What is Intelligence? & Ableism

Oh well, here we go again with socially constructed notions that make people feel bad about themselves.

Gardner's What is Intelligence? was a little tough for me to get through - I'm not very science-minded by I will admit that the idea of intelligences does pertain to our field so I stuck with it. The facts I walked away from it with are limited, but it was the conclusion that stuck with me - intelligence is a social construct (Gardner, 1985). Much like everything else we have read about, it's all in our minds!

That being said, Hehrir's Eliminating Ableism in Education article really struck a chord with me. I'm going to let you all in on a little secret here ... when my mother was pregnant with me she was told that I had tested positive for Down Syndrome. It ended up being a false positive, but the point is that she kept me anyway! Had I been born with Down Syndrome I would be struggle against ableism much like the children in Hehrir's article are. My mother would have had to fight for my right just like many parents of children with disabilities have to. And for what? All to fight against the socially constructed notion that if a person does not appear to be normal, does not act normal, or can not do things in a manner that most consider "normal" then they should be pitied. What got to me the most was how parents with disabled children are expected to hold lower expections for their children's future than other parents do (Hehrir, 2005). This has nothing to do with the disabled child themselves but everything to do with society's low opinion of them. Hehrir (2005) points out that children with disabilities often spend their lives focused on overcoming the disability, and by putting one's effort only to this end the child is missing out on the rest of their lives. I really hope that someday society is able to become more accepting of those who are different. Much like struggling students disabled individuals need to know that those around them care and are supporting them. This is done by holding them to high expectations and helping to build their confidence when they meet those expectations. Holding lower expectations for disabled children does nothing for them other then hindering them from progressing as individuals.

Reference

Hehrir, T. Eliminating Ableism in Education. in L.1. Katzman, A. G. Ghandi, W. S. Harbour, J.D. LaRock Special Education for a New Century. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Educational Review, 11 - 38.

"Hardcore"

I really enjoyed reading On being "hardcore" ..., especially because it gave me a new insight into a world that I frankly do not know much about. The idea of hardcore at a suburb school greatly differs from the inner-city world. The main difference in the suburbs is that students are not under the same amount of pressure to act tough in order to survive. Of course there are situations where students in the suburbs do have to put on a tough face, for example when they become a victim of bullying, but it is not generally the same as the real danger that students face in urban areas. That's why white flight to the suburbs happened, to get the younger generation off of the crowded and often dangerous streets of the city. Unfortunately, not every child can escape this reality. Children in the city not only need to figure out how to succeed in school, but those in tough neighborhoods also have to prove themselves to their peers (is if the pressures of school aren't enough!).

While reading this article I was struck by the "fictions" that Dance presented about urban teens. The way "hardcore" teens are presented in the media is as if they have no remorse for their actions. This simply is not the case at all. Dance (2002) makes it clear that real-life hardcore adolescents not only feel regret and guilt, but they're also scared. To be fair, they did not choose where they grew up and they cannot control what is going on around them. The violence shown by hardcore teens in the media appears to be commit by soulless monsters. It is true that the hardcore teens may participate in acts in violence, but there are reason for it. I'm not saying there are good reasons, and I'm not saying that anyone has an excuse for committing a crime, but it is important to look at the situation from every angle. A child who grows up around violence is more likely to be violent themselves. Also, it is really troubling and unfortunate when a teenager who is "hard-enough" commits acts of violence not because they want to, but because they have to. What these children need is a safe environment, role-models, and the opportunity to go about their day without having to worrying about if they're perceived as "hard" just to get by.

Reference

Dance, L.J. (2002). On being "hardcore," "a hardcore wannabe," or "hard enough." In Tough Fronts: The impact of street culture on schooling.  New York: RoutledgeFalmer, 51 - 70.

