Teach With Your Heart, pgs 62-103

Abstract:

With her student teaching coming to an end, Erin felt emotional about letting her students who she'd become so close to go. After meeting Steven Spielburg and transforming her students lives in so many ways, it was an emotional and heart wrenching good bye for them all. The following year, Mrs. G was introduced to her new class of all freshman, who she described as 'even worse' than her previous class. She knew it would be just as difficult if not more to reach these students. With Sharaud and Manny's (previous students) help, she engaged her freshmen with lessons that related to their life, for instance talking about Snoop Dogg or relating Romeo and Juliet to Gangs. By linking parallels in her curriculum to the lives of her students, she was able to reach her students much better. Although her students were somewhat engaged, she realized that there wasn't a close bond as there had been last year with her students. Mrs. G decided to plan a field trip for her students to meet some individuals who had come from great hardships, like they were involved in, to become successful adults. She thought that introducing them to positive roll models would be a good idea. After the field trip, her students wrote in their journals about all the surprising things they realized on the field trip, like how these people really cared about them. Towards the end of the school year, Mr Beard, the head counselor, ask Erin if she would be interested in teaching sophomores the next year, including some all of her current students if they wanted. Erin was very excited but wasn't sure if her students would want her again. The next day she sent around a sign up sheet for the students who wanted her as their teacher the following year. Every one signed it.

Reflection:

As a read further and further into this book, I am more amazed with every page by the hardships her students went through, by the hardships Erin went through and by all of it together. These chapters were very emotional. First Erin must say goodbye to the students she's become so close to and who care about her so much. Then, she gets a group of freshmen who are even worse then her previous students. I found it interesting how Mrs. G didn't try to use the exact same material with her new students. She used the same teaching strategies, but different topics. For example she used Gangs in Romeo and Juliet instead of the Holocaust. She realized that these students were different in their own ways. To reach them she would have to try new stuff, especially since she was under such restrictions from the English Department, and alienating herself again this year may be too risky. Although her class did not bond so tightly through out the year as she had hoped, they still began to acknowledge each others hardships. I can't wait to read on about the following year!

The Story of School, episode #2

I found this video very interesting and revealing. Throughout all my educational experience in history classes I have never learned about the educational system (from the beginning) in much depth. It is interesting to see what has changed, and what sadly is still the same in some ways. Start in 1900, the video covered the transformation from 'toe the line' schooling to student centered schooling. Gary's 'work-study-play' method of education seemed very beneficial. With the combination of the three, student's were able to learn actively with hands on activities, instead of the usual sit in at a desk for 4-5 hours a day. This plan also introduced health and hygene practices into schooling. For example, swimming pools were more like baths for many students. As they incorporated the Gary Plan into New York City schools, many immigrant families disliked the plan because of the 'work' part. They thought it was just a way for the schools to train their children how to work in mills the rest of their lives. Due to protests they went back to the old manner of schooling, although at this point, 1920's, they had at least split the classes by ages.

A big topic that was talked about during the video was the IQ tests. The testers were 'idealists' looking for 'future leaders'. The IQ tests were highly subjective; if you were not from typical American household you would not do as well on the test. They were very culturally bias. I think a lot of educational processes today are still like that. Different cultures value and believe in different things; kids are brought up differently depending on their family background. Today we still expect every student to learn one way, which cators to the middle white class, and this is not right. Using standardized testing today is the same as it was back then: culturally bias! Expecting everyone to show their knowledge using multiple choice questions is basically ridiculus. We have come so far in the advances in our education system. We need to keep pushing though to make sure everyone gets an equal opportunity to learn.

