Double Entry Journal #10

1. What are the features of the forms of language that are spoken in a home environment that align with academic varieties of language?

Some of the features of language spoken at home that are similar to academic language are:

• Turning an everyday event into a literary story. (Announcing the beginning and ending of the story and an overview of what the story would be about)
• Adopting a frame that mimics a story book reading. (You can read aloud in your story book, etc.)
• Offering a title for the story. ("How the friends got unfriend.")
• Using syntactic structures that are typical of literary books. (Once upon a time)
• Using a lot of literary sorts of repetition and parallelism. (Boys play transformers, girls play with Cabbage Patches and "punching, pulling, banging)
• Using sympathetic fallacy. (Fight between the boys and girls is followed by the dark sky)

2. What are the features of Leona's specialized form of language?

Some of the features of Leona's specialized form of language are the use of vernacular language. She grouped her lines of her story into stanzas where each line had a parallel structure with other lines in the stanza and o match them in content. She also used complex parallelism, repetition, clear structure, generic summary statements, and evaluation.

3. Why is Leona's specialized form of language not accepted in school?

Leona's specialized form of language is not accepted in schools because this form of language is not what many teachers are used to listening to. Many teachers are only concerned with listening to the language that they are expecting and used to listening to. They do not realize that the form of language that Leona is using is a form of language that many students at this age don't even understand. 

4. Explain the contradiction between the research conducted by Snow et al. (1998) and the recommendations made by Snow et al. (1998).

The research that was conducted by Snow et al. (1998) says that they gap between the blacks and whites in reading test scores was beginning to close significantly between the 1960s and 1980s. However, the recommendations made by Snow et al. (1998) suggests that the improvement of reading test scores was higher than the phonemic awareness training.

5. What other factors besides early skills training will make or break good readers?

The other factors that will make or break good readers other than the early skills training include engaging and exciting forms of language. Many students become poor readers because the types of literacy that students are made to read are not engaging to the students. Students need to be able to relate to the material that they are reading.

6. Why do some children fail to identify with, or find alienating, the "ways with words" taught in school?

Many students struggle to identify the ways with words taught within the schools because this language is much different than the language they are used to hearing within their homes. Students listen and gain literary knowledge within their homes at young ages. Once they begin school, the language completely changes and they begin to feel alienated and singled out.

Student Interviews

When I began interviewing the two students that I chose, I realized that they had more in common than I had realized. Both students were very involved in athletics. I was also shocked by some of the answers that the students gave for the questions. The struggling student showed me that he excels in almost every class that he has been in. However, he sometimes struggles in the class that I observe. He informed me that he is not a very good at typing on the computer and that is what they majority of the assignments within this class contain. I really enjoyed interviewing and getting to know these students a little better.

• Do you enjoy school?

HP: I usually enjoy coming to school but, sometimes I'm tired and don't want to come.
SS: No. The teachers are too strict and assign too much homework.

• What kind of student are you?

HP: I would say that I am a loyal and honest student.
SS: I am usually the class clown and I like to goof off during class. 

• What do for fun outside of school?

HP: I usually hang out with my friends or play sports.
SS: After school, I go to practice or go to one of my friends' house to hang out. 

• How would your classmates describe you?

HP: I think my classmates would describe me as being outgoing and fun to be around.
SS: My friends would probably describe me as being annoying. I never shut up and I get on their nerves.

• What do you and your friends do together?

HP: Go to the movies, go shopping, or play sports.
SS: Play sports.

• Tell me a good memory you have about school? 

HP: I don't have many good memories about school. Well, I guess when one of my teachers let us take our                  shoes off and relax one day would be a good memory.
SS: A good memory that I have had during school was when I got a 100% on an Algebra Test.

• Tell me a bad memory you have about school?

HP: A bad memory that I have about school was when I was in middle school and I had a bottom locker. One              day I bent down to get something out of my locker and my jeans ripped. I was very embarrassed. Another              bad memory that I have is when I was taking the West Test and was sick and threw up all over the test.
SS: During my freshman year, I stayed up until 3:30 a.m. working on an extra credit assignment that my teacher          didn't even grade.

