Check in

Hey everyone!  I experienced no problems from the storm - thankfully!  My sister is without power in Pennsylvania, but everyone else who I have spoken to of my family/friends is doing well.  My district was closed yesterday, but we were back today.  Initially I was disappointed about the fact that I had to go in, but I know in June I will be thankful!

I have 2 new students since last week, which brings my total number of students up to 13.  Tomorrow I am meeting with a group of people to talk about the possibility of some of the girls starting public school - fingers crossed!!  I was thinking back the other day to my interview for this position and remember the number 3 or 4 being discussed as the "average class size" I would have. HA! 

No Kool-Aid this week, but I did have my fingers crushed as I tried to save an MP3 player from getting stomped on.  My newest student decided that 'if she wasn't going to have the MP3 player, then nobody was going to have it.' I decided she was wrong!  I grabbed the player just in time, but my fingers did get stepped on in the event. It didn't hurt that much, but I made a big deal out of getting ice and walking around with an ice pack for the next 20 minutes.  I guess I was trying to appeal to her softer side, (which I still assume might be there) but it did make me feel better!  I realize I shouldn't have thrown my hand under her descending foot, but there was an MP3 player to be saved!  Eventually she apologized and tomorrow is a new day - and hopefully a better one!

I hope that everyone had as much luck as I did with the storm and that you all are safe and well.  See you in a few weeks!

Gendered Harassment in Secondary Schools - Meyer

Gendered Harassment in Secondary Schools: Understanding Teachers’ (non) Interventions – Meyer

Elizabeth Meyer begins her article by defining the three main types of harassment that she explores throughout her research.  The first, “gendered harassment, is defined as any behavior, verbal, physical, or psychological, that polices the boundaries of traditional heterosexual gender norms and includes (hetero)sexual harassment, homophobic harassment, and harassment for gender non-conformity” (2)  Specific examples of this may include name-calling and telling jokes that are sexist, homophobic, or transphobic.

The second type of harassment, homophobic harassment, is “defined as unwelcome behaviours that can include physical, verbal, and non-verbal conduct that denigrate people who are, or are perceived to be, gay, lesbian, bisexual or queer.” (4)  Meyer considers this type of harassment to fall in the the category of sexual harassment, because most of these behaviors are comprised of sexual or gender components. Examples of this type of harassment would include anti-gay epithets or harassment of a female for being too ‘masculine’.

The third type of harassment described is harassment for gender non-conformity, which Meyer describes as, “Individuals whose bodies and identities transgress dominant notions of masculinity and femininity disrupt the dominant paradigm of a gender binary.” (5)  She mentions that some studies have started to examine this topic, but more research is required in this area.  

After Meyer presented those definitions, she began to examine the role that teachers play when it comes to harassment and bullying in their schools/classrooms.  Overwhelmingly, teachers shared that they did not feel supported by their administrators when dealing with these issues and therefore, often did not combat them.  In addition to lack of administrative support, teachers also felt that they were already overworked with the amount of material they were expected to cover, felt a complete lack of training unless they sought it out themselves, and expressed a lack of written clarity on the policies of bullying in their schools.  Meyer describes all of these as institutional influences and I could easily relate to these topics, because they are issues that we have brought up consistently over the semester when dealing with a variety of issues.  Although we haven’t had our class discussion yet, I have a feeling that these same sentiments reflected here are present in many of our schools today.

One big issue that Meyer highlights is how the beliefs and actions of the administration reflect the culture and climate of the entire school.  (Parents were briefly mentioned in her report, but not discussed to the degree of the impact of administration.)  This is extremely important, because as Meyer presents as her conclusion, “it is not possible to create safer and more positive learning environments until school leaders initiate a whole-school process that would transform the formal and informal structures of the school.”  (20)  Before reading this article I had never really thought about how significant the administration team is in setting the school climate.  I think that part of the reason is that in my current position, there is no relation between the students and the administrators at the public school.  The climate in my classroom is only impacted by administration during my observations, and this is not enough to have any type of result on the students.  Although, in thinking back over the teaching jobs that I have had in the past, I can clearly see what a big role administrators do have on the school community.

