Differentiating Instruction

 "A Rational for Differentiating Instruction in the Regular Classroom" by Paul S. George

“A rationale for Differentiating Instruction in the Regular Classroom” is an article about by Paul S. George’s personal perspectives on teaching and the school experience. George claims, “Success for all students is more than a slogan or even a laudable goal; it may be a key to the survival of the American public school as society has come to know it” (186). George argues that differentiated instruction and heterogeneous classrooms must be the foundations for an effective classroom. He explains his theory by describing two possible “pathways” (186).

First, George believes that teachers need to “prize diversity” in their schools. He describes this kind of environment at being one that shows parents that their children are safe, making friends, receiving the support they need and so on. Secondly, George thinks that educators need to make more effort to include differentiated instruction, curriculum and basement that will support a wide range of students.

George continues to explain and support some key concepts of a heterogeneous classroom and its importance: racial integration, accurate placement, effect of effort, awareness of individual differences, equity, contact theory, and constructivist opportunities. He also shares the benefits in differentiating instruction in a heterogeneous classroom.

Overall, I enjoyed this article and what the author had to say. I liked that he started the article by stating that these are his personal beliefs from his own experiences. I thought it was interesting that he grabbed our attention by a call for change or a loss of public schools as we know it. I thought it was a valid point, especially with all of the charter and private schools emerging. Public school will be known as he left overs or the uncategorized if we cannot teach effectively to all types of learners. I thought it was interesting to note the importance of mixing differentiated instruction within a heterogeneous classroom to achieve higher levels of learning.

 

http://www.jstor.org/stable/3496997

Silent Reading Record

Read for 30 minutes and then stop and complete the following:

1. What did you read? (Include title and page numbers .)
--I read Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson from page 1 to page 57.

2. In four or more sentences summarize what you read.
--Frannie is a young 11-year-old girl living in the seventies. She reads Emily Dickenson's poem in school and starts to ponder the meaning of the "thing with feathers": hope. A new boy comes into her class and he is white but claims not to be. All of the kids call him Jesus-boy. When he makes eye contact with Frannie, he always seems to smile and she doesn't know why. Most of the other kids in class pick and taunt him, claiming he should be living on the other side of the highway with the other white folk.

Frannie's other brother, Sean, is deaf so he goes to a different school. Frannie admires her brother and wishes girls could see past his hearing problems. She thinks he would have lots of different girl friends if he could hear properly. Her mother has been sad before because of the loss of a daughter and another miscarriage. When Frannie returns home from school one day, her mother is in bed and Frannie is instantly worried. When her father gets home, he informs Sean and Frannie that their mother is pregnant again and that is why she is tired.

3. As you were reading, what were you thinking? Write at least four sentences. Did you make any connections? What were you wondering? What opinions do you have about what you read?
--When I started reading this book, I thought there would be more direct references to the Vietnam, War because of what the back of the book has said. Instead, (so far) it focuses more on the realities of segregation through the eyes of a young girl. I have enjoyed the "reverse racism" perspective the book provides. The "Jesus-Boy" is a white boy in an all black school and is harassed to go back to the other side of the highway. The bully, Trevor, is lighter black than the other kids with piercing blue eyes. Rumors say that his father is a white man but he is so mean to the other students no one will ask him or talk about it. The entire time, I was thinking of the movie Ruby. Ruby is a story about the first African-American girl to be bused to a white school through desegregation. The realities and the treatment of Ruby and "Jesus- boy" is extremely similar.

I am wondering if I need to investigate into the opposition around the Vietnam War in an effort to draw more connections to the text. I was also wondering if I needed to look into people with disabilities and how they were treated during the seventies.

So far I have truly enjoyed the book. I can relate to Frannie in a number of ways. At one point, Frannie says, "Some days, eleven felt like a whole long lifetime. All heavy like that" (19).

" I read it, but I don't get it" Chapters 1-5

I am so excited to read "I read it, but I don't get it" by Cris Tovani. I was hooked right when she admitted to being a "fake reader." I love to read but, I only love to read when I want to be reading. If I have an assigned reading or a book I have to read for a class, I despise it. I usually read the first few chapters, skim a few, read a few more, skim a few, and read the last. I don't want to be like that but between work, homework, life and classes I hardly have time. Especially because I am the kind of person who needs to reflect on what I have read. Usually I talk to my sister, my parents or my friend Ashley. By talking about my reading and reflecting on my reading I gain so much more. The problem with college is there isn't any time for reflecting. Therefore, it makes it harder for me to want to read.

