https://padlet.com/mleheny/jc0ykwaw4ov5 ECED3300 en-us 2017-09-04 04:29:45 UTC 2025-04-06 13:51:42 UTC hello@padlet.com mleheny https://padlet.com/mleheny/jc0ykwaw4ov5/wish/184467610 I am all too familiar with this scenario. When I read this, I immediately related to it. I know the struggle of not being able to focus on homework because of gunshots and other crazy situations going on outside my home. In fact, just after reading this, three gunshots rang out in front of my house. I actually laughed at the irony. It is difficult for students to focus in school after witnessing or hearing violence at home. A couple of semesters ago, I had to go to class after cleaning my neighbor's blood off of my car. He had been stabbed (most likely because of a drug deal) and jumped head-first out of his window, running to my house at 6 A.M. bleeding all over my car and front door and screaming at the top of his lungs, "HELP! I've been stabbed!" My professors didn't care what I had been through that morning, all they cared about was the fact that I wasn't paying attention in their class. This also connects with another quote from chapter one, "The leaders within the field of urban education can’t fathom the day-to-day experiences of urban students who see themselves as ready to learn despite not being perceived that way." Just because I didn't seem ready to learn didn't mean that I didn't want to. I just had a lot on my mind that day.Unfortunately, this is what we do to our students all too often. We don't take into consideration what they've been through outside of school.]]> 2017-09-04 04:33:49 UTC https://padlet.com/mleheny/jc0ykwaw4ov5/wish/184467610 mleheny https://padlet.com/mleheny/jc0ykwaw4ov5/wish/184606522 I've worked with and had some teachers who believed just because the majority of their students were black that if they turned every lesson into a rap, their kids would succeed. While using raps to teach works for some kids (of all different colors and socioeconomic statuses), it doesn't work for everyone. No, not even if they're black (shocker, I know). If these teachers would have taken the time to get to know the kids in her class, she would know that the blonde-haired, blue-eyed white boy in the back likes rap and the dark-skinned black boy with the dreads is actually a die-hard Hank Williams fan. (Okay, maybe that's overkill, but you get the point). The point is, when we bring stereotypes and prejudices into the classroom, we overlook how amazing and unique our kids really are. Getting to know a child's interests can also help them want to do better in school because they actually feel important.]]> 2017-09-05 01:38:27 UTC https://padlet.com/mleheny/jc0ykwaw4ov5/wish/184606522 mleheny https://padlet.com/mleheny/jc0ykwaw4ov5/wish/184609503 This is a realization I have recently fully accepted. I've always known that people feel there is one true type of brilliance, but I never noticed that I was one of those people. I remember hearing my friend say she was going to get a degree in art and I laughed behind her back telling my boyfriend at the time that she'd never find a job with an art degree. I don't know when I became one of THOSE people (the ones who think they're better than everyone else because they're pursuing a "normal" career), but I'm glad I caught myself and redirected my thinking. Just because someone has a different kind of talent or intelligence doesn't make them any less talented or intelligent. If, as teachers, we can see that every child has some source of talent and brilliance within them, we can begin to try to help each child understand and reach his or her full potential.]]> 2017-09-05 01:58:00 UTC https://padlet.com/mleheny/jc0ykwaw4ov5/wish/184609503 mleheny https://padlet.com/mleheny/jc0ykwaw4ov5/wish/184613517 It is important for us, both as teachers and citizens, to value everyone's opinions, beliefs, and voice. Disregarding someone's comment because it doesn't match up with what we believe or because it's not "correct" lowers a student's self-esteem and makes them feel like they are not a valued member of the class or society. It is our job to make every student in our class to feel valued and important. Sometimes, our students may say things that we disagree with, but we must make that student understand that his or her opinion is just as valued as ours.]]> 2017-09-05 02:28:10 UTC https://padlet.com/mleheny/jc0ykwaw4ov5/wish/184613517 mleheny https://padlet.com/mleheny/jc0ykwaw4ov5/wish/184615328 I absolutely love that this concept was brought up in this book. I was blessed growing up. I had a loving mom and a dad who would do anything for me. Sometimes they weren't so great and my dad and I didn't always have the best relationship, but it all turned out okay in the end. However, I had a habit of making friends with people from very, very broken families. My family became known as the makeshift foster family of the neighborhood. We had so many people live with us through the years that I can't even count them on two hands. We fed the neighborhood kids the only thing we could afford to make a lot of back in the day, spaghetti. At least once a week all of the neighborhood kids (there would be over twenty of us) would gather in my mom's dining room, even sometimes on the floor because we couldn't all fit, and we'd all eat spaghetti. Most times it was the only meal the kids had eaten that day. My friends didn't have traditional families, but we all built our own family and I wouldn't have traded that family for the world. Sometimes when we're teaching, we're going to get kids who don't come from traditional families. We don't know what's going on in their life, but we know that when they're in our classroom for those eight hours a day, that we can make them feel like family and know that they're loved and respected. Creating a classroom culture and family is so important, especially when teaching kids who don't always go home to a warm, welcoming family.]]