As I read through the article named above, I had two main reactions: shock that it has been seven years since this disaster, and intrigue as I read about the author's proposal for schooling. He said the schools should essentially duke it out for the students. Let the schools fight for them. Of course, there are rewards if you win, but that incentive also works to entice schools into the battle.
The families affected by Katrina were devastated in many ways: homes torn apart, jobs lost, families changed forever. The young people affected will never know life without this change. I remember growing up how important it was to feel at home. And being as I grew up in a military family, that didn't happen very often. Each time we'd move I had to make new friends, figure out the house, try to decipher with my five-year-old ears the various languages spoken around me. It was difficult. But I didn't have any natural disaster kicking me out from one place to the next. I didn't have to worry about whether or not my friends lived through the storm. I didn't have to worry about my school, house, and parents' workplaces being torn apart. There was a lot I didn't have to think about. But these kids do. Every day.
I think the plan laid out in the article was a brilliant one. The children of Katrina have already faced so many hardships, why not let people fight for them for once. I'm sure they've felt like the odds were stacked against them. For once, offer them the place they need. This plan for schools to bid for students would be excellent in almost any setting, though. There are schools where I teach that excel in special education. In fact there are families who have moved into my district to go to one of the elementary schools because of its amazing special education program. Now that's commitment. Parents doing whatever it takes for their children to receive the best education.
Last year, when I subbed in Metro, I knew a number of students whose families moved to Nashville because of Katrina. They were all very young when it happened, but they felt the effects every day. I remember asking them if the transition was hard, and if they liked school in Tennessee, etc. Most replied quite positively. I wonder if their parents would say they felt good about the education their children were getting. I wonder if the parents had a choice in their move or if they had to move just for a job. I hope, of course, that these kids, like all kids, would be able to receive the best education possible. And, like everything in education, that solution is not a one size fits all.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Friday, March 23, 2012
Culture-Rich Curriculum
A hot issue now is multiculturalism. The debate takes many forms: what to teach in schools, how to deal with immigration, racism, cultural superiority, etc. When it comes to multiculturalism in schools, it takes a couple basic forms. One is a multi-cultured approach. This form is as it sounds - teach what you teach from the perspective of multiple cultures. Ideally this takes shape every day in the classroom, not just in black history month. The other option (quite simplified) is that it's better to focus your attention as an educator on the basic needs of students, to answer the question "what do these kids need to know to make it in this world?"
This plays itself out in my school a number of ways. We celebrated black history month like most places, with an assembly and some extra information on famous African American contributions to the world. But the debate also takes shape in that I am constantly trying to challenge my kids to more. Sometimes am I less aware of cultural differences? Unfortunately, yes. I'm still learning. But sometimes do I make the choice to challenge my kids to answer the WHY questions in life instead of the WHAT questions in order to prepare them for the "real world" (as if school exists in some alternate dimension that isn't real...)? Yes, I do that as well.
Multiculturalism is a big part of our school. We have a quite diverse population and I'm thankful for that. I see many kids interact on a personal and friendly level every day and I find that to be a very good thing. But it would be unfair to say that I never see educational excellence diminished simply to add a piece of literature from another culture. I hope I don't sound insensitive (but I probably do), but there are times that an educator should not worry about what culture an author or history-maker comes from. Well, for history you probably should worry about it. We are all a part of the world's population. And as "we are the world" as it may seem, we all matter. I don't think it's necessary to spend five minutes discussing an author's personal, cultural history before we dive into his or her poetry or prose. I don't see a consistent benefit to that. If the piece is good, study it. If it's not, don't. It seems easy.
Now then, we do study other cultures in my English class. We did a good amount on Native American culture and Puritan culture, as two examples. I hope still to do a section on the Harlem Renaissance. But these pieces of literary history are good. They are not just studied because their authors filed into some special cultural realm.
At the end of the day, I don't know which one of these wins. I realize how culturally narcissistic I sound right now. I hope that over the next years of teaching I'll figure out the right answer.
This plays itself out in my school a number of ways. We celebrated black history month like most places, with an assembly and some extra information on famous African American contributions to the world. But the debate also takes shape in that I am constantly trying to challenge my kids to more. Sometimes am I less aware of cultural differences? Unfortunately, yes. I'm still learning. But sometimes do I make the choice to challenge my kids to answer the WHY questions in life instead of the WHAT questions in order to prepare them for the "real world" (as if school exists in some alternate dimension that isn't real...)? Yes, I do that as well.