I enjoyed the part about "important book and literary histories" and I hope to use it in my classroom. Tovani doesn't try to get the kids to love reading, she wants to get them to understand it, have a choice, and take personal responsibility of reading. I love that she talks about the books that she doesn't like and why she doesn't like them. In my reading class, we are reading a lot of children's books and I am reminded of the books my mom and dad read to me as a kid. I also remember my first favorite series, The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids. I thought her reasoning for the book history was very powerful. She stated that since her students were going to be working with some text that would require them to share "pasts, passions, and concerns" and will force people to connect. If the students can grow together as a class, they can grow and encourage each other as readers as well.

"A Response-Based Approach to Reading Literature

Judith A. Langer in “A Response- Based Approach to Reading Literature” states that there are two types of reading, ‘horizon of possibilities” and “point of reference,” while each has a different approach and characteristics, they both are just alternate versions of “sense making.”

The “horizon of possibilities” is all about living though the experience and identifying with what it means to be human. This way of reading is very common in literary focused classes. These classes usually focus on point of view reading and writing. The students are encouraged to “explore the possibilities involved in the worlds they create.”

The exploration of horizons of possibilities lies at the heart of a literary experience. Here, use of the word "horizon" is critical, referring to the fact that horizons never lead to endings but continually advance; whenever a person (reader) takes a step towards the horizon (moving toward closure), the horizon itself shifts (and other possibilities are revealed for the reader to explore). Continually raising questions about the implications and undersides of what one understands (and using those musings to reconstrue where the piece might go) precludes closure and invites ambiguity.

Unlike the “horizon of possibilities”, the “point of reference” is all about questioning what is known. It is the “heart of discursive thinking” and encourages initial questions to lead to other questions. In history and science classes, many students feel they need to know all the information to understand the material. When literature is introduced into the classroom students use them to mine information instead of gain insight. One suggestion the article uses is to incorporate “horizon” questions into historical and classical texts.

I liked that the goal was to help encourage teachers to use thought-provoking literature in class where students are encouraged to find their own meanings and possible understandings from multiple perspectives. I think it is important to stress the student based approach and helping students take an active role in their own learning. Each student has a different life view of experiences to share when reading and writing.  If we can mix the horizon of possibilities with the point of reference, hopefully students will be able to come up with their personal thoughts on the text as well as details to validate their opinion.

http://www.albany.edu/cela/reports/langer/langerresponsebased.pdf

Social Justice in the Classroom

“Social Justice in the Classroom: Understanding the Implications of Interlocking Oppressions”
 by Becky Ropers – Huilman

In the article, Huilman suggests that in promoting social justice, teaches need to overcome the effects that the oppressive systems can have on teaching and learning. Huilman looks into the cause and effects of oppression and ways to promote social justice and decrease the feelings of oppression. Huilman identifies with Marily Frye’s definition of oppressions as being “caught between or among forces and barriers which are so related to each other that jointly they retrain, restrict, or prevent the things motion or mobility.” By using the metaphor of a birdcage, Frye suggests that we all have disappointments and painful events that happen in our lives. These hurts ultimately impede d the attainment of our ambitions. Sometimes these hurts can be a trap that cannot be escaped from or broken into.  These forces can limit relationships between a student and teacher and a student and peers.

Huilman then went on to share two examples from her own teaching in college classes. She realized that promoting social justice is a very hard thing to do. In her first example, she introduced sexuality into the discussion. The responses from the students were very interesting. Some people called gays and bisexuals “less than animals” and others did not consider them to be human. Some students were in shock about what the other students said. In one student response Huilman shared, the student was amazed that the African American woman could say such terrible things about gays. The student wondered how the oppression the woman faced had affected her thinking. The student made connections that the statements about gays had been the same ones being made about blacks historically.

