The Final days of FNED 246

         As our final few classes are ending in our FNED 246 class, we were asked to do this blog post about three meaningful assignments, videos, activities, or articles that stuck with us through the semester. For this blog, I chose to do Troublemakers by Shalaby, the video analysis "Precious Knowledge", and the "Classroom Tour". 

Troublemakers:

    Quote: "These troublemakers-rejected and criminalized-are the children from whom we can learn the most about freedom. They make noise when others are silent. They stand up against every school effort to force conformity. They insist on their own way instead of the school's way. These young people demand their freedom even as they are simultaneously the most stringently controlled, surveilled, confined, and policed in our schools. They exercise their power despite being treated as if they have none"(Shalaby, pg.6). 

Students should be excited to go to school every day instead of being treated like prisoners. These children are being treated like they are criminals instead of students. This is a school, not a jail cell! Schools can be compared to prisons because of the harsh rules students have to follow, with the increase in
new rules.

"Precious Knowledge":

    In class, we watched the film Precious Knowledge, which is about teachers making a community in their class of ethic studies. The teachers wanted to give them a high-quality education and wanted them to be able to speak up for themselves. The students in class just wanted to have an education and advocate for what they believe. 

"Classroom Tour":

    In this video, I loved how she made classroom jobs and showed her day-to-day in the classroom. As a future teacher, I want my students to feel comfortable and have a welcoming environment for them feel safe. She was able to get to know her students by creating About Me assignments, so she was able to get to know their interests and incorporate them into her lesson plans.

Policy and Acts in Rhode Island Addressing the Status of Gender

This week in FNED 246 I was able to read the Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and watch Woke Read Alouds: They, She, He Easy as ABC. 

    Every child should be able to express themselves in their own way. In Woke Kindergarten by Ki, they are reading a book called They, She, He Easy as ABC, author Maya Gonzalez. The book lists children's names from A-Z, pronounces what the child loves to do, and introduces pronouns to the viewers listening to the book. Ki uses a certain tone and gives breaks while reading the book to keep the audience invested and engaged. After reading each page, Ki would go over each page and explain what was happening on the page. 

"Cory leaps high like a cat. She springs and leaps and bounds.

Diego drums and dances. Tree has all the sounds"(They, She, He Easy as ABC).

This book talks about different pronouns and names that the children in the book go by and how they like to express themself. In the quote above, Cory goes by she/her pronouns and Diego likes to be called Tree instead of Diego. Each child on the pages is dancing showing that they are happy to be themselves. As future teachers, the students need to have a welcoming and supportive environment to create bonds for when your students want to open up about what they like and dislike. 

    The Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education provides people in the LGBT community with a secure and safe education. For students to succeed they need to be encouraged and supported to grow throughout their educational years.

1. "Growing UP LGBT in America, found that 42% of gender non-conforming youth report frequently or often being called names and 40% reported being frequently or often excluded. Further, over half of gender nonconforming youth reported that they did not participate in activities offered by the school out of fear of discrimination"(Page 1).

2. "Federal and State laws provide a legal framework to guide school policies and practices related to 

discrimination based on sex, gender identity and gender expression"(Page 1).

3. "Title IX’s sex discrimination prohibition extends to claims of discrimination based on gender 

identity or failure to conform to stereotypical notions of masculinity or femininity and OCR 

accepts such complaints for investigation. Similarly, the actual or perceived sexual 

orientation or gender identity of the parties does not change a school’s obligation. Indeed, 

lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth report high rates of sexual harassment and 

sexual violence. A school should investigate and resolve allegations of sexual violence 

regarding LGBT students using the same procedures and standards that it uses in all 

complaints involving sexual violence"(Page 2).

Eliminating Ableism in Education by Thomas Hehir

        This week, I had the chance to read Eliminating Ableism in Education by Thomas Hehir. Hehir advocates and supports children with impairments and disabilities in the school environment. Throughout Thomas Hehir's career, he engaged in teaching, and speeches to help students in the education system. He has made an impact in education by assisting students with disabilities. The education structure should support students and not bring them down. They are working on their goals and want to move forward not backward. 

        As future teachers we want our students to succeed and accomplish their goals. We want to have a positive impact and create a supportive environment. We need to make a difference in the education system and provide for our students. In the article, Hehir states, "I contend that negative cultural assumptions about disability continue to have a negative influence on the education of children with disabilities. The pervasiveness of ableist assumptions in the education of these children not only reinforces prevailing prejudices against disability but may very well contribute to low levels of educational attainment and employment"(Hehir, p.4). Working with Inspiring Minds is observing the school setting, and the classroom setups, and working with students. School should be a place where students want to be there and want to learn. The students in my placement are excited to be in class even though not all want to do the assignments. They care about their grades and want to do well on their report cards. The teacher helps her students with the work that they are stuck on and holds a workgroup during class to help the students who need extra help on their work. She is creating a positive environment in the classroom by making accommodations and supporting the students through their work. There is no teacher aid in the classroom but other 5th grade teachers come in with their students and do group lessons. The teachers work together during their class time and go over things together.

