Melanie’s Blog

When asked what inspires me as a teacher, so much comes to mind.  The opportunity I’m given to help students achieve their aspirations, to expand on their knowledge, to encourage them to become lifelong learners and instill in them a love of learning inspires me.  Not many people are given opportunites such as these in their profession!  Knowing the impact I have on the future and realizing how important my job is inspires me.  Knowing I can make a difference in a child’s life inspires me.

When I’m tired or wondering why I’m a teacher, a moment always seems to arise in which I’m reminded why I’m there.  Whether it’s a child’s face lighting up because they just “got it”, appreciation from a parent of a struggling child, a smile from a student that I thought never showed emotions, or a hug, these moments get my through the day.  These moments, no matter how big or small, inspire me.

 Other co-workers or people like all of you inspire me.  Seeing others’ eagerness, hard work and perseverence such as yours inspires me.  New teachers coming into the building with excitement inspires me.  Old teachers that seem so alive and teaching as if it was their second year inspire me. 

I feel so lucky that I get to go to work and do something I love and hang around people I love.  I wish everyone could have a job in which they feel the same way!

After reading this chapter, I realized I had an area in which I need to improve upon in my own teaching.  I really liked the table on page 211 comparing traditional and alternative assessments.  That is an area that I need to improve upon.  I realize I need to do more authentic assessments with my students.  Lately, I have been so focused on the upcoming CRCT that every test I have made is in the same type of format.  It’s such an “important” test that I feel the students need to practice taking tests in the same type of format.  I liked Judy Smith’s idea of having her students write her a letter reflecting on things they’ve learned throughout the unit.  She places the letter in the students’ portfolios.  We also have portfolios for each student that we fill at the end of the school year, but it’s very limited as to what goes in it…running record, math paper, writing sample, etc.  I need to try some of the assessments mentioned in the chapter, such as role play, more science experiments, and more real-life activities.  I feel as if I have not done those lately and my kids learn so much from them and love them, as well!

This chapter was such a good summary to our semester.  There were many things in this chapter that made me reflect and/or connect to things we’ve learned through GSU or things in my own life.  I loved the quote mentioned at that beginning of the chaper by Alice Walker to “keep in mind always the present you are constructing.  It should be the future you want.”  A first year teacher mentioned that quote when talking about making a difference in her students’ lives.  It’s neat to read the excitement in the first year teachers’ quotes throughout this book, as well as the motivation they all seem to have.  I remember having that eagerness, excitedness, and motivation. I remember during my first few years of teaching, I was hoping I would get the kids that others thought of behavior problems.  I just knew that I would be able to pull them in under my wing and turn them into happy, well-behaved children.  I was so motivated and eager about things and feel that as my teaching career continued, my motivation and eagerness began to wane.  This chapter, as well as things we’ve talked about in class, have brought back some of that eagerness.  I feel less naive and more knowledgeable.  I feel as if I really can make a difference or a change. 

Throughout the chapter, many negatives of teaching were mentioned, such as lack of training, teacher attrition and shortages, pay, etc.  I felt so lucky after reading on page 476 that some teachers “point out that deteriorating facilities, overcrowding, inadequate materials, lack of time to meet and plan with colleagues, and the absence of professional autonomy and respect prevent them from doing the job they were prepared to do.”  I love my school and the teacher and administration that I work with.  I feel so sorry for teachers that have to teach in conditions such as those mentioned.  It’s something that is hard for me to even imagine.  It makes me sad that teachers just like me dread going to work when if something so simple as being in a different building would make them love their job.  I hate to think of all the wonderful teachers that quit because of reasons as those.  I guess the main thing that bothers me about my job is the lack of respect from parents.  I think a lot of the parents of my students think of me as a full-time babysitter instead of a teacher. 

I liked reading about the strategies to change the world.  I highlighted almost every word in the “Become a Social Justice Activist” paragraph.  How motivating!  Making social justices part of the curriculum was also interesting to read about.