Teach With Your Heart, pg. 36-61

Abstract:

This chapter starts with a controversial articles about students from a neighboring high school who laughed while watching "Schindler's List." Mrs. G was astonished by this happening and decided to discuss it with her students, since they had talked about the Holocaust in detail. Mrs. G decided to take to students to see the movie in her town of Newport Beach; the complete opposite of the neighborhood her students were from. During the movie and at dinner afterwards, her students were discriminated against. 'Their kind' was not welcome them and it was obvious. Tipped off by the manager of the theater, a reporter interviewed Mrs. G's class about their experience in Newport Beach. Each student describe the discrimination they encountered that evening. The newspaper article caused a huge ruckus in Mrs. G's community. She received many threats from many racists in the community. She was also contacted by her former professor Ron from UCI. Having heard about the situation at hand, he invited her class to the college for a tolerance conference at which Thomas Keneally, the author of Shindler's Ark, who'd be giving a talk. He arranged a meeting with Keneally and Mrs. G's class. During the meeting, the students were very intrigued. The asked many question, then Keneally asked them many questions. Hearing their stories of discriminations and acts of racism they had encountered, he suggested that Erin contact Steven Spielberg with the stories of her students. Erin was speechless when Spielberg's assistant contacted her. She wrote a letter about her students, which Spielberg loved. At this time, he invited her to meet with him at his office. After their meeting, Spielberg requested to meet Mrs. G's students. She didn't know how she would be allowed to take another field trip but she knew she must do it for her students.


Reflection:

Holy cow! That situation escalated quickly. Although the chapter doesn't actually reveal the amount of time the elapsed through all of this, it was still a lot to handle. Mrs. G only wanted to give her students the opportunity to see Shindler's List. She didn't expect it to turn into a big ordeal.
I especially liked the part in this chapter were she talked about writing the letter to Steven Spielberg. She discussed the techniques she used to get her students past writers block. And then there she was, stuck in her own case of it. The idea she did come up with, describing her students as Crayola Crayons was a good idea. I liked it because although the majority of her students were black, they each had different experiences, different views and values, different lives that made them all extremely different. Therefore, saying that they were each a different color packed into one box was a very accurate metaphor for their classroom.

Talking About Their Generations and Harnessing the Power of Millennials

Abstract:

The article Talking About Their Generations discusses the era's in which different generations were brought up in and how it affected their morals and life styles, especially those who became future teachers. Strauss, the author, generally talked about the recent for generations, Silent, Boom, Generation X and Millennial generations. The Silent and Boom generations grew up during the Depression and WWII, attending school during a time of strong community and civic confidence. Boomer's parents saw public school as institutions of purpose and meaning. The Gen-X children were raised in a time where the needs of children were put last, and therefore, parents were not very protective of their children. They were expected to learn alone under weak standards. Because of their upbringing, Gen-X parents are more protective of their children and family and are more likely to question the public school system. The Millennial generation were parented by either Boomer's, who trust the educational system, or Gen-Xer's, who expect direct access to the system to provide the best education possible for their children, leading Millennials to be the center of attention.
After describing attribute of each generation the article went on to describe what each of these generations contribute to the teaching profession. Boomer's make up the older teacher corps, reflecting strong commitment to education and their personal values. Gen-Xer's are dedicated to lifelong learning and adaptability. With Millennials entering the teaching profession, it is important that administrators encourage respect for each others generations.
The second article, Harnessing the Power of Millennials, discusses the misconceptions of the Millennial generations, showing that they are more confident and successful then they are given credit for.


Reflection:
Talking About Their Generations helped me learn a lot about my own generation and others; things I'd never known or thought of before. As aspiring teachers, soon to be entering school systems with current teachers from all different generations, we need to be fully aware of the values and morals of teachers and parents may hold. The article really stressed the idea that specific generations were brought up under certain circumstances that molded who they are and their beliefs. We all are the way we are because of our generation and our parents generation molded together. We must be aware of our fellow teachers principles. We must also understand the generation of the students we teach, in order to fully teach to their needs.
The Harnessing the Power of Millennials was beneficial in some ways, but also bugged me in a few ways. Being in the Millennials generation, I was kind of irritated at how many generalizations were made about our generations (and other generations in the previous article for that matter). Not every one from a certain generation is brought up exactly to same or holds the same values. Therefore, as teachers, we must acknowledge generational similarities but not teach to them and only them.

