Well we are a learning community of 19 for this maymester course (18 students and 1 prof.). Isn't that great! This is the largest maymester course I have ever had. Do you think more people are interested since it is a hybrid course? Respond to the poll on the right.
For the next four weeks we will be a family of learners who will be delving into our belief system, paradigms, philosophies, etc. For our first face-to-face encounter this Friday you are to bring an object to class that describes your philosophy of life. You will be required to make an oral presentation to the rest of us about your belief system concerning life. This is a higher order thinking assignment with points assigned so be creative as you ponder your beliefs about life and then select an object to demonstrate your paradigm.
Until then make sure you print out a copy of the syllabus that is located on this blog. Always bring your books and syllabus to class. You will see the first assignment is post your comment to the Welcome post on the blog (which all of you have). Check those out since these are your new family members for the next four weeks. Read Through the syllabus and add any questions you might have about the course to this post. Read: His Name is Michael from Charting a Professional Course. Why do you think names are important for human beings especially in the case of David? Select one of the questions from the Think About This section and share your thoughts.
You're the BEST!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
We need to be especially receptive to people like David. He was going into a strange place, coming from an unknown number of other strange places. He felt like an outsider because he was in a place with people who spoke a different language, whose skin was a different color, and whose cultural values were completely different. To make students like this really feel like part of a community, we need to start by learning about them, and the first thing we learn is their name. She didn't ask his name because it was told to her, so his identity had been decided for him even before he entered the classroom.
ReplyDelete3. The teacher used many positive strategies to welcome David. The students played getting-to-know-you games and David got a tour of the room from another student. He had buddies walk with him everywhere, and all the students were anxious to become his friend. When she saw that he wasn't participating in classroom activities, she went to the bilingual resource teacher for help. Something else she could've done was to learn some simple Spanish phrases to try and help communication.
Names play an important role throughout everyone's life. A name is often what people remember us by, and for a child to walk into an unfamiliar classroom and be given a name other than his own is sad. I agree with what Becky said in her post about how it is important to create a community in your classroom, and one of the best ways to do that is by integrating other cultural values into it.
ReplyDeleteI chose question #4 from the book, asking what strategies I would use to acquaint myself with the students you teach. My first step at the beginning of the school year would dedicate the first week as "get to know you week." I would allow the students to introduce themselves to the class on the first day. I think this is important because many students often go by shortened versions of their names, and this allows them the opportunity to address that. I also think it would be a neat idea to allow the students to bring in items that represent themselves, their family, and their culture. For example, if a student comes from a family where there are Deaf relatives, he/she could teach the class a few signs that relate to the season, month, etc. This is something that could be ongoing throughout the year, and it allows for a focus on every student. As a teacher, you can use that as an opportunity to get a glimpse into their lives through pictures, food, and games.
As a teacher, I would like to give the students a chance to get to know me as well, so I would also participate in the sharing events. Students are often curious about who their teacher really is, and this is a great way to highlight some of my successes and beliefs as well. I think the most important thing for teachers to remember is to allow their students to have a voice and express themselves. When a new student comes in, give them the opportunity to introduce themselves to the class. If they aren't comfortable, give them the right to pass and allow you to do it. But as well learned in this article, always verify the information with the student!
I was actually really surprised when I was reading this that the teacher didn't introduce herself to the child and let him do the same. I felt like the office secretary was rushed and just threw the child at the teacher.
ReplyDeleteI choice question #1. I felt like the system failed David by not letting the teacher know all of the details of her new student before she met him. I understand that every circumstance is different. Sometimes children just come into the schools so fast. But aren't we as educators here for the students. Isn't it most important the make the child feel comfortable. I liked that the teacher called in the bilingual resource teacher, but I felt like instead of just observing, she could've interacted more with David. That may have solved the problem faster. Insead, he had to be in a school where no one turly knew who he was. I feel that teachers can help to prevent these failures by simply asking questions. Had the teacher made it a point to go and get his records or phone into his parents with her concerns, maybe this could've been a better learning experience for David. My mom is a principal and she often says, "Teachers are sometimes the worst learners." By this, she means that they get too busy with all of the hustle and bustle of the everyday classroom, that sometimes they forget to step back and learn from their own mistakes. Children are also people who deserve the respect of being heard. I feel like they education system has come al long way from where it used to be, but there is always room for improvement!
I totally agree with Becky, Ashley, and Amelia names are very important. Our names define who we are. As a teacher it is so important to take the time and get to know each of our students. I love Ashley's idea about spending the first week of school getting to know one another. A day in a teacher's life can be very hectic and we must remember to take the time to do what is really important. After student are gone from your classrooms they often may not remember what you taught them but they will always remember the way you made them feel. My philosophy is that teachers should make each student feel they are valued and important to our school family. I once observed a teacher who used a number system for her students. This can be an effective management tool but in this teacher's case she took it to far and instead of addressing children by their names she assigned them a number and that is how she addressed them.
