I think it is interesting that at the beginning of the Black in America video that the principal states if kids are failing in your classes, it is your fault, not the students. This really resonates with what we are learning in class. Differentiated instruction can help to increase the level of passing grades that students can achieve. Small class size also helped to motivate these students to achieve higher marks. The one male said that he had teachers pushing him to work harder, which he never had in his previous school. These small class sizes allows teachers more one on one time with the student which provides more opportunity to develop instruction appropriate for each student. These two elements, small class size and differentiated instruction, allow students to break from the single story" that is perpetuated in our culture today. By introducing and teaching the single story to the students, we are involving them in our quest to break the mold that the single story has in our culture.
The Short History of Asians in America was an interesting slideshow put to music. I thought I had the wrong video when System of a Down started playing, but I am glad I kept watching. I felt like this video gave a good history of what struggles Asian immigrants have gone through over the past 150 years. It was interesting to note that the typical stereotype of Asians was not presented in this video, something that I was glad to see not included. These single stories are too often perpetuated in online media. This video was a good break from the single story of Asian American's as it portrayed the struggles of Asians in America over time as well as some of the accomplishments Asian people have had in America.
The Black in America video definately shows a single story on how young black students are perceived to not make it in an educational system. Although some statistics back this statement, many students also acheive and find different ways to. In the first school they showed, they made sure the classes were small, and it helped spark participation which led to better understanding and success. With motivation and attention, these kids are all succeeding and breaking the single story mold of young african american students.
I agree with Devon on the The Short History of Asians in America. They don't tell the traditional single story of asian americans. They showed a different perspective of what history books sometimes leave out. I liked how after all the suffering shown by asian american over the last so many years how they have succeeded in all facets of American culture being in films, music, televisions, politics and in the work place.
Why do you think they showed this different side of Asian American culture we might not be familiar with?
I think the most significant single story that is challenged, specifically by the video on Asian Americans, is that racial tension in the US exists between blacks and whites only; and that violent hate crimes have only been committed by whites against blacks. A few other things were illuminated for me as well, such as how Asian Americans have worked their way up the social ladder, first doing menial laborious jobs to holding professional positions in many STEM fields today. I was also unaware of the heavy presence of Asians historically in the US military. I feel like the second video, while it contained many success stories, reinforced the single story of African American males as low academic achievers, but fails to bring to light the reasoning behind this (often poverty and lack of access to academic resources).
Provide specific examples of educational practices that break from single stories of achievement.
In Chapter 4 Sheets (2005) discusses how teachers must be careful of allowing a single story to “harden into stereotypes” (55), but says we can use ethnic profiles as a means to identifying accommodations and learning styles of our diverse students. We can also look at the broader picture and the context of learning to see what the problem may be for low-achieving students. For example, small class size has made a dramatic difference at James Baldwin High School, while providing a safe environment and positive role models to inner-city Chicago students was extremely effective at Urban Prep Academy.
Martin Covington co-wrote an article about student teachers who developed strategies in an attempt to motivate inner-city African American students for academic success. The specific practices implemented were non-competitive, effort-based grading, multiple performance opportunities, increased responsibility and choice, and validation of cultural differences. By simply reaching out to students, changing the norm, and finding individual connections, the students actually showed much higher levels of motivation and engagement then they had with traditional teaching methods.
Sheets, R.H. (2005). Diversity pedagogy: Examing the role of culture in the teaching-learning process. Boston, Allyn and Bacon.
Teela, K.M., Debruin-Pareckib, A., & Covington, M.V. (1998). Teaching strategies that honor and motivate inner-city African-American students: A school/university collaboration. Teaching and Teacher Education,14 (5), 479-495.
The teachers in the article used “validation of cultural differences” as a teaching strategy to motivate students in their class. The incoroporation of these types of lessons can be seamless in a Social Studies classroom (yay for me), but how can you accomplish this in other content areas?
