My Learning Letter

My Work (Book Talks, Mini-Lesson, Unit Plan):

            Throughout the quarter, I could tell that every assignment we were given was going to make us better teachers. For my book talk, I chose Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli. When I started reading my book, I used the double-entry diary from Cris Tovani. I started the book by asking Tovani’s questions (I wonder, this reminds me of, I visualize, I am confused about, etc). I think this helped me build background knowledge throughout the book as I continued asking myself those questions without the diary. I learned a lot from my book as I read and re-skimmed it for the purpose of telling others about it. I had to think about what the most important points were and how I could actually use the book in the real world. The book talks were really good practice for when we conduct book talks in our classrooms. I really liked that each EWU student presented so many lesson ideas and had diversity of texts. Some were great for study in class and others were awesome to interest kids in reading. I love that I have a big file of books to temp my students with.

            I learned a lot from the mini-lessons. Although I thought I taught fairly well, some of my classmates are teaching rock stars! I felt in awe when Trish was teaching about some of the history of the Holocaust. She was such a good story teller. History is story telling! I think that Sean’s lesson on identity was really powerful as well. I learned during my own lesson that I need to be careful with my time restraints. I chose good texts but I had to rush the class to get everyone to complete the work in time. I need to work on the length and complexity of my tasks and giving clear directions. Also, I need to work on speaking loud enough. I think I learned the most from my peers. Anna taught me to be firm when addressing distractions in the classroom. Russ taught me to relate activities throughout the lesson to each other. Several displayed how to have students interact with the learning targets through paraphrasing and defining. John and others showed me good techniques to validate my students’ answers and work. Aaron taught me to be more sensitive when giving feedback by saying, “I noticed…” Dr. Agriss reminded us all to not have our backs to the class when writing on the board and to tie our learning targets back into our lessons at the end of the lesson. As a student, I learned that I am a really bad listener. I hardly ever hear directions; thus, I distract my elbow partner when I ask them what we are doing. Somehow, I magically zone out every time the teacher gives directions. I know my students do this too so I think it is good to ask them to repeat the directions to you.

            I am really proud of my unit plan. I definitely think it needs a lot of editing but I know that I put a lot of thought and passion into it. I used research to support my rationales and activities. I created a student voice tracker and I think my calendar and evaluation plan are really useful. Although this project was difficult, I learned a lot from it. I learned that the best way for me to create a unit plan (or even just individual lessons) is to start with really good objectives of the skills and knowledge students should gain. Next, I should create an assessment that actually assesses all those objectives. Then I can start writing daily objectives for how to get my students to the assessment and the activities that will help the students reach the daily objectives. Instead, at first, I tried to write my lessons without clear unit objectives. I had to go back and really understand my objectives and assessment before I could write useful daily lessons. I also learned a lot about good resources for teaching the Holocaust. I think USHMM.com might be my favorite website right now. Again, I had a problem with trying to pack too much into my lessons. It was difficult to write the schedules for each lessons because I realized I did not really plan well for time constraints. Nevertheless, I think all my activities relate well to the unit objectives.

Theories & Discussions:

            These are not going to be in order of what we read but more in the order of influence over my thinking.

            Langer’s “A Response-Based Approach” and Brooksfield and Preskill’s “Discussions of Democratic Society” taught me a lot about discussion. In discussions, our students should learn from each other. Although many teachers rely on guided discussions, students can gain a lot from unscripted discussions. In my own classroom, my students have taught me so much about texts that I did not see before. When we let students really engage in free discussions, they arrive at their own conclusions. They become confident to be independent thinkers and explore their own hunches. Students can become responsible thinkers and good listeners through discussions where everyone is involved.

            McLaren’s “Critical Pedagogy: A look at Major Concepts” taught me a lot about how we teach our students to think. Starting in middle school, we give our students dystopia books to read to start questioning their world. McLaren posits that students should study the contradictions of power in society. There is a dominant culture that rules subordinate cultures. I think of Sidney White where the “Greeks” (sororities and fraternities) want to destroy a house a bunch of “nerds” live in so they can enjoy more privileges of power. When students look at these problems they learn how to think to build solutions. In social justice, we teach our students how to ask meaningful questions and discuss from every perspective. Students free themselves from the prejudices of the dominant culture or other cultures to create equality for the good of all. They recognize problems and explore solutions. In these discussions, different perspectives should be shared.

            Fiere’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed outlined some of the problems we have in education. The oppressed try to live like their oppressors but cannot. They must earn their independence together. In our classrooms, we can give our students opportunities to be good citizens and question authority. In my current class, we are questioning the problems in the media. I had two periods actually create a list of questions they would ask an advertiser and my friend who works for a marketing agency in radio and TV commercials is going to record himself answering them for my students. They asked some really hard questions like, “Do you think it is right to stretch the truth?” I think they are beginning to see how they are influenced to buy certain ways, especially by popular culture and advertising. Teachers can use popular culture to connect students’ interests to classic texts. Sometimes students understand a complex text better when they can relate it to something from their culture. It can also be used to connect the lives between the elite and common cultures. Advertisers use it to make people feel like they need to be cooler. When teachers use popular culture and connections to the community, they are veering away from banking education (teaching information without an application) and moving toward problem-posing where students have room to create solutions.

