Blog Post 9: Kliewer & Shor- Quotes

Shor and Kliewer both have very interesting points about education.

Shor said "you must arose children's curiosity and make them think about school". This is true because children will not be engaged if they are not interested in what is being taught. I can think back to days in elementary school where I had some teachers that had us to repetitive worksheets that I always felt were so pointless. Everything was always the same with no change. This will not give children a positive thought about school.

"In a curriculum that encourages student questioning, the teacher avoids a unilateral transfer of knowledge."  This is another quote from Shor. It allows children to make decisions on their own and create meaningful memories of school. Allowing the children to think of their own thoughts lets the children have empowerment and not just the teacher. 


"It's not like they come here to be labeled, or to believe the label. We're all here-kids, teachers, parents, whoever-it's about all of us working together, playing together, being together, and that's what learning is. Don't tell me any of these kids are being set up to fail." This quote is from Kliewer when talking about a different type of school where parents are the teachers. They come together as a community and help educate their children. This sounds like an outlook that should be brought into every school. Everyone should always work together to create the best space for the children. Even in a regular school setting, parents should be involved with their child's school and teachers to help at home and learn the curriculum. 

Pecha Kucha- Link

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vRtHoUFB0OlaFJTeaVQQD0C6GKJlD1fmfDHaX6DFVGzSX7eMqN5DnXnilLYElnc8Nrfbd6bwWXCuwIL/pub?start=true&loop=false&delayms=20000

Blog Post 8: Map The Authors

Click here: Lauren Map The Authors

Blog Post 7: TAL & Herbert- Connections

Listening to The Problem We All Live With was very true and straight to the point about integration in public schools. It's unfortunate how true it actually is. I can relate to this because of where I used to work, in a low income school with a high percentage of hispanic and black children. Because of where the school is located they do not have the best materials to use in classrooms which can affect the highest education they could be receiving. My last few years I moved to a different center of the same company. It was located right on the outside of the town with less poverty. This meant more white children with parents who pay a lot to have their children attend there. Being able to see the difference of the two and they were about a 10 minutes apart was incredible and not in a good way. I instantly noticed all the differences, the white people living in a middle class family were able to send their children to a higher class program where they receive higher quality teachers, the best materials and play yard. While at the other school I may have came across 3 white children out of my two years being there, very little parent involvement, no access to best quality materials and broken equipment outside. 

In the audio of This American Life Nikole Jones says "What integration does is it gets black kids in the same facilities as white kids, and therefore it gets them access to the same things that those kids get-- quality teachers and quality instruction." If there was a way for both class families to send their children to the same school to each receive the best of the best, they could all have a higher chance of a successful education. Ira Glass then goes onto discussing statistics about how the lower class families get the worst of it even if they live down the street from the "nicer" school. Nikole brings up that if you mix these children together, studies show you can tell the children living in poverty apart from others because of their test scores. She talked about a life story that she was sent to the higher class school outside of her poverty home life, she would constantly invite friends to her house but their parents wouldn't allow them, instead they invited Nikole to their home. This affects a child in a negative way especially because its' obvious to the child why they aren't ever able to go to their neighborhood. 
Nikole feeling separated from her friends has nothing to do with her skin color but because of where she is from. Which works the same way with the poverty schools and higher class schools. In the article by Bob Herbert he said "Studies have shown that it is not the race of the students that is significant, but rather the improved all-around environment of schools with better teachers, fewer classroom disruptions, pupils who are more engaged academically, parents who are more involved, and so on. The poorer students benefit from the more affluent environment." This article was very similar to what Nikole and Ira were discussing when it comes to schools being segregated. These days it's not about keeping race separate, it's more about where you are raised and what your community is like. I see this is my field placement. On my first day, I went in their trying not to judge based on the neighborhood but tried to have an open mind thinking that maybe the children get the best quality at this school regardless of what is outside their windows. Unfortunately my assumptions were right and it is a very low income school with little parent involvement, low education and old materials. I have yet to see a white student in this school as well.
I wish that all schools got the same level of education with high quality teachers and materials. From working in a low income school and doing my field placement I need to help these children and make a difference. When I become an elementary school teacher I am not afraid to teach in low income communities, I think it would be a good experience for me and help the children receive the best education I can give.

