Moreover, there are 4 students with Individualized Education Plans (IEP) and 1 student in progress of classification in special education. When students report to class, they sit at their assigned seat which changes every month, and the 4 students with IEPs pick their preferred sitting as a seating preference is on their IEP specifications.

During my observations, I often hear from students saying, “We were in the same physical science CPB last year, and we all know each other.” This discourse is connected to Oakes, et al.’s argument that this type of ability grouping can lead to different opportunities and future from students in more rigorous science classes.

The biology teacher who introduced himself as Chinese-American is very passionate in biology, and everyone in the classroom is very happy to work with him. 

FYI, this biology teacher is loved by every student in the building due to his passionate teaching and caring heart for students.

This is a student-centered activity that they interact with a technology and nature to complete their in-class work. Thankfully, the weather is very nice for everyone to be out. These students seem to learn to find a charm in the content.

What makes learning meaningful and engaging?

Some of the students are excited to share this application with their family members, and others say they feel smart as they can learn new living things no matter where they go.

I believe there has to be a connection between the students and a content they learn as some students say they will never use this knowledge in life.

Mr. Marley: We want to welcome Mr. Clark to Eastside -- we've heard so much about you -- and tell you what we've done in anticipation of your arrival. Miss Levias, your other Vice Principal, and I have appointed an executive committee to oversee certain areas where we have noted a need for improvement. Mr. Zorella, for example --

Mr. Clark disrupts Mr. Marley and has his speaking opportunity. This already creates an intimidating atmosphere.

Principal Clark: You may sit down, Mr. O'Malley. You think you can run this school? If you could, then I wouldn't be here, would I. No one talks in my meetings. No one! You take out your pencils and write. I want the names of every hoodlum, drug dealer, and miscreant who's done nothin' but take this place apart on my desk by noon today. Reverend Slappy?

Principal Clark is very dogmatic and uses less respectful words to dominate his leadership.

Reverend Slappy: Yes, sir?

Principal Clark: You are now the Chief Custodian, Reverend Slappy. You will scour this building clean. Graffiti goes up, it's off the next day. Is that clear?

Principal Clark already knows that the rest of the staff is not willing to join his team to make a change.

Reverend Slappy: Yes, sir, the very next day.

Principal Clark: Detention students can help you. Let them scrub this place for awhile. And tear down those cages in the cafeteria. You treat them like animals, that's exactly how they'll behave. This is my new Dean of Security, Mr. William Wright. He will be my Avenging Angel, as you teachers reclaim the halls. This is an institution of learning ladies and gentlemen. If you can't control it, how can you teach?! Discipline is not the enemy of enthusiasm! Mr. Zorella --

Mr. Zorella: Yes, sir.

Principal Clark doesn't communicate with teachers but commands them to do things.

Principal Clark: Mr. Zorella, you are now my new Head Football Coach. Mr. Darnell. Stand up, Mr. Darnell. Mr. Darnell will be your assistant. You know why you're being demoted, Mr. Darnell? Because I'm sick and tired of our football team getting pushed all over the field. Thank you. Sit down. I want precision. I want a weight program. And if you don't like it Mr. Darnell, you can quit. Same goes for the rest of you. You tried it your way for years. And your students can't even get past the Minimum Basic Skills Test. That means they can hardly read!! They've given me less than one year, one school year to turn this place around, to get those test scores up, so the State will not take us over to perform the tasks which you have failed to do! To educate our children!! Forget about the way it used to be. This is not a damn democracy. We are in a state of emergency and my word is law. There's only one boss in this place, and that's me -- the "HNIC". Are there any questions?... 

The leadership of the principal is legitimate power which carries changes in the future.

First, a group of 5 students shared their negative comments regarding the recent protocols which students regarded as harsh punishment that would ruin their culture interwoven to their high school spirit. An Asian student who identified herself as a junior in high school was at the podium with two comments: a strict ID policy and a phone protocol. To begin with, she gave a brief explanation about the new ID policy that a student without an ID results in a detention without any warning. She added another comment on a phone policy that every student is required to leave their phones in the phone caddy upon arriving at their classroom. Lastly, she asserted that educators should encourage students to help develop accountability. Their message was to let them proudly lead their own culture. It was impressive to see the young adults who disagreed on the strict measures in a polite and respectful manner.

They get to meet new people who can help you build up communication skills, creative thinking, and networking. Another benefit is they want their college applications to look more peculiar.

How important are high school clubs? Again, these high school students make their own clubs while signing up other clubs. Some clubs only have one leader and three members, and others have only leaders. Yet, students continue to get approval from school, and most teachers advise at least three or more clubs. Again, why both students and teachers do that? Students want to prove their leadership and responsibility to colleges, and teachers want to support their students to get into more prestigious schools.

"The students in my study also showed how crucial extracurricular activities were in providing needed outlets for their energy and for teaching them important leadership skills" (p 126).

Nieto, Sonia. Language, Culture, and Teaching : Critical Perspectives, Taylor & Francis Group, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/teacherscollege-ebooks/detail.action?docID=5015631.

Created from teacherscollege-ebooks on 2023-10-03 21:49:21.

I had a question: “What makes these students confident and valiant to share their comments with adults in a public meeting?”

In fact, there are over 80% of well-educated adults in the town who motivate their child to have academic excellence. Without a doubt, these parents seemed to view school not only as a place to get quality education but also a place to hold an honorable reputation. Everyone at the meeting looked serious and determined.

All in all, both parental and student involvement in school and at a board meeting give pressure on the educators and play a significant role in creating unique culture in the town. High school students daringly let their voices be heard so that everyone values their culture, and most parents with a high level of education take part in creating the culture in town where rigorous and reputable education is demonstrated with high Ivy acceptance rates.

Nieto (2018) states, "How do students feel about the curriculum they must learn? What do they think about the pedagogical strategies their teachers use? Is student involvement a meaningful issue for them? Are their own identities important considerations in how they view school?" (p 99).

Nieto, Sonia. Language, Culture, and Teaching : Critical Perspectives, Taylor & Francis Group, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/teacherscollege-ebooks/detail.action?docID=5015631.