            In Tomlinson’s “Mapping a Route to Differentiated Instruction,” I learned that we need to teach students the objectives at their personal level. They can reach the objectives based on their readiness and interest, not how many different activities a teacher has for them. I think students can differentiate their own learning through questioning and choosing texts of various difficulty. Tovani (I read it, But I don’t get it) helps students understand difficult texts through writing in double-entry diaries and asking themselves questions as they read. Good readers consistently check for their own understanding. They make connections between what they read and what they already know about the subject or the world. Teachers may find that students need various levels of scaffolding to understand a subject. Through tools like popular culture and informational texts, students can build background knowledge that will help them understand and apply their lessons.

Influence on me as a teacher:

            We use double-entry diaries almost every day in my classroom as we read various texts. In my reading group, I often stop discussions to ask students what passages remind them of or to check if they understand the words they are reading. When students ask why they have to write in the double-entry diary, I explain that writing helps us organize our thoughts and prepares us for the assessment. We use discussions nearly every day. In my groups, I try to give my students room to ask questions and answer themselves. We will soon be practicing literature circles where they will direct their own questioning and cannot be lead to an answer. We also studied The Giver by Lois Lowry as a dystopian text. Through it, students really got to question Jonas’s society and their own. They thought about which society really was better in several aspects and took a stance. They got to decide if various aspects of the book were moral or not.

            I am not very good at creating lesson plans yet, as I learned from my unit plan and mini-lesson. I really need to practice writing well-timed lessons. Now I know to start my lessons with the overall objectives and assessment in mind and then my lesson objective before I start planning my activities. I can start being transparent when teaching my students the connections between the lessons and the objectives. I also want to incorporate pop-culture in my lessons. I read about a rap song that could be good in a Holocaust unit. Students can study various popular songs for parts of speech. We often mention movies in class and sometimes we study them. I think it would be good to start incorporating more types of popular culture in the classroom. They care too much about their lives out of school to ignore it.

"American Born Chinese" by Gene Luen Yang

A lot of my students enjoy reading graphic novels. I think there is some debate on whether graphic novels can be a legitimate literary text students should study. Although they contain far fewer words than prose, graphic novels are ripe with visual techniques that students learn to interpret. Furthermore, with the fewer words, students are required to fill in the blanks for themselves. My own students recognize that graphic novels and prose both employ description but that a graphic novel can be a great medium for story-showing instead of storytelling. I really enjoyed reading American Born Chinese. The author ties together three different story lines in a surprising way. Also, I think he addressed the issues of bullying, stereotypes and identity in a whole new way. Even if students aren't struggling with anti-Asian discrimination, they could be dealing with their sexuality or another aspect of their identities. Here are some ways I would use this text:
1. Students can study graphic novels as a medium to tell a story or narrative. First, as they read American Born Chinese they note one of the main story-lines and how the author develops the story through images. Students would write their own narratives and then create a graphic novel or comic for that narrative. Students are writing and thinking critically about which details are important and how a scene would really look. They are connecting the writing with images in their heads.
2. American Born Chinese is all about stereotypes, racism, discrimination and identity. Jin Wong realizes he is ostracized by his peers and by high school decides to change his identity. Through the three story lines, students can see various examples and effects stereotyping. In the Monkey King story, the monkey king turns violent when he is restricted from appreciation (and a good lunch) just because he is a monkey. He exchanges his kingdom and the love of his monkeys for power and an identity above the other deities. Young Wong's teachers are blatantly careless with their stereotypes. Wong's peers make a lot of assumptions about him and won't be his friend. Then he makes a couple friends (also Asian) who all suffer from various moments of bullying. Finally, Chin-Kee is the ultimate stereotype. He refers to himself in first person; he has terrible grammar; he eats cats and gizzards, he wears a top-knot and old fashion clothing. Probably the worst stereotype mentioned was when Chin-Kee told the girl he wanted to bind her feet and make her have his babies as if she was a possession. Students often struggle with taking their knowledge of the past (or just rumors) and applying them to the present. Some of my own students were calling Japanese people our enemies because of what happened in World War II. Then I asked them if they knew any Japanese people and if they were really like how they were thinking of them. Students can use their own experiences to understand this topic better and how to end it in their society.
3. Finally, I think it would be fun to look at the proverbs and wisdom present in this text. Chinese culture is often depicted as one rich in proverbs and parables. Students can read this graphic novel for the stories Yin's mother tells him and the monkey story-line. They can determine what the moral of the stores are and compare them to Western fables. In addition, students can write proverbs and fables of their own to demonstrate a point.

"Night" by Elie Wiesel

Night is often used in high schools, at least in Washington, as literature to help students attain information and empathy toward the Holocaust. Any instruction on the Holocaust must have a supportable rationale like students will learn about discrimination, authority, and bystander syndrome as they study the Holocaust and apply their knowledge to create solutions for their world today. Teachers must be careful with how they teach their students about the Holocaust because some students may become desensitized or, alternately, traumatized by this era of hate and cruelty. In worst cases, students might blame the victims for their weakness. Therefore, teachers use literature, fiction and non-fiction like Night, to introduce the human side of the Holocaust to their students. Here are several strategies a teacher can use with Night.