Social Justice Event: Ted Talk- Angela Patton: A Father-daughter dance... in prison

I watched a Ted Talk spoken by Angela Patton who talked about her non-profit organization that works with young girls find their way in life. Her purpose behind this talk was because she heard some of the girls in her group talk about not being able to see their dad or how long it has been since they last talked to their dad because they are not an active part of their lives. Together, Angela and her girls in her organization worked together to come up with ways how they can invite their fathers to something apart of their lives. That's when they thought of holding a father daughter dance. One of the girls came forward saying that their dad can not go to the dance because he is in jail. Angela wanted everyone to be included so this lead her to suggesting the idea of holding a dance in the jail where this girls dad is. After setting a date with the jail, they held the dance their. They brought cameras to record this special moment for both the fathers and daughters. This was a way so they can all look back on this moment. She ended her talk with saying "Because a father is locked in doesn't mean he should be locked out of his daughters life. From this Ted Talk I learned how important it is for a parent to be present in young children's lives. If they can't physically be there because of their mistake, they shouldn't give up on that bond and effort at raising their child and help molding them into adulthood.

Relating this Ted Talk to three of our texts we have read from this semester is (1) Nicholas Kristof's article and the part where it talks about how important it is for children to get love and affection growing up. This relates to the Ted Talk because Patton talks about how one of the girls is sad because she referred to her dad as "locked in shackles". A girl so young, feeling this way is just looking for affection from her father but feels as though she can't and this could affect her down the line in adulthood. (2) Kahne & Westheimer article can relate this Ted Talk to because it talks about the importance of working with children to help share meaningful impacts in the community, having a parent not present in their lives could make this difficult for those children to connect with or learn about if they don't have a positive role model to show them these types of good acts. (3) August article can also be related to Angela Patton's story because she talked about how uncomfortable this child felt saying her dad was in jail and that someone had laughed when the idea came up about doing the dance in the prison. The way Patton handled this situation is what August talks about. Allowing child to feel safe and excepted in their personal lives by their peers, is very important to the healthy mind of a young child.

Three links related to this Ted Talk that are helpful: 
Children of Incarcerated Parents - What to expect from children with parents in prison 
Parenting Inside Prison - Helping parents parent while being incarcerated
Camp Diva - Angela Patton's non-profit organization 

Blog Post 6: Reflection- Kahne & Westheimer

Reading this blog about helping those in need, brings me back to an experience I had at the childcare center I used to work at. The project Mr. Johnson had his class participate in serving learning projects throughout the community of their choice, for those in need. The center I worked at only has children up to age 5, we didn't leave the center and explore the community but we did a lesson about how others may not have the same things in life that we may think is normal to us and they are not as fortunate. Working in Woonsocket, we were able to work with some local community service project. A group came in to talk to my 5 year olds and they shared how people their age can help. The members of the group explained how others may need the things that we take for granted or not use. My students were asked if they can think of anything they have at home that they think someone in need might get more use out of. To my surprise I had many children comprehend and answer. Most of them said they have toys that they don't use and such.


Hearing my students at such a young age understand that others may use what they don't made me so happy. We organized a donation drive with the local community service project and held a toy drive. We had families donate toys, books and clothes. We also participate in Adopt-A-Family for the holidays where each student picks a name of a a child on a list we have for families that sign up to receive donations. The children love doing this and making cards for these families. Sometimes we get thank you cards and pictures of the families we helped. This was such a great learning opportunity for children at such a young age to see how they can participate in helping others. I even had a child share that him and his family donated some things to a local store that send it out to families in need. I felt that the lesson really made an impact and it helped them be more compassionate.

What both Mr. Johnson and Ms. Adams did with there classrooms is awesome. Being a future elementary school teacher I will make sure to keep in mind of making sure children understand the importance of helping their community. Setting a good example at such a young age can be beneficial and a great activity to do as a parent. Here's some links with resources for young children to participate in making a difference:
A Family's Guide to Getting Involved
Tips for Volunteering with Kids
Six Resources to Get Students Involved in Community Service

Blog Post 5: Quotes- August

"Classroom walls create a dichotomy- the academic arena within, the personal arena without."

I took this as, both children and teachers come into their classroom bringing their personal being and represent who they are. When they leave the classroom they are brining what they absorbed, into their world. Both academic and personal experiences are made and taken beyond the walls of the classroom. When I think of a classroom I expect it to be safe and an all around learning experience. The word "dichotomy" stuck out to me. After looking if up, and re reading this sentence, I found it very interesting and a good way to look at the walls inside a classroom.

