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See all the wonderful things Jonathan DiSalle has made

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Q1: I teach 6th grade ELA and SS plus an elective course where I my focus is reading and writing strategies. Outside the title I am free to take the content wherever I want as long as we are sharpening our skills at reading and writing. I often try to get my students to get to know themselves and their peers better. Seeing yourself as an individual and then seeing the similarities you share with your peers is a great way to lessen the cultural divide among students. I have them focus in on their individuality, they take surveys of each other, they ask interview questions and we play ice-breaker games. Once they have isolated their uniqueness, I have them do a personality test, we look at multiple intelligence and they get grouped according to their similar likes, dislikes and strengths/weaknesses. Once we are dont they know themselves better and each other better too. They begin to see their peers in a new and different light. Seeing those common and uncommon bonds they then become more tolerant and accepting of each other.

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1:) I think that this issues ties in to everything that we have learned, and discovered thus far. Over the course of this class, I had noted several times that, in my opinion, many of these issues which people seem to get proactive about, really, go unattended. Or, at least, they are passively unattended - programs to help are all well and good until they fail where they should be succeeding.

I think this is a topic where we, as educators, have less options than it may seem, simply due to the nature of being an educator in the world of today. To truly be proactive, incite change, and develop a progressive, accepting mindset, we would need more freedoms and leeway with students than many might believe to be normal. This is something where we'd have to stress, from day one, the importance of acceptance, and its weight, above, nearly, all else. We would need to approach this subject as we do any other, ensuring that students focus, work, and apply themselves towards it. After all, education is, in my opinion, secondary to being a "good person" (subjective). It's not easy to say, but, given how much time students spend at school in relation to all other aspects of their lives, it's foolish to ignore the potential for teachers to instill these values, if they were allowed.

Ultimately, like any other lesson, this should be taught objectively.

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Sullivan-Please don't paint me into a corner!

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Sullivan-Please don't paint me into a corner!

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I wish that at times I could fully demonstrate the differences that make me! However, there are few things that I still feel fellow educators would raise an eyebrow over. In appearance I am a white female from a solidly working class family. What they have come to learn is that although I love my burgeoning career as an educator, I spent 16 years of my adult life in the car business. No, not selling, but in service where I learned a lot. Even though I dress nice, most days, where makeup I can rebuild the top end of Chevy motor, change a transmission, brakes etc. I look one way, but I still feel limited. Men of course scratch their head when speak car. Finally, the things other educators don't know. I am a 40 something white woman that has worked very hard at re-establishing a career in education, but there was a time when school and I did not get along. I understand teenage angst, because boy I was "angsty". I understand what it is like to be looking in from the outside, because many times I was out. I believe that it is so important for educators to not stifle what is different from what they know, to support their student's exploration into the formation of their identity...and this means everyone, including the bi-racial kid that has trouble identifying with either race, the gay or lesbian adolescent that is so much more than just one part of their identity, and finally the young girl (or boy) filled with angst that listens to punk rock and thrash metal ;)

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School environments in which teachers do not connect with their students on a personal level and in which students connecting with each other is not encouraged does not produce an environment in which students thrive. Teaching to individual student's needs is necessary to create an identity safe environment.  Ignoring differences among students in effort to level the playing field will unintentionally harm a student’s ability to be successful and ultimately widen the achievement gap. I believe that all too often teachers lower their expectations of certain students. I believe this is a critical mistake and instead teachers should have high expectations of all students. High expectations along with support will raise student achievement. Learning should also be a social experience and should be student driven rather than teacher led. Teachers can include cooperative group work and social skill practice into their classroom lessons.

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I try not to be a cultural chameleon. While it is true one can possess multiple cultural identities. People tend to identify mainly with one primary culture. One of the cultures usually has more of a share in defining us than the other identities.  That being said, as a white, protestant male, i have opinions and outlooks that many academics would not expect. I like many of the muslims i meet for instance, because they hold to a form of morality and they have an honor based (especially the Berbers) code, and adhere to concepts of friendliness and hospitality.

I am largely a byproduct of two distinct white cultures. The Scots-Irish and the white ethnics (I am also polish) who came to America in the late 19th and early 20th century to work in America's factories. I tend to act differently among white ethnics and i tend to change the tone of my voice and use more hand motions and slang.