Masculinity as Homophobia

After going through such a plethora of readings about a variety of aspects about a person that makes them different from the norm, I am completely overwhelmed with the notion of each being a social construct. Truthfully, I feel pretty aggrivated by the fact that these notions people receive such grief over are all things we have made up to hold against one another. It all depends on what your background and perspective is, and it can be rather sad that people have such an aversion to things different from themselves and what they know. The entire idea of masculinity is one such idea that has be constructed by society and some suffer because of it (Kimmell, 1994).

One of the most interesting parts of Kimmell's writing was the image of the "marketplace man" and the concept of "marketplace masculinity". The main different between this idea of what makes a man a man is the seperation from family that previous male ideals lacked. The complete focus on competition on the marketplace makes this form of man rather aggressive and anxious (Kimmell, 1994). As Kimmell shows the ideal of man changing over time I can not help but feel like we might be moving in the wrong direction. However, the theories presented by Kimmell certainly are not the only ones present in our current day society. Sure, there are "marketplace men" out there right now, but there are also men who put their family first, or focus their lives around something completely different like the greater good and community.

When it comes to the children of this generation developing into the men of the future I do not believe it is as black and white as Kimmell puts it. He states that to be masculine is to be the opposite of feminine (1994), and although there are some people who feel that way today there are others who have begun to blur the line between masculinity and femininity (um, hello, metrosexuals?). This is becoming more and more socially acceptable which is why if I do have a son someday I am not going to fear that they would go through the inner turmoil that Kimmell presents.

Reference

Kimmell, M. S. (1994). Masculinity as homophobia: Fear, shame, and silence in the construction of gender identity. In H. Brod & M. Kaufman Theorizing Masculinities. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 119 - 141.

The Dreamkeepers

I really enjoyed reading Gloria Ladson-Billings's The Dreamkeepers. Mostly, I appreciate the explanations of real classroom experiences. These help me to visualize just what it means to be culturally relevant in a classroom. Although I have heard this term numerous times over the course of this semester, Billings's book put the concept into context for me. Her observations and recollections of her own experiences paint a far more realistic image for me than any textbook would be able to do.
Billings's text clarified the connection between cultural relevance and prior knowledge for me. Somewhere in the first chapter a lightbulb went off in my head - African American students culture is their prior knowledge, which is why it is important to lead culturally relevant classrooms because integration of this prior knowledge is the classroom is the best way for students to learn. I will admit that I have read statements like this previously in this semester, but it took until now to click in and make sense. Billings' s text (2009) emphasizes the need to respect the experiences of one's students, to learn from them, and to make them an integral part of the curriculum. This all draws back to the idea of making learning relevant by connecting it to the student's life. I remember sitting in an English classroom and not taking anything away from The Catcher in the Rye, even though we had just read it, done multiple worksheets for it, and taken an exam about it. Even to this day I do not remember what the story was about, and I believe that it was due to my lacking a connection to the story to do anything other than memorize it enough to do well on the exam. It is important for teachers to constantly be making these connections from a student's prior knowledge, their lives, and the material at hand in order for the student to understand the lesson beyond just memorization.
I also learned from the text just how important it is to make sure students feel they are an integral part of the learning/school community . This involves a great deal of awareness of those actions that may make them feel like outsiders (Billings 2009). Billings helpfully laid out multiple examples of just how to create this sense of community through her observations. It begins by holding every student to the same high expectations (Billings 2009). Then, it is important to encourage students to work together to ensure that everyone is able to reach these expectations. When a student is struggling, instead of singling them out and making them feel seperated from the class, have the class rally to help their peers (Billings 2009). This sense of community should also extend beyond the classroom. I appreciate that Billings gives example of ways to do this without living in the community that you work in, because although this is certainly my dream it does not always pan out that way. One way in connect with students outside of the classroom is to make it a point to be present at and work with students at the town's youth center, if their is one, or to take the opportunity to coach a sport's team. These extracurricular activities are important in students' overall development and the people who organize and oversee such activities are able to reach and influence the children at a deeper level. For me, the North Andover Youth Center was a place I spent almost every afternoon. One of the teachers from the N.A. High School also volunteered her time to run a "girls group" out of the Youth Center. This woman was a wonderful role model for me as a teen and she provided a great deal of support for a bunch of us girl who felt more comfortable talking to her about private issues that we may have been nervous to talk to our parents about. She greatly influenced me, and to be honest I have followed in her foot steps by becoming passionate about teaching - I'd love to volunteer at the Youth Center and support students in the same way she did.
To conclude, I walked away from The Dreamkeepers with a newfound wealth of information and inspiration that I hope I will remember to turn to once I am attempting to lead a culturally relevant classroom of my own. By reading about real-life observations, and being able to connect them to my own life, I have developed a fuller understanding of just what it means to be culturally relevant and this concept has become much more important to me now that I better understand it.