1. Students can study Night in literature circles. In each group, students are in different roles that correspond with each other to promote a deeper study of the text. One student may be in charge of background research, another in charge of discussion questions and yet another leading the bridge builder that connects the book to other information they already know.
2. Night is a memoir about one youth’s experience with anti-Semitism, concentration camps and death. Throughout this text, students can study how the author expresses his feelings (he will never forgive himself for not protecting his father), deals with violence and hunger, how his character changes and the historical context of the story (this would fit in with a chronological study of the Holocaust).
3. Students can also study the text for information about the Jewish faith. Elie’s faith changes throughout the story from avid student to tormented unbeliever. Although the focus would not be on how God failed the Jews, it could focus on Elie’s personal evolution emotionally and spiritually. Teachers beware of students over-identifying and becoming traumatized by the text.
4. Students can study Night for instances of discrimination, intolerance, violence, and hatred. The study should not end there but build upon the students sense of social justice and how they can change the world. Student can compare the Holocaust to instances of genocide in Africa and hate crimes they have witnessed or heard about in their own lives. This could lead to a project where students contribute to the betterment of their community.
5. Students are studying human rights. Through a study of Night, students study Night as a testimony of human rights activism. Students can also research and study other human rights activists, connect the stories and present on the information to their class. Then students create a plan on hose they could become human rights activists.

"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet was not my favorite text to read in high schools and it was not my favorite play to read in college. In high school, I did not struggle with the language but with the choices of the main characters. This text can be challenging for secondary students because 1. language 2. poetry and play writing 3. number of characters. With that said, there are several aspects of this books that are helpful to teach students new skills.

1. Translate into modern speak. Shakespeare invented a lot of new words. This play was written in modern English that is fairly unfamiliar to students. In order to get meaning out of the text, the teacher will need to do a bit of scaffolding on new vocabulary and how puns are used.Students work on interpreting and analyzing unfamiliar language to build on their own use of language and to understand complex language in their modern world. Students could translate a scene and then film it in the modern context.

2. Poetry. Shakespeare often employs soliloquies, sonnets and poetic elements in this play. Lines are in iambic pentameter. When students study Shakespeare's use of sonnets and write their own, they can organize their thoughts on a subject in a new way. Furthermore, students can use Shakespeare's use of metaphors to create metaphors that help them understand other subjects. Using metaphorical thinking and language can help students gain deeper understanding of their world. Additionally, a study of imagery in "Romeo and Juliet" can teach students how to be descriptive in their own writing.

3. "Romeo and Juliet" is a good play to study a time period. Written during the Elizabethan era, the play is set in Verona, Italy. Although the descriptions are not totally accurate to the area, students can compare the customs and concerns of the people with their own culture to learn more about the past. Moreover, students can study the tradition of theater in the culture. This is a tragic play though it was a romance. Students can examine what makes a tragedy, how the lovers acted and how those compare to their world.

4. Students can study "Romeo and Juliet" for theme. Overall the theme, or moral of the story, is that families should not feud, or people should not fight over nothing because the innocent pay for it. In addition, students can study the play to analyze how characters act and react to each other. How do the character's actions build on each other to continue the feud? Students can study the choices of the characters and decide whether they think the choices were wise and valid or not.

Overall, I would choose a Shakespearean comedy to teach. However, students can learn a lot (ethically) from tragedy and connect it to their own lives.

"The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie

As a college student, I enjoyed reading Alexie's novel about a Spokane Indian boy facing challenges to make a better future for himself. This text offers us many aspects to study. Here are a few:
1. Culture & Diversity.
     This novel is set on the Wellpinit Reservation, just north of Spokane. Some of Spokane's landmarks are mentioned. Arnold, the protagonist, ventures off to Reardan, a rural community, in order to get a better education. His sister marrieds a Flathead Indian and moves to Montana. For Washingtonian students, these details could make them want to read the book more and make them more connected to the text. I felt especially excited when Polson, MT was mentioned because I've been there. As a lesson, the teacher could focus on geography and the history of the tribe. Students can use the text to compare and contrast the two communities on their practices and living conditions. Furthermore, students can discuss how diversity is addressed in this book.
2. Identity.
       In the beginning, Junior sees himself as a dirt poor Indian with "water on the brain." He has cerebral palsy and other issues that make him easy to pick on. But his teacher forces him to realize that his identity is not with his drunken tribe members. When Junior starts going to Reardan, he becomes Arnold: a confident student and capable athlete. Arnold builds a positive self view of himself and changes as a person a lot throughout the book. He struggles with being Indian on the reservation but "White" when he is in Reardan. Students can look at that transformation and analyze the resolution.
3. Coming-of-age & high school.
        Arnold experiences a lot of hard things and a lot of great things in High School. He learns how to take care of himself and how to become a better student. He gains new perspectives about his tribe and makes decisions based on increasing wisdom.
4. Grief.
       Arnold is faced with the death of his grandmother (killed by drunk driver), sister (burned to death while drunk, and Eugene (Dad's friend, shot while drunk). Arnold has to deal with the humor of his grandmother's funeral, the inappropriate reaction to his sister's death and his sadness at Eugene's death. Students can analyze Arnold's phases of grief and his thoughts on his family and tribe throughout. What does he think about alcohol? What are some of the tribe's traditions for deaths?
5. Challenges.
      Arnold faces many challenges, many of which are listed above. He has problems and he finds solutions. He think he will be bullied, so he punches the cool jock first. He lost his best friend, so he keeps sending him questions and funny notes. He wants a better education, so he befriends the nerdy kid. He gets hurt in a basketball game, so he makes sure to beat them the next time. Arnold does not always know what to do but students can analyze the trouble he faces and how he always makes good. He makes more for himself and his future.
6. Poverty.
      Arnold often talks about the poverty of the Spokane Indians. He also mentioned that there are some white people that are poorer than the Indians. Arnold struggles with having to walk to school, having dingy clothes, not being able to eat and not being able to pay for dates. Students can look at the causes and  challenges poverty places on living and think of creative solutions to end poverty, at least for the tribe.

