This blog post is my final one with direct contribution to my course “Literacy for Diverse Learners”. Any future blog posts will come from my future studies as a student of education. As you will see from this blog, each post is not independent but dependent on the concepts that proceeded. These concepts included:
Assessment
Colorblindness
Culture of Power
Neoliberalism
Accountability
Literacy Packages
Epistemology
Critical Literacy
Language
Trilingualism
Out-of-School literacy
The significance of each of these concepts varies. Of late many of my posts have focused on neoliberalism. This is because everything can be explained in terms of neoliberalism. Also many issues that deal with students of color can be looked at in terms of the culture of power. As a last note on the culture of power: one of the goals of education should be that all have access to the rules to the culture of power. In addition everyone should have equal access and therefore everyone has the ability to change the rules, therefore making the culture of power irrelevant. If the culture of power is irrelevant then equality will be achieved. In addition, if the culture of power did not exist than many of the other concepts listed would also not be an issue such as trilingualism, colorblindness, assessment and neoliberalism.
As I and other future teachers move into their professional careers these issues cannot be forgotten. Rather they need to be addressed and acted in a productive way. Children walking through a park of mixed races may not act to the issues of racism. As they get older they learn of the issues that separate us. As educators we need to remember that these issues never go away. This is way we need to teach in a way that does not affirm societies predisposition of certain groups of people. Teachers need to teach students how to deal with feelings about racism with the goal of bring students together. The other day I heard someone say, “Genetically we are 99.99% similar but it is the .01% that be obsess about”. We need to focus of how to not make this .01% an issue. As we need to know how to not create walls and barriers that prevent us from communicating. Rather how to find an effective means to create spaces were issues are discussed.
I hope for all those who have followed this blog they have found it effective and meaningful. I would appreciate any comments on any of the posts and I am willing to discuss any of the issues that have surfaced.
Listen and learn is the best tool for effective teaching.
On April 24th I posted a blog titled “Teacher or Instructor”. In the blog I mentioned Lynn Astarita Gatto’s essay, “Success Guaranteed Literacy Programs” and discussed how Gatto taught beyond the standards of the state. In this blog I want to elaborate on assessment and what it means in terms of literacy standards and success.
Gatto does not see literacy as something that is learned and then used at a later time. Rather, she sees literacy as a practice (78). In a way it is a tool that is used for understanding. Even math and science would not be possible without literacy. In order for Gatto to teach these higher standards she would not just give students a book, have them read it, then test it. Rather she would have students employ skills from all subjects for the understanding of a subject. In addition, she interconnects the concepts together so that students can make connections instead of just being discrete items.
To show this in practice Gatto used the example of a unit on butterflies. To introduce the unit students read the book, James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl. In this book there is the connection that all the characters were insects and belonged to the phylum of insects as butterflies do (79). Then they purchased butterfly supplies. Students were the ones that had to do the research on what to purchase. Some students went on the internet, others looked through science company catalogs and another group used the phonebook. The anticipation of the butterflies arrival rose many new questions, “‘How long it would take until the butterflies would emerge?’, ‘What do they eat?’” (80). I personally think this is a fantastic idea because it teaches students real life skills that they not otherwise get in the home. Each student would then receive a container with a larvae with a black journal book. As a scientist they would write in it their findings. In Gatto’s district they had purchased a reading series from a private company. In this series they want teachers to tests students once a week on spelling with a weekly word test. Gatto feels that students do not have to know specific words to be considered good spellers. Rather if they are spelling correctly in their journals then they are considered good spellers. From this journal literacy skills develop as a need to communicate their research. The district’s goal is to have students learn words that are not relevant to the student’s lives. Then they have a way to assess all the students, and an incorrect response is considered lack of knowledge or literacy.
On May 5th I posted a video from Sir Ken Robinson from the website TED.com. From the video Robinson talks about how the purpose of public education is to produce university professors. As a result all creativity from those who use their bodies, such as dancers and artists, are not taken seriously. They are not thought to be as distinguished as professors. Robinson goes on to say that schools kill the creative nature of students. If they are creative they are outside the norm and they are punished for it. The reason for this is because this is the way schools are set up. The teacher assumes the higher roles as an elite and if a student challenges that they are lowered. In an essay by Lil Brannon and C.H. Knoblauch titled “On Students’ Rights to Their Own Texts: A Model of Teacher Response” the issue of hierarchy is seen in regards to youth writing:
The teacher-reader assumes, often correctly, that student writers have not yet earned the authority that ordinarily compels readers to listen seriously to what writers have to say. Indeed, teachers view themselves as the authorities, intellectually maturer, rhetorically more experienced, technically more expert than their apprentice writers (158).
Therefore the teacher-student relationship is compromised. Rather the teacher looks down on students as distinguished intellectuals. This idea ties into my blog “Ignorant Teachers: It’s not your fault, it’s the system” because teachers do not culturally assess their students. Rather they assess students based on standardized tests that are often culturally bias.
What is the purpose of education?
Is the purpose of education to assess students on a national scale? This would the neo-liberalism goal and the central idea of E.D. Hirsch Jr. essay, “Literacy and Cultural Literacy”. In his essay he calls for a “high universal literacy” that is “key to all other fundamental improvements in American education” (2). From Hirsch’s work we learn that his assessment of literacy is based on SAT verbal scores. Also in Hirsch’s list titled, “What Every Literate American Should Know” we learn of the 5,000 items that people need to know to be literate. Therefore we can quantitatively assess literacy. We are creating a mold for the perfectly literate person. The goal of education should not be to create the ideal person but the ideal society. This is one of the points made in the following video by Malcolm Gladwell:
He introduces us to the idea of how the food industry makes decisions in bringing us the new products. Back in the 1970’s the food industry thought that their was one perfect way to make spaghetti sauce. They were obsessed with the idea of universal that is their is one way to treat all of us. When they experimented with different types of spaghetti sauce they discovered that people started to like different types, such as chunky, spicy and garlic. At the end of the presentation Gladwell makes the point that embracing diversity is the way to true happiness. Rather than thinking in terms of universals we think in terms of diversifying. This is like education, currently we are thinking in terms of universals. This is evident with the No Child Left Behind Act; one education system that is suitable for all states and for all students. In addition these universals are seen in literacy packages introduced by Gatto. Gatto embraces the diversity of her students by creating lessons that are relevant to her students. Lisa Delpit also brings us ideas on how diversity is the key to literacy instruction.
