Campano advocates moving from a deficit model, in which
kids are positioned as not having the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that
are expected and tested; to an enrichment model, where we see kids’ histories,
experiences, and locations as assets (pages 14-19). Can you give some examples of how this could
be (or is) put into action in your own classroom environment—in your pedagogy,
in your curriculum, in your relationships with kids?
.Since I teach in a sixth grade ESL classroom, where many members of the classroom have not attended the school since kindergarten many of my students are coming in from different school systems, which means different school environments, classroom environments, expectations, and sets of skills. My first goal is to try to make the child feel valued by what they have to say. I do this through Morning Meeting (which due to scheduling conflicts, sometimes is an Afternoon Meeting). This comes from the Responsive Classroom approach. The share part of the meeting is my favorite. It is a time where the person leading the meeting gets to share something. The share can be anything that is happening in their lives, and their peers ask them questions or comment at the end. I think this gives my student's an opportunity to build relationships with peers they may not have known they had anything in common with. It also gives me an opportunity to know what is happening in their lives, whether it inform me about the child's mood that day or allow me to later relate a lesson to their share. Campano says, "Without trust, this type of cultural and relational work is impossible." By establishing a classroom community through our meetings I am hoping trust is established within the classroom.
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of a morning or afternoon meeting, Ashly! I also like that you name how your kids come from all kinds of different environments, so one of your missions is to establish common ground so all kids know where they fit and what is expected and what they can contribute.
DeleteI agree with Ashly. The first thing I do is try and make my students feel comfortable. I start by making myself visible in the 3rd grade ELL classroom throughout the school year. This way when they come to me in 4th grade they are familiar with me. They have seen me in 3rd grade and have communicated with me. Many of my current students have been at my school from Kindergarten or 1st grade but I do have 4 new ones this year. We have journal writing, free write, where they can write about themselves and share. Along with this, students share many different stories with me throughout the day. I also do 4 projects a year with my students. When they bring their projects in we display them in the classroom. Then, we present the projects to the 3rd grade ELL classroom. Students are comfortable doing this because they are presenting to their teacher from last year and they usually know many of the students in that grade. They are very proud of themselves. The ones that are shy and timid I help and by the next project they are ready to do it on their own. We establish trust and a classroom community in our room which helps promote a positive classroom environment.
ReplyDeleteWhat a cool idea, Brenda! I love that they are taking a risk by presenting, but doing so in a safe environment. I'm sure you probably see progress throughout the year in their willingness to share their work.
DeleteI believe students should be put in an enrichment model where kid's experiences, academics, and backgrounds are a part of the educational process and to put students at ease so that they may feel comfortable in a new environment. This establishes that they have something of value to share and bring to the classroom that will enable them to teach something new and different and they would become more willing and comfortable to trust the teachers and classmates in their assimilation into the new program. Part of learning is sharing experiences, from students and teachers and it builds a trust and communication that is essential to overcome boundaries and roadblocks that might interfere with the learning process. Everyone wants to feel comfortable and accepted and what better ways to show this than to celebrate diversity and experiences as a valuable commodity in the learning process. This openness of sharing is the foundation of showing to the students that what they have to say or share is valid and meaningful to the classroom environment. This is a successful way of allowing the students that are sharing and the students that are learning something about their classmates to understand that differences are a part of what makes the world an interesting place and that we can learn from other student's cultures and heritages. I don't have my own classroom, but when I'm in an ELL classroom I'm always asking questions to learn something new of my students even if it's for a day, because whenever I go back to these schools they remember me when I walk through the hallways with another class, they all are responding to me, "Hi. Mr. Hill" and to feel that comfortable with me in one day that I've had that class makes me feel like I'm making connections to my students lives and hopefully a difference.
ReplyDeleteAs a sub, Chris, you're right that it's hard to establish a sense of identity and continuity. I'm glad you like to ask questions and value the students' experiences. Do you have a particular ritual you do each time you sub to get to know students, even if it's just for that day?
DeleteCampano discussed the dominant narrative for labeling children as failures in school. The dominant narrative assumes children are not successful in school for reasons such as lack of hard work, or a personal or family deficit. He questions the reader to consider alternative ways to consider the students. I have attempted to reconsider how I position students in the classroom. One way I have done this is to consider how the student approaches a reading task and why the student might choose to approach a reading task in such a manner. Another way I have done this to try to provide options in the curriculum for students to connect to reading in a way that fits in with their ideas of reading. Finally, I have tried to listen to the students so that we can begin to form a relationship about reading. This is probably the most difficult for me. I get impatient easily with students who don’t open up right away. I always think to myself that if the student would just tell me what is going on with his/her reading then we could stop wasting time and move forward. Campano wrote, “I needed a vision, a way to understand the complexities of my environment” (p.11). Despite the few approaches I have tried, I find myself deeply connected to the mystery of students’ as readers. Students’ changing habits, attitudes, and different ways of approaching reading is multifarious. Reading instruction is extremely valuable’ however, it is equally as valuable to honor and respect students’ in an enrichment based model. Therefore, I agree with Campano that there needs to be a way to understand the complexities in the context of the classroom.
ReplyDeleteKristin, you crack me up! I too get impatient when students don't see things "my way." I have a quote from Charles Eisenstein on my bulletin board to remind me that everyone has legitimate reasons for what they do: "I would surely do as you do, if I were you." It's a reminder that, in this case, students don't start out as non-readers by chance. They have their reasons, and a very good one might be to not be seen as a failure, similar to the article you shared in 641.
DeleteI can vividly remember my middle school experience being one in which I felt awkward, unsure, and inadequate. Although I would say that I had a strong family structure at home, when I went to school I had a difficult time finding my place. Now, as a middle school educator I consider expelling these feelings of insecurity and self-doubt to be one of my most important jobs within the school. Health class allows me a unique forum to engage students about their lives as the taught content often requires engaging students about their individual experiences. The primary way I attempt to validate these experiences in the health classroom is by actively engaging students in class discussion. These discussions often begin with some aspect of our class content however, as the students tell personal stories that inspire other personal stories, we eventually end up far removed from where the conversation began. I find that rather than refocusing students to the “planned class” these conversations often provide some of the most rewarding teachable moments. Rather than share examples or stories from my previous experiences, students get to tell their peers about specific instances when they were put into various circumstances. This strategy does however present its risks. For example, establishing a safe social environment in which students feel comfortable sharing personal stories can be challenging particularly early in the school year. To combat such obstacles, I have a student-created set of individualized class rules for each group. This list is created on the first day of class and I make sure to refer to it frequently throughout the school year. I also happen to be a somewhat of a story-teller myself and, in-so-doing, I consciously attempt to model appropriate ways to tell potentially touchy, personal stories. I find telling these stories also help me to establish a level of common-ground with my students.
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