A Beautiful Mind

Reading this chapter was like being on an emotional roller coaster.  In the beginning, I was bothered by the fact that we are one of few professionals who are expected to function independently from day one.   The chapter talked about lawyers, doctors, accountants and social workers who all have varied levels of induction.  Then, I was sad after being reminded of the teacher shortages,  high attrition rates, low salaries and not-so-good working conditions of certain schools.  Next, I felt proud and empowered when they discussed the teacher unions and how they took a stand for social justice although it was very unpopular at the time. (I had no idea they were so involved in social issues involving minorities!)  Because I am such a social butterfly, I was inspired by the work of the National Writing Project and Oakes and Lipton’s suggestion of networking with other teachers.  Time is always an issue but having time to discuss teaching practices, successes, struggles and concerns with colleagues is crucial!  We need time to reflect, share and gain insight from one another.  We also need to time to evaulate our teaching practices and beliefs to uncover our own thoughts surrounding deficit thinking.  I was guilty of thinking that our second language learners needed fixing.  I thought to myself…if only they could learn English…..if only their parents would help more at home.  Now, rather than viewing it as a problem that needs to be fixed, I celebrate their difference and embrace students’ cultural capital.  As teacher mentor and a member of the leadership team, I plan to extend my influence by sharing what I have learned from this course and what we can do differently in our school to consistently promote culturally revelant pedagogy and limit deficit thinking.  As I finished the chapter, I was reminded of why I teach.  I teach because I truly believe that I can change the world…even if it’s by empowering one student or one teacher at a time. 

I was very interested in the section entitled “Too Little Involvement.”  I think we have all heard or are even guilty of assuming that low income parents somehow do not care or do not value education.  Reading how education is in fact a top priority for low income, culturally and linguistically diverse families was reassuring and dispels the myth that parents don’t care.  Oates and Lipton asked the question, “How can educators and families who want the same thing for students stop misreading one another’s intentions and connect their efforts?”  They suggest that “teachers and schools must gain confidence that new, culturally sensitive understandings and roles can further high standards and rigorous learning.”  Teachers must keep in mind that some parents have had negative experiences themselves when they were in school, so offering to volunteer and become involved may not be of interest to them.  It does not mean they don’t care; they may simply want to avoid the potential for any more negative experiences.  Nesbit is fortunate to have a fully staffed Parent Center which is funded through Title I and Title V.  Their mission is to impact student achievement by strengthening parental involvement and providing resources for parents.  Our Parent Center offers parent workshops on a variety of topics such as:  Beginning English, Parenting Classes, Reading, Math and Computer Literacy and Homework Helpers.  The Parent Outreach Liaison also assists parents with accessing community resources such as food, clothing and emergency funds for utility bills and housing.  The center has an abundance of reading and math resources for both parents and teachers to check out to help with their children.  Our parent center is a jewel and it has helped with encouraging parents to become more actively involved.  I believe parents who are able will become more involved if they feel welcomed and valued.  As I reviewed Joyce Epstein’s Parental Typology on the six types of parent involvement, I would say that Nesbit is well on its way to developing strong partnerships with our families.  It really does take a village to raise a child y’all! :) 

When I read Kimberly Min’s comments about deficit thinking, I immediately thought about some of my colleagues who view our students as “poor performing” because of their  socio-economic or cultural background.  A few teachers in our school will not attempt higher-order thinking activities with their students because they believe they  are not capable due to language or limited background knowledge.  Students meet the expectations of those around them so we need to continually aim high!  It is true that many of our students are ESOL and are still learning to read, speak and process information in English but we should still set high expecations for them.  Overall, Nesbit is doing a wonderful job of meeting our students’ individual needs.  We have many ESOL teachers, reading specialists and math specialists who team teach with classroom teachers to support our second language learners and struggling students.  It’s usually the specialists who come with higher-level activities and the classroom teacher is often surprised at their students’ abilities to do the work.  Sometimes, it’s refreshing to have an outsider come in and work with you because they can show you things you may think your student are not capable of doing.  We have to be careful with our thoughts surrounding what our students can and can not achieve.  What we do with and for them is a direct result of what we think of them.

I was vey impressed with Paul’s passion and committment to social justice.  It was hard to hear some of the things he shared with us last week but it’s so important for us to know that not everything we have been socialized to believe is true.  The concept of “cognitive disonnance” was new for me but it is now a permanent part of my “intellectual vocabulary.”  This course has taken me so many different places in terms of examining my thinking and my beliefs.  I do understand why the “powers that be” would do whatever it took to maintain their wealth, power and influence but I often wonder….what is that costing them?  Every decison that we make has a benefit and a cost attached to it and at some point we have to decide if the cost is truly worth it.  Paul said something that resonated with me last week.  He asked the question, “By working for social justice, who are we really saving? We are saving ‘them’ and their own humanity.”  That took me back a minute and then I had an “aha” moment.  The powerful decison makers have the opportunity and resources to make change but choose not to out of fear of losing something, but if we work to create a shift in their thinking or pressure society to make the necessary changes so everyone has access (not just the chosen few) then it will be better for all humanity. 

