific grammar point/craft, and then make a personal example that they can then use as a personal resource. I know for myself, if I have written notes in the margins of a book or a personal example, they are often a better source in which I can draw upon to jog my memory then the highlighted sentence I had in a textbook.

  

Much like the rest of the tools that we are given for our classroom, they can all fall flat if not utilized in a meaningful way. The WORD WALL is a great example from Hale.  It CAN be a great tool or it could be meaningless and just something that is on your wall. Or, a science experiment can fall flat if you aren’t asking questions to open the students mind or if you make a statement that crushes their exploration.  It is not just how cool mentos are falling into diet soda, but why is there a reaction? What would happen if….. What makes it do that….. and then follow up with some meaningful work with the cool experiment.

My Questions:

-Does the standardized test ask students to diagram sentences? Are they asked to identify a prepositional phrase?

-Is the Mountain Language board a necessity when dealing with large classes and a lack of time?

-Is there a way to make the Mountain Language Board meaningful?

-Are there positives that I am not seeing?

Hale Ruined Harry Potter.... kind of... ;-)

Hale ruined me for reading… but in a good way!

I used to read books like Harry Potter with ease. I didn’t pay attention to why I enjoyed them, or why they were like candy for my brain? But now, now what am I doing? I am reading them through the lenses that Hale helped create and the books have taken on a new dimension.

Now when I read:

Ron and Hermione came crashing down the stairs behind Harry, wands pointing, like his, at the unknown man now standing with arms raised in the hall below.

I read it in an entirely different light. 

I can see the use of action words that help create A Sense of Sound: Crashing.  Instead of Ron and Hermione followed Harry down the stairs, you can now hear the noise they are creating.

There is also a fantastic use of Commas with Ing Phrases. Rowling is able to give a clear description of Ron and Hermione in comparison to Harry, and as a group, by using commas.

The final part of the sentence “at the unknown man now standing with arms raised in the hall below” helps Show the scene because her description of the man “standing with his arms raised”.

And there is also the length to her sentence.  Instead of making two medium length sentences she chooses to create one long sentence.  Which, in my opinion, helps propel the listener forward, much like the characters, as they come “crashing down the stairs”.

Yes, Hale has ruined me for reading without seeing the intentional language that authors use. However, it excites me.  She gave wonderful practical application skills and helped me to develop lenses for reading in a way that will help me teach my students. LOVE IT!

Phonics Torture Flashbacks

Explicit, Systematic Phonics in Early Literacy Contexts…. Ok That subtitle for our reading this week scared me.  I got flashbacks of the “reading van” that I was forced to attend as a child.  The “reading van” was a trailer attached to our school that had a mired of different torture tactics to suck the life out reading and writing.  There were worksheets upon worksheets of phonics skills and piles of erasers to erase any and all mistakes.  There were red markers to highlight all your deficiencies and a giant clock to tick out the remaining minutes of your pathetic little life!!

Do we acquire a language or do we learn a language?  Although I feel that phonics is a part of the learning process I don’t think that it is the, “be all end all” of learning.  Communication, comprehension and the desire to be understood, are some of the driving forces behind the acquisition of a language.  The Cusumano article uplifts me because she states things like:

o   Practices such as these may actually stunt the natural development of writing skills in young children.

o   The learning can progress rapidly if the child discovers and tests out the rules themselves instead of having them imposed from without.

o   Adults need to look for and value the message without insisting on cleaning up conventions at this stage of growth

o   Yet this writer appears to be moving towards conventional spelling under her own steam.

o   Provide praise and encouragement for the ideas without criticizing the errors in conventions.

The chapters in Sound Systems weren’t as bad as I thought they were going to be.  They did talk about making the lessons meaningful and discussed the importance of phonemic awareness and phonic skills.  I also appreciated having a tool to be able to evaluate the progress of a students learning by seeing the percentage of conventional spelling.  However, I am hesitant to make the learning of a language solely around word recognition and the ability to sound out words.  What about learning through meaningful text, exploring different writing possibilities and supporting creativity and the desire to be understood? 

Am I out in left field here?

Literacy Dig

By observation of the pictures pasted on the front windows we can see that the building is a grocery store. Even without the ability to read one can see that lettuce is lettuce and bread is bread.  Whether or not the bread is multigrain or if the lettuce is organic however, depends on our ability to read. Volunteering in an Adult ESL class I have seen the teachers utilizing grocery circulars to help teach food, counting and functional everyday vocabulary. After intentionally observing the literacy found in a grocery store it is easy to see why. 

After traveling in other countries where my language proficiency was limited I look at something as simple as grocery shopping as a potential nightmare. From a cross culture perspective the grocery store can be a confusing and overwhelming experience.  This literacy dig, and the time I have spent abroad, has helped me appreciate my ability to read.  The grocery store where we observed did not account for illiterate people or for people with different cultural backgrounds.

Cultural literacy is key to being able to navigate through a grocery store.  I remember standing in line at a checkout counter in Guatemala only to be turned away because I didn’t realize that I needed to weigh and price my vegetables before I came to the checkout counter.  We know how to order meat, cheese and fish because we have seen our mothers, fathers and friends do it.  There is not a sign indicating to the customer to “order here”.  If you didn’t understand the process how would you know what to do?

Even if we are unable to read or are from a different culture we can utilize universal symbols to understand our surroundings.  We see these on bathroom doors, road signs and post offices. At the Courtesy Center in the grocery store there was a lack of symbols.  There were signs advertising ones ability to buy stamps, a gift certificate, bus tickets and to send a fax but without an ability to read English these words would be meaningless. Throughout the store I only found one sign translated. The signs communicating invitation, customer service or products were only in English.  The sign indicating hostility, “This area is being monitored by surveillance camera”, was the only sign translated into Spanish. This message speaks volumes to potential multicultural customers.  

The exciting thing about literacy is it is everywhere.  There are plenty of ways to practice and make learning meaningful for everyone, no matter how old you are or where you were born. 

That's online writting...

My initial response to the article was excitement. Although I have never blooged before I can see the implications immediately. What a great way to access kids literacy and to use something like the internet and a computer. Plus, how brilliant would it be to be able to use a blog in bilingual classrooms as a way to connect to other countries in their native langauges or other schools trying to learn English.

However, the one negative I see is the need for access to computers. The article talks about how much more energy and little satisfaction came from having only a few computers. It is frustrating that access to technology is another way that the haves get ahead and the have nots get behind!

I’m excited about learning how to blog, because I have never done it… but I also want to be realistic… will the schools I work in have access to the computers needed to be able to utilize this amazing tool? If not will I be able to still make the lesson meaningful in it's own way by using journals or letters?