TPA Lesson Plan

    Eastern Washington University has adopted an adaptation of a lesson plan template from the University of California for teacher candidates to use. This template requires a lot of thinking and writing but is a tool to teach student teachers how to think about lesson planning. By the time students graduate, they will have written several lesson plans using the TPA. Though they may not use the TPA, specifically, again in their teaching careers, the TPA trains teachers how to think and what do consider when making a lesson plan until it is instinctual.

     When considering a unit, the teacher needs to know the demographic of their classroom and the culture of the students being taught and even their parents. Personalities and personal hardships both effect how a classroom operates each day. Teachers also consider individual student needs when planning the specific activities for each lesson. Instruction should begin with standards to which goals and objectives are related. One thing teacher candidates learn is that learning activities and instructional strategies should be based on research and thoughtful planning. The teacher is held accountable to use best practices. Teacher candidates write what my school calls a “Learning Target” so each student knows what they are learning. Teachers need to explain the core vocabulary used and how the target relates to their learning.

     Some things that I personally need to work on in my lesson planning are assessment and making connections between the objectives and activities to the assessment and learning goal. One question is, “How will you record what you see and hear.” So far, I do not have an ongoing file on my students other than the gradebook. I am not too good at keeping details of what they have learned individually in my head. When students take assessments, every question should be aligned with an objective. Students should be able to really show what they have learned. Furthermore, students may not understand that the activities they do help them learn skills we will look for in their assessment. We want to see them to see the line of improvement in their skills as we work on assessing them.

Mapping a Route Toward Differentiated Instruction

"Mapping a Route Toward Differentiated Instruction" by Carol Ann Tomlinson

     Differentiated instruction takes place when students work at different speeds and levels. Tomlinson suggest that the traditional method of teaching all students the same thing, at the same pace is not necessarily helpful for all student to learn. Her first step to differentiated instruction is to have the end goal in mind. To have successful teaching, students need to have new understanding and be engaged in what they are learning. Just because a teacher gives students different amounts of time to finish an activity or uses different activities that allow movement, creativity and choice, does not mean the teacher is creating differentiated lessons. The lesson must always have the end goal in mind and the students should know what that goal is so they can link their activities to long term learning. Just because the students are engaged or having fun does not mean that they are gaining deeper understanding. I worry about this in my future classroom. I believe teachers need to find creative ways to engage students and provide them with different strategies to learn. One way to do that is use games. If I am not careful, I will use games or fun projects because I want my students to be happy, but they will not further student learning.

      The differentiated lessons begin with key concepts students should know by the end of the unit like "culture". Then teachers use principles like "how cultures are shaped." Next the teacher defines facts and terms students should know by the end of the unit and the skills they should have such as interpreting historical data. Finally, teachers use essential questions to engage student interest in their learning. These questions can be about how the topic is related to their lives. Teachers can differentiate instruction in different ways. One is that student work can be directed by their personal interests. Another is that differentiation depends on the students' readiness. Teachers can give different resources and levels of support depend on their level of understanding and skill. Finally, the instruction depends on the teacher's assessment of student progress. Throughout instruction, the teacher can introduce different strategies like differentiated groups or differentiated graphic organizers to assist in learning at different levels of readiness. I had not previously thought of differentiation this way. I thought of it more as giving the students who work faster another task to work on when they were done. Instead, departments work together to set the key concepts, terms and skills students need to have in order to move on. The teacher creates lessons that engage different levels of skills and understanding, not speeds and not just different activities keep students from calling the class boring.

Double-Entry Diary from Tovani

Double-Entry Diaries

Direct Quote and page Number                                                                This reminds me of…

1.       “Someone is chasing me. ‘Stop! Thief!’ I run.” (1)      When Aladdin runs through the streets because                                                                                                                      he stole food

2.       “At last we plunge into a dark hole” (2)                          In Maus, some people hid in the garbage holes.