I think the producers of the video probably feel like the struggle and the plight of Asians in America is shadowed by the struggles of other minorities throughout history, and they want their story and the injustices against them to be remembered. Or, it can be a mechanism for building pride among Asian-Americans…like, “remember where we came from.” These stories of success through so many struggles are probably empowering. Historians, and history teachers especially, often say we study history so we can learn from our mistakes and to inform future decisions. And some may say that we have come a long way since the extremely violent race relations of the past. Conversely, I don’t think we’ve come that far…political correctness and a rhetoric of equity have kind of hushed racial tension in America – simply swept it under the rug. It’s kind of disappointing to think we may be working backward in such a progressive era.
What single stories are challenged? Provide specific examples of educational practices that break from single stories of achievement?
The two single stories challenged in these two videos are perhaps the most important single stories for us to be aware of as teachers - which is the work ethic of Asian Americans and black Americans.
One of the common stereotypes of Asian Americans is that they are a cultural group who work hard and occupy some of the more well-paid positions in the business world and the science world. While I knew about some of the struggles Asian Americans encountered, especially during World War II, I was not aware of many of the other struggles Asian American immigrants faced. Discovering "new" information such as this always upsets me. It is clear that a number of hard working Asians came to the United States, but received little acknowledgment for their efforts.
The Black in America video challenges the idea that African Americans, specifically, males, have low achievement levels in school. These levels of achievement, while a reality, can be overcome. The Black in America video highlights teachers and school programs who have gone beyond this stereotype to change it, not to perpetuate it.
It is important, as teachers, to look beyond the stereotypes about achievement levels in our students. We may have a number of gifted, successful, high achieving African American students who have been frequently underestimated because of these stereotypes. The same, however, may be the case of Asian Americans who may have a number of challenges in school and not given the adequate help. Stereotypes and single stories are incredibly dangerous when instructing students of different cultures and backgrounds.
How can we work to make sure we do not think of stereotypes and single stories in our teaching?
The teachers in the article used “validation of cultural differences” as a teaching strategy to motivate students in their class. The incoroporation of these types of lessons can be seamless in a Social Studies classroom (yay for me), but how can you accomplish this in other content areas?
I think we're both sort of lucky on this one, Brett. It takes more work than some English teachers are willing to do, but if a teacher can look beyond the traditional canon, a number of cultural differences can be taught in the classroom. I took an American ethnic literature course in the spring, and we studied Asian American, African American, Native American, and a number of other ethnic authors from our country. Each author put a little bit of their personal culture in the stories.
I can see where students of minority groups would feel frustrated with the traditional classroom instruction. It is important to see that these students can learn about their culture and how it makes the "melting pot" in America so unique.
I enjoyed the history of Asian Americans. I know some of it was in the history books, but I personally learn better sometimes with pictures and videos. It was neat to see all of the history and to be shown some of the Asian Americans who have been successful in many areas. I did notice one single story that particularly stuck out to me and I hear quite often. It was that Asian Americans were here to take all of our "good jobs" and that they would come to our country and could be used for cheap work. I think educational practices that we could use would be to take time to learn about each of our students and know that students learn in many different ways. By putting all of our past judgements that we have had or heard aside and focusing on the student and what it would take for him or her to learn and be successful would be a great start to break from single stories of achievement in education. Why do you think this history about Asian Americans is not present in text books or is it and I just don't know about this?
In repsonse to Bethany's question. How can we work to make sure we do not think of stereotypes and single stories in our teaching?
One of the best ways I think to avoid this is to "lead discussions and activities that openly value ethnic diversity and racial diversity in the classroom, (Sheets, 2005, 65). For example when studying history of China you may want to read several stories on Chinese culture and history. This allows you as the teacher and students to learn more about different cultures and provide knowledge to you and the students not just a single story.
Sheets, R.H. (2005). Diversity pedagogy: Examing the role of culture in the teaching-learning process. Boston, Allyn and Bacon.
