Of Course the Book Matters

Of Course the Book Matters! Taking our Teaching of Multicultural Literature to the Next Level:
NCTE Conference, San Antonio, Texas

It is not enough to just include multicultural literature in our reading programs. Which books are you using? How are you using them? This session challenged participants to take a critical look at some favorite multicultual books and instructional practices.

This was one of the most AMAZING sessions I have ever participated in because it really challenged the teachers in the room to look at some favorite books in our classroom libraries and delve into the details of the texts that are positively or negatively representing various cultures. An interesting article to look at is "The All White World of Children's Books" by Nancy Larrick, where she talks about a lot of the issues that will follow...

If we look at the publishing trends of books with main characters from various cultures we notice that of the 50 thousand books, between 1991 and 2007,

• African American: 70 books went to 15o books
• Asian/Asian American: 65 to 68
• Latino/a: 90 to 59

These figures are startling but not shocking. I found that the decrease in the publication of books that represent Latinos/as is fascinating given the immigration challenges at the political level of the country.

The speakers really delved into the good, the bad, and the ugly of representation. Over the break, I'll write up the list of books and their characteristics, but for now, what is important to take away is that teachers must look carefully at the books we use and have in the classroom. It's okay if books are controversial -- but let's talk about them! When looking at text, be sure to look at the text itself, the quality, the illustrations, and research the culture itself to verify the validity of the presentation.

Happy Reading!

Bridges to Literacy Comprehension

General Information:

• NCTE Conference, Session: Bridges to Literacy Comprehension for ELLs Using Cultruall Relevant and Bilingual Books
• San Antonio, Texas

By building on English language learners’ background knowledge and languages, teachers can engage students and help them become effective readers. Drawing on relevant research and a variety of literature resources for Spanish-speaking students, the presenters show how teachers can use culturally relevant and bilingual books as bridges to comprehension.

This was a wonderful session that I attended in San Antonio where David and Yvonne Freeman described the needs of ELLs in literacy and how bilingual books may be used to bridge one of the borders of language that divide us. There are three types of bilingual books: two books available in each language, a single book written in two languages, or books that can flip over for the other language. The speakers addressed the problems associated with translations of text from L1 to L2, one interesting challenge is how literal translations lose the richness of the original language. Research shows that development of a student's native language and the language of the classroom simultaneously is important for language acquisition. The speakers also introduced a checklist for choosing quality books: natural language, authentic material, predictable text structure, imaginative/interesting text, good text-picture match, and culturally relevant. The argument for using culturally relevant text was that ELLs are more engaged, develop comprehension skills, develop biliteracy (which is so valuable, aside from the politicized aspects of the skill), and that children develop a LOVE for learning! I have a list of suggested books, and would love to share it! Let me know if you are interested! Looking at texts critically and analyzing the lexical and syntactical structures is really important when teaching ELLs, especially in content areas. Students are expected to learn the language and learn THROUGH the language. What a challenge without the affordance of time, thanks to NCLB.... but teachers can use the child's culture and background to engage them in the curriculum and build community relationships with non-native English speaking children and families.

Talks on Education at CUNY Graduate Center

Event: Talks on Education at CUNY Graduate Center

Location: CUNY Graduate Center

This event included two talks, one "Aesthetic Education and School Change," lead by Dr. Madeline Holzer, Director of Educational Development of the Lincoln Center Institute for the Arts in Education and the other, "There is Still No Justice: Understanding and Transforming Civic Learning in Diverse Classrooms," lead by Dr. Beth C. Rubin. 

Dr. Holzer talked of the Lincoln Center Institute's relationship with the High School for Arts, Imagination, and Inquiry and several "capacities" - habits of mind -  implemented within the school (not in hierarchal order): 1.) Noticing deeply 2.) Embodying 3.) Asking questions 4.) Making questions 5.) Seeing patterns 6.) Exhibiting empathy 7.) Creating meaning 8.) Taking action and 9.) Reflection and assessment.  In doing an activity where we looked at several photographs, we saw how these skills could be implemented through individual and then group work.  Holzer told us of how workshops are offered for educators throughout the school year and during the summer to further explore these capacities. She stressed that often times people "abuse" these capacities in discussion and do not truly comprehend the meaning behind them.  As a future educator, I would be greatly interested in attending these workshops in order to properly implement these habits of mind within my teaching of various subject areas.

As for the second discussion, "There is Still No Justice," Dr. Rubin talked of several schools of varying backgrounds - urban, suburban, high income, low income, etc. - in which civic identities of students were studied. She concluded that the identities could be grouped into four: 1.) Aware 2.) Empowered 3.) Complacent and 4.) Discouraged. As educators, we must look at how daily experiences, classroom experiences, and structural inequalities affect a student's civic identity and connection to the world. 

This talk re-enforced the need to look at the student as whole. What experiences do they bring to the class? How does this affect their perception of themselves and of others in the world? And, how can I then implement talking civics, writing and expressing civics, taking civic action, and discussing current events in the classroom?   

Response to Hannah’s Blog: The Breakfast of Champions

I wish I had attended the breakfast Hannah wrote about! I think it is so interesting to look at issues affecting schools, teachers, and students from various perspectives. I agree with the idea that classrooms must be calm, yet intellectually challenging. There is a huge difference between a classroom that is exciting because students are eager to learn and interested in what they are learning about, then one that is stimulating because students are concerned, worried or anxious. In two books I have read while at NYU, Educating Esme and One Child, the author discusses various ways to maintain a calm, yet interesting and exciting learning environment. One way that sticks out in my mind, is having a box near the door in which students can leave there worries behind. There is paper and pencils available next to the box for students to write on. If students enter the classroom, and are feeling upset, angry, or worried, they can write about their feelings on a piece of paper and leave it in the box. The goal of the box is for the students to enter the classroom with a fresh start each day. At the same time, it allows the teacher to find out more about the students’ lives outside of the classroom, and what may be affecting their behavior and performance during school.

