Visiting the schools and watching the students show off their talents and academic skills in each classroom was extremely helpful for me. Before I did not know if I wanted to remain teaching or focus more on counseling. This experience helped me realized that I can make a difference in my students’ lives and always be prepare for a new challenge in life.
Honestly, when I think about the course amount of work and reading, I would not change anything because the blogs were based on what was read and how I felt about urban schools and how to prepare myself in the urban settings. One thing, I would like to change is most of the readings. For example, instead of reading from scholars’ point of view of urban schools settings, how do the students who experience going to an urban school. I would like to see how they and what they would like to change about his or her schools.
Well I am more of a hands-on and observer learner. In all honest opinion, I enjoyed being in the classroom, but at the same I enjoyed visiting schools and being more in an elementary classroom environment. This experience would help even more if we visit more schools. Sometimes, it is not enough and then we could write more about it in our blogs. Overall, great class and wonderful teacher!!! Thanks Professor
Friday, June 13, 2008
Final Reflection: My experience in CURR 423/523
The first day of class, I really did not have any expectations. I kept an open mind and prepared myself for a new challenge. I did not expect visiting different urban schools and interacting with students from the schools; however my views were changed about teaching in an urban setting. In this class, I have learned and have been challenged. In one school in which I attended, the superintendent is retiring and this teacher took the time out of the lesson and asked how the students felt about change. This teacher let the students voice their opinion in the classroom. As a future teacher, I know at times I will forget let my students’ voice their opinion, but this teacher has taught me, it is alright to let your students express themselves.
The biggest challenge I faced was not knowing enough information about urban schools. This class has improved my understanding and gave me knowledge of what is going on in the urban district. Seeing the best of both worlds, but attending a suburban school district, I did not know the problems urban schools faced. I have visit urban schools, but have not sat in the classroom to experience what other students have experience. The greatest accomplishment in which I have accomplished is listening and opening my ears to this experience. I was fortunate to visit the schools to let them teach me things I did not know.
Teachers need to develop an open mind, patience, and prepare themselves for change. With this journey I tend to “borrow” some teaching techniques from the other teacher, but reinforced my own teaching techniques.
Once again, I was fortunate enough to attend this class and visit the different schools
The biggest challenge I faced was not knowing enough information about urban schools. This class has improved my understanding and gave me knowledge of what is going on in the urban district. Seeing the best of both worlds, but attending a suburban school district, I did not know the problems urban schools faced. I have visit urban schools, but have not sat in the classroom to experience what other students have experience. The greatest accomplishment in which I have accomplished is listening and opening my ears to this experience. I was fortunate to visit the schools to let them teach me things I did not know.
Teachers need to develop an open mind, patience, and prepare themselves for change. With this journey I tend to “borrow” some teaching techniques from the other teacher, but reinforced my own teaching techniques.
Once again, I was fortunate enough to attend this class and visit the different schools
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Cultural Project
Culture is what brings society together. Without culture, there is no diversity and people are unable to learn about each other. Culture is very important, especially in the classroom. It should be enforce in the classroom because students are able to learn about one another and ignore the negative stereotypes on each culture. Where and why culture is important in our society?
Culture plays a different role in race, sexuality, language, class, and religion. It is important because students are able to explore what role does culture plays in each category. In religion, a student is able to understand the different types of religion, instead of being close- minded to their own. Not just students, but society itself. For example, a student who has Christianity beliefs may not agree with another student who has Islamic belief because the way the student who has Christianity has been raised. In the classroom, although religion is part of culture, but is not really permitted in the classrooms, the teacher can set up an activity in which to show each student what is unique about their religion. This is way too refrained from altercation and the students are able to understand each other.
Another role culture plays is race. Race is not often discussed in the classrooms because the topic can be extremely sensitive; however it is part of culture. For example, when Black History Month is being taught in the classroom, most students feel uncomfortable by asking questions; however it is the teacher’s job to explain the history behind it. If it was not for the diversity in society, the students would have been so close minded.
Culture is very important in my life. As a Haitian-American woman, embracing my culture will help my students understand that it is alright to be different, but still can achieve their goals. Growing up in suburbs, most cultures were embrace through performances at my high school. Every year, my high school performs a heritage play for Black History. In this performance students are involve and learn the history of Black History Month; however I have visit other schools in the urban setting and the urban setting has embrace culture more than the schools in the suburban setting. There are programs for every nationality, and race.
