Nakkula Chapter 10

This chapter brought me back to teaching in a Catholic school for five years.  They were an interesting five years so very different from my experience in the public schools.  As soon as you approach Catholic schools, you notice all the Christian symbolism.  My schools were no different.  There were paintings, pictures, statues, and crosses everywhere.  There were visible priests, pastors, and deacons walking down the hallways throughout the day.  Many of the teachers were religious while some considered themselves to be spiritual.  I never really put my beliefs "out there" and being from a non-Catholic background, I wasn't expected to discuss religion with my students but was expected to live in a way becoming of a good Christian.  All students, no matter religion, were also expected to live in a Christian way with good morals, values, and ethics.

My middle school students went through their day with the typical middle school stuff.  They dealt with bullying, two-faced friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, issues with parents, issues with teachers, and at times issues with themselves.  I imagine that many of them went through a situation similar to Steve Chang from the reading.  Many of them had relationships and were most definitely plagued with thoughts about what are moral thoughts and what are not and whether it was "normal" for them to think those thoughts.  There are so many forces coming at these students and some of them are working against each other.  These students, in both public and private schools, are asking questions about the universe that most adults do not understand.

I remember being in a third period math class and the students were discussing whether or not they should have to wear uniforms.  I let them argue it out and it got a little heated.  Somehow the conversation escalated to whether or not a young man "Chris" believed in God.  He said he did not.  The students all looked at me and waited.  One girl "Chloe" said that he would be in trouble now.  I responded that I had no intention of reprimanding him or further reporting the incident because how could I discipline a student for his thoughts and beliefs.  I still wonder if I would have been in trouble for not reporting it to the administration.  In a public school, there would have been no second guessing and no one would have batted an eye brow. 

Nakkula Chapter 9

This chapter was very straight forward and I appreciated how blunt it was throughout the chapter.  Sexuality is not a topic that I have ever discussed with students for fear of what the conversations would consist of but it gave me the thought that there should be real discussions happening in schools.  I remember being in 8th grade and the "discussions" started in Health class.  It basically consisted of a few corny videos that showed an egg and a sperm followed by a few awkward lectures done by the Health/Phys. Ed teacher.  In 9th grade, we all took a trip to the nurses office to watch another video that was very confusing to watch.  I remember to this day how the girls went to watch this video separate from the boys.  All in all, nothing was really learned about sexuality.  I suppose we saw a little of the biological process of how a baby is formed in the womb.  It was very heterosexual, strategic, and boring.  I hope that those videos have long been done away with.

Nakkula writes, "traditional romantic tales of heterosexual love are as much gender scripting as they are sexuality myths.  Such tales provide the gender roles within which healthy sexual interactions are expected to develop.  These roles are designed to play out in happy ending of romantic bliss, marriage, and eventually children (pg. 183)."  I disagree with this statement for claiming it is a myth.  I believe that for some people this is what eventually occurs between two people.  Many things have to occur to an individual to get to this point as described in some of the case studies in the chapter.  The problem is the lense is very narrow and does not pertain to many people in society.  There are many heterosexual people that never have the expectation of having sex to have children and only do so for the physical or mental pleasure obtained.  With that being said, there are many gay, lesbian, and transgendered individuals that have romantic bliss and eventually marriage, but where are those roles examined? The problem is that these individuals are left out of the traditional discussions of sexuality.  The material being discussed does not align with our world. 

"Whatever approach is taken formally, there is a hidden curriculum to all of sexuality education, according to Sears, and its pedagogy can be as varied as its content.  In almost all cases, either spoken or unspoken values guide the hidden curriculum (pg. 190)." I agree with this statement because there are going to be other forces determining what is being taught about sexuality that will prevent a lot of "real" aspects of sexuality that should be taught.  If the person doing the teaching is religious, there could be a moral spin placed on sexuality.  If the person teaching has personal opinions on sexuality, they could teach in a biased way.  I believe it may be difficult to form a curriculum that would be meaningful for all students in different schools but the dialogue should be opened.  Perhaps the students can take ownership of the discussions and these school settings can be places where students are allowed to speak freely. 