Aria by Richard Rodriguez

This week in my FNED 246 class, we got the chance to read Aria by Richard Rodriguez. This reading was about a student whose Spanish was their first language and English was her second. The student had trouble communicating due to the language barrier. They had to attend a parent/student-teacher conference and her teacher told them that they needed to start having English as their first language. The teacher told the parents that they needed to start speaking English more in the household to have a better education without language barriers. By the teacher says this the parents are offended because they were told that they need to speak more English than their own culture's language. The parents became distant with the student because they began to speak more English. The parents could not understand so it was always quiet throughout the house.  

At my placement for Instipring Minds, I work in a 5th-grade classroom. Most of the students can speak English and Spanish but some can only speak Spanish. I know only a few phrases or words in Spanish but I am not the best at speaking it. I can understand a few words that they are saying so I can help them a little bit when it comes to their assignments. Some students need to translate to a teacher what the other students are saying because not all teachers in the building can speak Spanish. I adore my students in the classroom and it's so fun to be with them every Thursday. I get to play with them at the gym and in the classroom I can help them with their reading and math skills. They have standardized testing coming up and they are going to do amazing!

 

Creating a better classroom

    This week I got to read Literacy With An Attitude by Patrick Finn. When reading the Preface, Chapter 1, and Chapter 2 I realized the importance of making an engaging and observing your students in the classroom. By observing your students you can see if they need extra help on an assignment and find different teaching styles that could help them through their education. Make the students excited to come into your classroom. In high school, there were certain teachers that I loved going into their classrooms because they got the students excited to be there. When I was in a less engaging class it was hard to learn and was hurting my education. Being in an engaging and safe space classroom is important for a student's growth development. 

Quotes from Literacy With An Attitude:

1) "The status quo is the status quo because people who have the power to make changes are comfortable with the way things are. It takes energy to make changes, and the energy must come from the people who will benefit from the change"(Finn, Preface).

        I related this quote to "Precious Knowledge" because the students in the video wanted to make a change and fought for it. They didn't want their class to be taken away from the school system, so they held protests to keep the class alive. People can make a change if they continue to work for change. 

2) "All of us teachers and students were locked into a system of rules and roles that none of us understood and that did not allow for much in the way of education"(Finn, p.5).

        Each subject has a curriculum that a teacher has to create lesson plans for. The curriculum is designed to be adjusted to add to lesson plans if the students should know the material. The teacher can tweak the lesson plans to include student's interests so they can be more engaged in the classroom and also in society. 

Personal Thoughts: Chart + "Classroom Tour"

     This week, in my FNED 246 class, we watched a video about a teacher's classroom. The teacher explained all the details about the rules, decorating choices, and procedures of her classroom. 

    She strives to create an upbeat and cheerful atmosphere in her classroom by emphasizing the bright and vibrant parts of the decoration around the room and her positive attitude. The setting in the classroom environment looks comfortable and welcoming for the students when they come in. When watching the video I noted that she had a certain style that complemented the room. She had her students work around the classroom and a visual representation of how her day went through the magnetized schedule up on the whiteboard. She provides supplies for students who need them. If a student forgot to charge their Chromebook and their charger, there was a bin with extra chargers in it. If I was a student in her classroom I think I would enjoy being in that classroom. I am a very organized and color-coordinated person myself even though I can get a little unorganized and untidy. 

I liked how her room was colorful and had the student's work displayed. By highlighting the colorful and lively elements of the decor, she hopes to create a positive and joyful environment in her classroom. For students, the classroom environment appears cozy and pleasant as soon they walk in. She was able to get to know the students in all of her classes through the questions and answers in the assignment. Getting to know your students is crucial at the start of the school year and to continue to grow the relationship with your students. In the classroom, the students say an anthem before their class starts. It reminded me of the other video analysis "Precious Knowledge" because the students in that class also said a class anthem before class started.

In class, we looked at a chart on what makes a good and bad classroom but also a school environment. For the school, I am currently attending the program Inspiring Minds has all the good signs that make a great classroom and school environment. The teacher always walks around the room and answers the student's questions if they have any. Around school, it is very vibrant and the children are excited to go to their next class. 

5th Grade Chaos

    Entering my 5th grade class at the Frank D. Spaziano Elementary School is a chaotic environment but the students want to learn. A student, whom we will call Justin acts up in class and gets sent to the hallways or just goes into the hallways to take a brain break. He is a student of color and comes in dressed in sports gear and things that he is interested in on shirts. This student sits in the front of the room and doesn't want to do work but will if they are interested in it. Once he sits in the hallways for a little while he can get back into learning. The teacher wants him to do work but it's hard to control and teach a student that doesn't want to learn. Justin will do the work that is assigned when he feels like doing it, when the teacher says to multiple times, or when he actually wants to learn.