Culturally Relative Practices & Waiting for Superman / First year teacher

Some ideas of culturally relative practices toward my content area of art are:

1) Having students make a comic book based on cultures that they choose; one subject could be about family. The finished comic books will be shown at the school library, a local library and/or an art museum.

2) Having students pick their own artists to research. They will make an artwork based on what they've researched about their chosen artists. They will then present their artwork to the class describing how it is influenced by the artist and his/her works.

3) Working with students to make a class book on artists that is chosen by the students. They will need to research information about the artist they chose and will need to provide facts and visuals for the book. The students will have a section of the book to work on and at the end, everyone's sections will be put together. The book will be shown at the school library and enough copies will be printed for everyone in the class.

4) Going outside to draw nature. Have students draw their neighborhoods.

5) Designing their own game and setting up a carnival night for everyone in the school to attend. Posters and decorations will need to be made as well.

6) Having students walk around their neighborhood to look for artworks; i.e. graffiti. They will need to make a list with a description of what they saw, list any facts about the artwork, where it was found, and how the artwork impacts the community and him/herself.

For the second part of the assignment, we were told to watch a documentary about education. I decided to watch both Waiting for Superman and First Year Teacher. I didn't find many examples of culturally relative practices. In one part of Waiting for Superman, one of the teachers said that she found that her students responded with more interest in a rap song about math rather than just memorizing the information. In another part of the film, there was a video showing a teacher reading a newspaper at his desk while his students are passing notes and talking rather than being taught by the teacher.

One of the points that was discussed in class was that the documentary, Waiting for Superman, talked about "bad" teachers, but they do not explain how the teachers are bad nor how they can improve to become "good" teachers. If the Kipp schools are so much better than the public schools, why then can't the state make the standards for public schools the same as those for Kipp schools? Why do we need alternative schools where students need to go through a lottery process when public schools are already available? I mean, if public schools are mostly bad, then maybe it's better to just get rid of them and open magnet, charter and Kipp schools instead.

A comparison that I can make between the teachers mentioned in both documentaries is that the one in First Year Teacher put in so much effort to make sure she connects with the parents as well as the students. However, one of the teachers in Waiting for Superman didn't even respond to one of the parent's phone calls, and just said that her child was having difficulties reading without showing the effort that she would like to help him improve.

There's a lot to think about when it comes to "good" and "bad" teachers. But, I think that if we work together to clarify the distinctions between a "good" and "bad" teacher, we may see more effective teachers in the classroom.

Response to Articles

The four articles that I chose were:

1. "With 'angels' on her side, Newark principal fights for school's survival"
2. "Promise vs. Reality in Newark on Mayor's Watch"
3. "Unemployment in Black Cities: Newark, New Jersey"
4. "School Reform in Newark"

My analysis of these four articles has made me realize that it isn't enough for a group of people to be committed to changing their society for the better. In order to make improvements, the society as a whole has the responsibility of working together in order to make its community a better place. While culture may hold some people back from change, such as seeing other people of the same racial group not working and believing it is okay to do so, citizens of a community need to have the courage and strength to take risks in creating new ideals to make the place they live in better. I was bothered by one of the passages in"Unemployment in Black Cities: Newark, New Jersey"when it talks about one of the contributions to the two percent drop in unemployment is "the presence of numerous large white-collar employers such as Prudential Financial..." It seems as if this one section of the city is holding up and supporting the whole city. But, then when you try to ask what is going on? And, why can't education improve in the city, you run into situations such as those of in the article, "With 'angels' on her side, Newark principal fights for school's survival" where teachers want to teach their students, but cannot do so because of low educational fundings. Then, as in the article "School Reform in Newark" where teacher evaluation is being changed and looked over, I believe that it won't have much of an impact without fundings needed to support not only the personnel in the schools, but also the condition of the schools and materials necessary for education. So, it is not just the citizens of a city that can make change, leaders of a city need to work together as well in order for change to occur. If there is even a small group of people who disagree, such as in "Promise vs. Reality in Newark on Mayor's Watch" there will be setbacks and delay the process of change and improvement.

