What are your thoughts? Identify a quote that is particular powerful? How do the readings inform your understandings?
Sharing Power and Passion- A Curriculum of Empathy- Sharing Personal Stories- Students as Activists
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"Still, I hate discord. When I was growing up, I typically gave up the fight and agreed ... I can remember running to my safge spot ... when ever anger ran loose in our house" (Christensen, 2007). I think that many times teachers have to do plenty of reflecting and overcome barriers and past experiences to help make students more comfortable discussing important matters and not just running or hiding from them. This also helps the teacher know the students and develop trusting relationships. Christensen was able to relate to her students with what they knew, violence. I feel that classroom communities are built from teacher personality and student personality; that every year is different from one another and you have to find some way of relating the material to what students already know. It takes time to get to know all of our students, what's important to them, and how they are motivated . In the beginning of the year, what are some ways that we can help relate the material better and build a community while learning about our students?
ReplyDeleteIn response to mprasc01: I think something we could do as teachers to help relate the material better is to take an interest survey and see what the kids are really interested in. That could help us as teachers relate the material better to our students. Also we could incorporate ice breaker games to get the class to interact with eachother early in the year and form trust as the year begins.
ReplyDelete"I felt like a prison guard trying to bring order and kindness to a classroom where studetns laughed over the beating of a man, made fun of a classmate going blind, and mimicking the way a Vietnamese girl spoke until they pushed her into silence." I think this is a great article on finding ways to relate material to your class. Some times you are going to have to change up your lesson's to adapt to your class to get them to reach their full potential. Linda Christensen's normal lessons on English and keeping journals weren't getting through to these city kids that couldn't relate to stories they were reading and writing about. Once she found passages related to gangs and violence, the kids ears perked up and they took interest. Once she found that connection to the kids, she can now push through to the real core material she wanted to try and get through. Do you all think this is a common problem throughout schools today with misbehaving kids and not being interested in some of the older material circulating through schools? why?
In response to jkeimi01 yes I do believe that this is a common problem throughout schools today. Students have so much more to occupy their time such as the internet and video games that teach things in a fun way. Why would students want to sit in a classroom and listen to things they cannot relate to? It takes a very involved teacher to get in there and make learning fun relating today's material and student's interest's to curriculum. Good point jkeimi01:)
ReplyDeleteTo reply to mprasc01: I believe that students and teacher both need to establish the initial trust in each other before learning can occur. The teacher needs to trust that the students want to and can learn, and the students need to trust that the teacher believes in their progress. Christensen states that students"learn by exploring their own lives and coming to terms with the people they are "doing time" with in the classroom." On way to accomplish this reflection is through journaling. The students would begin to feel as if they are being understood and build confidence in their abilities. Once they begin to feel their feelings are being heard, they may then have less inhibitions about speaking up in class,which means more participation and better classroom environment. How else can we establish trust in our students as participatory learners?
ReplyDeletemprasc01 asked: "In the beginning of the year, what are some ways that we can help relate the material better and build a community while learning about our students?"
ReplyDeleteOne way for the student and teacher to better understand each other, and relate to where we each come from is to create auto-bio poems such as “For My People”. Auto-bio poems can enable us to build a community in the classroom by getting a brief peak into each others past. It can help us connect on a much deeper level as human beings. We can know where someone is coming from, not just make assumptions from our own prejudices. In our readings for this week we explored how our ethnical identity plays a role in our cognitive development. What better way for us as teachers to gain understanding about a student’s background than to have them tell us in their own words, and their own way. Students who at first believe they have nothing in common may find out that they do have something in common. They may find out that someone else has the same thoughts, feelings, interests, or hobbies that they do. This can help build a bridge between groups or individuals that otherwise might not have occurred.
“Topics like racism and homophobia are avoided in most classrooms, but they seethe like open wounds” (Christensen, 2007). This has been true for most of my career in education. Not until I began the MAT program had I ever discussed such topics in a classroom setting. Most teachers avoided it like the plague. I try rationalizing why this might be and I can not come to a logical conclusion. I believe that avoiding the topic of racism and prejudices does not make it go away; rather, I feel it almost justifies them. If we do not speak against them, then aren’t we in a round about way supporting those ideals? Avoiding the topic does not show that we are supporting the ideals, but it doesn’t show we are against them either. This is why I believe that we have to be willing to discuss these topics in the classroom. Anything we can do to dispel racism of any form is powerful. We are leaders, authority figures, and role models to the students we teach, and having discussions about racism with our students can leave an impression on them that is difficult to forget.