My article this week highlights a documentary, It’s Elementary (1996), that acts as a guide for teachers who want to cover LGBT issues in the classroom.  Below is an excerpt from this documentary that shows examples of teachers who are covering this topic in their classroom.  This clip shows teacher led discussions, classroom conversations, a school exhibit education initiative, and the reaction from parents when this topic came up. I believe, in addition to the beliefs/practices of administrators of a school, that this type of education is a piece of what Meyer is saying is necessary in order to confront the problem of harassment and bullying in our schools today.

Digital Native or Digital Immigrant?

“Anti-Teaching: Confronting the Crisis of Significance” - Michael Wesch

Michael Wesch grasped my attention from his second sentence when he said, “Students – our most important critics – are struggling to find meaning and significance in their education.”  I felt that this is exactly what we were talking about in class on Tuesday.  I don’t assume that there aren’t additional struggles for students who are Black or Latino, but I believe that most (all?) students today feel disconnected from the subjects that they are studying in school.  In this article, Wesch suggests that using technology can assist in bringing students closer to the material that we are conveying in our classes.  He mentions, “using a hacked mix of online social media like wikis, Twitter, Jot, and Facebook to turn their cell phones and laptops into a local learning network.

Speaking from experience, I find that I either have the device or the training in order to implement technology in my classroom.  I have attended many demonstrations on the latest and greatest technology, but don’t have the access to use it in my classroom. Or I have a new device and not the first clue how to use it (usually I end up asking my students for help).  In one of my classes last semester we talked about being a ‘digital native’ vs. a ‘digital immigrant’.  Digital natives have been surrounded by technology – computers, videogames, cell phones - for their entire lives.  On the other hand, digital immigrants were not born in the age of technology, but are interested in and attempt to utilize these devices.  In many classrooms today the students are the digital natives and the teachers are the digital immigrants. As the article from my link suggests, it’s like digital natives are learning to speak a new language and now have a heavy accent that the digital natives (our students) have a difficult time understanding.  This article really highlights the difference between the two ‘digital categories' and makes recommendations of how to make learning more authentic and therefore significant for our students.

I went through a range of emotions while watching the You Tube video and I think it stems from the fact that it was at a college level and therefore not compulsory.  The students chose to continue their education (I know many would argue that to be competitive and enter the workforce you have to attend college), but they have choice over the colleges they chose to attend.  Therefore the stats about class-size, textbooks, and teachers knowing their names were lost on me.  By the end of the clip I was coming around again and seeing the overall point.  I agree that classrooms – at any level – need to adapt to meet the demands of our current/future society/economy.  Clearly, technology is one of the tools that we have available in order to meet those demands.  While current teachers can (and should) learn to use and implement technology in our classrooms, I also think that it will be interesting to see the developments over the next few years as the ‘digital natives’ are entering the workforce.  

Keepin' It Real

Keepin’ It Real – Carter

In the beginning of this reading, Carter introduces the concepts of dominant and nondominant cultural capital and the impact these have on students in high schools today.  The chart below represents what he defines as the dominant vs. nondominant culture capital (the page numbers did not copy clearly, so I apologize for not including them here).

Dominant Cultural Capital

Nondominant Cultural Capital

“Resource that can eventually yield some economic and social returns” “knowledge and skills of high-status racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups” “Provides students with access to certain attitudes, styles, preferences that enable their entry into high-status social groups, organizations, or institutions” “Styles of speaking, interacting; knowledge of certain books, music, art, foods; and experience foreign and nationwide travel” College preparatory, honors, and advanced placement expose students to dominant cultural capital

“Tastes, appreciations, and understandings, such as preferences for particular linguistic, musical, and dress styles, and physical gestures used by used by lower status group members to gain ‘authentic’ cultural status positions in their respective communities” Signifies in-group allegiance and preserves a sense of belonging

Carter continues by interviewing and sharing the stories of Black students who discuss how the concept of cultural power affects their lives.  She shares stories of individuals who she spoke with over a ten month period.  During that time she had conversations with them to gain an understanding about their perceptions on the role of culture in their lives.  What she found was that, “no one devalued high academic achievement, or cared if either they or their friends were smart, but they did care if their peers repudiated in-group cultural codes and knowledge.”