In Delpit’s essay, “The Silenced Dialogue” we learn how education should be more culturally accepting. More importantly, how this universal education is a way to divert the issues of racism. This only benefits students within the “culture of power”. She says,
The dilemma is not really in the debate over instructional methodology, but rather in communicating across cultures and in addressing the more fundamental issue of power, or whose voice gets to be heard in determining what is best for poor children and children of color (46).
If universal education goes through then poor children and children of color won’t be heard. Rather there voices will be silenced by the ideas of standards that do not fit them culturally. In addition with the No Child Left Behind Act this inability to perform on standardized tests result in less funding, only making the poor and underprivileged worse off. Delpit does not talk about the way it should be, she talks about the way it is. Assessment and teachers that are culturally in tune with their students to create meaningful instruction. This instruction will only help students to be successful. The universal thinkers forgot what it means to make connections through prior knowledge. Students are not clean slates, they bring with them prior knowledge, often this is the knowledge of their family life, which is their culture. Therefore if education is made culturally relevant then connections can be made and the process of learning can begin.
As a future teacher I have to understand how to implement this into my classroom. My concentration is math and math is all about universal explanation. My ability to make math culturally relevant would come from making connections to other subjects as in the case with Gatto. If collaboration is done correctly then students could be working on a project that incorporates all the subjects. Math would be the tool to accomplish a task. This should be the same with all the subjects. English should to the tool to communicate ideas in English. Therefore literacy will develop as a need to accomplish a task. This way we are teaching students to be life learners. Therefore they can learn how to accomplish tasks on their own. Independent discovery and respect should be the goals of any framework of any educational system.
On April 22nd I posted a blog called “Neoliberalism and Education, Bad Combination”. In this blog I explored the negative effects of neoliberalism on education, in particular the move to privatize education as a solution to the public sectors short fallings. If neoliberalism looks at solutions to crises through the market model, what other solutions are possible?
Lets look at this through an example. After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, thousands were left stranded to rely on their own sources to help them out of the devastation, rather than rely on the government for support. If such a disaster happened in mid-town Manhattan, the response may be quite different. According to Pauline Lipman in her essay, “Education Policy, Race, and Neoliberal Urbanism”, the reason there was such a weak response on part of the U.S. Government was due to the “callous disregard for African American lives and the absence of a social welfare infrastructure for low-income and working-class people” (45). This absence of government allowed private infrastructure to come in and take the place of once public areas. Parks, roads and other public spaces were purchased and now corporations can do anything they want with this space. They can segregate groups of people and enforce their own biases. Since the government did not step in to public crises corporations did. Lets explore other solutions.
The American Red Cross (ARC) also stepped in during Katrina. They provided medical and humanitarian needs during the crises. Therefore it is the good nature of those in the ARC to provided relief. The issue with this is that nothing is free. Therefore ARC relies on contributions by others to provide their services. Katrina left thousands of homes destroyed. For those who were lucky they may have had insurance or personal wealth that allowed them to re-build. With 80% of the New Orleans population “below the poverty line before the hurricane” it is likely they were not so lucky. The only resource some had was to take out a second mortgage with the help of companies such as USDA Rural Development.
Instead of not-for-profit or humanitarian groups there is also the idea of community awareness for humanity. By living in America we become very individualistic. All solutions come from the individual to receive help from the government or private corporations. What if a community was destroyed and the survival of everyone depended on that community to be rebuilt. Then everyone would have to step in and build structures. The sense of community is present in indigenous communities. The individual is not the focus, they are part of a unit. If this unit does not survive the individual will also perish.
The following video from YouTube looks at how we view ourselves in the world and how we are manipulated by the media. He also says do you want the "puppet on the left or the puppet on the right" as if there are only two options.
These two solutions of non-neoliberalism are what I consider non-binary solutions. In a neoliberalism perspective all solutions are either one or another. In computer science this would be considered either 0 or 1. Our 0 or 1 would be public or private. What I am calling for are solutions that are not binary. They are not 0 or 1, rather they are solutions that are not even conceived. These are the solutions that may develop to a given situation. Regardless the solution will be innovative and more importantly, morally sound. This is where education has the ability to motivate. If we are constantly teaching students to be individualistic and fall prey to the capitalistic model, then we face stagnation and ultimately social failure. Education needs to teach students how to be moral and respectful adults. This way in times of crises they do not turn their back on their fellow man, rather they learn what they can do to help each other. This idea goes against the constraints of capitalism and looks at solutions that are much greater than capitalism. These are non-neoliberalism solutions and they are the future.
As a future teacher I need to focus on how I can make my students conscious of other students. It may not have to be in the form of a project. Rather it may come from my respect for them. Ideas of moral are transferrable through example, therefore if respect is shown, respect will be received.
Very often people believe children do not care about school. Therefore they have a negative view of school. What if they have this negative view because they were told they can not achieve anything great? In this post I want to explore the space in which teachers have a negative view of students expectations and abilities.
In Joanne Larson’s book, Literacy as Snake Oil, there is a chapter by Patricia Irvine and Joanne Larson titled, “Literacy Packaged in Practice” that looks at the effects of negative stereotypes. Quoting a first grade teacher who says in regards to students not being ready for kindergarten: “They do not come to kindergarten ready for kindergarten. So I’m always looking at children who aren’t ready to learn yet.” (56). I feel that this understanding is rather negative. It can be true that students entering kindergarten do not have the proper skills needed because they were not read to or went to pre-school. If students are labeled as unable to teach then that child will think they cannot rise to higher standards. Therefore students are thought to have a learning deficit. This deficit is also thought to occur as a result of a students inability to speak correct Standard English (56). Therefore it can be concluded that students of color, who language often conflicts that of Standard English can have a greater deficit.
From this we can see that teachers have negatively constructed their students academic performance.without giving them a chance. I begin to question whether teachers are consciously constructing these images of students or are society’s rules situated in such a way to form negative images of students of color. This idea is emphasized by Lisa Delpit in her essay, “The Silenced Dialogue”. In regards to job applicants she states:
“A white applicant who exhibits problems is an individual with problems. A person of color who exhibits problems immediately becomes a representative of her cultural group.” (38).
This state emphasizes the overarching theme of racism and why students of color are at greater risk of being viewed a deficit. Now I’m not stating that teachers who don’t give colored students a chance are racist. Simply, I’m suggesting that students of color can be easily marginalized to have lower academic abilities.