Multiculturalism is a big part of our school. We have a quite diverse population and I'm thankful for that. I see many kids interact on a personal and friendly level every day and I find that to be a very good thing. But it would be unfair to say that I never see educational excellence diminished simply to add a piece of literature from another culture. I hope I don't sound insensitive (but I probably do), but there are times that an educator should not worry about what culture an author or history-maker comes from. Well, for history you probably should worry about it. We are all a part of the world's population. And as "we are the world" as it may seem, we all matter. I don't think it's necessary to spend five minutes discussing an author's personal, cultural history before we dive into his or her poetry or prose. I don't see a consistent benefit to that. If the piece is good, study it. If it's not, don't. It seems easy.
Now then, we do study other cultures in my English class. We did a good amount on Native American culture and Puritan culture, as two examples. I hope still to do a section on the Harlem Renaissance. But these pieces of literary history are good. They are not just studied because their authors filed into some special cultural realm.
At the end of the day, I don't know which one of these wins. I realize how culturally narcissistic I sound right now. I hope that over the next years of teaching I'll figure out the right answer.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Multiculturalism in my Classroom
One day in my seventh period, I asked my students to get into three groups. A minute later, my kids were all chuckling and laughing in a oh-man-this-is-weird way. I looked around the room and there was one group composed of four Hispanic students, one group composed of five African American students, and one group composed of five white students. To say the least, it was an odd moment. Since the students grouped themselves, and the students work well in the groups they created, I didn't rearrange them. But, to be honest, I was almost worried that an administrator would walk in and later feel the need to talk to me about racial grouping or something. Thankfully none of that happened, the weirdness blew over, and the students did well with the lesson.
We live in a world of varied cultures. The question being asked in many history, literature, and other classes nowadays is "What sort of American citizens should we be shaping?" The root question here, of course, is "What is America?" This question has a million answers from a million perspectives on one very long, complex series of events. Our history used to be simple - Europeans came and discovered America. I remember the day I read an article in ninth grade about Christopher Columbus being a genocidal maniac. Maybe they didn't use the word maniac. But the article was certainly strongly worded, and I had never heard any of it before. To say it challenged everything I understood about America's genesis would be accurate.
Whatever America is, I know that part of education is national pride. This has changed over my life as well. When I was young, and all the way through high school, we said the Pledge every day. In my classroom we still say the Pledge. But let me clarify: by "we" I mean me and one student. This is something I simply do not understand. One student told me he doesn't say the Pledge because a teacher when he was younger told him that it "wasn't true." The ironic part of his decision is that it was based purely on what somebody older and influential told him instead of any research or deep thought. Now then, I understand that my students have the right to not say the Pledge. If I'm honest though, I'm very annoyed by it. Growing up in a military family, we were taught to respect the flag and the men and women serving our country. Today, I just don't really see that.
Ultimately, multiculturalism to me means that we are a country of many cultures. We will never be a country where our cultures meld into one - I do not think that is the goal or the hope. I enjoy the fact that my students have many backgrounds. I enjoy the fact that we can enter into conversations about those backgrounds in class and that the students enjoy learning about each other in that way. I've seen the conversations happen, and I've been excited about it. I hope we as America never loses our individuality. I hope we never turn to Sameness like in The Giver. That would be, as the main character Jonas said in that book, completely unfair.
We live in a world of varied cultures. The question being asked in many history, literature, and other classes nowadays is "What sort of American citizens should we be shaping?" The root question here, of course, is "What is America?" This question has a million answers from a million perspectives on one very long, complex series of events. Our history used to be simple - Europeans came and discovered America. I remember the day I read an article in ninth grade about Christopher Columbus being a genocidal maniac. Maybe they didn't use the word maniac. But the article was certainly strongly worded, and I had never heard any of it before. To say it challenged everything I understood about America's genesis would be accurate.
Whatever America is, I know that part of education is national pride. This has changed over my life as well. When I was young, and all the way through high school, we said the Pledge every day. In my classroom we still say the Pledge. But let me clarify: by "we" I mean me and one student. This is something I simply do not understand. One student told me he doesn't say the Pledge because a teacher when he was younger told him that it "wasn't true." The ironic part of his decision is that it was based purely on what somebody older and influential told him instead of any research or deep thought. Now then, I understand that my students have the right to not say the Pledge. If I'm honest though, I'm very annoyed by it. Growing up in a military family, we were taught to respect the flag and the men and women serving our country. Today, I just don't really see that.