Created from teacherscollege-ebooks on 2023-10-03 21:34:39.

"Just as there is no such thing as a “ pure race, ” there is likewise no “ pure culture. ” That is, cultures influence one another , and even minority cultures and those with less status have an impact on majority cultures, sometimes in dramatic ways" (p. 68).

Nieto, Sonia. Language, Culture, and Teaching : Critical Perspectives, Taylor & Francis Group, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/teacherscollege-ebooks/detail.action?docID=5015631.

Created from teacherscollege-ebooks on 2023-10-08 17:34:12.

2.3 Create a series of engaging activities in a content area that offer varied opportunities for all to learn the essentials you have outlined.

[Observation]

Middle school students in Paris are appreciating Claude Monet's "Blue Water Lilies." One teacher and 4-5 students are in a group and walk around the museum with their assigned package. Students stop at one masterpiece to answer questions, and they often exchange their thoughts.

They seemed to enjoy this field trip and one student with braids said, "The more I come to this museum, the more I love my culture to appreciate art." Thanks to their fluent English, we had no trouble communicating with one another.

It was very nice to see the young loving their culture, and schools become a big part of leading their students to a pride in arts.

Nieto (2018) states, "Closely related to the fact that culture is created and socially constructed is the fact that it is learned. That is, culture is not handed down through out genres , or is it inherited" (p. 74).

I also ran into a group of kindergarteners at Van Gogh's special exhibition on the first floor. There was a group of 18 students with 9 chaperones. These children were in front of a Van Gogh's artwork listening to a docent's explanation. They also seemed to enjoy the masterpieces in front of them, and they also had a proper etiquette at the museum.

What makes them love artwork so much and have proper manners to appreciate art in this country?

In addition, the teacher introduces himself as a Chinese-American who has grandparents with different religious and language backgrounds. He takes the attendance by calling each student's name and asks students' understanding in case he mispronounces his or her name. He says he will learn to pronounce each name right and tells students that he respects and values others' beliefs and cultures.

In addition, when I heard from students saying, “We were in the same physical science CPB last year." This discourse is connected to Oakes, et al.’s argument that this type of ability grouping can lead to different opportunities and future from students in more rigorous science classes.

Then, I asked myself, “Will these students take a chemistry CPB class in their junior year? Will there be anyone who would exit this track and enter either a chemistry CPA or a chemistry Honor?”I asked myself, “Will these students take a chemistry CPB class in their junior year? Will there be anyone who would exit this track and enter either a chemistry CPA or a chemistry Honor?”

The hallway is filled with parents who get escorted to each classroom by school volunteers in the yellow T-shirts.

Parents have their children's daily schedule to attend each classroom. Some of the parents have elegant traditional outfits which represent their cultural and religious identities. Most fathers have their suits on, and many mothers have a high-end designer's bags which represent their financial status. Most teachers dress up in a professional way and invite parents and other younger visitors (younger siblings) at the door. They also prepare snacks like bags of chips, candy, water, and juice. They also have sign-in sheets for the visitors. Some teachers prepare index cards to learn more about parents with updated contact information.

Each class is for 15 minutes to introduce a teacher and classroom rules and grade policies. Both parents and teachers looked friendly and nervous to see one another for the first time.

The hallways are filled with parents greeting other parents as some of them have known one another from elementary school. Also, presentations and lots of laughters makes the live school atmosphere.

Club organizers are busy recruiting members, and participants are also busy looking around to find their interests.

I ran into two sophomores in Biology at the club fair. When I asked them which club they were interested in. They were thinking about signing up "Clean Our Waters Club" which focus on the pollution in the oceans and research and raise awareness about the plastic pollutions affecting the oceans.

When I asked them if they were going to sign up one club, they said that most students sign up three or more clubs, so they were also going to look for other clubs to sign up.

When I see parents who come for the school event directly influence their children's academic outcome and educational aspirations. As I see ethnically diverse parents and children in the middle school, I wonder if there is any correlations to certain ethnic groups of children who get influenced by their parents' English proficiency and involvement in their school education and English ability.

As an Asian immigrant myself, my parents who are also immigrants directly communicated with me about my determination to education and academic achievements, and it seems very common that Asian parents monitor and control their children's learning performances and goals.

Now as an educator, I commonly witness similar phenomena amongst Asian-American and Asian students and their parents. I would be great to find out how other ethic groups of children and parents communicate on academic achievement and educational aspiration.

Mr. Eddie sends Micah to the Principal's office because he "can't have one student ruining the lesson for everyone."

Ava brings Micah back to Eddie's class, and he continues to sing and dance to the theme song of "Bluey."

When Eddie takes a deep breath before saying "No. No. Okay. No!" the class become chaotic. This also shows that classroom management skills would benefit both Eddie and his students.

Stephens (2023) cites that Taines (2012) suggests these practices offer restorative paths for disaffected students demonstrating aggressive behavior:

"to engage in school activism, such students need assistance deploying accepted school discourses and reconstructing relationships with teachers and administrators. Identifying students with these needs, customizing training, and offering steady support may foster political self-efficacy and more advantageous responses to school" (82).

Stephens, G. (2021): “It’s because of community meeting:” Toward a responsive reconceptualization of social emotional learning, Educational Action Research.

Eddie asks Barbara to speak with Ava about disciplining the students. He says that he is there to "teach not punish."

Eddie is called to Ava's office and they have a headed conversation. Ava says, "How do you think it feels for a six or seven year old to make that walk of shame? By the time they get to my office, they got snot running down their face and they're shaking like a chihuahua and what? I am supposed to punish them and then what? I gotta tune out some sobbing child while I'm trying to watch "Below Deck"? If you don't agree with my approach, then you need to you need to get Micah under control."

When Eddie walks out of Ava's office, he asks Mr. Johnson to help him with what is teacher presence. Barbara also joins to give Eddie some advice. "Working here at Abbott Elementary as a young black man, you are in a unique position. You're also at a crossroad. Now I'm not saying that discipline doesn't have its place, but your students can either fear you or they can respect you. You can't have both."

When Barbara says that students can either fear or respect teachers. Indeed, respect comes from building relationship. When Eddie adds Bluey around the three states of matters, this excites Micah to get him engaged with the lesson.

