June 28, 2011
Would you celebrate holidays in your classroom? Why and how would you approach the topic with children?
June 27, 2011
Where I Come From (a work in progress)...
I come from love - against odds
I come from defiance and strength
I exist despite a closed mind and lack of understanding
I grew with corned beef and cabbage...and a side of braciole
I come from love - that grew from persistence
I know patience, acceptance, and dedication
I've seen how to work hard for what I want
I've known endless support
June 23, 2011
Are there any practices that you heard about today that you would utilize in your own classroom? Why or why not?
I think many of the activities that Liane spoke about are great ways to involve families in the classroom. I think it's important to find out what resources each family has to offer, whether it's time to volunteer, supplies to donate, or an expertise in a certain subject. This way you're not requesting things from certain families that they may not be able to provide.
What is one thing that stands out for you about today's panel?
I really liked the dolls that Dr. Bey showed us, and how they are used to teach young girls that women have always been strong and successful. Society and the media can sometimes lead young girls to believe that it's all about being pretty and polite. These dolls show the powerful side of women that has always existed. The leaders and the crusaders. This is another side of women that young girls should be exposed to in order to balance out their understanding of women. I say balance out because I don't believe that being pretty or polite is a bad thing at all! But if a young girl isn't into that sort of thing, at least she'll see that it's fine to stray from that image.
June 21, 2011
What insights did you gain from our visit to the Newtowne School?
Myyyyy goodness did I love the Newtowne School! What an amazing place for children. Seeing the setup of the classrooms was really something that I took away from this visit. I've only done a few classroom visits and they've all been at the same very traditional suburban school. The classrooms are jam packed with...stuff...and every inch of wall space is covered with laminated posters and ABC charts. I always find it overwhelming, so it was nice to hear that children may also find that overwhelming. The classrooms at Newtowne were similarly full of materials and colorful things, but they were organized in such an aesthetically pleasing way that it had a calming effect rather than an overly stimulating one. I loved how the majority of the classrooms would be a neutral earthy tone, and then have sprinkles of rainbow colored crayons, feathers, and beads. The walls had the children's artwork and photographs of them at school. It was so much more focused and personal.
The glass jars were really inspiring as well. I watch my almost 2 year old nephew with his plastic sippy cup, and he launches it across the room and laughs. It's not a matter of "if he drops it, it won't break" but rather, "I'm going to chuck this from my high chair because I KNOW it won't break...and it will be hilarious!" As long as it's not something fancy or expensive, what does it matter if a glass jar of beads shatters on the floor? It's a great way for 4 year olds to learn that some things are fragile and need to be handled carefully. It also shows them that they should have respect for their, and other people's belongings. I could go on forever about this school but those were two of the more prominent things I took from the visit.
How do the teachers communicate with families and were there any ideas that you might utilize in your own classroom?
It sounded to me like they used all the standard methods of communicating with families (notes, bulletin boards, email) but she also mentioned that the classes each had a blog which I found interesting since we've been talking about that recently. Again, I would be all over the classroom blog :)
June 20, 2011
What do you think are the most effective tools for communicating with families?
I think it really depends on the family. If newsletters are posted outside the classroom, but the family never comes into the school, then it's pointless. If email is used with a family who rarely checks their online communication, that is also useless. The best way to communicate with families is to find out their personal preference, make a note of it, and use that to get in touch when necessary.
What methods would you incorporate or modify to use in your teaching?
I would use email, letters in backpacks, phone calls...whatever the family responds to best really. I think a class website or blog is definitely something I would take advantage of. We discussed in class the fact that a blog can be time consuming for the teacher and would probably require some time after school to work on. To be honest I think this type of communication would be beneficial to me as well. After a long day or week at work, I like to wind down by talking to someone about what happened. Oftentimes, if the person I'm talking to can't relate to the work I do, it feels a bit like I'm just rambling. I think unloading my daily ramblings into a blog that could help families feel involved in the activities of the classroom would be therapeutic for me and appreciated by them (hopefully)!
June 16, 2011
How can you create a dialogue with students and families about children with special needs in a respectful way?
