MVP 2: Respond to “Learning to describe”

In the article, “Learning to describe”, I learned that “To describe teachers me that the subject of my attention always exceeds what I can see”. As educator, the quote from the article reminds me of that that we need to be subjective to observe and understand our students. Last semester, I was doing internship in a Kindergarten. It was an ESL class. Students with various cultural backgrounds, learning abilities, and personalities were brought to a big class. At the beginning when the kids do not know English, they quietly to observe and pick up words. Interesting thing was even though they did not really know English; they still tried to raise hands and answer questions, because when they saw the other kids actively engaging in the class, they did not want to be left out. They joined in even they did not know the answer. What the teacher thought was the kids needed a chance to talk. When the kids answered question, the teacher just let them talk even the answers were unrelated. As the time went by, they got used to speaking English in front of class. After a semester, we could not even stop them talking. Relating back to the quote, my experience shows that to describe teaches us to have a subjective view to think about students’ situation. We do not rush to judge or make conclusion of our students. We need pay attention to them. We have to give them time to adjust the environment and fully present themselves. As educators, we know our students and understand their behavior by their cultural backgrounds. We become observers to guide our students construct idea and planers to plan out effective activity to motivate students participate in class.

Respond to: Understanding the Link between Racial Identity and School-Related Behaviors

For me, it is a shock to learn that black (African-American) adolescents are living in such a life of uncertainty. And out of my expectation, the living environment, especially the aspects of sociocultural, political and educational, needs to bear the responsibilities on putting them in this unfavorable and struggling situation. Continue reading MVP 2- What African-American students are facing shocks me! →

“The stereotypical images we hold of certain groups are powerful in influencing what people see and expect of students. Unless educators consciously try to undermine and work against these kinds of stereotypes, they often act on them unconsciously. Our assumptions related to race are so deeply entrenched that it is virtually impossible for us not to hold them unless we take conscious and deliberate action.” (p.30, Adolescents at School)

I was fortunate enough to attend a small Quaker school for twelve years. Teachers were dynamic, caring, attentive and wise. The student body was generally very close and socialized freely across racial and socioeconomic divides. There were some cliques – ‘popular’ girls, nerds, athletes – but all social barriers were fluid and there was little friction between groups. At least, that was how I felt. As I reflect on Noguera’s piece and the ‘hidden curriculum,’ I recognize that there were things I didn’t consider much as a child that stand out when viewed through the lens of social and racial differences. The ‘popular’ girls were all white, while the ‘slutty’ girls included Latina and Black members. What about the Chinese girl from Camden who wore oversized hoodies and rarely showed up to school? Many kids didn’t give her a second thought – she was barely around and didn’t seem to have a concrete social group. I wonder now – which teachers were aware of her situation? Who reached out to her? How did she and others in similar positions feel – marginalized, aloof, sad? What seemed like an ideal diverse school community was probably more alive with divisions than I, as a young white girl with a solid social group and a middle-class suburban upbringing, could comprehend.

While our school emphasized diversity with programs like Camden Scholars (academically distinguished students from Camden, NJ who received scholarships), I don’t recall there being a lot of open discussion about race and class. Passive ‘colorblindness’ seemed a pretty safe route for a lot of people. In preparing to become teachers, it’s important for us to remember that thinking outside of stereotypes takes conscious work and mental vigilance. It’s everyone’s responsibility – students, teachers, administrators, parents – to make a concentrated effort in not accepting or propagating stereotypes, as well as speaking openly and respectfully in helping students develop positive racial identities in their crucial identity-forming years.

“Adolescence is typically a period when young people become more detached from their parents and attempt to establish an independent identity. For racial minorities, adolescence is also a period when young people begin to solidify their understanding of their racial identities. Continue reading Correct Your Vision →

MVP #2 (Knoester 148)

“ [ . . . ] we used descriptive review processes during staff meetings to share and receive feedback on critical questions that we, as teachers, were facing. [ . . .] I later chose to use descriptive review again in professional development with student teachers, as they gained understanding about their students and planned to teach units for their ‘takeover’ weeks.”

In my former school, we had a large cohort of full-time tutors completing a year of service for the school. These tutors received intense training in our school culture and effective tutoring in the summer leading up to their service year. Tutors were then assigned additional roles within the school; for example, I had a teaching assistant in my writing classroom. Continue reading Descriptive Review for Professional Development →