Punishment is not a key to solve a problem. Know your student to fix the problem.

Oakes, et al (2018) state, "Many students drift through classes without developing stable relationships with teachers or other students" (330).

A lady with casual clothes is on the ground under the tent. There is a wine glass with her pink lipstick on, and there is a picnic basket filled with food.

It seems that she has a shot on her head, and here is blood everywhere on the grass.

Students are in four teams to collect their part of evidence, and they seem very engaged into the work.

Some of them are so close to the dead body to find more clues, and the weather is perfect to be outside.

What do students learn from real life scenarios?

Students in the forensic class learn to seek and recover trace evidence to gather clues to find a criminal. In addition, the learn to properly handle and keep vital clues such as hair, clothing fibers, and even debris around the crime scene.

These students are familiar with forensics from the media, and it is easy to bring real-world matters into classroom. They become crime scene investigators for the day, and some of them might think of the career seriously. It is important for students to grow critical thinking and scientific reasoning in real life.

Yet, this is part of Forensic science curriculum, which teachers are required to follow, while this type of learning seems very intriguing to students. In addition, these teacher add a little more of their preference to this crime scene, yet they still follow the worksheets which students must complete and get a grade. Giroux (1988) states, "That is, knowledge is broken down into discrete parts, standardized for easier management and consumption, and measured through predefined forms of assessment. ...The underlying theoretical assumption that guides this type of pedagogy is that the behavior of teachers to be controlled and made consistent and predictable across different schools and student populations" (p. 124). This shows that teachers follow 'management pedagogies' and 'predetermined content' to teach their student in the given time. Is it possible for teachers to create an authentic material? Does the administrator allow that if it is not a well-made material by a well-known publishing company?

First, there are two MCs who speak English well. They wear beautiful Korean traditional clothes "Hanbok" and introduces a team of musicians. These traditional musicians play One of the BTS's famous song "Dynamite," and everyone in the auditorium feels welcomed to join the performance.

Then a group of dancers dance one of the famous Korean dance "Fan Dance."

Also, these two MCs invite some audience on the stage with a prize. Two students are selected to be on the stage and taste Korean culture.

Everyone seems excited about the performance.

Especially, Korean-American students seem proud of their heritage and culture of their parents.

The administrators were puzzled to have this performance on state, yet the Korean high school performers were already scheduled to perform well in advance last year.

They decided to have this performance, and it turned out to be a great one for students to be away from grief and fear in Israel.

My school is serious about creating caring relationship by introducing diverse culture and traditions to school activities.

Oakes, et al. (2018) state, "We them elaborate four key features of "good" school cultures—that is, school cultures that foster high academic quality and social justice. These features include academic press, rich learning opportunities and resources, caring relationships and practices, and conditions that support teachers' inquiry and activism" (316).

Over 40 colleges set their booth with brochures, pens, pencils, and stickers with their school logos on.

The presenters were ready for the future college students.

Cornell, Carnegie Melon, Emory, Northeastern, Dartmouth, and worldly-known schools were filled with students in a long line.

One booth represents an Israeli university where it has an exchange program with a US university. As there are many Israeli students in school, the booth was very busy.

Also, two Korean top university presenters were busy explaining their programs to Korean students.

Ironically, the booths representing state colleges such as Ramapo College, Penn State, and more did not look busy at all.

Actually, the presenters were literally sitting there.

The school culture is that they only care about IVY schools or worldly-known private colleges.

What makes them only care about the top of the top schools?

The peer-pressure is so strong that booths with state college information are empty, nearly empty because students do not ask for information. They do not want to be looked as average students at the fair.

Oakes, et al. (2018) state, "The young held in highest esteem by their peers are better-than-average students, but they are noted as much for their good looks, cars, and popularity as they are for their academics. All students, particularly the large group that simply gets by, would likely achieve more if their school pressed the importance of its real business: teaching and learning" (320).

During my observations, I often hear from students saying, “We were in the same physical science CPB last year, and we all know each other. Why can't we sit wherever we want to?” This discourse is connected to Oakes, et al.’s argument that this type of ability grouping can lead to different opportunities and future from students in more rigorous science classes. I asked myself, “Will these students take a chemistry CPB class in their junior year? Will there be anyone who would exit this track and enter either a chemistry CPA or a chemistry Honor?”

First, he creates a monthly seating chart to encourage students to cooperate and engage with all classmates. Next, he lets students choose their lab partners to see their efficiency or distraction. With his analysis, he makes 5 groups and expect them to make their contributions to the project. According to him, he splits students with IEPs into different groups so that they can step out of their comfort zone. Then he assigns a friendly student who is easy to work with in each group. Lastly, he positions a leader figure to each group. Although the teacher aims for a balance and makes a careful plan, one group conflicts with a student with an IEP who refuses to work in a group and asks the teacher if she could go see her guidance counselor. Later, the teacher reaches out to the special education department so that the student can work on the project independently during her study skill period. Oakes, et al. (2018) mention that teachers are expected to overcome grouping dilemmas for every student’s success in today’s education.

It seems that every student is valued and accommodated by their needs, but they are all required to focus on the given instructions in order to do their presentation successfully. Giroux (1988) states, "The notion that students come from different histories and embody different experiences, linguistic practices, cultures, and talents is strategically ignored within the logic and accountability of management pedagogy theory" (p. 125). This quote also shows that high school students are not given opportunities to expose their rich identities to the content they learn as it is considered off-topic or less academic.

Then one student started screaming and crying after checking her phone. She said one of her acquaintances in Israel was kidnapped. Israeli students near her gathered together hugged her and cried together. Then one student said a radical remark blaming the neighboring country for an attack; in addition, the entire middle-east has to support Israel.

Then, it was like a fire. A large commotion occurred in the cafeteria.

It was so shocking and sad to see students raging with hatred in the cafeteria.

Some say, "Why our school only cares for one side and is blind to see the other side?"

Some students are terrified at the commotion, and we teachers who did the cafeteria duty had to call the main office to get student support leaders and counselors.

Is is possible for our students to divide in a half at a global issue? What makes them divide so quickly?

