I didn’t quite know what to expect from this course when I registered for it a couple of months ago. I also have never taken an online course so I kind of expected it to be an impersonal experience, but this blog has been a wonderful way for us to share our thoughts. It has been great! I honestly have enjoyed this class so much more than I thought I would. I also plan on purchasing the book that the first few articles came from. I have really loved some of these articles and think that I would enjoy reading some more. I also plan on recommending some of these readings to some of my colleagues in the future.
I am thinking back to different ideas and issues that these articles have brought to me and there are several that stand out to me. First, I am still a young teacher and have many many years left in my career. At this point I haven’t really had any students that come from cultures that are very different form ours. I have had Hispanic students, but they have all come from families that really value the American way of life and thus find education important and have all really valued me in their children’s life. I think these articles have helped me think outside of the box when it comes to students who are culturally different than the ones I am used to working with. Reading about girls from Africa and native American communities is eye opening. I haven’t really considered the possibility of getting students from these demographics, but it could happen any moment. Reading these articles have helped me to realize how important it is to help students find a balance between their old culture and their new one. I wouldn’t dare to ask my students to leave behind the traditions they have grown up with… instead I would want to know more about them so I could incorporate them into my classroom. I would want these kids to find success too, and enjoy school! I would never want any of my students to feel out of place in my classroom.
Another subject I had never really considered was having students with different dialects and how to help them learn to code-switch. It’s not really something I’m all that familiar with. Many of my students have accents, and some speak using poor grammar. But having many different slang and dialects isn’t something I usually think about. I think code-switching is very important for students who come from different backgrounds. We want our students to speak with proper English and sound intelligent, but at the same time we don’t want to stifle the culture they come from and are familiar with. I think teachers of older students probably run into this sort of thing more than I do. Older students really seem to embrace slang and other things. It’s important for these kids to understand when slang is appropriate and when it’s not.
Also, gender is something that is so important to consider when it comes to a child’s literacy. As much as I would like to ignore gender stereotypes they can actually serve as important guides for teachers. I realize that many, not all, but many of my students really fit into these gender stereotypes. Kids did years back, thy do today, and they will in the future. It is so important for me to know how to best reach these kids. I want every child in my room to be successful and it is my job to ensure that this happens. I think it is especially important for teachers like me who work in the lower grades to find ways to reach these students. I would hate for students to begin “hating” reading at such an early age. All kids want to learn to read and I need to make sure that this happens in a comfortable and safe environment.
This course has opened my eyes to many things. One thing I am really going to make an extra effort to do in the fall is familiarize myself with students’ families. I want to get to know each family so I can understand more about where my children are coming from. I need to know how much emphasis is placed on literacy in the home. I also need to know what kind of backgrounds a student’s parents come from. I want to know more about these kids so I can better help them. I don’t want anyone to have permission to fail.
Kelly Beckley