The readings for this week were really interesting for me!
The reading that I primarily focused on was David E. Kirkland's "Books Like Clothes: Engaging Young Black Men With Reading." I really liked this reading because I think that it is something that is very relevant in schools today. The different types of literacy that are chosen to be used in schools today weather it be digital, or through text may be very disengaging for students because there is no personal connection to the content of the text. The reading was explaining how people were stereotyping Derrick. They were saying that he was lazy to do the work and that he didn't like school. This is something that I see going on in schools today because a lot of students who don't do the "work" are considered lazy. I think that it is very easy to blame the students, but the content that is being taught in classrooms today teaches to the test. This causes there to be a huge disconnect between the students and the context. I think as teachers, we need to find ways to make the material more engaging for our students to keep the interested, active, and motivate then to want to learn. I think that teachers label their students when they aren't producing the expected results and resort to deficit ideologies, but there is a much deeper problem.
As the reading shows at the end once all the data is analyzed, Derrick enjoyed to read things that he was able to connect to and that kept his interest. Although, there is a lot to be covered in relation to teaching to the test, I think that as a future educator it is crucial to make modifications to lessons in order to accommodate every student. As I was reading Dean Tatums article as well, he focuses a lot on the issues that young adolescent males face in schools in relation to the community, environment, social class, gender etc. He explains how he has worked to close the achievement gap for African American Males. It was very interesting when he was explaining how some males feel embarressed when they are at the front of the class reading and they aren't able to pronounce all of the words. As a future educator it is important to create good relationships, safe spaces, and to be the biggest advocate to your students in order to help them with the tools that they need in order to succeed. A big part of this is to create lessons that keep your students engaged, and active.
My questions to you are:
What did you find most interesting as you were reading?
How would you approach this issue as a future educator in terms of working towards closing this achievement gap?
Hi Resilda!
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting to relate what these articles are talking about to what we see in our fieldwork. It is interesting to see the things that we spend all day talking about in person. I would approach this issue by allowing my students to have more choice in their readings. If they are interested in the text or can connect to it in some way, they will get more out of the activity.
Hi Desirae,
DeleteThank you for sharing. I think that your idea of implementing this in your classroom is a really good approach. I would implement it the same way for my future classroom as well.
Resilda
Heeey Resilda,
DeleteThanks for sharing! I think you bring up a really good about viewing students as "lazy" when they are unengaged in classroom work. I think this is such an important misconception for teachers to understand because we need to be able to support and motivate our students based on their interests and needs. Like you said, Derrick actually enjoyed to read, but his teacher didn't offer any texts that was relatable to his life. So, one takeaway I had from this article and your blog post was that it is important to be knowledgeable about my students' cultural background, interests, and reading strengths. This information will allow me to choose texts that are engaging and meaningful to their lives.
Heeeey Hallie :)
DeleteThank you for responding! I really like the points that you bring up. I agree with you about being knowledgeable about your students' cultural background. I think that it is so important to value your students and their interests in order to provide then with engaging instruction!
Thanks,
Resilda
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ReplyDeleteHey Resilda!
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I agree with many points you bring u. I especially agree with the point of the student being viewed as lazy when in reality the lesson probably is not grabbing his attention. I have see teachers who automatically make this assumption, rather than thinking about how they can change their lesson. As a future educator, I would give the student more choice of what they want to read. In other words, I would want the students to read things that interest them and are relevant to their lives.
Thanks girl,
Tina Skukan
Hey Resilda!
ReplyDeleteI really like your post. I think it's very important to create safe spaces, and good relationships in the classroom. I believe this is how I would try to close any achievement gaps in my classroom. By creating a comfortable learning environment, I am beginning a big step towards student participation in learning. Also, as you mentioned, students should be taught with engaging material, and that can help many students embrace school academics, since they are learning through academic subjects of interest.
Resilda!! Awesome Post!
ReplyDeleteI believe that we need that type of nurturing, safe environment where we can build our community and support/ motivate our students! We so often are so involved in our own benchmarks as teachers and wrapped around standards we need to remember to put the students at the center of the learning to promote engagement. This starts by allowing texts that reflect interest of the children and their lives.
Thanks!
"The different types of literacy that are chosen to be used in schools today weather it be digital, or through text may be very disengaging for students because there is no personal connection to the content of the text"
ReplyDeleteI agree. I often see that teachers never connect the content to the students interest or things that they encounter on a daily basis. In my field placement, I always see my mt trying to connect the topics to what the students know and what they like. This increases participation by alot even from those students who are struggling
Resilda! Great post, so much good information.
ReplyDelete