All posts by Emily Ann Jacobsen

Soft yet firm

Creating Classroom Community
The bottom line is that when students test us, they want us to pass the test. They are on our side rooting for us to come through with safety and structure. When students act out, they are really saying, “We don’t have the impulse control that you have. We are acting out so that you will provide us with safety and structure – be soft yet firm – so that we can learn the behaviour we need to learn to be happy and successful.” (Smith & Lambert, 2008, 2).

 

This article dealing with classroom management and creating a safe classroom could not have come at a better time for me. As the halfway point of the school year approaches, I find my students acting out a little more than usual. Continue reading Soft yet firm →

Define: Marraige

Friendship, Love, & Sexuality
“we learned that marriage meant something different to each of these participants…these “marriages” varied depending on where they were from, their age, how long their families had been in the States, whether they were in the U.S. as unaccompanied minors, and a host of other questions. Only one of the married participants in this research study had been married at City Hall and could pinpoint where her marriage certificate was located. Clergy in their homes or community mosques performed most of the marriages. None of the girls’ school teachers or counselors knew of their marriages” (Yetu, 2012)

Continue reading Define: Marraige →

Sometimes, your personal life is important to your classroom

Gender Socialization & Identities
“Three weeks ago I made the choice to come out as transgender and as queer to one of my sixth graders. This student has demonstrated a consistent, pointed interest in trans issues and has raised unprovoked questions about transsexuals on at least three occasions. He (or she?) is sometimes teased by other students for “acting gay,” wearing sweater-vests, and borrowing pink highlighters from the girls in class to decorate his notebook. Without assuming anything about this student’s identity, it is clear that gender and sexuality are important for the student to think about and work through right now.” (Krywanczyk, 2009, 5)

The fact that this teacher came out to his student is powerful. While I try to keep my personal life and teaching life completely seperate, I feel that this teacher made the right decision in telling his 6th grade student that he was transgender and queer based on the situation.  Continue reading Sometimes, your personal life is important to your classroom →

“You’re Asian, you don’t have to try”

Newcomers & Perpetual Foreigners
“During moments of interracial conflict between students, this stereotype can emerge in full force, such as when non—Asian American students tell Asian American youth to “go back to where they came from” or use fake Asian accents to mock them. Through this kind of behavior, non—Asian American youth send their peers a clear message: they are outsiders in their own schools.” (Lee, 2008, 77)

Continue reading “You’re Asian, you don’t have to try” →