In Oakes & Lipton (2007), Chapter three outlines philosphical perspectives and the resulting educational philosophies. How do these philosphical perspectives influence curriculum? How do they connect or disconnect with being a culturally relevant teacher committed to social justice?
In Chapter four, Subject Matters, what disagreements still exist about what students should know? Of the proponents mentioned, who do you connect or feel similarly from your teaching perspective and practice? What new insights have you gleaned or have more questions to query about?
We will read and respond to each post as we go in conversation style on Monday, Sept. 27 at 5pm.
Hi class! I will be gone so I am blogging early.
ReplyDeleteChapter 3
There were many key points I enjoyed reading in chapter 3. I will just touch on a few. I liked on pg. 76 were it said that enlightedn thinkers help people. It went on to say that they helped shape classroom instruction. I also loved the statement about students minds being like "empty vessels" to be filled or "blank slates" to be written on. Further on in the chapter on pg. 80-81 it talks about the elite and mass education and how they were two very distinct educatioal systems and how over time the common school became the most popular symbol of American education. Lastly, I will close chapter 3 with a quote from the txt that I found to be very touching. On pg. 114 it states, "The traditional curriculum does not match the way students learn, it favors Americans of wealth and power. But it could be otherwise. Each day American teachers confront and win the curriculum battle, as they engae students with rich and powerful ideas that touch thier lives. That is the one reason they return to school each day."
I enjoyed reading chapter 4. It was interesting to see what the text had to say about what content teachers spend most of their time teaching. It is kinda depressing that we cant have more time and freedom to teach content areas like social studies, science, and history. In my own personal teaching, I see that my emphasis is on math and reading. I do try to incoperate science into my daily routine and teach it the last 25 minutes of the day. The class loves science too. They love looking at the cool pictures, doing expereiments, and learning about interesting things. I also think they like it becasue I teach it so much more laid back. I know it isn't a requirement so my attitude towards it is different. It just shows you that if te high stakes testing was gone, the teaching and learning that would be taking place would be soooo much more relevant.
ReplyDeleteThere are good points that every psychology school holds toward educational issues. So I think the truth is always in the middle.I like Bruner's idea of the spiral curriculum. I always used it throughout my teaching carreer but I did not know that it was called the "spiral curriculum".It does engage not only children, but also a teacher who comes up with an interesting explanation of an abstract concept appropriate for any age.
ReplyDeleteI give my kindergarteners all kinds of music instruments I have in my classroom,xylophones,shakers,triangles, tambourines and ask them to play . Then I say:We are the orchestra. They can;t come up with a definition yet, but they have the idea that when we play different instruments together we ARE the orchestra. Then I say:I am a conductor. Look at my hands. I will show you when to start playing and when to stop. So, my little ones have another concept learned:conductor.
I think Piage's learning theory buids a bridge between both behavioral and cognitive educational theories. One can't ignore the biological growth that stands behind learning and understanding. recently I watched the TV program"The Drs". It was said that according to the recent study a part of the frontal lobe that is responsible for rational thinking and decision making is still underdeveloped at the age of 17.The question that was raised was if teenagers could drive. the doctor answered that accoerding to the study they can NOT. Thats why car accident rate is so high among teens.they think emotionally.
So if, according to Piaget,a child does not have ability to understand abstract concepts until age of 12,13, then why the school curriculum requires teachers to teach probability in kindergarten? Oh, unless they use "the spiral curriculum"...
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ReplyDeleteWow- it worked! First try at this and second week as flag football coach...LOL
ReplyDeleteback to chapter 3- Philosophy and politics.
I really enjoyed the charts on pages 78-79. It was a great refresher to classes studied LONG AGO. I am wondering and checking off key points I like in the major philosophies. I'll let you know where I head toward. As I read, I found myself wanting to add to my web page-where I'm from and my sweet Learnings. This is piling up with other wonderings and rememberances that started over the summer in the BISTI writing project. I like that.
