Ira Shor- "Education is Politics"

In this reading, Ira Shor describes what is empowering education and how it differs to traditional pedagogy. Empowering teachers negotiate with their students and they share the authority by allowing students to participate fully in their learning experience. It is important to create a classroom in honor to the system that funds it; democracy. Our country is driven by "freedom of speech" and critical thinking, and our educational institutions should be developing students for the society they will be participating in. So it seems absurd to me why most classrooms are representing authoritative pedagogy where students are taught to follow orders and to answer questions. In these traditional classrooms, students depend on authority and adhere to memorization. In "Aria" by Richard Rodriguez, he describes the difficulties of assimilation and we see how his cultural identity was lost. He could barely communicate with his parents because he was so preoccupied in fitting into society. Traditional classrooms strip children from their curiosity, interest in learning, and cultural identity. These institutions seek to form unilateral beings by eradicating their dynamic learning abilities and restrict them to simply following orders.  Free-education is a triumph of democracy and it's about time that our education commemorates this achievement.

Not all students follow the rules of traditional education, and many of them resist conformity in forms of misconduct, disrespect, and frustration towards the teacher. Learning then becomes based on good behavior rather than understanding the material. In "Tracking: Why School Need to Take Another Route" by Jeannie Oakes, low performing classrooms are centered around discipline rather than learning and fall behind from the high performing groups. Lectures and authoritarian classes are perceived to be dull and cause students to feel less intrigued or motivated in learning. Low motivation is often misjudged to be low achievement and the students who refused to conform are considered remedial. Teachers should be embracing critical thinkers and teaching our students to question the existing norms. Teachers could empower students easily just by having high expectations for them and allowing them to participate in the curriculum designed to educate them.

Ms. Gruwell from the movie "Freedom Writers", is the ideal example of an empowering teacher. I am sure that if every teacher in the US watched this movie at least once, our education should be able to move on from traditional pedagogy and establish an empowering education where all students could participate in their learning experience, just like her students.

In my high school, following the curriculum was a daily battle for many of my teachers. Either they couldn't keep up with the curriculum or they didn't want to teach the books enforced by the curriculum. However, they were required by contract to comply with the curriculum written by the school board. As future teachers, how can you establish participatory classrooms for your students without compromising the school's curriculum? Do you think breaking away from the curriculum would benefit the students? Should you break away from the curriculum?

A few weeks ago, many of us attended the Promising Practices conference where Dr. Emdin was the keynote speaker and gave a motivational speech about hip-hop education. This is a video of a Ted Talk Dr. Emdin gave and he speaks about empowering students in urban education

Promising Practices

The two sessions I signed up for were Girls Gone Wired and Creating a Bully-Free Classroom. Girls Gone Wired was a session about including women to pursue STEM related professions. The percentage of women in STEM programs is very low in comparison to men due to the stigma and social prejudices against women participating in these fields. Society perceives women as incapable of understanding difficult machinery of technology and many are not given the opportunity to participate fully in any of the programs readily available to men. This issue was brought up in the Johnson piece we read earlier in the semester, "Power and Privilege", which spoke about how culturally disadvantaged females are in comparison to men. Just a few weeks ago, President Barack Obama gave a remarkable speech on gender equality at Rhode Island College. He seeks to place executive orders to ensure that women are equal participants in our economy and they receive equal pay.

Emma Watson has also given a speech at the UN and was named the Goodwill Ambassador as she lauches her #HeForShe campaign. She made remarks about the feminist movement and claims that gender equality is an issue for men as well, but unfortunately, the term feminism is too often associated with man-hating. This is an article reviewing Emma Watson's speech and speaking about her previous role at Hermione in Harry Potter. After watching her speech, I became increasingly interested in researching gender roles and gender equality and what are some ways we could combat these issues. I specifically chose this session to attend because of how much Emma Watson's speech moved me. As a future teacher in the realm of mathematics, I feel it is necessary to promote STEM programs in my students and set myself as a prime example for those young girls that are too afraid to pursue male dominant fields. It's about time that our economy reflects the country that it serves.