Culture in my classroom may have an affect between the students and teachers, but students and teachers need to learn and embrace each other culture. It can affect the teacher because a student may ask a question in which the teacher is uncomfortable or unable to explain. Most times, the student is feeling his or her question is not answer. Culture can have an affect between the students and teachers.
Culture plays a different role in race, sexuality, language, class, and religion. It is important because students are able to explore what role does culture plays in each category. In religion, a student is able to understand the different types of religion, instead of being close- minded to their own. Not just students, but society itself. For example, a student who has Christianity beliefs may not agree with another student who has Islamic belief because the way the student who has Christianity has been raised. In the classroom, although religion is part of culture, but is not really permitted in the classrooms, the teacher can set up an activity in which to show each student what is unique about their religion. This is way too refrained from altercation and the students are able to understand each other.
Another role culture plays is race. Race is not often discussed in the classrooms because the topic can be extremely sensitive; however it is part of culture. For example, when Black History Month is being taught in the classroom, most students feel uncomfortable by asking questions; however it is the teacher’s job to explain the history behind it. If it was not for the diversity in society, the students would have been so close minded.
Culture is very important in my life. As a Haitian-American woman, embracing my culture will help my students understand that it is alright to be different, but still can achieve their goals. Growing up in suburbs, most cultures were embrace through performances at my high school. Every year, my high school performs a heritage play for Black History. In this performance students are involve and learn the history of Black History Month; however I have visit other schools in the urban setting and the urban setting has embrace culture more than the schools in the suburban setting. There are programs for every nationality, and race.
Culture in my classroom may have an affect between the students and teachers, but students and teachers need to learn and embrace each other culture. It can affect the teacher because a student may ask a question in which the teacher is uncomfortable or unable to explain. Most times, the student is feeling his or her question is not answer. Culture can have an affect between the students and teachers.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Change of Heart
Visiting Maple Ave and University High School has really changed my viewed of teaching. I must admit I was feeling hesitant about my career options in my life. My career options were social worker or teacher. At first, I was scared and nervous because my biggest fear in the classroom is what if I cannot get through one student. Is my purpose to become a teacher? I am sure that is everyone’s fear, but it was something that was bothering me constantly. Then, I received the opportunity to visit these two schools and came to realize that I can make a difference in my students’ lives. It is my purpose in life to be in the classroom and show my students “The wonder world of Education.”
I came to realize it will take determination and hard work, but it will be something that I worked hard to bring my students to where they belong. I enjoyed this experience. Comparing my experience visiting an urban setting and growing up in a suburban setting, I enjoyed my experience more in an urban setting. Observing each school, the students are giving amounts of different opportunities such as clubs, internships, and other variety options. I can only speak for my high school, but we did not receive these opportunities. When most people hear that you went to the school in suburbs, it is not what it seems to be. I believe the Urban Schools are willing to make a difference for their students and once again this experience has given me a different outlook in making a difference in my students’ lives.
I came to realize it will take determination and hard work, but it will be something that I worked hard to bring my students to where they belong. I enjoyed this experience. Comparing my experience visiting an urban setting and growing up in a suburban setting, I enjoyed my experience more in an urban setting. Observing each school, the students are giving amounts of different opportunities such as clubs, internships, and other variety options. I can only speak for my high school, but we did not receive these opportunities. When most people hear that you went to the school in suburbs, it is not what it seems to be. I believe the Urban Schools are willing to make a difference for their students and once again this experience has given me a different outlook in making a difference in my students’ lives.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Assumptions: What do I know???
Johannah Buissereth
Dr. Rebecca Goldstein
May 28, 2008
CURR 423
Assumption Paper
Imagine yourself as teacher, who has been teaching in a suburban school for a while. Then, you are asked to be relocated in an urban school setting. Now, you are feeling nervous and scared because society and media have viewed urban schools with negative stereotypes. How do you overcome the negative assumptions of the urban schools?
Growing up in a suburban setting, I have heard the negative assumptions of the urban schools, but never paid attention. I have watch movies such as “Lean on Me,” “Dangerous Minds,” and other movies that dealt with the urban school settings, and I have not develop any negative assumptions. Similar to the urban schools settings, I have experience the negativity assumptions in my high school, such as low standardized testing scores, going through metal detectors, and teachers who had low tolerance for behavior.
My father teaches at Brooklyn Academy Science Environment (Base High School), formally known as Prospect Heights High School in Brooklyn, New York and most students are viewed as “troublemakers.” At BASE High School, I have seen students passed through metal detectors, disrespect teachers, and students are viewed as “having no future.” As I have watched this being taken place, I have some of the teachers do not have hope for their own students.
