Morning Pages: Innovative ways to teach literacy

I always enjoy incorporating cultural studies into the classroom and since language is all around us, within cultural studies, there is an easy subject matter for words and language. When teaching elementary Spanish, I would bring music, and we would listen to the song a few times, after I had introduced the singer/songwriter, and perhaps it correlated with some other theme in the class like a holiday, a Spanish-speaking country, or covering a topic like the seasons or nature. Then I would use a fill in the blank style class activity, and we would listen to the song multiple times to give students the opportunity to fill in the blanks. Depending on the age of the students and the vocabulary, the words can be given to them at the bottom of the sheet, or perhaps after one try, the list of words can be available. This was always a fun activity and incorporated the learning style of auditory learning.

Another cultural studies activity that I have used is bringing in a magazine or newspaper in Spanish. I then had the class take turns reading an article.

Morning Pages: Throwing Hands Up, Throwing in the Towel with Honesty

This morning's topic for our morning pages is Failure and how we as teachers can package failure in our classroom. I think a lot of what we deal with in our life is dependent upon the package or frame that we mentally put it in. Through this packaging, we choose how we want to deal with the issue, and more than anything it is a conversation with ourselves first and foremost. Following that packaging and conversation, we have the choice to share it with the world depending on how introverted or extroverted we are. A lot of people use social media for just this. But as a teacher, when failure happens in the classroom or in our life, we have the choice and what I believe the responsibility to be vulnerable and transparent with our students by sharing with them how we deal, package and frame the moment of failure so that we can give them and ourselves an opportunity to grow together. Being a mother, I have found this tool extremely humbling, attuning and eye-opening, as well as relieving and as a creative doorway to solutions and new turns.
So, you may be thinking, well, what does that packaging look like? I like to remember as Leonardo Da Vinci has said,
 I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death.

I believe "teacher as lead leaner" is totally valid. We don't want to be on a pedestal where we don't make mistakes, are the experts, and create a gap between our students are ourselves. 

Foster children need more stability in their education and ESSA can help

"Still, foster care children face too much educational instability." This quote is taken from the 2014 article in the Atlantic, 

Every Time Foster Kids Move, They Lose Months of Academic Progress.  

However, according to the recently signed bill ESSA, Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, there is language that includes intentions to aid in the stability of education for foster children as described in EWA's website article, Ensuring Educational Stability for Foster Kids.  ESSA intends to ensure that foster kids are able to enroll speedily when switching schools, which is on average happening once or twice a year for a foster kid. This instability leads to loss of advancing and progress in their school year. I can only imagine what moving to a new school, let alone a new family each year would feel like. It would put so much confusion and pressure that focusing on school would be difficult. ESSA includes provisions that will allow foster kids to remain in the same school even if their home is in a different district, as well as transportation, a designated counselor or "point person". It also calls for states to follow the academic progress of these groups of students to ensure their proper support. 

I feel like ESSA is a huge improvement from NCLB. It is going to take time and a whole lot of administration to implement, but I think it is definitely a huge step in the right direction. 
I feel that as a preservice teacher it will help teachers as myself better guide foster kids and other underprivileged populations in getting a more equitable education, and improving their chances of graduation and progress. 

Public Waldorf Education and Teach Unicef on educational reform strategies

"Our highest endeavor must be to develop free human beings who are able, of themselves, to impart purpose and direction to their lives."

Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) 

After reading about two websites with educational reform strategies, one being the Alliance for Public Waldorf Education and another being Teach Unicef.

The Alliance for Public Waldorf Education or APWE's main reform agenda includes reforming educational curriculum to focus on Rudolf Steiner's educational methodology. One of the beliefs is that students should not be taught technological literacy in schools until sixth grade because of the need for young kids' brains to gradually develop in cognitive and socio-emotional ways that face to face relationships provide. They believe in relationship building through hands-on learning, creative play, visual and dramatic arts, music, exploration in nature, and movement. It provides teachers with materials for whole child assessment. They also are working towards implementing Waldorf programs and opening public Waldorf schools.