I remember during my elementary Sunday School years, one of my Sunday School teachers said it wasn’t the building that made the church, it was the people.  This is also true of schools.  The people in them make all the difference.  At the beginning of the chapter, a beginning teacher was describing two high schools in which she had experience.  Both schools were very different.  The school I currently teach in has bits and pieces from both schools the first year teacher mentioned.  I have been in the same school ten of the past twelve years I have taught.  My teammates and I have discussed the fact that we would rather drive further to get to our school than to transfer to a closer school and end up with an administration  or team we didn’t like.  After continuing to read, I began to question, especially when reading page 345 that some teachers “assume and behave as if high achievement just wouldn’t be normal at their school.”  Although I do have high expectations for my students, I do sometimes feel it’s “normal” if my students aren’t as high as kids from other schools.  I need to, as mentioned on 357, “concentrate less on what students are lacking and more on what instruction can press all students to achieve.”  I need to “emphasize and model …the hard work and persistence it takes to succeed.”

I am so anxious to hear Paul Gorski!  After reading A Framework for Understanding Ruby Payne  and Savage Unrealities, I almost wish I could hear a debate between Payne and Gorski.  I want to hear Ruby Payne’s response to all of this.  I think I remember a few people mentioning the other night that they had never heard of Ruby Payne until now.  When reading A Framework for Understanding Ruby Payne, I kind of laughed out loud.  I have had to take the “Could you Survive Poverty” quiz at two different times during my teaching career as an introduction activity to a brief Ruby Payne inservice.  Many years ago (maybe over six?)  our school gave most teachers a copy of Ruby Payne’s Framework.  I can’t remember if we were to read it in our “leisure” time or if we did some sort of book study, but wonder if the principal at the time knows now what we know about Ruby Payne.  I think our current principal is sending several teachers to a Ruby Payne inservice.  I wonder what the higher-ups in my county know and think of Ruby Payne?  Perhaps this is one of those times I should speak up!   I think it was Katy who wondered if administrators see that a certain speaker is expensive and therefore assumes he/she is really good.  I’m sure she’s probably right.

 How sad it was to read that a teacher, after taking one of Ruby Payne’s workshops, stated she learned that “poor people can’t think abstractly.”  I wonder what other teachers have walked away from her workshops thinking.  When I began reading these articles, I wondered if it could really do any harm to read her books…surely you could learn something from her, but walking away with thoughts such as the one mentioned above is rather scary.  I really liked the last quote in Bohn’s article stating that “It takes schools where students are not just prepared to take and pass standardized tests, but where they are taught how to play a conscious, active role in society, how to recognize and combat racism and other institutionalized inequities, and how to work in pursuit of the dream of social and global justice.”

Since one of my Capstone projects is to write a grant with Jacqueline in hopes of buying more culturally diverse books for our school’s bookroom, I was anxious to read this article.  The article mentioned guidelines to look for that had not even crossed my mind when picking out an appropriate book.  One of the problems the author of this article considered to be the biggest was omission.  The author noted that many times an entire group may be excluded from a collection, which implies that the group is insignificant.  We read an article in class mentioning the number of Asian cultures.  One of the questions one should ask when looking at children’s books is whether or not the book portrays diversity among Asian Americans.  I thought that was good to point out.  The article also mentioned that Asian Americans should not be portrayed as model minorities, which made another connection to our past article.  I liked the statement that “every person from every culture should be portrayed as an individual with unique strengths, weaknesses, interests, lifestyles, and beliefs.”  When mentioning the language in an appropriate children’s book, the words papoose, squaw, and docile are examples that the author of this article listed as offensive terms.  There were many other terms listed that I understood to be offensive, but had no idea the three I listed were considered offensive.  I will definitely keep this article handy as Jacqueline and I prepare to write our grant!

Whole language versus phonics….it’s like a blast from the past!  Whole language was the big “thing” when I was in college and I have taught reading through both whole language and phonics.  In my opinion, I think it’s best to incorporate areas of both.  It may sound naive, but I was somewhat surprised when I read how political the “Reading War” became.  It appears that financial threats were a big part of this “war.”  It is sad that so often teachers’ and administrators’ voices are not heard.  When will others realize that we truly want what’s best for the children and we actually know what’s best for children?  I liked the last line of the article stating that “laws and intimidation can’t limit the advance of knowledge through sound research.”    