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Option 2:

I think that there are many situations in which I may act or feel differently than what someone might think based on a defining characteristic of my identity. Throughout my educational career my eyes have been opened to the problems that individuals and groups may feel based on how they identify themselves. Where as I do not identify myself based on any minority that is discriminated against I still feel and act upon my actions from the perspective of those minorities. I may not identify myself in the same way they do but I try my best to educate others about what they are going through and eliminate any discrimination that I can have an influence on. I try my best to act and speak the same no matter who I am around but there are certainly some scenarios where this is not always the case. I would not speak in the same manner with my boss as I would with one of my close longtime friends. There is a time when we have to act professional and there are times when we can let loose a little and that is apparent based on who we are with at certain times. I try to use my own personal identity to educate others that look like me about issues that they may be ignorant about or just not realize the impact their words or actions may have on others.

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Option 1: The best thing that we as educators can do is to lead by example. Students must be shown that respect and kindness is given equally to everyone. Setting up an environment of acceptance needs to begin on day one in any teacher's classroom. We should hope by cultivating this kind of environment wherein students of all classes, races, religions, backgrounds, etc. feel comfortable and included that these attitudes will spill beyond the classroom and that young people will realize how important there interactions with their peers really are. I certainly didn't understand the impact of my words and actions at that age, and in retrospect can see many instances of times when I could've reached out to different peers who needed someone. I hope that now that I am a bit wiser that I can teach my students these values at their age.

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Question 2)

I am a young woman from a generation that is typically technologically savvy and into electronica music. One of the biggest surprises about me is that I love opera music. People don't believe me when I tell them this about myself. In fact, in one of my college classes when I played a song that I loved, "Nessun dorma" by Giacomo Puccini, my classmates giggled and thought I was joking. I usually hide this about myself when I am trying to fit in. I usually speak more causally with my friends than when I am out socially. I think that everyone has many different facets of their identity and that's good. I think we all have situations where we act and speak differently, I think that we often forget how complex each person is. It is our very beings that make us all many identities.

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Question 2)

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1. In addition to enforcing classroom policy against bullying and harassment, I would use my own curriculum for students to learn and better themselves from it. I am totally biased with this, but for me reading books has been a powerful experience and has  helped me in a number of ways throughout the years. While I think a lot of people overlook this power, I do believe that the right book at the right time can really change a person's life. If I suspect or see such problems as race, sexuality, or other issues going on in a school, I would have no problem altering my lesson plans in order to bring in a relevant book for the students to read. Books like To Kill a Mockingbird, Speak, The Diary of Anne Frank, Thirteen Reasons Why, A Child Called "It," Deenie, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, Go Ask Alice, Roar of Thunder Hear my Cry, and so many more offer kids a window to seeing both victims and bully-ers and the effects that they can have. I think being able to see this would really open their eyes to their actions as well as their place in the world.

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1.  I think it starts from day 1.  Make sure the class is introduced to each other using something like two truths and a lie so everyone can get an idea of what each students  interests are.   This will show them that they have things in common regardless of race, sexual orientation or anything else.  It is also important to challenge students to be respectful even outside of class.  I know several  schools have made attempts at positive behavior programs partially in hopes that students could eventually self police and improve the morale and overall environment as a school community.  I think this is also a place where leading by example could be a strong influence.   We as educators need to make sure we don't treat students differently based on gender, race, or sexual orientation.  If we treat everyone the same and show that we care for and accept everyone in class it shows the students it can be done and their differences should not play a part.

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Give some examples how you, as a teacher, could instill values into students that allow them to be accepting of all types of people so they continue that behavior outside of the classroom. Some examples to instill values into students that allow them to be accepting of all types of people are teaching on the importance of diversity and understanding. If race and sexuality were talked about more inside the classroom, maybe more students would be more tolerant of students that are different from them. The more education that we can provide are students, the better they will behave when they are not in our presence, hopefully. Every person is unique and different in their own way; however every person still needs to be treated with dignity and respect. Treat others the way you want to be treated.

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Option 1:  As teachers the only thing that we can do is create an accepting classroom environment.  We have to call out hateful rhetoric in our classrooms and use it as a teachable moment to spread a more accepting culture.  Unfortunately, there isn't much that we can do outside of our classrooms other than support the building-level positive behavior support plan if there is one.  School culture outside of the classroom is really an issue for the principal to create through his/her vision, creating buy-in from the staff, and finding creative ways to promote it with the students.  As a classroom teacher, if we feel like the school climate is not an accepting one, we can certainly speak to our principals and request that he/she works with students, teachers, and the community to come up with an action plan to address it.  The other thing that we can do as teachers is to call out our colleagues who are not creating the kind of environment that we need.  Too often we silently allow our colleagues to allow hateful speech to happen in their classrooms.  Calling out poor teaching is the only way to help those poor teachers.