The Teach Unicef program is an initiative to inform educators on global learning and citizenship. It offers in class student workshops to teach them of the need for humanitarian action in the world and issues of human and child rights, while teachers receive student magazines, lesson plans, and webinars.

I support the agendas of both of these organizations because I believe in the necessity for children to form positive personal relationships in schools and classrooms off the screen, and to spend substantial time in movement, physical activity, arts learning, and time in nature. I think that children will adapt to technology just as quickly at 11 years old, as they would at 5 years old. I think there is no reason to rush this immersion. I also believe that Waldorf education would widely benefit communities, and allow children access to more holistic learning that is not currently provided in most public curriculums, while at the same time meeting national and state standards.

I also support the UNICEF program because it is so important that we raise students to be conscious, compassionate, and mindful consumers and global citizens, and learning how many of our actions and purchases affect other children and people worldwide.

Leadership Compass Self Assessment

When I took the Leadership Compass Self Assessment, I found that I most aligned with the Vision style of leadership and skills.

Some of the strengths that were mentioned for the Vision style were the ability to see the bigger picture. I think I have this ability in my everyday life, and as I get older, I feel like this skill has grown in my way of working. I think it is important as an educator to see the bigger picture, while creating building blocks or stepping stones along the way for your student's to follow while you know what the bigger goal and purpose is for them, so that they be collecting skills along the way with diverse activities and projects.

Another skill that I could relate to was the ability to problem-solve and think outside the box. This is an important skill to avoid tedium, or doing small tasks and homework that can be boring and unrelateable, but rather to make learning relevant and meaningful. I think this has served in my education because so much of what we are given can be made more fun or creative, if we make it our own, whether it is a group project, a research paper, or a paper. I think I have the ability to have a task or assignment given to me as a student and educator and really shape it with my ability to imagine and create, and allow it take on a different form. It's something I really enjoy, and I think it will serve me well with students to make learning engaging and fun, while giving them ideas, but also guiding them to hone similar skills of thinking outside the box and making ones ideas come to shape and work for them.

I also tend to take on problems as a fun challenge. I am quite adaptable in this way, and it has served me well in my life, and will most definitely serve me well as an educator. I think this is great skill to have in the classroom because students and curriculum will not always line up and problems and challenges will arise. I think the ability to face challenges is a great strength to have and be able to bounce back when they arise, and to be able to role model that behavior will be helpful.
I think areas for growth will be carrying out visions that I have, and sticking to the mission defined. I tend to have many great ideas, but to be able to stick to it through finish is my something I need to pay attention to and work on.

Morning Pages: Privilege Walk

Would I use this exercise in my classroom or not?
I would use this exercise with a classroom of students in high school. Like the black male in the video admitted it reminded him of when he was in school learning about black slavery, and how it made him angry for a few days, and then he realized that this is just the way it is.  I think those feelings would be too intense for someone in middle school, when students are already grappling with many identity issues.  I think making glaringly obvious their place in the line up of privilege would cause humiliation, resentment, and maybe would not be very effective, because middle schoolers in a lot of ways are constantly wanting to fit in and be like their peers. However, I believe that high schoolers would be more apt to gain from a Privilege Walk experience. High schoolers are more mature, and yet are still grappling with identity issues as well, but may be able to reflect more on the activity and see how privilege plays such a huge part on an individual's chance at success in our society and greater world. I would hope that it would speak to those with privilege even more than those without, because I feel like that is where change, acknowledgement, understanding, and empathy needs to come from.

While watching this, I felt a flood of emotion, mostly grief and sadness that our world is so stratified, and that this stratification really harms people's sense of self worth, which is the driving factor in creating in our life. It also makes me sad to think that so much of the success and achievement that humankind has made in the past 200,000 years has very much been bred on the backs of others, and has been very much dependent on there being a poor, enslaved social class.

It is about time that we eradicate the notion of social stratification and through this kind of awareness building so that each new generation has newer, fresher, unbiased eyes towards their fellow peers and citizens, and so that gifted people from marginalized classes can contribute to the growth of our society's development, and their voices will not slip through the cracks of discrimination and bigotry.