Nakkula Chapter 8

Reading this chapter allowed me to think back to the first class in this cohort program.  It was so heavily focused on race and ethnicity and there were some interesting discussions that took place throughout each class.  It was interesting to see how we all understood these issues that happen not only in schools but in general society each day.  SED 551 was the first time that I had the ability to truly recognize how favored "Whites" are and how this may have impacted me as  young child all the way into adulthood.  I suppose when you have advantages of looking White it is harder to recognize what you have than when you do not have advantages.  I see that reading this chapter has allowed me to think about all these issues again on a person level and how I can use my understanding of race and ethnicity in the classroom.  My teaching experience varies from classrooms that were all "White" to classrooms with more than 50% non-White.  I never wanted to be that teacher that called my Korean and Chinese kids Asian because I remember going to school and telling my friends I was half Syrian and getting the reply of oh that is sort of like Iraq right?  I remember being disgusted that two very different cultures were put into the same category.  It was always interesting thinking about how I looked White, my brother looked White but my other family members had much darker skin than I did.  I considered what this made me.  Was I part White? Was Syrian considered White? It was a bit of an identity crisis at times. 

I went through most of the chapter before I came across a term that I do not like.  The term "melting pot" seems to be thrown around as a catch phrase all too often without the true meaning considered.  Melting pot, to me at least, insinuates that things are being blending together.  I believe this could not be any further from the truth.  When one drives through any city, either large or small, ethnic groups are often times seen living in close quarters of one another.  There are the neighborhoods labeled "Little Italy" and "Little China".  Often times these are regarded in a negative way, my issue is with this negativity.  It is difficult to understand that why in 2013 are we still in a place in U.S. society where race and ethnicity are automatically correlated with social class.  In a perfect world, there would be no melting pot but rather a place where there are distinct ethnicities living in society who all receive a fair shot at success and access to cultural capital that Whites are automatically given.  I wonder if a place like this will exist. 

It is possible for all students' to become successful in the system we have now with help from teachers and other school educators.  Clearly, some will have to work much, much harder and somehow gain access to things that are automatically provided for other students.  As an educator, I cannot be so naïve to think that my non-White students are at an equal advantage as my White students.  After reading Delpit last year, I told myself that I would be the teacher that informs my students of these disadvantages and inequalities so that they are prepared for an unfair world.  When the situation presents itself I hope to make a positive impact.  In Nakkula it is written, "creating school spaces where students do not have to abandon parts of their identity in order to belong..."(pg.175)  I do not believe students should have to lose who they are in order to gain access to knowledge and a means to the possibility of success.  When teachers provide a safe place where they can co-author with their students on these difficult situations they are bringing their students to place where knowledge can be accessed but the identity of each student will not be lost.  It becomes apparent to me more and more that some of the most important topics that I will discuss with my students are not found in any textbook. 

Nakkula Chapter 7

This chapter was a good read but was another example of how Nakkula puts things into single categories without really integrating other factors into the mix.  The topic at hand for this week was racial identity.  I was engaged from the first line which states, "despite our best efforts to the contrary, the ways in which others see us profoundly influence how we see ourselves"(pg. 119) I know from a personal perspective this is true and not just based on physical characteristics but also gender, the way people dress, and perhaps the overall behaviors in social situations. I do not believe this is the fault of any individual.  It is something that has been adopted through society through the means of stereotypes. I do believe that some people may not be as affected by others' opinions but many do especially adolescents that are forming their own ideas and perspectives of who they are.  Every student has a story and a background so how can we as teachers take this student for who they are and make the lessons relevant and meaningful for each one.  I like how Nakkula asks us as teachers to take our identities into account and not just the students.  Our own identities are going to be a factor in our classrooms and we must give thought to how and why. Every situation in school warrants a certain kind of behavior.  With that being said, are we as teachers being genuine with our students?

As I read this chapter I wondered how I would open the dialogue with students about racial identity.  It was established that race does not truly exist in nature but is everywhere in our social realm. It is clearly something, in my opinion, that should be addressed in schools which for some kids is the only social situation they are in on a day to day basis.  These students understanding of their own identities and how they see others would be formed solely in schools.  I believe that naming it and talking about it is important but how? I would want my students to "keep it real" but how can we open the dialogue in a way students will respond to.  I feel like once again I have more questions than answers. 