In the second session I attended, the speaker addressed the issue of bullying and tried to show us strategies on how to eliminate these issues within our classrooms.

Books are a great way to educate children and the book Llama Llama and the Bully Goat teaches children what is bullying and how bad it feels to get bullied. Most bullying occurs when children don't understand how embrace diversity such as children with disabilities or children of different ethnic backgrounds. Through books, we can teach children how to provide a welcoming environment and how to be accepting of others. This relates to the reading by Meier "Why Can't She Remember That" which addresses the importance of introducing books to children. The speaker also touched upon transgender or LGBT students that are severely bullied in school. This relates to the reading "Speaking the Unspeakable in Forbidden Places" that touched upon how to educate children about LGBT. Many teachers are reluctant to bring up the topic because they either feel the students are not ready for it or they fear they might offend the parents, but in all reality these kids are very curious and many frequently ask their parents what does that word "gay" mean. With the media and the social prejudices associated with homosexuality, it is important to educate these students about it as early as possible to be able to provide a safe space and a bully-free environment for those who fall under LGBT. This video is a cartoon video used to educate children about LGBT which is similar to how books educate children.

Kliewer- "Citizenship in Schools: Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome"

This author, Kliewer, argues that school citizenship and constructivism is key for providing a welcoming learning environment for all students including those with disabilities. Kliewer's research specifically involved students with Down Syndrome and he included the experiences of Lee, April, Christine, Isaac, and John in their classrooms. Kliewer suggests school citizenship to promote equal participation of all students within the classroom experience. In most cases, students with disabilities such as Down Syndrome are left out of their community and segregated into a special education classrooms with no opportunity to build relationships with others. Kliewer claims that success requires the ability to form relationships and community acceptance is required to receive opportunities. The world is mainly about networking and building a support system. As human being, we rely on those relationships to feel motivated, welcomed, and accepted. Feeling comfortable within our own social spheres will help us perform to our full potential. Teachers should make the classroom a safe learning environment that acts like a community built on individual interests. Isaac loved reading books at home and the teacher made it a priority to read his favorite book in class. Isaac was so happy and excited they were reading his favorite book that he began to dance and act out the book. In any other classroom, his behavior would have been seen as remedial, but the teacher accepted this as a response to his excitement and saw it as his own manner to communicate to his peers. Kliewer argues that the mind is very dynamic and it makes no sense to categorize an individual as defective because the child those not fit the standard forms of normality.

A constructivist curriculum allows the teacher to develop experiences that will spark a students interest. Take for example Isaac, his teacher made it a priority to act out a play to spark the interest of not only Isaac but all of the students in the classroom. When there is a misunderstanding in communication, most people generally blame the less culturally privilege. However, constructivism rejects this idea and claims the issue generated from the web of communication, therefore, it holds no parties accountable.

Have any of you experienced being involved in programs that integrated general education and need based students?

This is a video of an empowering Special Education teacher as she teaches at a High School that integrates school community based students and general education students.

Jeannie Oakes- "Tracking: Why School Need to Take Another Route"

From the moment that a student walks into his first day of kindergarten, they are being tracked. Academic ability and discipline becomes a notion of grouping. Teachers group students into reading groups based on how fast and easily they can read a paragraph, thus, they are set aside from their peers. As students move on to middle school, we see a bigger trend in grouping. Students are placed in classes based on their academic performance, specifically their standardized test scores. Those who cannot keep up with the work are placed in remedial classes or held back. The low performing classes are based more on discipline rather than learning and fall behind in comparison to the high performing students. The achievement gap widens and by the time these students are in high school, the school system restricts them from enrolling into honors or AP classes. They settle for the remedial or regular class and become used to the "easy classes". They notice how their teachers do not even believe in them and they grow less interested in the idea of school. This trend was exemplified by the reading "Becoming Something Different" where Esme was placed into regular classes and was never challenged or given the opportunity to grow academically. There seems to a system in place that keeps students in these remedial courses. Instead of gradually developing these students to help them move up to the honors or AP courses, they fall further and further behind each year. They fall so behind that even the students begin to think they are different from the high performing kids. They tend to believe less in themselves and the idea of graduating or becoming successful becomes taboo to them. Their teachers behave more by babysitters and never show any sign of hope in them. The achievement gap is becoming a true problem for schooling and it must be targeted where it is rooted from; Elementary School.

