There are times in life when the question of knowing if one can think differently than one thinks, and perceive differently than one sees, is absolutely necessary if one is to go on looking and reflecting at all.
~Michel Foucault
Reading has always held a special place in my life. I have always loved to read books. My favorites include mysteries, romances, and the occasional “scary” book. I have found (just like many of the students I teach), I enjoy a book much better if I get to be the one to choose it. Oddly enough, when I was in school, I read all the time. I was always reading something all the way from elementary school to high school. My love of reading stopped (or was put on hold) when I started college, became a teacher, and now have entered the graduate program. I never seem to have time to read anymore. So much of my time is spent doing homework for college, grading papers, etc. I hope I will have more time to read for enjoyment as graduation gets closer.
I do like to choose my own books. Therefore, some of the articles I read in this course were difficult for me to read. This class made me think of cultures, genders, and identities in a whole new light. I picked the quote above because I think it best fits my journey in this class. I had to think differently in this class. I had to open up my mind and think about things that I may not be great at as a teacher. I think this quote means you have to think openly in order to change for yourself. After reflecting on this course, I realize that I am not always “in tune” with issues going around in my classroom. I do not think I am negative about the problems, but probably just haven’t realized all the issues that exist within schools. This course has forced me to think about situations our students face daily, that I may not have even realized were problems.
Dowdy was forced to speak “the right English” during her time in school. She had to change the way she had always spoken to “fit-in” with her current learning environment. Students are often forced to “code-switch.” They are required to speak one way in one place and a different way in another. This code-switching was probably the one thing I felt best about with my own teaching. I try not to make fun of my students for talking how they talk. I think of my own Southern accent. It would be horrible if I had to change how I speak to please someone else. Therefore, for the most part, I try to let my students speak how they learned to speak. One fault I have found in myself is sometimes assuming people aren’t smart because they communicate differently. I think back to this past year when I had a student that couldn’t talk at all (he had oral apraxia). I was guilty of making the assumption that he wasn’t going to be able to learn because he couldn’t talk. I quickly found out that he could do math really well and could even do fairly well on written phonics activities. Delpit talks about how we shouldn’t assume cognitive deficiency just because a person’s communication skills are different from our own.
Noll wrote about Daniel and Zonnie, who were two Native American teenagers. Both Daniel and Zonnie struggled with integrating their home life and school life. These two students wanted to be true to their culture and heritage, but often found it difficult to do that at school. Both were extremely talented in writing and music. Given the chance, they could have used their talents in school to share information about their Native American heritage with the others in their classroom. This article probably made me feel guiltier about my teaching than any other article I read. I have mostly white students in my classroom. Every year, I have one or two students that are from a different race. This past year, I had a Hispanic child in my class. He was very smart, he could read, write, and do math better than most of the other students in my class. I always treated him (and all the other students I have had from different races) just like my white students. This student was from Mexico. I never gave him an opportunity to share anything about his history with the rest of the class. He may not have wanted to share, but as a teacher, I should have had a study or focus on different cultures in the world to make sure he didn’t feel isolated. Thanks to this class, I am now aware that I need to study the different cultures within my classroom to make everybody feel important.
A common theme in the readings from this class was to give students the opportunity to share what was on their minds. Staples lead an after-school group with African-American teenagers. The group discussed issues they were having and spent a great deal of time developing their talents such as hip-hop, athletics, and song writing. I need to give my students more of an opportunity to share their talents and discuss things they need to discuss. Just because one of my students may not be able to sit down and write a 5 page book report doesn’t mean they can’t express themselves in a poem or song they have written. I need to remember that all people learn differently, and it is my job to allow my students to showcase their talents and abilities to best fit their personality.
Perry wrote about the Lost Boys of Sudan and how they shared their history through storytelling. The Lost Boys were the only ones left from their country and many felt it was up to them to keep their history alive. Through storytelling and writing, these Lost Boys were able to communicate everything they had gone through. I need to remember that storytelling is an important method of communicating. By incorporating storytelling into my classroom, I can help develop my student’s language and communication skills. Storytelling can also give my students the opportunity to talk about what is important to them. Perry helped me realize that storytelling is not a lost art and should still be included in my first grade curriculum daily.
A big part of the readings from this class came from the work of Deborah Hicks. Hicks did research on working-class children. She spoke a great deal about discourse. A discourse is the various components of our lives. We have to act a certain way in each of the discourses we belong in. Our school discourse will be different than our church discourse which will be different than our home discourse. Students bring all of their discourses with them to school every day. Hicks speaks of how learning is socially constructed. Our students watch their parents, siblings, teachers, and friends to learn new information. As a teacher, I need to remember that my students have these different discourses and what my students learn at home is also going to be brought into my classroom.
Hicks spends a good deal of her book discussing gender roles. She discusses how many girls tend to be “good girls” in the classroom. Many girls have a need to please others. Hicks did a research study on Laurie. Laurie was a “good girl” in school. I think this may have been to cover up things she lacked in within the school setting. Hicks speaks of how girls often have fantasy worlds. Laurie often wrote about her mama getting married, having a daddy, and life on a farm with horses. None of these things were true, but Laurie lived them through her writing. Laurie’s home life had a huge impact on her learning. Her mama and grandma were often busy and didn’t always have the time needed to help Laurie on her school work. I need to remember that home life greatly impacts how my students learn.
Hicks also did research on a boy named Jake. During her research, she discovered that Jake (and many boys) liked to have a point to what they were learning. Jake didn’t want to do anything academic without a good reason for doing it. I need to remember this in my classroom. I need to make sure my lessons have a purpose. For example, I could have my class practice fluency by doing Reader’s Theater. I could then offer a purpose by having my class “perform” their reader’s theater to the class down the hall. I need to work at making my lessons more purposeful and worthwhile to my students. Jake liked to read books that told facts. He wanted to be just like his daddy who read many history books. Jake also developed a love for history books. As a teacher, I need to make sure that I have different genres of books within my classroom. Girls have a tendency to like fantasy books while boys have a tendency to like non-fiction books. I need to have all of these types of books readily available to all the students (boys and girls).
As I complete this course, I now realize I need to be more open and understanding in my teaching. As the quote says, I need to “think differently than I think” in order to reflect on the activities within my classroom. Reflection is what helps teachers become better teachers. I need to remember that no one is perfect and everyone has room to improve. I need to be more considerate of my student’s cultures, backgrounds, and beliefs. I need to find activities that will meet the needs of all my students. I need to teach with a purpose. This class has helped me reflect on my shortcomings as a teacher, but has also given me some great ideas to make change.
~Jamie Brackett