I hope you all had the kind of Spring Break you needed, whether that means good/restful/adventurous/
exciting/fun/rejuvenating or whatever other adjective fits best for you.
I've read over the feedback on the course you gave me two weeks ago (the Stop/Start/Continue activity), and we'll talk more about your suggestions and comments in class this Thursday. In the meantime, let's cut the Patricia Williams reading (CKCS Ch. 30) from this week, so you'll just be responsible for reading Sue Books (CKCS Ch. 20) and David Shipler (at the back of the course pack). Several people were frustrated that I've been assigning three readings per week but we only usually discuss one or two in class. While I can think of many reasons why it would be important to read them anyway, I do understand it's frustrating to be asked to read something and then to feel like it isn't being "covered" (at least in a direct or explicit way) in class. So I'm going to try to cut back a bit on the readings when I can.
Several people also seemed unhappy with the blog, and I guess that's something we'll have to talk about further this week as well. I still think it provides an alternative mode for people to join the conversation, so I'm not inclined to nix it altogether, but we can talk about ways to make it better.
One thing we didn't have time to talk about last class during our discussion of immigration and immigrant students were the stories of the various immigrant students you read -- Miguel from Pedro Noguera's piece, Juan and Lourdes from my book, Holler If You Hear Me, and Nelda from Angela Valenzuela's article. What did you learn from these students' stories? What can/should schools do in order to serve immigrant students better? How can urban teachers and schools move from a "subtractive" model of schooling to an "additive" one when it comes to teaching immigrant students? Or is Americanization (at the expense of losing parts of one's own culture) not such a bad thing after all?
Last but not least, if you don't understand the reference implied by the picture accompanying this post, it's only one more piece of evidence confirming what we've pretty much already established: I'm old.
5 comments:
I'll post a real comment later, but for now - I get the picture!
I was imagining what it would be like to leave a country like Mexico, or, say, a nation in Africa, en route to the United States. Often times, it is a hardship (like war, poverty, limited freedoms) which pushes people away from their countries of origin in search of a new life in a different place. But there also has to be that pull to another place. In the case of many immigrants, the United States has that pull factor. I would imagine fear and anxiety makes that trip a hard one, but hope coming from the idea of a better life for oneself and one’s family. I’ve guess I’ve never truly pondered (until recently) the courage, and even romanticism, it might entail to make such a move. I saw this romanticism in some of the accounts we read.
I feel that America should take pride in possessing that force which makes people want to come here, and be seeking ways to fulfill the dreams immigrants carry with them. As future educators, many of us will have the opportunity to work closely with someone who has recently arrived from the United States. I’m thinking about the 6 (or more) hours everyday that students spend around teachers. Thus, it would be hard to overstate the importance a teacher has in providing a positive representation of the United States to a newly arrived student (and their families).
I also feel that we cannot get too caught up in the perception of ourselves as the “teachers” and the “givers”, while the immigrants represent the “learners” and “receivers”. Each individual who comes to America has talents, ideas, and cultures, to bring. Thus, I feel a conscious effort should be made to be a learner, and a receiver, of these things, from our new students/neighbors. Losing one’s culture in the process of “Americanization” not only hurts the individual losing it, but the person not accepting it. I feel we, as a country, could be adding so much more to what we already have.
I completely agree with Scott that one of the main problems with how schools "deal with" immigrant students and families is the idea that teachers do all of the teaching. There is certainly a lot to learn from all students thanks to their unique circumstances. This is especially true for families that have immigrated to this country searching for economic or other success. By lessening their culture and traditions, schools are stripping these students of their identities and also missing an opportunity to let their students bring something new to the classroom.
By treating the language, clothes, or beliefs of another student as below those of the majority of a school, teachers and administrations are giving permission for those students to be treated differently by their peers. It would be much more productive to use a multicultural classroom to help foster a multicultural curriculum.
One problem that arises here, though, is that I would never want to feel as though I was taking advantage of students or using them as "the voice of" a particular culture. I think this came up in our class already once before when we talked about a teacher asking for "the African-American perspective" on a book the class was discussing. It's an appalling question, but I think that it's easier to make those generalizations than we realize. For example, (I'm probably throwing myself under the bus here) in my class at preschool there is a girl whose parents immigrated from China about five years ago, and when we were discussing Chinese New Year in our class in February, I used her as an example to the children, by telling them that Michelle's family had celebrated in China and making that connection for them. She taught her friends a few words in Chinese and we made lanterns and listened to traditional Chinese music. Thinking about it now, it seems like a gray area. Am I marginalizing my students by putting them in the spotlight in order to teach? Will older students in the future be comfortable sharing their culture with their peers?
This problem would never cause me to adopt a subtractive view of my students' heritage. It would definitely something to keep in mind in order to do the best I could for my students.
I am really glad that Greg decided to do a course review in the middle of the course. I am so tired of doing course reviews at the end of each semester. It makes you mad that nothing you say can help what you have already been through. I'm glad that Greg didn't have us put our names on it; however, I think it is important to get these problems out in the open.
I think this blog is a good aspect to the class. I am usually talkative in classes, but for some reason, I don't speak up that much in this class. I enjoy getting to voice my opinion every week. I don't think students should complain, because it sparks good conversations that aren't sparked in class. Also, it's free points!
When it comes to in-class discussions, I get tired of them. I feel that we talk forever sometimes. I have a ton of classes on Thursdays and I am exhausted by the start of this class. I think more videos and speakers should be brought in to this class. It would help for visual learners. My favorite class was the film festival by far. It even made me go out and rent Lean on Me because it looked so good.
The last thing I will complain about is taking charge. We do need to get out there, and do something. This class is a lot of build up, with no big punch. I want to get involved....let's figure something out!
I have no complaints about this class to be honest. I enjoy the readings, write about what I am interested in, and like to discuss problems we have today about education and other subjects. I believe this class is a big stress reliever and I look forward to it every week. I highly doubt that I am going to have another college course like this one, therefore I am going to enjoy it while I can.
In response to teaching and immigration is...
I believe that education majors who plan to teach at an innercity school should learn Spanish. I believe that bilingual teachers can carry out conversations with immigrant students and family, as well as eliminate confusion a student might have during a lecture or a homework assignment. I am not saying that immigrant students should not worry about learning english, but having bilingual teachers would confirm the student's understanding if they question or are not particularly strong in the English language. I also believe that immigrant students should learn how to speak English. It is vital for immigrant students to learn English so they can survive in the real world.
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