I was reading everyone's posts and trying to think of another single story what was challenged that hasn't been brought up; and as I was dissecting the videos it came to me. How about the single story of America being the "home of the free". We claim that American citizens are free, but gay and lesbian couples can't get married; Muslims can't build a mosque in NYC; we're hesitant to give health care to ALL citizens; a man runs for president who doesn't fit the traditional mold and we try to find every reason under the sun to discredit him. Why can't we as Americans acknowledge our wrong doings and teach about them to avoid future occurrences?
Provide specific examples of educational practices that break from single stories of achievement?
Sheets (2005)describes "consciousness of difference" as being aware and thoughtfully exploring diversity in people, ideas, and attitudes by covering multiple points of variances. Implementing this helps to minimize the development of prejudices, and decreases the discriminatory actions towards others that differ from self (Sheets, 2005)
Having open discussions and educating students on different perspectives will help to eliminate single stories of achievement. Another strategy that I have mentioned in class before for me as a math teacher would be to introduce a person from a diverse background that made significant contributions to the field of mathematics. I can do this for a topic we are studying, or have one day every few weeks to explore a different person. The key is to have the discussions and open the students minds to a different point of view.
Sheets, R.H. (2005). Diversity pedagogy: Examing the role of culture in the teaching-learning process. Boston, Allyn and Bacon.
I agree, after reading the posts the single stories from the two videos have pretty much been addressed. In response to your question, I think that the majority of the students in today’s schools are more open to the diverse situations. Therefore, hopefully some of these single stories are disappearing. I witness this with the students that have encountered many of these diversities. I have had students that are openly gay or lesbian and no one has ever been ignorant about the issues that they face. I do not see any white/black race issues which have been a major part of education’s history. The ignorance I witness is with students that say or do things that offend people of diverse cultures that they know little or nothing about. So I agree with you, as educators, when we here these comments or see these gestures we need to do our part and educate. Teach them that what they are saying is incorrect and may be offensive to people. If we can inform students about other cultures, then we can hope to see other single stories begin to disappear as well.
I think it is interesting that at the beginning of the Black in America video that the principal states if kids are failing in your classes, it is your fault, not the students. This really resonates with what we are learning in class. Differentiated instruction can help to increase the level of passing grades that students can achieve. Small class size also helped to motivate these students to achieve higher marks. The one male said that he had teachers pushing him to work harder, which he never had in his previous school. These small class sizes allows teachers more one on one time with the student which provides more opportunity to develop instruction appropriate for each student. These two elements, small class size and differentiated instruction, allow students to break from the single story" that is perpetuated in our culture today. By introducing and teaching the single story to the students, we are involving them in our quest to break the mold that the single story has in our culture.
ReplyDeleteThe Short History of Asians in America was an interesting slideshow put to music. I thought I had the wrong video when System of a Down started playing, but I am glad I kept watching. I felt like this video gave a good history of what struggles Asian immigrants have gone through over the past 150 years. It was interesting to note that the typical stereotype of Asians was not presented in this video, something that I was glad to see not included. These single stories are too often perpetuated in online media. This video was a good break from the single story of Asian American's as it portrayed the struggles of Asians in America over time as well as some of the accomplishments Asian people have had in America.
The Black in America video definately shows a single story on how young black students are perceived to not make it in an educational system. Although some statistics back this statement, many students also acheive and find different ways to. In the first school they showed, they made sure the classes were small, and it helped spark participation which led to better understanding and success. With motivation and attention, these kids are all succeeding and breaking the single story mold of young african american students.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Devon on the The Short History of Asians in America. They don't tell the traditional single story of asian americans. They showed a different perspective of what history books sometimes leave out. I liked how after all the suffering shown by asian american over the last so many years how they have succeeded in all facets of American culture being in films, music, televisions, politics and in the work place.
Why do you think they showed this different side of Asian American culture we might not be familiar with?
What single stories are challenged?