The question a teacher should ask themselves is, “Am I ready for this challenge?” In the media, middle class teachers, who lived in the suburban area, are viewed as “superheroes in the classroom.” In the school settings, teachers are placed in a hierarchy role. Teachers are supposed to make a difference in their students’ lives, but it’s the student who has to be willing to accept the change. Most of the time, teachers are blamed by the parents of the child. Teachers are blamed because of what the media portrays them to be, especially in the urban setting. In my opinion, comparing teachers in the urban and suburban school settings, most teachers in the urban school setting are willing to help their students succeed. The reason is the teacher probably attended an urban school setting, knew what it felt to have horrible teachers, and wanted to make a difference.
Another negative assumption is the description of an urban school. For example, the movie “Lean on Me,” the movie was based on a true story; however the description of the school in the movie was graffiti on the school walls, chains on the door locked, and preventing the drug dealers from entering the schools. Most schools in the urban setting may have graffiti, but not locked chains on the door. It is a fire hazard and it is placing the students’ lives in danger. When most people see graffiti on the walls on the schools, especially in the urban setting, the school is viewed as a horrible school. Now think about it: What if there is graffiti writing on a suburban or rural school, how does society view that school? In my high school, we had graffiti written on the wall, but since we were in the suburbs it was viewed as nothing.
Finally, students who come from an urban setting have faced negative assumptions. People without an open mind have viewed students who lived in an urban setting or urban school settings have “troubled lives.” Once again, it’s the media that portrays the negativity of how students are viewed in the urban school setting. The students are portrayed as Black or Hispanic who have come from a single- parent home, or drug dealers trying to survive in the “hood.” I have friends who live in the urban setting, and their parents wanted the best for their children.
The media exaggerates the lives of students who lived in the urban setting. I lived in the suburbs and the students who lived in the suburbs go through the similar struggles as the students who come from an urban school setting. Sometimes, it is worst in the suburban school setting. Society is very close-minded because most people think the most negativity happens only in the urban setting. For example, look at the incident in Columbine High School or Virginia Tech. No one had expected these two incidents to happen.
As a future teacher to be, I have seen the best of both worlds, but experience living the life in the suburbs. It is a challenge in which I will have to face in both urban and suburban school settings. I cannot develop a close minded mind, just like the media and most of the people in our society, but develop an open my mind to new challenges and experiences. In my classrooms, students will have the opportunity to express themselves through their talent and hopefully this will help them make a difference for themselves. It may not be easy, but this will show your students that I am apart of them.
Now to reiterate the question: How do you overcome the negative assumptions of the urban schools? The solution is to develop an open mind and always prepare your self for a new challenge. Also, develop your own strategies in helping your students to retain what they are being taught. Now, it is time to open the mind of those who have negative assumptions of the urban schools settings. Lets’ make a Difference!
Dr. Rebecca Goldstein
May 28, 2008
CURR 423
Assumption Paper
Imagine yourself as teacher, who has been teaching in a suburban school for a while. Then, you are asked to be relocated in an urban school setting. Now, you are feeling nervous and scared because society and media have viewed urban schools with negative stereotypes. How do you overcome the negative assumptions of the urban schools?
Growing up in a suburban setting, I have heard the negative assumptions of the urban schools, but never paid attention. I have watch movies such as “Lean on Me,” “Dangerous Minds,” and other movies that dealt with the urban school settings, and I have not develop any negative assumptions. Similar to the urban schools settings, I have experience the negativity assumptions in my high school, such as low standardized testing scores, going through metal detectors, and teachers who had low tolerance for behavior.
My father teaches at Brooklyn Academy Science Environment (Base High School), formally known as Prospect Heights High School in Brooklyn, New York and most students are viewed as “troublemakers.” At BASE High School, I have seen students passed through metal detectors, disrespect teachers, and students are viewed as “having no future.” As I have watched this being taken place, I have some of the teachers do not have hope for their own students.
The question a teacher should ask themselves is, “Am I ready for this challenge?” In the media, middle class teachers, who lived in the suburban area, are viewed as “superheroes in the classroom.” In the school settings, teachers are placed in a hierarchy role. Teachers are supposed to make a difference in their students’ lives, but it’s the student who has to be willing to accept the change. Most of the time, teachers are blamed by the parents of the child. Teachers are blamed because of what the media portrays them to be, especially in the urban setting. In my opinion, comparing teachers in the urban and suburban school settings, most teachers in the urban school setting are willing to help their students succeed. The reason is the teacher probably attended an urban school setting, knew what it felt to have horrible teachers, and wanted to make a difference.