I noticed that many ideas and points from the traditional philosophies were present in my own schooling. I recognize for the first time how these could be seen as discriminatory when all these years I believed them to be patriotic! Imagine. Dont give up on me yet, I also notice that I practice in my classroom many of the more "progressive" curriculum thoughts and roles of the teacher.
I never thought that so much political thought and discrimination of a majority, upper white class was such a HUGE part of curriculum.Yes, we studied all the schools of thought and the history of schooling, but somehow as a 20 something student, that didn't set in too deeply. today at 40 something, well....it jumps off the pages at me! I found myself, as a teacher in a BIE school for 13 years now, adding to the chart on pg. 94. I put into the timeline major events that impacted Native American students, communities and nations.
Another question I am wondering about- if as stated by the authors ( Oakes & Lipton, p 98) "Just as in the market dollars may be exchanged for goods or services, in schools, jobs , and social interactions generally, certain habits and knowledge 'buy' acceptance or favored treatment." Then, now my task is to incourage those habits and pass on that knowledge in a way that also recognized Native American stories, values, customs and traditions!
Enjoyed the comment by Jesse:
ReplyDeleteOn pg. 114 it states, "The traditional curriculum does not match the way students learn, it favors Americans of wealth and power. But it could be otherwise. Each day American teachers confront and win the curriculum battle, as they engae students with rich and powerful ideas that touch thier lives. That is the one reason they return to school each day."
I am having trouble (troubles they are botherin me)
ReplyDeleteOK, I will try again. I was saying that as I read chapter 3 I got a little offended.
ReplyDeletechapter 4: The subject matters- YES and what about all these subjects? When asking students about school, I've always had the popular votes for classes/subjects of RECESS, ( huh? Physical education and movement, building a whole person maybe?) art, ( creativity, experimentation, publishing of emotions, thoughts & feelings? how about this?)spelling, ( could these be those who have a need for order or learn from sight?) and the subject that students don't care for, or the less popular ones are Reading, Math & often Science. So polaticians and governments, what's up here? What the law requires of our children, what teachers must insturct about is done so poorly or with less interesting methods than humans can tolerate? What can you folks tell the children? I agree with Jesse's comments about teaching some lesson with less structure and wondering if the limited stress may be directly related to student interest.
ReplyDeletePersonally- I can see programs coming in a full circle now (after teaching 25 years...) under new names. I recon that the Navajos have this right- there is a circle of life, seasons, etc. As a teacher, just when the children & I have become Nearly proficient in a program of learning, the rules change to our game like the first day of classes card game. We are lost again and have to figure out how to 'play' the education game. example: In our 'old' learning records of the 1980s, students were given higher marks in oral reading fluency for self correcting and now,,,along comes Dibbels and they are cut off and marked out for self correcting in oral reading. WELL- of course my older students can't read..........here I taught them to correct themselves.
Personally, I connect mostly to the English Langurage Arts disagreements as these have been most confusing as a student and teacher in school. Coming from the age of phonics classes, I must say we still seek a balance. Example and I agree with David Pearson's quote on pg. 139
My personal interest/ passion is teaching social studies and BRINGING in the local culture/traditions/ stories in my Native American community. These build self esteme in my students, help us all see other sides of the issues and builds a class community. my class looks at history through the eyes of our elders and as Navajos from this point of view. YES, we would edit many text books and curriculums a bit.
Oh no- electricity blinked.....
ReplyDeleteI lost my post on chapter 4!
After reading this chapter I find myself almost dizzy with the back and forth of ideas and philosophies. From 'we should let the kids discover and let them help develop the curriculm' to 'this is what they should know and this is how you test them.' I am somewhere in the middle. I think kids should have some choices but I also think that they need some guidance. When I think of my students and my own children I want the same thing for all of them. I want them to be successful and for me they need some of both philosophies. They need to think critically and challenge others' thinking but they also need to be able to know 'traditional' things so they can have a starting point for discussions and work they will need to do in the real world. I think we can have both philosophies in school. 1/2 day doing traditional stuff and 1/2 day to choose things that interest them.