This system of tracking typically benefits the high ability classes. These students spend more time on learning about problem solving skills and critical thinking than about discipline. They also receive the best teachers with the most experience that have worked their way up to their current position, and they typically have a small class-size with a solid parent support group. This tradition of selecting and grouping teachers connects to the video "The Three Other R's: Race, Reform, and Rights" where one of the panelist brought up the topic on the placement of highly qualified teachers. She argues that these teachers should be placed in classrooms where they would be needed and could make a difference in the students' lives. Instead, most low performing classes have teachers with very minimal experience. A negative atmosphere such as the lack of trust or feeling uncomfortable can create distractions in the teacher's lesson plan. Their time is usually wasted on dealing with behavior issues and the students' attitude about school and learning is a reflection on how the teacher views them. While tracking benefits the high ability students, it jeopardizes the learning of those of low ability.

Many of the issues and and topics I have mentioned have greatly connected to the movie we have watched in class, "Freedom Writers". Many of the students have undergone life changing experiences with Ms. Gruwell for her positive attitude and belief in her students. This video is a TedTalk that Erin Gruwell gives on her experience in teaching these 150 students at Wilson High School and she speaks specifically on her most remarkable student Maria Reyes (Eva).

As a future Secondary Mathematics teacher, I feel hindered by these issues and I am wondering about what a high school teacher can do to erase the years of bad teaching. Ms. Gruwell is a perfect example of how all high school teachers should react when faced with these obstacles. She was calm and passionate with her kids. I have heard some astonishing stories from my classmates in their service learning experiences out in the elementary schools. What can you all do as future Elementary school teachers to avoid the growth of the achievement gap? Any stories on your observations in the schools?

Fairbanks, Crooks, and Ariail, "Becoming Something Different"

ELLs are considered to be less proficient in schools than students who only speak English. However, studies have shown that being multilingual benefits children by promoting an increase in brain functioning and further developing cognitive skills. So if children are more intellectually adept for knowing multiple languages, why are they performing below school standards? One thing we know for sure is that "ELLs are disproportionately placed in special education programs" (Page 8). Deficiency and ELLs have been intersected for years and what I still have yet to understand is why are these students considered deficient? Just because their native language is not English it does not mean that they are incapable of academic proficiency. Many come to argue that they are placed in remedial classes because of their standardized testing results, but maybe they cannot pass these tests simply because it is written in a language that is not familiar to them. Those tests are written in a format to benefit the students that already know English, so of course they will not do well if they can't even understand the directions. These tests are just another example of privilege and power because those students that cannot pass these tests are held back since they are generally graduation requirements.

Esme "liked school more because she developed a group of friends who made her feel like a part of the school community" (Page 9). Becoming part of the American community was important to Esme. We also see examples of belonging to a community in "Aria- Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez. It is important for these students assimilating into American society to feel like they are a part of the community that they live in. Esme was a shy and quiet student, but her friends always made her feel included.

Esme positioned herself from a student that needed help in middle school to a student who wanted easy classes in high school and she "saw herself as a good student, but she did not see herself as smart" (Page 20). By changing her schedule and placing her in regular and remedial classes, Esme was not challenged. She became preoccupied on the idea of feeling comfortable and "just passing". The school never motivated her to challenge herself by taking honors classes or one AP class. They wanted her grades to look good and most importantly they wanted her to pass the standardized tests. Her idea of being a good student only embodied good behavior rather than intellectual ability. Esme sold herself short, she wasn't challenging herself and she didn't believe in herself. She looked up to students that took challenging courses but never thought she was smart enough to do it herself. By placing her in remedial classes, the school system stripped away her confidence which would have been an important tool to her academic growth.

