All posts by Lisa Hidalgo

Cultural Competency

Creating Classroom Community

“…movement toward cultural competency may be met with some resistance and apprehension from school personnel uncomfortable with learning about race and ethnicity. Integrating cultural competencies into the day-to-day activities within the school building and the classrooms, however, can have an impact on the academic achievement gap for students of color” (Banks, 2004 in Yull, Blitz, Thompson & Murray, 2014, p. 23).

There were different sections of this article that I wanted to highlight, but with this passage I will touch base on some of those points. Teachers and schools that acknowledge that cultural competency should be implemented in their classroom, or hidden curriculum, is a step towards making all students feel welcomed at school. Before that, teachers should make the effort to know the “population of students they are educating” (p. 19). As we’ve read, it’s important to get to know the student population at our schools; learn about and understand their communities and traditions to better prepare ourselves during the process of creating an inviting class environment. I still believe this isn’t a priority for many educators, to build relationships with our students by getting to know them outside of academic boundaries. I also agree that integrating cultural competencies will impact minority students, as the article mentioned, they are stereotyped and held to low standards because of those labels. But, when we put our effort into implementing race and ethnicity topics that broaden student’s cultural awareness, students will feel acknowledged and supported by not only the staff, but also their classmates.

The Gap

Reaching Adolescents and How to Respond

“One has only to look at the gaps between professional education, professional responsibilities, and the policies that direct learning, teaching, and working to recognize that we have important work to do in clarifying not only the role of teachers in school mental health but also in including teachers on the front end and inviting their voices to be heard.”
(Weston, 2018, p. 116)

       This sheds light on an important topic that we’ve touched based on in class: What is the teacher’s role? Well, it’s definitely not just one. This made me think and agree that we must not only clarify our roles and responsibilities as teachers but also make known our concerns, opinions, doubts, and ideas. For example, some of us are taking the course “Ss with Disabilities” and we discussed how IEP accommodations are being made by a psychologist. The school psych observes and tests a student, but usually doesn’t consult the main teacher, and doesn’t discuss with the main teacher what is feasible or what can realistically be done in the classroom to support that student. This is concerning because most of the IEP accommodations are for the main teacher to implement in their classroom, but again, they’re being recommended without conferencing the teacher. This leads up to the challenge that we face as teachers, which is, balancing the demand to meet all student’s needs. I say challenge because of the gap that exists and the article explains it perfectly, teachers care about their student’s well-being, we want to support all students, but sometimes, as we mentioned in class, we don’t feel that we’re trained enough or at all nor capable to meet the requirements of all the roles ‘assigned’ to us. Therefore, it’s been important and valuable to learn throughout this course the resources that are available to us as teachers when it comes to providing any and all support to our students.

All Students Deserve a Judge Free Zone

Gender Socialization & Identities, Urban Adolescents

Building relationships with others within a safe, accepting environment can be a crucial component of helping transgender students feel engaged and committed in school while they are navigating personal identity issues as well as the formation of positive self-esteem. (Kurt, 2017, p. 15)

It becomes more evident, with every article we read, the importance and the major responsibility that educators must take to make their classrooms a welcoming environment. Whether it be newcomers who don’t know the language and want to fit in, or the students that don’t participate in class because they didn’t have breakfast. All students should have and deserve a space where they aren’t judged, as the article states. Not only transgender students, but all adolescents are “navigating personal identity”, as young adults, they’re all discovering themselves. Every event at school, small or big, can affect the construction of a teen’s self-esteem, in both negative and positive ways. I do believe that how to handle or provide services for transgender students is a sensitive topic that must be discussed with all staff. I say sensitive because that’s the feeling I got when I read that transgender students not only question themselves but are also faced with questions by fellow classmates. This may put them in an unpleasing position where they might feel the need to justify who they are and how they feel when they shouldn’t have to. Therefore, it’s not only important to educate students about accepting and not judging any student, but also educators must take action in learning the laws and policies that keep their students safe and, in result, allows for a welcoming classroom environment.

Academic Support for Newcomers

Newcomers & Perpetual Foreigners, Urban Adolescents

“Newcomer students like Perla and Luis are especially likely to fall into this downward educational spiral if their schools don’t provide a socially welcoming and academically structured and scaffolded environment that can meet their particular emotional and developmental needs. To bridge the disconnect that such students may feel between their lives at home and in school, teachers and other school support staff need to bring a sensitivity to the cultural and psychological transitions they may be struggling with in both environments.” (Goodman, 2018, p. 64)

This passage really hit home. As a student teacher at an ESL placement, we encounter students with similar situations from this chapter. I’m mostly exposed to Asian newcomers, or emergent bilinguals that face emotional, social, and academic challenges parallel to those mentioned by Goodman. I’ve also read articles assigned by my TESOL courses about how staff and schools don’t provide enough of a welcoming environment, don’t take the time to get to know students, and don’t use scaffolded pedagogy to support “emotional and developmental needs.” Our newcomers, emergent students may be facing complicated situations that lead to emotional stress, like, trying to keep up with/learn the new language, rebuilding family ties after reunification, missing their old home/routines, and cultural transitions. These challenges that students are faced with can be dealt with, but as educators it can seem hard to give support since we know we’re not with our students outside of class, and we can’t hold their hand throughout the day. But, the chapter includes some ways in which educators can help these students develop new language and at the same time learn from them on a personal level through group work and journals. I also got a little excited when they mentioned pair work and allowing translanguaging because we just spoke about it in our last class. This is an approach that I haven’t been able to use yet since my placement is a school where they strongly encourage students to only speak English, but I definitely look forward to applying it in my future classroom. Even though I find useful the suggestions from the chapter in helping support newcomers, I wonder what activities can other content teachers use or create to support or get to know their emergent bilinguals?

My Destiny Does Not Await at Mickey D’s

Blurring the In-School Ouf-of-School Line, Urban Adolescents

Although she did not say that her explicit intention was to change social perception of Black, minority youth, it is clear that she understood some of these stereotypes and that her beliefs and actions were in direct contrast. (Basu, 2008, p. 274)

First of all, BRAVO! I admire the 5 students mentioned throughout the article, not only do they beat the odds, but they know they are, and they want to influence other classmates to do the same. As adults and teachers, we know the stereotypes that exist, we talk about them in our courses, and we grew up finding out about them through jokes or media. But I think sometimes we forget to ask ourselves “Do our students know these stereotypes exist?” Well, yes, they do! Some students may feel that how they’re graded or treated is based on the stereotypes that they associate themselves with. But, just because they know the stereotype about their race, class, or economy doesn’t mean they stand by it, they try to “contrast” them through there “actions.” This article is so empowering, and I love how Darlene flat out says that she thinks white people believe that Blacks are destined to work at Mickey D’s, and for that, Blacks don’t deserve charity, or “funding” as she said. I’d love to read more about critical agency in a different classroom setting, it’s a concept I’ve never heard of, but it’s amazing how it’s defined in different ways by different authors. My takeaway from this article is that it’s possible to motivate learning in students by allowing them to challenge the norms that exist at school by exploring them in order to influence a change in these stereotypes.