ReplyDeleteI happen to be considered of the "white majority" even though my maternal great grandparents are Native. My grandmother was Choctaw and my grandfather was Cherokee. They never gave us the thoughts that they were to be treated differently just because they were native. It wasn't until my mother's generation did she and her cousins even bring up the fact that we were "different". My great grandfather worked in the coal mines, lost an arm working there, my great grandmother had a broken hip that was set wrong and she limped and was in pain all her life. They never once stated that they were entitled to a different kind of life. My mother's cousins are now claiming "Indian rights" and getting special money to go to school, get permission to sell their paintings in SantaFe and in Arizona. Anyway, to get over my background and why I was offended is that I have always believed that my teaching was from a constructivist learning theory where knowledge is built on what a student already know or prior knowledge. I have probably been teaching like the ostrich with my head in the sand because I don’t delve into the cultural mores of my students. We make the connections to the lessons at hand, trying to reveal each persons’ familiarity or how they might make a connection but I don’t look at the racism problems of the past (yes I think that they mostly in the past) but try to come to the present and treat every student, co-worker etc. as equal partners in the learning process. I don’t really understand why I would want to focus on the negative outlooks of other people and the hurts of the past.
ReplyDeleteI thought we were to all be on at 5:30pm so I have waited to respond. I remember reading about the history of education in college. It was a way for the new Americans to define themselves. The things that were important to us then have changed quite a bit in real time but not so much in school years. Kind of like dog years. It takes 7 to get rid of bad ideas and 7 to try to get good ideas going. If you can keep someone from changing the good idea so much it is no longer recognizable.
ReplyDeleteGood evening everyone. I am finding it interesting learning about our educational history. It is fascinating that standards and benchmarks weren't even developed until the 90's after Reagan declared our Nation at Risk in the 80's. I am really finding it interesting that each president tries to improve our educational system by changing it and today I learned that Obama is doing the same thing. So it seems as if teachers and our educational system is being blamed for our National crisis. This frightens me as an educator. I know I work hard and I care about my students. He is talking about lengthening our school year to all year, which some schools do anyway...pause, if you turn on channel 4....they are talking about it now.
ReplyDeleteJessie, thank you for your posts. I, too, had highlighted the quote from p. 114. So each day that is why I teach!
ReplyDeleteI would like to challenge your thinking about seeing children as "blank slates" and "empty vessels" as reflected in the more traditional perspective. Children do come to school with a storied, cultured, linguistic and rich experienced past and it is our role as educators to tap into their 'sweet learnings' to make connections to the academic subjects. There is no reason why we cannot use students' experiences for the content and context of our teaching and yes, teach the curriculum.
It is refreshing that we are reflecting on what and how we have been taught as educationalists and see through the empirialistic, patronizing tendencies that permeate the theories that we held dear and true. Let's continue to explore deeper just what we believe and so we so not become pawns of a system and theories we do not wish to perpetuate. Again, we always need to ask, "what are the unintended consequences of our school system and our own teaching.
Kyle
ReplyDeleteI like you idea of 1/2 days. Here at Bloomfield High we have just put into practice some Enrichment classes and Intervention Classes. These only happen on Wednesdays but if a student doesn't need an intervention then they can choose from a myriad of subjects that the teachers have put out from their areas of expertise. As the students move out of the interventions, then they too can choose. This gives them some incentive to work harder at their intervention and also focuses on their greatest needs. It's not 1/2 day everyday but it is a start.
Are you all watching this? You really should. It pertains to what we are talking about.
ReplyDeleteYes, Siromani, I understand your perspective and frustration. Language is not neutral and neither is school. Education becomes a political pawn during presidencies, as you have been reading.