One phrase that Carter introduced that was new to me was “cultural straddlers”.  She describes cultural straddlers as people who, “willingly moved back and forth between their uses of ‘black’ and dominant linguistic capital.” (62)  She shared the stories of Loretta, Bettina, and Moesha who are high school graduates and are now in the workforce or attending college.  All three of these ladies shared stories of speaking one way at work/school and a different way around family and friends.  They had learned that in order to be “socioeconomically mobile” it benefitted them to use Standard English when at work and school.  If they continued this manner of speech around family and friends though, they were at risk of being accused of “acting white”.  At home, these individuals preferred to switch back into the accepted speech codes that were used by their family and friends.

The article I am including this week is about McCaskey East High School where in December of 2011 the school conducted an experiment in which they instituted all-black homerooms for the schools juniors (the students who took the standardized test that year).  In addition to being all black, the students were grouped by gender and paired with mentors of the same race and gender to, “determine if grouping students homogeneously for a brief period each day will help them socially and academically.” 

I was previously familiar with this story that made national news and have thought about it many times during our class discussions and readings this semester.  The part of this article that made me think of Carter’s piece is where a teacher, Willie Thedford, shares the quote, “"One of the simplest things you notice right away is, before, the pants were hanging down; now, they are up. The shirt is tucked in, where before, it was hanging out. That's tangible.” This is one step that the teacher highlighted, which Delpit and Carter would consider the students learning and exhibiting the ways of the "culture of power."  Could a program such as this one, which matches students up with mentors of their same race and gender help the students by being matched with positive role models?  Or, as the other side of the argument goes, does this program reinforce negative racial stereotypes and take a step backward to the days of racial segregation?

Teachable Moments

In the readings for this week Dr. August chronicles her experiences in a kindergarten classroom, specifically during Morning Meeting/circle time.  She focuses on one student, Cody, in particular who was adopted by lesbian mothers in order to study her research question of, “What happens when a child with lesbian parents and children from other non-dominant family structures share their family stories (via oral narrative, artwork, or writing) in a classroom that is led by a teacher committed to democratic pedagogy?”  In addition to observing Cody, August also shares conversations with his mothers and his teacher Zeke, as well as transcribes full classroom conversations, in order to fully detail her research.

From the beginning, August points out that, “some children fare better on this platform than others.”  I think that this is an important point to make, because what she found was that Cody actually didn’t discuss his two moms at all during circle time.  When he did, he spoke vaguely of interactions or activities with “my mom”.  August points out that it was Cody’s lack of narrative that was telling in her research and she used that fact in her interpretation of events.

I also think it’s important that August is sensitive to the fact that, “We teach in real time with real distractions, and real pressures. Unintended consequences are inevitable.” (174)  During the reading I thought many times about how I would respond to the events that happened in Zeke’s classroom and even how I respond to things in my own classroom.  I often glad that there isn’t someone transcribing the events and conversations when I am teaching!  I do understand the importance of it for this research though, and was actually better able to relate to the readings in chapters 5 and 6 due to these conversations.

Implementing Morning Meeting was a big push in the 5^th grade classroom where I completed my student teaching.  The entire school was required to hold Morning Meeting every morning, but teachers could decide exactly how they wanted to do it.  I really enjoyed using this technique, and if I taught in an elementary school I believe I would continue to use it in some way.  While I knew that I saw value in MM, I never really considered the full social implications and teachable moments that this structure provided.  As I mentioned above, In Making Room for One Another, Dr. August highlights many of these teachable moments in a thorough discussion of her research.  

For my outside source this week I would like to highlight Zach Wahls, who gave a speech to the Iowa House of Representatives on January 31, 2011 in support of gay marriage.  At the time he was 19 and in this video he shares a bit of his family's story and states, “my family really isn't that different from yours.”  While Cody didn't offer a narrative about his family during Dr. August's observations (not that anyone would expect to see something like this in a kindergarten classroom), I thought this was a fantastic representation of a narrative from Zach who, like Cody, was raised by two mothers.