After reading the article "What is on Your Classroom Wall? Problematic Posters" by Donna Deyhle, I wanted to see if I would be able to find a poster that could promote a positive classroom environment that is welcoming, promotes expression of diversity, and would not offend student groups. I came across this poster, which I loved for the use of various colors and patterns to represent different people all welcome. The phrasing is short and sweet, but the message is deep and sends a genuine welcome to the students that come in, regardless of age. Placing it by the door of the classroom will make it a constant reminder to students as they walk in, that this is a "safe space" for identity, self-expression and sharing thoughts.
I have to agree with the view that in the field of educating educators, there is a lot of development that focuses on theory, and less that actually gives practical forms of application. The great thing about reading these two journal articles is that it gave examples of what it means to be a culturally relevant educator. Teachers who place themselves on a pedestal in front of their students do a disservice to themselves, as well as their class. In “Warm Demanders: The Importance of Teachers in the Lives of Children of Poverty”, Delpit mentions the lack of passion and willingness to educate students that the teachers have, often leading to poor performance of the school as a whole. “…teachers in the lower-performing school apparently believed that it was okay to remain seated and not involved with the students when a visitor came into the room” (Delpit 73). This is a HUGE problem that I can recall occurring in many of my own classes when I was younger – disengaged teachers who did nothing more than collect a paycheck and take up space in the front of the classroom. Education is not meant to be a passive process of dictating what is stating in a book, just as prep periods should not simply consist of running copies of worksheets for a “lesson”.
Not teaching is one problem, but not teaching in a relevant manner can be another. Every student is their own person, comes from various backgrounds and cultures, and takes in information in different ways. I can appreciate the term “warm demanders” for the educators who respect these differences and rather than avoid them, implement them into the learning process. If the article had tried to push the point that students of color in particular learn best from demanding teachers, I would not have fully agreed. In addition, if Delpit tried to convince the reader that students of color learn best from teachers that use a softer touch, I could not fully agree with that either. The term “warm defender” nicely combines the two extremes and provides the best medium for students to grow personally and intellectually. From what this course has taught me, and from what I’ve always naturally felt is an obligation of working with students, I have learned the importance of being a firm advocate. Students will not always know what decision is best in their interest, so we can provide them with the tools to make wise choices – weighing out consequences, seeing the benefits of both sides, and so forth. Even providing an understanding behind why the completion of homework is so vital to learning helps to provide reasoning and meaning behind a seemingly simple task for students to do.
Understanding the environment that our students are immersed in outside of their books helps us to see the other perspectives that can hinder or promote learning. For example, understanding how the housing and health care systems work for the families of the students gives insight to the conditions that homework must be completed in, and the actual level of support family members can provide. In our preparation, we cannot simply “ghettoize issues of diversity” (Ladson-Billings 173), but we need to open the books, research the websites, and talk with our students – they are not simply containers to be filled with knowledge, but individual with the possibility to teach us as well. These links to the two article resources allow teachers to understand this, and implement in their classrooms for any age.
Not teaching is one problem, but not teaching in a relevant manner can be another. Every student is their own person, comes from various backgrounds and cultures, and takes in information in different ways. I can appreciate the term “warm demanders” for the educators who respect these differences and rather than avoid them, implement them into the learning process. If the article had tried to push the point that students of color in particular learn best from demanding teachers, I would not have fully agreed. In addition, if Delpit tried to convince the reader that students of color learn best from teachers that use a softer touch, I could not fully agree with that either. The term “warm defender” nicely combines the two extremes and provides the best medium for students to grow personally and intellectually. From what this course has taught me, and from what I’ve always naturally felt is an obligation of working with students, I have learned the importance of being a firm advocate. Students will not always know what decision is best in their interest, so we can provide them with the tools to make wise choices – weighing out consequences, seeing the benefits of both sides, and so forth. Even providing an understanding behind why the completion of homework is so vital to learning helps to provide reasoning and meaning behind a seemingly simple task for students to do.
Understanding the environment that our students are immersed in outside of their books helps us to see the other perspectives that can hinder or promote learning. For example, understanding how the housing and health care systems work for the families of the students gives insight to the conditions that homework must be completed in, and the actual level of support family members can provide. In our preparation, we cannot simply “ghettoize issues of diversity” (Ladson-Billings 173), but we need to open the books, research the websites, and talk with our students – they are not simply containers to be filled with knowledge, but individual with the possibility to teach us as well. These links to the two article resources allow teachers to understand this, and implement in their classrooms for any age.
I think it was definitely a catch to come across this book for elementary teachers to have in their classroom, and read to their students at some point - "My Brother Charlie", by Holly Robinson Peete. According to the Autism Society, 1% of children in the US have autism spectrum disorder, and it occurs in 1 of 68 births overall. A lot of times when we think of autism, the image that comes to mind may be a young White male child. In this particular book (based on a true story), the characters are African-American. Not only does this story show students how to be compassionate when a family member may have a condition that they cannot control for themselves, but it can be translated from the home to the classroom, where they may have classmates or best friends that are autistic. It's a sweet story that simultaneously addresses ethnicity and ability, while teaching students tolerance and acceptance at a young age. As a future educator, I would read this story, then open to a discussion of students who may know of someone with similar behaviors in their family or that they have met. I would do my best to ask if they know of friends that have similar behaviors because this may make certain students uncomfortable if put on the spot.
Bullying can occur among all ages in all shapes and forms. It can be carried out by calling someone a derogatory name, shoving someone around in the hall, or making fun of someone because they do things differently from you. Bullying, and therefore bias, are important topics for teachers to prepare themselves for in the school environment. Bullying can start as early as kindergarten, and continue all the way to high school years. What I reach like about this resource from Welcoming Schools is that it shares quotes and thoughts from teachers who had to learn how to deal with these situations as well - it doesn't make them look perfect. For example, a second-grade teacher said, "In my classroom when students
would use the word gay in a
negative way I would always tell
them to not say that. One day I
overheard a student talking to
friends about a gay relative in a
respectful way. One of the students
saw me nearby and whispered, 'Shhh, stop! Mr. B doesn’t like gay
people.' That was an aha moment
for me. I learned that stopping
negative language is not enough.
We need to educate students about
why language is hurtful and help
them appreciate the diversity in our
schools and in the world." Though the teacher perceived their actions to be for the best, it turned out to be counterproductive, but he was able to recognize this mistake and work to fix it - as developing teachers, we must do the same.