ReplyDeleteFortunately, there are teachers like you who love teaching and enjoy your students in spite of the political clamor. However, as educators, we must understand our system better and recognize it's flawed history so we may be more socially equitable in our perspectives and therefore, in our teaching so we are not replicating the outmoded and insensitive traditionalist's perspective.
Thank you, Frances
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ReplyDeleteFrances! I got on
ReplyDeleteMrs. Leah :)
I too feel that the world continues to put everything on the teacher's shoulders. How are we suppose to change the world when our world and the rules that we have to work by changes. Until I came to the highschool I don't think that there was one "adopted" curriculum taught long enough to see if it worked and to make any adjustments for constructivist theory for students to make choices.
p. 111 Throughout the 1800's, social leaders increasingly used public schools as the battleground on which to wage a cultural war, maintaining that national unity required that immigrants' language and culture be faded into the AMerican background.
ReplyDeleteHow weird, I didn't realize my name said Mrs. Leath. LOL
ReplyDeleteHis political educational plan is called "Race to the Top". What do you all think about it? We all probably don't know enough about it yet. But what I have found out so far is that President Obama is coming to NM tonight and is going to have a "backyard" meeting about education. It is going to be broadcast live tomorrow at 10 am.
Oh, it's on again on NBC. Watch!
Damn straight! We want to do our jobs!
ReplyDeleteI spend lots of time each week trying to find my correct benchmark number so I can put it in my planbook. I can't imagine what my benchmarks (already vague and indefinite) would look like if the politicians wanted to honor everyone's culture at the same time. I think that is best left up to the classroom teacher and not mandated by the state. What would THAT look like? I don't even want to think about it. However, I would like to throw in the idea that we do want functional citizens not just large groups of people that feel good about themselves but can't read, write or count change.
ReplyDeleteI like the following quotes:
ReplyDeletep. 107 "Only in schools are students expected to remember isolated facts"
p. 105 Knowledge is not fixed, is not the same for everyone, and varies in different contexts and over time.
p. 105 "Reasoning" and "making sense" are part of the constructing process
I agree, Sherry. Culture is a difficult thing to deal with in schools. I often think that we spend too much time trying not to offend people. I think we ought to be sensitive and TRYING to offend is another issue, but I think that we need to just teach and leave culture to be taught in the home. We definitely need to teach tolerance and respect for other cultures but we do not need to be promoting or teaching any culture at school. I realize that one culture or another is unintentionally taught especially in science and social studies but that can be discussed and reflected on at home. I am what most people would consider a "Christian Conservative" but I do not expect the school to teach my "culture" at school. I expect them to respect my culture and teach history in a factual manner, not trying to offend or cover up anything. Just putting it out there- what do others think about culture in schools?
ReplyDeleteI am still at school and don't have the option of watcing TV so I am going to post something concerning Chapter 4. I focused on the pages 131- 140 as they were about Language Arts and since I teach the subject, that was where my greatest interest lies. I too feel that students need to know how to write in Standard English, especially when writing a research paper or an essay. If it is a personal narrative, my students know that they can create voice by giving "character" to their storeis by writing vernacular etc. But they have to know how it differs from standard English before they can write it.
ReplyDeleteI loved the idea of using Water For Chocolate in connection with Romeo & Juliet. I know we have a classroom set downstairs so I plan on incorporating this book into my curriculum for 9th grade.
p. 127 Schools cannot use the differences in students' talents, achievements, and interests as excuses for some students not learning math.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Susan, for sharing your a little of your family history with us. The content in each of the chapters 3 and 4 are not about race. They are addressing that a dominant view of philosphies prevailed as underpinings of how we taught (and were taught). We are now realizing that these traditionalist philosophies were not inclusive of everyone.