3.       “Soon it won’t be ladies chasing you” (2)                       In Maus, in Auswitz there were female KAPOs

4.       “Runt is good.” (5)                                                                   In Newsies, Jack decides the new guy’s                                                                                   little brother would help them make profits selling                                                                                          papers because he is small and cute

5.       “He reached down and fingered the yellow

Stone hung around my neck… ‘I always had it’” (7)   In Anastasia, the princess does not remember                                                                                    who she is but has a necklace since before her                                                                                                          memories.

6.       “Stupid. Stupid. They take everything. Just to

take it” (13)                                                            The boys remind me of Oliver Twist because                                                                                       they steal money and valuables as a game.

Quote and page                                                                       I visualize….

1.       “He was dragging me, running. He was much

bigger.” (2)                                                                                 the person is a bully like                                                            Goyle in Harry Potter.

2.       “I gave him my name. ‘Stopthief.’”  (3)                          A pre-teen who never knew family, only                                                                                                        stealing for food.

3.       “He took me to meet the others. We were in

a stable.” (4)                                                                  a bunch of raggedy dirty kids but warm enough.

4.       “’Tonight you sleep on the floor,’ he said.

‘Tomorrow I’ll get you a bed.’” (9)                                    Uri treats Stopthief like a little brother. I can                                                                                                see Uri patting him on the head.

5.       “We walked to the shopping district, where

the big stores were.” (10)                                                    the big department stores in Chicago.

6.       “And then a woman in a fox fur came down the

aisle and reached over the seats and drew down

the window on Uri’s hands.” (14)                                     an awful woman like the witches on Hocus                                                                                                                  Pocus

Quote and page                                                                       I wonder….

1.       “He stared at me. ‘Who are you?’” (3)                            is the narrator a girl or boy?

2.       “The boys who were not smoking were

eating... All sorts of other things glittered

in the pile.” (5)                                                                Did the boys steal items so they could sell it?

3.       “’A tiny smelly stupid Jew’” (6)                                       will the other boys accept him and make him                                                                                                              important in their group?

4.       “’A Jew is an animal. A Jew is a bug’” (7)                        Why doesn’t he say what a Jew really is?

5.       “A strange music filled the air: the sirens’ wail

And the thump of exploding shells.” (14)                      Are they near a battle front? Why can they hear                                                                                                       war?

6.       “We smashed into a restaurant, plowed through

a field of red tablecloths…” (15)                                         Will the Destruction hurt the restaurant                                                                                                owner or is it abandoned like the barber shop?

                       

Quote and page                                                                       I am confused about….

1.       “Sometimes it is a memory in the middle of

The day as I stir iced tea or wait for soup…”                  Is it a delusions, a memory or past life?

2.       “Jackboots?” (2) “What’s a Jew?” (6)                              Why doesn’t he know what Jews and                                                                                                       Jackboots and artillery are?

3.       “’We’re in for it good.” (7)                                                   What exactly do they think they are in for?                                                                                                                  Poverty? Death?

4.       “’Strawberry babka’” (7)                                                       What is strawberry babka?

5.       “’A Jew is an animal. A Jew is a bug’… Others

cheered and clapped.” (7)                                              Why are they celebrating being as low as bugs?

6.       “’You’re a Gypsy, ain’t you?’… I nodded.”                     Is he really a Jew or a Gypsy?

So far I’ve learned that this book is about homeless Jewish boys during a time of war. I predict that the boys are near Germany and will be captured as Jews. This story is about poverty, war and racial identity.

“I Read It, But I Don’t Get It” by Cris Tovani

According to Tovani, there are two types of bad readers: those that are “resistive readers” who know how to read but choose not to and those that are “word callers” who can read words but struggle to create meaning out of them. In elementary school, children are supposed to learn how to read and decode words. In middle school and high school, we are supposed to teach our students the techniques to get meaning out of their reading.

Yesterday, I led a reading group of students who had missed a day and needed catching up. The purpose of the reading was to find the similarities and differences between Lois Lowry’s “The Giver” and our world. I started second period by having them create a mental image of what their neighborhood looks like. What are the families like? Then we talked about what we were looking for in the reading. I read aloud as they followed along. Then we stopped to discuss during several parts of the chapter. I could tell that the students had varying levels of experience with thinking about what they were reading as they read it. Discussion of ideas really helped them comprehend the text.

In another case today, a student was behind the rest of his class because of absences. He asked me to read the text for him (of course I didn’t) because he did not want to read it. He knew it was a good book but he just didn’t feel like doing the thinking himself.

My students may not understand that they are learning skills and changing their brains as they read, but they do understand that reading is a process. We are continually paraphrasing, defining, and discussing. Tovani suggests that we discuss with our students our own processes of how we reach conclusions in our readings. And then we can teach them to do the same with their texts by marking them. We should continuously model for them what it means to connect the text to prior knowledge in order to make sense of it.