ReplyDeleteI think the most significant single story that is challenged, specifically by the video on Asian Americans, is that racial tension in the US exists between blacks and whites only; and that violent hate crimes have only been committed by whites against blacks. A few other things were illuminated for me as well, such as how Asian Americans have worked their way up the social ladder, first doing menial laborious jobs to holding professional positions in many STEM fields today. I was also unaware of the heavy presence of Asians historically in the US military. I feel like the second video, while it contained many success stories, reinforced the single story of African American males as low academic achievers, but fails to bring to light the reasoning behind this (often poverty and lack of access to academic resources).
Provide specific examples of educational practices that break from single stories of achievement.
In Chapter 4 Sheets (2005) discusses how teachers must be careful of allowing a single story to “harden into stereotypes” (55), but says we can use ethnic profiles as a means to identifying accommodations and learning styles of our diverse students. We can also look at the broader picture and the context of learning to see what the problem may be for low-achieving students. For example, small class size has made a dramatic difference at James Baldwin High School, while providing a safe environment and positive role models to inner-city Chicago students was extremely effective at Urban Prep Academy.
Martin Covington co-wrote an article about student teachers who developed strategies in an attempt to motivate inner-city African American students for academic success. The specific practices implemented were non-competitive, effort-based grading, multiple performance opportunities, increased responsibility and choice, and validation of cultural differences. By simply reaching out to students, changing the norm, and finding individual connections, the students actually showed much higher levels of motivation and engagement then they had with traditional teaching methods.
Sheets, R.H. (2005). Diversity pedagogy: Examing the role of culture in the teaching-learning process. Boston, Allyn and Bacon.
Teela, K.M., Debruin-Pareckib, A., & Covington, M.V. (1998). Teaching strategies that honor and motivate inner-city African-American students: A school/university collaboration. Teaching and Teacher Education,14 (5), 479-495.
The teachers in the article used “validation of cultural differences” as a teaching strategy to motivate students in their class. The incoroporation of these types of lessons can be seamless in a Social Studies classroom (yay for me), but how can you accomplish this in other content areas?
John,
ReplyDeleteI think the producers of the video probably feel like the struggle and the plight of Asians in America is shadowed by the struggles of other minorities throughout history, and they want their story and the injustices against them to be remembered. Or, it can be a mechanism for building pride among Asian-Americans…like, “remember where we came from.” These stories of success through so many struggles are probably empowering. Historians, and history teachers especially, often say we study history so we can learn from our mistakes and to inform future decisions. And some may say that we have come a long way since the extremely violent race relations of the past. Conversely, I don’t think we’ve come that far…political correctness and a rhetoric of equity have kind of hushed racial tension in America – simply swept it under the rug. It’s kind of disappointing to think we may be working backward in such a progressive era.
What single stories are challenged? Provide specific examples of educational practices that break from single stories of achievement?
ReplyDeleteThe two single stories challenged in these two videos are perhaps the most important single stories for us to be aware of as teachers - which is the work ethic of Asian Americans and black Americans.
One of the common stereotypes of Asian Americans is that they are a cultural group who work hard and occupy some of the more well-paid positions in the business world and the science world. While I knew about some of the struggles Asian Americans encountered, especially during World War II, I was not aware of many of the other struggles Asian American immigrants faced. Discovering "new" information such as this always upsets me. It is clear that a number of hard working Asians came to the United States, but received little acknowledgment for their efforts.
The Black in America video challenges the idea that African Americans, specifically, males, have low achievement levels in school. These levels of achievement, while a reality, can be overcome. The Black in America video highlights teachers and school programs who have gone beyond this stereotype to change it, not to perpetuate it.
It is important, as teachers, to look beyond the stereotypes about achievement levels in our students. We may have a number of gifted, successful, high achieving African American students who have been frequently underestimated because of these stereotypes. The same, however, may be the case of Asian Americans who may have a number of challenges in school and not given the adequate help. Stereotypes and single stories are incredibly dangerous when instructing students of different cultures and backgrounds.
How can we work to make sure we do not think of stereotypes and single stories in our teaching?
To answer Brett,
ReplyDeleteThe teachers in the article used “validation of cultural differences” as a teaching strategy to motivate students in their class. The incoroporation of these types of lessons can be seamless in a Social Studies classroom (yay for me), but how can you accomplish this in other content areas?
