Rodriguez

Aria

Rodriguez

Hyperlinks: 

    Mr. Rodriguez is speaking the thoughts of many people in the schooling system today. There aren't many bilingual teachers in today's society. In my own experience from performing school observations, I have noticed how difficult it can be sometimes for Spanish speaking students to learn from a teacher who cannot speak, or poorly speaks the language. I have seen firsthand how this can create problems both socially, as well as intellectually. I can agree, from personal experience, that attempting to teach/assist students with a language barrier is trivial. Recent studies have shown that demand is increasing for multilingual teachers. A point that Rodriguez, in regard to children talking less with their parents as they learn more English, is really important. If the student's parents barely speak any English, this makes learning a new language even more difficult. Similar to how if a student does not do their homework, they will learn the information at a slower rate since they are no longer confronted with the material. Although demand for bilingual teachers has increased, this increase is not dispersed about the country evenly. Certain states need bilingual teachers more than others. Using data to justify this statement, it is apparent that the population of Spanish speaking students in schools has multiplied over the years. The reasons listed above portray why teachers with a "Seal of Bi-Literacy" should get be given a higher initial salary. There are many beneficial things about being bilingual, and I think it should across everyone's minds as something to consider.

Finn

Literacy with an Attitude

Finn

Reflection: 

    I found the story given in Chapter 1 to be really interesting. Specifically the part about how working-class and poor kids relate to authority. Authority is so important in the classroom because it is a crucial part of maintaining discipline. Seeing the way that he taught left me with some takeaways that I could incorporate into my own teachings. The fact that he can get assignments graded within the next class is great. This quick feedback helps students understand where they are and what they might need to improve on. 

    In Chapter 2, as expected, the schools that have the top earning families are predominately all white schools. Hearing what some of the teachers had to say about students was terrible. I have been around teachers who have talked negatively about their students. I don't understand why teachers feel the need to bash students behind their back, or in some cases, to their face. As a teacher you should be eager to help the students reach their goals. The mentioning of personal development and creativity are crucial to understand. As a developing teacher, I find that creativity is something that is lacking in the developing youth. Creativity and outside-the-box thinking are not something  one might take into consideration when teaching, it is always important to include them. Something I wish I took more notice of throughout my own schooling was my personal growth. Personal growth aids students in gaining self-awareness, developing traits, and improving potential. 

Here is a link to an article further explaining why personal growth in schooling is important. 

https://exceptionalchildren.org/blog/personal-growth-necessary-educators-implement-trauma-sensitive-practices

Blog Post #6

Blog Post #6

Video/How Structural Racism Works

Professor Rose

Reflection: 

     Something in the Structural Racism works video was very interesting to me and I have decided to write about my thoughts on it. In the video there are 5 key areas of society where racism is highly consequential. The areas listed are, housing, education, mass media, wealth/jobs, and criminal justice. I have seen countless examples of racism throughout all of these areas. In the area of housing I have seen people act and say racist things in their household. This is a really important thing to combat because the children of tomorrow shouldn't grow up with racism in their household, it then becomes a "normal" thing to them. Racism still plagues the education system. While attending school in previous years I have heard kids bully others because of skin color, and I have heard things people have said, that shouldn't be said. Kids of color need a better education, inner city schools need to be fixed, especially the public schools. In mass media, racism is everywhere you look. I don't even need to use examples, you all have phones, you know what I'm talking about. Racism is present in the line of work as well, someone should never have to feel uncomfortable to go to work. Work is supposed to be a safe place for people to go to make money to live. Lastly, the criminal justice system is a joke. A lot of people that are locked up shouldn't be there, you have guys serving a longer sentance for marajuana possesion than guys who commit way worse crimes. The prisons themselves are unstable, dirty, and cruel. In every major aspect of life racism is right there, this Is a sad thing to realize. Change starts with us. 

Here is a link to a recent news video on the crumbling prison system.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8W0HbVpUJQ

Video Analysis

 Teach us all: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_xDxTLamOcZtaF0UCk9j2k4y-jjSspD8Qh4bgYB8zU8/edit

Classroom Tour:

Precious Knowledge:

Blog Post #5

 

Blog Post #5

Why Intersectionality cant wait

By Kimberlé Crenshaw

Quotes:

    While reading Why Intersectionality Cant Wait, I was able to pick out several quotes that I found to have important relevance to the text. The first quote comes right after Crenshaw mentions the concept of Intersectionality. "But if women and girls of color continue to be left  in the shadows, something vital to the understanding of intersectionality has been lost." said Crenshaw, this is her first main point in the text. She then follows this up with DeGraffenreid vs. General Motors as an example. The second quote that I found to have importance to this piece was, "People of color within LGBTQ movements; girls of color in the fight against the school-to-prison pipeline; women within immigration movements; trans women within feminist movements; and people with disabilities fighting police abuse — all face vulnerabilities that reflect the intersections of racism, sexism, class oppression, transphobia, able-ism and more. Intersectionality has given many advocates a way to frame their circumstances and to fight for their visibility and inclusion.". Crenshaw has now expanded into a broader example of Intersectionality by mentioning other groups of people being oppressed that deserve better. It only makes sense that we can apply the same idea of intersectionality for other groups to shed light. The final quote I have picked, "In the context of addressing the racial disparities that still plague our nation, activists and stakeholders must raise awareness about the intersectional dimensions of racial injustice that must be addressed to enhance the lives of all youths of color." gives a really solid ending for Crenshaws work. Now we have an idea on where this problem can begin to be solved. It starts with raising awareness of oppression and of the concept of Intersectionality. Solving the problem also requires us as students, and as future teachers to spread the concept of intersectionality.

If you are having trouble understanding Intersectionality or need a quick reminder, here is a short video of Crenshaw explaining Intersectionality !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViDtnfQ9FHc