• Describe a "good" teacher or tell me about a favorite teacher you had in the past.

HP: A good teacher to me would be a teacher who likes to joke around but, can also be serious when needed.
SS: I like teachers who have a sense of humor and like o have fun. I also like teachers who are organized and            have all of their work finished on time.

• Would you consider your learning experience throughout high school as being motivational and engaging? If not, how could it be more engaging and exciting?

HP: No. I wish teachers would make their lessons more hands-on.
SS: Yes.

Double Entry Journal # 9

1. What is the strange fact about not learning to read? 

“The majority of children who do not fare well in early reading are poor or come from minority groups whose members have faced a history of prejudice and oppression (Gee, 2004)."

2. Why is this fact so strange?

Because of this question: “Why should being poor or a member of a particular social group have anything whatsoever to do with learning to read in school?” (Gee, 2004, p. 7).  “The strange fact that poverty and learning to read in school are linked is not caused by poor children being less good at learning than rich kids.” (Gee, 2004, p. 8).  “The real issue is failing, for whatever reason, to be a member of a particular group” (Gee, 2004, p. 7)

3. What is it about school that manages to transform children who are good at learning things like Pokemon into children who are not good a learning?

I believe that many schools offer different after-school activities for students to better their education. However, many of these activities cost money and the students who come from lower incomes can not afford these different activities. Students from higher income homes are expected to excel in school more so than students who come from lower income homes. Also, many students who come from lower-income homes do not have the support system that the higher-income students have.

4. What are the differences between a traditionalists approach to learning to read and more progressive educators?

When a student is being instructed on how to read, traditionalists teach only the basic skills needed when reading. Traditionalists typically teach only the basic skills needed to read because learning to read is not similar to learning to talk. Learning to talk is a natural process. A progressive approach typically expresses a more meaningful approach. They believe that a student learns to read best when they can acquire the skills that the traditionalist approach is teaching.

5. Is learning to read a natural process like learning to speak a language?

Learning to read is not a natural process like learning to speak a language. “Today’s reading traditionalists, supported by many linguists, argue that learning to read, unlike acquiring one’s first oral language, cannot be a biologically supported process and, thus, cannot be ‘natural’ (Gee, 2004)". 

6. What is the differences between natural, instructed and cultural processes and which process should reading be classified under?

A natural process occurs without instruction from others. An example of a natural process would be breathing. Instructed processes occur when a person learns from instruction from a skill of information that is given to them. Cultural processes occur when a person learns things from a cultural group that is found important to them.

7. How do humans learn best? Through instructional processes or through cultural processes? How is reading taught in school?

Humans learn best through cultural processes. However, schools usually teach through instructional processes. Reading is usually taught through an instructional process rather than a cultural process.

8. According to the author, what is the reason for the "fourth grade slump."

The fourth-grade slump occurs when students are active in reading within the early grades but as the content of the upper grade levels increases, the students begin to fall behind. This is an example of phonological awareness. It helps students in the early stages of reading by does not hold and long-term benefits to them.

9. What is a better predictor of reading success than phonemic awareness?

A better predictor of reading success other than phonemic awareness would be learning vocabulary, story recall, and comprehension. All of these are gained by interaction with adults.

10. What is the difference between "vernacular" and "specialist" varieties of language? Give an example of two sentences, one written in the vernacular and one written in a "a specialized variety",  about a topic in your content area.

V: Balance the accounting statement.

S:  Please use your knowledge of the addition and subtraction processes to balance the accounting statement by adding the debit column and subtracting the credit column.

11. What is "early language ability" and how is it developed?

An early language ability is something that is acquired within the early years of life and are typically developed within the child's own household.  