In the second example, one student was attacking another student demeanor. The student claimed that the other student “only cared for himself.” Huilman immediately suggested that the discussion attack ideas and not people and the student instantly got quiet. In reflection later, Huilman wondered if by asking the student not to attack the other student, she in turn, attacked the student. This idea of oppression and social justice is a difficult concept and an even harder concept to incorporate into classrooms.  One quote from the article I really enjoyed about teaching, “I believe that sexism and racism exist, and that we educators have a special responsibility to confront them by using the institutional power in our role to identify and counteract the effects of oppressive acts. “

Ropers-Huilman, Becky. “Social Justice in the Classroom: Understanding the Implications of Interlocking Oppressions.” College Teaching.47.3 (1999):91-95. Web. Oct. 2013. http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/27558949.pdf?acceptTC=true

After reading my peer’s blog posts about social justice, I realized I probably missed an enlightening discussion. L I did notice a few common themes among the articles. Most of the articles addressed the idea of creating a better learning environment in classrooms. Most people agreed that education shapes lives and it is our responsibility as teachers to provide equal opportunities, fairness, and quality education to all students.  While these concepts seem fundamental and expected, there are some flaws and difficulties.

For instance, there does not seem to be a universal definition for social justice or any rules to maintain social justice. If we focus on social justice in the classroom as providing each student with equal opportunities to learn and achieve we have a process and a common goal but hit some flaws. Each student is different and therefore has a different need than the next guy. The “equality” part is a little unrealistic because of the factors outside of the school, in the home situation, and in the student’s school life. I liked that one of my peers brought the movie Stand and Deliver into their blog. I feel like the movie is a great way of visualizing social justice and oppression and how a teacher can create an environment that supports and challenges each student no matter their IQ, race, gender, sexuality, family history or home life.

Critical Pedagogy and Popular Culture in an Urban Secondary English Classroom

I was re-inspired to teach after reading "Critical Pedagogy and Popular Culture in an Urban Secondary English Classroom" by Jeff Duncan - Andrade and Ernest Morrell. I have been struggling with my self confidence in creating lesson plans that will motive and encourage learning while empowering the student. The article gave insight and reasoning for incorporating videos, music and discussion into the classroom while "empowering individuals and collective as agents of social change."

One aspect of the article I found useful was the multiculturalism aspect. The teachers used texts like Beowulf, Othello, Macbeth and other and encouraged the students to look at the treatment of those who were considered to be "others." This was an insightful approach top the readings of classic literature and empowers readers to compare the old "others" to the "others" of our time. The most important quote of the article for me was "An oppressive rendering of a culturally divers text is still oppressive." This was powerful for me because of our past discussions on oppression and the realities of the word. Empowerment is an important element in the teaching of multiculturalism and can be achieved not by focusing on an author or character or color or race, but by encouraging students to look through a multicultural lens at all aspects of the world.

“Critical Pedagogy: A Look at the Major Concepts” by Peter McLaren

Peter McLaren’s “Critical Pedagogy: A Look at the Major Concepts” was a mountain of information for me. I especially enjoyed the small part about empowerment because one of my biggest goals as a teacher is to empower my students. According to McLaren, “empowerment means not only helping students to understand and engage the world around them, but also enabling them to exercise the kind of courage to change the social order when necessary” (74). McLaren argues that knowledge needs to reflect reality but also needs to reflect the daily struggle of people’s lives. Hopefully, the knowledge we are providing our students in class will extend far beyond the classroom and into the everyday lives and families of our students. “School knowledge should help create the conditions productive for student’s self-determination in the larger society.”

Personally, college has been an extreme struggle. Throughout my time at Eastern I have fought hard with depression as well as incredible family changes. Some days it was hard for me to get up, other days I would read and reread the material and not comprehend any of it. Most of the time I would show up to class panicked and then fake my way through the assignment or discussion. This last year I had Dr. Logan for my American Literature class. I was so excited for the class discussions, lectures and readings because I love American literature, but sadly my depression and personal life kept getting in the way. Instead of asking “why” or “how” or anything silly, Dr. Logan told me to get it together and get it in when I could (multiple times). This was my first experience being taught in college like I would like to teach in middle school.

