BLOG #3

As you are all already aware, my group’s mission is to explore the role of race and ethnicity in the classroom:  how does a person’s racial and cultural background affect his/her learning (specifically writing- which in my opinion goes hand-in-hand with reading also), his/her relationship with others, his/her overall educational and personal development?  As a teacher, I have realized over the years that this exploration is crucial; anything and everything a child learns is directly defined in terms of that child’s personal identity.

My specific role in the overall group presentation will be to bring this in-class experience to the work that my group mates and I do and the information/ideas, etc. that we present.  We have decided to approach our exploration in a number of different ways- just one facet of our plan is to conduct interviews with students, parents, teachers, and administrators.  I think I know my kids.  It will be very interesting to hear them open up truthfully (we hope haha) about their relationships with the written word.  I’m also going to be working on creating a series of lesson plans about race and ethnicity , facilitating students’ journey toward self- discovery and actualization.  These will be lessons that can be actually brought to life in the high school classroom and can be taught in conjunction with an existing curriculum on their own as a mini-unit (most likely in a language arts or social studies class).  This “teachers’ toolbox” will be my contribution to our digital omnibus.

BLOG #2

As I'm reading my classmates' blog posts, I'm realizing that I'm not alone in wanting to understand how we can impact young students in the classroom.  It is there, and at home, that children really begin to develop their own identity and to understand their roles in the world around them (and the roles of others).  For my project, I think that I want to create a tap into both of those environments.  I want to create a curriculum unit (or a few specified lessons that can be tied into an established curriculum) that facilitates students' journey toward self-discovery and self-actualization and, though it will be done in a classroom environment, the major cornerstone of the course will relate directly to their homes and families.

Some of the ideas that I have for potential lesson plans involve interviews of family members, a research component that involves a family tree and/or timeline, the creation of a family documentary (and presentations of those), and an ongoing journal that documents students' personal feelings about the journey itself.  Dr. Zamora suggested that in order for my lessons to move students toward reaching that goal of discovery and actualization, that I should experience them myself.  I actually had the opportunity this past weekend to do just that.  My grandmother passed away two weeks ago and we held her memorial service on Saturday in Dundalk, Maryland, where my father was raised and where his side of the family still lives.  Because we live pretty far away, I didn't really get as close to her as my cousins and I heard some stories at the service which really opened my eyes about the person my grandma was and what her life was like.  I didn't know that she didn't speak English until she was five- she was a little Finnish girl that was sat down in the back of the one room school and told to "learn."  That's how she learned English.  I never knew that. That is just one of the stories that made me recognize the strength of my grandmother.

I think that the stories of the family history is just one main component of what I'm imagining my lessons will involve, and I definitely need to flesh it out more.  I'm warning you all that I will be asking for help!!! :)  See you all tomorrow!

BLOG #1

                I have to say that when I walked into class on Tuesday, I was expecting the kind of experience that Dr. Zamora described as traditional (and somewhat antiquated).  I knew the class would be interesting, but I was not really expecting to have an active role in shaping the course content.  This innovative type of experience, along with the technology component, is something that is also being encouraged at the high school level, and I’ve realized, over the course of the last couple years, that, as a high school teacher, I’m a clinger- I cling to the more traditional class dynamic:  it’s what I was taught, and it’s what I know, it’s in my comfort zone, and I’ve been grasping onto it to within an inch of my life.   However, I’ve been realizing for a while that clinging to the old, comfortable way is not really working anymore.  So when I heard Dr. Zamora explain the dynamics of this course, I was very interested.  I hope that I can take away a number of things from this class: not only the experience of making something that can affect the way race is dealt with in our world, but also a greater insight into incorporating technology, collaboration, and active student participation so my students can accomplish great things too.

                When we were brainstorming in small groups on Tuesday about what exactly that “something” would be, we focused mainly on creating some kind of portfolio or collection in which we all document our own personal experiences with how we communicate, based on our own ethnic, cultural, and familial backgrounds.  One of us said she wanted to maybe develop a family tree or some kind of document about her heritage, kind of along the same lines as the TV shows Dr. Zamora mentioned (“Who Do You Think You Are?” etc.).  This idea really appealed to me.  A couple years ago, my sister started her Master’s and decided to concentrate in Irish history based on my family’s heritage.  She actually had the opportunity to go to Ireland and did extensive research on the development (and eventual forced abandonment) of the Irish language.  I became really interested in how much language is a part of identity as an ethnic, cultural group or race.  The idea that how we communicate, whether it be through writing, or simple everyday conversation, is a result of our own life experiences and, surprisingly, those of our ancestors going back generations and generations, is fascinating.  To develop a vehicle through which we can document the impact of this and showcase the variety of life experiences- and therefore, the variations of communication as a whole, would be really awesome.

                Another idea that personally appealed to me was the idea of creating some kind of educational toolbox or bank for teachers.  I know from personal experience that kids tend to be like me (haha, they cling to what they know and what they’re comfortable with) and so very often, particularly in the district where I teach, the word “diversity” means very little.  Oh, it’s something that is acknowledged and there is “Diversity Day,” but on a day-to-day basis, there is little consideration of what goes on outside the town “bubble,” so to speak.  I think that having some kind of consistent integration of studying various racial and ethnic experiences, across content areas- not just when we read To Kill a Mockingbird (although it is wonderful J)or Night in Language Arts, would be really valuable.