12. According to the author why and how does the traditionalist approach to teaching children to read fail?

According to the author, schools teach children “to read only in the sense of being able to do phonics and dealing with the superficial literal meanings of words mostly in the vernacular.  Poor children suffer the same sort of plight that someone who tries to pass French 4 with out French 1, French 2, and French 3 does.”  I totally agree with this quote from the text. Children are being passed through the different grade levels without the appropriate skills needed to read. They have not gained the proper reading skills to begin learning the advanced reading skills.

13. Are parents of poor children to blame for their children's inexperience with specialized varieties of language before coming to school?

I do not believe that it is the economic status of the parents fault for the children's inexperience with specialized varieties of language. For children to become experienced with language it takes interaction with adults, children, and other human beings. Children learn through experiences and if children are exposed to different types of language, they will have a better understanding of the language.

14. Did you struggle with reading this text? Why? Are you a poor reader or are you unfamiliar with this variety of specialized language?

I found that I actually enjoy reading this book. I finding it intriguing and sometimes surprising. While I read, I find myself questioning some of the things that Gee says. However, after I read through them, I realize that many of the things make sense and I agree.

Double Entry Journal #8

1. What is the main challenge being addressed in the book?

The main challenge being addressed in this book is how to make academic reading and learning more enticing to the students. Many students find it difficult to continue their reading or learning because of uninvolvement or carelessness about a particular topic. 

2. What does the author mean by the phrase "ways with words"?

When the author discusses the phrase "ways with words" he specifically means that the way words are portrayed to students are more meaningful now than ever. Having a "way with your words" can make a listener more motivated than in the past. "These new ways are the ways with words connected to contemporary digital technologies and the myriad of popular culture and specialist practices to which they have given rise."

3. What is the core argument being made by the author of this book?

The core argument being made by the author of this book is how people learn new ways with words, in or out of school, only when they find the worlds to which these words apply compelling. 1`

4. Give an example of a specialized variety of a language or "way with words" you have learned outside of school?

An example of a specialized variety of a language or "ways with words" that I have learned outside of school would be the language of cheerleading. The language that cheerleaders use is most often hard for "outsiders" to understand. The terminology used is sometimes confusing and misleading.

5. According to the author, how do people learn a specialized variety of a language or "way with words" best?

People learn a specialized variety of a language or "ways with words" best when they can tie the words and structures of those languages to experiences they have had.

6. If people are to be successful in the 21st century, what must they become?

If people are to be successful in the 21st century, they must become "shape-shifting portfolio people". This means that they are "people who gain many diverse experiences that they can then use to transform and adapt themselves for fast-changing circumstances throughout their lives."

 

7. The author states that  learning academic language is NOT sufficient for success in modern society? Do you agree? Why or Why not?

I disagree that learning academic language is not sufficient for success in modern society. It is essential that students learn academic language. If students do not have a clear understanding of the content that they are learning, they will not be able to succeed within the course. 

Resources

Gee, J. P. (2004). Situated language and learning. New York, NY: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.

Double Entry Journal #7

What are some challenges to inquiry approaches to learning?

 

The main challenge when it comes to inquiry approaches to learning is that when it comes time for statewide or standardized testing, many students are not as prepared as expected. Inquiry-based learning is described as a "student-centered, active learning approach focusing on question, critical thinking, and problem-solving." This approach to learning is what many students crave when walking into a classroom. Inquiry based learning allows students to use concepts that they are interested in and things that are occuring around them in the real world to help them learn new material. However, there are many critics that believe that inquiry based learning does not properly prepare students for the necessary testing that they must pass. Many administrators and parents are against inquiry based learning simply because of this reason.


References

Barron, B., & Darling-Hammond, L. (1991). Teaching for meaningful learning. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/edutopia-teaching-for-meaningful-learning.pdf

 

 Concept to classroom. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/inquiry/explor_sub1.html

Double Entry Journal #5

Quote:

"Children are like wax, not iron, and can be molded (Horace Mann)."