Another negative assumption is the description of an urban school. For example, the movie “Lean on Me,” the movie was based on a true story; however the description of the school in the movie was graffiti on the school walls, chains on the door locked, and preventing the drug dealers from entering the schools. Most schools in the urban setting may have graffiti, but not locked chains on the door. It is a fire hazard and it is placing the students’ lives in danger. When most people see graffiti on the walls on the schools, especially in the urban setting, the school is viewed as a horrible school. Now think about it: What if there is graffiti writing on a suburban or rural school, how does society view that school? In my high school, we had graffiti written on the wall, but since we were in the suburbs it was viewed as nothing.
Finally, students who come from an urban setting have faced negative assumptions. People without an open mind have viewed students who lived in an urban setting or urban school settings have “troubled lives.” Once again, it’s the media that portrays the negativity of how students are viewed in the urban school setting. The students are portrayed as Black or Hispanic who have come from a single- parent home, or drug dealers trying to survive in the “hood.” I have friends who live in the urban setting, and their parents wanted the best for their children.
The media exaggerates the lives of students who lived in the urban setting. I lived in the suburbs and the students who lived in the suburbs go through the similar struggles as the students who come from an urban school setting. Sometimes, it is worst in the suburban school setting. Society is very close-minded because most people think the most negativity happens only in the urban setting. For example, look at the incident in Columbine High School or Virginia Tech. No one had expected these two incidents to happen.
As a future teacher to be, I have seen the best of both worlds, but experience living the life in the suburbs. It is a challenge in which I will have to face in both urban and suburban school settings. I cannot develop a close minded mind, just like the media and most of the people in our society, but develop an open my mind to new challenges and experiences. In my classrooms, students will have the opportunity to express themselves through their talent and hopefully this will help them make a difference for themselves. It may not be easy, but this will show your students that I am apart of them.
Now to reiterate the question: How do you overcome the negative assumptions of the urban schools? The solution is to develop an open mind and always prepare your self for a new challenge. Also, develop your own strategies in helping your students to retain what they are being taught. Now, it is time to open the mind of those who have negative assumptions of the urban schools settings. Lets’ make a Difference!
Monday, May 26, 2008
Memorial Day and Urban education
Memorial Day is honoring of the soliders who fought and were killed in the war. In 1865, Memorial Day was first observed by liberated slave in the Charleston (wikipedia.) The first state to recognized Memorial Day was New York in 1873(http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html). Most people have forgotten the meaning of the celebration Of Memorial Day. Memorial Day and Urban Education can be compared. Most people have forgotten the meaning of the celebration of Memorial Day. In urban education, most teachers do not make an attempt to help their students in their academics. If we make time for our students in the urban setting, they will understand the meaning of an education. Similar to show our society, the meaning of Memorial Day.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
African Students in America: reconstructing new meanings of "African American" in urban education.Find More Like This
Traore, Rosemary L. "African Students in America: Reconstructing New Meanings of "African American" in Urban Education." Intercultural Education; 14.3 (2003): 1-13. 22 May 2008 . In this article, Traore shows African and African Americans faced many negative stereotypes, myths, and misperception in the urban school settings. Students who came from Africa came to America to find a better education and live a good life; however it seemed to them to be very deceiving. In Jackson High School, the Africans and African Americans are portrayed as “savages,” “jungle bunny,” and/or “heathen.” According to the article, the Africans and African American were known as violent and are hostile toward each other. The author discusses about a father who worked during the day and went to school at night to pursue his Bachelor's Degree. His children went to an urban school named, Jackson High School. As the children continued to go to Jackson High School, the father realized that his children were losing their African heritage such disrespecting their elders, and not fulfilling to their own standards. The father began to question and asked what the reason was for his children attending school, if his children were not receiving the proper education. According to the article, Traore quoted, “School are not designed to educate Africans or African Americans about Africa, but they are designed by colonial masters. The author also discusses how the media portrays the stigmatism of African. The African students are often ridiculed and categorized because of what other has seen through the media. The author wanted the readers to understand the African heritage. The author points out in the urban school settings, most teachers do not teach their students about the African Heritage. She wants to the school to start teaching about the heritage, to open the minds of the students. The author is a teacher and is making a difference in the classroom. She is educating her students about her African heritage and she will like other teachers in the urban to teach their students the same as well.
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