Nieto (2018) state, "[t]he voices of students are rarely heard in the debates about school failure and success, and the prespectives of students from disempowered and dominated communities are even more invisible" (97).

There was a threat from Hamas that would attack Jewish towns and Israeli in the Unites States.

Teachers' emails were filled with the parents saying their child would be absent.

Some of them said that the Israeli government recommended the parents not to send their child to school or any other public activities.

More than a half of the students are out today, and the school is so empty. Safety is a priority.

Lesko (2014) states, “Youth were defined as always “becoming,” a situation that provoked endless watching, monitoring, and evaluating” (p. 94). Not only the student but also other Israeli students’ self-in-practice is mediated by past experiences as well as his or her current positionality in the figured world (Caraballo, 2019, p. 1295). Indeed, many teenagers in school undergo the darkest time of life and struggle to make sense of the tragedy in Israel with their own knowledge and experience; simultaneously, they seemed so uncertain to confirm their identity. Nevertheless, they confirm their space to express who they are and what they are during this unprecedented crisis in Israel.

These children cross their tiny legs and sit quietly on the floor and listen to the docent explaining about the paintings. They look very curious about some paintings which are portrayed differently than their ways of seeing objects. For example, when they saw apples in the painting with dark shades, some of the children say the apples are bad apples.

Then the docent kindly disagrees with the children by shaking her head.

When they move to the next painting to see, one chaperone takes two children. Once they move, children sit on the floor and chaperones stand around them so that children get to sit and focus on the art in front of them.

All the other museum visitors give plenty of room for the young visitors so that they can pleasantly enjoy their field trip.

It was amazing to hear a young child observing the painting.

Museum visitors near the group also paid attention to the docent's explanation.

The two items on the painting show how lonely Van Gogh was.

The docent asks children if they are lonely and when they feel lonely.

Children seriously contemplated to answer the question.

What makes these young learners assess and analyze their own emotions at that young age? What encourages them to love the art?

Instead of emphasizing how to do things, this field trip "stimulate and nurture a child'd intrinsic desire to learn" (Giroux, 1988, p. 124). Giroux indeed concerns about today's pessimistic education which forces teachers to teach how to and what to do, this kindergarteners are stimulated to think outside of the box with less feeling of pressure and explore their imagination.

The documentary starts with a quote by Ralph

Ellison, Invisible Man that reads:

“I assign myself no rank or any limit and such attitude

is very much against the trend of the times.”

The scene then shifts to a mural thespian masks

painted in white green and what looks to pink. The

words above the mural reads “Theatre at Granite

Bay.”

A woman says, “Actors on stage, we’re doing

‘What The Hell!’”

A man voices states, “I’m gonna tell you

what I’m looking for and what I didn’t get last night,

so I want to make sure I get it this night.”

The camera shows student surrounding the person of that voice. He is white and his hands gently rest on the keys of the piano and “It’s literally tempo,” he says. “Tempo, tempo, tempo, tempo,” he says before playing the piano and singing

“What the hell, what the hell…”

The man stops mid song and states to the girl, “You see how the ‘hell’ does line up with the piano.” While some students nod their heads, another ask “what are the actual notes?”

As they sing his voice begins to narrate. “Kyle and I wanted to write a musical for the students at Granite Bay High

School. We said, if we do a show that centers around

students in high school, what do they care about? And

at Granite Bay, they really care about their grades,

almost to a fault.”

Kyle begins to narrate, “Students truly

believe that their class rank, and where they’ll go to

college, is gonna determine everything.”

“There’s like a level of gamesmanship to get

into college. Many students are paying for college

coaches, SAT tutoring and prep. A lot of amazing

students don’t have the financial means to be a part of

it. The inequity played a huge role in us writing

‘Ranked.’” As he says this, a picture of the bound

script appears on the screen. It reads “Ranked: A New

Musical. Pain is Temporary Grades Last Forever.

Competitiveness has gone too far.

cheating scam. Fifty people arrested.” A screenshot of

the Daily News cover appears. The faces of two white

women are plastered on the cover. The cover reads,

“CHEATERS. Celebs and execs bribed elite colleges,

shammed tests to get their kids in: feds…” The

reporter’s voice over continues, “most of them

wealthy parents, all accused of trying to do the same

thing: getting their kids into some of the most elite

schools in the country.” A collage of the front pages

of newspapers appears on the screen.

Another voice appears. “Rick Singer, years ago, he

actually worked with students at Granite Bay High

School.” As the voice says this, a picture of a white

man with thick eye brows and silver hair appears on

the screen. He is surrounded by reporters.

Wealthy parents use their power to make space for their loved ones. Why do some parents make poor decisions? What makes them feel assured to make this type of scam?

can see how their rank changes.” As he is narrating

the camera zooms in on white hands clasping an

iPhone. The camera zooms in closer and we see the

words “Class Rank/Size” written on top followed by

“37 of 479.” The scene shifts back to Kyle sitting in

the huge auditorium. His name and title now appears

on the screen: Kyle Holmes. Director of Theater Arts.

“Technology has made it so accessible and so

prevalent and in their lives, kids are often times find

themselves under huge pressure and very much

unhappy,” he says.

The scene shifts to a white male student, his name is

Jack. “There’s a huge pressure. Everyone’s like I need

to get an A in this class. I need to keep up my 4.5

GPA while balancing drama and being on a sports

team and the National Honor Society.” Jack states.

The scene switches to female student, Anvita. “My

parents and I have butt heads so many times. They tell

me like if you like theater, that’s great, but your AP

scores need to be in check first, and your SATs need

to be in check first,” she says.

Oakes, et al. (2018) state, "Recent efforts by the College Board, in collaboration with Khan Academy, to "level the playing field" by making free SAT prep materials available online, indicates some shifts in thinking about the relationship between practicing for the SAT and faring well on it. Still, an aptitude tests, the SAT and the ACT claim to predict future school success; they do not claim to accurately measure what students have learned or how intelligent students are" (p. 252).

compared to the students of Granite Bay High School.

A lady yells, “Alright, ladies and gentleman, guys,

pals, and nonbinary pals. Please get on the stage. Let

me hear it.” The camera reveals the voice of the lady.

