Prompt 4 The culturally competent teacher is aware of the diverse cultural groups represented in his/her classroom, investigates the sociocultural factors that influence student learning, and is able to integrate this knowledge into his/her teaching.
Everyone has a worldview or perspective. Everyone filters their environment through their own cultural lenses or glasses. I’m no different. I filter my service learning classroom experience through my middle class, white glasses. Not everything is different, though. We have some common experiences as well.
One point of intersection we have in common is that I have a 12 year old daughter who is in the sixth grade. I can tutor math area problems in the morning and go home and ‘tutor’ the same or similar problems at night.
Another point of intersection is common cultural interests. One girl was having difficulty with division (24 divided by 2). I noticed that she had a new moon book from the twilight series on her desk. I asked her if she saw the movie. She said yes. I asked from the scene in the movie where the principle characters were in Rome, if there were 24 vampires in Rome and half left how many vampires would you have left? She answered 12. The only reason I was able to ask such a culturally relevant question is because my 12 year old daughter begged and cajoled me into taking her to see the movie.
Still another time I was trying to impress the point that ‘practice makes perfect’. I told one of the boys that if I wanted to become good at basketball I would have to shoot 1000 freethrows. The same was true for math. In this case, I was able to use a sports analogy to make a culturally relevant point that repetition and experience were the best teachers. I knew that most 12 year old kids play sports and even some of us who are a multiple of 12 do too.
As I mentioned in prompt 1, even the physical school facilities in the suburban town where I live, seem much better than at this inner city school. Kozol talks about inadequate facilities in his article in particular and the importance of money/economics as a fundamental problem in general. He says, ”There are expensive children and there are cheap children”.
One advantage I have, as I already mentioned, is that I have a maturity that many new teachers don’t have. I’ve also had many life experiences that many beginning teachers don’t have by virtue of my (or their) place in the life span.
Of course this ‘maturity’ can also be a challenge compared to younger teachers when trying to relate to students. Another words, the younger teacher is much closer in age to the students and therefore may be able to relate to them better. This is commonly known as the generation gap. So the age difference may be a double edged sword. It potentially has both advantages and disadvantages.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Prompt 3 Shor, Goldenberg, Delpit
Prompt #3 The culturally competent teacher should be able to use a variety of assessment techniques appropriate to diverse learners and accommodate sociocultural differences that affect learning.
Every student learns differently. Some are visual learners. Others are auditory. Still others are tactile (touch or hands on). Others learn by various combinations. Some learn best by participation (Shor), while others by interaction (Goldenberg). This is true even within the same culture. One of the problems with standardized testing is that the tests fail to take into account these different learning styles.
Different cultures have different rules and codes. These different rules and codes affect both learning and ultimately assessment. Lisa Delpit says in her article that some cultures require more explicit directives than other cultures. I call this “using the direct approach’. This is juxtaposed to other cultures, Delpit says, that couch the directive in the form of a question. In order for cross cultural communication to be effective, it must take into account how the listening culture hears what is being said. They screen it through their cultural glasses or lenses. We all do, because we all have a cultural background and mindset.
Therefore, teachers need to be aware of how assessment test questions are worded and the different ways that various student cultural groups understand them to mean.
Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. There are gender differences in hearing and understanding, and these gender differences must be taken into account in both teaching and assessment.
Another cultural difference that Delpit points out is the attitude and understanding of the parents may be different than the attitude and understanding of the school/teacher regarding the different roles of the various stakeholders. For example, the student’s culture may believe that it is the school’s job exclusively to teach and not the parent’s job. This different understanding of roles and responsibilities can affect parent-teacher conferences, particularly when it comes to grading and report card reviews. The culture in power may believe in parent-teacher/school partnership while the student’s culture may believe in a strict separation in educational roles.
Linguistic differences are huge when it comes to teaching and assessment. Effective communication requires understanding. Goldenberg says that we need instructional modification for English language learners (ELL). One modification he says is teachers need to use culturally relevant stories, themes and ideas in both our instruction and assessments. This will help bridge the cultural gap. According to infoworks less than 10 students at my school are ELL’s.
In conclusion, by observation, research, and experience, it does not appear to me that ethnic, culture and linguistic differences are a major factor in this particular classroom. Perhaps many of the students are second or third generation? As I moved about the room helping tutor different students, I have not encountered any communication difficulties, with the possible exception of the generational/age difference. After all, I’m not 12.