What are your thoughts on the common core and standardized testing? What can be done to separate deficiency from ELLs?

This is a video about the struggle that ELLs undergo in schools.

Ladson-Billings, Lomax, and Orfield on "The Other 3 R's: Race, Reform, Rights"

I enjoyed watching this video and it reflected much on the topics we have addressed in our readings. This video connected to Johnson's "Privilege, Power, and Difference", McIntosh "White Privilege" and Kozol "Amazing Grace". This panel of educators cover topics on the achievement gap which is highly reflected upon race and culture and the distribution of teachers based on school performance.

In both Johnson's "Privilege, Power and Difference" and McIntosh "White Privilege" it is said that society is a reflection of white ideals. The norm is based on how they perform and that begins with how they speak. In the video, one of the panelist shows a video of an African American boy rapping about science. This is a reflection of the manner in which they feel comfortable learning and speaking but white society has looked down upon it even though it is simply just poetry. The white race has power over how we learn and how success should be obtained.

One of the panelist actually quoted Jonathan Kozol and she said "If money is good for rich people, think how much better it would be for poor people". She begins to speak about the achievement gap in relation to teacher placements. The most qualified teachers are placed in the highest performing schools. It is basically like giving more money to the rich people. Instead of giving the students that need help a better teacher, we bump up all the good teachers where they are not needed! This system is entirely wrong and theoretically teaching was created make a change in children's lives, those teachers won't make much of a difference in a high performing school. Lets put their abilities to use and actually give these under performing schools an opportunity to succeed because all this system is doing is setting them up for failure.

What other reform actions should be undertaken to shrink the achievement gap? How different are things now than twenty years ago?

This is a video of the Secretary of Education Arne Duncan giving a keynote address on education reforms ideas to close the opportunity gap.

This is an image displaying the achievement gap providing real statistics to why reform is critical.

Kahne and Westheimer- "In Service of What?"

In this reading, Kahne and Westheimer began to distinguish the differences between charity and change. They explain that charity is based around civic duty and the "joy of helping the less fortunate". It involves giving back and volunteering. Change is reinforced around critical reflection that promotes social reconstruction. It also involves caring more for others and struggling together for change.

I believe service learning should be focused more on change. Policy makers and legislature is concerned more on the amount of hours a student volunteers, but they should shift their attention to promote critical reflection on our social environment. "Giving" emphasizes the social difference within the individuals volunteering and the "less fortunate". By calling them the "less fortunate" we cast ourselves away from them and consider ourselves as different or maybe even privileged. "Caring" however, promotes a view that both individuals are equal and should work together for social change. I believe it is important to break the barriers and stop separating ourselves from one another. When we see each other as equals, we are able to see our act of volunteerism as meaningful. Having a purpose behind service learning can help establish long term relationships and encourage students to continue to participate. Rather than feeling good for helping others, we begin to feel important and on a mission to work on something bigger than ourselves; social reconstruction. This feeling of awe is more impacting than that warm feeling we undergo when we do something good.

Volunteering at The Met has been quite the experience. For the most part, I consider the experience to be enforced by change. Watching how this non-traditional high school functions has been an eye-opening experience. I constantly see myself comparing The Met to my high school and how different things would have been for me if I was a student at The Met. I evaluate the opportunities I would have had if my school involved internships for me to participate in. I also reflect on how we can implement parts of the curriculum at The Met to other public high schools in Providence. I am interested to see how schooling will evolve in the future and I believe The Met is a great school model to implement on other school districts.This is a chart describing The Met's model and principles under which they have designed their curriculum around.

What do you believe is more important, charity or change? Do you have any examples or experiences on service learning? How has it impacted you?


This is just a short video providing some service learning experiences with undergraduate students and their own personal views on what service learning is. http://youtu.be/jcBMDm4m68c