Mentioned in chapter 4 of “Teaching to Change the World” was the idea of “seeking balance.”  I am all for manipulatives and meaningful teaching, but I also believe sometimes worksheets and drills are necessary.  For example, I taught punctuation and capitalization through the daily morning message I do in my classroom.  Students would participate and go to the dry erase board to insert appropriate capital letters and punctuation in a letter (the morning message) that I had written to them.  However, when I gave my students the same type of assessment on paper in a multiple choice type format, they acted as if they had not seen it before. 

I was shocked when I read this article and couldn’t believe it was a true story.  It’s hard for me to even fathom that this was in fact a reality for Elizabeth Jaeger.  She was genuinely wanting the best for her children and she was punished for it.  I don’t understand how the administration and county could have pulled her from her job.  Why was she considered such a threat?  Did they not agree with what Ms. Jaeger thought was best for the students and if not, why not?  How could they not agree with differentiating instruction?

When I read the part in which the Open Court Reading had arrived, it made me think of the county in which I am employed.  It seems like we get on a different bandwagon every few years.  It doesn’t even seem as if we have time to implement anything before we’re changing it again.  Not much time is given to see if a program or philosophy works or not.  It seems as if these textbook people and/or publishing companies sell the county on their “cure all.”  Sometimes I wonder exactly who these people are…have they ever taught first grade?  Have they ever taught it in a school similar to mine? 

As I continued to read the article, I was proud of Ms. Jaeger for continuing to fight for what she believed in.  A lot of people would have given up at that point, or wouldn’t have ever started the “fight” in the first place. 

People like Ms. Jaegar are such an inspiration to me.  I would like to read about more people that fight for what they believe in!  At least she received the “In Defense of Good Teaching Award,” but I’m sure what she really wanted was what was best for her students.

“Don’t let the fear of what is difficult paralyze you” was written for me!  I have had a hard time reading almost every chapter and article in all of our classes.  I told my regional group last semester that I felt like I had some type of learning disability because I had such a difficult time reading the different texts!  I felt I was reading the best that I could and still not understanding the texts while my classmates were contributing extremely intelligent summaries and/or opinions. 

Freire mentions seeking help from forms of reference, other teachers, etc.  I was constantly thumbing through the dictionary, but I was not good about asking classmates to talk to me about the articles.  I almost felt that it was cheating or perhaps bothersome to my classmates.  I didn’t feel it was their job to teach the material to me, although I  learned a lot from my classmates by listening to them participate in discussions.  I am always amazed at what my classmates get out of the articles.

 I definitely related to Freire’s mention of abandoning the text.  I reread sentences over and over, realizing I have no idea as to what I’ve read.  I need to take Friere’s advice by “rewriting” the author’s text so more understanding will take place.  I underline and highlight, but once I put the book/article down, I have a hard time summarizing what I have read. 

I need to overcome my “fears” of not comprehending.  I need to continue to discipline myself and engage imaginatively in the meaning making!

Friere discusses in his fourth letter the “indespensable qualities” of progressive teachers.  The qualities he talks about are humility, lovingness, courage, tolerance, decisiveness, security, the tension between patience and impatience, and the joy of living.  He points out that these qualities are developed through practice.  I definitely believe I have the quality of humility.  I know I don’t know it all!   I also feel that I am good about listening and am willing to try other teacher’s ideas.  I do not feel I possess the courage that Freire is talking about.  He is referring to the process of controlling and educating one’s fear.  I have never been one to speak up or fight for what I believe in, as far as teaching is concerned.  I have always done what is asked of me in the classroom, although I do not always believe it is what I feel is the right thing to do.  I guess maybe I fear, as Friere mentions, what might happen if I spoke up and went against my principal’s wishes.  I feel that my principal is my boss, an authority figure, and I have also treated authority figures with respect.  Although I do feel I should respect my principal, I do want to be able to approach her with new ideas, even though she might not agree with them.