Response to "The Knapsack of Privilege" and "Chapter 7 of the Sensoy Reading"

These two readings made me think about the time when I was in kindergarten and thinking that I was the same as the blonde and brown-haired actresses and models on television. Sure, we had different hair colors, but we were still people who had a head, two arms, two feet and stood upright. It wasn’t until a couple years later when I realized noticing that there were no Asians on television. When an Asian would show up, I would be amazed. I still get a little amazed now, but not a lot. I think that this experience and observation support the two readings. Whites dominated the media and with so many audiences, the media had control over racism in terms of influencing people to think the same distinctions that the Whites in charge of the media made. For me, this was an interesting to read, perhaps because naively I always thought everyone was the same.

However, one concept that bothered me at first was questioning how stereotyping could be eliminated when people claim to have their own identities in the world. For example, countries populate the world. People identify themselves according to which country their from or are loyal to. People who agree with each other in terms of philosophy, life style, etc. are similar in those aspects. Then, there can be another set of people who believe in something else and so forth. With so many different groups, isn’t it obvious that stereotyping would occur? Group A would see that there is a difference in thinking compared to Group B and so forth. So, how is it possible to even eliminate stereotyping?

I tried to explain my thoughts to a fellow teacher education colleague and what she told me more optimistic about the issue. She said that the goal that we’re trying to teach students about stereotyping is to not judge a person on what he/she can or cannot do based on appearance. Her explanation made sense to me, reminding me what my former teachers have taught me. I had forgotten about the common phrase “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” I was so caught up with the idea of different groups. For example, when it comes to medical issues, which racial group is more likely to be prone to a disease or live longer, etc? But, after thinking about it for a while, I came to two conclusions: 1) Genetics make us all into different human beings with some similar attributes. Thus, it isn’t stereotyping if you are told to get a certain test simply because others who have similar genetics needed to. It is the generalization of similar genes that produce medical findings; however, 2) it is stereotyping if someone were to tell you that you couldn’t do something because of a possible disadvantage due to a particular genetic make up in comparison to other similar ones. While you may share the same attributes as someone who is sick, you may not get sick yourself simply because you have other genes that make you different. (Hopefully, this makes sense.)

Thus, coming back to stereotyping, I’ve concluded that there will always be distinctions among people. Keeping an open mind to learning who other people are and not prejudging who they are and what they can/cannot do is crucial to not only teach students but for teachers and parents to practice as well. If we, teachers, cannot be open minded and not judge people upon meeting them for the first time or seeing others, then we cannot successfully teach this crucial lesson to students. They need role models to show them what is right and the most rewarding view on life. Teachers need to be mindful with their students as well, to not judge their strengths or weaknesses based on outward appearances. We need to truly understand our students in order to help them use their own strengths to become successful in life.

Own Thoughts: Difficulties at Home that Promotes Disinterest in Schoolwork for Students

It's been a while since I've last posted, which is obvious. Rather than feeling mostly ashamed of my lack of action to post my assignment, I saw this hiatus as a learning experience. A month ago when I missed my fourth blog post, it was due to an urgent family issue. Throughout the next couple of weeks, I've been bothered by what happened at home that I didn't feel like posting my assignment response. But, when another two weeks passed and I still hadn't posted anything, I realized that I was going too far in neglecting my assignment. (Even as I write this blog post, I am still neglecting the assignment that I should have posted weeks ago).

This experience made me think about two topics: 1) realizing that students may be going through the same experience I am, which is having issues at home; thus, they are unmotivated or disinterested to be at school and do homework; and 2) questioning when it is too much for students to neglect their assignments and do something about it or leave them be until things are better at home.