Ultimately, multiculturalism to me means that we are a country of many cultures. We will never be a country where our cultures meld into one - I do not think that is the goal or the hope. I enjoy the fact that my students have many backgrounds. I enjoy the fact that we can enter into conversations about those backgrounds in class and that the students enjoy learning about each other in that way. I've seen the conversations happen, and I've been excited about it. I hope we as America never loses our individuality. I hope we never turn to Sameness like in The Giver. That would be, as the main character Jonas said in that book, completely unfair.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Religion in Schools
I do not remember a time in my life where religion in schools was not a hot topic. Even as a small child growing up on military bases, I was aware of religious differences between my classmates. I also remember my teacher telling us that she had to tell us about some holiday (I have very few memories from my early childhood and the ones I have are quite foggy, so I don't remember which holiday or from which religion) in order to tell us about Christmas. Of course I also remember that seeming odd.
Flash forward to middle school earth science. My teacher is telling us about evolution and refers to it repeatedly as proven fact. On the quiz I comment that, from what I understand, it's a theory, not a proven fact, and I receive a poor grade.
Ultimately, both situations were uncomfortable for me. Now as a teacher, I'm finding that it's uncomfortable on both sides of the desk. In English, we talk about Biblical allusions, but I can't share my personal beliefs. We read Native American creation stories, and I feel this odd need to validate them and even reduce my own beliefs to the "myth" genre. Should religion be taught in schools? Not really - not in any persuasive manner at least. Should religion be present in schools? Yes - and I would hope that it is.
As a Christian, I try to engage in respectful, conversations with people (adults, not my students) of other faiths in order to learn. At school, I see students start conversations about religion and immediately feel that they have to change the topic before their teacher hears. It's hard to see students nervous to engage in religious discussions. It's also hard to see teachers shut down religious discussions. And even harder to see students make light of other students' religions. As a teacher I step in to stop it, but just stopping an instance won't stop the problem.
If separation of church and state means that religion is not to show up in public schools at all, then the lines need to be drawn more deeply in the sand. I personally do not think that should happen. I enjoy the debate, the discussions, the discourse. I want my students to learn how to respectfully discuss these things. I want to be able to talk about what I believe. Right now, I bite my tongue. And for now, I guess that will do. If it ever becomes unbearable, there are plenty of Christian schools around I suppose.
Flash forward to middle school earth science. My teacher is telling us about evolution and refers to it repeatedly as proven fact. On the quiz I comment that, from what I understand, it's a theory, not a proven fact, and I receive a poor grade.
Ultimately, both situations were uncomfortable for me. Now as a teacher, I'm finding that it's uncomfortable on both sides of the desk. In English, we talk about Biblical allusions, but I can't share my personal beliefs. We read Native American creation stories, and I feel this odd need to validate them and even reduce my own beliefs to the "myth" genre. Should religion be taught in schools? Not really - not in any persuasive manner at least. Should religion be present in schools? Yes - and I would hope that it is.
As a Christian, I try to engage in respectful, conversations with people (adults, not my students) of other faiths in order to learn. At school, I see students start conversations about religion and immediately feel that they have to change the topic before their teacher hears. It's hard to see students nervous to engage in religious discussions. It's also hard to see teachers shut down religious discussions. And even harder to see students make light of other students' religions. As a teacher I step in to stop it, but just stopping an instance won't stop the problem.
If separation of church and state means that religion is not to show up in public schools at all, then the lines need to be drawn more deeply in the sand. I personally do not think that should happen. I enjoy the debate, the discussions, the discourse. I want my students to learn how to respectfully discuss these things. I want to be able to talk about what I believe. Right now, I bite my tongue. And for now, I guess that will do. If it ever becomes unbearable, there are plenty of Christian schools around I suppose.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Makers and Innovators...
To be honest, after viewing the PBS site and the Gatto site (and working on his book), I find myself asking if I've been lied to. I see on one hand, education has come far thanks in large part to the Innovators. But then on the other, I'm questioning the Makers and if the Innovators really were innovative or if they just set us back in time.
The Innovators. When I look at these men and women, I'm humbled by the work they did for education in America. They believed education was the key to success, to life, to happiness. I agree with that. Men like Booker T. Washington overcame seemingly insurmountable odds in order to make a difference. And what a difference he made! He tried to open up America's eyes to see that hard work, persistence, and self-discipline were the keys to success. Without his determination, an entire group of people were being left behind. And now, while some educational disparity among the races still exists, those cracks that were once chasms are finally starting to close.
Unfortunately for many students, life has gotten so easy now. Self-discipline is a joke. These values are no longer appreciated. Who's the number one student made fun of in any class? The one who asks questions or actually has answers. The one who does his or her homework. The one who works hard knowing that discipline will get them a better life. Our culture has taught our kids to be bored consumers and consume they do. Which leads me to Gatto's Makers.
