E341 BLOCK III

"At Risk" Transforming Deficit Myths About Learning, Language and Culture September 29th, 2019 By Emily Williams Right when children walk through the schools doors, they're labeled as "at risk." This socially constructed label is used to separate and isolate students, and to explain failure without considering important factors, such as class, race, and gender inequities.  There are many assumptions and beliefs used to label children as "at risk." The first is that it is automatically assumed that and "at risk" students is going to have a language problem, that their language and culture are deficient. The second assumption is that children need be separated from the classroom to work on their language development somewhere else, normally without groups of students, which hinders their learning even farther. The 3rd assumption is that standardized testing accurately measures and identifies students who have learning/l...

LANGUAGE MYTHBUSTER Transforming Deficit Myths About Learning, Language and Culture September 28th, 2019 Samuel Gawrys-Strand So here's the deal: we've got way too many language deficit myths floating around in our schools. (In case you're curious about how many would be acceptable, the appropriate number is  ZERO ) People make all kinds of assumptions about why some students are "at risk" just because they're not part of the mainstream population. If we've learned anything from our years of existence, it's that the mainstream ruins everything. It's about time we put these pesky rumors to bed and transform our thinking. THE MYTHS MYTH NUMBER 1! What is the basis of the first myth on our list? (Spoiler alert: it's a racist and classist thing) According to the article, minorities and children from low-income families tend to be labeled as "at risk"  when it comes to language. But it's TOTALLY not about race or ...

Silent But Deadly What if I Offend Someone By: Breaira O'Shea September 22, 2019 You're a reading teacher but you don't like to talk about diversity? (Betta get over it!) Diversity and Social Issue Awareness is crucial for Life. As teachers it is important for us to teach and encourage our students to be aware of injustices and know how to not only speak about them but stand up and be activists in their everyday experiences.   You may ask, but Bre, How do I do this?  *mY KidS wOnT UndErStaNd* - Read Alouds (Using books about Social issues can spark conversation and thoughts about these issues, creating this dialogue amongst your students is crucial and very beneficial in their understanding and acceptance of others) - Student-Led Social Action Projects (Researching issues in todays society and have your kids participate in rally's or writing letters) -Valuing Multiple Perspectives (regardless of you (as a teach...

By: Stephanie Norman Critical literacy is an essential component of our future classrooms, we have only heard that about a million times in the last year and some months. We have heard about how we need to encourage our students to view the whole story (not simply a single story). We know how important it is for our students to see people that look like them and their experiences within our curriculum.                             According to  "What if I Offend Someone?": Collaborating on Critical Literacy Initiatives by Engaging Others in Small Ways, critical literacy values many perspectives, is "lived," uses books to boost interest in sociopolitical issues, and encourages student-led social action. This reading poses a question that I find to be essential for us as we decide what we would like the environment to be like for our students in our classrooms: "Should young children be shielded...

Confrontation?? oh well! “Should young children be shielded from controversial current events, or should they be invited to learn about, explore, advocate for, and critique issues that matter to them (Darolia, Pg. 1)?” Even though to us this may be a simple question to answer, many teachers are still struggling to incorporate social justice issues in their classrooms. Whether they may be scared of confrontation with parents, administrators or colleagues, this is a situation that needs to be explored more.                 We need to start thinking about our students and not as much on if we are going to offend someone. The students have a right to make their own decisions about the world around them and as teachers, we can provide them with that platform. Before I got into this program, I was very uncertain how I would go about sociopolitical issues and if I should even incorporate it in my classroom. ...

By: Aubrey Fox What if I offend someone??   Social justice can be such a daunting topic to cover in any classroom, but especially with elementary aged students. However, it is so crucial to have students experience and discuss social justice issues in the classroom! When we first started having diversity courses within our blocks I know it definitely made me anxious to learn how to be open with my students about such controversial topics. However, after all of our courses and reading articles like this one I feel more and more equipped to tackle these kinds of conversations with students!     It is important to teach your students about all social justice issues, but the ones that are most relatable are... equity : measure of achievement, fairness, and opportunity in education (edglossary, N.d).  privilege : a set of unearned benefits given to people who fit into a specific social group (everyday feminism, 2014). oppression : prolonged cruel or unjust...