While it may be obvious, sometimes when one goes through similar experiences him/herself, he/she is able to fully understand and emphasize with others. I thought more about having students who are unmotivated in class. Is it because they are uninterested in the material being taught? If so, how do I make it more appealing to them? Or is it because something else unrelated to school is bothering them? How can I use the classroom and what is being taught to "cheer" the students up and show them that there is an optimistic side to life? Besides making sure that students understand what they need to learn, I think it is the teacher's responsibility to care and watch out for students' unusual behaviors. This last statement may also seem obvious, but there are teachers who do not care for the well-being of their students.

However, when is it too much or nothing works? For example, many weeks has passed and the student still doesn't want to do any assignments even when you, the teacher, knows that things have been resolved at home. Or, if things haven't be resolved and go on for months, how do you work with a student who just doesn't seem interested no matter what you do? For my first question, I'd say from the start of noticing the unusual behavior to figure out what the student is going through. Then, rather than letting him/her miss their assignments or give extension dates, give them inspiration to do their work. As for the second question, I don't have an answer yet. My first thought would be to have the student go to a psychiatrist, but I'm not sure if that option is too extreme or not.

Anyways, these are just some thoughts that I had. Perhaps they are explanations to my lack of motivation in completing the assignment, even though I knew that I should be completing it.

Response to “Poor Kids,” Blog and “The Moth Radio, Episodoe 1305, Segment 3”

                  The main cause of poverty that can be concluded from the documentary and discussion is the lack of a well-paying job. It was heart breaking to hear the children in the documentary talk about poverty. Some of the children, such as Brittany and her brother Roger as well as Jasmine, Johnny and their two other brothers, had stable and well-to-do lifestyles before. However, when their fathers lost their jobs, they didn’t have enough money to pay the bills. They sometimes didn’t even have enough money for food and/or shelter. Worrying about how to pay the bills, buy clothing and food and survive becomes a priority. The children living in these poor households will always think about food, having limited possessions due to constant moving and how they can help their parents get more money.

This cycle of constant worrying, stress, and moving from one house to another affects children’s education. Without having a stable home and/or income, children will either be unable to attend the same school or have insufficient necessities to do well in school. In the documentary Kaleigh talks about how she is not enrolled in a school because her family is constantly moving around from motel to motel, and perhaps to a house if affordable. It was amazing to see how mature the children are. They understand what is going on, can sympathize with what their parents must feel, and acknowledge that education is the key to leading a successful life.

In order for children to stay in schools and off the streets, such as those kids in the “The Moth Radio, Episodoe 1305, Segment 3” recording, they need an environment that is safe, educational, and motivating. While neighborhoods and locations of school may be dangerous, teachers need to make their classrooms a safe and motivating environment where their students will be motivated and interested in learning. Because leading a successful life requires a high education in order to obtain a well-to-do job, education is very important to the future generation of career workers. Teachers need to also come up with lesson plans that are not only interesting, but educational not only in content but in life skill development that children will need to know how to use in their future careers; life skills, such as social, critical thinking, problem solving, presentation, etc. Keeping children off the streets and in the classroom will encourage today’s children to become learners and problem solvers, who will be able to decrease the poverty rate in the future. Having a high education and life skills will help children become successful and lead lives where their own children won’t have to go through what their parents went through.

Schools and teachers are not the only places and people who need to be aware of the lives of children, especially those who are poor. Communities need to have stricter policy in making sure that the environment is safe for its residents. Enforcing policies that make communities safer and motivating children to learn and go to school will help the communities in the future when the children grow up and start to run and take care of the communities themselves. Both schools and communities also need to offer courses that educate the residents in daily and world knowledge, such as healthcare, money management, etc. Having an educated community will provide higher-paying jobs and companies as well as give children the opportunity to learn more about the world they live in.

However, some questions I have are: How does a poor community offer these courses when families are thinking about working and just getting by in their lives? When do these families have the time to even go to these courses? It seems as if there is no immediate solution to curing poverty. However, I'm glad I watched the documentary. As I've said in our class blog, I don't remember talking about poverty all that much while in school. This is an effective method to opening children's mind to people around them. There is so much out there. Without being open-minded to diversity, children will grow up being biased and not being able to deal with people who are different.