She is white with red hair. She sits before an opened

computer with elbow on a table and her palm resting

against her cheek. There are not as many students

here compared to Granite Bay; and there are at least

three students that appear to be of Asian descent in

this scene. The scene shifts to what looks to be

students playing on a tennis court painted in blue and

green. What sounds like a student’s voice appears.

“My peers at Cupertino High School would probably

define success as getting into top tier schools. It’s this

sort of snowball effect thinking that I get into

Stanford, I get a good job offer, I get to buy a big

house, I get to live happily.” As he says this, the

audience is given a visual of girls walking in a line on

a softball field, then to the owner of the voice—Ojas,

a senior at Cupertino High. With his thick, bushy

eyebrows, and huge glasses, he appears to be of

Southeast Asian descent. The scene then shift to two

young ladies pouring over notes, textbooks, and a

computer. One of them is definitely of Asian descent.

“I created a Twitter account just so I could follow the

admissions officers,” Ojas continues. “to see when

they’re releasing it. My only Twitter account is

following colleges. Yeah we don’t use Twitter for

anything else.” The scene switches to a huge outdoor

space. It looks like a courtyard. There are walkways

connecting building to each other and stairs

connecting each level. There is loud hum of voices as

students transition up and down the stairs. A female

voice states, “People see success here as getting a job

in computer science or bioengineering. Everything

that has math in it. It’s a math city.” The owner of the

voice is Anastasia. She is white, with very long hair and

a bubbly personality. “Like, we have an Apple

campus right there.” As she says this the camera

zooms out to show an arial view what looks to be

large stadium structure, surrounded by blue skies and

trees and luscious green lawns. There are buildings

that look like they belong in Victorian England, not

California. The caption on the screen reads: “ Ranked

# 1; Electric Car Ownership” and a voice belonging to

Kami Tomberlain states “Cupertino is definitely

suburban silicon valley. Facebook, Google, Twitter,

Pinterest. Everybody here, one form or another.”

Kami is the principal of Cupertino. Another caption

flashes across the screen that reads, “Median Income:

$172K. Average Home Price: 1.2 Million. Poverty

rate: 6%.”

“It’s a community made up of first- and second-

generation immigrants, most of whom are united by

the desire to see their children do very, very well in

life. So, a lot of people move here for the schools.

”says Arcadia Conrad the Theater Director of

Cupertino High. As she says this, a caption informs

the audience that Cupertino High School is ranked

292 our 17, 857 U.S. Public High Schools. The school

has 2,305 students and 89% of them are Non-White.

65% of the students are accepted into college.

The scene switches to a classroom filled with

students. They sit in what appears to be groups of

threes or fours. The teacher stands at the front of the

room. She is wearing blue jeans and a black and white

shirt. She poses the following questions to her

students: “Growing up in Silicon Valley, is that

forming your identity?” A male student responds with

“Everyone is out to, like, be their very best and to get

that perfect 1600 or that perfect score.”

“Do you imagine we’re a little skewed into what

‘pass’ is? ” the teacher asks in response. As the

camera zooms in on the various reaction of students.

One girl has her hands clasp as she intently listens to

the discourse being had. “You could all pass this class

with a C. Wouldn’t that feel fine?” The students

respond with nervous laughter. The students in this

class are definitely diverse when it comes to race and

visible phenotypical features.

Hatt (2011) states, "[W]herein student "ability" becomes centered through school-readiness are social constructs rather than natural processes, emphasizing how these constructs can be harmful to children by hindering their ability to "catch up" to rhetorical definitions of readiness" (p. 2). Nevertheless, my school goes against the author's assertion as students in my school think that their school is supposed to help them build readiness. If not, it is all their teachers' fault. They strongly believe that teachers must meet students' smartness. Also, teachers always leave documents about helping a student who struggle so that they can back themselves. Otherwise, parents think teachers are negligent on supporting their child to become smarter.

employer.” A caption appears on the screen that reads

“Ranked # 4,684 of 17,857 U.S. Public High Schools”

The scene changes to a sky view of a large football

field. Players are lined up in the field and on the

sidelines. The crowd in the stands and/or bleachers is

sparse but loud. An image of Ripley High School

dances across the screen. It is definitely not the same

as Granite Bay High School. Yellow school buses

line the drive way as students mill about. The signage

is barely visible. There are no manicured lawns, only

cracked pavement and/or concrete. Beverly

Shatto, a older white lady who serves as the principal

of the school. “In addition to do doing what we do for

education, we also are trying to meet as many other

needs as we can,” she says. “It’s not unrealistic for us

to have students who come here because they get

meals here.” After the principal, Barri Faucett

appears, she is also white and serves as the school’s

Suicide Prevention Counselor. “There are a lot of

wonderful things about West Virginia,” she says.

“However, we have several deficits as well. The most

daunting is our substance misuse epidemic.”

“We have a lot of students being raised by their

grandparents,” says Christina Iman, a plump white

woman who serves as the Theater Director. “But for

the most part, Ripley people look out for each other.

And when someone’s hurting, people rally and

support each other.” She continues.

They show the auditions for “Ranked” all the students

shown thus far are white. “These kids can’t have even

one bad grade, because it’s just gonna ruin

everything. For a lot of them, it’s not about being

number one. But they know that they have to be top

10% because college is expensive. There’s a lot of

money on the line.”

One of the male students in the audition montage sits

on the steps of the small stage. “Opportunities are not

evenly given out in this world. College can be pretty

costly to go out of state if you don’t have a crazy

scholarship,” he shares. “People in our own school,

they’re just amazingly academically talented, but they

don’t have the wealth or connections to go off

somewhere crazy like Stanford.”

pandemic, the producers pushes forward with

bringing the play to schools across the country. We

are no in the Bronx, where a train zooms across the

screen. The caption reads “Ranked #1 Puerto Rican

Households. Median income: $22K. Poverty Rate:

28%. Average Home Price: $541K” The camera gives

an aerial view of the millions of apartments set in neat

rows strung my needles of trees. Linda Key, a Drama

Program Director, voice begins to narrate as the a

montage of images depicting the Bronx moves across

the screen.

