How might your personal history/sociocultural characteristics intersect with those of your students? What challenges or advantages must you have as a teacher in this classroom? What misconceptions about various cultural groups have you confronted during this experience? Give examples.
One thing that I feel as though has really helped me to be successful in this classroom is my diverse background. I have been through, experienced, or worked closely with people who have gone through a lot of the same things these children do on a daily basis either at home or at school. Whether it be a cultural conflict, a substance abuse issue at home, poverty, violence, or simply a lack of interest in school, I am understanding of the issues that come with these children. I come from a diverse family background and have done a lot of volunteer work in underprivileged areas. Unlike the students, I've been privileged enough to grow up in a privileged home most of my life. I've always been provided with the things I've needed and wanted, but understand roots of my family, and the hard work they put in to be where we are today. Thing's were not always great, but with hard work, my family has succeeded. I'm sure that some of the things that they must cope and deal with, I will be able to help them through. In terms of learning styles, I also struggled with the public school system's learning styles. I was never particularly interested in bookwork, and the number of things that school puts such a huge emphasis on. I want to make learning fun, because I understand how disinterested students can become with the monotony of school assignments!
Some of the challenges that I must face as a teacher are the things I don't understand and the things I cannot relate to. We spoke in class about when we are silent in the classroom setting. For me, I tend to get silent when I don't know something, or can't relate. As a teacher, there are going to be students who come to my classroom and cannot focus because of issues I have never dealt with; hunger or abuse for example, or students who struggle with English as a second language. I must use my advantages as a teacher, as part of this 'culture of power' in order to help the students appropriately. Whether this be asking for the help of a professional, or learning another language to accommodate struggling students, the advantages of being a teacher should be to help the students.
A misconception about cultural groups that I've actually encountered thus far would be the way the students originally perceived and reacted to my presence in the classroom. Aside from the teacher, and myself, there are only two white students in my 25 child classroom. I was received less than enthusiastically in my first week, actually mocked by a student for my professional appearance. I've slowly gained 'class cred' as the students get to know me tho, and have enjoyed the clear night and day treatment and respect I've received since my first meeting :)
I intend to write more on this question as I gain more experience in my classroom. I haven't had a lot of time to observe my teacher's attitude towards different cultural groups, so I cannot make any comments on any observed cultural misconceptions thus far. The only thing I have noticed that stunned and shaped my conception of a school is the ratio of nationalities in this school. I was mislead in thinking that the majority of students at this school would be white, when in fact, the white students are actually the minority here. I find myself wondering if they become profiled, or targets of cultural/racial misconceptions in this area of providence.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Some more tutering experinces
My school is one of the schools under consideration for closure with all of the recent activity with providence education. You can tell all of the teachers are really on edge. The decision was supposed to be made two weeks ago, and week after week, my teacher receives a new email telling her the announcement will be made the following week. My teacher in particular, is concerned for her job because she struggles at home with a disabled child. She told me that should her school get shut down, 'she didn't know who would hire her... Ms. Misery (the principal) is so good to her'. As nice as my teacher is, she is very clearly preoccupied most of the day with outside issues and has been late a couple of times. It makes me really think about the bill's implications on teachers, but deep down, I know Providence made a good decision.
The kids are really starting to open up to me the more I go to the school. Because of my work schedule, I've had to schedule multiple, shorter visits. For this reason, I end up in my classroom around three times a week. The students wrote book reports over the break, and to my surprise, a lot of the students took my advice to heart. It made me feel good to know that i helped them to organize their thoughts and produce a final, well done product. In my working with the "problem" children, it has become clear to me that they're not all as problematic as they have been made out to be. They need a little more direction and encouragement, but the students that I regularly work with have shown me that they, while needing a little more help than the average student due to their bilingual backgrounds, are quite bright and eager individuals. Because of the schedualing of lunch and secondary classes like art and gym, I have found myself waiting outside of the classroom on several occasions for my class to return. One of the things I have grown to severely dislike about my school is the way that the teachers and aids speak with and handle the children. There is one way to speak to your own child, and another way to speak with someone else's child. No school faculty member should put their hands on a child, and scream in their faces. Some of the things I've seen, particularly in the hallways, unfolding between faculty and student blow my mind. If a teacher EVER put their hands on a student in Barrington, where my little brother goes to school, that teacher would be fired before the end of the school day. This reminded me of these 'codes of power' and the 'silenced dialog' that both Delpit and Johnson talk about in their own ways. Privileged students know that their teachers cannot treat them in certain ways, because their parents are part of this 'privileged' class of citizens. They teach their kids that they are valued and above the treatment that those below them are subjected to. Underprivileged children are raised by parents who fall into the same category of oppression. They have no choice but to listen to those in power, and grow up witnessing the power that this privileged class of people has over their own. Where a Barrington 3rd grader runs home to tell their parents the outrageous event that they endured in school, expecting an angry phone call and punishment on the offending teacher, an underprivileged student informs his parent expecting nothing more than consolation because both parent and child feel as though they are powerless.