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As instructors we should educate of students about members of different communities starting at a young age. At very young ages, children notice who is similar to them and who is different. In order to prevent cultural/social barriers from forming in our schools we must teach our students at a young age about accepting people that are different from us. I think the most effective way of doing so, is to show by example. Be a role model for the children, lead by example. The younger students will learn to accept people that are different than them through the teacher's examples.

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Question #2)
As I've probably said before, I went to a very diverse school and had many friends that were of a different race and social class as me. When I would be with my African American friends I would talk differently than if I was with my friends of my same race or if I was at home. While being with my friends that are African American I would talk as some people call it "black english" and when I was at home I would speak proper english.
I think I do a very good job at adapting or changing not who I am so much but really to fit in to the situation or people I am around. This helps me and the people around me feel more comfortable then if I acted the same in every situation with all different people of different races and backgrounds.
I think everyone can relate to acting or feeling differently when they are in a job situation, whether it is going for an interview or teaching our students, we talk and act differently than if we are with our friends and family. we do this to fit the roll or the situation that we are in. Sometimes we may feel less comfortable then we would prefer.

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Chapter 11 Beyond Categories: the complex identities of adolescents

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Chapter 11 Beyond Categories: the complex identities of adolescents

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In this chapter, researchers Raible and Nieto present two young people they conducted a series of interviews with over a period of time.  They were aiming to examine how the students identify themselves based on such factors as family structure, race, sexual orientation, and national origin.  The first student highlighted, Nick Greenberg, was an adoptee of a Jewish father and a Christian mother.  His birth parents are bi-racial and on forms, he usually checks the box for “African American” or “Native American.”  Nick struggles with people trying to get him to “act like his race.”  His black classmates claim that he “talks white.”  White people in his school view him as black.  He has a Jewish last name and people will say, “you’re not Jewish, you don’t act Jewish.”  Biracial and multicultural backgrounds are often forced to “choose sides,” and that is the situation in which Nick often finds himself.
The second student that was interviewed, Rebecca Florentina, comes from a school that is accepting of the LGBT community.  She is and “out” lesbian and says her friends were awesome when she came out and were very supportive.  But Rebecca does not want to be identified simply as a lesbian student.  That is just one aspect of her and she does not want it to be her defining characteristic.  She criticizes the school sex education because even though it acknowledges homosexuality, it still portrays it as something different or abnormal.
Basically, this chapter is trying to convey that there are so many factors that go into creating the identity of an adolescent.  Educators should not pigeonhole students by a defining characteristic such as their race, sexuality, or religion.  The chapter closes with the point of view of a twenty-two-year-old man, Joaquin Rosario, who comes from Puerto Rican heritage.  Even though all four of his grandparents come from Puerto Rico, he does not let that limit his identity.  From the way, he dresses to the food he eats, and the music he listens to, he crosses the boundaries of different cultures.  He enjoys and embraces all of the different influences that make him a modern, young, American man.

I would like to highlight two quotes that effectively summarize the essence of the chapter:

“Clearly, we live in a time of transition, one in which static labels can no longer contain the rich complexity of contemporary identities.” (210)

“Many teachers, particularly those at the secondary level, would rather focus on the content they teach than on the emotional and social concerns of their students.  But it is becoming more obvious that these cannot be separated.”

Assignment:

Choose to write about one of the following prompts.

1.    Both of the students who were interviewed for the chapter discussed how they were often teased in the halls for their race and sexuality.  Teachers would make rules to protect them in the classroom but once they were out of the teacher’s jurisdiction they would be bullied.  Give some examples how you, as a teacher, could instill values into students that allow them to be accepting of all types of people so they continue that behavior outside of the classroom.

2.    The Puerto Rican Joaquin Rosario says, “My multiple cultures allow me to move seamlessly across borders…  My identity cannot be classified or contained into one or two categories.  I am always much more than just one thing.”  Give a personal example or anecdote about being a “cultural chameleon.”  Are there ever situations when you may act or feel differently than what someone might think based on a defining characteristic of your identity? Are there situations in which you act or speak differently based on the people you are around? How do the different aspects of your identity express themselves in different scenarios?