"A Response-Based Approach to Reading Literature" by Judith Langer

     Langer first differentiates between two forms of instruction or purposed of instruction. In discursive orientation, students are looking at content for specific information. In literary orientation, they look at the larger world of a work of literature and the parts that make up that world. Their understanding of the text is not guided by questions with correct and incorrect answers but their own questions which prod interpretation. This concept reminds me of our responsibility to allow children to explore. Teacher's want to make sure their students learn and feel that they need a structure in the classroom. If a student learns through individual or group determination, is that less valid than the teacher leading the student to specific conclusions? Often we think someone is wrong in their opinion. As a teacher, we assume students are not looking at all of the evidence or are not thinking critically about their answers. In any argument, both parties rely on different pieces of valid evidence to support their conclusions. So why does a student have to come to the teacher's conclusion. How are they supposed to learn to be explorers and inventors if they are taught to only reach the conclusions of others and never reach beyond that?

     Langer's work with teachers has focused heavily on helping literary students, "to arrive at their own responses, explore possibilities, and move beyond initial understandings toward more thoughtful  interpretations." (5) As students learn about literary styles, they focus their attention on making interpretations and understanding perspectives. In discussion, they have to learn to trust their own instincts and to ask for clearer explanations from others. They learn how to trust their hunches and impressions (part one) in order to discover deeper meanings and applications (part two) of the texts they explore and take a "critical stance." (part three) (7) Teachers learned to allow learning to be lead by the student's questions and ideas. Teachers need to provide students with the room to be thinkers on their own and in groups. In my classroom, we use literature circles a few days a week. As we read a book, I facilitate discussion. Although I know how to lead a discussion at a college level, I find it difficult to not ask questions to get my students to particular answers. I want them to notice all the details I notice that create a whole idea. Instead, I think they rely on me to get them to say what I want them to. I hope that my questions act as a building block to help them read the literature critically, to find the parts that make up the whole. As I work on asking more open ended questions, I hope my detailed question prepare them to think in a way that can support ideas about the world they are exploring.

“Promoting Social Justice in an Urban Secondary Teacher Education Program” by Monica A. Medina, Anastasia S. Morrone and Jeffrey A. Anderson

      According to the authors’ source, Novak, social justice is “inspiring, working with, and organizing others to accomplish together a work of justice… that primarily involves the good of others.” (208) In a broader sense, social justice is taking into account the background and experiences of others to work toward accomplishing a goal that is for the good of others. I think of this like a treaty. One “tribe” has it’s own experiences, traditions and knowledge than another but they both have a problem. Even though they are different people, they use their combined past experiences, traditions and knowledge to make the best plan for both groups. They do not ignore the other’s situation or culture but use it to enact justice.

      Students may have similar experiences within an area and culture but diversity (of various forms) makes conflict overall. Morrone and Anderson taught preservice teachers how to use reflection and knowledge about the area and conditions their students live in to make decisions. Preconceived ideas about a type of people or students do not help the teacher teach nor help the students learn. Those ideas need to be worked past in order to make any progress. Instead, teachers need a clear idea of where their students come from. They need to research the communities and perspectives of the students. Students should feel safe and understood in the classroom, not alienated and bossed around.

      Social justice instruction should be relevant to the lives of the students. You may want to give an urban classroom a book about farming because it is diverse but it may not really be relevant to them unless the main character has some experiences the students can relate to. Students need exposure to multicultural instruction and they need to be taught cultural sensitivity along with that. Say a class watches “Hotel Rawanda.” They are presented with a conflict from a completely different culture. Some of the students in the classroom may have experienced warfare and genocide similar to that in the movie. Learning about another culture teaches students compassion asks them to think critically about their own situation and how the world should be.

"Critical Pedagogy and Popular Culture in an Urban Secondary English Classroom" by Duncan-Andrade & Morrell

I am currently working in an urban school with a reputation for low achievement and crime. My students are not that different than students at other schools but their culture is established by their poverty and the education of their parents. Some of my students' parents used to read to them as kids. Some of them can get help with homework at home. Most do not have those opportunities. They ask why they have to do projects and they resist authority. They see school as another place where they are told what to do.

Duncan-Andrade and Morrell worked in an urban high school near a rich high school. Their students did not even have books to take home from their classes while the rich kids got a new expensive stadium. Duncan-Andrade and Morrell worked with their students on a project of self-discovery, multiculturalism and social justice through literature and popular culture. They used typical works such as "The Odyssey," "Beowulf" and Shakespearean plays to ask their students to look at the "others", "outcasts" or the "have nots" in varying societies over time and space. Their research into multiculturalism had more to do with how they taught than the material they used. Instead of only giving the students materials that some would say would enrich the students' lives past their expected experience, these teachers did not feed them information but helped them draw conclusions about texts from their own experiences in their own cultural practices. Poetry could be compared to rap. An epic tale related to their actual lives and how society lives. Students were asked to look beyond the conventions of text and see how people really relate to one another. They call this "the knowledge production process." (188)

One tool the teachers used was Stand and Deliver (1987 film) about a poor and culturally diverse school with a teacher that worked past the conventions of education to make successful calculus learners out of failing algebra prisoners. I think that using a movie with students in a similar context can help those students relate the ideas they are developing from their texts and other media. They can see how to question their own situations and make solutions.

