ETE 663 has been an amazing class for me. I enjoy the online format, especially the Panopto lectures and materials, and how it enables me to learn at my own pace and schedule.
I feel as though I’ve gotten more out of the discussions in this class than I have in many others that meet in person for a few hours a week – my comments are more thoughtful and I don’t feel “forced” to participate in a discussion after a long day at work. (I talk all day … I just want to sit back and listen sometimes!)
The text was informative and easy to read, and I would recommend using it again in future ETE 663 classes. Thank you to everyone in the class for doing their part in posting (mostly) on time and for bringing topical and intriguing thoughts to our discussions.
Special thanks to Dr. Cantu for putting so much work into the materials and providing items we can use in our own classrooms. Excellent class!
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Chapter 12
Religion is yet another prism through which we view the world, and one that seems to be evolving each day. I was not raised with religion, never attended church, and was not educated about the Bible or any other religious texts until I attended college and was enrolled in a mandatory course about the New Testament. (Ironically, my lack of religious experience made me a better special education teacher – I could totally understand how my students were lost when it came to certain subjects in class.)
As such, I was extremely naïve when I became a teacher and realized just how much religion impacts a school culture. I taught high school in two rural districts, both of which had clubs for Christian athletes, allowed team prayer before sporting events, encouraged youth programs at area schools through daily announcements, and discouraged any extracurricular events on Wednesday evenings (a popular church attendance night).
My students didn’t have issues with the religion that was emphasized in the school setting, but I did. I was the only divorced member of the faculty at one school, and was literally the only one who didn’t attend a church in the town. I did my best to keep these facts under wraps … not because I felt ostracized, but because I literally didn’t want anyone to know that religion wasn’t important to me. I didn’t want anyone to think that the unimportance of religion would rub off on my students. I wanted to fit in, and just let everyone assume I attended church in the town in which I lived (35 miles away from the district).
I know I felt awkward at baccalaureate and graduation, when prayers and Bible verses were referenced, but I hope that feeling of not fitting in didn’t impact my teaching in the classroom. In fact, I like to think I learned a lot from my students in this aspect: the majority of them had been attending church their entire lives, and helped me understand the importance of faith and how it brings a community together.
My question for the class is: I know I was fortunate in that I didn’t have any negative experiences regarding religion in my classroom, but would like to know how others handled it in theirs.
As such, I was extremely naïve when I became a teacher and realized just how much religion impacts a school culture. I taught high school in two rural districts, both of which had clubs for Christian athletes, allowed team prayer before sporting events, encouraged youth programs at area schools through daily announcements, and discouraged any extracurricular events on Wednesday evenings (a popular church attendance night).
My students didn’t have issues with the religion that was emphasized in the school setting, but I did. I was the only divorced member of the faculty at one school, and was literally the only one who didn’t attend a church in the town. I did my best to keep these facts under wraps … not because I felt ostracized, but because I literally didn’t want anyone to know that religion wasn’t important to me. I didn’t want anyone to think that the unimportance of religion would rub off on my students. I wanted to fit in, and just let everyone assume I attended church in the town in which I lived (35 miles away from the district).
I know I felt awkward at baccalaureate and graduation, when prayers and Bible verses were referenced, but I hope that feeling of not fitting in didn’t impact my teaching in the classroom. In fact, I like to think I learned a lot from my students in this aspect: the majority of them had been attending church their entire lives, and helped me understand the importance of faith and how it brings a community together.
My question for the class is: I know I was fortunate in that I didn’t have any negative experiences regarding religion in my classroom, but would like to know how others handled it in theirs.
Chapter 11
Sexual orientation and its impact on school climate is the most challenging diversity issue I have experienced. For many years, I operated under assumption that sexuality shouldn’t be an issue in the classroom – what people choose to do in their personal lives should not affect how subjects are taught and how the curriculum is approached. That viewpoint was obviously a result of my upbringing and personal experiences; it wasn’t necessarily wrong, but it was naïve and closed-minded.
I soon realized that my viewpoint was acceptable as a student, when I wasn’t in control of the classroom atmosphere, but not so much when I was in the teacher’s role and was responsible for the climate of my room. That’s not to say that I did a 180 and suddenly took interest in and focused on the sexual orientation of my peers and students … instead, I realized that when you are responsible for providing an atmosphere of understanding and comfort and safety for your students, you need to understand their backgrounds, interests, and skill levels. This understanding, of course, includes their home lives, circle of friends, and triggers that impact the classroom. Eventually I came to realize that a GLBT student experiencing bullying because of his/her sexual orientation has the same impact on my classroom as an LD student experiencing bullying because of his/her special education placement. I was a mother bear when protecting my students when they were mistreated, and I had to change my viewpoint on the importance of sexual orientation when it became apparent that this issue was as prevalent as other common classroom issues.
In all, by not burying my head in the sand and approaching sexual orientation as just another facet in my students’ myriad of issues, I feel as though I was more able to give them the freedom to be themselves in my classroom and be a sounding board for their problems.
My question for the class is: as an educator who has not been in a classroom for nearly three years, I would like to know how my peers are telling their students why it’s not okay to say “that’s gay” or “you’re retarded” ….