The issue of teachers automatically viewing students as having a deficit may also be a teachers lack of confidence in their abilities. In addition to the lack of culture awareness of students in a given community. This idea comes in the form of literacy packages that schools purchase by corporations. According to Irvine and Larson:
“Packaged literacy materials have long been criticized for the limited view of literacy they promote and because they attempt to script teachers’ behaviors, deskilling them in the process.” (50)
Therefore if teachers do not feel skilled or are called upon to use their skills towards students they cannot produce culturally relevant materials. In addition for Kindergarten students, if a teacher does not know the cultural of the community that the students live they will not understand where the students are coming from. Therefore they will have a stereotypical view of students.
Is there hope for the future? There is certainly hope, but it is not going to come without conscious revision of the current laws that are in place. The No Child Left Behind law standardized education but in the process created an education system that was void of meaning and character. Also the neoliberalism epistemology is one that would prefer to have a federal system of education, because that is one that could support the culture of power as it currently exist. Delpit states in the same essay listed above: “I further believe that to act as if power does not exist is to ensure that the power status quo remains the same” (39). Therefore we do not do anything and ensure that education becomes grass roots we are only continuing the neoliberalism objective. As the No Child Left Behind law comes up again to be re-evaluated have a standing voice. Call congressmen and legislators and voice concern. Teachers should be the first place where lawmakers look for their advice on future policies. Know where and when to speak up and your voice will be heard.
To see the effects of negative influences of education see Sir Ken Robinson's video: "Do schools kill creativity":
The role of the teacher in the overarching education process is certainly crucial. They are the guider, mentor and facilitator of specific knowledge and inquiry. Yet, the position of the teacher has certainly changed over the past few decades. This position has gone from being a “teacher” which teaches morals and knowledge, to “instructor” teaching a prefixed curriculum that leaves little room for creativity. Over the last decade there has been an great emphasis on assessment. This came about even more so with the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in which schools started to become accountable for raising student performance with both regional and statewide testing. Through my observations of the public school system in New York State there has been numerous references by teacher says, “pay attention, you need to know this for the test”. Therefore not only is the teacher’s curriculum determined by the state, but teachers have to teach towards a test rather than create a curriculum that factors in the multicultural and regional differences of the community that the educational system serves.
In Lynn Astarita Gatto’s essay, “Success Guaranteed Literacy Programs”, we learn of literacy practices that make students learners of knowledge rather than reproducers of it. If we teach just for a test then students “only learned what was required for the state’s standardized tests” (86). Therefore Gatto’s teaching practices went beyond what the state expected of her. Sometimes there are districts that do not offer the same type of flexibility. In Patricia Irvine and Joanne Larson’s essay, “Literacy Packages in Practice” we learn of literacy packages that are bought by the district. The goal of the packages is to raise students’ low reading levels by “standardizing instruction and retraining those teachers suspected of having marginal skills” (49). Personally I feel that both teachers and students will rise to their expectations. Therefore if you expect more from them they will rise to the occasion. Irvine and Larson mentions this by saying literacy packages “attempt to script teachers’ behaviors, deskilling them in the process” (50). Therefore they do not have the ability to implement their own creativity. From this we can see how the district imposed the role of teacher to instructor. These reading packages also hold a deficit view of the culture of the community.
Throughout this blog we have seen the importance of out of school literacies to bring relevance to in-school literacies. We have seen that by making literacy important to students they will gain acceptance in the material and want to engage in it. Therefore it is appropriate to question, how do corporations know what is best of make literacy relative to students in a given community. Gatto questions:
Do teachers feel so powerless that they will allow publishing companies and district officials to tell them how to best provide literacy instruction for their students? (87)
Gatto counteracts this questions by saying she uses literacy that is relative to her students therefore they become valued as learners. They learn that “their ideas and opinions count” (88). Therefore Gatto has learned how to reclaim the role of teacher to bring about meaningful and relevant literacy instruction. For a great video about making teaching relavent and its abiltiy see: L’ Ecole Buissonniere.
Gatto has learned what to do to counteract the forces that want her to have a prescribed teaching style. With so much research support Gatto’s style of teaching, why are reading packages and other non-personal teacher methods encouraged? I feel this is a result of the neoliberalism forces that are becoming prevalent in our education system. See blog: Neoliberalism and Education, Bad Combination. From this blog we can see that their is a constant attempt for private enterprises to have a hand in the public education system. Therefore we can see how their is an attempt from these enterprises want to make the curriculum standard for all students. In this way they negate the role of the teacher as an effective tool of instruction so they can impose their product. Their product is framed around the ideologies of increasing standards and they are hiding the truth. The truth is they are privatizing the educational system and pursuing their corporate agenda.
In this blog post I want to discuss the realities of neoliberalism. It is important to discuss neoliberalism at this time because all the concepts of the other blog posts can be tied into the epistemologies of neoliberalism. According to P. Lipman in the essay, “Education Policy, Race, and Neoliberal Urbanism”, neoliberalism is defined as
an ensemble of economic and social policies that promotes the primacy of the market and individual self-interest, unrestricted flows of capital, deep reductions in the cost of labor, sharp retrenchment of the public sphere, and withdrawal of government from providing for social welfare (45).
From this we can see the epistemologies of neoliberalism as a drive to make all the spaces within the public sphere (libraries, parks, roads, ect..) adhere to market forces. For example, the No Child Left Behind law brought a market style drive to education. If schools are not performing well than resources are taken from that school, further letting it fail. This is similar to a corporation that may cut labor or resources from a division of the company that is underperforming. Some conspiracy theorist may believe this market style approach to education is an effort to privatize education with federal tax dollars. This brings about the emergence of charter schools or federal education vouchers for students to attend an alternate school.
Who benefits from intense privatization of public services? Lipman offers insight by saying that a large amount of wealth will transfer from middle and low class families to the very wealthy (47). Lets look at this through an example; if a park is purchased by a rich capitalist they can decide to charge the public to use it. Therefore this will ensure that the wealthy capitalist makes a profit off a once public space.
If neoliberalism had its way this would occur:
Lets look at this from an educational perspective. There has been a lot of debate over privatization of education in the United States. Lets look at the extreme case in which a soft drink company owns a district. The soft drink company can then supply materials that ensure the continuation of consumers of its products. Lets also consider the owns of the soft drink company happen to be very religious. Therefore they have the ability to impose its religious objectives onto the students.
