Teacher/Artist

Name of Event: Teacher/Artist
Organizer and Location of Event: Caribbean Cultural Center/African Diaspora Institute
Amount of Hours: 2hrs

After getting a bunch of emails on professional development event, I finally found something that truly interested me. This professional development workshop was made for teaching artist, and as an artist myself (dancer) I was really intrigued by it. I was anticipating to learn on different ways to include this type of art and others also in the classroom. Also it was free; and that is always a motivation. I got to the Caribbean Culture Center/ African Diaspora Institute, around Columbus Circle, exactly 30 mns before the workshop started. Just by the look of the place, the art on the wall, the goods they were selling in the shop, I felt that my evening was going to be interesting. I sat on a seat and was greeted by this man, that would be the facilitator of the workshop. A couple of people started coming in, and by 6:30 pm there was a great amount of people and the workshop started.

We started off by giving libation to our ancestor. The way we went about this was by pouring water in to a plant, which was said to be a living animated object, and saying the names of the ancestors; the facilitator would pour water in to the plant little by little after each name is called out. Once a name is call out, as the water is being poured, the group of people giving the libations would say "Ashe" meaning and Hebrew saying "let it be so and so it is". I thought this opening was very interesting, and I felt that it gave us the right energy to start off the workshop.

So the premise of the workshop, according to the facilitator, was to focus of cultivating the teacher/artist. Its goal was to identity virtue, morals, values, etc.. of who we are as teaching artists and align ourselves with the vision we have for ourselves as educators. Overall, the workshop was all about self-reflection and thinking on our views and philosophy of teaching, through arts and in general.

The workshop was constructed around this unit, the Nia Driven Unit: An Artist/Educators Guide to Staying Aligned with Their True Artist/Teaching Voice. The purpose of this activity was in order for us to start thinking about how we would go about keeping our "true voice". This was viewed as the passage of an artist educator's journey.

The way we were asked to do this was by feeling out several prompts, given to us on paper) as we introduced ourselves to the community of people. The three prompts we asked to answer were the following: 1) Illustrate or present symbols that have significant meaning to your purpose as an educator. Explain. 2) Identify the Ancestors that you feel are essential to your journey as an educator during this passage. Explain. 3) What statement(s), affirmation(s), or quote(s) will guide your instruction for this unit?

We were given about 7 mns to complete these prompts and then started the introductions and sharing process. By this time more people had come in to the meeting and we were about 20-25 people. The first few people went on for about 2-3 mns each, some more or less. At some point the facilitator pointed out that we should try to keep it about a minute just for the sake of time; however some people still went on longer; which I felt hurt the workshop. I will elaborate later.

During the introductions, all of the people had great things to say. It was great to have real people on the field sharing their ideas and views on how the go about their teaching and what they think are important factors they always have to have as teacher. It was very clear to me, that all of them were really student centered and did their work for the sake of their student. This notion of reaching out to the students, giving them the tools to find their voice (which was in great connection with the theme of the workshop) seemed to flow throughout everyone's ideas. I connected a lot of many of these teaching artist. I appreciated it, because I felt that all the things that I am learning right now in class as I am writing my philosophy and constructing meaning to what it is to be a multicultural teacher, can sometimes seem to be cliche and just plain theories. But being around these teachers that have been teaching for some time now, and hearing what they had to say about their experience, kind of put these theories in to practice. It was just great to see that the things that I want to be able to do as a teacher, are being done by teachers already (outside of those that I read about in class), and therefore attainable by me.

Although I learned a lot during the introduction process, I felt that it took more time than needed. As I mentioned before, I felt that it hurt the workshop. People were taking longer than one minute, so with about 20 or more people having to talk, we took about an 45 mns to an hour for the introduction. We only got the chance to do one more activity; the chart paper and markers that the facilitator had brought in with him, never got the chance to be used. I was very curious to know what he had planned for us, but we never got the time for it.

However, the one activity we did before closing was very interesting. Three volunteer were asked to demonstrate something that they would do in the classroom, in relation to what we discussed during the first part of the workshop. One of the volunteers did some singing with us; he would say the line and we would repeat. The song, a folk song, was in Creole, as he was from Haiti (represent), and the words were a call to bring the community together and working towards the same purpose. The other volunteer another Haitian lady who's a photographer, talk to us about an activity she does with her students; she would ask them to go back in their old family albums and pick out some pictures. The idea behind her activity, is to get the students to know where you came from, in order to understand where you are going. I volunteer to demonstrate an activity that is done as a closing in our integrated seminar class; "I put my hand in your hands because I care and I recognize your strength."

The facilitator ended the workshop by reciting a poem. It was in interactive poem where the listeners would response by saying 4 lines when ever the speaker would put his fist up. The following was the 4 lines we had to respond: "Sharpen your eyes, Tune your ears, So you know what you see, Understand what you hear."