ReplyDeleteTo me they represent the imperialistic, patronizing Western attitude the US has had in the past. Now we are realizing, that our classrooms are pluralistic, multiperspectival, so E.D. Hirsch's cultural literacy, where he defines what is "Good" and "Legitimate" knowledge, is being challenged with the awareness (and the tilting of our nuanced heads), that we cannot oversimplify the complexity of knowledge. We need to ask 'Whose Knowledge' for knowledge, in how people come to know and what they know and how they show it differs.
You are a constructivist and you garner the experiences of your students and recgnize that knowledge is socially constructed. There is no knowledge that's better than others, only different ways of knowing. In our educational philosophical past, this was the case, and in many ways still resonates this thinking. What we consider valid knowledge is what we teach. But by whose standards? So you are aware in your teaching that there is not only one way. You try to connect with your students and to connect with your students you need to know them. To know them you need to know who they are. To know who they are you need to know where they come from (and where they are coming from, so to speak). You make connections to what you know about them. This is what we mean as social constructivists by using students' stories as the content and context for learning. So you are among other constructivist friends.
In terms of ignoring the racism that has existed in the past, yes, I agree that we do not have to relive it, however, we need to be aware of ways it is happening insidiously. To ignore it because they are uncomfortable circumstances is understandable. However, those who have experienced it cannot just 'get over it'. True healing happens individually and collectively when we acknowledge, listen to their stories without defensiveness. Some of the students you teach in Bloomfield may experience racism more than you know. We cannot assume there is not (racism) because we are only looking at the picture from our perspective. Talk to your students about their lives and the 'unintended consequences' that make up or contrinute to their individual stories.
Thank you, Susan!-) Frances
Good Idea Susan, and I also liked the incentive class ideas you were talking about. Kyle, I am not sure about not teaching culture in school. I don't think that it is a bad idea to explore other cultures, especially to make children aware and sensitive to others around the world...would help in global matters. Maybe, less war? Sherry, good point.
ReplyDeleteKyle
ReplyDeleteWe do have the opportunity to teach culture within the English class as literature is the carrier for culture whether it is spoken or written down. I teach World Literature and we get into mythology from all over the planet. Right now we are reading African Literature. (Yes I know it is not a country) as that is what it is called in the section of our lit book. We just learned about different masks from different tribes and then they created a mask and had to write about it; how it came about, what ceremony it was used for etc. This is one of the best activities that I have used during this section. The students relate to the masks that they have seen and then create their own.
I am trying to post mine, but it tells me that the service is unavailable
ReplyDeleteI think that quote is what I was trying to say. I worry that we will spend so much classroom time teaching from one of many different cultures
ReplyDeleteor another that we will miss opportunities for chldren to learn the things they need to capitalize on their talents, achievements and interests. If a child can scribe a great story in kindergarten but never learns to write on his own we lose the fantastic life-changing novel he COULD have written if only he knew how.
Susan, I taught a class this summer and I read "The Rainstick, an African Fable". One of the activities we did was made African tribal masks. We studied the map of Africa and we made rain sticks. It was awesome! We also learned songs and dances about rain, and we learned about the water cycle and made water cycle books and bracelets.
ReplyDeleteFrancis isright about children being "empty vessels" since they come with their stories and life experiences. But Kyle is right too:they need guidance. How they would know if they like to learn something if they don't see what is on the plate.
ReplyDeleteNovalis, a phylosopher not mentioned in the chapter3 is credited with this"People don't want to swim until they learn to swim!"
Was he also the one who stated "sink or swim"? LOL
ReplyDeleteBy the way,today i tried to teach contractions to 1st graders. They see them in the lyrics of one of the songs:it's ,don't and You've.
ReplyDeleteI remember this spiral curriculum stuff;
Itold children that two words ,let's say IT and IS lives separately and one day they got married IT'S- so I created the whole love story and kids loved it. I knwo they learned it- this is what I love about teaching- I CREATE STORIES TOO. So I filled the empty Vessels with contractions!HA!
