Meeting students where they are, Culture and all
Meeting
students where they are, Culture and all
1.
How
can we as teachers step away from the more traditional and less effective
tenets of teaching, learning and curriculum while respecting the methodology
that has had great past success in Education?
a. An
unfortunate truth in education as well as society as a whole, is that we do
many things for no other reason than that it’s the way people have done things for
as long as anyone can remember. One specific tenet that was talked about in the
reading is the traditional banking model, academic systems like these are
rooted in unreasonable and unrealistic expectations for students. Pose, Wobble,
Flow ch.2 discusses the concept of ‘Hacking’ modern
educational infrastructure, tweaking things like the educational banking system
to maintain the expectations of retaining and regurgitating knowledge, but
modifying lesson plans to accommodate a variety of learning styles.
b. One of many factors that
will attribute to helping us ‘Hack’ curriculums to meet the multitudes of learning
styles Is understanding various elements of ‘Connected
Learning’. On page 44 and 45 of
P.W.F. it goes in depth on six different connected learning elements:
i. Interest Driven Learning
1. Learning that originates from
student captivation
ii. Peer supported Learning
1. Learning in a social
environment when multiple students share, give feedback and contribute to the
content.
iii. Academically oriented
learning
1. Academic learning that
develops skills that students can use to shape society in the future
iv. Production centered Learning
1. Learning that is scaffolded
with creating, remixing, sharing, and curating of intentional work with an
intended audience
v. Openly Networked Learning
1. Learning that employs tools
that connect students’ interests to contexts,
locations, and institutions so they can share those interests among peers
vi. Learning Around a Shared
Purpose
1. Learning that equips youth
to be more critical, confident, and resourceful human beings in the present
2.
Why
should we as an educational system reinstate the importance of civics in the
classroom, and why are they so important for the deliverance of ELA curriculum?
a.
Too often in classrooms, standards and
expectations are simply not made clear enough to students. You want your
students to be self-motivated to learn but to them there is no rationale if you
do not provide one. No matter what education system you are in, whether it is
in the United States or anywhere else in the world, you are expected to have at
the very least a fundamental understanding of civic duties. Now, some people
have had a very basic civics class in high school, but many programs are
eliminating this. This leaves an enormous informational gap in the social
skills development of young children. Why this is so detrimental to effective
ELA instruction and practice is that literacy skills can be ameliorated or
diminished by a terrible civic atmosphere in the classroom. Making civic
expectations understandable for students directly results in a more efficient
and constructive learning environment. Rich discussion, collaborative group
work, and intentional sharing cannot happen in a classroom without proper
civics and for us as teacher to just expect all students to understand this
standard with no instruction is unjust.
b.
Further support for why civics is so attributive
to ELA learning is discussed on page 60 and 61 of P.W.F.:
i.
Persuasion is audience specific
ii.
Students must be able to see how their voices
effect change
iii.
Student positionality and power need to be
delineated and located
iv.
Above all else, context should drive content
c.
The summation of all these claims is that the
boundary between school life and public life must be brought down for the
purpose of students to understand the ‘Why?’ behind the ‘What?’.
3.
What
is the incentive to make ELA more Culturally responsive and sustaining?
i.
Think of the most powerful and influential
people in the world, many would be politicians, celebrities, different creators
of media. Think about how much their literacy skills play a role in the
platform on which they stand, for many of them their voice or their written
words reflect the influence they have on our society. If we as teachers are to
equip our students with the prerequisites to maximize their potential success
and alter society for the better, there needs to be great investment in the
development of articulation, prose etiquette, intentional reading and writing,
and all other fundamental literacy elements that aid in the navigation of
students’ lives.
4.
Questions?
a.
What tenets of ELA curriculum do you believe are
most in need of some ‘Hacking’?
b.
What do you know about civics as a general
subject area? Can you define it? Could you teach your students about it if need
be?
c.
What are some classroom activities that you
believe could tie your students’ culture to literacy in the classroom?