My question is: What are some ways that we can incorporate into our curriculum activities that help students empathize with others?
ReplyDeleteTo Ben-
ReplyDeleteCertainly we should incorporate more group discussion, small group, and partner activities in the classroom. This helps students to feel more connected to each other, yes, but it also should give them a heightened sense of responsibility in their education. Many parents believe it is strictly the teachers job to educate their children; likewise, many teachers believe education should begin at home, before students even step into the classroom on the first day of Kindergarten. But, we should also place equal weight on the part of the student: their attitudes and efforts also affect the quality of their educations.
I think that building community in the classroom allows for students to be more engaged in their school experiences. Christensen mentions student interests as being a key way in which to build community in the classroom. Identifying student interests and modeling lessons around these ideas allows for a more diverse and interesting learning experience. Christensen states "if what I am teaching in the class holds no interest for the students, I'm just holding them hostage until the bell rings." This quote resonates with my ideas of what building community can do for a classroom. Student engagement is proven to rise if lessons are modeled after their own interests.
ReplyDeleteIn answer to Katie's question, "How else can we establish trust in our students as participatory learners?", I think that there are several ways in which trust can be established in the classroom. Number one being always keeping your word with the students. If you say that your going to have a test graded by a particular day, a teacher should strive to make sure that they do not let their students down. By being honest and up front with the students, their trust can be gained and used to further their educational experience.
Question: How can teachers begin the community building process in the classroom from the very start of the year?
I picked two quotes that really stood out to me – one to inform my attitude and one to inform my instruction.
ReplyDelete“Politeness is often a veneer mistaken for understanding...” (Christensen, 2007, 47)
I think about this in my quest to become politically correct in the classroom and to see the multiple perspectives of my students. It reminds me that it’s not just about saying the right things and being aware of my actions. Being polite and “unoffensive” to students is not the same as developing an understanding of who they are and molding my interaction with them to suit their needs.
“…teach them how to empathize with people whose circumstances might differ from theirs.” (Christensen, 2007, 50)
Teaching empathy not only helps students develop socially and emotionally but I think it is probably a significant aspect of building a community in a classroom. Seeing things from a different perspective and recognizing that the position is one other than your own shows a higher level of moral development and social consciousness. Pulling from some things learned earlier in the program, the use of bibliotherapy and primary source documents is a good way to show points of view in a social studies classroom.
Since teaching state curriculum and content standards consume so much of class time, what are some ways to incorporate lessons of empathy even if it doesn’t necessarily “fit in” with the mandated curriculum?
Devon: I feel games can help to alleviate nervousness on the part of the teacher and new students, and helps the classroom to be seen as a place of pleasure above work. By incorporating activities that focus on the students educating each other they begin to see themselves as eqaual partners in learning.
ReplyDeleteJohn,
ReplyDeleteI think a lack and engagement and misbehavior are definitely a problem in schools today, and not just inner-city schools with a heavy minority population. With changes in technology, media, and society students "need" more now than what it took to engage them a few decades ago.
Of course, you will always have those students that were somehow blessed with intrinsic motivation but otherwise it becomes our job (one of thousands it seems) to determine what motivates our students. Luckily, approaches like Linda Christensen's (relating the material to the students' lives) seems to work across gender, race, ethnicity, and age - what connects to your life will interest you and, therefore, motivate you to learn.
That is going to be my approach...
“Finding the heartbeat of the class isn’t always easy. I must know what’s happening in the community and the lives of my students. If they’re consumed by the violence in the neighborhood or the lack of money in their house, I’m more likely to succeed in teaching them if I intersect their preoccupation.”
ReplyDeleteIn this article Christensen confronts the sobering truth that despite our best efforts, our classrooms are not our private fiefdoms insulated from the indignities, cruelties and even the joys of the outside world. As teachers’ it is critical that we insert ourselves and connect the dots for students so relevancy glows and emanates from the lessons we teach. While today’s students appear over exposed to many of life’s ills, their apathy should never be mistaken for immunity. Serving the myriad of needs of today’s students can be daunting (prison guard, parent figure, or even friend). To keep steady, get nimble and stay involved.