Children of Immigration connection to School Observation

I did my school observation with a sharp focus on the METCO program that the Bedford High School works with. This program brings students from the Boston area into the suburbs in order to give them greater educational opportunities. After writing my paper about METCO, and realizing that I had not written a blog about the Children of Immigration text we read in class, I decided to look back over my notes and found a great deal of connections. Now, not all of these METCO students are immigrants - and to be truthful, I do not have any information about how many of them are or are not - but a lot of what an immigrant child or children of immigration experiences coincides with the experiences of METCO students at the Bedford High School.
A connection I drew between this text and my research on METCO was the idea of "social mirroring" and how students struggle with the forming of their own identities due to their experiences. Adolescence is a time of great uncertainty and development for teenagers no matter where they come from. Some children of immigration may have their image of themselves skewed by the way their peers view them, as well as how the American society views immigrations as a whole (Suarez & Suarez 2001). This can have an extremely adverse affect on the child if they are overwhelmed with society's negative feelings about immigration. These children also have to reform their own view of themselves based on their association with their native culture and the sometimes stark contrast to the culture their attempting to assimilate with. Comparatively, METCO students have to attempt to form a sense of self that ties both their lives in Boston and their role as a student in a suburb school. If the METCO student is facing adverse treatment from their peers or teachers in Bedford then they may develop the belief of themselves as an outsider. For both children of immigration and METCO students there is a risk of feeling as though they belong to neither world. This sense of belonging and purpose is critical for adolescents to form a confident opinion of themselves and a strong sense of identity. The reality is that all of these children have the possibility of growing into more capable and diverse individuals if this self-identification process is nurture appropriately. Unfortunately, this is not always the case and they may feel this sense of alienation due to social-mirroring well into adulthood.
Along these lines, both groups of children are faced with the balance of their native culture and that of their new home or school. In the text, Suarez and Suarez (2001) assert that immigrants may feel pressure to leave their cultural and linguistic origins behind in order to completely assimilate with American society. This is a struggle that METCO students face as well. It would be a difficult balancing act to achieve for an established, self-assured adult, let alone an adolescent or child.