"Critical Pedagogy: A Look at the Major Concepts" by Peter McLaren

     McLaren reminds us that critical theorists’ premise is “men and women are essentially unfree and inhabit a world rife with contradictions and asymmetries of power and privilege.” (61) Dialectical theory seeks out those contradictions. It transforms the classroom, from just a place of learning to a place of empowerment. We don’t just manufacture the next generation of good capitalist citizens that stay in their social class. Hopefully, we give them opportunity to rise above that. McLaren brings up how objective writing can either be “macro” and related to the skills they will need in a larger social context, or “micro” and only related as the content chosen for them. Freire was disturbed that students were fed information and never got to choose what they could learn. This is similar to “Micro” objectives. I think of my class with essay writing. Up to this point they have little experience with it and hate doing it. Each day or learning target revolves around the part of the essay we are teaching. They do not understand that it took them even longer to ever learn how to read, write a story, to add and subtract, or even ride a bike. It’s a process. Our graphic organizers help them with a step of the process. I say they will be writing essays for a long time and they tell me they will not. After high school, I don’t know if they will ever write an essay again. But I know they can use those writing skills and thinking skills to comment on something on Reddit.com. Maybe their job will require coherently written notes. But, teaching them essay writing is one tool we are using to help the rise above their generational socio-economic status. We just need to explain that.

     Why are some knowledge and constructions taught more than others to the majority over women and minorities? McLaren divides knowledge into three parts: “productive knowledge” (facts), “practical knowledge” (analyzing social situations), and “emancipatory knowledge” (how the other two are distorted by privilege and power). Culture is how a group of people see their situation and react to it. For many, that situation is of dependency and without the opportunities of the dominant culture. In the hidden curriculum, teachers unintentionally mold the students to the standards of society. McLaren uses the example that we often give male students more intellectual praise than female students. I have more female students in my accelerated class currently. I think in some ways, the tables have turned. Society is still set up with inequality everywhere. But new toys are created for female toddlers to enjoy construction. Women receive scholarships for the sciences. I think we can become intentional with those social lessons, to empower our students and create a higher level of equality.

"Pedagogy of the Oppressed" by Freire (Chapter Two)

In chapter two, education means the teacher is the narrator, putting information into the students (the objects) and the students only store the information like machines. The teachers control the students like their possessions. They require rote learning. The students do not really gain knowledge. The teacher and students assume that the teacher has all the information and the students have none, that the teacher cannot learn from the students. Freire said, "It [education] attempts to control thinking and action, leads women and men to adjust to the world, and inhibits their creative power.” A solution is that society needs to realize that both are teachers and students.

In Freire's banking model, the teacher acts toward the students and they receive information and discipline. The teacher makes all the reflections and decisions as the students listen and comply to the teacher’s authority as the subject with the knowledge. When the teacher is in control of the information and content, the students only know what they are meant to know and do not learn critical thinking; therefore, the oppressors can control them to not seek change. They are passive but they fulfill their purpose in society. I think of "The Giver" By Lois Lowry. Everyone lives the same way. At each age, children are allowed more responsibility. By 12, they each have an occupation they fulfill until they are old. No one questions that there are only three books in the house. No one questions the authority of the elders to require strict rules. Everyone seems to be happy with their regulated but equal lives. Until Jonas finds out that there are so many happy and sad things the people are kept from. They do not know about hills, or snow. Nor do they know about warfare and hunger. The village cannot make decisions for itself because education focuses on how to be a polite member of society, not a critical problem solver.

Freire said, instead of changing the oppressed situation, the oppressors just want to change what the oppressed think about their oppression. The oppressed are inside the same system as the oppressors and must become “beings for themselves” in order to change that system. They must seek humanization as they recognize the contradictions in what they have been spoon fed in education.
He said the solution is the teacher and the students must have a partnership. They must communicate and not see each other as objects. We must build relationships with our students to build trust. So often, our students think that we teachers live at the school and spend our days thinking of boring lesson plans. If we invest in the real person, not just the role in the classroom, we can learn so much more of the content as well. The solution must be made together

As I read, I wondered why Freire said creating structure, like adding a page parameter to a reading assignment matter? I believe schools has somewhat inflexible instruction and policies. However, saying "read pages 10-15" give students a standard to base themselves off of. It helps them know what they need to accomplish.

 

Friere's "Pedagogy of the Oppressed: Chapter One"

Friere's "Pedagogy of the Oppressed: Chapter One"

From what I understand, Friere sees oppressors (my mind thinks of slave masters and then of white supremacists in the 1900's) as people who take away the humanity of others. The only way the oppressed can gain their humanity, which should be the main ethical goal of all, is to fight for liberation and also help free their oppressors from themselves, as an act of love for both parties. I imagine a slave showing his master that he is an honorable man, not a beast. As an equal team, their lives are happier and more successful. Or, I imagine an African American woman defiantly taking rights which should always have been hers. When everyone is treated like a moral, gentle human, then the world functions better because the oppressed do not get violent fighting to help themselves and the oppressors do not trade in their souls just to stay in control. Friere points out that the oppressed could seek vengeance, thereby becoming oppressors themselves. Also, the oppressors might act outrageously cruelly so that when they are just bad, they seem good. This kind of generosity just makes the oppressed beggars and the oppressors afraid to show any humanity toward the oppressed, lest they seek for more. He also warns that when the oppressed seek liberation, they should not become oppressors and adopt the idea of manhood their oppressors afford. This reminds me of the KAPO's in the WWII concentration camps. These prisoners were given position power under the Germans but above their countrymen. They were traitors. In other stories I can hear the echo of, "you can beat them without being like them. You don't need to resort to their level." I also think of the multitudes of coups in ancient China. Very few new (usurping) rulers were less cruel than their predecessors (whom they killed).