I soon realized that my viewpoint was acceptable as a student, when I wasn’t in control of the classroom atmosphere, but not so much when I was in the teacher’s role and was responsible for the climate of my room. That’s not to say that I did a 180 and suddenly took interest in and focused on the sexual orientation of my peers and students … instead, I realized that when you are responsible for providing an atmosphere of understanding and comfort and safety for your students, you need to understand their backgrounds, interests, and skill levels. This understanding, of course, includes their home lives, circle of friends, and triggers that impact the classroom. Eventually I came to realize that a GLBT student experiencing bullying because of his/her sexual orientation has the same impact on my classroom as an LD student experiencing bullying because of his/her special education placement. I was a mother bear when protecting my students when they were mistreated, and I had to change my viewpoint on the importance of sexual orientation when it became apparent that this issue was as prevalent as other common classroom issues.
In all, by not burying my head in the sand and approaching sexual orientation as just another facet in my students’ myriad of issues, I feel as though I was more able to give them the freedom to be themselves in my classroom and be a sounding board for their problems.
My question for the class is: as an educator who has not been in a classroom for nearly three years, I would like to know how my peers are telling their students why it’s not okay to say “that’s gay” or “you’re retarded” ….
Chapter 10
As noted by Dr. Cantu, the gender stereotyping legacy of the 20th century is still affecting students in 2011. My post will focus on the intriguing attribution of success and failure in males and females: ability vs. effort.
Taylor referenced several studies, including one by Sadker & Sadker (1994), that illustrate overall how males view success in terms of effort and females view success in terms of ability. For instance, if a male student receives a poor grade on a math test, he will see that failure as lack of effort on his part. He will not necessarily question his ability in the subject. On the other hand, a female who receives a poor grade tends to question her ability, not effort. Taylor implies that this difference in internalization of success/failure is a factor in the consistency of females dropping courses and not entering fields related to STEM.
It pains me to acknowledge that this is the first time I have heard about the affective variables approach. Unfortunately, I am no longer in the classroom and am unable to use this knowledge to guide my students around this issue. In my opinion, if I could have told the students how males and females tend to view their successes and failures through this prism, it may have given them more opportunities to experience success.
My question for the class is: how can high school teachers help students tackle gender stereotypes? How can we help students see themselves in a different light, despite years of little or no intervention in elementary and junior high school?
Taylor referenced several studies, including one by Sadker & Sadker (1994), that illustrate overall how males view success in terms of effort and females view success in terms of ability. For instance, if a male student receives a poor grade on a math test, he will see that failure as lack of effort on his part. He will not necessarily question his ability in the subject. On the other hand, a female who receives a poor grade tends to question her ability, not effort. Taylor implies that this difference in internalization of success/failure is a factor in the consistency of females dropping courses and not entering fields related to STEM.
It pains me to acknowledge that this is the first time I have heard about the affective variables approach. Unfortunately, I am no longer in the classroom and am unable to use this knowledge to guide my students around this issue. In my opinion, if I could have told the students how males and females tend to view their successes and failures through this prism, it may have given them more opportunities to experience success.
My question for the class is: how can high school teachers help students tackle gender stereotypes? How can we help students see themselves in a different light, despite years of little or no intervention in elementary and junior high school?
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Chapter 9
As evidenced by the information in this chapter on exceptionality, special educators need to be knowledgeable of not only multicultural trends, but a wide array of legal, social, emotional, and physical issues that relate to their students. From the goals and objectives on Individualized Education Plans to the three-tiered approach of Response to Intervention, the legal implications of IDEA to the eligibility process and continuum of placement, special education teachers are expected to be up-to-date on the latest issues and trends that affect their classrooms.
These added expectations, coupled with the increased numbers of practicing special education teachers who are not fully licensed, frame the thesis about burnout in special educators: the less preservice experience, the more likely it is a teacher will leave the profession within five years.
Why are special educators so prone to burnout? Let me list just five reasons:
1. Certification requirements
2. Expectation of legal knowledge
3. Implementation and documentation of RTI interventions
4. Creation and upkeep of IEPs
5. Maintenance of educational standards for varying levels of achievement
My question for the class is: what can we, as experienced teachers, do to help new special educators understand the expectations, requirements, and demands of the special education classroom that aren’t necessarily taught during preservice teaching?
These added expectations, coupled with the increased numbers of practicing special education teachers who are not fully licensed, frame the thesis about burnout in special educators: the less preservice experience, the more likely it is a teacher will leave the profession within five years.
Why are special educators so prone to burnout? Let me list just five reasons:
1. Certification requirements
2. Expectation of legal knowledge
3. Implementation and documentation of RTI interventions
4. Creation and upkeep of IEPs
5. Maintenance of educational standards for varying levels of achievement
My question for the class is: what can we, as experienced teachers, do to help new special educators understand the expectations, requirements, and demands of the special education classroom that aren’t necessarily taught during preservice teaching?
Chapter 8
My reflection for Chapter 8, Poverty and Socioeconomic Class, will be written from the point of view of a 17-year-old male student living in poverty.