“In the Bronx, many students are just hungry, hungry

to succeed. A lot of the kids come from single-parent

homes. We have students who might have to stay at

home to take care of siblings because both parents are

working,” she says. “The reality for a lot of my kids is

that they’re in a smaller apartment with lots of family

members. Many of their parents are working triple

shifts. College represents a way for them to raise their

economic state.”

“For our communities, education is your…your key to

success,” says Michael Johnson, the Principal of

Fordham High School for the Arts. Mr. Johnson is

black and male. “Something that we’re constantly

communicating to students is what it means to be

above average. Like, if you want to get into the top

school, you have to be above average,” he continues.

Many of the students auditioning for the play are

students of color. They audition on zoom, stuffed in

their tiny apartments.

segment title ACT III. The school is ranked 1,827 out

of 17,857 U.S. Public High School. The total student

body population is 317 and 98% of the students are

non-white. 77% of the students are accepted to

college. Three students, two girls and a boy are

walking down a set of stairs singing and laughing.

They meet with what looks to be two teachers to

discuss their role in an upcoming play. Everyone is

wearing a mask and face shields. We discover that the

students are rehearsing in order to perform Ranked

virtually. The cast are divided physically as half have

opted to attend school in-person while the remaining

cast are attending school remotely.

We eventually meet Jolimar, a senior at Fordham

High School for the Arts. Jolimar shares that she was

born in the Dominican Republic but migrated to the

United States when she was nine years old. “I always

wanted to go to college, but being able to pay for

college has played a big factor in my college

application. Not being able to pay for the college of

your dreams, it breaks your heart,” shares Jolimar.

“You have the potential, but just because you can’t

afford it, you’re not able to go, and somebody else

can because they are, and it’s kind of unfair, but that’s

just the way the world is.” Jolimar shares that she

lives with her mom and her sister, and at one time

they use to share their tiny apartment with her aunts

and uncles. Her mother who speaks only Spanish,

works as a Licensed commercial truck driver.

We then meet another student, Isiah, who is

auditioning for admissions into a Southern Methodist

University Theatre Program. He stacks his shoes

boxes on top of a box fan and then places his

computer atop the stack. He shares that he is the first

one who even had an opportunity to go to college.

attend their graduation celebration, Linda states,

“many of our seniors have gotten into their first

choice school, some are waiting for a few more

decisions. The students are going to have to see what

the financial aid packages are. For our students, it’s

not a possibility to come out of school with a

$200,000 student loan. That would be sort of

crippling if they were going into the arts as a career.

They need to find the best option to enter the career of

their choice with very little debt.”

Isiah shares the conversation that he has with his

mom who insist that she doesn’t want him to start of

his life with a huge student loan debt.

Later, Isiah meets with his theater teachers and they

begin to cry as they share with him that he will not

have to take out any student loans. Isiah got accepted

into Chapman University who offered him generous

financial aid package. However, he would still need to

find $18,000 for the year. His teachers helped him

secure the funding needed to cover the entire cost.

Isiah calls his mother to share the great news. He

can’t stop smiling and is overcome with excitement.

engaged in activities or experiences in the learning

environment.

1.5 Record examples of language used in the learning

context. How are issues of culture, identity, and power

raised by language itself?

classroom; therefore, both students and the teacher use the music room where church choirs practice. As such, there were no posters or anchor charts in the

room. A piano and music notes were stacked in the

back of the room, desks were pulled forward, making

the classroom feel a bit crowded and small. A few of

the blinds were widely open so that students could enjoy the quiet neighborhood. Student sat in rows all facing the front of the classroom.

Seven middle aged students who plan to take a naturalization test this winter, and the teacher helped them prepare for the tests.

As I was a guest, I didn't get a chance to learn these students' nationalities, yet when they started conversing with one another, I was able to assume some of their nationalities: Japan, Korea, and Germany.

The teacher greets her students and says "Today we are

going to continue to work on the Civic Test."

Everyone worked very hard and they said they were nervous about their test.

The teacher had students paired up to practice speaking tests, and she individually checked spellings of the writing test.

During the break, students brought snacks and shared with everyone.

Instead of assimilation, they all were proud of their ethnicity and cultures when they shared snacks during the break.

They brought their traditional snacks so that their classmates and teacher would learn their culture.

The lesson was very meaningful to them as they were ready for the naturalization test.

My partner and I sat to have a clear view of the SMART board and therefore could follow along with today’s lesson.

Everyone opened their laptop to follow along with the presenter virtually.

We were provided four activities and one us asked a question. The presenter was very clear with examples so that we were happy to get concrete answers.

In the meantime, the pace was very fast, so I heard some of the participants whispering their frustration. Yet, everyone in the room was all really excited to learn about

the Formative app because our students are definitely

need of intervention and save our time.

Teachers seem thrilled to learn about AI generating test questions and grading systems. It sounds too good to be true because this program does so much for teachers. Yet, I still have this uncomfortable feeling when I see these exciting teachers who is happy to do less work. I have to admit that so many teachers bring home work from school, and this website can be a life saver for them. Ironically, we warn our students of using AI generating websites, yet we are happy to use AI generated websites for our students.

Every Saturday, there is a Tai Chi class at the sculpture park in my town. At around 8:00am, seniors start appearing with small talks. They share their daily life with their friends until the class starts at 8:30am.

There is a white male with gray hair and a beard coming with a very comfortable clothes on.

Four elderly ladies and two men lined up in two rows.

They seem to have practiced Tai Chi for a long time.

They say they love this as they can smoothly be in charge of their breath and motion of their body.

They all look very peaceful and calm, yet every motion they take seems rigorous and powerful.

This Tai Chi class has been very popular amongst seniors in the town, and these elderly adults have a strong bond they have created for years and years.

I believe this type of the community recreations structure a culture of the town.

I was on the way home from a local CVS to drop off a package to return to Amazon. To come home with a shortcut, I crossed a playground in a town park. Instead of going home, I stopped to observe these four children around 3-4 years old. One child is Korean as I hear him talking to his mother. Two girls are white, and one boy is Hispanic. While the three children are communicating with one another in English, the Korean boy doesn't speak English at all. It is curious for me to stop and observe how these children get to play together while they have a language barrier.