Every student learns differently. Some are visual learners. Others are auditory. Still others are tactile (touch or hands on). Others learn by various combinations. Some learn best by participation (Shor), while others by interaction (Goldenberg). This is true even within the same culture. One of the problems with standardized testing is that the tests fail to take into account these different learning styles.
Different cultures have different rules and codes. These different rules and codes affect both learning and ultimately assessment. Lisa Delpit says in her article that some cultures require more explicit directives than other cultures. I call this “using the direct approach’. This is juxtaposed to other cultures, Delpit says, that couch the directive in the form of a question. In order for cross cultural communication to be effective, it must take into account how the listening culture hears what is being said. They screen it through their cultural glasses or lenses. We all do, because we all have a cultural background and mindset.
Therefore, teachers need to be aware of how assessment test questions are worded and the different ways that various student cultural groups understand them to mean.
Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. There are gender differences in hearing and understanding, and these gender differences must be taken into account in both teaching and assessment.
Another cultural difference that Delpit points out is the attitude and understanding of the parents may be different than the attitude and understanding of the school/teacher regarding the different roles of the various stakeholders. For example, the student’s culture may believe that it is the school’s job exclusively to teach and not the parent’s job. This different understanding of roles and responsibilities can affect parent-teacher conferences, particularly when it comes to grading and report card reviews. The culture in power may believe in parent-teacher/school partnership while the student’s culture may believe in a strict separation in educational roles.
Linguistic differences are huge when it comes to teaching and assessment. Effective communication requires understanding. Goldenberg says that we need instructional modification for English language learners (ELL). One modification he says is teachers need to use culturally relevant stories, themes and ideas in both our instruction and assessments. This will help bridge the cultural gap. According to infoworks less than 10 students at my school are ELL’s.
In conclusion, by observation, research, and experience, it does not appear to me that ethnic, culture and linguistic differences are a major factor in this particular classroom. Perhaps many of the students are second or third generation? As I moved about the room helping tutor different students, I have not encountered any communication difficulties, with the possible exception of the generational/age difference. After all, I’m not 12.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
allow me to introduce myself
Hi My name is Mike. I'm married and have a 12 yr old daughter. My wife has 13 (yes you read correctly)grandchildren. I'm used to being around kids. I am a teacher and hope to be a high school math teacher some day. This is my second semster at RIC. I am a second degree student and my first degree is in accounting. I am enjoying FNED 346 immensely. I only wish my math classes were half as interesting!
prompt 2 Johnson Kozol Delpit
Prompt # 2 The culturally competent teacher should be able to account for, demonstrate awareness of, and respond to the sociocultural distinctiveness of her or his students, families, and communities when planning for and delivering instruction.
By observation, it appears that 100% of the students in all three math classes I’ve tutored in are either African -American or Hispanic. (According to Johnson, since the district is the neighborhood, we can conclude that the area is segregated along racial lines.) Obviously, the percentage of whites would appear to be zero. This agrees with Kozol’s article regarding the re-segregation of our inner city schools. Remember from blog #1 the school I was assigned to was “in the big city”. In his article, he provided a lot of statistical evidence from many American cities that very high percentages of the student bodies were minorities. This agrees with my observations.
Although all of the students appear to speak English, one of the students asked me in English if I was Spanish. I look Hispanic so I get this a lot. When I said no he asked me in English if I spoke Spanish. I answered yes in Spanish with a few other sentences. This is the only time I’ve heard Spanish,(or any other language) used in this classroom and ironically I was the one to use it, although in response to a question. According to infoworks section on student characteristics, there are less that 10 students in the fifth grade who are English language learners (ELL). Even though I am in a sixth grade class, my observations seem to agree with the statistical data.
One of the socioeconomic factors I noticed is that a number of the students appear to be poor. The reason I think this is that the teacher once said that if the students didn’t have rulers at home, that they only had to find the areas of the triangles, but not the perimeters. This is because calculating the perimeters requires measuring the sides. I realize there are many reasons for not having rulers at home, (even I’ve lost or misplaced? my own ruler), but I sensed that the reason was economic, and I’m sure that at least in some cases this is true. This agrees again with Kozol who stated that schools, students and families in our inner cities had limited economic resources. According to infoworks using information page, 82% of the students at the school are eligible for subsidized lunch programs. This appears to support my observation.
