Sam's+Page

“We see the world as we are, and not as it is.” I begin with this quote because I find it to be very true. We all have our own ways of viewing reality, even things as small as interpreting someone’s words or gestures. Earlier this semester Kevin and I both witnessed Dr. Stockero tell Kevin the exact same thing. As I watched I saw her smile and thought she was joking with Kevin, but when I talked to him later he thought she glared at him. It’s interesting how the exact same thing can be interpreted so differently. I need to keep this in mind as I go into teaching. This class has taught me that naturally I will have biases, and see the world in a way that is affected by my past experiences. This may help me with students that have a similar background to my own. I will be able to connect with these students and will understand where they are coming from. This will probably be true of white middle class students because these are the types of students I could relate to best. I also might be biased toward student athletes because I have always played sports and plan to coach in the future. This might be beneficial for these particular students, but I need to make sure I don’t give any students advantages over other ones. They should all have equal opportunities to learn. The problem that arises here, however, is when the way I view the world or my students isn’t fair or hinders their learning. This could occur when I have students of different backgrounds or different socioeconomic status. I might have difficulties identifying with them or the way they learn. I need to be able to recognize when this is happening though, so I can make changes. Like I discussed in my first writing for this class from Corson, maybe we don’t choose our own identity. We are affected by our society, peers and past experiences. They shape how we think and view our world. But I’ve learned in this class that you can change your own view by consciously making an effort to think about how you view the world. So I might not understand how every student learns or not be able to identify easily with all of them, but I can work to create a learning environment suitable for all of my students. I can do this by continually asking questions of myself like the ones mentioned in Beers Ch. 8: What do I know about my students’ cultures? How can I learn about them? What images and/or stereotypes do I have in my subconscious? How can I ensure that I respect my students’ cultures and life experiences? Do I really have the same expectations for all students? By continually asking myself these questions, I can make myself aware of my own biases, and create a classroom with an inclusive attitude. One of the biggest concerns I had about teaching before I can into this class was how I would deal with diverse learners. I used to think I would just have to send them to ELL teachers, or I couldn’t help them. Now I have some techniques to use to optimize their learning. One thing I learned from Danling Fu’s book was that these students need to practice actually speaking English while in school. One way to do this is through letting them work in groups with native English speakers, so they can hear English spoken and also practice themselves. In Beers, the authors also stress letting them use their own native language to do their homework because they are able to think at a higher level when this is allowed. It’s also helpful to give them time to come up with responses after I ask questions. Allowing them to write down what they want to say before they speak can be very beneficial for their confidence with speaking up in class. I also discovred that allowing them some choice about what they learn is very helpful because it motivates them. This is true of all students, but will be especially beneficial for getting diverse learners excited about their education. All of this will help me in teaching diverse learners in the future.

It is really interesting that people interpret the same situation differently. The one you mention happens all the time and is something that as teachers we need to be aware of. Even just making a joke to one student may come across the wrong way and the student may not like it, probably the case in Dr. Stockero’s comments. This is something that could easily ruin your reputation as a teacher and in the long run maybe cost you your job, so it is definitely something to keep an eye on. I have always been worried about being biased to different students as well. This was something I realized happening in my classroom when I taught SYP last summer and had to work hard to correct after it had started. It’s definitely something that I am going to pay more attention to in the future. ELL’s are also something that I have been worried about since I decided to be a teacher. It is kind of daunting to think of a situation where you have to try to have students understand the material and you. Fu’s book definitely helped with ideas of how to help ELL students in the classroom and hopefully I will also be able to put the strategies she outlines into practice in my own classroom.
 * Kevin's Response:**

It is crazy how a single event can be viewed in so many different ways. As a teacher, I feel like we will see this on a level that is so much more than we can imagine right now. It is going to be hard to figure out what actually occurs in a situation when we personally don't see it go down. This week as I was sitting and talking with my host teacher during a prep hour, some students came into the classroom to explain some frustrations they have with a specific teacher and how he was being completely unfair to them as students. I am sure that the teacher didn't do what the students had said he did, at least to the extent it was explained, because it he had, I don't know how he would still be a teacher within the school system. I think one thing that we really need to be aware of is how open minded we are being in every situation. If we are open minded, it will be a lot easier for us to see students as they really are, analyze situations for what they really are, and also car more for the students so we try to modify our teaching for their needs. I have had many fears about working with ELL students or students with more difficult backgrounds while going through the education courses, but I feel like an open mind and looking out for the student's best interest is a lot of what it will take to make an effective learning environment for all kinds of students in our classroom.
 * Kendra's Response:**