One funny thing is when the three children say things in English, the Korean boy replies in Korean. Yet, no one seems bothered and continues to play together.

They giggle, laugh, and even mumble together.

How is this possible? Is there a universal language to play at the playground?

Nieto (2018) states, "Culture often is thought of as a seamless web of interrelated and mutually supportive values and behaviors, yet noting could be further from the truth" (p. 75).

I wish I could understand their conversation.

There is no giggling, running, or doing other silly things.

The shortest line is for who needs to purchase a ticket at the museum, and the longest line was for teachers and senior citizens. There are many teachers who are ready to enter the museum. The weather outside is clear, and the sky is beautiful with lots of sun. Then while waiting, it starts drizzling. While waiting, some visitors are taking pictures of a red car exhibited on the left corner of the lot.

These teachers and I had a chance to have a small talk. When I ask them if it is usual for a teacher to spend time on appreciating art on the weekend, all of them say, "Yes." They love coming to the museum alone so that they take their time to appreciate art pieces and share thoughts with other visitors. When they are with children, they are busy taking care of them.

When I ask them if they are thankful for a free admission at the museum, they agree and they wish other museums also give them free access such as Louvre Museum.

They like coming to Picasso Museum as it is less popular to visitors. They get to have their pastime with nice art pieces in a quiet place.

Senior citizens are also having such a relaxing and meaningful time at the museum.

These both groups say that art is a deep part of their lives ever since born. That is one thing they are proud of French education.

Nieto (2018) states, "Today, many children continue to be failed by public education because of their race, ethnicity, immigration status, native language, social class, other difference, or simply because they reside in the "wrong" zip code. All of these are beyond the power of children to change, and yet our society insists on blaming them, their parents, and their communities for their failure" (pp. 57-58).

The elderly Asian lady comes with a number of samples she has made.

She says, "Here is an opportunity to use your yarn to fruition through the use of your fingers, hands, eyes, and mind.

The knitting club only reserves 12 students, and everyone is there to have fun: 11 girls and 1 boy.

When the lesson starts, the professional checks each student's level of knitting and makes some suggestions to choose from.

Except for the boy, everyone has somewhat knitted in their lives. When the first part begins, other students who have not registered for the lesson also gather near the table to see the event.

She has a very gentle voice when she gives instructions to the students. They all seem calm and peaceful, and they giggle when things don't go well. Then the teacher notices something doesn't go well, and she comes to check on students.

One hour passes in the blink of an eye, and two students have made a half of their winter scarves, while others needed way more time.

The lesson ends, yet they follow the teacher's social media to send her their completion.

The children are about 3 or 4 years old who love to move around. They learn to shoot a basketball, and they want to be great basketball players.

They try to run as fast as they can, yet some of them have trouble running due to their diapers.

When the couch tells the children to stand in a single line, they all do that promptly.

When it is their turn to shoot a basketball, they look serious, and one boy even frowns his face which shows his seriousness. Still, he misses the shoot and starts crying.

His dad comes and the boy says he wants to shoot a basketball like a cool guy. Other children come and tell him it is ok.

The basketball couch hears their conversation, and he cheers him up.

The boy calms down and joins the lesson with friends.

They learn to dribble the basketball.

At the end of the lesson, the couch lifts up one student at a time to have them dunk their basketball in the hoop.

Everyone is extremely excited to be an amazing basketball player for the day.

This group of children is here at the park to learn to play basketball.

What is a community? It is not just a place where a group of people living. It is more than that. They share interests and create a particular characteristic in the town.

People around my neighborhood love to find things to spend time together. I see these children are in their figured worlds where they are expected to produce certain behaviors as acceptable and unacceptable (Caraballo, p. 127).

Also, as Lareau mentions parents engage in a process of fostering their children's talents and skills by organizing activities in their children's lives (p. 406).

When the trainer asks the owner of the dog how everything was last week, the owner of the dog says that her dog still pulls and is less friendly to other dogs when they are out.

The trainer starts a session. The trainer's dog demonstrates how to walk with less distraction, the owner also walks with her dog in the same way.

The owner seems hesitant to face a dog coming toward her and her dog. The trainer tells her to be confident and brave as the dog knows her owner is not confident. In that case, the dog thinks that he has to protect the owner, which makes the dog pull and become aggressive to other dogs.

They continue to walk and talk with both of their dogs while encountering other dogs.

The trainer tells the owner to shorten the leash when encountering another dog.

She learns to loosed and shorten the leash, and the dog seems calmer than the beginning of the session.

They schedule for the next appointment.

When I overheard the remark, that reminds me of Laureau's reading about a concerted cultivation and an accomplishment of natural growth (p. 406).

Ironically, children are invited to the KIPP from the community as the KIPP values education and students' success, it seems that the children have to pay the price to be in the institution.

Discipline and punishments are part of their learning.

Who gets to choose a better learning environment, and who gets more student-centered learning? Why these young learners seem to be in the oppressing environment?

Yosso (2005) cited Valenzuela (1999) that, "The assumption follows that People of Color 'lack' the social and cultural capital required for social mobility...schools most often work from this assumption in structuring ways to help 'disadvantaged' students whose race and class background has left them lacking necessary knowledge, social skills, abilities, and cultural capital" (p. 70). This quotes shows that teachers at the KIPP see their children through a deficit lens that these students are socially marginalized and unrecognized. Definitely, students of color and their family bring 'cultural capital" (Yosso, 2005, 69) to strength the school communities.

Yosso, T. J. (2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth. Race, Ethnicity and Education, 8(1), 69–91. https://doi.org/10.1080/1361332052000341006

There are 8 students in total, three high school girls, two high school boys, and 3 ladies in their mid-20s.

3 women are pretty new in the lesson, while the high school students and their parents seem to know one another.

One couch focuses on postures of the students, and the other teaches how to serve and hit a ball.

Ten minutes later, these students are divided into four and start playing against each other.

