Oppression in Education

The beginning of "Pedagogy of the Oppressed" really hit me like a brick wall. I have never thought of teaching as oppressing students, but as it states in this chapter when as teachers have a hard time deciphering between serving as teachers and actually being teachers. We have to individualize and stop compartmentalizing the curriculum for students because it is forcing them into a mold of society that most people never break out of. I strongly believe that being a good teacher does not entail knowing everything and being able to dictate exactly what your students need to/should be learning but being open to an idea that students can teach you more than you may already know. To stop treating them as empty vessels but people who have something to offer your education and their peers education everyday. To think of a student as only an object to think and regurgitate answers is not teaching. To expect nothing more out our your students then memorization is not teaching.  To expect more of your students than the right answers but to use their creative capabilities to enhance their learning outcomes is what teaching should be about. This banking approach to education to me seems so robotic. It has not depth to education just expectations from people (students) to deliver what the teacher seeks. This also refers to what we expect as norms in society when it comes to forming to educational values that we seem to hold high. I think the best way to stay away from oppressing the education of students is to not always feel that being the teacher is the only way to teach but moving toward letting the students teach and then they have a connection to their education and a responsibility that is never given to them until adulthood. This is valuable to them because they step outside the conventions and see their own growth because of the teacher and become of themselves.

Assessing Literature the "Write" Way

One thing that I really have connected with in this reading is that students should be writing for enjoyment not always having to write for a summative assessment. I feel this strategy is most productive especially with free writing. An idea from another class that I have taken is letting the students pick the free write prompt every day and so it is something that interests them that they can easily connect with. I strongly believe that students will hate writing if they don’t first learn to love it and connect to it on some level. With the way the world is working with technology, I believe it is one of your biggest resources in the classroom if you have a way of accessing it. I love the idea of blog posting/discussion boarding with students because it helps get their ideas and perspectives out about the literature without having to be nervous about what to say. They can fully develop their thoughts and collaborate with other students so that the depth of the literature doesn’t stay at service level but guides them to deeper meanings with the help of their peer’s perspectives as well. I also enjoyed the aspect of how to evaluate using interpretive strategies because this is something I struggle with coming up with in regards to a rubric or how to explain and guide the students to the material they need to know. My favorite if the perspective taking because I think this really helps students put their own personality and views into their writing. Perceptions when it comes to characters can also tell you a lot about them rather than just naming things about them but really looking at the book through each of the characters eyes to gain a deep analysis of the character construction of the literature.

California CCSS

I thought that the California format for reading understanding was simple but important for students to understand when trying to deeply understand the content they are reading. By asking questions throughout their reading, they can better comprehend throughout. I think that I identify with this because I have to read things multiple times before I can fully comprehend what I am reading and by asking questions throughout my readings I can dive deeper into the material. I think this aspect of reading should be taught in all classrooms and to all students from a young age. They should not settle to just read something once and accept not understanding, but to be an active reader by posing questions, circling words or phrases they are not familiar with or not sure of the context, it is used in. My placement classroom that I am currently in does a form of active reading called “BARFing” on the readings. Meaning underlining questions, circling questions, writing comments in the margins and anything else they wish to write all over the paper. If nothing is written on the printed reading then they will not receive points for the assignment. This forces students to closely read and sometimes we will have the students read the material first in class then take it home and “BARF” for their second reading. The aspect of ethos, logos and pathos are something that we have all experienced in school but it is a practical way to critically think (read). It helps break down all the components of the text by not just looking at the text itself but the background of the text, the time period, the author’s views, and who is the author trying to reach. The aspect of ethos is also to examine if there may be bias in the readings.