ReplyDeleteYesterday, I read "His Name Is Michael" and I found the story to be quite depressing. To summarize my answers to the Think About This section, I believe that the educational system failed David because they merely took him through the routine steps in introducing a child into the system instead of making him an individual. The teacher should have asked David his name and then have him share a little bit about himself. Pairing David up with a buddy was a good idea but he needed to feel welcomed and share common interests with the other children in the class. This was a hard thing for David because he did not speak english, but the teacher should have talked to his parents. I have a few questions that was on my mind. What if the parents didn't speak english? What should the teacher do? How would you be able to communicate?
ReplyDeleteAgreeing totally will all said thus far…..
ReplyDeleteWhat’s in a name? Ones identity becomes more apparent later in life and we as adult often do not see the value to children, because we often call them boy, girl, student or just kids. After substitute teaching I have found that children have a fond since of who they are especially when their name is over looked or misrepresented. For instance, my daughter Gabrielle likes to be called Gabby and when she is in a new class or activity she is often called Gabrielle for a long time before the instructor will make the correction, even though she had confidently corrected them each time. Also, when she is asked her name the mistake what she says for Abby and again has to correct them continually. She is often so frustrated with this that she has trouble paying attention to little else.
So as you can tell even with the simplest of names and back grounds children’s identities are so often taken for granted.
Choosing the question, what specifically will you do in your classroom to address the kinds of problems identified in this article?
First, I always make an effort to connect with each child learning their name, where it comes from and how they feel about it. Also, letting them teach the entire class about them on a personal level either through student of the week or something similar. Something else fun I thought of would be to let them pick nick names that we could use during a special class time. (Hopefully there will be time for everything I want to do.)
Thank you,
Amy Hanske
Brandi,
ReplyDeleteYou bring up some great questions. Well I myself had a situation where as a kindergarten teacher I had a five year old student who showed up on the first day of school and did not speak one word of English. Her mother did not speak any English and her father only spoke a few words. Their native language was Spanish and my only experience with Spanish words were from Taco Bell. My teaching assistant and I immediately took a continuing education class at PNC to learn conversational Spanish, the child's native language. I also bought a picture dictionary that was in English and Spanish. Around the classroom I began to label everything with the English and Spanish word. I networked with a high school Spanish teacher who translated notes for me from English to Spanish and Spanish to English so I could communicate with the parents. From day one Yadira and I were able to communicate through body language and pictures. As time went on she learned English and I learned some Spanish. It was a great experience. My other students that year also learned to count in Spanish and identify colors in both Spanish and English. The mother volunteered to help out in the classroom and I would get copies of books to read aloud to the children. I would get an English and Spanish version. I would read a page in English and then the Mom would read the same page in Spanish. I also adopted a set of 4 year old twins from Ukraine who did not speak any English and we learned how to communicate with one another by using lots of gestures. The most important thing is to keep trying to communicate and not get frustrated with the language barrier. The best thing we can do for children who are English Language Learners is give them the gift of time to develop their new language skills.
After reading this story, I found it quite interesting. Our name is what we are defined by as a child. It is our identity and key to communication in the classroom, and in socializing amongst our friends and family. In this case poor David was cheated from the first experiences at his new school. He was afraid to correct everyone of his name, because everything was new to him, school, language, and his social aspect of school. I chose to answer question #4. In the community which I live and hope to teach, there are many spanish speaking families. So I do not doubt that I may possibly have a spanish speaking child in my class. I am trying to prepare myself, I have taken 4 years of spanish in high school and Spanish 102 and in the fall Spanish 201. This will benefit me later when I may get a student like David in my class. To acquaint myself with students, I will ask them what they prefer to be called by as well as share with the class one of their interests. Through the first week or so I will try to work with each student individually to acquaint myself with them. Also, I will not hesitate to speak spanish to a spanish speaking student. Hopefully this will show that I to can speak spanish so there is nothing to be afraid of. With that in mind hopefully this will prevent students from having the problems David did.
ReplyDeleteDavid your approach to speaking the native language of the child will be very effective. People of other cultures are very honored when we attempt to use their language. The hispanic culture also holds teachers in high esteem and David may have thought it would be disrespectful to tell the teacher she was using the wrong name. That is why it would be so important to ask the child what they would like to be called. This simple question could have alleviated the problem that Michael/David had to endure.