Those who are most effected by neoliberal ideologies tends to be students of color. The students of color will not be given the rules to enter the culture of power. In addition, by the wealth going from the poor to the very wealthy this will increase the separation of wealth and further make the poor poorer.
Where neoliberal tends to deal with a weakened state, neoconservatism tends to call for a strong state. According to M. Apple’s essay, “Whose Markets, Whose Knowledge?”, the issues of neoconservatism “is especially true surrounding issues of knowledge, values, and the body” (47). In terms of education, Apple continues to state that a neoconservatism would want to call for “mandatory national and statewide curricula” and “a ‘return’ to higher standards” (47). This neoconservative perspective does not look at multicultural education as a means to achieving higher standards.
From this we can see how both the neoliberal and neoconservative perspectives see the world as black and white. They see the world as both the public and private spheres. When responding to society crises the solution tends to come only from the public or the private and little attention is given to those solutions outside these spaces. Therefore for a more complete society we need to look beyond neoliberalism and neoconservatism to see the solutions that benefit us all.
Both neoliberalism and neoconservatism look at the individual as the only unit in the society and do not take into consideration the power of society. From many indigenous societies we learn that the focus is the health of the tribe and all situations deal with how they affect the tribe. Therefore we can see how our society can be easily caught up into neoliberalism because capitalism deals greatly with the individual efforts rather efforts of the collective. Certainly efforts of the collective are much more powerful and speak to the multicultural society that we live in. Therefore this is why there is such resistance to neoliberalism; it widens the economic gap and it is mono-cultural.
It is almost a miracle that modern teaching methods have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiousity of inquiry; for what this delicate little plant needs more than anything, besides stimulation, is freedom
When we talk about diversity we often talk about the physical differences between us. In this blog I have often looked at color of oneself as the primary tool of separation and discrimination. I have not looked at how the difference in thinking practices separate us. These thinking practices is known as epistemology and the study of the differences in thinking practices is known as epistemological diversity. As a note, epistemological diversity is not the study of ideologies of a governing body, rather it is what entails the practices of knowledge and education that encompass a way a society thinks.
In my future classroom I cannot forget that this epistemological diversity exist. This is the reason for a differentiated curriculum. That is a curriculum that caters to the different learning styles of the students. Students bring with them a learning style that is independent of the school system. It is one that may be based on a students family and cultural background. It may take into effect visual, audio or written discourses are better suited for that those learning styles.
It is important to remember that generalizations cannot be made based on a students skin color, gender or physical appearance and the learning style that works for them. Often society has “labeled” certain races to have a learning style that is not realistic. In Lomawaima and McCarty’s essay, “The Strengths of Indigenous Education: Overturning Myths About Indian Learners”, we see that “Native individuals were assumed to lack the verbal, cognitive, even motor skills necessary to succeed in schools” (16). This assumption leads to an image in society that Native Americans are “stoic and silent” (19). This is an assumption that only benefits the educational system and we see in the other blogs that it would be one that keeps Native Americans from being successful in the formal educational system, hence lacking the ability from entering the “culture of power”. Also formal education system are continually seeking ways to make sense of the world in simplistic and one-dimensional way. Therefore by making sense of Native Americans in this way it caters to the idea that, “standardizing institutions demand myths demand myths that simplify the world” (22). Lets look at the how Indigenous education system is set up that contradicts the idea that Native Americans are static and stolid.
When students in the United States think of formal education the image is usually clear. Formal education involves a location, usually with brick or concrete walls. There is also an individual who holds a certificate that deems them the title of a “teacher”. In contrast Indigenous education is considered to be informal, in that it does not take place within the confines of a concrete box. Although labeled as “informal” the Indigenous education is one that adheres to certain pedagogical goals. According to Lomawaima and McCarty the educational system is structured by, “gender, age, and clan or rank” and the reason for the education system is for “strength and leadership” (28-29). In our “formal” education system we measure success on rankings on standardized tests, whereas the educational goals of the Indigenous system is “to produce competent, caring adults” (30). I believe this a beautiful pedagogy that every educational system should be based off of. If the current educational system took into account the epistemologies of Native Americans I believe we would be in a very different world. See the video below for a greater understanding of this:
These ideas of Floyd Red Crow Westerman from the video would be passed down through songs, stories, observation, and through the simplistic acts of caring for animals and plants. Of course words and lectures are given also to instruct and discipline. In Lowawaima and McCarty’s essay, Buffalo Bird Woman “recalled that her Hidatsa grandfather often talked to her and scolded her when she was naughty” (36). So we can see that everything wasn’t song and dance as it is often thought to be.
The Indigenous system often took place in the home. All societies including the Native American see “the home as the central educational system” (38). Often to educated Native Americans they were taking away from their home. In my blog “How Languages are Lost and How they Are Important” we see that Native Americans were taken from their home to be taught in boarding schools. This went completely against the epistemology of Native Americans and seen as the primary means to create control.
From this we can see many of the primary differences from the formal US education. How can these epistemologies be incorporated into the formal education system? In a similar way to my “Embracing Mathematics” blog, we need to not dismiss the culture’s contributions to a education system. Rather I need to show students how their culture contributed to the subject matter and in turn the students may feel that they too can have a part in it. Therefore it has a relevance and meaning to their lives.
On February 1st I posted a link in regards to the “culture of power”. I looked at what the culture of power is and how others are affected by it. What I would like to look at in greater detail is the historical denial of literacy by certain groups so that they can stay in the culture of power.
In Robert P Moses essay, “Algebra and Civil Rights?”, he looks at how by keeping African Americans illiterate, to keep them from gaining power during and after the civil rights movement, this has led to African Americans not gaining the literacy they need to be successful in today’s job field. Moses is not only saying that just African Americans are illiterate in math, but rather generalizes to say that our culture, as a whole, accepts illiteracy in math over illiteracy in reading and writing. He says, “Failure is tolerated in math but not in English” (9). As a future mathematics teacher I have seen this in the field. Students don’t see its relevance to their lives so they shut down. This relevance and the culture opposition to mathematics has even greater significance for African American students. To me it is shocking to read from Moses that:
Blacks make up perhaps 15 percent of this country’s population, yet in 1995 they earned 1.8 percent of the Ph.Ds in computer science, 2.1 percent of those in engineering, 1.5 percent in the physical sciences, and 0.6 percent in mathematics.
