Promising Practice

Promising Practice Second Option #1

Attending the annual anchor madness event relates to many things that we have been learning in class. In many of the different readings that we have done in classes. For instance this event made me realize that there really are rules and codes of power. At Rhode Island College, they had a special event that was supposed to be for the different dorms to chant against each other to win competitions to win different things for their dorms and to show school spirit. The athletic department made this happen but rushed all of the activities. This is because they had to bring out the sports teams, but mainly they had to introduce the men’s basketball team. At this school the men’s basketball team is like royalty. This team gets pep rallies, emails saying when they have games, coach busses to every game including the games that are not even far away and much more such as million dollar score boards. While others teams are lucky to take the vans to the games. For instance one team had to take a van cramming ten members and all of their gear to a four hour away game on top of each other. To me this puts in perspective that there are rules and codes to power. This reminds me of Kohn because since this team brings money to the school and recruits, if they get nice things which are like saying good job, then they will do better. Overall I think that going to this event showed me that Kohn moments do not only happen in classrooms, it happens in everyday life to get people to do certain things. If there is a school event to recognize the people who live on campus, there really is not a need to bring out a team and promote all their games and such as much in my opinion coming from an athlete at this school.  

                         

 

 

Promising Practice Second Option #2

During diversity week I attended the open mic night. At first I was apprehensive about going to this because I have never been to an event where there was open mic and poetry. Once I got there I found my seat sat down, and began to listen to what all of the people had to say. I was most moved by someone who wrote a poem about LGBTQ. As this person was presenting their poem, they talked about what it was like having to keep everything in to themselves because they did not feel like their parents and friends would accept them. Once this person told their loved ones they began to realize how much support they had. I am now looking back and relating it to Augusts, Safe Spaces. This is because we talk about how this issue is not really brought up in classrooms or at school. This school has a whole week dedicated to that which I think is amazing. “We contend that including LGBT people and issues in curriculum is an important first step toward creating safe spaces for LGBT youth” (August). Although this topic may not be in curriculums in college classes it is still important that there is a week dedicated to this. By this person going in front of a group of random students that they have no clue who they even are, expressing themselves is a great step for the future and I think that the school made this person comfortable by letting them speak out. Overall I am happy that I went and I hope that this school continues to raise awareness about this subject because you really never know whose life it can change just by sitting and supporting them while they explain their story.

 

 

Kohn Edit

Kohn relates to Delpit because of the direct style that Deplit talks about. Kohn states that teachers should not say good job to their students because it is very direct and it will lead them to think that they always need this support in order to do a god job on their work. Also if parents are saying good job after everything their children is doing at home,  they will expect it at school but teachers can not give in and do this. Delpit says that they students might not learn certain rules at home but learn them in the classroom, I feel as though saying good job and similar terms at home relates to Kohn.

August Edit

Augusts piece relates to Johnson. This is because Johnson mentions that it is important to talk about certain subjects in classrooms. There are many controversial issues about LGBT and talking about this in classrooms. I agree with Johnson that these subjects need to be brought up. I feel as though teachers are afraid of what parents and students will think if they do talk about LGBT which should not be a problem.

Rodriguez Edit

I can relate Rodriguez to Collier because they both talk about the differences between languages at school and at home. In Rodriguez it talks about how the boy changes his whole life style and does not even talk to his parents anymore because of this change. This relates to Collier because it states that students should use their first language and then slowly start speaking English so that they are more comfortable and they can have a better time learning.

Kozol Edit

I think that Kozols piece relates to Delpit because they both speak about power and in life it is all about the privileges about what you have and what you do not have. if there was not poverty I feel as though Delpit would say that students would behave better and not have to be told what to do as often.

Talking point #10 Shor

"Empowering Education: Education is Politics" 
                                   Ira Shor

 

In Shor’s article “Education is Politics in shorter terms she is arguing that in today’s world, education is not what is should be.