I remember learning about other cultures when I was in school. We studied countries all over the world but none of it ever seemed real. When I lived in Kentucky I met people from China, India, Africa (several countries-yeah I know) as well Australia. THEN the things I learned came back to me. But until we connect the learning to real people I don't know how useful it is. Maybe that is what the authors are trying to say. I think we get defensive if we feel that what we hold dear is being belittled. I bet the kids feel that way too.
ReplyDeleteWe as teachers have to have some scaffolding for our students before they can learn to swim, they have to get their "feet wet" and be successful in floating and holding their breath. :)
ReplyDeleteHuh.....good point Sherry.
ReplyDeleteCulture is based on traditions and holds them tight because it is how culture is surviving, But downsize of it is the resistence to change. Don't you think so?
ReplyDeleteNat.
ReplyDeleteI was teaching contractions to my freshman AND seniors. There were only a couple of students that knew what the apostrophe was for. UGH!
I am all for that, Sherry. I don't mind students being taught about other cultures through literature. I am not trying to suggest that we only need to read from one cultural perspective. I want us to be aware of and appreciate different cultures but we also need to stick to "traditional knowledge" as it suggests in the book. Where we can learn about other cultures and still stick to teaching curriculum I am all for, but I am wary when we have classes that teach just culture. If you have that then there will ALWAYS be someone left out. If you can give students a choice to highlight a culture (maybe their own) in a project that is not just culture, to me that is OK.
ReplyDeleteIDK we are still using water-wings!
ReplyDeleteThat's right, Kyle. I was thinking that too. Guess I am just thinking about some sort of blend or balance. I am going to Europe next summer and fully expect to learn far more than I can imagine. 'Cause I'm not from around there!
ReplyDeleteSherry)
ReplyDeleteThat is a great point, but if you hadn't been exposed to those cultures, then what would you have had to "come back to you"? Even if we don't make "personal" connections right away, we may pave a way for those connections to join the students later. I know that it is important for them to make connections before learning but it is also important for students to have avenues laid out even if they haven't been paved yet and set in concrete. Again good point.
I agree that we need to have more hands on experiences. More field trips!
ReplyDeleteMeeting all those people was the interesting experiences I had. It was so cool to talk to them and get their take on what they think of America too. (Most loved it but couldn't wait to go home.) I ate really interesting stuff too but that is for another day!
ReplyDeleteKyle
ReplyDeleteMy seniors asked me today if we could go on a field trip in this class. I told him that I didn't think so but I am having to write for a grant to get money to pay for the bus in my Creative Writing Class for next semester. We have no money for field trips only money to pay the buses for Football and all other sport trips.
Good analogy Suzan!
ReplyDeleteStudents do need to have pathways (knowledge) built. Sometimes I think people focus so much on making connections that we don't give them things (again knowledge) to make connections to.
I have already told Francis that I am not biased> I took the test and it proved that I am right. I know if I had been raised in America I would have to be biased- it depends on ideology. in the USSR everything was the lie, but I was too small to understand it because what I heard from left and right was unbiased utopian ideology.
ReplyDeleteUSSR educated us well enough that we eventially started questioning what was going on in reality. i agree with Susann- if children are raised in the bias-free environment -they are biased free. I have read a lot of classcal literature and literature of different countries and cultures. I had to, because of curriculum in the public school, music college and the Institute of the Foreign languages. I learned music of different cultures and contries, but I have never heard any comparisons or criticism of it. We LEARNED to see the beauty of it and Beauty of being unique.When people respect their own culture along with other cultures their world is getting HUGE and their outlook becomes cosmopolite. I consider myself a cosmopolite and I love it- because I don't divide the world . i know that you will agree with me!!!LOL
Great comment Natalia! I loved what you said about learning to see the beauty in things and the beauty of being unique.
