It has occurred to me lately—and now especially after reading Henry and Noll’s research—that our textbooks and standardized tests, for starters, are written with the majority in mind. For a multi-cultured nation such as ours, this is a problem, but I don’t know that there’s an easy answer. For one, there has to be some sort of “standard” to work towards in our schools, right? I mean, we have to comprise some guidelines as to what our goals are and how we know when someone has reached those goals. These sorts of practices, then, lend themselves to many absolutes in our pedagogy; there just aren’t a lot of gray areas where we can work within this sort of paradigm. On the other hand, we are also responsible for teaching our children that life isn’t so cut and dry—there is, at times, room for negotiation and compromise. Isn’t this what the “tolerance” movement is all about?
On to the reports…These two research reports marry just about everything we’ve read so far: The need for students to be affirmed in the area of their home language; how kids interact one way in their school culture and then another in their home culture; and how we as teachers should not give our students permission to fail. You know, all of the participants in Henry and Noll’s studies needed to be affirmed in their home language and culture, and it wasn’t until then, that they seemed to open up and make themselves vulnerable.
I find it especially interesting that the teachers of Daniel and Zonnie gave a much different report of their school performance than the performance that we were seeing with the researcher. It definitely is because Noll was taking the time to understand their culture and home language. It’s important to point out too, I think, that the reason these children excelled more in their culture communities is because they are comfortable with people like them—people who aren’t going to call them names, make fun of their skin, the way they dress, or how they wear their hair. It’s important to point out too the importance of parental involvement. Can you imagine if Daniel and Zonnie’s parents weren’t involved in their education? Wow. They’d really struggle—especially Daniel.
The research on the African Caribbean girls was—as a whole—much more difficult for me to read with much fluency or comprehension. For me, it may be because I read it first, and the research-style writing is much drier than what we’ve been reading, and I had a very hard time switching gears. Even more so, though, is that Noll really made her students come alive on the page. I would imagine that she may have built a closer, more personal relationship with her participants because there was more of a passion there in the reading for me. Nonetheless, Henry’s report of the Caribbean girls further solidifies the notion that we need to affirm our students’ home culture and language and make great efforts to educate ourselves about their cultural background. It’s SO vital that we open up our minds to think differently than we’ve ever thought before and to teach differently than we’ve ever taught before! And lastly, every good teacher knows, certainly, that she should always have her eyes, ears, and mind perked and ready to learn from her students; we know that if we are paying attention, they’ll teach us how they learn best.
Erin Farrington
Comments (9)
Erin, I agree with you on some many points you made. To start with the standardized test students take. They benefit students of the majority. Working at a school where I (a white female teacher) am in the minority. This is my first year of teacher where I have had a white student. My students are Hispanic and African American. I think that if the test were geared more towards minority students, my students would have better scores. The years were there is a field test for the EOG, teachers are asked to sit down at the computer and rate the questions and make comments on them. I hate doing this because the questions ask if there is any bias with the question. Even if we say yes and what the bias is, the questions never seem to change.
I too was able to understand the Noll article better because I was able to get to know the students more so than the Henry article. Noll knew so much about those students and told us readers about the students. Henry barely mentioned about the students.
Melissa Lange
Posted by Melissa Lange | June 15, 2009 11:29 AM
Posted on June 15, 2009 11:29
Thanks, Erin, for making the connections among all the readings thus far. Great!!!
Posted by Alecia Jackson | June 15, 2009 3:05 PM
Posted on June 15, 2009 15:05
Erin,
Wow!! You hit the nail on the head when you said that Daniel would really struggle if his parents were not involved - that is 3/4 of my class white included). NO parent involvement and therefore very poor grades in reading and EOG scores.
Posted by Loren Van De Griek | June 15, 2009 3:25 PM
Posted on June 15, 2009 15:25
Erin, I did not think about the standardized test being created for the majority. You are exactly right. This is a problem. If you look at it in this way then it appears that the state of NC is letting the minority fall between the cracks! I also agree with you on there being some sort of standard. If we went to Mexico, we would be expected to speak Spanish! Do you think they would help Americans as much as we help them?