Friere's editor wrote: "The oppressed are afraid to embrace freedom; the oppressors are afraid of losing the "freedom" to oppress." In my own classroom, I have to admit (if I were the oppressor) I am afraid of giving up my control in the classroom and of my right to control the classroom. Furthermore, I think our students are sometimes afraid to think and work outside the bounds of the typical structures we give them. They are afraid to find creative solutions, maybe partially because we spend so much time shushing them.The oppressed must work together under the understanding that there is a solution in order to gain freedom. We also ask our students to never give up. We tell them there is always a solution, maybe they need help, but they will not find a way out if they tell themselves there is no way out.

The oppressor must realize that he is an oppressor and that those he is hurting are real people, not just objects or concepts. I read a blog recently in which a mother wrote that her first grade daughter was trying out the mean-girl shoes. She and a friend were going to ignore another friend for a few days. Then they thought they would all go back to friendship. What the little girls did not comprehend was the feelings of an autonomous other. The people around us are not unaffected by us like the Saturday morning cartoons. A bully may cause pain because although he or she understands cause and effect, he or she does not understand empathy and kindness. Like Friere's oppressor, he or she is also dehumanized in the act of dehumanizing another. Our natural, moral state says that we should connect with others for survival (but it also says make the enemy less human.) Would we have fewer wars and fewer bullying incidents if we just thought of everyone as our brethren?

Friere says that the oppressed need to work together to gain their goal. They may need to be woken up to the reality of their situation before they fight. A battered woman might take the abuse of her partner until she sees him hit her child. Then she may see the situation is beyond what she bears alone and she must take action. In Friere's case, the wake up of the oppressed could be in educational programs that teach them a better life. He hopes that the oppressed would first work together to make a transformation and that eventually the oppressors would change and join in the work. Then eventually the system can be changed. All will be humanized.

Common Core Standards: Reading (Literature, Informational Texts, and Foundational Skills)

The purpose of the new Common Core State Standards (CCSS) is to be able to measure all our students in the United States against the same measure because we know that they are learning the same things. Across the country, they are learning the same skills and often using the same materials so we know that the kids in Nebraska and the kids in New Mexico have at least the minimum skills needed to function as adults. Here is how my middle school was introduced to CCSS: http://vimeo.com/51933492

The Common Core focuses on literacy. Each subject area will work on literacy (which is huge because just this last year, a large percentage of our students ranked two grade levels below where they should be. And literacy is such a huge part of adult life!) The standards for reading focus on "Literature", "Informational" Texts, and "Foundational Skills". In literature, students read and analyze different kinds of texts and use textual evidence to support their ideas. They need to know the difference between what is said and what is meant (something very applicable to life). They need to know point of view and how to compare and contrast. They need to choose theme (also applicable!), pull out specific evidence, and comprehend the denotation and connotation of words (also very useful). We don't want our students taking everything literally, do we? Everyday, my students ask me why we are doing what we are doing. From what I can tell, the CCSS actually align with skills and knowledge students will need to have in college if not in adulthood. We expose them to different types of texts: poems, short stories, novels, non-fiction films, memoirs, articles, etc. We want the to work with complex writing and to challenge themselves to learn more from the writer.

With informational texts, we ask our students to be able to cite where their ideas come from and to be able to draw connections between concepts and texts. This can be a struggle for my middle schoolers who think all information they get is free to use how they want. It can be difficult to see how two different lessons relate to one another. Then we ask them to analyze the separate sentences in the text we give them and the validity of the author's point. They evaluate which medium is best. I haven't even seen these kind of discussion go on in the university except in maybe a poetry class. But these aren't just skills they use in reading. They are skills they can use in thinking about many different problems. Overall, we have to realize that our classroom and our school is just a small chapter in the student's overall life. We have a short time to teach them the skills that will actually help them beyond graduation.

By fifth grade, our students need to know how to read. By that I mean, they need to know how to read words phonetically and use clues to figure out the pronunciation and meaning of words they struggle with. They need to be able to read aloud and to correct their reading as they go along. I know these are all skills I expect in my students. Yet, many of them score in two or more grade levels in reading below their actual level in school. We still ask our students to read aloud to the class and to read their Accelerated Reader books. Schools are employing remediation programs for these students. CCSS is making literacy a focus in every classroom. And as they catch up, hopefully they will become better in Chemistry class because they can understand the book and better in Mathematics because problem solving and analysis is more habitual. The challenge to teachers and students may be great but overall, I think CCSS contains the skills I truly expect my students to have.