I was in disbelief as I watched this video.  What are your thoughts?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIM7VSf5rgk

 

Nakkula Chapter 6

This chapter while realistic and spot on, was very frustrating for me.  Gender roles are everywhere in society, including schools and it has always driven me crazy.  Why do things have to be so predetermined for people?  I remember sitting in high school and watching the way my friends would perk up and act differently as soon as "the cute jocks" would come into the room.  I remember sitting there confused and dumbfounded, I suppose I never got the fascination with these types.  They would act like other people other than themselves. I would wonder where my smart and articulate friends disappeared to.  I was very shocked when my best friend (she is still my best friend) joined the cheerleading squad.  The year prior to this she would say how the cheerleaders were the "snobs" of the school.  She became one of those girls and to this day regrets the way she acted towards others.  It got her the attention of one of the popular boys whom she dated for two years in high school.  While I didn't agree with what she did, I still understood it.  I believe society, media, and other sources tell us that these are the kinds of people we should strive to become and perhaps even date.  I realize now that a part of her went "underground" in order to maintain the new persona she created for herself.

Later in the chapter alternative moratorium is described, it claims, "According to this model, the young women who emerges from adolescence has not experienced a moratorium of the type Erikson describes.  Rather, she has experienced a process of refinement- refinement of a socially acceptable way of being.  She has learned to become what others want her to be, and in that sense has lost an opportunity to become the person she herself might have imagined"(pg. 107).  This kind of moratorium is something that would happen to either gender.  There is the young man who becomes a football player because some outside factor in his life tells him that is what he should do.  There is the young woman that goes on to an ivy league school because that is what her parents or grandparents did.  There are always going to be these stories but I disagree with the last statement about how she lost an opportunity.  I think this statement is too much of a generalization.  Many youngsters in these situations go on to find themselves or perhaps even change the course of life and go on to pursue their own passions.  It doesn't have to be so final. 


Just because I love South Park...

 

 

This one intrigues yet disturbs me.....

 

 

 

 

Nakkula Chapters 4 and 5

There were points in Chapter 4 where I wondered if these stories were really happening.  For example it is written on pgs. 62 and 63, " Lorena was passed on from grade to grade because of her leadership strengths and speaking skills; she didn't realize she was in trouble academically until reaching high school." How is it possible that teachers didn't catch on to the fact that she is struggling academically until the tenth grade? I just can't see this happening and can't relate at all to its' legitimacy.  It goes on to say, " She was given passing grades in those years more because she showed promise than because she demonstrated proficiency."  Again my question is how did this happen? I have never heard of a student being promoted to a grade for showing promise.  It all seems very strange to me.  One other point is why the school deemed her ineligible for the team she was already established on and thought she would be better off in a rowing team to which she knew nothing about.  Isn't this taking away from academics too?  I get the whole flow theory but isn't it up to the student to decide what team is best for her.

 I was glad to see the section on athletics in school and when they are overemphasized, there may be little time for students to focus on other parts of their school lives such as academics.  I have heard so many middle school aged students tell me they didn't complete their assignments because they had a late practice and their parents said it was okay to skip them.  I have told them to try and balance it all, but their responses are often along the lines that they will be in professional sports one day and it isn't necessary to do school work.  After I picked my jaw up off the floor from these responses it occurred to me just how unrealistic they sounded and all they are missing out on. 

I am glad Nakkula asked questions about how we are preparing our students for the workplace and to be members of a global world.  I do not believe enough emphasis is placed on these notions and wish they were early on.  As technology becomes more and more visible in our schools, are we using it to reach a higher, global place in learning? I see technology being used to assess students during standardized testing and other individual lessons during the day but how are we connecting this to a world the learners will be spending the majority of their lives in.  I think we as educators can do a lot better than this. 

I appreciated the Lorena and Steve story because there were times that I had students that I believed would work well together but they had different ideas.  Mr. Harrison was able to turn it around in a sense and make it successful for both students through different assignments leading up to the actual project. Admittedly, during my first couple of years teaching I just switched partners but this story has given me a couple tools that would allow me to see what may come if the students stick it out with one another. 

Nakkula Chapters 2 & 3

I found this reading to be so far, the most dense.  There were many times that I had to go back into the text and re-read because I was simply getting lost, confused, or the words being used were not in my vocabulary.  It felt silly having to look up various words in the text because I could not gain meaning from context clues.  I now have an understanding of how my students must feel when they are reading something and all these strange words keep appearing.  With that being said, I did get a lot out of it whether it was me agreeing or questioning Nakkula and myself.

I found the Antwon/ Julian story very interesting because it seemed so real to me.  As I read I could see the story being played out in my mind.  I cringed when they boys got caught and really hoped that neither would suffer severe consequences.  It is strange because I know that they did something wrong, but I was still concerned for them.  I feel Mitch handled Julian very well and the consequences of his actions brought him to a meaningful place, not harsh punishment.  It made me think about how I handle discipline and if my actions will bring a student to a place where they can reflect on their actions and determine what they would do if they were asked to participate in something like this again. 