I
think using books to introduce things like this is always a good
jumping off point. I also really liked some of the things that were
mentioned in the video we watched. The teachers were discussing how
they would explain the little boy's differences without making him stand
out as "different". I loved how they had the students think about the
things they were working on at the time (reading, writing, tying shoes,
riding a bike, etc). The little boy with Down Syndrome was working on
speaking certain words. Using this technique showed the children that
they're all working hard and practicing to do something, and they're all
doing different things, not just the entire class vs. one boy.
June 14, 2011
How could you utilize the photo activity with children? How does it tie into the curriculum and support classroom learning?
I feel like you could use this activity with many lessons that would tie into the curriculum.
You could have the students do the same type of photo walk (diverse
families, interesting people, interesting things in the neighborhood)
and then the pictures could be used for multiple things after the fact
such as writing a story about the family in the picture for a literacy
activity, or documenting observations of the properties of the things in
the pictures for a science activity. You could take pictures of the same thing over time to see how they change, etc.
How did you feel about the activity and did you have any complications that you can foresee in a classroom?
I like the idea of having children use the
cameras and take their own pictures. The only "complication" I had was
that I felt a little bit uncomfortable taking pictures of people. I
kept pretending that I was taking pictures of things in the background,
but I felt pretty obvious. I didn't know what I would say if someone
asked me what I was doing!
How has your awareness of family structures changed since you were a child?
My view of family structures has changed significantly since I was a child. The communities I grew up in were not very diverse at all. I don't even remember having friends with divorced parents! I had one classmate whose mother was white and father was African American. I think the only reason I remember that now is because it didn't confuse me that her parents were black and white, but it confused me how she had white skin, but her older sisters (twins) had dark skin. That concept blew my mind! Despite not being exposed to various kind of family structures, it has never really been an issue for me. Your family is your family...that's that. I'm sure I did have diverse family structures around me, but I just never noticed it.
In what ways would you support families with diverse structures in your classroom?
I would support families with diverse structures by working with them so that they feel most comfortable in the classroom. If there are questions about a student's family, I would be sure to explain and validate the family structure to the other children. I would also incorporate books into the lessons that display different types of family structures in order to elaborate on the fact that families can be made up in different ways, but all involve people who love each other.June 9, 2011
How do you approach discussing differences in the classroom?
I think this is going to be something that takes some getting used to. I really want to be able to teach about differences in the classroom, and create an environment of respect and understanding of these differences. I'm nervous that when I eventually do have my own students, they may stump me with questions about differences. It takes some quick thinking to know the appropriate thing to say when it comes to sensitive (to some) topics. But in the long run I want to be honest with the children. I think it's more about being conscious of the child's family's wishes when you consider your response.
Are there any topics that you are uneasy or uncomfortable talking to children about?
I think I'd be comfortable talking to children about any topic they're interested in. I may need to do some research so I'm giving them the correct information, but I think kids like seeing that teachers need to learn sometimes too. The only reason I would feel uncomfortable is if a child asked me a question about something that I knew his or her family considered taboo. I'm just really concerned about stepping on toes as I begin my quest to eliminate bias and teach diversity to my students.
How can we teach children to overcome bias?
At this age I think teaching children to overcome bias is less daunting as it sounds. Like the readings and studies have shown us, young children develop bias based on how their families project their own biases, but they don't understand the bias they're reflecting. I can clearly remember coming home from school one day and repeating an inappropriate joke I had heard to my mother and brother, and they had to explain to me that it was hurtful to certain people and I should never repeat it. I had no idea, I just thought it was a joke! Kids definitely pick up things like that and carry it with them. I think a good first step would be to teach them that biases hurt other people's feelings. Asking a child to try to think about how they would feel if they were being made fun of or left out could help as well. I think it's a good way to show the child that we are all equals. We all feel the same way when someone is mean to us, and no one should have to feel that way.
June 2, 2011
What are you interested in learning about in this class?As I mentioned in my student survey, I'm very interested in learning about ways to encourage families to actively participate in their child's education. From what I've learned so far at Lesley, family involvement can drastically increase a child's potential in school. After having our first class meeting, I'm also interested in the types of communication methods and tools that teachers use to include their students' families. Already we've learned about making a class website. I'm excited to see other ideas regarding outreach to families.