I never took civics in high school, so I think that could be an issue or put students at a disadvantage if civics, which was just about government and voting in HS, isn't introduced in English classes or in any other form. In the book, it states how the "stuff" of civics is entirely grounded in synthesizing nuanced information from multiple sources and perspectives within the specific localized context where it originated. Meaning that civics is pulling information from different sources and points of view from the specific location where the issue started. I agree with what you said about teachers better equipping our students to better maximize their success. "Civic engagement is being able to understand and sort through competing perspectives...then to participate in localized discourse to determine the appropriate actions the community should take." Students are meeting standards by being able to analyze text, build on others' ideas, and express their own clearly as stated in chapter 3. Civics shouldn't just be a class seniors have to take for a semester, it should be introduced in ELA classrooms to better teach students that while they are allowed and encouraged to question why things are they way they are, they should also be able to gather information to be able to stand up for their reasoning and thinking.
ReplyDeleteUntil Pose Wobble Flow, I had never even heard of civics as a subject area. I would never have been able to tell you how to teach it or even what was meant by "civics". Garcia and O'Donnell-Allen (the authors of Pose Wobble Flow) tell us that "the pith of civic engagement is having the individual power to understand and take action in areas of personal and social concern that affect one's life and the lives of others in the community and in the broader world" (59). As you stated in the blog, civics was a one-semester class required in a decreasing number of high schools. Seeing as how "civics" was never offered at my high school, I wonder what exactly was taught in these classes? Because while a class on civics is helpful, a single class on it is too little. Civics needs to be taught throughout all the subjects. The authors of Pose Wobble Flow explain to us on page 58 exactly how to do so in literacy: standards grounded in current contexts, working through past and present contexts of power, identifying and acting on the varied positionalities in the room, and tying the instruction to the needs of students. What I notice about all the components presented is that none are exclusive to literacy. All of these can be used in any subject, on any lesson, and it is our responsibility as educators to do just that.
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of civics either, and I actually had to look up a definition for it! but i like the quote you pulled from page 59. It reminded me of the conversation we had in Dr. Shabazz's class about the original intention of schooling and that it was designed to prepare students to be citizens of this country. The fact that we haven't taken or heard of civics goes to show even more that modern schools have moved away from the original design, which is good in some ways and bad in others. It's good because the definition of citizenship was very exclusive when schools were created. This means that some students would have been (intentionally) miseducated about what civic engagement would look like for them, which would have been detrimental to their social development. However, it is bad that students no longer have civic engagement classes because now that we are looking to youth to be the voices of change, we are failing to equip them with the tools they need to be able to effectively make change.
Delete"Unknown" is Brandt Hatcher
DeleteLike fellow classmates, I have never taken a true civics class, and was unaware of what that class would entail until reading this chapter. I did however have a one-semester government class that reflected what Garcia and O’Donnell-Allen described as the civics class, being about, “government and voting and stuff” (2015, p.58). I also was surprised to find that civics should be a part of literacy rather than just being related to social studies classes. While I understand the reasoning now after reading on how we can use civics to further our understanding of writing in literacy, I would have previously associated a civics course with social studies just due to what I felt the nature of a civics course would include. After reading this chapter, I think I have a better understanding of how to introduce and work with civics in a literacy class while also contributing to a culturally sustaining classroom environment. I can have students understand unequal opportunities that they may face and use their experiences to create a civics lesson that allows them to be the social change through literacy teachings. One question I do have from this chapter has to deal with the use of technology for civic engagement. Based on experiences in my own school and observing other schools with technology use, how do we use this technology without it being distracting? It seems kids these days focus more on popular culture and may become distracted with popular culture rather than focusing on political topics, how can we help guide them to be more in tune with the civic engagement part of popular culture in the classroom?
ReplyDeleteGarcia, A., & ODonnell-Allen, C. (2015). Pose, wobble, flow: a culturally proactive approach to literacy instruction. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Olivia, great question to bring up about technology being a distraction and how can we use it with out letting it become a distraction. I remember when I graduated high school the next year when my brother started his freshman year that is when my school brought in chrome books. This helped teachers use more technology in the classroom but it allowed students to get sidetrack leading to being distracted. An option could be that the teachers would have access to all their students computers screens so once they gave the task to their students they could keep track of what they were doing. An other option could be to block students computers when they aren't supposed to be on them.
