Challenging Cultural Biases

I really enjoyed this article and think that the course that this instructor provided would be really beneficial to all students. I think we need to learn to view the diverse students in our classrooms as assets that can help enrich our science teaching. Each student brings their own perspective to the classroom which can help us think in ways that we might not have. It is essential to draw upon students' understanding and cultural background like the article states. I think this is the way we can really get our students excited and engaged in science. Science as we have talked about is a culture of its own, and I think a way we can begin to bridge that gap is by allowing access through the strengths of their own culture.
Another aspect of the article I really related to was the analyzing of ones own cultural bias. I feel that if you aren't asked the important question, and really required to look at your own beliefs you may not even know that you are approaching diverse learners with this stereotypical view. It is easy to judge everything by our own culture, and I think what can make us stand out as teachers is by not doing that. I know that I have taken the first step to really look at my beliefs, and want to use instructional practices that don't view students only through the dominant culture. This class and articles have really opened my eyes to this.

Counter-Narratives

I really enjoyed this article and the fact that it took a positive perspective on teachers and students in urban schools. I find that this article is the complete opposite to the one we read called "Unemployment Training." There are good teachers in urban schools, which I knew all along! I hope that maybe some people in the field would read this article and develop an optimism about urban schools. I student taught in a urban setting and loved it. I also feel that the techniques the teachers used in this article are critical to all teachers. If a teacher in a suburban school doesn't build relationships with their students they too will not be successful. I feel as if the problem is that too many times teachers go into urban schools with preconceived notions of what the students and school are going to be like that they don't even attempt to use what they students like, get to know them, and require hard work of them. So what if they live in the city, they are still children that need and can learn. I wonder how the tables would turn if all the really good and dedicated teachers decided to teach in urban setting instead of shying away.

Listening to Children

When reading the article by Paley I found that I could make a lot of connections to teaching science even though her article talks mainly about preschool and kindergarteners during play. A particular line that struck me was "It did not occur to me that the distractions might be the sounds of children thinking." This struck me because so often we are concerned with staying on track and coming to the right answer that we lose sight of the different views and knowledge that children have. This applies to science as well because each child come into your science class with different ideas and misconceptions about the world of science. I think we need to be more relaxed and let children share their views. This is the only way in which we are going to be able to build upon their knowledge. I also related to her statement about her own point of view causing children's voice to grow silent. We want to hear what they have to say. I know I am guilty of putting my opinion out there and I think it causes children to fear what they have to say. That is might be wrong in some way because it deviates from the teacher, I want to teach my students to share their ideas openly. I also think that this relates to using the conceptual change model in science because you are listening to what students have to say and then allowing them to figure it out by themselves, you are not providing the "right answer" through lecture. You are simply providing them with evidence to create a view based on science through interaction with evidence, or as Paley would say providing the glue. Therefore I drew many connections to science through this. I wonder why as we grow older we don't allow children voices and views to be heard as much, I'm sure we all remember being students and feeling like the teacher wasn't listening to what you had say, especially when had something very thoughtful to add.

Avoiding the issue?

After reading "Campfire Effect" I found myself wondering why preservice teachers in all states aren't required to receive training to teach English language learners. These children that are the most at risk for falling behind their peers many times are taught by teachers who have no training in strategies that work best for their needs.I do not feel confident in my abilities to reach these students in the ways that work best for them, and am frustrated that I was not provided with classes in order to address this issue. I know that when I look to develop professionally I will look for conferences and training is this particular area. I feel that the reading and the survey really brought my attention to a topic I had previously not been aware. I had not be aware of my lack of education in this area. I was too focused on all the other things that was being thrown my way regarding teaching. I want to be the best teacher for my students that I can be, and until this article never really thought about training as sad as that it. I suppose it is because it isn't on the forefront as much as teaching reading and writing etc. I'm interested to know if this confidence does change once the preservice teachers enter the field, or if they really do find what they learned was helpful in reaching this student population. In schools that have large minority populations and many ESLs perhaps they should try focusing on how we can reach these students rather than just bringing up their scores. It does nothing to shove more intervention down their throats if the instruction itself is what is not working for students. I feel that America doesn't want to address the issue that it has many members who do not speak English since many people are still set on the idea they should speak English and nothing else. This mentality is doing nothing but hurting the future of our country. We are fueling a generation of Americans who will severely lag behind their counterparts because they were not provided with services we KNOW work with these students.

How can we change this?

As I was reading the "Unemployment Training" article by Martin Haberman I found myself drawing many connections to my student teaching experience. I suppose I always just attributed these things I was seeing as being a part of an urban area, but didn't really think about the role the teachers were playing in this. I totally agree that teachers are instilling these beliefs in their students, even as early as 3rd grade. I think may times they don't even realize it. It really opened my eyes to what was going on, and I thought maybe there were a few times when I let the idea of just showing up count as participating in class. It may be the easier thing to do, but it is definitely not the right or the best for the students. No wonder we have so many problems by the time they reach high school. I wish this weren't a reality in urban schools, but the author's examples seems so prevalent in my student teaching. How can we just set kids up to fail?

I began thinking about the impact this has on science education and how this ideology really puts science education at a disadvantage. As if it wasn't already put on the back burner, but how could one teach science with the ideology of "nowness". I think that science ideas and culture builds on on another. If students aren't expected to remember from on day to another, or even expect they will have to use in the in future Isn't science doomed from the beginning? Science is hard work, we need to be continually using our brains and critical thinking to uncover some of the concepts, "showing up" clashes with this. I feel people keep saying there's no science, but how can science prevail with this culture looming underneath. In leadership class we read an article about how strong the culture of a school is, and how hard it is to change. Perhaps before we can really implement science the way it is intended to be implemented we need to change and bring forth these underlying assumptions that hinder all learning, not just science learning. I think this is the really challenging question. How can one do this? I myself wouldn't know where to start in trying to change this culture if I was teaching in an urban school.

Questioning as a Foreign Idea

After class I began thinking about the whole role of questioning and curiosity that is an integral part to the learning of science and other content areas as well. From my own personal experiences in school, and interactions with adults as a child it is no surprise that children may have trouble understanding and participating in some of the core strategies of science. It is ingrained in our heads from an early age that we are to do as we are told, don't ask questions, and that the teacher is always right. Even I still sometimes find it hard to question things when I was taught to whole heartily believe what it is that a teacher told me, it was almost as if it was breaking the rules to question what your teacher was telling you. It is such a foolish idea now that I think about it because how can one person know everything. Of course we should teach students to question respectfully, but why is it that we are all taught to sit and be passive learners. Of course times have changed since even I was a young elementary student, but it is a common practice for children to hear the words "because I said so." This led me to question how I could create a classroom in which children were taught to question, taught to be curious, and as an end result learn to enjoy science. I think the teacher's role needs to be slightly shifted so that they are a facilitator but not the end all, be all of knowledge. Children have a lot to bring to the class, can learn from each other, and create their own ideas about science. Perhaps they need to build a foundation of trust within the classroom to know that their new and different ideas will not be shot down by others. This notion of questioning information and ideas is a part of all the core subjects, and with a greater focus on teaching this we could not only help children become more comfortable within the culture of science, but across the board. I think a very crucial step to teach the culture of science is to teach and allow students to practice questioning. I know that I really want to provide my students with this opportunity. Someone recently told me the quote"Don't just answer the question, question the answer," which seems to so fitting to science and scientific inquiry. I plan to have this be one of my "rules" in my own classroom one day.