According to the World Bank, I live in poverty because I go without food a couple times a week. Because my mom can't afford medical bills, so I don't go to the doctor when I'm sick. Because my next-door neighbor, who is 8, can read better than I can.
My dad is out of the picture, so my mom has to support me and my three little sisters with her part-time job at the local gas station. I don't know how much she makes, but it can't be that much because we get money from the government each month and we have to use a Link card at Walmart. We live in the big apartment complex in town, but let's be honest: we live in the projects. It's cold in the winter, hot in the summer, and it's impossible to chill because I share a room with my sisters.
If the dimensions of poverty are material, psychological, political, and social, I fit the bill. There's never enough to eat, I wear clothes we get at free church events, I don't trust or respect adults because they can't be counted on, I don't have any say in my future, and I'm a failure at school.
According to Ruby Payne, I have a lot to offer the other kids at school. I can show the rich and normal kids how to have street smarts, how to protect themselves, and how to survive without getting everything handed to them by their rich parents. Apparently they can show me how to make good decisions, be thrifty, and how to use my education to better myself. I don't see this happening, though.
As part of the hidden rules of poverty, the odds are stacked dramatically against my high school graduation. Let's not even talk about the odds of me going to junior college or university. Six percent chance of me graduating college ... I don't see this happening, either.
My question for the class is: how can you, as my teacher, make me care about school? Why should I bother? How can you give me hope for a better life than the one I'm living now?
According to the World Bank, I live in poverty because I go without food a couple times a week. Because my mom can't afford medical bills, so I don't go to the doctor when I'm sick. Because my next-door neighbor, who is 8, can read better than I can.
My dad is out of the picture, so my mom has to support me and my three little sisters with her part-time job at the local gas station. I don't know how much she makes, but it can't be that much because we get money from the government each month and we have to use a Link card at Walmart. We live in the big apartment complex in town, but let's be honest: we live in the projects. It's cold in the winter, hot in the summer, and it's impossible to chill because I share a room with my sisters.
If the dimensions of poverty are material, psychological, political, and social, I fit the bill. There's never enough to eat, I wear clothes we get at free church events, I don't trust or respect adults because they can't be counted on, I don't have any say in my future, and I'm a failure at school.
According to Ruby Payne, I have a lot to offer the other kids at school. I can show the rich and normal kids how to have street smarts, how to protect themselves, and how to survive without getting everything handed to them by their rich parents. Apparently they can show me how to make good decisions, be thrifty, and how to use my education to better myself. I don't see this happening, though.
As part of the hidden rules of poverty, the odds are stacked dramatically against my high school graduation. Let's not even talk about the odds of me going to junior college or university. Six percent chance of me graduating college ... I don't see this happening, either.
My question for the class is: how can you, as my teacher, make me care about school? Why should I bother? How can you give me hope for a better life than the one I'm living now?
Chapter 7
In this chapter, Taylor describes the importance of and relationship between culture and language. The definitions of culture vary, but I believe James Banks' components of culture is one of the best models educators can use as a starting point: values/behaviors, language/dialects, nonverbal language, cultural cognitiveness, perspectives, and identification. The intertwining of cultural and language is somewhat obvious: they are inseparable!
In this post, I want to focus on the chapter's information about E.D. Hirsch and his cultural literacy theory. His cultural literacy test, as well as the topics covered in his core knowledge sequence, simply blew me away. For some reason, I have no recollection of reading his book or studying his theory; the simple guidance of "giving everyone the same starting line" is something I strived to do in my special education classroom. At times it was nearly impossible, however, because some students could barely complete mathematical computations, while others could barely read at a second grade level.
I did, however, do my best to encourage the students to have a more rounded world view by introducing them to various references and experiences that were often foreign to them. Despite their various learning disabiltiies, they were exposed to Romeo and Juliet with a lesson on fighting and jumping to conclusions ... they learned the science behind levers by building shoebox castles with catapults ... they learned to write introductions to essays by discovering idioms and metaphors. I hope that through these efforts, my kids have some ability to recognize references in their everyday lives.
My question for the class is: what kind of lesson plans would you design in order to incorporate difference orientation in your classroom?
In this post, I want to focus on the chapter's information about E.D. Hirsch and his cultural literacy theory. His cultural literacy test, as well as the topics covered in his core knowledge sequence, simply blew me away. For some reason, I have no recollection of reading his book or studying his theory; the simple guidance of "giving everyone the same starting line" is something I strived to do in my special education classroom. At times it was nearly impossible, however, because some students could barely complete mathematical computations, while others could barely read at a second grade level.
I did, however, do my best to encourage the students to have a more rounded world view by introducing them to various references and experiences that were often foreign to them. Despite their various learning disabiltiies, they were exposed to Romeo and Juliet with a lesson on fighting and jumping to conclusions ... they learned the science behind levers by building shoebox castles with catapults ... they learned to write introductions to essays by discovering idioms and metaphors. I hope that through these efforts, my kids have some ability to recognize references in their everyday lives.
My question for the class is: what kind of lesson plans would you design in order to incorporate difference orientation in your classroom?
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