DeleteYour third question poses a lot of thought when looking at the Bomer article "What Would it Mean." The article quotes "there is an inescapable agenda in traditional ELA to replace students language patterns, aesthetic tastes, literacy practices, and composing practices with those of dominating culture." I feel this speaks to the difficulty a teacher can face when trying to create culturally sustaining activities when dealing with a traditional curriculum. To answer the question as best I can, I think you have to find non-traditional activities that can still tie back. For example, one activity I remember doing through school was a student-teacher response notebook. In the notebook students would write a one page letter to the teacher about something they wanted her/him to know. Then, by the end of the week the teacher would respond. We did this once a week for the whole year. This activity is a great way to create an open line of communication between teacher and student while also allowing them to share their cultural knowledge and experiences with you in a safe space. This is definitely an activity I feel I will do in my own classroom someday!
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea your teacher had to get to know and to get closer to you and your classmates. This is a good idea of how to gain knowledge of your students then using that information to create your lesson plan around so all students feel included and related to. That goes back to how Bomer explained the different ways to have connective learning in a classroom. If they see the teacher listen to them and what they have to say, they can believe that there is an audience that will listen too.
DeleteTaylor, I love that activity idea! I think that would be so beneficial for those students who have something that they think is valuable knowledge, but are too afraid or don't want to share with the whole class. It is such a great way to get to know all of your students on a personal level even though you may not have the time to sit down and talk to every student about their lives outside of school. It is also a way to have kids engage in writing that means something to them. In addition to writing about their experiences, they are also able to achieve their own academic success. Going off of this idea, I would think that you could even have the kids write a letter to their classmates and then have the other students respond to it. They would then be able to share their experiences with each other in a safe space where they could write what they wanted their classmates to know about themselves.
ReplyDeleteWhile I was reading Bomer's article, that quote you chose also stood out to me. I think it is important for children to have their own space to write and think creatively and to include their own "language patterns, aesthetic tastes, literacy practices" ( pg. 11). With standardized testing being a main focus of education right now, I feel that teachers are straying away from the practices of being culturally relevant and just "teaching to the test." As a future teacher, it may be hard to allow students to use their own language patterns in class, as it may not be what we think of as "proper English", but allowing children to have their own voice in the classroom is crucial to each student's education.
The third question in the blog post can be connected to the Bomer article “What Would It Mean…” when the article states “literacy education is especially responsive to culture because literacy itself,... is defined by the ways reading, writing, and other sign uses are situated in the things people in a culture do together” (pg.11). An activity that could tie student’s culture to literacy in the classroom would be similar to that of a research project about themselves. Students could consider their culture (religious beliefs, traditions, family identity etc.) and create something like the cover of a book that represents the cultural things that represent them and their background. The ‘book covers’ could be hung around the classroom to further remind students of all the diversity around them and instill a classroom community of acceptance. This relates back to the article quote in that while students are working to build their skills in reading, writing and articulating meaning from their research behind aspects of the culture around them, they’re able to create a piece of work that expresses each student’s cultural identity.
ReplyDeleteAs many others have stated, I have never taken a civics class. honestly I don’t even know if that was a class Emmy High school offered insight to! In today’s society we need Civics implementated in schools even more than before! Civics is a topic that can easily be incorporated into early elementary education and then once students get into high school students can really dig deep into it. I think this class being a mandatory class that students take would increase cultural knowledge and understanding.. so why is Civics not in the curriculum any more?
ReplyDeleteMark I like how you talked about the 6 different connected learning elements! Reading them tough these I can actually picture a time where I had that type of learning and some of the thoughts and feelings I felt during that learning. For example production centered learning, in 6th grade we were split into groups and each group got a planet, we had to find all the information on the planet we could and create a poster about it! My group and I got Uranus and we Splatter painted our poster into a galaxy theme then attached our information and presented it to the class! I still have that poster and still remember the information we about Uranus. Had this not have been production centered learning I do not think I would know the information I know about it! I think these learning styles are something we need posted in our classrooms so if we as educators are struggling with students success we can refer to it modify our lesson plans in ways our students will be able to be successful!