It is hard to imagine a world without this kind of stratification, because it is incumbent in every aspect of our society, from the play school yard, to the workplace, to the residential neighborhood to the line in customs.  Yet it is our job as global citizens to continue to peel back the layers of delusion that has allowed this kind of privilege/non-priveilege mindset to prevail.

As hard as these kind of activities can be, emotionally and socially challenging, they are a necessary discomfort we all must push through.

Morning Pages: Teacher as Reader

So thinking about what reading means to me...
It is such an important activity to me, but one admittedly, that I don't get to do enough outside of class readings for school.
It is a hobby that I reflect on with nostalgia, as well as love and comfort.
I believe reading is so important as a teacher and a learner because it allows us to reflect on other author's perspectives, hear different styles of writing and voices, and get new ideas.
I think the older we get, the more prone we are to stick to what we know, and reading outside of that arena is so very important in my opinion. Because we tend to like what is familiar to us, and with voices that we agree with, it can make us predictable and comfortable. It can sometimes be difficult to find a topic or author that is new and different. I think this is probably the issue for most people that don't stray from the norm. Yet there is so much writing out there!  The internet is so great for finding new material and voices to read because of hyperlinks on blogs and social media. If I had more time in my day and life, I would be doing a lot more leisure reading.
I recently went on a short vacation to Sanibel Island. It is literally an island in Paradise! No chain stores whatsoever, and strict zoning keep it pristine and preserved. It really made me want to read. Of course, the only books I brought were Nineteen Minutes, by Jodi Picoult, and Teacher Wars, which I'm reading for this class. But, if and when I get more space and time to read and be in paradise, it feels like the perfect place, with the sounds of waves and birds as a backdrop to a good novel or non-fiction, or poetry. But in the mean time, I will enjoy the reading I am given, and take the most out of it, and make these dollars of tuition count. Gratefully, I have been given some really great reads this semester in my classes, namely Civility by Stephen Carter; Why School? by Mike Rose, and the above reads that I've mentioned bringing to Sanibel with me.
So to me more than anything let's read because it keeps flexing our mental muscles, keeps tuning our writing ear. 

Morning Pages: Remember When

remember when

Write about your favorite experience/memory in the classroom so far (if you haven’t been in the classroom yet, write about something you hope to experience). Why does this memory stand out to you? What did you learn from it? What does this experience and how you feel about it say about your beliefs on education in general? How did this moment make you a better student? How will you use this moment to be a better teacher?

My "remember when" moment would be when I was teaching elementary Spanish to a classroom in Boulder, of kindergarteners. I don't remember what we were working on, or what the activity was, but I remember being in a circle with about 10 students. One student, Eva(not her real name), began to cry. Normally, Eva was my star student, and she loved learning Spanish, speaking it, helping other students, being involved, volunteering, you get the idea. But, for this activity, she was not herself, she was not remembering the material and she felt really bad about it. At one point, she began to cry. I asked her what was wrong, and if she was okay. She said, "I miss my mom!" and so I said, "Okay, let's go ahead and sit down and have a chat as a group." We all sat in a circle and Eva told us how her mom was on a business trip in Denmark, for one month, and she really missed her. I could tell this was really affecting her, and it was so comforting to know that she felt comfortable sharing it with me and the group. The other students began to share similar stories of their parents having to travel for business and how they missed them too. Although Eva's eyes were blotchy and red, I could tell she felt relieved, and she was listening intently to her classmates, whom also had felt hurt about similar issues.It was so incredible to me to see them supporting each other, relating with each other, and feeling better through the process. I was so happy that they had all had a chance to know more about each other, about a subject matter that usually isn't highlighted in class, missing parents, sadness and heartache. I feel like it brought us all closer as a group, building trust and compassion. 