If educators want to prepare students for the future, than schools are truly under serving African American students. This becomes especially true since we have moved from a majority of jobs that required mechanical, mindless tasks, to jobs that require mathematical reasoning and a knowledge of computers. James Paul Gee also mentions, in his essay, “Teenagers in new times: A new literacy studies perspective”, how we are in now faced with a “new global, hypercompetitive, science-and-technology driven capitalism, products and services are created, perfected, and changed at ever faster rates” (414). Gee also mentions that we are not preparing students for this new economy. It can be concluded that if we are not preparing students as a whole for this economy, than we certainly are not reaching African American students.
Moses also brings urgency to the issue of illiteracy due to the overwhelming number of African American’s in the countries prison system. He states, “A young man born this year has a one in twenty chance of living some part of his life in jail...unless he is Black, this his chances jump to one in four” (11). What can we do for African American students so they don’t oppose math literacy, and they can not become part of that statistic? Often this misnomer is that students don’t care about learning and they are lazy. There are constant examples of why this is not the case, Moses believes that young people, “have the energy, the courage, the hope to devise means to change their condition”. It is up to the teacher to give the students the tools to change their own condition. By preparing students for the new economy we are giving them the ability to change their condition. Not only does this come from teaching them about mathematics, but also racism, and any other factor that may inhibit them from entering the culture of power.
Historically the contributers to mathematics, like other subjects, have been white males; those in the culture of power. We know that other cultures have contributed highly to mathematics. On the whole, mathematics is not taught from the “who did what perspective”, rather the material is taught as being most important. Perhaps if mathematics is taught from more of a historical perspective and showed how other cultures contributed to mathematics than perhaps their will be less opposition to the subject from African American students. To see some African American contributions to mathematics see the following video:
Throughout this blog I have questioned what literacy is and what different literacies mean to different people. Literacy has gone from the simple definition of being able to read and write, to one that entails the knowledge of facts and culture. In my readings I have come across another perspective of literacy called “critical literacy”.
Critical literacy does not simply mean being more aware of literacy, but it is the ability to separate ourselves from the mainstream culture that tells us to think or act in a certain way. According to Ernest Morrell in his book, Critical Literacy and Urban Youth, he defines becoming critically literate as, “having the skills and sensibilities to ask demanding questions of the ideas, concepts, and ideologies that are presented to us as fact” (38). This same idea is present in Kevin K. Kumashiro’s book, The Seduction of Common Sense: How the Right Has Framed the Debate on American Schools. His book brings into light multiple examples of how we are presented ideas of fact through multiple mediums, and how we are unable to distinguish these ideas from the reality. To listen to Kumashiro speak, watch the following video:
In a similar way, both Morrell and Kumashiro are telling us that if we become more critically literate than we will hold the power to be mentally independent. We will be able to not be controlled and know what to do in order to control our own destiny. This is a big concept for educators to get across to students, especially as students are looking for ways to define themselves in a very complex world.
From Morrell we see that students are engaging themselves in literacy practices outside school that allows themselves to define who they are. According to Morrell, “Their [students] lives were saturated with sophisticated literacy practices: and this was true for even the more underperforming students” (92). He has continues to say that adults tend to label underperforming students as illiterate and lazy, but this is just irresponsible of that adult. What educators have to do is find ways that engage in students out-of-school and bring them in school. In the same way, educators need to bring awareness of these literacies so that students can be critical of them and know that the decisions they are making come from themselves, not from outside influences.
Morrell offers some examples of how he brought popular out-of-school literacies in school by making connections between the Odyssey and the movie The Godfather. Both works were epics and they showed students themes of the larger world (95). Also the students were able to engage in literacy practices that they may of otherwise felt uninterested and grown negative towards. To me this makes complete sense: engage students in something they enjoy so that when they are faced with a similar challenge with an out-of-school literacy they can approach it with the same critical awareness.
This approach to teaching becomes even more important in urban situations. At North High, where Morrell has taught, he states that every year that he taught, “at least on student was murdered”. Therefore it was natural and important that Morrell teaches a unit that address this violence. Students engaged in discussion that questioned violence in school. This is a topic that is probably avoided by educators because, like racism, some feel if you discuss it then it will occur more. In contract, students have a direct moral connection to this violence, if it is there friends and family that are being taken away by this violence. Morrell offers an excerpt from Samantha, one of his students. She says, “The end to violence has to start with us”. In this way she is searching for a solution to end the violence.
As a future math teacher I look at this and say, “How can I incorporate this into my classroom”? I need to search for ways that math is connected to student’s out-of-school literacies. One thing for math teachers that makes it hard for them to deviate from the core curriculum is that hard standards. Therefore, I must say, “how can students learn math from this but it is fun for them”. On February 18th, I posted a blog about low-riders. I can incorporate how math can be used in the construction of low riders. In addition I can look at rap music and look at the financial aspect of the music industry. Regardless of the specific lesson, what is important is that I need to constantly be seeking new ways to engage students on their level, that way they can see how the information is important to them.
On February 18th I looked at how out-of-school literacy is important for in-school literacy. I looked at how students school material can be related to the things they find important to them, such as comic books, low riders and rap music. By looking at these out-of-school literacies we can see that students are not simply passive about their lives, but rather engaged in a medium that does not fit the school curriculum.
In a similar way a student’s culture or language may not fit the way that the “standards” of the curriculum. Not only have non-English languages not fit the curriculum but they have been forbidden from being spoken. In the essay titled, “Indigenous Bilingual/Bicultural Education”, by Lowaima and McCarty, we can see how Native American languages have been considered “unquestionably ‘unsafe’” (114). As a consequence for speaking their own native language at school there were accounts of “students being beaten, placed in solitary confinement, having their mouths ‘washed’ with bar soap, or being forced to stand for hours holding stacks of books on their heads” (115). (See Movie) The question then becomes, why were they forced to not speak their native language?
Back on February 1st, I posted a blog about what is the culture of power. When I see a culture being controlled by another I think about the culture of power and those in the culture of power trying to stay in power. Also as a general rule we know that those who are more literate, have a larger body of knowledge, tend to me more successful. Therefore if the US government can limit the literacy of Native Americans they can in effect control there ability to advance in society. Lowaima and McCarty confirms this reasoning by saying that the education system for Native Americans can be the “key to ‘movement for tribal or community [education] control’” (119). For Native Americans bilingual/bicultural education was set up to assimilate them to the new culture. In most cases they have been a form of control.
