Semester Overview

 Lisa Delpit: "The Silenced Dialogue"

The Delpit reading really opened my eyes to the cultural divide between students and teachers. It helped me realize the importance of understanding a student's cultural background and the connection it can help make while learning.

Kohn: "What to Look for in a Classroom"

When reading the Kohn I was introduced to meaningful learning. I further understand the importance of student engagement. Also, then applying prior knowledge to teach new knowledge and how much of a strength that is.

Shalaby "Troublemakers"

Durning my mentoring I witnessed a "troublemaker". It wasn't one of my students but a classmate of theirs. It got me thinking like Shalaby and wondering what the class could do differently to help that student be engaged.

"AI in Education: From Panic to Positive Change" Sidorkin

1. How do you see AI evolving in education over the next few years?

2. How can AI improve education overall?

3. What's something about AI in education most people misunderstand?

“Aria” Rodriguez

 “Aria” by Richard Rodriguez is about his experiences growing up as a bilingual child in America. He discusses the challenges faced with his language and identity. Particularly, when it came to transiting from spanish at home and english in school. Rodriguez talks about how it impacted his relationship with his family and culture. Making him feel loss in regard to his Spanish heritage. Language shapes a persons identity. He valsued his bilingual upbringing because that shifting to English bettered his opportunities in American society.

“Literacy with an Attitude” and “Tracking: Why Schools Should Take Another Route”

 In “Literacy with an Attitude” it empathizes the importances of literacy not just as a skill but by empowerment and social justice. Finn says that literacy is tied to social class. Fin also discusses literacy in our history. He says how literacy is viewed differently in various social classes. This can affect access to educational resources. There are challenges faced by those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Finn also brings up “academic literacy” and “street literacy”. Finn talks about the contrast the skills have. How one is need for success in formal education and the other is used in everyday life.

 

“Tracking: Why Schools Should Take Another Route” by Jeannie Oakes critiques how schools use the practice of tracking in education. Where students are divided into groups based on ability. It is argued that tracking reinforces social inequalities and affects students from marginalized backgrounds limiting their ability to succeed and advance in academic settings. Not only this but tracking has a negative impact of students self-esteem. Tracking can create a fixed mindset about schooling rather than a growth mindset. Oakes offers the idea of a mixed ability classroom to create collaboration and support among students.

“Troublemakers” Shalaby

 “I recognize every child’s unalienable right to be free”

“schools value quite children over loud ones”

“ They are the children who make trouble at school – the troublemakers. They have been my teachers and, in the pages, they will become yours.”

“He loved the freedom of learning just enough to hate the constraints of schooling”

“I ask that you try to view them as canaries tasked with protecting the miners, young people who are being sacrificed, ostensibly for our collective benefit”

 

These quotes are from “Troublemakers” by Shalaby. They stuck out to me while reading. They speak about the right to be free and a child’s right to it. They also speak about how who we perceive to be troublemakers in classrooms to be the biggest teachers. They can help us reform the norms of classroom to make them for everyone.

“The Academic and Social Value of Ethnic Studies” Sleeter

Christine Sleeter's piece, "The Academic and Social Value of Ethnic Studies," talks about the advantages of ethnic studies programs in schools. She says that these courses boost academic involvement and achievement, especially for students of color, by offering a curriculum that reflects their backgrounds and experiences. Also, these programs encourage critical thinking and a better idea of social issues, helping to create empathy and cross-cultural awareness among all students. The research points to the fact that ethnic studies lead to better academic results, like improved grades and graduation rates, and are essential for creating a more inclusive and fair educational setting.

Video Analysis