I think we're both sort of lucky on this one, Brett. It takes more work than some English teachers are willing to do, but if a teacher can look beyond the traditional canon, a number of cultural differences can be taught in the classroom. I took an American ethnic literature course in the spring, and we studied Asian American, African American, Native American, and a number of other ethnic authors from our country. Each author put a little bit of their personal culture in the stories.
I can see where students of minority groups would feel frustrated with the traditional classroom instruction. It is important to see that these students can learn about their culture and how it makes the "melting pot" in America so unique.
I enjoyed the history of Asian Americans. I know some of it was in the history books, but I personally learn better sometimes with pictures and videos. It was neat to see all of the history and to be shown some of the Asian Americans who have been successful in many areas. I did notice one single story that particularly stuck out to me and I hear quite often. It was that Asian Americans were here to take all of our "good jobs" and that they would come to our country and could be used for cheap work.
ReplyDeleteI think educational practices that we could use would be to take time to learn about each of our students and know that students learn in many different ways. By putting all of our past judgements that we have had or heard aside and focusing on the student and what it would take for him or her to learn and be successful would be a great start to break from single stories of achievement in education.
Why do you think this history about Asian Americans is not present in text books or is it and I just don't know about this?
In repsonse to Bethany's question. How can we work to make sure we do not think of stereotypes and single stories in our teaching?
ReplyDeleteOne of the best ways I think to avoid this is to "lead discussions and activities that openly value ethnic diversity and racial diversity in the classroom, (Sheets, 2005, 65). For example when studying history of China you may want to read several stories on Chinese culture and history. This allows you as the teacher and students to learn more about different cultures and provide knowledge to you and the students not just a single story.
Sheets, R.H. (2005). Diversity pedagogy: Examing the role of culture in the teaching-learning process. Boston, Allyn and Bacon.
I was reading everyone's posts and trying to think of another single story what was challenged that hasn't been brought up; and as I was dissecting the videos it came to me. How about the single story of America being the "home of the free". We claim that American citizens are free, but gay and lesbian couples can't get married; Muslims can't build a mosque in NYC; we're hesitant to give health care to ALL citizens; a man runs for president who doesn't fit the traditional mold and we try to find every reason under the sun to discredit him. Why can't we as Americans acknowledge our wrong doings and teach about them to avoid future occurrences?
ReplyDeleteProvide specific examples of educational practices that break from single stories of achievement?
ReplyDeleteSheets (2005)describes "consciousness of difference" as being aware and thoughtfully exploring diversity in people, ideas, and attitudes by covering multiple points of variances. Implementing this helps to minimize the development of prejudices, and decreases the discriminatory actions towards others that differ from self (Sheets, 2005)
Having open discussions and educating students on different perspectives will help to eliminate single stories of achievement. Another strategy that I have mentioned in class before for me as a math teacher would be to introduce a person from a diverse background that made significant contributions to the field of mathematics. I can do this for a topic we are studying, or have one day every few weeks to explore a different person. The key is to have the discussions and open the students minds to a different point of view.
Sheets, R.H. (2005). Diversity pedagogy: Examing the role of culture in the teaching-learning process. Boston, Allyn and Bacon.
In Response to Ben:
ReplyDeleteI agree, after reading the posts the single stories from the two videos have pretty much been addressed. In response to your question, I think that the majority of the students in today’s schools are more open to the diverse situations. Therefore, hopefully some of these single stories are disappearing. I witness this with the students that have encountered many of these diversities. I have had students that are openly gay or lesbian and no one has ever been ignorant about the issues that they face. I do not see any white/black race issues which have been a major part of education’s history. The ignorance I witness is with students that say or do things that offend people of diverse cultures that they know little or nothing about. So I agree with you, as educators, when we here these comments or see these gestures we need to do our part and educate. Teach them that what they are saying is incorrect and may be offensive to people. If we can inform students about other cultures, then we can hope to see other single stories begin to disappear as well.