Sam, I couldn't agree more with what you are saying in your post. It is expected that we will be able to most easily connect with students who are most similar to us, but I think it is so important for all of us as teachers to realize what you are talking about. We need to make sure that we aren't giving certain students advantages over others simply because we can relate to one group better than another. As teachers, we take on the responsibility of making education accessible to all students as well as getting to know our students and giving them a feeling of self-worth, especially if that had been denied to them in the past. Chapter eight of beers gives us important tools in terms of thinking about equality, identity, and education. All teachers should have to read that chapter, I think. It's one of those things that is so blatantly obvious that it is hard to come up with it. It seems so obvious and simple that we can strengthen our connections with our students by getting to know them, respecting them, and allowing them to create their own identities. But had I thought of this before reading this chapter? Absolutely not. The simplicity of this goes over so many peoples' heads, and I think it is most important that this is something that doesn't get by teachers. We are the adults who are interacting with these students and what we do really does have an impact on their future.
 * Sienna's Response**

 I have learned a lot this semester in HU4150. One question we have considered throughout the semester is, “How have you come to see the world not just as you are but as it is for those who are not just like you?” This brings up the concept of empathy. As a teacher it will be very important to realize that how you see things may be very different than how your students see things. You need to remember this and be able to understand your students and how they learn. A few ways you can do this, which were talked about in our books, are by having students write in a journal or do exit slips that ask for their opinions. In this way, you can see how your students are doing and how they are feeling about everything.  Before this class, I didn’t really think about using a journal in a mathematics class. I didn’t used to think students needed to be able to write well or have literacy strategies for math class, but now I realize how important these are. My tutoring case study this semester also helped me realize this. Christine had issues with reading and understanding what her math textbook was really asking her. If she would’ve been taught more reading/comprehension strategies about math problems in the past, she wouldn’t struggle as much.  As we talked about in class the other day, it’s important to get to know your students by more than just their grades or how they are in class. Another way to do this, besides a journal or by having them write, is just talking with them and interacting with students outside of class. Kendra brought up the fact that she doesn’t open up to others unless she knows they truly care about her. I think the same goes for our students. They aren’t going to open up to us and show us who they truly are unless we open up to them and show them that we care about them. When they know that we are willing to show them our own selves and be more than “just their teacher”, they will be more likely to show us who they truly are. We will then be able to use that information we find out about them to try to differentiate our instruction to meet each students’ needs. Before this class, I didn’t really realize how important it is to get to know your students on a more personal level. I never thought about how this could and should affect how you teach students. It makes sense now that students will obviously respond better when they feel you care about them and are trying to do things where they can exhibit their strengths.  One of the most important things I will take from this class into my teaching in the future is the concept of flow, which was discussed in various readings we looked at over the semester. Flow is when students are so engaged with a task that nothing else matters. One aspect that helps students have flow is when they feel competence and control in their own work. Because of this as a teacher, I will try to give students as much control as possible over their own learning. An inquiry unit is one great way to do this. Also before this class, I had never heard of inquiry unit. Now I think they are really great and hope to use one or more in my own teaching in the future.  Another aspect of flow I will implement in my classroom in the future is giving students an appropriate amount of challenge and then the right amount of assistance. I will have to monitor my students to know what the appropriate amount of challenge and also assistance will be, but this will help my students be much more successful. Also because of what I’ve learned this semester about flow, I will make sure I give my students clear goals and immediate feedback. This will keep them more focused throughout the lesson or unit. When they know where they are trying to get to and how they are doing along the way, they will be more motivated. Before this class, I hadn’t really thought about these conditions for flow and how important they can be for students. Now I plan to use them in my classroom every day.  The last thing I want to talk about is how to teach diverse learners. This is one thing that I had no idea about before this class and something I was looking forward to learning about. One thing I learned from Danling Fu’s book was that these students need to practice actually speaking English while in school. One way to do this is through letting them work in groups with native English speakers, so they can hear English spoken and also practice themselves. In Beers, the authors also stress letting them use their own native language to do their homework because they are able to think at a higher level when this is allowed. It’s also helpful to give them time to come up with responses after I ask questions. Allowing them to write down what they want to say before they speak can be very beneficial for their confidence with speaking up in class. I also discovered that allowing them some choice about what they learn is very helpful because it motivates them. This is true of all students, but will be especially beneficial for getting diverse learners excited about their education.  I have learned so much in this class about myself and how I will need to teach in the future. Most importantly I’ve learned that I will always need to be very reflective in my own teaching. I need to think about how I am actually helping or hindering my students’ performance and use this to improve my own teaching techniques continually throughout my career.
 * Sam's Final Reflection:**