Blog Post #11

 What has stood out the most this whole semester?

1. Lisa Delpit, "The Silenced Dialogue" 

This reading and the card game we played in class stood out as one of the most important factors to consider in my future classroom. This reading introduced the "silenced dialogue," which describes the experience of struggling to voice opinions on issues as people of color in a predominantly white professional environment, especially in the education system. This reading also goes into detail about the culture of power within a classroom, which shows that there are issues of power in a classroom, and there are rules/codes that come into play within the power itself. Lastly, the card game was a great example of people coming from different backgrounds which each of which has different codes, which shows the struggle of teaching in a classroom overall. 

2. Alfie Kohn, "What to look for in a classroom"

This chart stood out to me because I see this in a service learning classroom extremely clearly. The chart shows different ways to make a school classroom more beneficial for learning in ways like seating, decorations, and overall classroom participation. The teacher in my service learning classroom seems to take almost everything Kohn says to do into consideration, which overall benefits the classroom's learning environment. 

3. "Precious Knowledge"

This film was interesting to watch in class because of the overall passion both students, teachers, families, and community members had when it comes to ethnic studies. The film goes into detail about how these laws come into play within classrooms and the power politics have in classrooms. Overall, the film showed how cultural and ethnic studies are important to personal identity, which empowers and encourages students to learn when their identity is taken into consideration.  

Blog Post #9

 Guidance for Rhode Island Schools on Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students

Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 

Quotes:

1. In the introduction of the document, the four purposes of the guidances are "• Foster an educational environment that is safe and free from discrimination for all students, regardless of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, • Facilitate compliance with state and federal law concerning bullying, harassment, and discrimination, • Reduce the stigmatization of and improve the educational integration of transgender and gender non-conforming students, maintaining the privacy of all students, and fostering cultural competence and professional development for school staff, and • Support healthy communication between educators and parent(s)/guardian(s) to further the successful educational development and well-being of every student. " These purposes show what the guidance fully entails. These purposes are all fundamental to consider because  highlight the importance of education and discrimination considering the topic, highlight the federal laws in place involved, and emphasizes the relationship between adults and students through the importance of communication. 
2. Later on, the guidance shares why this is necessary overall. It quotes, ". Enumeration of subgroups within Civil Rights Laws is necessary because those subgroups tend to experience discrimination more than other groups. Enumeration specifically identifies categories of people who must be included within the protection of the law." This piece shows that without this law, discrimination can and will be seen in American public schools, which goes against the famous Civil Rights Act.
3. The guidance then states the actual and all federal laws and guidances placed, the Rhode Island state laws, and also important definitions to go with this topic. This is the most important part of the document because it shows the audience; Rhode Island citizens, the real and actual truth and meanings of what is going on between laws and the LGTBQ+ community. 
   
   

Reflection:

    Overall, my experience going over the guidances for transgender and gender nonconforming students was extremely informational, and thought out. The guidance seems to answer and list every answer to any question being asked about this topic. This shows me, what I need to do as a future teacher, what goes on in real life American classrooms, and how to do my job correctly based on laws and guidances. I also see the important in stating definitions of the terms used because many people all over the world can be unfamiliar when not properly educated on the topic. 

AI Questions for Dr. Sidorkin

 AI in Education: From Panic to Positive Change

1. How/Will schools create or change policies about AI in education to enhance education, or is it seen as a "bad thing"?

2. How will the teaching profession itself be influenced/impacted by AI?

3. How will censorship impact new policies and changes because of AI?

Blog Post #8

Aria by Richard Rodriguez 

Quotes

1. Rodriguez states, "Without question, it would have pleased me to hear my teachers address me in Spanish when I entered the classroom. I would have felt much less afraid. I would have trusted them and responded with ease." This quote highlights the comfortability that multilingual students lack in the classroom.  Being a young student, surrounded by peers and adults speaking in an unfamiliar language provides a difficulty called a language barrier. However, the purpose of speaking to children in a language they do not speak like English, is to teach them the language and explain to them the true definitions and meaning of the language being taught. Also, who values and emphasizes the true talent and knowledge it takes to speak two languages overall? Rodriguez emphasizes the struggles he felt as a student in a classroom that does not speak his native language. 

2. Rodriguez starts the reading off by declaring Spanish as a "private language." Rodriguez states, "What they seem not to recognize is that, as a socially disadvantaged child, I considered Spanish to be a private language." Because Rodriguez grew up speaking solely Spanish and then attending a school that speaks solely English, Spanish felt private to him. To me, I find this extremely interesting. Because I grew up in a school that had multilingual learners, I began to think of my classmates who spoke Spanish. For example, in my school, many students who spoke Spanish stuck together. Because of this reading and looking back at my time in public school, could the similarity of language provide a connection between peers? I think so. 