School observation

At 9 am, after a quick run to Starbucks (conveniently 2 blocks away from the school), I arrived at Bedford High School feeling a little nervous. I have not been back into a high school since I graduated from one 8 years ago. There was a good deal of excitement fueling my nervousness, too. This was my first time in a school at a teaching capacity, or at least on the way to one. The front hall of the school was crowded with students preparing for a field trip, and the secretary at the main office kindly guided me to a seat between complaints from students about being marked absent due to miscommunication about the field trip. It wasn't long until the assistant principal walked in and my observation day began.
I feel so lucky for the situation I have found myself in. Working at the local Starbucks years ago I was surprised to see my old volleyball coach/history teacher at the counter. Mr. Tracey explained that he had left North Andover High School and was now the assistant principal at Bedford High. I wasn't even close to finishing my undergraduate courses at that point, but he insisted that I stay in touch and contact him if I needed anything because I told him of my interest in teaching. It took a good 3 or 4 years, but I was finally able to take Mr. Tracey up on his offer and had schedule my school observation with him a few weeks ago.
At first we caught up and he updated me on where all my old high school teachers are now, and I updated him on a bunch of his old students. After this we set off to explore the school, which I was completely impressed by. The school has gone under a lot of renovations in the past few years, and apparently the process was tedious and Mr. Tracey played a large role in it so it was exciting to see the pride on his face while explaining the improvements made. What struck me the most was the abundance of resources these students had at there disposal. There's a business wing, a music/art wing, and a pre-school. Most impressive to me was that this school offers students the opportunity to work with pre-schoolers and get them started in early education at such a young age! It just seems to me like this high school is way more of a college prep than I experienced at North Andover High. I think it's absolutely wonderful that the students are exposed to so much - it gives them a great head start on their college careers by offering them the opportunity to follow different fields and see if they like it. This is a process I didn't go through until my 2nd year of college - and not having the ability to do so prior led me to the tedious process of having to transfer schools half way through my collegiate career.
Another thing that struck me about the school is the diversity of their students. This school has students from the town of Bedford, as well as those from Hanscom Air Force Base, and the METCO program through which students are shuttled in from Dorchester and Roxbury. Through the conversations I had while at the school I learned that these different groups may get along on the surface, but there is still a "cliquishness" and sort of segregation between them. This seems pretty natural to me, but it is also important for the school to encourage students to break through these boundaries - and I think they are putting a good amount of effort into doing so.
My focus while at the school was mainly on this METCO program. I met with two of the directors for the program who work at the school in their METCO office. Most interestingly, I met with a teacher's assistant who went through the METCO program as a high school student. We had a great conversation about what it is like to be a METCO student both at the suburban school and returning home. From this conversation I learned that it takes a truly dedicated and determined student to succeed through such a program - but the benefits of it make up for most of the challenges a student will face. Some of these students have to board buses as early as 5:30am, and if they are to participate in extracurricular activities they may not return home until after 10pm - and that's after navigating public transportation (taking a bus to Alewife, and the train to the Orange Line, and then another bus after that) - this is due to the fact that the last bus leaves at 6pm and if a student's activities go beyond this time it is up to them to find a way home. Even though participating in after-school activities may be taxing for these students they are at a disadvantage socially if they do not. It is through these programs that they are able to bond with their peers. Interestingly, Mr. Tracey unintentionally kept noting that the most successful of his METCO students have shined in althetics as well. There is definitely a connection between the two.
Sorry this was long-winded - I had a really good time! I didn't get to sit in on any classes but instead talked to a lot of great people with a lot of interesting information. Excitingly, I was encouraged by Mr. Tracey to get my application in for substitute teaching as soon as possible. :)
I can't wait to start that adventure!

Chapter 7: Understanding Student Learning and School Achievement

The first thing I learned from this lesson is exactly what it means to care for a student as an educator. It is important to have close relationships with students, hold them to high expectations and to respect their families (255). This reminds me of the assistant principal and his personal involvement with my a cousin of mine who was an at risk student. This man was a constant presence in my cousin's life, even to go so far as to attend the funeral of my aunt. I do not know exactly how he tried helping keep my cousin on course, I was younger than him and to be honest our assistant principal attending our family service was confusing to me at first. However, looking back, I'm sure that he had created this close relationship in order to get my cousin back on track. Unfortunately, there were a lot of other factors in my cousin's life that led to him not graduating and later being incarcerated, but it is comforting to know there was at least one adult in his life giving it their all, and it's inspiring to know that it was someone from the academic community.
As a teacher, it is important to scaffold instruction, be available to help students and provide them support. It is also essential to help the student feel a sense of belonging to the school community (256). So much goes into creating a safe, comfortable and supportive learning environment for students. Being a caring teacher is one thing any educator can do to help develop this environment. The definition of caring provided in this chapter reminds me more of "tough love". To be caring as a teacher one needs to set high expectations and hold students to them, provide great support and have rigorous demands that challenge the student (256). It is all about building the student's confidence. Help them believe in themselves and you are in turn helping them develop a sense of independency and competency.
There were many different theories presented in this chapter to tackle the question of what affects a students success rate, but a combination of them creates the best solution because this is quite a complex situation. Some think that genetic or cultural inferiorities exist (257). An important point made in this section is how if a school perceives a student as inadequate for whatever reason, they will only help that student to fail because their perceptions affect how they treat the student and determine to what standards that student is held. Others feel that schools are simply maintaining the status quo by creating future generation of working- and wealthy classes. To me, this sounded a lot like a conspiracy theory and I'm not sure I support it. It seems like to simple and extreme of an answer to the problem. One also needed to consider how the difference between school culture and home culture may affect the student. The school environment may be completely foreign to a student, and this culture shock may affect them, but I do not believe they would be the overall cause for a student's failure.
One thing I would like to research more is the idea that the zero tolerance policy in schools may be having an adverse effect. I would want to see a specific case of of how this policy created an unfair situation for a student and ultimately resulted in their incarceration.