> 2017-09-05 02:41:02 UTC https://padlet.com/mleheny/jc0ykwaw4ov5/wish/184615328 mleheny https://padlet.com/mleheny/jc0ykwaw4ov5/wish/193365684 We HAVE TO allow our students to have a voice. We have to make sure they know that for at least eight hours a day, five days a week, they are heard, they are respected, they are appreciated, and they are loved. We need to get to know our students and listen to what is going on in their lives. This video tells the story of a young man named Curtis who was a "problem child" until he had a teacher who established mutual respect and allowed the students to have a voice. The teacher was laid back to a certain extent but he expected the best out of his students. This is how I aspire to be. I want to be laid back, because not all battles need to be fought and we need to remember that everyone is human and none of us are perfect, and that these students are still learning who they are and how to handle themselves and the world (I don't believe we ever stop learning this). However, I also want to make sure that there is respect in my classroom: both from me and from the students. I also want to push my students to be the best version of themselves. My eighth grade teacher did this and I will forever be grateful to her for it. She helped me realize that I could do anything I wanted to, but I had to stop feeling sorry for myself and speak up for myself. To this day I still talk to her and she still gives me pep talks every time I see her. We must be advocates for our students by teaching them and allowing them to be their own advocates.]]> 2017-10-03 12:00:48 UTC https://padlet.com/mleheny/jc0ykwaw4ov5/wish/193365684 mleheny https://padlet.com/mleheny/jc0ykwaw4ov5/wish/194120562 All children are different, but all children are the same. We must learn our students' differences, respect and celebrate those differences, and make an effort to cater to those differences. But we also must emphasize their similarities. These differences cause students to learn differently and need different levels and types of assistance in the classroom, so we must cater to this while making sure that collectively, our class is getting what it needs to succeed. The video I chose to represent this was a cute children's book I found. This book shows a set of cousins who have different skin colors, but are best friends. They are very similar except for their appearance, and their grandma helps them see this and celebrate it. She tells each child what is unique and beautiful about them. I thought this represented, in a way that even young students can grasp, that we are all similar, but we all have differences that make us unique and wonderful.]]> 2017-10-05 00:28:13 UTC https://padlet.com/mleheny/jc0ykwaw4ov5/wish/194120562 mleheny https://padlet.com/mleheny/jc0ykwaw4ov5/wish/194126084 Nobody should feel like what they say is more important than the words of another person, and they should respect when others speak. This is important to establish in a classroom because there is always that one student who always wants to talk, share stories, and answer questions (which is great!) but everyone needs to learn to respect when others are speaking and respect what they say and how they feel. We, as teachers, need to make sure that no one students' voice seems to be more important than the others. This video of Shrek and Donkey shows the importance of allowing others to speak and learning when to be quiet and respectful.]]> 2017-10-05 01:20:11 UTC https://padlet.com/mleheny/jc0ykwaw4ov5/wish/194126084 mleheny https://padlet.com/mleheny/jc0ykwaw4ov5/wish/194129369 I've talked about this before on this Padlet, but I can't reiterate this enough: creating a classroom family is extremely important. Not only because some students do not have much of a family to go home to, but also because it helps students learn to build up others and share responsibility for each others' learning. Some students even become more attached to their classroom or friend "family" than they are with their own. I chose a song from the Lego Batman movie called "friends are family" to represent this quote because I thought it was a cute way to show students that we can treat each other like family even though we do not share DNA.]]> 2017-10-05 01:53:06 UTC https://padlet.com/mleheny/jc0ykwaw4ov5/wish/194129369 mleheny https://padlet.com/mleheny/jc0ykwaw4ov5/wish/194133286 Giving students more responsibility in the classroom allows them to own their education and their supplies better. Students should also be able to vote on things in class like a real citizen does, as well.]]> 2017-10-05 02:20:18 UTC https://padlet.com/mleheny/jc0ykwaw4ov5/wish/194133286