Monthly Archives: September 2018

Seeing Wholeness & Complexity

Observing to Learn and Learning to Observe, Urban Adolescents

“…the protocol provides a list of questions that the presenter might think about and answer in describing the child, under five headings: physical presence and gesture, disposition and temperament, relationships, interests and passions, and ways of thinking and learning (Himley 2000).” (Knoester, 2008, p. 148)

Each ‘heading’ seems to accent a cornerstone in a person’s identity, and it is in my opinion that as educators (as humans!) we probably overlook four at any given time and judge a student, or another person, based upon just one. It is also interesting to me how one persons say, physical presence and gesture may either negatively or positively interact with another person’s physical presence and gesture. The five ‘headings’ do not stand alone but constantly interacting with others. Perhaps a student, or person’s, physical presence is more withdrawn or timid than my own. Their body language may be rounded in towards their core and their gestures may try to hide parts of their body or push away physicality of others. These characteristics act in opposition to my more open body language with gesture that invites people closer to my physicality. As an educator (and person) I tend to think something is wrong, when a persons physical presence does not mirror my own, or I interpret our interaction as disconnected. However, if I really take time to be REFLECTIVE and consider the other four ‘headings’ perhaps I will come to realize that this is not true. That I had been purely basing my assessment of our relating off of one aspect of a person’s identity instead of seeing their wholeness and complexity.

They Know They’re Great, But They Still Need Support

Observing to Learn and Learning to Observe

“Adelita continues that being from an immigrant family makes her ‘proud of being different from everybody else,’ but that she needs people from her school and community to support her in being different and to appreciate the strengths and contributions her family makes to the schools and town in which they now live.”

“Elisabeta powerfully ends her poster with the idea that ‘I love when people tell me I am a good person.'”

As I read this article and contemplated the students’ responses, I noticed a trend: there seems to be a need for outside validation. The students repeatedly demonstrate that they know they are good people and that they come from good families, even if they are frequently misunderstood or discriminated against. Continue reading They Know They’re Great, But They Still Need Support →

Let’s hear what our students have to say

Creating Classroom Community, Culturally, Linguistically, and Socioeconomically Diverse Adolescents in Urban Contexts: Framing the Conversation, Newcomers & Perpetual Foreigners, Urban Adolescents

Angelito, a 7th grader who emigrated with his
family from Mexico to the U.S, shared his thoughts on how he was received when he
stated, “It is that here there is a lot of, how do I say it? Racism towards immigrants, the
thinking that we are like this, like delinquents.”

What truly resonated with me was the above statement made by one of the students who participated in the study, Angelito. It just goes to show that we can all benefit from a more “pro immigration” community, ie country. Unfortunately there are many stigmas that incoming immigrant students have to face first-hand that incorrectly marks them in society. Continue reading Let’s hear what our students have to say →

What does it mean to build community anyway?

Observing to Learn and Learning to Observe

“Through their work together, project participants continually referred to the importance of the project as a vital way of them connecting to one another, supporting one another, and finding possible ways to address problems and discrimination they continued to face in school and society” (Roxas, Gabriel & Becker, 2017, p. 24).

The aspect of this project that resonates with me the most is the newcomers’ ability to integrate into the community and, at the same time, the community’s opportunity to meet and interact with each other, especially those that are new. I think a lot of people, i.e. educators, administration, parents, student, local community members, etc., struggle with the idea of “community”, and what does that even mean? How do you achieve it, and not only for just a moment, but long-lasting connections for the betterment of the greater whole? Continue reading What does it mean to build community anyway? →