In a Different Voice

Overall, I found Carol Gilligan's books In a Different Voice to be extremely long-winded! I am going to chalk this up to the fact that I have an English degree and not one in Psychology. It was the long, drawn out explanations of interviews that killed me. I did, however, appreciate the subject matter. The psychology of women in a patriachal society has always interested me, but in a classroom setting I would hope to teach it with more of an emphasis on literary texts. There are so many amazing stories out there with so much to say! My favorites are The Awakening and The Yellow Wallpaper. Both deal with the psychological stress women undergo because their gender is subordinated in their current society. The fact that a female perspective through developmental stages does not exist in quite a number of major psychological theories is absurd with what we know today.
The fact that this text was written in 1982, and republished in 1993 does not surprise me, because it sounds a little out of date and behind the times. Truthfully, our society still contains gender inequality, but in my opinion women are becoming more comfortable with the position of power that success can bring. This goes directly against Gilligan's observation that women fear success and connect it with social rejection and a loss of femininity (15). More and more women are presenting themselves as publicly proud of their success, Hilary Clinton is the most common of examples here. Of course, we have yet to have a female lead this country so we do still have some way to go, but I believe we are on the right course. I believe it to be beneficial to students to be aware of the current social standing of gender equality, and to have them evaluate it and create opinions about it for themselves.
In the classroom, I believe I could use some of the information the Gilligan provides when considering the differences between male and female students. By being aware that each gender generally develops in a different manner I will be able to better understand why, for example, boys excel with logic problems and girls view them more abstract manner. Of course, these are general statements and in the end everyone is different. This affirms the need for a variety of teaching strategies. Some students will enjoy group work, and maybe this will be the girls in the class who are more network/relationship based and therefore like to work together. Other students will do better at solo projects and papers, and this may be the male students because their psychological development has led them to value individual hard work and success. The fact of the matter is that boys and girls simply are not going to fit neatly into these categories, but the multiple teaching styles will help to ensure that all students, regardless of gender, are given to opportunity to succeed in whichever way works best for them. It really does not matter, as long as everyone is making progress.

Role Reversal

In honor of the holiday that just passed, and the gender-difference reading we're doing this week...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=W6xKhth3K8Q
The flip side to dating.