After that the facilitator asked for any suggestion that could make this workshop better as it is done once every month. A lot of people shared their thoughts and ideas. After that people did some networking. I really enjoyed this workshop. I learned from these people in a different way for each and everyone of them; and that I appreciated.

Brainstorming for the new issue

Name of Event: Brainstorming for the new issue

Organizer and Location of Event: IndyKids- 4 west 43rd street between 5th and 6th avenue

Amount of Hours: 2 Hours

Reflection:

During this workshop we were brainstorming for the new issue of IndyKids. The beginning of the workshop began with deciding what was going to be on the cover of the issue. The main topic that they wanted to put on the cover of the issue was information about the economy and the election. One of the writers for the paper suggested that there be a ladder that had all the main components of what could cause the economy to be in the position that it is. Other things that they wanted to include on the cover was a glossary that had the terms that were going to be in the article about the election and on the economy. They also wanted to go into more detail as to what causes the economy to be in the shape that it is, and the effect that it has on people and the world.

The next part of the workshop was deciding what was going to be inside the new issue. There were many things that they wanted to include inside. They thought that it would be interesting to include an article about the street vendors in the Dominican Republic. They also thought that it would be interesting to include the controversy over the Bangladesh farmers that refused to work because of the creation of the cheapest car.  On another part of the inside they thought that it would good to include information about the president that wins the election and things that they promised to do as part of their campaign, and if they kept their promise. There is going to be a checklist that is part of this article. Lastly, they are going to have a book review for A People's History of the United States, but it is going to be the children's version of the book. They plan on e-mailing Howard Zinn who wrote the adult version of the book and ask him questions about his involvement with the book, and what it is.

The last part of the workshop focused on the back cover of the new issue. They want to include a movie review. The movies that they choose for the reviews usually have social justice undertones in them. The writers think that it is important to include information about Alcatraz because it is going to be the 40th anniversary. Harvey Milk was important because the anniversary of his assassination is coming up soon. It is important because he was the first openly gay man to be elected to public office. 

I learned that there is a lot of time and work that goes into publishing and editing an issue for a newspaper. It made me think differently about the curriculum that I am going to be potentially teaching to my students. It also showed me different approaches to integrating things into the curriculum. I think that it is almost impossible to teach children everything that is going on, and using the newspaper or the IndyKids newspaper is another way to have your students understand what is going on.

It is connected to the themes of the course because the paper tries to integrate issues of diversity, social justice, and things that are going on in other parts of the world. The paper wants to show perspectives from all different people, whether it be from other students or from adults.

Urban Word Workshop

Name of Event: PREEMPTIVE EDUCATION: Language, Identity & Power- Urban Word NYC's Annual Mentor, Teacher, Educator & Community Activist Training

Organizer and Location: Urban Word---NYU

Amount of Hours at the Event: 7 hours

Reflection:

The event that I attended was a conference sponsored by Urban Word and Steinhardt. The event addressed how to teach youth through hip-hop. After all we all know that throughout the years hip-hop has become tremendously popular. Furthermore, for students living in urban settings, hip-hop culture is extremely relevant. For, the heart of hip-hop culture lies in urban settings.

Throughout the day various different workshops were held that each addressed different aspects of hip-hop and how to use it in the classroom. The first workshop I attended discussed hip-hop curriculum with Marcella Runell Hall and Kersha Smith. Marcella discussed the book she worked on called Critical Education and Hip-Hop Culture. This book provides lesson plans and resources for teachers to use to implement hip-hop into their classrooms. She explained hip-hop curriculum as collaborative, complex and challenging, rooted in current events, uses media and arts, fluid and dynamic, interdisciplinary, engaging, and authentic. All of these qualities are things that I hope my classroom will have. I was surprised to find that I could use hip hop to provide this to my students. At the same time I questioned how feasible this would be in an elementary classroom. I talked to Marcella during the workshop and we discussed how many hip-hop artists have written children’s books that could be used. Though this is definitely a helpful suggestion we also discussed that the material just needs to be scaffolded with the student’s level. For hip-hop curriculum is just as powerful for young students.

In the next workshop I learned just how to do this. In the workshop “Where Hip Hop Lives” Orisanmi Burton showed us how I could take hip-hop lyrics and deconstruct them to teach a variety of different lessons such as history, writing, and social justice. The song we used was a Mos Def song called Black on Both Sides. The lyrics were appropriate for all aged children. One of the lines read, “Speech is my hammer, bang the world into shape.” Just with this line you could do a whole lesson on metaphors as well as the power of words and how we use them to change things in the world. Students could find something in their community that they want to change and describe how they could change it using speech or words. Again, this is only one line from the entire three page song. If you wanted you could base an entire unit around the lyrics because it was so rich in material.

The next workshop I attended was the NYCoRE information session. In this workshop run by Edwyn, we discussed similar topics from class. The main question was how we teach social justice education. Though the information was somewhat familiar it was interesting to hear other teacher’s views, especially teachers who are just starting. It was also nice to see that these teachers who have been in the field for a bit were looking to create a strong change in their classrooms.