Morning Pages: Cyber Bullying and a Compassionate Classroom

How do we create compassion in our classroom?
How do we help students feel comfortable to be themselves. Easier said than done. Perhaps by giving them time to work together, depend on each other, help each other.  It's hard to imagine teaching content as well as socio-emotional skills in the process.
If every lesson we give involves some kind of small group work, students can begin to feel more connected to each other.
It takes a lot of responsibility on the teacher to be aware of the needs of the students, like which ones are more meek and timid, and which ones are helpful and outgoing. Matching up students in group work time to help balance out the class while engaging them to get to know each other is definitely not an easy task, but very necessary.
I think to combat cyber bullying, having a unit on bullying and showing a movie or media clips on the subject would help spark thoughts, ideas, and conversation, as well as raising awareness.  I think a good place to follow would be to ask students what they can do about cyber bullying, make a paster or a video broadcasting their ideas and solutions.
We all know that bullying isn't eradicated by having an authoritative figure punishing a bully, but rather it needs to be attacked from all angles, especially in peer circles, and from the ground up.
It is so necessary to have time to talk about the impact, dangers, and how students can play a huge part to end cyber bullying in each class in each grade.  The problem is such a huge one in our nation, and it needs a lot of attention.

Meeting the Expert and touchibrain ng on Testing and Bullying

During my CO301D class today, I had the pleasure of meeting with a CSU professor, and expert in the field of education, Dr. Antero Garcia. He spoke to us on the impact that NCLB has had on education, as well as the more recent legislation. He spoke how standards and the CORE requirements dates back all the way to the 80's when the idea of testing and standards first was birthed. He spoke of how the recent generation, or anyone who in school since 2000 is basically a product of this standardized testing era. Obviously, some good has come out of it, or better said, some have survived and at least gotten a good education, and not been swallowed up by the intensity and dominance of testing in schools. But, have these students gotten as good of an education compared to prior generations? How has their education differed.  So much time is spent on preparing for tests, pre-tests, and the actually time it takes to test. Sometimes this can exceed a month of precious school time. I did a debate in my Public Argumentation communications class last semester on whether standardized testing or portfolio assessments would be better for k-12 students. I also did a research paper in my English class last summer on a similar subject, why standardized testing is ineffective. This class has given me a great opportunity to actually "test" out, pun intended, lol, the efficiency of different assessment methods, such as creating a portfolio to fulfill our badge requirements in this English Composition class.  I have noticed that my brain automatically is used to striving to achieve a grade, to look for due dates, and to be ready to cram. But, this badge system has no exams, no grades, only levels and markers to achieve in order to progress to the next level. It has allowed me a lot more autonomy in my learning and self-directed process.

On another note, I asked Dr. Garcia if he could speak on what we can do as future teachers and parents to advocate against the serious problem of bullying including cyber bullying. He said it is not an easy problem, and that a lot of schools have a "Zero Tolerance" policy. Unfortunately, as one fellow student pointed out, this doesn't really do anything to resolve the issue. It states a claim but doesn't do anything to back it up. He said what is important is creating a classroom in which students feel they can be themselves. They are not afraid to speak up and speak out and show who they are. How do we create such a safe and comfortable space for our students? It is definitely a tough topic to tackle. He said there will always be the more introverted types, but that it is important for them to feel like it's okay to be who they are. What I've learned is that bullying isn't solved top down, but rather by and through peer intervention. It takes social engagement from those witnessing the bullying to stand up and say something to stop it, to note how uncool and unacceptable it is.

He left us on the note that we have to teach socio-cultural and socio-emotional skills. Hmmm, it has definitely gotten me to thinking. What are socio-cultural skills? What comes to mind for me is being inclusive to all cultures, to all types of people, and then giving students the opportunity to engage with each other, learn from each other, trust and grow with each other. Easier said than done. But this topic of socio-cultural skills has always been important to me. Every since I started studying a second language when I was eleven, I've wanted to get to know different cultures, to travel the world, be an explorer and discoverer.  When I was teaching Spanish to English speakers in the Boulder valley school district as an extracurricular activity, I always included culture in the lessons, the lessons of language actually stemmed from the cultural explorations, whether it was food, music, art, craft, or literature, folklore, and the students ate it up, sometimes literally!

I think this kind of teaching can help make students feel comfortable with the idea of "other" to the point that "other" begins to dissolve, and "we all" emerges stronger and sturdier.

I look forward to delving more into advocacy against bullying and also for  building socio-cultural and socio-emoitional "culture" in schools.