These articles took me a while to read, I just couldn’t get into them. It’s hard for me to relate to the students in the articles, I am a white female from a middle class family. It’s sad that we as teachers sometimes do not realize our students’ potential, like in Noll’s article about Daniel. I’m sure that I probably have had students that read more at home than at school because it is more interesting to them. I try to let my students have free choice reading time in class so that they are encouraged to read something that they want. I find it amazing that the parents were so involved in their children’s education and wanted the best for them. This is not really who I am used to teaching to. Most of the parents I deal with do not even bother to call me back.
Daniel may have not liked to read at school but he has so many other talents. I’m very glad that Daniel didn’t give up on who he is. I’m not sure that I could say the same, if my classmates were constantly teasing me. I also can’t believe Zonnie’s love for poetry, this could be because I hate it. If Zonnie was in my class, I would do everything that I could to encourage her to keep writing. It’s not often that a teenager would rather write poetry than hang out with her friends. Being a teenager is hard enough, but being different makes it even harder.
In Herny’s article, I think that it is great that she tried to choose books that relate to the girls’ lives. Our culture is an important part of who we are. I also liked how she told them that there was not just one answer. It’s sad to think that so many students think that their voice is not important. I want all of my students to feel comfortable in class and to be able to contribute to our class discussions. I know this is easier said than done. No teenager wants to say something wrong in front of their peers. It is hard enough to fit in, let alone be from a different ethnicity. I have always taken my life for granted.
I want to make sure that all of my students have a voice in my classroom. It doesn’t matter to me where you are from, in my class we are a family. I need to make sure that all of my students get a chance to speak up when they have something to say. I never really considered that my ESL students did not speak up in class for these reasons. I have also never really studied any of my students’ cultures. I try to be respectful when I know about certain topics, but I have never really gone out of my way to research their cultures. Next school year I am going to be aware of the differences in my classroom. I also am going to make sure that my students feel like they have a voice.
Dana Eudy
Comments (2)
Unfortunately there are too many classrooms in which kids don't get to say what they need to, what they want to. Curriculum, EOGs,pacing guides, and all the bureaucracy of the system ties our hands. There is a teacher in my school who is so unlike that. She treats kids like young adults. She gives them choices. She makes her instruction meaningful, integrated, differentiated, and imagine, fun! I wish I could spend more time in her classroom, but I have my own duties. I just love to feel the energy emanating from her when she is in front of her kids. Even though she is so dynamic, there are some students who don't seem to connect. If this lady, who is so talented and dedicated, cannot engage some of her students, imagine how tired and boring lessons are when they are prepared by teachers that are frustrated, burnt out, uninspired, or uninterested. Luckily, we don't have just one class year after year, and kids get to experience many teachers before they end their school years. We are multifaceted people, with different interests, abilities, and agendas. Somewhere along the way, I hope I can really reach that one student that no one has ever connected with before.Daniel and Zonnie, are you out there?
Posted by Annie Croon | June 16, 2009 9:41 PM
Posted on June 16, 2009 21:41
Dana,
I think you are onto a major issue. Students have to feel comfortable in their own skins and teachers need t make all children feel welcome.
We have to leave as many of our own issues at teh door as we ca. Our students need to feel comfortable expressing themselves and knowing that they can trust us as teachers.
When I taught 4th grade, I would tell my students that in our classroom we were a family -- that we could laugh with someone but not at someone. Making fun of others would not be tolerated and that there was no one in the room who couldn't be made fun of of soemthing.
I am lucky that I work with so many wonderful teachers who truly put children and their educations before test scores, the children grow so much and thrive in that kind of environment.
Posted by Caroline Walker | June 17, 2009 10:30 PM
Posted on June 17, 2009 22:30