I remember doing a group project on planets also! I made a model of Plato with a foam ball and painted it grey then had facts I had to present in front of my class. I also did a project during an Egypt chapter and used a balloon and paper mache to make a bust of King Tut. Lessons that have students take on a hands on approach and give them something fun to do are a great way for them to remember what they are learning!
DeleteAs I read in the responses above, I also have never taken a formal civics class in my high school they offered government. I do recall some civics being brought up in some of my social studies classes but I wish civics was taught more in all my classes. In Pose, Wobble, Flow chapter 3, we are shown that civics should be taught not only one subject area but should be brought up in multiple subjects like literacy. In chapter 3, one thing that stood out to me was the part on page 61 that stated, "students need to see how their voices effect change". This section was important because as a teacher we need to making sure our students and students feel their views and comments all valued in class. This can be shown by allowing them to speak on behalf of their point of view on that subject, where the listeners know they can't be negative.
ReplyDeleteMark, I enjoy your post especially your quote, "You want your students to be self-motivated to learn but to them there is no rationale if you do not provide one.". Too many times teachers want our students be able to do things themselves and push themselves to exceed but what if they don't know which direction to take. As a teacher you need to be there and provide clear steps on how to help them individually.
I like what you said about letting students do their own thing and being self guided. Sometimes teachers want to be helicopters and be over the students instead of letting them do their own thing. How do you believe you will take a step back and let students do their own thing? Students should also know what is going on in the classroom sometimes teachers are not very clear about what is going on and that confuses the students in the classroom. How can you make sure that everyone in the room is aware of what is going on?
ReplyDeleteI really like the last question you posed! I remember an activity mentioned in a previous text of mine: a teacher celebrated each birthday in the classroom by having a guardian come in and tell the story of their birth(day). The floor would then be opened for questions, which the students would have thought over and written down beforehand. I found this such an interesting aspect of oral storytelling, which is one of those alternate forms of cultural capital mentioned in Machado, E. & et al’s, “Lived Life through a Colored Lens,” that one of our groups read in class. It allows the students to see and hear linguistic diversity.
ReplyDeleteSo I did not have a civics class at any point. We may have touched on it a little in my government class but only talking about voting probably. If I needed to teach it to my students I think I could do it if I did a little more research just for sake of having the correct age appropriate material. I think it is important to teach our students how to be good citizens and to talk to them about questioning why things are the way they are, and that if they don’t like how things are they need to be able to know what to do to make the change they want to see. An example is how we talked about Dr. Taylor’s class in Chicago that talked on what to do to change the food options the students had in their neighborhood. We are in charge of our own destiny and it’s important for our students to understand that.
ReplyDeleteBefore this class, I never thought to hack the curriculum. Looking a the table of varied responses to culture, I have experienced, first hand, the "culturally restricted" response and it juts made me question how do we get to a "culturally sustaining" classroom or environment when a "culturally restricted" type of classroom is required? Because of that, the different ways of connected learning really stands out to me. We should appreciate what they know and what they can do and make their ability equal to the other students shown in different ways. These students already have their own way or form of literacy, we should start there and grow, not change. This form of connective learning is really crucial, to allow the students to bring their lives into the curriculum.
ReplyDeleteIn the article, Bomer states "Culturally sustaining pedagogies require that we hold onto hope, that we believe that change is coming, that it's on its way right now and needs our action."(pg. 14) I realized that I have though against this my whole life. Seeing so many issues and injustices over and over again, I believed it will NEVER get better. I cannot go into my classroom with this mentality, I have to believe in hope in order to give it and spread it. This hope, along with connective learning strategies, will allow my students to believe in the change they want to see in the world.
Mark, I enjoyed that you used celebrities and their literacy skills to show the importance of English and language arts. Connecting literacy to a student’s life is a way of showing that you know them, and ultimately care about their academic and life success. In the readings from the Pose, Wobble, Flow book, it distinguished the Six Elements of Connected Learning. These elements are excellent as a way to keep students engaged in the classroom. As a future teacher, which elements might you struggle with? I feel like I would personally struggle with peer-supported learning because growing up I was embarrassed by it, but I realize students may learn some topics better just by working and listening to their peers.
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