3. Later on Rodriguez speaks on the disconnect between the public and private languages. Rodriguez states, "Because I wrongly imagined that English was intrinsically a public language and Spanish an intrinsically private one, I easily noted the difference between classroom language and the language of home. At school, words were directed to a general audience of listeners." To a child in a classroom, the audience of the language being spoken could be very confusing. Rodriguez shares that he thought English was a public language because when he heard the language; in his classrooms, it was spoken to multiple people at once; like the whole class. But at home, Spanish was spoken directly to him. This also shows the difficulty multilingual learners face when learning a new language at school, but speaking their native language at home. 

Reflection

To reflect, Rodriguez emphasizes the struggles of learning English in American classrooms. When speaking English in a classroom setting, many words are said in the plural form, creating a sense of confusion. This confusion Rodriguez calls public versus private languages. Before finishing the reading, I thought that public versus private languages were because of the connection between Spanish-speaking students from my public schools simply because of the similarity in languages. Overall, I found Rodriguez's writing very interesting and I hope to really consider the public versus private languages during my time as a teacher in the American school system. 

Blog Post #7

 Literacy with an Attitude by Patrick J. Finn

Quotes 

1. In the Preface, Finn states, "Today we see illiteracy among the have-nots as the source of many social ills." This emphasizes the educational differences seen in the different class types in the United States. This truly affects the students' future in these matters by providing fewer educational opportunities. These educational opportunities not found in the less fortunate facilities provide low test scores, fewer scholarships, and less enrollment in higher education. Not only are there fewer opportunities, but there is also a difference in lessons that emphasize completely different aspects. 

2. Later in the Preface, Finn states, "Progressive methods, empowering education, and powerful literacy tend to go together. Traditional methods, domesticating education, and functional literacy tend to go together. Progressive methods are nearly impossible unless children want school knowledge and cooperation." This shares the different types of education students get based on their social class. Higher fortunate students tend to learn critical thinking skills and leading positions while working, and lower-class students tend to emphasize obedience in education. This proves the direct disconnect the country has overall between classes, but more specifically, how it affects our education system, which inevitably affects the country's future. 

3. In the second chapter, Finn states, "After all, America is supposedly the "land of opportunity" where you can achieve whatever career goals to which you aspire...However, the more I remembered various teaching situations I've been in, the more clear class culture perpetuation became." This quote truly emphasizes the irony the United States has with preaching freedom, yet teaching the complete opposite in their public education systems. 

Reflection:

After reading, I saw a lot of similarities between this reading and the reading from last week. There were a lot of common themes of irony between the readings, but having different true meanings. This reading truly emphasized the difference in education between classes. If you were born rich, you would have a higher chance of getting a better education, which overall opens countless opportunities for higher education, leading to a more successful future. On the other hand, though, if you were born less fortunate in the United States, you will be taught how to stay less fortunate. This shows that truly the United States is not as free as it thinks it is and it is important to acknowledge in education systems as future teaching, having the future of the country in our hands. 

Blog Post #6

 Troublemakers by Carla Shalaby

Quotes:

1. In Troublemakers Preface, Shalaby states, "When I speak on a child's right to freedom, I mean that by virtue of being human, she is endowed with the unassailable right not to have any part of her personhood assaulted or stolen... A free person retains her power, her right to self-determination, her opportunity to flourish, her ability to love and to be loved, and her capacity of hope." I find these statements interesting because of Carla Shalaby's use of the pronoun "she" when referring to students, children, and freedom. Shalaby relates to students at human beings, but constantly uses "she" and "her" pronouns, which make it seem she is only talking and including female students and a female audience. Though I do not know Shalaby's background, I find these word choices ironic due to the point being made. By using these pronouns it seems that the writing excludes males and other genders in educational settings. Shalaby claims that freedom is a personal right, but does not include everyone in the United States educational system. 

2. Later in the Preface, Shalaby states, "For the most part, schools value quiet children over loud ones and operate as though adults are the only teachers in the room. The adults get to speak while the young people listen." This statement evaluates the irony of freedom in the United States and how freedom is rarely seen in American classroom environments. I find this important for educators and students both to acknowledge because it shows the true way the country is. The statement highlights the flaws this country has and the importance of acknowledging them as citizens and the future. 

3. In the introduction of Troublemakers, Shalaby shares her experience with a certain student. She states, "He loved the freedom of learning just enough to hate the constraints of schooling, and he did what I asked only if it happened to coincide with what he wanted to do." I find this important because it shows the student's perspective of the irony between freedom in the country and within the education system. It shows that students are aware of the irony, which can make it harder to teach in the circumstances the country wants to teach. 

Reflection:

All in all, Troublemakers highlights the irony of freedom in the United States and the difficulties and challenges that happen when teaching students who know the irony. Not only are the constant reminders of freedom in the country and the completely opposite experiences that happen in the classrooms ironic, but Shalaby's exclusive use of she and her pronouns when talking about freedom among students and citizenship is ironic as well. 

Video Analysis Notes