The final workshop of the conference was titled “Conscious Women Rock the Page.” Four women, Jennifer Calderon, Elisha Miranda, Sofia Quintero, and Marcella Runell Hall discussed the role of females in hip-hop as well as in minorities. Jennifer Calderon or JLove was the most interesting out of all the speakers. JLove wrote a book about growing up white but being completely obsessed with hip-hop culture. I think we so often label hip-hop as a “black” or “Latino”, but in reality it has the power to reach everyone. JLove made me realize that even though people represented in hip-hop culture are not necessarily from my background I can still discuss its topics and how I feel influenced by it. At the same time it is important not to assume that because your students are from a particular background they will have a connection to hip-hop. You have to know your students in order to teach them effectively.

Overall, I found the conference to be an incredible experience. It truly showed how to reach students through a means that is relatable to them. There were so many stories told throughout the conference about how teaching through hip-hop engaged students in an incredible way. The content of hip-hop curriculum can be directly tied to social justice education because there are so many songs that deal with the problems and challenges within communities. These songs can be used as not only a way of presenting these issues to the students, but also as an example of how to build awareness in the community. If students could enter social justice issues through hip-hop I feel that it would have an incredibly powerful affect on their lives.

Preemptive Education weekend

On Friday, September 26 and Sunday September 28, I attended the Preemptive Education Weekend hosted by Urban Word, Hip-Hop Theater Festival, Steinhardt, and NYU’s Center for Multicultural Education.

Friday evening was a program called Word Life: An Evening of Performance and Conversation on Language, Identity and Power. It featured three spoken word performances from four young women involved in Urban Word’s program. After each performance, a respondent spoke about it, commenting on both the form and content, and then three panelists also responded to the poem, usually by discussing the social issues the piece brought up.

The piece that stood out to me was the first performance. Jamila’s piece was called Broken English and focused on the different languages she, as a black young woman, uses everyday. She calls herself trilingual because she has one language for school, another for home, and another for with her peers. Her piece also questioned the definition of what it means to be articulate – she points out that it means clearly expressing yourself, which of course can be done without Standard English or perfect grammar according to someone else’s rules. This was very powerful for me to think about as an educator because I want all of my students to be successful, and in this society it means being able to write and speak Standard English. This, however, should not completely replace whatever other language the students speak because it devalues this part of their culture and identity. A student should know that all aspects of their identity are important and valued, so I will make sure I include opportunities for students to speak or write when they are not bound by the rules of Standard English.

Sunday was part of the training weekend, and I attended several different workshops that day. The first workshop I went to was about Creative Classroom Management. We played an ice-breaker, which they called a gathering activity, in which we had to get to know someone, switch name tags and assume their identity, introduce them to someone else, then again switch name tags and assume that new identity. This last identity was then shared with the group. Activities such as these not only help students get to know each other, but force people to really listen knowing they will be held accountable for the information. Some information that I found very helpful was about the creative classroom management cycle. It begins at supervision, which doesn’t mean looking for what’s wrong but just being available. If a student needs more guidance, proximity to them can often help, such as just standing nearby, commenting on the work of a student sitting next to them, or even just saying their name quietly. Finally, communication is also important, but it is important to remember that this should be a dialogue and redirection, not just telling them what they are doing wrong. This information really reminded me that it is often just as effective not to say anything as it is to confront the student, and it is important to give students the opportunity to exit the situation (fix what is wrong) with dignity.

The second workshop was about Urban Text, or graffiti, and this workshop provided some background information about graffiti as well as some ideas about how to incorporate in the classroom. I learned a lot about the history of graffiti and how it really is a way of life to many people, especially those who consider themselves writers and would really study and practice their skills.  Literacy “equips the oppressed with tools to re-appropriate their history, culture and language practices.” Graffiti and other elements of hip-hop culture can definitely be useful tools in the classroom. I learned several different ways to incorporate graffiti, such as starting small by just having students choose and research images that represent them. The presenter showed pictures of several schools where huge pieces had been painted on the walls to represent what was important in that community. Another idea was to have a “wall of fame” where people could paint their name, their tag, or even just a handprint to show that they had been there.

The closing workshop was about creating a truly student-centered classroom. We first thought up our fantasy writing class, then we had to think about ways to make that fantasy a reality. We also worked together to brainstorm ways of making classes student centered and came up with many ideas, ranging from sitting in a circle to having a process for peer critiquing. The ending activity kind of summarized the weekend – we went around the room and everyone had to say a maximum to three words about what the weekend meant to them. It was a fairly large group, but no one exactly repeated someone else’s response, but they all had similar themes – appreciation for new styles, more knowledge about other people’s experiences and cultures, and perhaps most importantly excitement to take what was learned back to our students.