In schools were native language and culture was taught appropriately, there was a dramatic increase in students tests scores. This was realized by immersion students that learned the Navajo language. It was noted, in another essay by Lowaima and McCarty titled “‘The New American Revolution’ Indigenous Language Survival and Linguistic Human Rights”, that “immersion students performed better on local assessments” in both English and Mathematics (143). Bringing us back to the beginning of this blog, I can conclude that the reason behind the increase in performance is that students saw the culture relevance in there school work. Similar to how students out-of-school interests help students see the relevance of in-school subjects, we can see how culture relevance can also dramatically help students see perhaps a greater relevance.
This connection between student, school and culture was also noted by Mari Hanenda in her essay, “Becoming Literate in a Second Language: Connecting Home, Community, and School Literacy Practices”. Since students come from a large diversity of backgrounds, Mari states:
An important question to consider, given this diversity, is in what ways teachers can make connections among their students’ literacy practices in different contexts, so as to make school learning meaningful for them.
I feel that this is everything for the child. Often students ask, “Why is this important”? By making the material culturally relevant students then can answer this question by themselves. As a result students don’t have to feel like strangers in school, nor do they have to grow resistant to the educational system. The boundary between school and home becomes blurred and the result will become a greater appreciation and desire to learn.
In addition to making the curriculum more culturally relevant, educators must be accepting of multiple languages and diverse forms of assessment. In addition, it must be recognized that some students are better at vocalizing their meaning rather than writing it. Therefore these students should be given the ability express themselves in this manner. This was the bases to Soraya Sablo Sutton’s essay, “Spoken Word: Performance Poetry in the Black Community”.
Personally though I am very conflicted on letting students be given complete freedom on their form of assessment. If educations goal is to prepare students for the real world than assessments need to be similar. At the same time there is the contradiction that we are hoping to bring greater awareness and diversity to society. When a student goes in for their first job interview they will be judged on the way they speak and write. This is just the reality of the world. This is my dilemma and if anyone has a suggestion please let me know.
For me it is very interesting to see how our definitions of gender become very limited by our language. If we see gender only as male/female or men/women we are almost taking a stance similar to that of colorblindness. As colorblindness rejects the notion of racism is society, not recognizing transgender is also being racist to a part of society.
The issue of dividing society into categories takes place from the birth of a child. As soon as a child is born either a pink or blue cap is put onto its head so that it can be distinguished. Likewise, clothes for newborns are divided into color categories. My question becomes, why do we do this to ourselves? Why do we not have more gender neutral ways and allow the child to choose a gender that best suits them?
As we learn from Darryl Hill in his essay, “Categories of Sex and Gender: Either/Or, Both/And, and Neither/Nor”, we learn that historically society has always seen division between the sexes. He even mentions that transsexualism was “recognized as a legitimate psychiatric disorder in the 1980 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual” (25). The effort of getting this put into the manual was the working of Harry Benjamin. Why did he feel that it must be considered as a “psychiatric disorder”? To explore this I am going to look at the culture of power (See Blog: Culture of Power: Either you are in or you are out).
In almost any modern nation the male gender is the dominate sexual orientation. Therefore it would be advantageous for that group to express its dominate throughout society in order to stay dominate. If gender was separated into male or female group and subsequently having certain roles for each than they would adhere to these roles for years to come. In America in the 1950’s women we suppose to stay home while the men went into the workforce. If women did not work than they did not have a means to provide resources for themselves therefore they in a way became a slave to their husband. Therefore men could stay dominate over women.
If transsexualism was recognized as a legitimate gender that would be going against the culture of power. For conservative groups this would seem threatening and any effort to abolish it would be taken, hence the efforts of Benjamin. In a way, his efforts put a negative connotation to the word transgender and negated its legitimacy as a gender.
As a future teacher, in order to take down the barriers of categorizing and recognized persons of all genders I need to use language that is not separated into men and women categories. Hill in his essay conducts interviews with persons that would recognize themselves as transgendered. Many of them recognized themselves as being a both male or female, or being a division of male or female. What struck me as interesting are those who did not recognize themselves as either male nor female. Hill describes this as a thirdness, this is looked at as, “a possible way to surpass gender dichotomization” (29).
In conclusion, as a future teacher I need to recognize that this space of multiple genders exist and that I don’t categorize gender. At the same time I feel that it is important to talk to students about these different issues so that they also realize that everyone is not simply male or female. This in turn will create a society that recognizes greater diversity.
I included this video at the end because I want to show that transgender feelings can occur in children, therefore it should be discussed in schools.
When most people think of the No-Child-Left-Behind Law most think about not letting children fail. Yet, in classrooms all over children put their heads down on desk rather than doing problems and nothing is being done to prevent this. Gloria Ladson-Billings, in her essay “I ain’t writin’ nuttin’: Permissions to Fail and Demands to Succeed in Urban Classroom” in The Skin that We Speak, gives readers an inside look into a young girl’s refusal to write a sentence. The teachers response to the student was “‘That’s okay. Maybe you’ll feel like writing tomorrow.” (110). Ladson-Billings calls this “‘permission to fail’” (110). I feel like this happens too often and it is a really hard situation to deal with. At the same time there are techniques that can employed to help engage student’s interest in the subject matter.
A lot of times when students are given an assignment they wonder “Why do we have to do this stupid thing?” This is because assignment are often not engaging. In addition, teachers tend to take an elitist approach to the fact they are teachers and force the students to complete the assignments. Ladson-Billings offers a different approach to instruction. It is one that takes into account the students interest so that they will be inspired to learn and complete the material. In addition to the students interests, it must parallel the students literacy level, therefore it must reflect on previous knowledge. At the same time it must grow the students literacy and show students how it can be paired with “conventional forms of literacy” (117). In order to achieve this lessons must be thought-out and well planned. Also the teacher must be adaptable to change a lesson if it is not achieving the desired result.
There is also an ethics perspective to letting students. Often when students give up they are thought of as lazy. I feel they simply don’t understand the implications of their decisions. Even if it is explained to them they still may not understand, therefore it is up to educators to make engaging lessons to keep students focused. Then hopefully in time they will understand the importance to their actions.