The Identity section was the one that I had to re-read quite a few times.  I think for both the context and some of the vocabulary being used.  Once I got past this, I tried to look for myself in the descriptions.  I determined that I may have been more than one at some point in my life.  There were times that I went along with what was the norm in my family and social groups while there were other times that I felt a need to make my own decisions about what I liked or wanted to do.  There were times growing up when I didn't have a clue as to what I liked or wanted.  It could be for many people that we go through these different identity paths depending on the outside influences that are happening in our lives.  It became obvious to me that I believe outside influences can positively and negatively affect an adolescent.  This puts a very large responsibility on the teacher, but I didn't see this large responsibility being put on the parents in the reading. 

Chapter three had some interesting points but also some things that are not new.  Youngsters take risks and some are good and others are bad and I believe all teachers know this.  What was new for me was how as an educator I can also take risks in hopes that my students will model this kind of behavior too.  Taking risks is not an easy task.  You put yourself out there in a very vulnerable state where it could go one of two ways.  It made me think about how I can take risks as an educator and if I have truly been doing this in the past without even realizing it.  I would like to be more spontaneous in the classroom in order to make it interesting and exciting for my students.  It would be done in a way to show them that you can be spontaneous but not put yourself in a harmful situation.  Perhaps some of this will rub off on my students. 

Campoy Chapter 1

I enjoyed reading Campoy because there were many times that I could relate to the article.  For example, it was written that " Teachers make dozens of daily classroom decisions.  How does a teacher learn to make these decisions? What can a teacher do to ensure that he or she is making decisions that will benefit students".  I feel as if I am constantly asking myself, is this the right choice? Should I teach it this way? Well I know certain students will benefit one way, others another way, so how can I make this lesson beneficial and well-rounded for all students? I find myself asking more questions lately than I have answers, but I feel confident that the answers will be found eventually. 

The section on case studies was also beneficial because although I have been teaching for a few years now, I do not have a lot of experience with formal case studies and I know it is a requirement of this class and a practice that could be implemented in the future to help my students.  It made the whole idea of case studies more approachable.  I need to look at case studies as a way to help my students and not some hard assignment.  There will be a positive end to the case study if I can use them to better teach my learners. 

A Couple Thoughts on Kolb Learning Style Inventory

The first thing that I thought about just happened to be the first section in the booklet.  I suppose the environment, actions to learning, and whether or not I was independent or in a group would all be factors to what kind of learning took place.  I have always learned better in small groups.  There is something about interacting with people that helps me.  This was reflected in my results that I obtained from my individual learning style inventory.  I placed in the concrete experience above and beyond all others.  After reading the criteria for this category, I agreed with my results.  I often learn by experiencing something.  I do not remember a time in my history of learning when this was not true.  I like to listen to what others say and pick up on what they may feel and relate it to myself.  I have always found a great deal of self awareness from this practice.  I was a bit confused that I scored second highest with abstract conceptualization but there is no cookie cutter approach to this.  I could have abstract ways of thinking as well as the concrete ways of thinking.  I often learn from experience and then act afterwards on what I have realized about myself.  I am certainly a logical thinker and like to plan.  It was a cool experience to be able to do this because for the last 12 years of my life I have been so focused on becoming a good teacher without allowing myself to sit down and consider what kind of learner I am.  If I am to be "a student of my own students", then it is vital I know what kind of learner I am myself. 

Second Half of Ayers

 

 

 

The above picture summarizes for me a few of the different stereotypes out there about teachers.  I believe what Ayers is trying to say is to be yourself above anything in the classroom and build an environment with the students, not just for the students, where learning can happen in a meaningful way.  I feel as if I am starting to form a definition of what learning is and I know first and foremost that there cannot be an us and them in my idea of learning.  There is the whole "we are in this together" mentality for me but I have never put that into words until now.  I was nervous the first day of class because I knew the task of finding a definition for my own idea of learning would not be an easy one.  There is definitely more of a confidence now with the help of this book to put thoughts and ideas into concrete written words.  While I do not agree with everything Ayers says and he certainly isn't saying anything new, it has helped me along the way with putting my own beliefs in a place where I can work with them.  I would like to read other books by Ayers in the coming months .

