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.