The cultural capital that students bring to the classroom are obviously their own cultural backgrounds. According to Lisa Delpit, the students are their own cultural “expertness”. If we listen, according to Delpit, we can learn much because the students have much to teach. A doctor once said that “no one knows the patient’s condition as well as the patient does”. In the same way no one knows their culture like a native does.
The assets that the students can bring society are also their cultural perspective. No one has a monopoly on knowledge. If we are open and teachable, we can learn from anyone and everyone. Variety is the spice of life, and diversity is variety. As Sy Sims used to say in Massachusetts, “An educated consumer is our best customer”. Democracy is best served by an educated electorate, workforce, consumer, and citizen. We can learn from other cultures because they have a different perspective and may offer some novel approaches to life’s challenges.
By observation, it appears that 100% of the students in all three math classes I’ve tutored in are either African -American or Hispanic. (According to Johnson, since the district is the neighborhood, we can conclude that the area is segregated along racial lines.) Obviously, the percentage of whites would appear to be zero. This agrees with Kozol’s article regarding the re-segregation of our inner city schools. Remember from blog #1 the school I was assigned to was “in the big city”. In his article, he provided a lot of statistical evidence from many American cities that very high percentages of the student bodies were minorities. This agrees with my observations.
Although all of the students appear to speak English, one of the students asked me in English if I was Spanish. I look Hispanic so I get this a lot. When I said no he asked me in English if I spoke Spanish. I answered yes in Spanish with a few other sentences. This is the only time I’ve heard Spanish,(or any other language) used in this classroom and ironically I was the one to use it, although in response to a question. According to infoworks section on student characteristics, there are less that 10 students in the fifth grade who are English language learners (ELL). Even though I am in a sixth grade class, my observations seem to agree with the statistical data.
One of the socioeconomic factors I noticed is that a number of the students appear to be poor. The reason I think this is that the teacher once said that if the students didn’t have rulers at home, that they only had to find the areas of the triangles, but not the perimeters. This is because calculating the perimeters requires measuring the sides. I realize there are many reasons for not having rulers at home, (even I’ve lost or misplaced? my own ruler), but I sensed that the reason was economic, and I’m sure that at least in some cases this is true. This agrees again with Kozol who stated that schools, students and families in our inner cities had limited economic resources. According to infoworks using information page, 82% of the students at the school are eligible for subsidized lunch programs. This appears to support my observation.
The cultural capital that students bring to the classroom are obviously their own cultural backgrounds. According to Lisa Delpit, the students are their own cultural “expertness”. If we listen, according to Delpit, we can learn much because the students have much to teach. A doctor once said that “no one knows the patient’s condition as well as the patient does”. In the same way no one knows their culture like a native does.
The assets that the students can bring society are also their cultural perspective. No one has a monopoly on knowledge. If we are open and teachable, we can learn from anyone and everyone. Variety is the spice of life, and diversity is variety. As Sy Sims used to say in Massachusetts, “An educated consumer is our best customer”. Democracy is best served by an educated electorate, workforce, consumer, and citizen. We can learn from other cultures because they have a different perspective and may offer some novel approaches to life’s challenges.
Monday, March 8, 2010
First impressions Prompt #1
Prompt #1 Dewey Shor
They say that first impressions are the most important ones. When I first showed up to my service learning project school this was certainly true. Although the neighborhood seemed to be filled with well kept homes, and I was able to find a parking spot which is very important to me, the building itself looked old and was not in the best of shape. This conclusion was later confirmed by observation when I walked in. As I drove up, the sheer size of this elementary school amazed me. It seemed bigger than the High School of my town. I wasn't in Kansas any more, but rather in the big city. This was the first of many culture shocks for me.
The classroom was way down in the basement. As one of the students led to it my earlier suspicions were confirmed. There were missing ceiling tiles, and some sections of the hallways were colder than others, while the classroom itself was so warm the teacher commented on how hot it was. This, in combination with the ancient radiators, led me to believe that the heating system was antiquated. In order to reach the classroom we had to go up and back down several sets of stairs. This school was not exactly handicap accessible or even user friendly. Of course the students were much younger and in better shape than I was. As we went down into the basement, I had the distinct feeling of going down into a dungeon. Finally, we arrived at the classroom, which appeared to be tucked into the basement corner of the school.