As I continue on my journey of life, I realize there are no accidental meetings.  It’s not an accident that I am involved in this program or that I am taking this class or that Paul Gorski was invited to speak at our school.  I strongly believe in fate and I am wondering if God has another assignment for Sandy Matthews.  This class, this conversation and this topic have my attention.  I look at things so differently now.  I am not sure if I see myself  traveling across the country like Paul, but I do see myself as an agent of change in my local school community.  We have to have some serious dialogue surrounding how we view and interact with our students, when and how we conduct parent conferences and how to engage in REAL multicultural education.  It was funny to hear Paul say, “It doesn’t matter how many taco nights and soul food festivals you have, they do not create real change.”  (ouch!)

I felt like Anita Bohn (author of the article) when I first read Ruby Payne’s examples of “essential knowledge of the lower class.”  I said to myself, “WHAT?”  I have never in my life heard of anything like this.  Now I must admit that growing up, I am not sure if my family qualified as “lower class” but I it sometimes felt like it when I wanted pepper steak for dinner but all we had left were lima beans with mommy’s homemade biscuits OR when I wanted high top Converse sneakers (Chuck Taylors) but instead we went to the grocery store and I had to choose the ones from the bin that were bound together by that plastic strap! Being able to bail someone out from jail and knowing how to get a gun was not “essential knowledge” in our household and I found her comments somewhat absurd, narrowminded and offensive.  I did stop and ask myself, I am being naive? I try hard not to judge and to find something good in certain situations but I struggled with this one.  Learning that she is self-published and that her “research” does not have to be verifiable or reliable put things into prospective.  I think initally Ruby Payne’s intentions were pure in that she wanted others to have some insight into understanding the lives of children of poverty.  I think she wanted to create dialogue and a level of understanding that their”way of being” is quite different from the middle class teachers who teach them.  I get that part but it has to based on truth which means that she should have research to back up what she says at these seminars.  It’s scary to think that someone left her seminar with the understanding that “poor people can’t think abstractly.”  This line of thought is damaging to teachers who believe it and students in those teachers’ classrooms.  I agree with the author that the blame for children of poverty’s lack of academic is placed with them and outside of the schools.  There is a much bigger picture here that Ruby Payne has ignored.  In order for real change to occur,  we don’t need a list of rules, we need  to create a shift in the mindset and beliefs surrounding poverty.

Teaching in a culturally and linguistically diverse school, choosing books that reflect a variety of cultures has always been a priority but I neglected to closely examine the books for many biases outlined in this article.  I have noticed many of these biases in the media and on television but I can not say that I have recently witnessed it in my stories.  Aside from observing new teachers, I also do demonstration lessons and many prefer to watch me teach reading.  (my fav!)  Thankfully the Scotts Foresman reading series we use at Nesbit and our BLESSED bookroom have stories that include characters from a variety of cultures and backgrounds.  On the other hand, is it possible that I am subconsciously conditioned to observing book illustrations with female African American characters with cornrows and very full lips or viewing the white male in the story as the hero?  I can honestly say that I seldom take the time to carefully pay attention to notice whether the people of color are considered “the problem” in the story or if the achievements of girls and women are based on their own “work” or their appearance.  This article really made me say…..”hmmm!”  One of the questions raised is, “What qualifies the author or illustrator to deal with the subject?”   It points out how many think it is impossible to write “authentically” from a perspective one has never experienced personally.  I will have to allow that question to “marinate” before I attempt to answer it.  I can see both sides.  If I am reading a nonfiction text about another culture, the one thing I search for is the truth.  But it depends on “who” is telling the story.  You can have two people (from the same culture) telling the same story but because of varying experiences, each person’s “truth” may be different. 

Culturally responsive teaching uses students’ background knowledge and individual learning styles to make learning more effective.  When the article discusses it being validating, I can speak from experience how it makes students feel when you are in a classroom where you feel like your cultural heritage is celebrated; not just during Black History Month.  I had one teacher who shared books with characters who looked like me and she told us things about the different tribes and Kings and Queens of Africa.  I remember feeling very proud and a sense of connectedness!  When most of us thought of Africa, we envisioned Tarzan, bare-breasted women and men dancing with painted faces.  She taught me to be proud of my heritage.  (Thanks Ms. Johnson!) 

