post from 6.29...

The first connection I noticed between most of the theorists was the idea of observation as a means of assessment.  Dewey, Montessori and Vygotsky believed that the teacher's role is to assess what the student needs by watching them as they work through discovery, play and development. They believed that a student would express their academic needs in one way or another and it was the educator's role to adjust to fit their needs.

Another connection that stuck out to me is the fact that Erikson, Montessori and Piaget believed that children would gain the most out of learning experiences that were actual real life situations. Trusting that children are capable of making responsible decisions and using real tools can be incredibly beneficial to a child's developmental skills.  Seeing how something works provides a deeper understanding that just reading it in a book and memorizing.

The last connection I wanted to discuss is that both Dewey and Erikson emphasize the importance of being aware of each child's individual difference that may effect how they learn. Dewey says that keeping the families values and culture in mind and incorporating that into school will make their learning rich and meaningful.  Erickson believes that individual differences not only will effect development but can also alter the students capabilities day to day.  Knowing your students and where they come from will be a great tool to connecting and knowing what they are capable of.

The Odds

The word that really jumps out at me is the odds. To think of the odds that these boys have to overcome daily, just to make it to school, to make it home from school, are tremendous. When I think about it, it reminds me very much of White Privilege. The privilege of being able to go to school and to go home not having to worry about things that Montrey mentioned like getting your shoes stolen, or getting beat up. This word is once again just another reminder to being open in the classroom, to understanding that children go through things you can't see before and after school starts and ends, and that we need to be mindful of those things to have an open, inviting classroom. I also like self-reliance, I can only image how hard it would be in middle school to pick up and go to school in Africa for a full year. I see this as them being thrown into the thick of the zone of proximal development, in Africa, without parents, and only themselves to regulate how they ultimately act. That alone to me is a prime learning environment, but the fact they also go to school as well is just more respect to those boys. It showed me that tough learning environments truly can push, but ultimately reward those in them.

Opening Activity 7/26

The opening ice-breaker Aileen and I did was a game called Question Ball and is fairly straight forward. Find a playground ball or something big enough to write questions on and be able to pass around. The questions can be anything you see appropriate, some of ours were: Who is your celebrity crush? What's your favorite color? Michael Jackson or Prince? etc. Arrange your class or group in a circle and toss the ball to a person. When they catch it, they have to answer the question that their right thumb lands on (or is pointing to if it doesn't land on a question). After they answer the question they pass the ball to another person, and they do the same until everyone has answered a question, you can even do a fast round like we did if you'd like. This game can be used not only as an ice-breaker, but in lessons as well. Instead of writing get-to-know-you questions, you could write questions relating to the water cycle if that was what you were studying. Thanks for being great participants!

Salvation

The word that initially jumps out at me is salvation. These boys obviously needed some salvation, and the Baracka School provided that - at least temporarily. The opening of the film struck a chord with me, as I was born in Baltimore Maryland and lived in a suburb until I was almost 9. It occurred to me that the school these boys were attending initially could’ve been my own, and that only 1 out of every 4 black males would graduate high school, leaving the other 3 to deal drugs, do drugs, go to jail, go to war, or end up dead. It was staggering to think in these terms. I was thankful there was an intervention opportunity, and someone invested enough to encourage the boys to make a change. This film seemed to echo the thoughts of McIntosh: being white allows you privileges, being black denies you privileges. I felt the codes of power described by Delpit were evident here. These children obviously had very little money, fairly uneducated parents, and the wrong color of skin. They did not have safe, secure surroundings or any of the other circumstances deemed necessary for learning and growth. I felt so thankful when they were removed from their environment and sent to Kenya. The experience was obviously their salvation ... life-changing for everyone involved. Survival at the Baracka school required cooperation, communication, and determination. I’m not sure any of the boys had these skills before they set foot in Kenya, but with love, patience and dedication the teachers were able to change their mind set. I was truly impressed when we read the closing statements on each child’s progress. I was sure at least half would have given up, but the Baracka school gave them the tools they needed to survive. I remember one boy said “they told me I could do it and I did,” like having someone believe in you is all it really takes to succeed. Encouragement will be one of the first “norms” I incorporate into my classroom.

Community

The word I decided to focus on was community. From the video we watched in class we saw how these boys needed a sense of a positive community and that’s why they went to Africa. There they were able to not be tempted to make poor choices and a lot of the students got on the honor roll, something they would probably have never thought possible before.