Reading Gatto's book has been an interesting ride. I find myself all at once saddened by reality, hyped up for change, and then disappointed with the barriers of reality again. I also find myself trusting my students more to be what they need to be - leaders, well on their way to being grown-ups - instead of what plenty of teachers treat them like - little kids. The most interesting Maker to me is his mention of Henry Ford. This name immediately brings up pictures of assembly lines (and even a story of my history professor in college saying he used to cut the little pieces of rubber off tires in an assembly line - he said at first it was a blast to see how many he could cut off before the tire went by, but of course it got boring) and along with assembly lines comes dead-faced workers waiting for the bell signaling the end of day. Ironically enough, the professor I mentioned was one of the best teachers I've ever had - even with his actual assembly line training. I think the reason that he was so good was because he did not treat his students like products to be manufactured, but like men and women. He also conveyed to us his love for history. He wanted us to catch the fire that burned in him.
Ford capitalized on the assembly line. Those workers waited eagerly for the bell and unfortunately, so do my students. "What time do we get out of here?" is one of the most common questions I hear. Talk about frustrating. I need to find the passion in me that I know exists for English and spark some fires.
Even after all of these people being categorized and applauded or torn down, I still feel that I'm thankful to be in education today. The system is not perfect, but it can change. The curriculum might not always be exceedingly excellent, but change is coming for it as well. Innovation can still happen, even without most of these Innovators. And new beginning can still be made, hopefully with new Makers. Both groups of people have changed the face of education. Some to better education, others to set it back. Without the Innovators, where would we be? Before reading Gatto's book I may have said "nowhere." Now, I'm wondering if we'd be somewhere weirdly better. Maybe we would have all grown up and treated people with respect and dignity. Maybe we would have gotten out of the way and helped our kids learn the hows of life as opposed to the whats. Maybe. Maybe not.
The Innovators. When I look at these men and women, I'm humbled by the work they did for education in America. They believed education was the key to success, to life, to happiness. I agree with that. Men like Booker T. Washington overcame seemingly insurmountable odds in order to make a difference. And what a difference he made! He tried to open up America's eyes to see that hard work, persistence, and self-discipline were the keys to success. Without his determination, an entire group of people were being left behind. And now, while some educational disparity among the races still exists, those cracks that were once chasms are finally starting to close.
Unfortunately for many students, life has gotten so easy now. Self-discipline is a joke. These values are no longer appreciated. Who's the number one student made fun of in any class? The one who asks questions or actually has answers. The one who does his or her homework. The one who works hard knowing that discipline will get them a better life. Our culture has taught our kids to be bored consumers and consume they do. Which leads me to Gatto's Makers.
Reading Gatto's book has been an interesting ride. I find myself all at once saddened by reality, hyped up for change, and then disappointed with the barriers of reality again. I also find myself trusting my students more to be what they need to be - leaders, well on their way to being grown-ups - instead of what plenty of teachers treat them like - little kids. The most interesting Maker to me is his mention of Henry Ford. This name immediately brings up pictures of assembly lines (and even a story of my history professor in college saying he used to cut the little pieces of rubber off tires in an assembly line - he said at first it was a blast to see how many he could cut off before the tire went by, but of course it got boring) and along with assembly lines comes dead-faced workers waiting for the bell signaling the end of day. Ironically enough, the professor I mentioned was one of the best teachers I've ever had - even with his actual assembly line training. I think the reason that he was so good was because he did not treat his students like products to be manufactured, but like men and women. He also conveyed to us his love for history. He wanted us to catch the fire that burned in him.
Ford capitalized on the assembly line. Those workers waited eagerly for the bell and unfortunately, so do my students. "What time do we get out of here?" is one of the most common questions I hear. Talk about frustrating. I need to find the passion in me that I know exists for English and spark some fires.
Even after all of these people being categorized and applauded or torn down, I still feel that I'm thankful to be in education today. The system is not perfect, but it can change. The curriculum might not always be exceedingly excellent, but change is coming for it as well. Innovation can still happen, even without most of these Innovators. And new beginning can still be made, hopefully with new Makers. Both groups of people have changed the face of education. Some to better education, others to set it back. Without the Innovators, where would we be? Before reading Gatto's book I may have said "nowhere." Now, I'm wondering if we'd be somewhere weirdly better. Maybe we would have all grown up and treated people with respect and dignity. Maybe we would have gotten out of the way and helped our kids learn the hows of life as opposed to the whats. Maybe. Maybe not.
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