As I entered the room at the designated time, the class was already in progress. The students were seated in rows of desks and the teacher was at the front board discussing areas of triangles. Yes, this was a sixth grade math class. The rows of desks were finally something I could relate to. It was explained to me that prior to school vacation that we were the first day back from, there were tables instead of desks. The change was made, I was told by the teacher, to facilitate learning, because it was felt that the students weren't able to pay as close attention. I speculated that, at tables, the students were all facing different directions, which would facilitate communication between them (meaning side conversations), and that some of them would have their backs to the front of the room. Of course, Dewey would like the tables, because this would, according to him, facilitate interactive learning. So would Shor, with his emphasis on participatory learning.
Around the walls of the room were all kinds of math aids. These included geometric shapes with perimeter and area formulas, a chart with basic math rules, a digits chart, a multiplication chart and multiplication flash cards on a side table, and a map of the USA with state populations and other information. There was a computer on the teachers' small back corner desk, as well a second computer in the diagonally opposite front corner of the room. In addition, there was an overhead projector that the teacher used in addition to the front almost full wall length chalk board.
The students were more unruly that I thought they would be, but this might be explained by the fact that they were just returning from vacation. As I moved around the room helping tutor the students I was amazed at how many struggled with simple division and even multiplication. Remember, this was sixth grade, and those basic math skills should have been learned in the third grade.
In spite of these limitations, both physical plant and academic, most of the students seemed to want to learn and in fact were learning. There did seem to be a gender bias, however, the girls seemed to be more in tune than the boys. At least math education was being valued by the majority.
They say that first impressions are the most important ones. When I first showed up to my service learning project school this was certainly true. Although the neighborhood seemed to be filled with well kept homes, and I was able to find a parking spot which is very important to me, the building itself looked old and was not in the best of shape. This conclusion was later confirmed by observation when I walked in. As I drove up, the sheer size of this elementary school amazed me. It seemed bigger than the High School of my town. I wasn't in Kansas any more, but rather in the big city. This was the first of many culture shocks for me.
The classroom was way down in the basement. As one of the students led to it my earlier suspicions were confirmed. There were missing ceiling tiles, and some sections of the hallways were colder than others, while the classroom itself was so warm the teacher commented on how hot it was. This, in combination with the ancient radiators, led me to believe that the heating system was antiquated. In order to reach the classroom we had to go up and back down several sets of stairs. This school was not exactly handicap accessible or even user friendly. Of course the students were much younger and in better shape than I was. As we went down into the basement, I had the distinct feeling of going down into a dungeon. Finally, we arrived at the classroom, which appeared to be tucked into the basement corner of the school.
As I entered the room at the designated time, the class was already in progress. The students were seated in rows of desks and the teacher was at the front board discussing areas of triangles. Yes, this was a sixth grade math class. The rows of desks were finally something I could relate to. It was explained to me that prior to school vacation that we were the first day back from, there were tables instead of desks. The change was made, I was told by the teacher, to facilitate learning, because it was felt that the students weren't able to pay as close attention. I speculated that, at tables, the students were all facing different directions, which would facilitate communication between them (meaning side conversations), and that some of them would have their backs to the front of the room. Of course, Dewey would like the tables, because this would, according to him, facilitate interactive learning. So would Shor, with his emphasis on participatory learning.
Around the walls of the room were all kinds of math aids. These included geometric shapes with perimeter and area formulas, a chart with basic math rules, a digits chart, a multiplication chart and multiplication flash cards on a side table, and a map of the USA with state populations and other information. There was a computer on the teachers' small back corner desk, as well a second computer in the diagonally opposite front corner of the room. In addition, there was an overhead projector that the teacher used in addition to the front almost full wall length chalk board.
The students were more unruly that I thought they would be, but this might be explained by the fact that they were just returning from vacation. As I moved around the room helping tutor the students I was amazed at how many struggled with simple division and even multiplication. Remember, this was sixth grade, and those basic math skills should have been learned in the third grade.
In spite of these limitations, both physical plant and academic, most of the students seemed to want to learn and in fact were learning. There did seem to be a gender bias, however, the girls seemed to be more in tune than the boys. At least math education was being valued by the majority.
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