"Perhaps adults need a Ready-To-Teach initiative."

This quote was in the paragraph discussing the children T.V series "Postcards from Buster". It talked about how in an episode Buster visited a family who had two moms. This caused controversy among some viewers. I think it is sad how some people get so offended by people simply being themselves and happy. I like how they said adults need a Ready-To-Teach initiative because it is so true. This is the world we live in and children will get introduced to these types of things whether the parent likes it or not. Keeping your child in a bubble and not sharing that other families are different is a cruel way to shut them out from the world and leave them without any knowledge on this. It can also cause them to agree with their parents as they grow older and not be ok with others being gay. I will say however, I think it is wrong to not accept people but, I don't think it has to be overly shoved in young children's faces making it a huge deal. I think if it comes up or once they are in elementary school, make them aware that some people are different and like the same sex and express that it's ok and allow others to do what makes them happy. I agree with it being ok that this T.V series did this episode but I don't think it's necessary to start talking about LGBTQ when your child is just learning their own environment around them. Sometimes I think it is forced rather than a natural topic. 

"Marcus decided to explain to another child in his group that his mom is gay... This kind of discussion is not acceptable in my room."

As a teacher, reading what this teacher had to say about one of her students is terrible. Why is a child sharing that he has two moms "not acceptable"? I think this is when conversations like these are acceptable. This conversation about being gay was brought up in a natural way and could be used as a teaching moment. That would be a great opportunity to share that other families do not need to have a dad and a mom to make them complete. By being so negative about the boys home life, this could make him deflect and feel negative about going to school or sharing stories about his family. Like I said, I don't think it needs to turn in to a huge thing and have an entire lesson on LGBTQ but, to have a simple conversation normalizing it, should absolutely be accepted and shared.

A few years ago I had a student who had two moms. One of the moms had the child call her dad. She was not going through a sex change but had plans to. She still very much looked like a girl too. When other students heard the child calling one of her moms dad they corrected her by saying "that's not your dad, that's your mom". This is very understandable why anyone would question that, especially a two year old. I would correct children by saying "that is her dad". There was not much more to say because she still identified as a women, this made it hard for not just the children but me as an adult because it was different to me as well. As the child got older the dad got a sex change to male and it just was a normal thing to everyone else in the classroom and no questions were asked. In the future, being an elementary school teacher, I don't see myself having a lesson on sex orientation because I don't believe it needs to be talked about it such an unnatural way. If someone were to ask about it, then it can be an easy discussion. If I were going to be teaching an older group where they would be exposed to this more, than that's different but as for 6 year olds, I don't believe it should be in the lesson plan to make it a point to discuss. Maybe in the future, my opinion will change but as for now, that's my thoughts. Everyone should feel welcome and "normal" walking through the doors of a classroom and it should be ok to everyone with who you are and what your family represents. You are who you are!

Blog Post 4: Reflection- Christensen

This was one of the most interesting reads so far. Throughout this article I am thinking back to myself as a child. I grew up on Disney movies and it is still one of my favorite things. At a young age I don't recall ever questioning "Why is there only white women?", "Why is the women always being saved by a man?". Of course, as I watched these movie again as I got older I noticed and I would think to myself "Omg how did I not notice the way they were talking?". Some of the things the princesses would say about having to rely on a man is sad but, that's what times were like back in the 40's, 50's and 60's. It was this way up until recently and I think it is great.

The newer princess films have different races such as Princess and The Frog and Moana. They even play a different role including Brave and Tangled. They are in charge and show they don't need a man to take care of them. They are independent women and including Frozen. These new and upcoming films going forward are going to continue being this way because it is such an important lesson for little girls knowing that they are strong and they don't need to be white and skinny. Even though I did not recognize the poor lessons in these films when I was a child I'm sure many others did and it could have confused them or making them doubt themselves. I just loved the music and the classic films and have the best memories watching them. I am thrilled with how Disney and other children films are changing who is the major role, how they look and act. It is huge and so important. I hope people don't assume all movies for children with princesses are this way because of how it was way back then.
                                        
This scene is from Wreck-it-Ralph. Click on my link to watch! The princesses from every film are going through all the horrible things that happened to them in their movie. When I first saw this movie I thought this scene was funny because of the accuracy and looking back now it is sadly true. But around 2009 Disney started changing that all around and I am excited to see what other strong princesses they can come up with.