Since there is little to no time left for classroom teachers to spend on cultural issues, maybe the librarian needs to help teachers, students, and the community out by studying the diverse cultures! Since the librarians do not have as many responsibilities as classroom teachers maybe schools should consider requiring them to have family nights to discuss the cultural differences represented in the community.
Misty Mistretta
Posted by Misty Mistretta | June 15, 2009 5:08 PM
Posted on June 15, 2009 17:08
Isn't it slightly sad that Zonnie and Daniel can showcase their talent and feel comfortable in their community outside of school, but are "voiceless", to say the least, in school. We all know that a school setting will be uncomfortable for some students, but teachers should not be ignoring these students and their talents. Granted, I do not know the class sizes, but if Zonnie would stay after school to try to talk to her reading teacher about her interests, that teacher should have known that she had an interest in reading (unless Zonnie lied to Noll about this relationship). We need to make sure we listen to our students needs and make them feel comfortable in our schools.
Barbara Terauds
Posted by Barbara Terauds | June 15, 2009 8:40 PM
Posted on June 15, 2009 20:40
I enjoyed reading your response. You are right on with the EOG's. You are right about the open mindedness. In today's society you have to be ready for almost anything students have to bring to the table. Each year, I strive to "really" get to know my kids, and in doing so realize the way that we teach will be forever changing due to the ever changing needs of our studnets.
Posted by Heather Houston | June 16, 2009 1:37 PM
Posted on June 16, 2009 13:37
I enjoyed reading your posting. I agree with you on your comments about EOG testing. It seems that we talk out both sides of our mouths when we say that we will leave no child behind, yet the assessments are designed in such a way that many students are left behind. I noticed too that these journals did a nice job of pulling together all of the things that we have read about so far. I agree that the home/school connection is so important so that parents understand what is going on at school and so that teachers get a glimpse into the lives of their students and know how to better meet their needs. In most places gone are the days of paying a homevisit to (except for the social worker!). While I understand the reasons for that, I sometimes wonder what we have lost in doing away with this.
Jessica Jackson
Posted by Jessica Jackson | June 16, 2009 3:14 PM
Posted on June 16, 2009 15:14
Erin, you were exactly right about the testing "norms". Students in our local, rural setting are way out of their league in this area as well. The researchers did not address state-mandated testing practices which I thought was strange. It seems to be what drives us in North Carolina. There are many items on these elementary tests that our kids cannot fathom. Anyway, I did not glean as much from the Caribbean girls' study as I did from the Native Americans' study. I got bogged down in the pre-study jargon and never really got to know the girls. The Indians intrigued me and I was also amazed at the parent involvement and wish my students had parents that acted in like manner.
Posted by Janet Gross | June 16, 2009 4:15 PM
Posted on June 16, 2009 16:15
Erin, I echo other comments about the testing. Some friends and I were discussing that very issue just today. How ridiculous is it to expect an ESL student who is new to the country and speaks little English to take the EOG and do well? When schools have high populations of minority students who are not proficient in English, then it stands to reason that the scores won't be very good. Yet when that happens, the teachers are criticized for not doing a good job, when in fact they have likely poured their hearts and souls into the students and they have probably made lots of progress over the year. The standardized tests just don't reflect it.
However, as you pointed out, there has to be some sort of standard to measure progress and learning. I dont' know what the answers are; it's just so sad for the thousands of kids who are in this situation. They are the ones who are suffering and falling through the cracks. It's especially hard for older kids who move here; the younger ones usually pick up on the language and are accepted pretty easily, or at least that has been my observation at my school. I guess little kids are more blind to color and cultural differences than older kids are.
The difficulties for the teachers are that we have so many kids these days who are in this situation, that at some schools entire classes are made up of minority groups and I think that would make it hard for the teacher to make personal connections with each of the students. (I find it more difficult to connect with my kids of different ethnic groups.)
Lorie Hedrick
Posted by Lorie Hedrick | June 16, 2009 6:52 PM
Posted on June 16, 2009 18:52