"Model Minority" reading

I found Stacey J. Lee's book really eye-opening. Truthfully, I did not pay all that much attention to the Asian American students at my high school. I was friends with some and the differences between their culture and mine went unspoken. Two of my good friends growing up with brothers, and Vietnamese. All I know is that their parents never talked to me, and they're mother made amazing eggrolls.
One lesson I learned from this reading was the unconscious nature of racism. Lee describes how teachers will compare students of one race to another, and how these same teachers will deny the existence of racism at Academic High. I appreciate that Lee brought this topic to the forefront.
We all want all students to be treated equally and get the same opportunities, but in such a competitive atmosphere they simply cannot. The very nature of competition creates the scenario for there to be academic winners and losers. There is something about this that I don't agree with. Mainly, if you have a student compete and the odds are against them and they continuously wind up the "loser" I fear for how this affects them in the long run. They might start believing they cannot succeed, and then they may stop trying. Lee showed examples of these students, specifically "New Wavers" (74). This same situation occurs on a larger scale with the immigrants of ethnicities that cannot economically or socially succeed. They stop believing there's any hope for social mobility (64). Some people will blame these groups for their lack of success and consider them lazy, unmotivated, etc. Truth is, there is a dominant culture in the U.S., and those who don't fit into it can be made to feel like outsiders. There's also an under-lying mentality of individualism - the individual can achieve whatever they set their mind to, look out for one's self and one's family, someone else's trouble aren't necessarily yours, etc. I understand that not everyone is like this, but it is out there, enough for their to be situations like those Lee wrote about.

Readings for February 1st

There was a moment while reading the first chapter of Affirming Diversity that confirmed why I have changed my career path: "public education remains the noble ideal because it is one of the few institutions that at least articulates the common good, even if it does not always deliver it. Public education remains the last and best hope for many young people for a better life" (7). It just made me think, "I want to be part of this!". Whenever I have told people that I am going to school to teach I get mixed reactions. Those who respond negatively towards it express just how difficult and frustrating it can be. I have yet to experience any of these frustrations, but I hope that years from now when I am finally teaching I do not lose sight of this idea -- this can be a child's only chance.
Another thing that caught my attention in these readings is the idea of what the identity of an "American" is. In Affirming Diversity it is pointed out that the "American story" is not strictly the "European American" story (31) and in Racial Formation they state that the "American" identity is white (129). What was particularly interesting to me was the prediction in Affirming Diversity that "people of color ... are expected to become the majority [of the U.S. population] in 2042" (21). Sometimes I feel like society is readying itself for this, and sometimes I sense the intensity of our society's urge to fight it (or at best ignore and deny it). This means a lot for us who will be teaching the future generation. It sometimes seems to go against the grain of human nature to accept and be comfortable with differences. I hope as a teacher to be able to lead by example. I have never before put much thought into just what this will mean for my behavior when I step in front of a classroom, so I am glad to now be taking such a class to prepare me for it.
There was an episode of Oprah once where she went to Norway and (of maybe it was Finland?) and discussed the differences between our society/government and theirs. What got me most was that college was free. That of course is not the only difference, but what reminded me of it was the section of the Affirming Diversity chapter that spoke about other countries focus on a "wide range of subjects" (35) in comparison to the US's focus on "teaching to the test" and how this "has resulted in little support for the arts and even for subjects such as social studies and science, much less for innovation and creativity in curriculum and instruction" (33). It wasn't until this past week when I began my Graduate courses that I came to understand that it is recognized now how "teaching to the test" is not working. I'm only in two classes, but I am pretty sure it was mentioned in both. However, from what I've picked up on thus far it, moving away from this will be a slow and steady process.
Lastly, I found Peggy Mcintosh's article pretty interesting. The idea of white privilege isn't new to me, but the article definitely made me realize how much I simply take it for granted. In our state/federal policies, and in our daily lives the color of our skin affects us in so many ways. My opinion is that people will recognize that it is not right for one skintone to hold greater value in a society than another, but to change this will take away the security of those with privilege, and it is this discomfort that people will try to avoid. Mcintosh describes how white privilege will make a white person feel "confident, comfortable and oblivious", and I appreciate that she points out that this will make a person of a different skin color feel "inconfident, uncomfortable and alienated". This is what we need to keep in mind! What if the tables were turned? We certainly have no control over what skin-tone or ethnicity we are born into, so people of privilege need to consider that they could be the alienated ones. This reminds me of our assignment to put ourselves in the situation where we are the minority - if only everyone would take the time to do this and perhaps open their eyes/minds a bit more.