Blog #3: Educational and Social Change
Hey Interwebbers!
The conversation about educational and social change has been a long-lasting and seemingly never-ending conversation littered with contradictions and different arguments and opinions. We all have our different ideas and beliefs as to how we can make education as equitable and as engaging/relatable for everyone. The authors from our readings from the past week have many different views about what constitutes good and/or just education for children of all ages, races, and socioeconomic statuses.
I could see a great difference between the schools that we have been to over the course of the week. We have visited Colegio Roosevelt, Las Casitas in El Agustino, MLK Socio Deportivo, and Fé y Alegría (#2). Colegio Roosevelt is the school of every child’s wildest dreams. There are big spacious buildings with so many classrooms and innovative spaces for any child’s creativity to run wild. Las Casitas allows the students to be occupied with a variety of activities and games where they have fun and learn basic skills such as cleaning and arts and crafts. When we visited MLK Socio Deportivo, we played soccer (or fútbol) with the students, but they had created their own rules that they review before every game to ensure that no one forgets. They get points for following the rules and lose points for breaking them. These rules created by the students help them feel motivated to play fairly and have fun!
Comparing these programs that we have seen throughout our stay so far to the experiences we have endured back home with readings and field placements, we can see how the differences in the schools align with the various types of schools in Milwaukee. By types of schools, I mean the various schools that are in different regions of Milwaukee with different socioeconomic statuses. Bianca J. Baldridge writes in her publication called Relocating the Deficit: Reimagining Black Youth in Neoliberal Times, “Deficit rhetoric that suggests that Black youth and other students of color are broken and in need of saving has historical roots in political and educational discourse and is a widespread frame within neoliberal ideology… deficit labels have defined these youth and educational challenges they face for decades…” (page 2).
Lisa Delpit describes in her article, Lessons From Teachers, ten lessons that she has learned from teachers over the course of her career teaching new teachers. The first is to “see their brilliance: Do not teach less content to the poor, urban children but instead, teach more!” (page 2). Teachers should be able to continue teaching their lessons to children from low SES communities. The students are there in the school to be challenged in an intellectual and stimulating way. By giving them less challenging work to do, the path of students being bored of school and heading out to the streets to get some stimulation ensues. We as teachers should give students what they need to feel intellectually stimulated in the safe environment of our classrooms. The second lesson is, “ensure that all children gain access to “basic skills”- the conventions and strategies that are essential to success in American society” (page 3). Delpit refers to ‘basic skills’ as the typical ‘linguistic conventions of middle class society and the strategies successful people use to access new information” (page 3). This includes punctuation rules, grammar, vocabulary, writing five-paragraph essays, and more. The third lesson is, “whatever methodology or instructional program is being used, demand critical thinking” (4). Critical Thinking is a skill that is absolutely crucial to be able to problem-solve and think beyond what is set in front of someone. Children need to learn and maintain that ability to think outside the box in order to truly understand what they are learning. By demanding that critical thinking must play a part in the daily lessons, teachers wire the students brains to critically think for themselves, be confident about asking more questions, and exploring more about what they want to know. Lesson number four is all about how to “provide the emotional ego strength to challenge racist societal views of the competence and worthiness of the children and their families” (5). It is important for students to understand that we must all treat each other with kindness and respect in order to create a better environment for ourselves and for those around us. While children do soak up what they hear at any given time, they will ask questions and say certain comments that need to be addressed in a mature manner, that is not punishing them for their ignorance, but rather educating them on why certain things are not very nice things to say; especially if those ‘not so nice’ things are about other students and their families. The ability to “recognize and build on children’s strengths” (6) is the fifth lesson. Understanding the students’ strengths and intentions will help teachers guide their students on the right path as they juggle their education with understanding who they are as a person. The other five lessons are:
1. Sixth: “Use familiar metaphors, analogies, and experiences from the children’s world to connect what children already know to school knowledge” (7).
2. Seventh: “Create a sense of family and caring in the service of academic achievement” (7).
3. Eighth: “monitor and assess children’s needs and then address them with a wealth of diverse strategies” (8).
4. Ninth: “Honor and respect the children’s home culture” (10).
5. Tenth: “Foster a sense of children’s connection to community- to something greater than themselves” (11).
These ten lessons can help all of us teachers understand how to create a more wholesome, home-like comfort in the classroom where the students are comfortable with asking new and unusual questions and exploring more. Having that connection between teachers and students is ideal for setting a positive and stimulating environment for everyone involved in the learning process; this also includes the teachers, as teachers are lifelong learners by trade! Students generally learn best in the classes where they feel the most happy, excited, comfortable and stimulated. Those key ingredients are part of a great recipe for making us the ‘greatest teachers ever!’ to our students.
Until next time,
Aditi Narayan