 In this article, we are also reminded that culturally responsive teaching is comprehensive.  That involves teaching the whole child.  Not just academically, but socially and emotionally as well.  I wonder to myself, how could a student be unsuccessful if they felt completely loved, safe and a TRUE sense of belonging?  The word, EMPOWERING is one of my favorite words in the whole wide world.  The motto for my mentoring program is “Nurturing and Empowering Young Women.”  Empowering to me involves not just giving students the necessary tools for “them” to be successful but to use those tools to uplift others.  Last, the idea of it being emancipatory speaks to me too.  Thinking critically about something I have grown up believing as “truth” was somewhat difficult.  I was not raised to question things, especially the things I learned from my teachers.  They spoke the GOSPEL!  Even now, many students will trust the words of their teacher before mom and dad. “But Ms. Matthews said……!” 

Creating a caring and democratic classroom DOES take time, experience and patience.  When I first began teaching, I didn’t trust myself to conduct class meetings because I thought my second grade students would use most of the time tattling or sharing random thoughts.  It took about two years of watching other teachers and asking questions before I felt comfortable holding class meetings.  Even though I was a novice teacher, I knew the importance of building relationships with my students.  It wasn’t something that was explicitly said to me, I pulled from my own experience of being a student.  It was important that my teachers showed me that they cared about me.  It didn’t matter what form the “caring” came in.  It could be positive praise, offering to help me with a difficult word problem or just asking how my weekend was (and really listening to my response). When I realized how much they cared, it pushed me to always do my best because I felt valued.  In the section of our book surrounding child-centered schooling, the authors highlight Johann Pastalozzi who explained that “students learn best when schools help them develop self-respect and emotional security.”  Students do not automatically come to us knowing what self-respect looks and feels like so we may have to show them how to respect themselves and others.  When we take the time to really listen to our students, value their input and opinions (even though they may be WAY off) we are showing them that they matter. 

I love the concept behind Jane Addams’ Hull House!  I often hear teachers say, “I can only do what I can in the amount of time my students are with me.  I can not control what happens when they get home.”  (If that’s true, then why do teachers become upset when students come the next day without completed homework, permission slips or signed agenda books?)  We may not be able to control what happens at home but schools can do more to support our families, especially those in crisis situations.  Our counselor did an eye-opening staff development about families in our school who live in sub-standard apartment complexes. (mold on walls, exposed wires, clogged bathtubs)  The management offices are not concerned about the needed repairs because they know many residents are illegal and won’t complain to corporate.   She asked for permission and was allowed to video some of their units and many did not have furniture, tables or lamps, just a few mattresses on the floor.  How do you get upset with a 1^st grader who didn’t do their homework because she/he has no where so sit and no real light after a certain time? When we talk about educating the “whole child” that may mean that we have to speak to their home life as well.  Yes, parents “should” help with homework, make sure their children are fed,  read with them, review spelling words, and so forth, but what about those parents who can not read or work two jobs to survive and do not have the time?  I don’t think we can afford to focus on just meeting the academic needs of our students, we have to concern ourselves with their social and emotional needs as well. 

There were many interesting points made in this chapter but I chose to focus on  English/Language Arts.  I have a strong passion for reading and literacy and I was very interested in the section discussing multicultural lessons.  The authors state, “Using multicultural literature makes the English/LA curriculum inclusive….it also makes it authentic for students whose languages and traditions are not reflected in the traditional curriculum.”  I remember reading novels in high school and very few of the characters looked or spoke like me.  Although I loved reading, I felt little connection to the characters in Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet and other required readings.  I could only wish my teachers were more like Kelly Ganzel who paired classic novels with contemporary, ethnically diverse literature.  I can understand how many culturally diverse students would be uninterested and unwilling to read and participate in meaningful discussions because they can not relate to the language in some of the classic novels.  I agree with the progressives who believe in an inclusive curriculum where the voices and perspectives of diverse cultures should be included. 

When I read this article, it made me think about the book Inside/Outside by Marilyn Cochran-Smith and Susan Lytle.  In the first chapter entitled, “Issues and Questions Toward a Theory of Teacher Research,” the question was raised, Is teacher research, “research?” Who better knows what’s best for students than the teachers who work with them everyday.  I was happy to read in this article how teachers examined research theory and built their own pedagogy.  Teachers were standing up for what they believed was most effective when it came to reading instruction.  But as I continued reading, I  became more and more upset with the amount of power and influence the conservative campaign  actually had.  I almost felt a sense of hopelessness because they actually had enough legislative support to threaten schools to “buy in” to their reading and math methodology or risk losing funding. That’s scary!  If the powers that be are threatening to withdraw funding, that leaves the schools with little to no recourse.  In essence, school districts are being “muscled” into conforming. Ken Goodman reminds us that there is hope.  Although they have the money and political power on their side, he says, “Over time, knowledge must prevail over nonsense.”  We will always find ways around the system and do what we feel in our hearts is right for our students.