Friday’s class had a focus on culturally responsive teaching (CRT) and place based projects that had an impact on what my teaching can include. I’m not sure if the schools I went to just didn’t feel the need or time to go out in the community but Paula was able to demonstrate how successful you can be by bringing the community to you or going out into it. The message about being culturally responsive has a huge impact in the classroom because it encompasses the main point of making the material and experience accessible to them. Also, I think Angie made a great point about having an authentic audience. It’s true that, as a student, I tend to publish better work knowing that the audience isn’t just my teacher.
I think that a science class has a great opportunity to incorporate other subjects into the classroom. Not only can the process and hands-on experiments include things like english and art but the assignment can as well. Paula showed us how poems, brochures and even a PSA using technology can be effective in a science classroom. Not every student has the same brain and making sure they really understood the lesson can be expressed in many ways and not just the boring lab write-ups.
I just want to try and explain how Ernestine’s words impacted me. There were many points in her writing that touched me. I had a wonderful and privileged childhood, but when I got to middle and high school, things changed. I remember how she talked about that feeling of not being enough to become a “bluebird”. I am, by no means, comparing my struggles to the devastating hardship she had in and out of her classrooms. I do, however, want to remember that feeling I had when very few of my teachers DID step up and notice that I was struggling. I plan on committing myself to being THAT kind of teacher and nothing like the one Ernestine had. Her words were packed with emotion, her tone spoke with passion and to witness this all will always stay with me and provide the motivation when I start to feel worn out. I have made it this far and the light continues to shine bright!
I also agree that classes should find more time to get out and learn in the community. There are many things that apply outside of the school. If students only learn the information in class, that connection to the information stays in the class. It is trapped in the walls of the school because the students can not relate to how it applies outside of the walls.