I had a chance to talk with a mom, and according to her, she comes to my town to have her daughter get a tennis lesson and an AP bio tutor as the tennis court is adjacent to the town library, it works out well for her to schedule her daughter's tutoring and other activities. Also, while her daughter takes a tennis lesson, her son gets tutored in math.

Indeed, my town library is filled with students and tutors, which makes it hard for residents to find a seat at the library in the evening.

These middle class parents think it is their role to help their child explore and identify their talents and interests which will lead to their child's successful life in the future.

Lareau states, "Parents engage in a process of fostering their children's talents and skills by organizing activities in their children's lives" (p. 406).

Lareau, Annette. (2003). Unequal childhoods : class, race, and family life. University of California Press.

Now the owner finds time to have her dog learn to properly behave in public places so that she can have her dog socialize with other dogs.

This owner spends time and money on her dog, and she tells the trainer she believes in power of education for every living thing.

When I overheard the remark, that reminds me of Lareau's reading about a concerted cultivation and an accomplishment of natural growth (p. 406).

The only preparation was to bring yarns and be there at the corner of the library.

Indeed, these young learners need places to be without competitiveness and comparison even for a short time in their school day.

Three students are required to check their email and reply to their teacher.

After, the teacher tells one student to go to Youtube and find 'Take Me Home, Country Roads' by John Denver. They all seem to enjoy the song.

Once the review is over, the teacher shares today's lesson: creating, saving, and printing documents.

Students open a Google doc and start typing a passage. And they save it with a title, and print it.

The teacher gives a few more passages and lyrics to the students to practice today's lesson.

These seniors are very eager to learn and excited to engage with their family members in their life.

When they book a reservation for a movie or a concert, using a technology is a plus. Also, when they go to a fast food restaurant, they can use a kiosk to order their menu without waiting in line. When they learn to use a technology, it can also prevent them from a possible fraud that targets senior citizens who are tech illiterate.

They also use their smartphones for entertainments.

Again, seniors in my town know how to utilize programs and events hosted by the town and continue to strongly remain as a proud citizens in my town.

Lower elementary school students get to color their own pumpkins and older students up to middle school get to carve their own pumpkins. There are volunteers who are there to help the children carve or paint their pumpkin.

A volunteer reads a story "The Ugly Pumpkin" and "Pumpkin Soup" to celebrate the fall event

The Ugly Pumpkin talks about a pumpkin who doesn't fit in with other pumpkins and finds a new home. And, Pumpkin Soup shows that three friends make their pumpkin soup. In the meantime, they fight and learn the value of teamwork.

Children have their apron on and the younger participants get help from volunteers and their parent or guardian.

Some of the pumpkins have peculiar colors like grey or white. Others draw hair and even clothes on their round pumpkins. 🎃 Parents did not lead the event but the children chose their colors and work: a student-centered activity.

The older ones needed more help carving their pumpkins; therefore, adults were there for the children's safety. Instead of a lot of instructions, the adults were there to assist the participants.

While I am there to play around new devices, others are there to make a purchase.

It is a great opportunity to journey to the Genius Bar.

This middle-aged man waits for an employee to assist him. About 5 minutes later, an employee holding an iPad asked if this customer has been waiting for help. He said yes. This employee kindly apologized and said someone should be with him shortly. She checks her iPad and reads the man's name. Then she looks up her iPad and apologizes to him again.

Shortly after, a man appears at a Genius Bar and comes up to this man. He is a typical 'genius' employee: a smart looking young man with glasses.

This middle-aged man says that his iPad freezes quite often, and he wants to get a direct support on the floor.

When I see the man and a Genius employee, the employee does his own diagnosis with clear explanations, and once he figures out what happens, he demonstrate steps for the man to follow.

The employee makes sure this customer gets proper support he needs, and he politely ends the service.

Still, the customer remains at the site and makes sure if he can implement what he learned or his device work properly.

Anyone interested in a new device can come and explore it until you make a purchase decision. Once you become a customer, more professionals are available to assist you with more expertise. Learning can occur any place.

There are groups of students in the museum full of materials their classrooms do not have.

Indeed, it is not difficult to find masterpieces in the media or in textbooks, yet when these young learners see these great works with their own eyes, it creates a lifetime memory which cannot be replaced with information in the media. School teachers believe that these experiences can help children shape who they are and what they will be in the future.

These children do not just check their list on their worksheet but learn to appreciate every artwork they are assigned.

I personally think that teachers in France are given more autonomy and considered 'intellectuals' with fewer restraints because visiting the museum where there are paintings and sculptures that carry controversial themes such as religion, morals, and things the U.S. public schools are not allowed to talk about. Giroux (1988) states, "In short, schools are not neutral sites, and teachers cannot assume the posture of being neutral either" (p. 126). French teachers would agree with Giroux who concerns about public school teachers are not allowed to be who they are but they are teachers to carry unilateral curriculum.

It is touching to see Li hugging his mother when she feels nervous and worried about her son. There are many grandmothers feeding their grandchildren outside of school. They want their family members to well off and live a better life than they do.

All their hopes and wishes are also represented in the video.

Still, this video focuses on the students and their family members under tremendous pressure, I wonder what kinds of pressure teachers in high school in China undergo.

Giroux (1988) states, "Technocratic and instrumental rationalities are also at work within the teaching field itself, and they play and increasing role in reducing teacher autonomy with respect to the development and planning of curricula and the judging and implementation classroom instruction...reserves for teachers the role of simply carrying out predetermined content and instructional procedures" (p. 124). Perhaps, teaching to score high on standardized tests requires more united curriculum around the nation in China which does not allow neither the teachers' nor the students' creativity to accomplish their individual and mutual goals.

"Familial capital refers to those cultural knowledges nurtured among familia (kin) that carry a sense of community history, memory and cultural intuition (see Delgado Bernal, 1998, 2002). This form of cultural wealth engages a commitment to community well being and expands the concept of family to include a more broad understanding of kinship. Acknowledging the racialized, classed and heterosexualized inferences that comprise traditional understandings of ‘family’, familial capital is nurtured by our ‘extended family’, which may include immediate family (living or long passed on) as well as aunts, uncles, grandparents and friends who we might consider part of our familia" (Yosso, 2005, p. 79).