ReplyDeleteNames are important because it really puts a good connection with you and your students. It’s what we base and relate our whole lives off of. It’s nearly impossible to build a relationship without knowing each other’s name. It was important in Michael’s… I mean Miguel’s… I mean David’s case because he never got the opportunity to really be himself. Like the author said, he could be David at home, but when he got to school he had to be someone different. It wasn’t fair to him and I’m glad that the teacher recognized that she had failed him. It was interesting the way she ended the writing saying… “I would have introduced myself then asked him his name…” That wouldn’t have helped too much because the boy didn’t speak English anyways. The things she did well was allowing the students to interact with David and allow him to be accepted across the board. I answered “#4” on the think about… In the classroom I would use various ice breakers to really motivate the class to loosen up so I could get to know them better. I would also do my best to have 1 on 1 time to get to know the children on an individual basis. Building rapport with the students is really important, the higher the rapport, the more respect you will have. Also, team activities are something I would defiantly use to see how students interact with each other. I like to see what they respond to in a positive manner.
ReplyDeleteAlthough names do not make up who we are on the inside, we are known and remembered by our names. For a boy like david who was introduced to a new environment and new people, it would be hard to find yourself. Not only would the new environment and people make it hard, but on top of that being mistakenly known by the wrong name
ReplyDeletename would make it extremely difficult to adjust and become yourself around others.
1. Fortunately I have never changed schools throughout my whole life. I graduated from the same school where I attended my first day of kindergarten. I do not know what it would be like personally, but im sure it would not be easy. There are many challenges students are faced with when moving from school to school. One of these challenges would be making friends and fitting in. Each school has a different group of kids, with different personalities and manners. Being able to adjust from these repeatedly while trying to fit in would be very difficult. Other challenges would be getting comfortable and used to the school rules, teachers and community. Being able to find and know your way around different schools would get tiring and frustrating. New teachers can be very intimidating as well. Although these challenges exist, I think they would make the student more brave and independent
#1 After reading the story I found it to be sad but yet interesting. We are all given a name to identify ourselves for the rest of our lives. It also is the key of communication when socializing with friends and family. It is also important when communicating in the classroom. I feel that the educational system failed to teach David correctly and make him feel comfortable. They took him through routine steps instead of making his self an individual. It was sad because David couldn’t speak English, which made it hard to communicate with the teacher and other classmates. It should have been the teachers responsibility to have had better communication with his parents. I don’t know what would have happened if the parents didn’t speak any English, then what would poor David do? This situation could happen to any of us. It may just be a different situation, such as the child being deaf. I plan to prepare myself for these situations. I know basic Spanish and am currently enrolled in my third semester of sign language. This will benefit me incase I get a child like David in my class. To acquaint myself with my students, I will let them tell me what they prefer to be called by. I would also give a time for each child to tell a little about themselves to the others. I also plan to try and work with each student individually to acquaint myself with them. I also plan to use the others languages that I am learning to better communicate with my student. Hopefully by having a good communication with each student they will feel better prepared and comfortable in my class unlike how David felt.
ReplyDeleteI never really knew how important names are until I read this story. Names are very important because they identify you. Without names how would be able to know if someone is talking to you, its like everyone having the same name it just doesnt work well. In the story, for david, I think it was probably the most important thing, because he didnt know english. He is known by his family as david so he would know if they were talking to him, but in school when they were all calling him micheal he probably felt like they didnt want him to fit in.
ReplyDeleteI choose question#4
I think one of the most important things to do when you teach kids is to introduce yourself and maybe have them introduce themselves. Like in a group, so that they know who is who.
Communication is key. Just being able to communicate with each student is essential, even if that requires some extra effort. I learned quickly in my previous work experience the importance of learning my clients' names. It helps to form a relationship and the teacher has a responsibility to form a realtionship with each and every student.
ReplyDeleteQuestion 3 The positive stragtegies the teacher used were enlisting help from the language resource teacher and pairing David with buddies. It was a good effort to call in the language teacher, but needed to be more interactive directly with David. Also, the buddy system was a good way to make him feel included and meet each child in the class. I think the teacher could have used more resources such as getting books or videos that were in english and spanish. Also, parental involvement seems like it would have helped David's transition be smoother. Since language is such a big barrier for David's learning, it is important to try to involve spanish in the class, I like the idea of reading a story in both languages. This seems like it would be beneficial to the entire class and help make David feel more comfortable. I think it is important to consider the class as a whole, while still recognizing the students as individuals.
This story made me really think about the importance in acknowlaging children for who they are. This poor boy had to sit in a classroom and be blatenly called an incorrect name and, because of the teachers nature, he didnt even think to ask the child if that was the correct name to call him by. It is sad because i truely feel as though this happens on much more occations than we believe.
ReplyDelete3. how do parents contribute to the stresses facing students? what can schools and teachers do to minimize thes negative effects?
Parents put a lot of pressure on their children to always obey the teacher no matter what the circumstances are. They are taught to always respect and listen to those who are in charge of them at schools. Usually when children try to tell their parents when these things happen, the parents blow it off and take the teachers side. The teachers can encourage their kids to correct them when they are wrong as well as make sure the kids know that they are always there if they need to talk.