Race, ethnicity and language (gh)

Race, ethnicity, and language all have an influence on how students learn and how students are taught.  These factors can be looked at as barriers or obstructions to learning but these same factors can also be unifying agents where people from various backgrounds come together to achieve a common goal.  On a macro-scale there exists a narrative, written and rewritten by media and political figures that combine and form societal stereotypes of each group.   This not only has an effect on how members of society view a specific race or ethnic group but also has an effect on how members of these groups view themselves.  Everyone reads the same newspapers and watches the same political debates unfold and when certain people are painted with such broad strokes they begin to think “Is this is how other groups think of me?”  This can create a problem in the classroom where students and sometimes teachers think they can’t relate to one another based on previous unsubstantiated but reinforced misconceptions.  We as educators must break down these fallacies and get to know each person on a personal level.  Once this has been achieved we can form an open dialogue that emerges from an agreed upon, neutral, premise.  On this micro-scale, once a level of personal trust is established, we can use race, ethnicity and language as a tool to create open, honest discussion on various topics where students and teachers can question societal norms and ask “why is this the way things are and how did they get this way?” (GH)

Viewing Race in the schools

           After reading the Trayvon Martin article I started to think about how I view race. I grew up on the north shore of Long Island and all of the different school districts that I went to were primarily white. The few minorities that were in my school were only seen in the remedial classes or the special education classes, never in IB courses. I always thought that was strange but never thought anything of it. When I first had to go to a school to observe, I was sent to a school in Saint Albans in Queens. When I looked up the school I found out that the school was nearly 100% African American and I was worried. I was afraid that the kids were going to hate me because I was white because that was what I grew up believing.

As soon as I walked into the school, a seventh grade boy held open the door for me and said "good morning miss" and my whole attitude changed. I realized that the misconception I had had that all African American people hated white people was gone.  After about a week or so, I did not notice race at all.  I stopped attaching race to a person when I was telling a story and I did not notice that I was another color then my students. 

On the other hand, my students always noticed race and would separate people by it.  When the special education teacher brought in cookies one day, one student said “How come you didn’t bring us black people cookies?”.  There were many other examples just like this one but I would try to ignore them and eventually I did not have to make a conscious effort to not notice race.  I believe that students today need to learn to not attach race with the person and to be able to see the person as just a person and to not segregate people by the color of their skin.

Race, Ethnicity, and Language within the Classroom- SL

From what I have noticed based on everyone's pinterest projects over the last few classes, including my own, all of us touched upon the idea that we would like to ensure that within our classrooms everyone is treated and viewed as being the same. For the most part, I think that is great and would hopefully decrease bullying as well as social hierarchies of students within the classroom. On the other hand, this idea is slightly flawed. I feel that along with this idea, it is also important to embrace what makes us all different. It is through the use of embracing everyone's differences whether it be race, culture, language, ect, that will allow for our classroom to be a safer, closer, and ultimately more accepting place. As we had discussed in class, I feel that there are many ways to achieve this goal. One way, as we had mentioned would be to learn a few words from other languages which can be used within a unit or content area. By doing this, students are able share or expand their view of cultures within the classroom. Not only does this expand student's cultures but I think that it also could help engage students more with lessons simply because it can kind of provide a hook to capture their interest. While it is not always easy to address race, ethnicity and language within a lesson especially when it may have to do with math or science, it is definitely important to try to touch on these topics, even if it is only for a brief moment. By taking moments to do that, it shows students that you care about them and accept them for who they are. It also sends the message that they should care about and accept one another as well.

does tolerance apply to everyone?

This week I am including a link from the Daily Show that parodies the Democratic convention.  While the clip I viewed does not reference education directly, it did spark my thoughts into questioning whether our teaching of tolerance is actually teaching tolerance and acceptance of everyone, or just select groups that tend to be highlighted and portrayed in negative ways in our culture.  It reminded me that there are multiple sides to any story.  Are we treating everyone equally or are we always infusing our own bias, whether conscious or subconscious?  The clip portrays people that feel they are inclusive to all, but there are clear exceptions in wealthy and republicans. Are we not to some degree always imposing our own beliefs by teaching students this idea of including certain groups?  I began to wonder if we need to be careful to include opposing arguments in our classroom by teaching of injustice as much as justice.  Just because I believe students should think critically about all that they encounter- does not mean all educators will agree.  Perhaps we need to emphasize that students should take critical literacy and apply to all they learn in a classroom as well as texts and the media?  So far all I have learned implies teaching students to be critical of others, and to accept that as a truth.  Is that not imposing bias though in itself even though I believe tolerance is right and believe strongly in social justice, is it imposing my beliefs by teaching this to students, or is it allowing them to form their own opinions about people? (CC)

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-september-5-2012/hope-and-change-2---the-party-of-inclusion

Race & Ethnicity - MD

How do race, ethnicity, and language influence theory, practice, and policy in education?

 Race and ethnicity have long played a part in educations theories, practices and policies in the US.  Dating back to the 1950's the Supreme Court was making a ruling that would shape an idea which civil rights activists would use until this very day.  Left with the supreme court ruling that "separate but equal" was constitutional, civil rights activists of the 1950's were facing a difficult barrier to overcome.  There was great political debate during this time involving the system of education due to the fact that schools were segregated to an extreme degree, for example schools were created for different races, along with water fountains and bathrooms, etc.  Once we see the supreme court Brown Vs. Board of Education we begin to see radical changes to both education policies, practices and societal practices and policies.  It was in this landmark case that the Supreme Court ruled that "separate is not equal" and education began to accommodate, tolerate, and eventually accept all races and any ethnicity. 
It is also apparent now more than ever that different languages are being incorporated into the public education system.  Schools far and wide are now offering different language services for students who speak  languages other than English.  ESL programs are popular for those students that are learning how to speak  English along with going to school (these programs are found in more students at the primary education level). 

-MD

What does teaching for Social Justice mean? (RT)

Teaching social justice to me means teaching students the values they have and the rights they have in life. Teachers should let students know that many things in life are socially constructed, but that doesn't mean you have to abide by those theories or settle to what society says. For example, for teaching social justice in a Math class, here is something for one to think about how society generates an image about Math. In society, someone who takes a music theory class and knows how to write, read and compose music is considered a musician. Someone who takes the same music theory class and just can't comprehend how to read or write music, but knows how to compose a song and can play really well by ear is still considered a musician. However, when it comes to society and Math, a student who is good at learning formulas and following directions and rules is considered a mathematician, but someone who has a hard time remembering them and just needs that extra help or accommodation for them to learn better is not considered a mathematician. Something is wrong with this concept. As teachers, we need to encourage students that it's not all about knowing the formulas by heart or simply just learning textbook ideas for any subject. Whatever you teach should pertain to life inside and outside of school. Any student can achieve high as long as you bring out their highest potentiality. That is how their own social justice can be discovered.

Unz Initiative affects policy