ReplyDeleteI was rereading the book and saw where Franklin Bobbit wrote a book with 800 curriculum objectives! Do you think the policitians are going to read it!? WHO does decide what we teach? Right now, it is our district office. They eliminated teacher imput last spring. It was a case of too many cooks in the kitchen, I suppose. Now we just wait to be handed our pacing guides... Is there any way out of this mess? How do we change the world?
ReplyDeleteWe get someone for president - who used to be a teacher, takes no money and is a real "civil servant" and teaches when not in Washington and realizes that we are professionals. I was wondering, don't doctorasand lawyers have to follow government standards too? I don't see them being volleyed in government elections!!!
ReplyDeleteRight Sherry, how do WE change the world? When they keeping changing how WE are suppose to teach the children of the future world, and now adding stress to our professions by threatening firing us for student failure. AND, WE were all taught differently then we are expected to teach. Hum....
ReplyDeleteSherry,
ReplyDeletethere is a way out. You are on your way out when you teach the students what you think is most important from the "map" and teach it in a way that you know works best. You know those kids better than anyone at central office ever will.
Kyle, I agree with your view of the 1/2 and 1/2. At my school I don't have to submit my lesson plans or tell what standards I'm teaching. I do have choice in the way I teach my students and the resources I use. However, I don't always know which one is the best! Especially after reading this chapter...I try to use a variety though because I see good parts of the different methods. I appreciated learning about the differences between traditional and more progressive methods. It seems like the "right" way to teach bounces back and forth like a ping pong ball though, so I figure if I use a little bit of both, I won't have to make such drastic changes in the future. :)
ReplyDeleteIn regards to teaching the culture and different viewpoints, I struggle. I desperately want my students to understand and respect differences between cultures and just anyone from a background different from theirs. However, I sometimes feel stuck because of the huge variety of belief systems within my classroom. I teach at a Christian school, so of course I teach Christian beliefs, but I let the students know from the very beginning that this is one belief system and they can choose whether or not they believe in the Bible. One of the parents came to me recently and expressed her gratitude for that one sentence I said at the beginning of the year letting her son know it was a choice. Her son is only in third grade, but she said it was a huge weight lifted off of his shoulder that my viewpoint wasn't going to be forced on him. It just makes me wonder what other viewpoints my students are picking up on that are more subtle...It also makes me wonder how the previous teachers have addressed students with different beliefs that as a 2nd grader he already felt bad for not believing the same things.
On a different note though, every year on Martin Luther King Day my school celebrates Diversity Day. We spend the day informing the students about diversity and celebrating the positive aspects of it. However, I was shocked last year when a parent came to me and was very upset because it was the first time her third grader had heard how African Americans had been treated in the past. She was upset that she found out about the mistreatment of African Americans and wished that she could have stayed "innocent" about the events that have happened in the past. However, they're still present today! It no longer seems like an easy line to teach students about differences, because I'm now afraid of "educating" the students about the importance of respecting each other.
Well, it's beeen great, but I am going home. 12 hours at school is long enough. Had to be here cause my grandson is at home sick and I wouldn't be able to concentrate there. Can't wait till Thursday. See you all then.
ReplyDeleteThis is my last comment. I feel like I am talking too much but it is boring just sitting with my computer!
ReplyDeleteI am more of a realist in that I believe there are facts and truths still to be discovered. I believe like Kant "the mind is equipped with processes for creating orderly thought and understanding." In my online class last week we read a research paper on how prekindergarten and kindergarten students learn to read their names. After the researchers figured out what they thought was "how" they asked the students. Many of them could not articulate the "how" they knew. They just knew. Our students know many things we do not know they know. We don't ask. We teach too much sometimes. There is a time for listening and learning from them too. That is where we have to find our balance and encourage them in their talents and abilities without discounting where they (or we) are from.
Well, it's been fun you all. My hubby made a fantastic dinner so I am going to go eat and spend time with him. I enjoyed the discussion. I hope you all have a fantastic week and I will see most of you on Thursday!
ReplyDeleteGuess I'm just about missed most of your comments until after the facts.