When we think of literacy we tend to think of what society learns through formal instruction in a brink and mortar classroom. What tends to be more important to students is what they learn outside of school, this is called this out-of-school literacy. There is almost an infinite number of examples, but some recognized by Jabari Mahiri in his book “What They Don’t Learn in School” (see course text), are rap, low-riders, artwork, comic books, and resources that encompass home-schooling.
As a future teacher I need to look at this out-of-school literacy and see its importance in the lives of the students that I will be teaching. This way I can relate the material to their interest and in turn they will have an interest in the material.
When looking at rap music Mahiri, in his essay “Street Scripts: African American Youth Writing About Crime and Violence”, notes that of his students are “aware of how perceptions of rap music are negatively constructed and how its legitimacy is continually challenged by dominate cultural institutions” (26). Yet, rap really has a lot more meaning. Like an artist expressing himself on a canvas, rap is the medium that many rappers use to express themselves, whether it is for a political, social or religious reason. Mahiri does mention that rap is linked to an image of violence and drug-abuse. In contrast he mentions that to debunk all rap because of this is to be ignorant to rap as an acceptable medium. This literacy is important to students and as a future teacher I need to understand its effects of the lives of students.
To show the importance of out of school literacy Mahiri included an essay by Peter Cowan called, “Devils and Angels: Literacy and Discourse in Lowrider Culture”. Before Cowan researched low riders he assumed that there was a gang association with them. Then he decided to learn about lowriders and see there importance. He purchased a lowrider magazine (http://www.lowridermagazine.com/index.html) and attended a car show. Not only did the information he found out debunk his original assumption, he learned about how deeply rooted the culture is in the life of his students. One of his most important statements is, “it [lowriding culture] reveals a form of visual literacy that is clear and comprehensible to members of a particular discourse community who have been socialized into it” (49). This statement can almost be applied towards any culture or community. I feel that in the broader sense it tells us not to assume a culture until we research it. Even if we do research it we may not be able to fully understand it, therefore we cannot make assumptions.
The images of lowriders or rap or comic books is important to those who are involved in it. Therefore, as a future teacher I need to appreciate my future students interest in this out-of-school literacy. As a teacher, I will expect students to appreciate diverse backgrounds, I also must appreciate the diverse background of my students.
Many white people take the position of being colorblind in order to avoid the issues of racism. The implication of taking such a position benefits the white person. In terms of education, Amanda Lewis in her essay “‘Even Sweet, Gentle Larry?’ The Continuing Significance of Race in Education”, discusses the negative consequences of being colorblind by saying, “This denies not only the way race shapes who ends up in which school building, the long-term legacy it continues to have on family resources, and the way it shapes school practices and interactions” (2). Therefore being colorblind hurts not only those of color but also all persons of society.
Also to deny race denies the ways race has helped middle-upper class families stay wealthy. It denies the issues of wealth inequalities and political favoritism that have lonely benefited the wealthy part of society. Therefore to take a stand of colorblindness will only perpetuate these issues. It denies all persons access into the culture of power, to give them an equal opportunity to live and grow with limitless possibilities.
James Gee, in his essay "Teenagers in new times: A new literacy studies perspective", also found the issues of colorblindness to be prevalent among upper-class teens. He says: “We have some indication that our upper middle class teens distance themselves from issues like racism even when it is the overt content of their course work” (418). Students in a study reported that their social studies teacher made it clear that the students couldn’t use words like “weird” or “odd” when describing things, they were taught to use the word “different”. One of the students Karin said that she lives in a sheltered town. Other students reported the same feelings. Another student also reported that learning about stereotypes was a big concept to learn. Gee sums up the problem of not learning racism by saying, “they appear to orient to the ‘cultural capital’ the class offers them to construct themselves as ‘worldly people’ despite their limited access to the realities of a diverse world” (419). As a future teacher, to recognize this as an issue will be one step forward in deterring the problems associated with colorblindness.
“Stated simply, people use written language to make their daily lives, to earn a living, to operate their businesses, to provide and receive public service, to educate, to create joy and to create pain, to segregate, to promulgate justice and injustice, to impoverish, to pray and promote spirituality, to create caring relationships, to marginalize and dismiss others, and to move from one part of Columbus to another” (Bloome and Encisco, 297).
When we think about literacy and this quote I like to look at literacy in two different terms. The conscious literacy and the unconscious literacy. The conscious literacy is fairly pretty simple to describe. I would describe this as literacy that is used to “show” a higher level of literacy; one that is out of the writers or speakers comfort zone. If a student was asked to write a four page paper but had to use certain language and grammar that exceeded their normal language than they will be consciously changing their literacy level.
Bloome and Encisco talk greatly about the unconscious literacy. One that dictates everyday life without thought to certain words or actions chosen. I like to think of this as “diner talk”. When one goes to a diner they usually see a sign that says, “Please wait to be seated”. Therefore the diner is assuming that the customer will be able to read and understand the sign. Then the customer waits for an employee, called the host, to come over and seat the customer. Once seated, the host typically hands the customer the menu, which the diner implies the customer can read. After a few minutes the waiter or waitress comes over and distributes coffee and ask the customer what they would like to eat. This simple exchange of communication is very typical. Therefore this form of literacy is universal among similar establishments. Bloome and Encisco say that this social setting is material; there is the use of menus, tables, and seats.
The authors also note such implied and excepted literacy practices at specific establishments like Starbucks. The use certain language that caters to a certain social-economic group. In Columbus, Ohio a large majority of Starbucks are located in the middle and upper class neighborhoods. Please see the current video from Duke University on how Starbucks success if created around this unconscious literacy.
Judith Baker discusses the use of different languages through the word “Trilingualism”, in “The Skin That We Speak” (see course texts). Baker states that in order for students to succeed and get successful jobs, they have to speak and write in different ways and know when it is appropriate to use this language. I would call this the conscious literacy because they are conscious changing their language to accommodate someone else. Baker says that there are three different forms to the English language, to quote her:
Home
Formal
Professional
Baker hopes to teach these three different languages of dialects, then they will “master the actual mechanical differences between them”.
In contract to the use of language in different social settings, Michael Stubbs in “The Skin That We Speak” talks about the “The Primitive Language Myth”. According to Stubbs, there is “no language or dialect is inherently superior or inferior to any other, and that all languages and dialects are suited to the needs of the community they serve.” The “diner talk” may be different, but not superior to a group of professors. Stubbs also continues to mention that primitive languages, although appear simplistic, are governed by detailed rules that make them complex structural systems.