1. What is reverent listening and how can it support culturally responsive teaching?

Reverent listening is needed in the classroom and is defined as an act of mutually given respect, no matter what the ethnicity or social status of the speaker is.  Reverent listeners are respectful of those speaking, but they also realize that at the right moment, they have the right to be heard as well. In one example, he talks about a special chair that a teacher used to promote "reverent listening" in her classroom. I really liked this practice because I believe that this gives each person in the classroom the chance to feel special and that the message that they were trying to portray was heard.

2. Give an example from your own schooling experience of what this quote means:

    Reverent listening is not to be confused with humiliation and domination by others who force us to listen, and even less so, with the kind of incompetence that wants to be told what to do.

When I was in the third grade, my teacher made all of the students stand in the front of the classroom and have a contest on who knew their times tables the quickest. We had just begun learning about multiplication and I was still apprehensive about the subject. However, every night my mother and I would practice my multiplication until I would cry. But, I still had a difficult time repeating them quickly in front of the classroom. This experience was very humiliating for me and made learning how to multiply a difficult task for me for a long time. By making me stand in front of all of the students and humiliating me did not help me learn how to multiply. It actually made it more difficult.

3. What is meant by a "laundry list of value ethics"? Give an example from your own schooling experience. And then explain how this approach to character education can be NON-culturally responsive.

I think of the “laundry list of value ethics” is similar to the classroom rules that teachers set at the beginning of the year.  Many teachers make rules such as keep your hands, feet, and other objects to yourself, no talking when the teacher is talking, and raise your hand to speak. This approach to teaching in the classroom can be non-culturally responsive because in some cultures children are expected to have some input in what occurs. I believe that by making the students raise their hand every time that they want to speak we as teachers are silencing the students and not allowing them to fully express their feelings.

4. Have you ever had a teacher that at one time or another exhibited the traits of a reverent teacher? What did they do? How did they make you feel?

I have had many teachers in the past that demonstrated characteristics of a reverent teacher. However, I have also had many who did not demonstrate characteristics of reverent teaching. With the teachers who demonstrated reverent teaching, were able to speak our minds and share our opinions while in the classroom.  While I was in these classrooms, I felt that my opinion mattered and what I was saying truly meant something.


5. What factors contribute to a "toxic" school culture?

I believe that a “toxic” school culture is a culture that is not open to diversity, closed minded, and do not have the appropriate tools to help diverse learners gain knowledge. A toxic school culture is unappreciated of students who learn in different ways and are not allowing students to voice their opinions within the classroom.

6. Find a quote in this article that you would like to incorporate into your own philosophy of education and explain how it fits or changes your philosophy of education.

"Children are like wax, not iron, and can be molded (Horace Mann)."

I believe that this quote best fits in my philosophy of education because many secondary educators believe that by the time students leave elementary school and enter middle and high school, they have been molded into who they will be and they will not be able to change. However, I believe that no matter how old a person is or what grade level they are in, they are still capable of learning. It is our job as educators to make sure that students obtain all of the knowledge that is possible while in our classroom. I want to be able to help mold a child’s life and future into something outstanding.

7. Find a strategy/activity conveyed in a video, blog posting, lesson plan, or online article that will help you become a teacher who cultivates a reverence in their classroom and school community (key search terms: teachers and reverence, teachers and mindfulness, teachers and rituals, routines (do not search teachers and ritual without the routine qualifier. If you do you will se disturbing stuff ). Link to it and describe how you will use it in your future classroom.

In today's society, it is crucial for teachers to be mindful of their students emotions and learning capabilities. If teachers humiliate or dominate their students, the learning experience for many students will be non-existient. However, it takes a large amount of practice to become a mindful teacher. I found a website that lists a few tips for teachers to become mindful of their students. The main aspect to being a mindful teacher is to get your students involved. I plan to use the tips given on the website to help me become mindful of my future students learning experiences.
 

References:

Cowan, M. (2010, May 13). Tips for teaching mindfulness to kids. Retrieved from http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/tips_for_teaching_mindfulness_to_kids