Team Teaching: What Methods I Would Use

After reading these two articles about team teaching, my perspective has changed on how I assumed team teaching works. I never knew there were so many methods to team teaching and hadn’t really experienced team teaching until I got to college. My only concern from a personal standpoint on team teaching is that it would be hard to find another teacher that aligns with me well enough to coincide in a team teaching environment. On the other hand, I think it would make me feel more comfortable trying new things in my classroom because I had someone by my side in support. I would not like this approach as a 1st-year teacher because I feel that is the time for you to learn to teach on your own, make your own mistakes and grow from them. As a more experienced teacher, I would be willing to take on this approach especially for the station teaching aspect because I feel this would enhance the classroom environment from the original lecture or discussion and help focus ideas to kids with fun, hands-on activities that really gets to dive deep into the material. I think it would be a great idea to team teach just in stations for before every end of unit assessment the station teaching is implemented so the students can have a recap of what they learned before they have to take a test. I feel that they would remember the material better because they are in a fun setting that is not a typical teaching setting. Wanting to potentially become a special education teacher I feel the alternative approach would be great for a special needs classroom because they need focused teaching and specific help on subjects. With this method, students wouldn’t have to be afraid of asking questions or struggling in front of the whole class and could ask questions in a small group setting so as a teacher you can better understand where the class lessons need to be focused.

Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts Teachers

This chapter was very eye opening and interesting to read because I am not very knowledgeable about how exactly the Common Core State Standards are supposed to be implemented in the classroom. I was aware that they needed to be in my lessons and that my students needed to be aware of what the standards were. I have heard a lot of controversy about CCSS but after reading this chapter, I feel that I have a different perspective on what Common Core actually is. Now I understand that Common Core was implemented to give the United States a more consistent set of goals for curriculum. I like how the chapter address what CC’s goal was for 21^st century learning in the fact that it would enhance life and career skills, critical thinking, communication, collaboration, creativity, technology and cross-cultural skills, productivity and accountability, and leadership and responsibility. All of these things, to me, are essential in becoming a successful member of society and are greatly over looked by a lot of teachers just trying to get through the curriculum. The fact that I had no idea that CCSS included all of this is very pleasing because these are the reason I wanted to become a teacher, to enhance my students’ lives and futures. I like how they say that it is essential to be creative in using CCSS because it gets students interested and away from “standardizing.” This chapter was especially helpful for going into student teaching because as a student teacher you feel like you need to just get through the expectations and requirements to pass, rather than putting in your own creative spin on your lessons. I also liked how this chapter explained how Common Core could be taught in the wrong context. As a teacher, you need to address the needs of your students SES backgrounds, poverty levels, and cultural and ethnic orientations. This is essential and making sure the Common Core is successful in the classroom which is good for future teachers to know as, we don’t know in what setting we will be teaching in.

Discussion in a Democratic Society

Reading the first part of this article has got me thinking about many ways that discussion is crucial in the classroom, which is not a teaching technique that I have thought a lot about. After reading this article, I have a deeper appreciation for why discussion in the classroom is a very important component to my future students everyday learning. I agree with the aspect that discussion gives students perspective on topics or issues. I am a very strong believer at stepping back to look at different people's perspectives and I would love for my students to someday do the same. By listening to people, we can learn so much about things we never knew about the world, which is some knowledge most of the people in the world today value to the most. How many times have you told one of your friends something interesting and they ask you where you learned that you say, “I heard it from “insert name here.” Classroom discussion is something all of us value but we don’t realize how much we do until we read an article such as this one.  I also like the aspect of the article about using critical discussion because critical thinking is so important in future education. If I can achieve critical thinking among my students in a middle school or high school setting that will only prepare them for future education. I like what Henry Giroux said about how “teachers become transformative intellectuals who engage and empower their students to probe the contradictions and injustices of the larger society” (Giroux 7). This is so powerful because as a teacher being able to push your students toward such an important way of thinking is so valuable in the classroom and not seen as much. I think that not letting students sit with a yes or no answer and asking them questions that will force them to think about the world is a teaching technique I will use someday. Going back to what I said about how we use discussion to gather interesting facts or topics there is also an aspect of appreciation mentions in the article that I feel is so important especially when working with students. I think this can be greatly overlooked but to continue a healthy discussion I feel it is important to not just skip over someone’s insight or comment in a discussion because what they say is bringing something to the table. To stop and appreciate their comment, I feel, will go a long way in the classroom.