I am going to include here my thoughts about the Buchmann article that I also posted on Blackboard:
One thing that really stuck out to me in this article was how Buchmann kept pointing out how teachers' styles and personal choices about what should be taught in the classroom can hinder learning. To me, these seem to be the teachers who close their doors, block their windows, and continue on their merry way. I never really thought about it in that way. I always thought that having a teaching style was a good thing! It keeps learning interesting and keeps it from becoming monotonous. On the other hand, I completely agree with Buchmann that too much of this can result in vast differences from class to class concerning what students are learning.
At the school where I currently work both of the 1st grade classes are doing the EXACT same thing! (Although at slightly different paces and in slightly different orders). This really bothered me at first! There wasn't anything I could do about it and I never thought about it again until now. As it turns out, it is very nice to be doing the same thing as another teacher! You can plan things together and there is someone to turn to for help if it's needed.
I think this is just part of being a member of a professional community. I think another very important part is to keep your personal life out of the classroom specifically and the school in general. In my opinion this includes gossiping. There is a lot of gossip-esque conversations that happen in the lunch/work room. I always do my best to just listen and not contribute to the complaining or talking about students/parents. I understand that it is sometimes necessary to "vent" when you are having a bad day, but I think there is a time and place for that and during the school days is not it!
The last important piece of being a member of a professional community is to use any instructional freedom wisely! Teachers have an obligation to help students learn, so if they are given the gift of freedom with the curriculum, they should use it in a productive way. Buchmann talks about a high school where teachers have this freedom, but some of them use it to be lazy. The students in this situation could potentially go through high school and graduate not having really learned anything.
In a nut shell, I think being part of a professional community means following the rules. Doing whatever you want will not necessarily help students learn what they need to know to prepare them for the next grade level, or for the world. Even if a teacher does not 100% agree with the curriculum, it is their duty to give their 100% effort in teaching it.
Now, for the Ayers reading: Again, I really liked the chapter. I love reading stories about what someone saw or experienced in education – whether in the classroom or not. I really like the idea of allowing students to do a “me” project. It is a great way for teachers to learn more about their students’ cultures, interests, experiences, and so much more!
Ayers also talked about integrating students’ cultures into the classroom. I don’t remember exactly where I read this (we have been reading so much this quarter!) but I agree that when teachers say they only see children no matter what the make-up of their class is, it makes differences become invisible. I think our society has gone from one extreme to another; from extreme racism and segregation to being so “colorblind” that cultural differences are disappearing. How great would be in a classroom to briefly study each student’s culture? Even if they feel they don’t have a different culture, they can share about a certain family tradition they enjoy or something else they think is special about them.
In my 1st grade class we do “Curious Sharing” every Friday. Each student gets a chance to fill a brown paper lunch bag with as much stuff as they can fit! Each item needs to represent something about them: their favorite game, a vacation they went on, a special gift they received, etc. They also have to write about why each item is important. On Friday morning they bring in their bag and share each item with the class. At the end, they can pick 3 people to ask a question. This is just a small way to bring students’ personalities into the classroom. So far I have learned something new about each student!
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I bet they love tose Fridays they can share about themselves or their families. Does the whole school follow the idea of doing the same thing at the same time in each grade? That would be interesting if they did.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure... I haven't asked around. I need to do that though to satisfy my own curiosity :)
ReplyDeleteDanielle, I feel confused in a way about what we are learning regarding race/culture and what I feel about it. It seems like some of the reading is stressing being culture heavy as in the article that suggested teaching African history along with US History to black students, but other articles are asking us to not focus on culture/race when thinking about students.
ReplyDeleteI personally like the concept as just seeing everyone as an individual. I think any kind of labelling just serves to separate us more as people. I like the idea of sharing who they are and whats important to them in your Friday sharing. What is important to us may have nothing whatsoever to do with our race or heritage.
Danielle,
ReplyDeleteAnd Buchmann would also say, I think, that teachers should be in constant conversation about what "the rules" might be... and to deviate from them together when imposed by others in ways that don't make sense for kids.
When we've talked about cultural differences in the past, we've too often focused on negative stereotypes, so the "I don't see color" arguments are a well-intended attempt to say that you're not buying into those stereotypes.
But as Ayers and Delpit have both written, that also means that we don't give credits for cultural strengths; nor do we build bridges from so much of what's vital to who children *are* to who they may become in school.
To respond to both you and to Debbie's comments, of course not everything important about us is directly tied to race or ethnicity, but much is.
And a great example of that might be how a white teacher might miss the significance of something coming out of that Friday morning magical bag because they were seeing only "similarities" not also differences, or because they weren't well prepared to lead a constructive conversation about differences.
Complicated issues, no?