The theorists we have been studying have all been inspired by a sense of community. For example: Dewey believed that the teacher should discuss the students’ interests and knowledge with them so they know what to teach them and elaborate off of. If the teacher tried playing the know it all and assumed what was best for the students without getting to know them, they wouldn’t be very successful. I think of that as a sense of community because it is building upon everyone’s knowledge to move forward.

When it comes to privilege I think of how a lot of middle class classrooms can have a sense of community within the class by just having discussions. White teachers often teach the mainstream white culture and thus leaving other students of different backgrounds to struggle more from lack of connection to their own cultural background. It’s the privilege white people have had (including myself) of having a sense of community built into my classroom because I fit in. It’s important to implement multicultural education into the curriculum to expand that sense of community to encompass all students. The boys in the film didn't have the privilege normally and were given a chance to have that privilege where they would study in a country where they would be surrounded by other people of their skin color and have small classrooms to address their needs. This would also go along with Delpit because she discusses how different races learn differently from one another. By knowing that African Americans need the teacher to be more authoritative or that Asian students are taught to be humble and not freely share out their answers, teachers can accommodate to all students and make them all feel comfortable and ready to learn.

Community is very crucial in child development and students need to know that it’s okay to express opinions and ask questions. That sense of community from student-centered practices is what helps educate everyone, including the teacher. My understanding of pedagogy in the classroom is that it is community based learning. A teacher functions off of his or her students. By being able to listen to students and teach in different ways to accommodate to them, the teacher is improving him or herself and becoming a better educator.

Unpacking the Knapsack

In Peggy McIntosh's article White Privilege she explores the assumptions and notions she has about white privilege. McIntosh relates it to noticing men discounting the privilege that they have, noticing that the same thing happens with whiteness. One passage that I found I could agree with is on pg. 3 it says, "...as my racial group was being made confident, comfortable, and oblivious, other groups were likely being made unconfident, uncomfortable, and alienated." After many other readings about the same topic of white privilege, one thing that I have come to realize is that white privilege is perpetuated everywhere. We as teacher have to fight hard against curricula, resources and media promoting white privilege.

One thing I'm not so sure I agree with is when McIntosh said, "...I realized the extent to which men work from a base of unacknowledged privilege, I understood that much of their oppressiveness was unconscious." When it comes to male privilege I feel that those who truly exercise it to an extent know what they are doing. I think that unfortunately, still a lot of males think that women cannot do certain things that men can, which we all know is preposterous. I do feel though that there are quite a few men who believe that they are superior to women.

The quote that urges me to take action is in the list of privileges that McIntosh writes out, "6. When I am told about our national heritage or about "civilization," I am shown that people of my color made it what it is." This is just one of the things in this article that gets me going because generally when you are learning about the country you are in school, that makes this point something that we as teachers can challenge by providing books with historical figures of color. We can teach a curriculum that is not as white-centered as it has been up to this point.

Human

One of the words from that list that strikes me the most is human. It resonates with me because so much of what we are learning in this program, especially in this class and in our Perspectives class, relates to the unjust treatment of oppressed groups of people as 'less-than' in our society. The powers that be and the systems at play determine who gets a great education and who is left to fend for themselves. Delpit describes this when she speaks of the students of color and their families who are assumed to not care about education and who “deny” their children's problems. “The Boys of Baraka” directly challenges these stereotypes and depicts the incredible tenacity exhibited by these inner city boys to overcome the odds. I feel like often one of the most powerful (and harmful) stereotype that exists about poor people is that they are not concerned with their students' education. In the documentary we saw parents and family members incredibly proud at their students' acceptance into the Baraka school, and their belief in their boys to succeed. We also saw them become extremely emotional and frustrated when they received the news that Baraka was shutting down. They would not accept that the gift of a good education would be taken away from their sons; one parent stated, “Sending them to a Baltimore public school is like sending them to prison.” This acknowledgment of their systematic treatment as future inmates illustrates the point that they have been dehumanized by society, to the point where they see their most probable future as behind bars. It is also shows that they are not clueless; they recognize that their misfortunes are not coincidental but a product of a society that marginalizes them and sees them less than human. It is too easy when talking about “the poor” to think of them as “others” who do not have any options or say in their futures, as helpless victims.

Though I have commented on the depressing nature of the documentary, I also want to acknowledge that it was also incredibly hopeful and powerful. Bill Cosby's quote about “putting a body” on the boys is a very powerful idea. Kids need someone holding them accountable; we saw this in the documentary with the tough love given to the boys at Baraka. It is an encouraging notion that despite the odds, kids are much more likely to make it through high school if they have someone who is telling them the whole way that they are going to do it.