Carol Sherrill
"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." Michael Foucault
When I read the three quotes, this one jumped out at me because it is about me. It means that if you want to continue to grow and develop as a person you have to keep your eyes open to new possibilities and keep your mind open to new ideas. You have to stop and look at yourself and decide if what you think you know is right.
I love to learn. I am constantly taking classes, seminars and training. I have taken basket weaving, grilling class and violin lessons. If there is staff development offered and it fits my schedule, I am taking it. I like to know stuff! (All of that learning also helps to make me a pretty good Trivial Pursuit player.) To be a good teacher, you need to be a life-long learner. To me being a life-long learner means you realize you don't know everything and part of what you think you know is incorrect. So, we have to always be prepared to questions ourselves, our thoughts and our perceptions. We can't just be teachers, we have to be students too.
When we started our reading Dowdy and Delpit, I was not sure what to expect. I enjoyed the articles but I also felt a sense of detachment because I was looking at things in black and white. It was almost like a competition. I felt like telling kids to sound white was sending a bad message. In reality, I was the one getting the bad message. I had to open my mind and turn the colors off. When I started thinking of all kids and not just racially things starting making better sense to me. I was provided with an opportunity to perceive things differently. It was also good for me to see that sometimes what I think is wrong.
Noll's article made me ask a lot of questions. Why do we let test scores define children? Wat can I do to help elimainate racism in our schools? This article also helped me to realize that all children have some kind of talent. We all hunger for validation. I can provide children with that validation if I work hard enough to learn about the children I teach. So much of what I have learned in this class starts with me. I can't change children, their parents or policy makers but I can make changes in the way I do things.
While reading Henry and Staples, I had to work hard to keep an open mind. As much as I didn't think I would I learned from them. What I learned was all children no matter what race or gender need common things. They need positive reinforcement. They need to develop a respect for their communities. They need individual freedom to learn and grow. They need to understand and value text. Lastly, they need to learn to cooperate with authority. Actually, all people need to learn those lessons not just children. I also found "coming to voice" an interesting concept. To me that menas, finding your confidence and ability to communicate. It's like the quote. Coming to voice means you learn that yo can think differently. This articles were the first time I realized the importance of finding connections. I need to make connections with my students and my students need to make connections with their literacy.
Perry's article was my favorite both personally and professionally. It made me reflect on my history with storytelling. It also made me realize that I have done my children a disservice by not immersing them in stories. I need to fix that. Professionally, I understand that every culture has a story to tell. I am going to attempt to focus on stories our different cultures share. I am thinking that will help form bonds between the different cultures in my classroom.
Ending with Hicks, reinforced the importance of connections. I made the comment on one of my blogs that every moment with a child has the potential to be a teachable moment. I need to find a way to help my students invent themselves. Making sure they are literate assures me they will have more opportunities to invent themselves. Hicks also touched on the importance of storytelling and getting to know your students better. I may not like everything Hicks said but she was on the mark with those ideas.
What I have learned from this class is that I have a lot to learn. As long as I keep an open mind and a positive attitude my opportunities will be endless. From this class, I realize there are changes I need to make:
* I am going to focus on the strentgths of my students to build a positive rapport and make them want to learn more.
* I am going to help students feel a sense of pride in their heritage. In my classroom, we are going to celebrate the ways different cultures are alike.
* Having a big classroom library is not enough. I am going to look for text and other media that celebrates diversity.
* When school starts back in hte fall, I am going to be a better story teller.
* I am going to stop expecting differnt cultures to conform to my ideas. The "white" way is not necessarily the right way.
The quote means I can't assume what I know is correct. I can't stop investigating to try to uncover new truths and ideas. This old dog is open to learning lots of new tricks!
Carol Sherrill