ReplyDeleteSorry- still learning how to do this.Blogging is a new Idea, technology is fun and frustrating.
At school. No TV, sorry I missed the news. I DID GET INTO MY SITE WEB PAGE AROUND THE LONG WAY Dr. Vitali!!! I had go get in through the class web, and scroll down from page archieves here and then select my site web page from your class collection web pages! Now I can do the work from school and not be blocked. Good night team members. Going home to plan Homecoming details.
Sherry, I like what you wrote about listening to the students. They really do have a lot to teach us and each other. Sometimes they can teach each other way better than I could try. Also, if I listen to them - to their words, actions, and feelings - I can choose which style is best for them to learn and adapt my instruction to fit their needs. Thanks for reminding me of that!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Natalia,
ReplyDeleteI agree that your perspective gives you more insight about American culture and propensities.
In the repost and video of "Race: The Power of an Illusion," it was intersting to note that even though children were brought up in a bised-free home, some young children still held strong beliefs about bias. Check it out for yourself at
http://www.pbs.org/race/000_General/000_00-Home.htm
The report recommended that NOT talking about differences and their identity will bring 'unintended consequences' for children. However, it was in the power of talking about them, their identity, how they see themselves related to others-making it transparent and overt through talking was significant in dispelling any 'unintended consequences' they may harbor. Then again, the setting is America with American children.
"Culture" to me can be interprested in many ways. It is the schema in which we give meaning, make meaning in interacting with our world and others in it. It is our guiding map of the terrain and how to navigate it. So you have cultural perspectives of those who: have criminal intent; are gay/lesbian; are activists; are sociologists; are anthropologists; are business people; are teachers; children; teenagers; law enforcement officers, among a plethora of others, of course. However, who they are may reveal to me a lens through which they see and relate to others and their world. When I talk with them, I am aware of their perspective and try to hone in on it to help me see how they perceive. For me it is the most respectful way 'of coming to know' through their eyes, similar to learning another language.
Thank you, Natalia, for your insight!-) Frances
I applaud your ingenuity, Vicky. With the culture of technology, there is always more than one way to figure things out AND YOU DID!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWe know that it is harder for you to access the Internet from Lake Valley and we realize your extra effort in what to us is seemingly accessible and easy.
On Sept. 30, have a celebratory Homecoming Night, Football Coach Pioche. "Go Lakers, Go!"
We will fill you in on the details of our Thursday Night (9/30) Discrimination Forum.
Thank you, Vicky!-)....Frances
Kyle, did I miss the point here? Was Oakes & Lipton suggesting that we as educators stick to Traditional teaching?
ReplyDeleteI wonder how can you teach history in a 'facutal' manner when there are so many perspectives and interprestations? I always need to know whose perspective is telling the story.
The big question of Chapter 4 is what consituties the curriculum? It is HOW the curriculum is taught that really matters. What did you think about the teacher's stories highlighted about what they did in their respective classrooms?
I also wonder even though someone from Africa corrected us about the reference to Africa as a continent and not a country, we still choose to say Africa, the country, because it is in our TEXTBOOK! Since when is everyhting in a textbook true?
I just saw a new textbook called "Perspectives of Human Differences: Selected Reading on Diversity in America" available at Pearsonhighered.com (http://www.pearsonhighered.com/assets/hip/us/hip_us_pearsonhighered/samplechapter/0137145039.pdf)
Check out some of these chapters and how different do they look from our 'traditional' social studies texbook?
I happened to read (which I already knew) in length about the Founding Fathers AND the Founding Indian Fathers and how our U.S. Constitution is based on the Iroquois Confederacy's Tree of Peace doctrines. It is refreshing to read the 'rest of our American History' that is either, abridged, censored, left out or tangentially referenced in most of our 'traditional' textbooks. How many of our students come to know this fact as 'traditional' knowledge," I wonder?
Just some musings, Kyle!-).............Frances