This idea of conscious and unconscious dialects can be described in terms of code-switching by Lisa Delpit in “The Skin That We Speak”. She describes how her daughter is able to switch from speaking properly to speaking loosely with her friends with the use of slang. Like Stubbs, she argues that instead of correcting students when they use the “wrong” language, teachers must embrace the differences in language so students can grow through language, rather than resistant. This way students can see their true potential, without barriers.
If you are white, male, 30’s, middle-upper class, english-speaking and heterosexual, you might have a hard time knowing that a culture of power exist. For those that are outside the culture of power, they can see it as a wall in front of them, inhibiting them from further advancement.
Kimberly Blaeser tells about how her inability to communicate in english separated her from the culture of power in her essay, “Learning ‘the language the presidents speak’: Images and issues of literacy in American Indian”. When Native Americans were colonized by Europeans, she notes that there was the establishment of categories, those who were literate and those who were not. The power of being illiterate “can be seen as instruments of colonization, necessary to establish the desired social divisions and to maintain political control”. Therefore the Europeans used literacy to create a culture of power that secludes outsiders (Native Americans).
The culture of power also has certain rules that perpetuates itself so that those in power will remain in power. Those within the culture of power may deny the forces of race outside their circle, therefore they are being colorblind. Not only is being colorblind being ignorant, but it is also saying that all races don’t have to deal with racism. This is simply not true; whether outside or inside the culture of power, racism will always be an issue. According to Amanda Lewis in her essay, “‘Even Sweet, Gentle Larry?’ The Continuing Significance of Race in Education”, if we continue to ignore the issues of race, we will only make the circle that embodies the culture of power smaller, rather than larger so that all will be accepted. She also states that many organizational leaders and school officials say they are colorblind in order to avoid the uncomfortable issues of race. I believe that this will only foster greater ignorance, and it is up to us, as future educators, to bring up the issues of race so that students can deal with their inner conflicts of race that they may of not otherwise known how to handle. This in turn will bring about more tolerance for other cultures and races. If successful we will be able to practice colorblindness, but for now that is only a future aspiration so now we need to continue to deal with the adversities of racism.
I personally have not had to deal with the culture of power because I have the qualities that keep in in it. That may sound bold, but growing up my family never had to deal with the issues that prohibited us from advancing forward. I am quite fortunate, but that is not to say that I can’t help those who are outside the culture of power. It is important that I have realized that I was in the culture of power and don’t enforce the rules that restrict others from gaining access. As a future educator, the greatest thing I can do is educate students now they can deal with the negative effects of the culture of power, and create a future that is most advantageous to them.
This idea of what makes a literate person has been greatly debated. Literacy for some means a source of power, for others it means a source of freedom. Regardless of what literacy means to you, it can not be denied that it is a very powerful force.
Many standard definitions of literacy is the ability to read and write. E.D. Hirsch Jr took the definition of literacy and compiled a list of 5,000 terms of what every literate person should know. Therefore his definition of literacy is much more refined.
I do not think for one to be literate they should know certain facts or names.. If such an list is put forth than it will most certainly show a bias. This is why Hirsch’s list is highly controversial.
Rather than facts or names I feel that people should know certain ideas that will make them successful in the world. These three ideas are:
Critical Awareness
Inquiry
Hard work
From these three ideas, literacy should evolve. I want to know go into each of these ideas and describe why I feel it is important.
Critical Awareness: Critical awareness is the ability to look at the world through a objective eye. It is the ability to see what is invisible to those who do not see the world with such awareness. In order to be critical aware there is a certain body of knowledge needed. Such body of knowledge needs to be free of all biases.
Inquiry: In order to practice inquiry, one must observe the world around without objection to diverse perspectives. I would call this is the “learning” part of literacy. It is allowing others to speak, or the reading of ideas in newspapers, magazines or blogs. Proper practice of inquiry will also lead to respect of others. For further information about how teachers can promote inquire see Ann Margaret Sharp’s Essay, “Philosophic Teaching as Moral Education”.
Hard Work: This is probably the most important idea, because if one wasn’t willing to work hard than critical awareness and inquiry would not be possible. In addition, hard work does not stop; literacy is ever changing and molding in context to the culture that it embodies. Therefore, for one to be literate they must never think they know and understand everything; they must be constantly redefine their ideas in context to the culture(s) present.
When I think of people who are literate, I think about about a professor or teacher who is able to change my perspective on an idea. These are people who are able to make me aware of ideas that I never thought about before. This is typically the teacher or professor that has had the largest impact on my life. Also I feel this person practices these three ideas of literacy that I describe.
This blog was created for the Issues in Literacy for Diverse Learners (EDS549) at the State University of New York at New Paltz. Through this blog I will post responses to questions in literacy. In addition, I will post my response to the courses texts and outside works. Please feel free to respond with your opinion because literacy effects us all.
Me and My Dog
Do you think transsexuality should be discussed in schools?
Do you think critical thinking is a form of literacy?
actice Gatto used the example of a unit on butterflies. To introduce the unit students read the book, 
officials to tell them how to best provide literacy instruction for their students? (87)
an educational perspective. There has been a lot of debate over privatization of education in the United States. Lets look at the extreme case in which a soft drink company owns a district. The soft drink company can then supply materials that ensure the continuation of consumers of its products. Lets also consider the owns of the soft drink company happen to be very religious. Therefore they have the ability to impose its religious objectives onto the students.
literacy that is clear and comprehensible to members of a particular discourse community who have been socialized into it” (49). This statement can almost be applied towards any culture or community. I feel that in the broader sense it tells us not to assume a culture until we research it. Even if we do research it we may not be able to fully understand it, therefore we cannot make assumptions.
Many white people take the position of being colorblind in order to avoid the issues of racism. The implication of taking such a position benefits the white person. In terms of education, Amanda Lewis in her essay “‘Even Sweet, Gentle Larry?’ The Continuing Significance of Race in Education”, discusses the negative consequences of being colorblind by saying, “This denies not only the way race shapes who ends up in which school building, the long-term legacy it continues to have on family resources, and the way it shapes school practices and interactions” (2). Therefore being colorblind hurts not only those of color but also all persons of society.