 

 Chapter 5 was meaningful for me because I always felt like curriculum was one of those words in teaching that is thrown around all the time but never fully explained.  If Ayers was sitting in front of me I would tip my imaginary hat to him for including a portion on this.  Ayers, for the first time in my professional experience has written a definition of curriculum that I can understand.  It is not all the chapters to be covered in text books, teacher supplementary material from publishers, and it isn't  all the stuff I bought at teacher stores that I thought was brilliant at the time.  The word curriculum use to in general annoy me, but now it has meaning.  Curriculum must provide something to each student, and the environment where it is implemented must be a place where the teacher provides experiences to each student where the students can take their own meaning from it.  I think that is where the learning is going to start. 

 

The section of standardized testing was very interesting to me.  I believe Ayers was trying to show commonalities between the tests students take and the ones that teachers must take and pass before receiving teacher certification.  I do believe that teachers must have certain content knowledge before they are able to teach.  I don't necessarily think he was arguing with that.  I think what was really bothersome to Ayers was the way certain things were being asked and phrased throughout the exam.  Somebody that has never been on a porch would have a difficult time choosing that as an answer when they do not know what a porch is.  These tests should be written in a way where people from all walks of life can read them, understand them, and be able to respond to them.  I realize this is a difficult task but also one that could be done.  I do not believe being able to indicate what phrase is grammatically correct should be used as insight as to who will be a good teacher or not.  That is a huge disservice to potential teachers and the students that would benefit from wonderful teachers. 

 

Ayers writes, "The intellectual challenge of teaching involves becoming a student of your students, unlocking the wisdom in the room, and joining together on a journey of discovery and surprise.  The ethical demand is to see each student as a 3-dimensional creature, much like yourself, and an unshakable faith in the irreducible and incalculable value of every human being". 

I read this quote and I knew that Ayers was talking to me and every other educator out there.  There is wisdom already within everyone, a great teacher will bring it out of his/her students.  I want to be this great teacher and I think that I have been a good teacher but I know now for a fact that I can be a better one.  I keep seeing the word together throughout this text and it is standing out to me, there is meaning in this word that I will investigate throughout this semester.  I know this word "together" is going to take me somewhere for my philosophy of learning.  I am now welcoming this new perspective instead of fighting against it.  It feels pretty good. 

 

 

 





 

First Half of Ayers

First, I have to say that I am really enjoying this book so far.  It makes us, as teachers, real people with passions, flaws, and a very distinct mission in life that is quite different from other professions.  Ayers does a magnificent job getting his points across with his direct dialogue and while basic, still meaningful and purposeful illustrations.  It was easy to read the first half of this book in one sitting, which is very unusual for me.  Most educational books in all honesty are quite dull to me.  This book was one that should be required of all undergraduate students that are teacher candidates.  Ayers provides stories of instances in the classroom that can really happen.  Although our experiences and day to day instances in the classroom are different, he has somehow provided stories that we can relate to as teachers. 

The first part of the book that really stuck out to me was the myths about teaching.  Ayers writes that teachers only know one story of what is going on in the classroom.  I realized this to be true
during my five years in the classroom teaching middle school.  It taught me not to assume anything.  I learned that a kid may not be focused in class because he/she is worried about a family, social, or other woe that can occur in an adolescent's life.  It really made me want to know my kids and their stories so that I could understand them better as students.  Teachers worry about things outside of the classroom on a day to day basis so it is only human nature that students will have worries as well. 
Students worries, while perhaps different, are still very real and can affect their performance in the classroom.  The other myth that I connected with was the idea that teachers always know the material.  I remember my first year of teaching math.  My kids would constantly ask questions that I didn't know the answer to.  At the time, I felt very insecure and perhaps even a little inadequate as a teacher.  I calmed down the following year and cut myself some slack.  I realized that I wasn't suppose to know all the answers and had no issue replying to my students with, "you  know I am not really sure the answer to that, but I will do my best to find the answer for you".  We as teachers are not expected to know everything and must continue on with our quest of life-long learning to truly understand what our students experience everyday. 

I loved the section about the educational "experts" that offer assistance and support in the classroom.  We did a lot of reading in SED 551 on these people and it was entertaining to see them in a different way.  Most of the readings we did on them was serious and very cut and dry.  Ayers made it funny and realistic.  It magnified how while they mean well, still may not understand what happens in a classroom.  There were so many labels being thrown around instead of just seeing a kid for what he was, an individual.  The teacher looked like the expert on kids not the so-called experts. 

I very much look forward to finishing this book and discussing it in class.  I am curious to know what parts others may have identified with.