Prompt 6: John Dewey

Usually multiple times a day, Mrs. Rose’s students spend time on the reading rug. This is an area where they not only read but work on learning various vocabulary words, and where they are given their work assignments for the day. Mrs. Rose is an incredibly enthusiastic and dramatic reader, she really does a great job of capturing her students attention. One the students were working on “karate chopping” vocab words. This is an activity where they are asked to draw lines and circles on top of the word where it should be chopped into two words. Victor was working on one of these problems one day. Mrs Rose handed the white board to Victor and asked him to “karate chop”. He did not get the answer right and after a few laughs from the students on the back of the rug, he became discouraged and no longer wanted to try. That is until his classmate Marco told him “you can do it, I believe in you”. Upon hearing this Victor took the whiteboard and got the answer right. Mrs. Rose heavily applauded Marcos for his kindness towards Victor and awarded him a plastic coin which the school uses to reward the students. She then mentioned to the class that what Marco did was very kind and that they should always be supportive of each other and not laugh. This shows that Mrs. Rose encourages positive social interaction and support learning within her classroom. Even though she may not be able to fully understand some of the Spanish terms or phrases her students occasionally uses, she accepts them open arms and encourages them.

Theorist John Dewey emphasizes the importance of education being a social function. Every student is different from one another. No student is exactly like the next. Therefore, Dewey believes that from these differences we learn from one another in the social atmosphere that is the classroom. Marco and Victor socialized together in a positive way that brought forth positive results. While Mrs. Rose usually does not allow talking on the rug while she speaks, she openly accepted Marco’s remark toward Victor and was very pleased.

Prompt 5: Lisa Delpit

If I were teacher of this classroom I am sure that there would be many challenges I would have to face. Since there are some students within Mrs. Rose’s classroom that do speak Spanish, whether it be as a first language or a second, they are still experiencing a completely different culture from that of the classroom. While I can in no means speak Spanish fluently, I speak it somewhat and I do have a large knowledge of Spanish culture and traditions. If I were the teacher of this classroom I would somehow bring in aspects of their Spanish culture or whatever their culture may be. Whether it be teaching the kids vocabulary words in Spanish and English, or having a day where we celebrate their culture. I personally feel as if it would be unfair to not incorporate their culture. A persons culture should never be forgotten, only widely embraced. I’m sure that I would face some difficulties if the parents of the children were Spanish speaking since I can’t speak Spanish fluently. I feel like if I hired a translator the personal connection between the parent and I would be lost. Maybe the key would be to learn Spanish as a second language.

This prompt can be directly related to Lisa Delpit and her article “The Silenced Dialogue”. Delpit emphasizes the importance of a parent and teacher relationship. The work of the teacher can only be carried out effectively if at home the parents are carrying on that work. Delpit believes that teachers should adapt to their students culture and somehow bring that culture into the classroom. Within “The Silenced Dialogue”, Delpit talks about something known as the culture of power. This is the idea that as a classroom and as a teacher we do not get to decide what we get to teach our students, the culture of power does, this being the white middle class. Within the culture of power students are expected to just conform to it and accept it. When in reality they shouldn't be just accepting everything that they are taught, they should be questioning it, they should be questioning the culture of power. Instead of forcing these kids into the culture of power, we should be integrating their own culture. Hopefully in the future more schools can look to Lisa Delpit to stand up against the culture of power and embrace the many different ethnicities and culture that make up the melting pot of America.

Prompt 4: Alan Johnson

When I arrived at Mrs. Rose’s classroom I had no set expectations or ideas. I was not sure what I was getting myself into but I knew that whatever it was, I would face it as it came. Growing up in a Puerto Rican step family, I was very familiar with the Spanish culture and language and I figured I would be working with some Spanish students at my school. I feel like if I was put as the teacher of Mrs. Rose’s classroom I may be able to more easily relate to her students than she can for the simple reason that I grew up in a Spanish speaking household.

Everyone has their own ideas on subjects. While everyone is entitled to their own opinions, it is important within the classroom that it stays a neutral, bias free zone. This means that the teacher may have his or her own opinion on a topic yet does not force their opinion on that of the students. They should be entitled to make their own judgements. I do feel as if Mrs. Rose does not force her opinions on her students but she does make her opinion known, leaving the rest up to the students so they make their own decisions. This leaves room for open discussions and a participatory classroom. While Mrs. Rose may have a completely different opinion than her students she still allows them to be voiced and heard. This is extremely important in a classroom. I feel as if Mrs. Rose could however do a better job of integrating her students ethnic backgrounds into the classes curriculum. Maybe instead of teaching all of her vocabulary words in English she could teach them in Spanish as well, an ethnicity that is incredibly prevalent at my school. The idea of bias can be related back to theorist Alan Johnson who talked mainly of the segregation in our school systems that still go on today.

Johnson’s article discusses the idea that many whites in todays society like to use the phrase that goes something along the lines of “I don’t see color”. Johnson says within “Our House Is on Fire”, “when confronted with such a reality, many whites are quick to dismiss, deny, and defend against it. It isn’t true, they say, or it’s not that bad, not anymore, or it isn’t my fault, or I’m so sick of hearing about this. But in fact, it is true, and it is that bad, and it doesn’t matter whose fault it is” (4). If everyone in this world would just accept the fact that there is bias and there always will be, maybe we can begin to change.