In school systems today schooling is not how it looks like in the old fashion movies. Teachers are given curriculums to teach, and these topics have to be taught at a certain time during the school year, for a certain amount of time. The teachers try to teach this as fast as they can and then they give a test. If the children pass it great, if they don’t then it is still on to the next thing because the teachers “need” to get to the other topics. Then teachers have to prepare for state wide tests also which honestly to me mean nothing because personally on the SATs, if there is pre-calc on there and I am nowhere near that in my math studies, how is it even fair? It’s not, so why?? Why do we need this? Why can’t schools simply go off of students grades in high school alone? Why is it always about testing? Also I am going to school to be a phys. Ed teacher. Why do I need the Praxis? When am I going to need any of that to teach children to be active and help them with those skills?

 Students today are honestly just writing down notes to write them down pretending that they can go back and look at these notes and maybe learn something when in reality they are clueless half the time. I once had a teacher who told me that I asked too many questions in math at my old college and we had to move on to something else. Shor states “ People are naturally curious”, meaning that they want to know answers and when they don’t know the answers because the professors don’t have time, then that is a huge issue and something needs to be changed.  Teachers need to encourage children to want to ask questions, not push them away before they all actually go away and not want to go to school and get a great learning experience like Shor mentions.

To me this article relates to Kliewer and “Citizenship in School” because although this article was not about people with down syndrome, everyone has their different ways of learning and teachers should all treat their students equal and no matter what teachers need to help students out so that they enjoy being there.  We need to make more positive opportunities for children in schools.

   

TALKING POINTS: Is it only me or does anyone else believe that testing should not be the answer? Personally I am a horrible test taker and I have a big fear that in the future it will end up hurting my chances of becoming a teacher if I do not do well on the Praxis. Shouldn't there be some other way of going about getting in to school, or being a teacher without having to take these tests?

Schooling children with down syndrome

 Quotes on Kliewer's

 “Schooling Children with Down Syndrome"

“Fundamental to constructivist teaching is a respect for each student as both an active agent in the learning process and an essential member of the learning community.”

This quote is mentioning that in all classrooms students need to be treated the same and have it be known that each person brings something unique and special to each classroom  no matter if they have a disability or not. I feel like if the teacher respects all of the children in the classroom, then kids will respect one another instead of having them ignore or not listen to everyone’s ideas.

“Vygotsky found that the culture of segregation surround people with disabilities actually teaches underdevelopment of thinking through the isolation of children from socially valued opportunities… altering the culture of disability requires that a child be recognized as an active learner, a thinker, and a problem-solver, but this cannot occur apart from relationships that allow for such engagement.”

 I chose this quote because it is basically saying that if we separate students in classrooms we are pretty much taking away the opportunities. In classrooms the students who do not have a disability are getting a better education, and the ones who do are getting that taken away by getting taken away and getting less of an education. I can relate to this because I know that when I was in elementary school I would get taken away to a different room when it was time for reading groups when all I wanted to do was prove that I could actually read and that when the teacher had the rest of the class reading books together, I could do the same. It made me not want to read even more because I was never given a fair opportunity. This also relates to LGBT in a way with Geri Augusts’ Safe Spaces article because these problems are also not given the same opportunity. And how people feel insecure about this in schools too and feel abnormal because schooling makes this happen.

"How absurd to be judged by others at all, especially by those who have never experienced a disability or who are unwillingly providing us with support or who don't listen to the voices we have.

Personally I know when I was growing up in the public school system, there were always those kids who would make fun of those with disabilities. Honestly I do not know how a person could be so rude and do this. I agree with this quote because people all have something about them that they cannot change. You should never judge someone because of who they are and in this article it does a good job of stating this. All people need to worry about themselves unless they are positive and are willing to only make others and themselves better at succeeding in life.

 TALKING POINTS-  I thought that this article had many great points. Is there a way that one day LGBT and disability issues in schools will someday change? Hopefully one day when we are teachers learning all of this can help us and we can change this. I feel like if in a classroom and being a teacher if you bring the whole class together as one on even the first day when no body knows each other, everyone will be accepting of everyone no matter what the situation.