It was heartbreaking to have to witness a faculty member in particular today reprimand and discipline two students in particular at my last visit, and I'm pretty sure the shocked and disproving look on my face said it all... The teacher/ aid/ whatever she was didn't realize I was there, and ceased her behavior upon looking up and seeing me. Worse than that, she smiled and started acting as if nothing ever happened...
My students behavior in the classroom is surprisingly good for an over crowded third grade class. They listen attentively, and many actively participate in classroom activity. They all seem to enjoy reading, and I've managed to learn a lot more about the 'problem' children, and the things that interest them. I plan on bringing in some new books for the kids because many complain about having no new books to read because they've already read all the classroom books! Overall, I've really been enjoying this classroom atmosphere, and the challenges that come with teaching in this kind of urban setting. I look forward to working more with the kids.
The kids are really starting to open up to me the more I go to the school. Because of my work schedule, I've had to schedule multiple, shorter visits. For this reason, I end up in my classroom around three times a week. The students wrote book reports over the break, and to my surprise, a lot of the students took my advice to heart. It made me feel good to know that i helped them to organize their thoughts and produce a final, well done product. In my working with the "problem" children, it has become clear to me that they're not all as problematic as they have been made out to be. They need a little more direction and encouragement, but the students that I regularly work with have shown me that they, while needing a little more help than the average student due to their bilingual backgrounds, are quite bright and eager individuals. Because of the schedualing of lunch and secondary classes like art and gym, I have found myself waiting outside of the classroom on several occasions for my class to return. One of the things I have grown to severely dislike about my school is the way that the teachers and aids speak with and handle the children. There is one way to speak to your own child, and another way to speak with someone else's child. No school faculty member should put their hands on a child, and scream in their faces. Some of the things I've seen, particularly in the hallways, unfolding between faculty and student blow my mind. If a teacher EVER put their hands on a student in Barrington, where my little brother goes to school, that teacher would be fired before the end of the school day. This reminded me of these 'codes of power' and the 'silenced dialog' that both Delpit and Johnson talk about in their own ways. Privileged students know that their teachers cannot treat them in certain ways, because their parents are part of this 'privileged' class of citizens. They teach their kids that they are valued and above the treatment that those below them are subjected to. Underprivileged children are raised by parents who fall into the same category of oppression. They have no choice but to listen to those in power, and grow up witnessing the power that this privileged class of people has over their own. Where a Barrington 3rd grader runs home to tell their parents the outrageous event that they endured in school, expecting an angry phone call and punishment on the offending teacher, an underprivileged student informs his parent expecting nothing more than consolation because both parent and child feel as though they are powerless.
It was heartbreaking to have to witness a faculty member in particular today reprimand and discipline two students in particular at my last visit, and I'm pretty sure the shocked and disproving look on my face said it all... The teacher/ aid/ whatever she was didn't realize I was there, and ceased her behavior upon looking up and seeing me. Worse than that, she smiled and started acting as if nothing ever happened...
My students behavior in the classroom is surprisingly good for an over crowded third grade class. They listen attentively, and many actively participate in classroom activity. They all seem to enjoy reading, and I've managed to learn a lot more about the 'problem' children, and the things that interest them. I plan on bringing in some new books for the kids because many complain about having no new books to read because they've already read all the classroom books! Overall, I've really been enjoying this classroom atmosphere, and the challenges that come with teaching in this kind of urban setting. I look forward to working more with the kids.
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