Peanut Butter Cookies
½ cup sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 ¼ cup self-rising flour
Mix moist ingredients
Mix in dry ingredients
Roll into balls
Place on cookie sheet
Press with fork to flatten
Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes
This is one of the easiest cookie recipes that I have found and it was an all time favorite with my daughters. They were able to measure and mix with little difficulty due to the repeated measuring requirements. You may be wondering ‘What does this have to do with an online course in race, gender and class’? Well, as I reflect on the reading and the blogging and the comments I am constantly reminded that life is not always so easy. There is not a perfect recipe for being a good teacher, parent or student. Only through constant questioning, learning and changing have I been able to change the recipe to fit my needs and the needs of my students. In order to encourage and encompass every student’s learning style I must continue to challenge the traditional status of ‘the way things are done’ and seek out a new recipe for success or at least embellish the one that I have. One way that I have chosen to seek for success is through graduate studies. Each research article has offered a new ingredient for future teaching opportunities.
Annette Henry offers a good example for establishing voice. Allowing the Caribbean girls to work in small groups and share stories of personal meaning empowered them to build a stronger voice in school. Many students believe that they are expected to sit down, shut up and learn. Without interaction and personal meaning they are disconnected from learning and may sit in fear of breaking the rules. Students must be given the chance to speak. My goal is to find ways to encourage student’s voice. Small group instruction has been helpful in obtaining this goal, but I must be more flexible with grouping. The most common factor, in my class, is ability when assigning small groups. I do incorporate student interest when choosing read aloud material, but I must do more interest grouping for small group activities. I must stop organizing solely by the numbers and begin utilizing student grouping. By consciously and actively giving students a voice and a choice in grouping I will be better able to meet their individual needs.
Kristen H. Perry provides insight to the art of storytelling. By following the chronicles of the lives of the ‘Lost Boys of Sudan’ we are able to experiences the pain and sadness of losing a family and an entire way of life. Through this research I have learned that it is possible to change and recreate ones reading and writing culture. The ‘Boys’ were forced to make changes because their world had been torn apart by war and there way no way to return to their land and traditions. Fortunately, they were provided with the opportunity to rebuild a new culture by preserving parts of their past in a new way. This research has forced me to see that the causalities of the education war are in my care. Will I be able to stop looking at the numbers and begin to provide an environment that will help re-establish a culture of learning? Will I be the one who will give the students a chance to redefine their world through story telling? My plan for future generations of education casualties is to provide a safe haven in which students from all cultural backgrounds can find respect, hope and the safe environment in which to speak and share. As this course comes to an end I find that I am still planning to make changes in my class. I miss the show and tell activities from days gone by. My plan is to revise and revamp the old time tradition to meet the needs of the future students. I will try to incorporate a variety of times, setting and props to encourage students to share what they deem important.
The ‘Reading Lives’ of Laurie and Jake add the ingredient of surprise. In this rollercoaster ride, into the education of working class children, the children are viewed and treated differently each year based on the focus and philosophy of their teachers. Through their eyes and experiences I can clearly see that how I approach the education of working class children matters. The road to success for working class children has its ups and downs and the twists and turns depend on how the student is perceived at home and at school. By using this as the focus I understand that it is up to me to provide activities based on student interest. One way to implement this is to use an interest survey that encompasses interest from school and from home. I worked with this medium briefly last year for an inquiry project and had positive results. By continuing to expand my thinking and utilize the information that is available I am able to understand that I don’t have to be a NASCAR fan to include this topic in my class. Sometimes children from non-traditional families are labeled ‘from a broken home’. Laurie did not have a father present and this was a source of discourse. Many children have parents that are single and single parents, with children, have issues that are not common with the traditional family. This does not equate a broken family in by opinion. One plan to merge the home discourse with the school discourse is to use read aloud novels that feature different types of families. Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet is a survival adventure with undercurrents of divorce and dating parents. Another book to share could be Jack Ganto’s Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key in which a kid with ADHD struggles to fit in at home and at school. A new book called Dog Lost by Ingrid Lee features a single father who is dating and neglects his son in the process. Other social issues included in this book are common among the geographic region in which I teach and include gambling and dog fighting. To be a dedicated teacher I must have knowledge of a special population. I want my students to remember me as a caring, concerned teacher. Can I make this happen? By continuing to read children’s literature and find time to learn about the interest and lives of my students I belive so. I must continue to read and reflect on research, thank goodness for grad school.
To sum it all up I take you back to the simple cookie recipe. I ask you to look a little closer and question its simplicity. Do I use natural or processed sugar? Do I use light or dark brown sugar? Can I use margarine instead of butter? Which peanut butter will work best? Have you seen the choices available lately? Just to name a few I have seen smooth, crunchy, extra crunchy, organic, brand name as well as store brand? The simple recipe has changed based on the choice of the ingredients and yes you can mix it up to suit your taste. My goal is to step away from the simple teaching recipe and look for more interesting ingredients to meet the needs of my future students. I’m sure that there are new ingredients in the mounds of research. By adjusting teaching styles I know that student needs will be met. The kitchen is calling, what new recipe will I create today?
Elizabeth Achor