The Culture/ Learning Style Connection: Educating for Diversity, Class Summarization

Abstract:

The article The Culture/ Learning Style Connection: Educating for Diversity focuses on the relationship between culture and learning styles. This is a very controversial topic as most discussions about culture and diversity tend to be. The idea that all students learn differently is made even more complicated by throwing in the idea that an individual’s culture have an effect on their learning styles as well. A persons’ culture can influence the way they are taught by parents and their preferred method of learning, amongst other things. Therefore, the article says that ideas have been raised about educating teachers on cultural diversity. The idea that truly knowing a student, including their background and culture, makes is really important that teachers use multiple teaching strategies. The issue here is that there is a thin line between people connected by cultural characteristics and stereotyping a specific culture. As teachers, we must see every student as an individual. Teaching students about culture and diversity is important and can occur inside and outside the classroom. Although the article does generalize learning styles for some cultures, it is made clear that not every student of a certain culture will support those learning styles. As the debate continues, the important thing to remember is that all children learn differently, whether due to their culture or just individuality. As teachers, from all different backgrounds and cultures, we much accommodate for all those different styles and provide opportunities for all learners.

Reflection:

After reading everyone’s reflections on this article, it is clear that while some people agreed with everything Guild said, others were disgusted by his broad assumptions and generalizations, creating a wide range of discussion about the article. A lot of us said that it is obvious that all students have different learning styles, and this article shouldn’t have to tell us that. There is one huge commonality between everyone in the class: Every student is an individual with specific learning styles. Even members of the same culture will have as many differences in learning styles as they do commonalties. As teachers, if we truly understand learning styles and believe that every student can learn, then we offer every student the opportunity to learn.

TWYH 1-35

Summary:

Teach With Your Heart begins with Erin Gruwell’s first day as a student teacher at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California. When her first class of juniors enters her classroom, she realizes that maybe her father was right; maybe she should have become a lawyer instead of deciding to become a teacher. Her students are a mixture of races and backgrounds. None of them are there to learn and none of them care about her. After her first day, she realizes she’s going to have to try a little harder to reach these students. She begins relating things to their life; football, music, etc. When she finally get some students on her side she decides to take them to a Holocaust museum, since they’ve never heard of the Holocaust, the students begin to realize that this new teacher is willing to do more for them than any other teacher had ever been before. She had them hooked at this point.

Reflection:

Being fairly familiar with the story so far, I really like this story. From the beginning it’s very inspiring. Seeing a teacher, straight from college, thrown into the classroom with a real tough class and seeing her work very hard to gain the respect from all her students. She starts relating to all her students by discussing topics that are meaningful to them. By bringing them on a field trip to the Holocaust museum, the students really started believing that Ms. G was willing to help them. Also by purchasing books for them out of her own money made them feel really good about themselves. That she cared so much about their education, made them actually care as well.

The Culture/Learning Style Connection: Educating for Diversity

Abstract:

The debate about the relationship between culture and learning styles is a very controversial topic. The idea that all students learn differently is made even more complicated by throwing in the idea that individual’s cultures have an effect on their learning styles as well. Therefore, many ideas have been raised about educating teachers on cultural diversity. The issue here is that there is a thin line between using people connected by cultural characteristics and stereotyping a specific culture. There are many ways in which is it obvious that culture and learning styles are connected, but that doesn’t mean every one from a certain culture will show the exact same learning styles. As the debate continues, the important thing to remember is that all children learn differently, whether due to culture or just individually and as teachers we much accommodate for all those different styles.

Reflection:

The most important part of this debate to me is that all students are being taught in a way that best fits their learning style. I do believe that culture can influence ones learning style. The article brought up the idea of educating teaches on particular cultural values and expectations. Although the information could be useful in some cases, it would allow stereotypes, even unnoticed ones, to enter the classroom.
The point I liked the most in the article was about our tendency toward instructional pendulum swings, meaning one day it’s this technique for everyone, then the next it’s another, then back again. With a full understanding of culture and learning styles it is easy to see that this contradicts the ideas that we are also trying to make successful. If a technique works for some students, that doesn’t mean apply it to all students. The best way to accommodate for different learning styles is to get to know every student personally. I believe if you get to know them well enough the cultural characteristic on learning styles will appear on their own.