Instead of claiming “late work” or “too bad” she encouraged me and talked me through it. She asked me what authors I enjoyed and encouraged me to dig deeper into their lives and relate it to my own. I was able to dive into Edgar Allan Poe’s work like I had never before. Through my experiences in her class I learned to keep on trying and not to give up. If something isn’t “clicking” move on and try something new. I also learned that feelings can be a great source of inspiration. Many of Emily Dickenson’s poems meant nothing to me until I read them in my deepest sad moments.  It is strange to see the images, words, and tone that come to light depending on the mood of the student reading the piece of literature. Also, I felt like I had someone rooting for me. I never understood the value of having a teacher root for a student.

At the end of the quarter, I was overly stressed, confused and ready to quit. In the chaos, I missed the final in Dr. Logan’s class and did not even realize it. When I checked my e-mail that afternoon (after realizing I missed the final) I saw an e-mail already from Dr. Logan. She asked me where I was and noted how hard I had worked that quarter at keeping up and expanding my own learning within my abilities. Not only did I feel like I let her down, I felt like a failure because she had given me so many chances to be great. Instead of saying “too bad” she allowed me to come in and take the final. For that final, I felt I needed ace it. I wanted to show her that through her compassion and caring about me as a person as well as a student, that I could do it. 

Long winded story, I know, but I felt like it was relevant do the empowerment McLaren is talking about. Not only was Dr. Logan and other teachers like Dr. Torgenson and Dr. McHenrey empowering their students as students, but they are also recognizing the student as a person.  Thankfully, many of the teachers at EWU have seen my struggles, helped me through them and encouraged and empowered me. With their help I have stayed at EWU, I have continued my studies and working towards my education degree and I have also started to cultivate the teacher I want to be.

Pedagogy of the Oppressed Chapter 1

Throughout chapter one, Freire focuses on the concept of humanization and dehumanization and the “oppressor” versus the “oppressed.” He claims those being oppressed are the only ones that can rise up and change their situation but in order for them to do so and remain humanized, they must rise above without oppressing their oppressors. I think.

Reflecting back to what I know, I see the Nazis and the Jewish people during the Holocaust creating the circle of oppression. The Jews during the Holocaust were oppressed because of their religion. The dehumanization of Nazis occurred because of their role as oppressors.  I would assume Freire would encourage the Jews to rise up against the Nazis, but do so in a non-oppressing way. The difficulties in Freire’s suggestion would be that all the Jews have ever known is oppression so how will they know how to rise about without oppressing their oppressors when that is all they have ever known? Wow, that got interesting.

What is also interesting, confusing, mindboggling to think about is what the oppressed think about. Do they know they can rise up? Do they know how to strive through their circumstances? Is there actually more out there or is this the best I’ve got? I think the only reason I challenge things is because I was brought up to challenge everything (almost to a fault). Anyways, this might have been to deep of a reading for me and Friday.

  

Common Core State Standards

 “A person who won’t read has no advantage over one who can’t read.” –Mark Twain

I sat in and observed the first couple days at the same school I went to, Park Place Middle school. Many of the teachers I had then are still there now (and most of them look exactly the same!!).  I was lucky to observe Mr. Donohue's 7th grade language arts class and laughed at the same jokes he told me when I was in 7th grade. The main difference in Mr. Donohue's classroom that separated him from the rest was the posters that covered his walls. Instead of the usual reading, writing, and inspirational posters decorating the walls, he had written each Common Core State Standard and provided an example of each one that was applicable to his class.

At first I thought it was tacky. What an easy way to cover the walls with words. But now, as I continue to study the CCSS, I see his genius. By plastering the walls with the CCSS, Mr. Donohue was sharing his expectations for his class and allowing the students to take responsibility for their own learning. By sharing the CCSS with the entire class, the students become more familiar with the expectations, learning objectives and state standards that will follow them the rest of their time at school.

Personally, I am excited about the CCSS. I feel that if we, as educators, can come together with a common goal and common standards for our students that they can grow as students and as people in a constantly evolving world. I feel that improving our literacy standards across curriculum will greatly impact our students. Teaching students to read is not enough, we need to inspire students to want to read. The CCSS will be able to do that by holding the teachers more accountable for specific learning objectives.

http://www.corestandards.org/