Something to ponder: What role, if any, should an educator play in advocating student activism outside the classroom?
Dawnyielle
In response to John, I do think this is a problem in some classes. We have to know the students we are teaching and make the material relevant to them or we lose their focus and at that time the behavior becomes a problem.
ReplyDelete"Many (students) suffered from pain much bigger than I could deal with..."
This quote reminds me of my first year of teaching. I had five low level classes and it is the students in those classes that have a lot of issues affecting them in and outside of school. I think growing up most of us were in college prep and honors classes and those classes were filled mostly with students whose only focus is school because they have the support outside of school, and they wouldn't have as much to worry about. I quickly realized that first year that some of the students didn't care what I was doing up in the front of the class because they had something else on their mind. However, once I started talking to my students, getting to know them, building a community, they would begin to work for me because they knew I cared about them; therefore, they cared for my class. It was a long process to build a community (VERY LONG!!), but to see the change in the students was very special. And that 6th period from hell ended up being my favorite class my first year!!
Question: As a math teacher I have not had to deal with some of the issues mentioned in the article. Do you think issues involving race, sexuality, violence, death, pregnancy, etc. are to be discussed in all classrooms or just when they become an issue?
Ben,
ReplyDeleteI try not to think of empathy as a learned behavior but clearly it is a skill set that can be taught and refined over time. While there are no simple solutions to this one, it has been my experience that the earlier we teach students to identify with others, the earlier they reap the rewards of being a part of a world much bigger than themselves. There is a powerful social experiment, Us … Not Us , pioneered by the Casamiro Foundation in New York whereby dominant student groups trade places with subordinate groups during an intense game that explores classism, racism and sexism in high schools. As the name implies, the discussions offer candid views that are quite revealing.
Rusty: Your question is something I think about and wonder about all the time. A lot of my background working with kids so far is from working various summer camps. More than once, over a short period of time I've suddenly found myself a confident for a kid (in this case, camper) half of my age who has experienced far more than I ever had at his or her age. It's eyeopening and helpful because it's so easy to forget that not every student has your experience. I think with sensitive topics such as that, it needs to be dealt with on a case by case situation. I'm not sure it's something that should be brought up in the classroom at random for the sake of discussion, but, if it does come up, I don't think we should "sugar coat" the tough topics that some students battle daily.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite point Christensen makes is: "Now, I realize that classroom community isn't always synonymous with warmth and harmony." Classrooms are busy and vibrant places where students are constantly interacting. One of the things I've noticed is that there is never a good day for everyone. I think one of the most important things for us to remember as teachers is that we should expect the unexpected. Creating a community doesn't mean all of the students will be best friends immediately, but rather, that they can work together with mutual levels of respect and understanding. This doesn't mean the student having a bad day won't snap at a student who pushes a joke a little too far or that groups of student's won't distract classroom discussion and instruction from time to time. If the students can "be kids" and bicker, get along, and then bicker again, but still have that level of respect and understanding Christensen talks about, we have been more than successful.
My question: What are some of the biggest challenges you see for yourself as far as creating a classroom community are concerned?
Bethany: Your question is a very good one because usually people do not want to focus on their weak points. I think my biggest challenge will be dealing with the diverse population of students. Every child has his or her own interests and ideas about physical education and what it should be. Trying to motivate everyone at the same time will be a huge challenge. Creating a community that involves students helping each other learn different games, sports and skills would be ideal. However children are often reluctant to help the slow child who does not understand. Understanding each other and being conscious of one another’s differences will help prevent disrespect, prejudicial, discriminatory events and attitudes from developing. "The limits of our understanding are really contingent cognitive biases built into us at this moment of evolutionary history." __McGinn Also transitioning from one activity to another is a huge challenge in physical education. Having community in the classroom will help the students be on the same page and will make it easier to change activities without breaking into chaos.
ReplyDeleteMy question: What kind of activities can teach understanding for diversity? And or what kind of behaviors or attitudes can support diversity/consciousness of differences?