I completely agree with your statement, “we should be providing educators with what they need to make the changes themselves.” As educated individuals, who are dedicated to their students and their well-being, teachers should be given the support and resources they need to create positive change in their classrooms, schools, and communities. It seems like the notion of teacher-proofing education leads to conformity among all schools and classrooms. Students are individuals, and teachers must be given the support to reach their students, and help them achieve, grow and develop on a personal and meaningful level. It is individualized education and differentiation that allows students to succeed inside and outside of the classroom.

Response to Ann Marie’s Blog: How to develop positive behavioral support

Ann Marie’s experience reminded me of the workshop I attended at the citywide conference for NYC parents at the Hilton. The first session I attended at the workshop focused on early warning signs of autism. While I feel that the presenter could have delivered the information in a more comprehensive and clear manner, I do feel that the session was informative and provided parents and others attending the session with a brief overview of characteristics of autism. The session could also serve as a starting point for more personal research and inquiry. The conference Ann Marie’s attended seems like it would be beneficial to both parents and teachers. Learning more about the behavioral issues children with autism may exhibit is important, as it allows parents and teachers to better understand their children and students, and to reach them on a more personal and effective level. Understanding and targeting the behaviors often associated with children with autism is beneficial to a child’s social, emotional, and academic growth and development. If parents and teachers are informed about their students and children, it will create the opportunity for a more positive support system to develop. At the same time, I agree with the presenter’s idea that it is important to enable students to become independent. I feel that it is extremely important for students, at home and at school, to feel self-empowered. When students feel that they are independent individuals, they are more likely to be self-aware and confident. When this occurs, they are likely to take responsibility in their education and goals.

Also, this is the first time I have heard about creating a particular sleeping pattern for children with autism and I am wondering if or how sleep patterns specifically affect children with autism.

Response to Katrina's Blog, CEC conference workshop sessions.

I found Katrina's blog extremely interesting. I am really interested in learning about and researching the way culture influences behaviors in the classroom, as well as the over-representation and under-representation of certain racial or ethnic groups in the specific categories authorized by IDEA. I think the concept is really complex and I am eager to dig deeper into all that influences the students whom are diagnosed, how they are diagnosed, and how often a diagnosis is made. On one hand, I feel that a cultural mismatch between a child and their learning environment, can lead to specific diagnoses or even a lack of support and services in the classroom and school. As Katrina discussed, I also feel that access to health care and education influence the perception of students in a classroom, and the decisions made about their behaviors and development. As a future educator, I feel that understanding where students are coming from, their family life, their background and their culture, can help in decision making regarding behaviors in the classroom and referral for special education.

INDYKIDS

Event: developing and writing for IndyKids November issue

Location: Indypendent Media Office W.43rd st.

Amount of hours: Three 2 hour meetings (6 hrs in all)

Reflection:

At the first meeting there were not many IndyKid's members present, so we were immediately welcomed to contribute ideas to the November issue of IndyKids. Amanda, who serves as the head of IndyKids, showed us past issues and explained the format of the newspaper to us. We then went through different ideas for each page of the newspaper, keeping to the format. We discussed the current economy, the election, and other current events. The experience was very informative to me because I got to see first hand how a newspaper (be it small) is developed. By following the format and brainstorming ideas freely on a white board, we were able to come up with the skeleton of the newspaper and assign jobs in only 2 hours. Because I immediately felt like a valued member of the team and contributed ideas, I wanted to continue my involvement with IndyKids and contribute more. I volunteered to write an article, do a back page puzzle, and do the comic strip for the November issue. The past week I had seen a great documentary, called "Darius Goes West," and was moved by Darius's aspiration to spread awareness about Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy and raise money for its cure, so I decided to write a review in IndyKids to help him out. 

I really enjoyed writing the article, and making the puzzle and comic strip. At the next meeting, we all brought our work in to be edited. They were very grateful for our contributions, and again I felt like I was a member of their team. I read all the articles-and learned about some current events while doing so-and edited them. It was fun to read each other's articles, edit, and then make the final decisions about where everything would go in the newspaper, because again we were able to accomplish so much in only 2 hours and discuss current events candidly as we put the newspaper together. 

At the final meeting I attended, we bundled and mailed all the newspapers. It was exciting to see them in print and find out that some of them are mailed as far as Japan. It was even more exciting to then bring them to my students and do two literacy lessons on the newspaper. My students loved the newspaper. We read almost every article the first day because my students wanted to look at all of them and they love taking turns reading out loud. One student asked why 'To Ban or Not to Ban" had the word 'homosexual' in it. This was the day after our class discussion, so I told them what it means, what it means in 'Tango Makes Three,' and why people want the book to be banned, and then I asked them if they think it should be banned. They all chanted, "No banning books, no banning books!" This is probably because I introduced the article by mentioning that their all-time favorite book, 'Harry Potter,' was almost banned because some people think books about witchcraft should not be read. They especially liked my comic because they love comics. It was really funny though, because they took it so literally (they are all on the autistic spectrum). One student said, "I get the punch line, 'I spent all my money!' but he didn't spend all his money, he still has two cents left. He should say, 'I spent all my money except two cents!'" After the lesson, one student started his own newspaper. 

The next day we looked at the newspaper again. I had each student take a turn reading one of Obama's plans and then asking the students a debate question, like, "Should there be more border control?" and then having the student count and record how many for and against. The students were really into it and were even more liberal than IndyKids!