Response Paper to “Not Enough to Live On”

Last week’s activity involved the class splitting into several groups and each group was assigned to a county and, later, with a job position. We had to look at our “salary”, which was included with our job position, and look at the index from the reading to determine where we could possibly live and survive. I learned about two aspects of teachers: 1) the teacher’s responsibility in the classroom and to students; and 2) teacher’s own living experiences in New Jersey. Pertaining to the first aspect, I learned that teachers have to do more than just teach. During the activity, I felt stressed even though this was not real life. Thus, parents who are actually going through these hard times, have enormous amounts of stress. I realized that children from those households will not only be affected by the living conditions, but also by their parents’ stress and worries. Teachers who have these students will not only have to understand how children deal with family issues, but teachers would also need to be open-minded in being aware of the parents’ situation. The reading mentions all the various family combinations that are present. Knowing how to talk to and work with students from all types of family backgrounds is also not easy.

Not only do parents feel the burden of New Jersey’s high living costs, but teachers do as well. Last week’s activity helped me realize how hard it is to live in New Jersey. Some salaries weren’t enough for the standard living costs. Teachers only work for ten months and will need to find another job for the summer if their teaching position does not have a sufficient salary to provide funds for the summertime.

This in turn along with the second reading makes me think about my own future and how I would be able to survive with a sufficient income. According to the reading, the lowest income sufficiency household combination is two working adults living together. Sharing housing and food costs will help lower spending, which would allow those households to save money and have enough to live comfortably. The reading also reports that the highest income sufficiency household combination is a single mother living with her child or children. Not only do children require the necessities, they need to time with parents to talk and play. This requires a lot of energy, especially from single mothers who are working full-time. This reading makes me feel that self-sufficiency and living on one’s own in New Jersey is scary. For now, I’d probably continue living with my parents and help lower housing and food costs. 

Response Paper to “The Real Cost of Living in 2008”

Truthfully, I never thought much about the living costs in New Jersey. Before reading the report, I had been aware that the houses in my town, vary in sizes. The houses range from lake houses to mansions. Furthermore, children from these different houses often are in the same classes and schools together. While I recognized that there are differences in my peers’ house sizes and the things they would bring or wear to school, I never looked at the cost of living beyond my town.

            After reading “The Real Cost of Living in 2008,” I learned how some families could face such hard living burdens. Naively, I had always thought that if a household’s income was below a certain amount, it would need to have assistance in order to have sufficient funds to pay for necessities. And, incomes that were above a certain amount could not qualify for assistance, but are able to afford basic necessities. This idea or belief came from seeing my own household, where there were times when we could not qualify for loans from the state simply because my parents’ incomes were not low enough. But, I did not experience any hardships in eating three meals daily, having clothes to wear, etc. The report opened my eyes to not only the varying amounts of living costs in New Jersey, but also the reality that while not everyone qualifies for assistance from the government and/or state, it doesn’t mean that they are well off.

            In the report, the amount of income that qualifies for most assistance programs is around 30% below the federal poverty line. Furthermore, if the standard living costs are much higher, this means that household incomes in between these amounts suffer the most. With money tight at home, there is little to afford additional resources, such as higher education. While my high school consisted of various house sizes, the range in household incomes may not be very wide. However, if one were to visit a regional high school, one may find that there is a big diversity in household incomes. With so many students from different counties and towns coming to one school, there will be a wide range in students’ household backgrounds. This diversity affects not only the resources that schools will receive, but also the resources that students have, which will have an impact on students’ learning.

This knowledge teaches me that I need to be aware of and consider the differences that students can have so that I can address and connect with each student equally. It’s not just about ethnicity or level in learning. Being aware of various households and experiences will help me in coming up with projects that every student can benefit and learn from.