Blogs

Overview:

This curriculum is designed for a pre-kindergarten classroom (ages 3-5 years old) with a student population of 23 students. A bilingual literacy curriculum will be designed for immigrants or children of immigrants from Mexico. The students speak predominately Spanish. The parents of these students speak very little English, so the students cannot use their parents as a resource to learn English. The class meets five times per week for five hours. This is the second semester of the school year. By the time the students’ progress to kindergarten, the students will be expected to understand English because in kindergarten, only English will be spoken. In this curriculum, in addition to learning the basics of reading and math, there will be activities that will incorporate two main goals: To have the students understand English without losing their identity and to incorporate culture into the student’s learning.

            In semester one, the teacher spoke both English and Spanish. However, in this semester, there will be a bigger focus on English, since this is the only language that will be spoken in kindergarten.  The average length of a school year is 180 days, so these three units will take place for 30 days during the semester two.

Reading/Literacy

Objective:

- Learn the letters of the alphabet

- Begin to recognize their sounds

Hello all!

I found a short booklet in Canaday earlier this week (on that table in the atrium where there are free books) that you all might find interesting. It is called "Speak Up at School: How to Respond to Everyday Prejudice, Bias, and Stereotypes." This booklet was published by Teaching Tolerance, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center. The website has the following blurb to explain why this was published:

This guide is for the adults in the school. It offers advice about how to respond
to remarks made by students and by other adults and gives guidance for helping
students learn to speak up as well. We believe that modeling the kind of behavior
we want from students is one of the most effective ways of teaching it.

I think it is really interesting, and could be a good resource for educators. If you want to read the booklet, you can find the PDF here: http://www.tolerance.org/publication/speak-school

I have also found some more interesting publications for educators by Teaching Tolerance, including "Anti-bias Framework" and "Creating an LGBT-Inclusive School Climate" that you can explore here: http://www.tolerance.org/publications

Enjoy!

You can find the the map of the Sundarbans @ the start of The Hungry Tide @
http://www.amazon.com/The-Hungry-Tide-A-Novel/dp/B003IWYKOO#reader_B003IWYKOO

Albert Camus’ 1957 lecture, “Create Dangerously":
http://www.nathanielturner.com/createdangerouslycamus.htm

Jane Tompkins, "Sentimental Power: Uncle Tom's Cabin and the Politics of Literary History,"
Sensational Designs: The Cultural Work of American Fiction:
http://web.princeton.edu/sites/english/NEH/TOMPKINS.HTM

Lauren Berlant, "The Subject of True Feeling: Pain, Privacy and Politics":
http://lucian.uchicago.edu/blogs/politicalfeeling/files/2007/09/berlant-lauren-th_subject_of_true_feeling.pdf

Since I forgot to post about Tuesday's reading Interrupting Hate before Monday at 5, I've decided to instead reflect on my in-class conversation and reflection. In our small groups, I talked with Natalie about the differences between talking with boys and girls about LGBTQQ topics/themes/issues. Our conversation raised a lot of questions about cultural hegemonic gender norms and whether or not the "gay man" is somehow more threatening to boys than the "lesbian woman" might be to a girl. Is the stereotypical effeminate gay man more threatening to hegemonic masculine traits than a butch woman, or whatever the stereotype might be to women or girls? How might young girl figures like the tom-boy figure in to this?  

I think these questions connect well to many of the other quotes I saw posted around the room. For example, one quote discussed when/at what age it would be appropriate to expose childrent to relevant literature,these topics, etc. Natalie's and my conversation about gender stereotypes and how these relate to people's willingness to engage in such conversations seems to connect to this--specifically, I think if broader gender stereotypes and heterosexist stereotypes were combatted from an earlier age (without getting into the details of sex ed specificall), it might help boys be less threatened by these conversations. 

Based on our conversation today in Jody’s class about the concern to create something long lasting (in reference to the “the tears” in Chase article and the example of religious camps/having a religious experience that does not extend beyond the camp & cannot be carried over) … I’m sensing a need for the story slam to carry beyond a single semester and I’m wondering if we can actually initiate a group on campus which is dedicating to hosting story slams/ open mic nights on campus that can be flexible in addressing campus wide issues and creating spaces for critical conversation to be present. When I originally envisioned our “final” event I actually envisioned several story slams over the course of a month as a way of hopefully initiating a more long-lasting conversation on campus. I know that in the past, the artclub has initiated events like this but my understanding is that those events were tied to particular students who have now graduated and the drive to host/plan similar events has somewhat left with those students. I am thinking that maybe having a group whose actual sole focus is creating these spaces might be a way of keeping the conversation alive; and perhaps could be a way in which we put forth a continuation of this 360.

How much latitude can you allow?

In my own words, latitude, the ability to allow yourself to immerse and dance around as far into the open field as much as you allow. Latitude, a force field as strong as your beliefs, your morals, and your drive. Latitude- as expandable and malleable as you want it to be. Latitude- what I have total control over. Throughout our experiences, there will be individuals sailing through several waves, facing different tides, and walking into different territories. As individuals, we can’t all be compatible and we see that with the character Lloyd Fuller in All Over Creation by Ruth Ozeki and Elizabeth Costello in The Lives of Animals by J.M. Coetzee. They expand their latitude as far as they allow themselves to share their beliefs, but never bursting their force field by the harmful words of people who are against them. Latitude, unlike the scientific use, which gives an ideal measurement of a geographic coordinate, is the stretchy floating hula-hoop I as well as Costello and Fuller walk in.

Latitude can’t be measured. It’s like trying to measure how many tears you have cried- ridiculous. It’s not something that takes a form and turns into stone; forever keeping it’s shape until it is broken. The latitude an individual creates for one self is strong like rubber, to keep all its beliefs from being attacked, but also stretchy to allow yourself to stretch as far as you’re comfortable with in sharing what you believe in. Latitude is controlled by the tolerance one allows.

I really enjoyed reading Blackburn and felt that her arguments and points were extremely valid. By creating a second space for these students outside of school, they're able to think freely and be themselves. The Attic served as a safe-space for many of these students. I drew a connection between Lee and Hawkins community based after school programs and this text. This is a sort of a community-based space where the participants are not in a formal school setting. I was very interested about The Attic's Women's Group. I felt that the participants really took initiative to create and manage all aspects of the group. By allowing the participants to bring texts that they feel are relevant and worth sharing, it allows the participant to be in the position of power. By working together and creating agency for change, the participants are able to home and have a personal investment in what they were learning. I found the idea and the organization of the Story Time very interesting and intriguing. Story Time allows the participants to share their own feelings and pieces that they've composed as well as texts that they've found written by someone outside of The Attic. This space allows the participants to have their voice heard and their opinions and beliefs validated. 

LGBTQ has always been a topic to be avoided and not discussed open publicly from where I'm from. Unfortunately, homophobia and just the idea of it scares many Malaysians away. This is because homosexuals engaging in sex are considered illegal in Malaysia and they continuously face discrimination from government policies such as a law that makes sodomy punishable by 20 years in prison. Just recently in the news, sixty-six Muslim schoolboys in Malaysia identified by teachers as effeminate have been sent to a special camp for counselling on masculine behaviour. As I read Blackburn’s Homophobia in Schools and What Literacy Can Do About It, I try to think of the reasons to promote how schools in Malaysia would be open to discuss about this topic. Could it be part of the core-curriculum of the national exam? If so, who would teach it? Perhaps the biggest obstacle for me is to convince parents. Just to demonstrate how the society views homosexual couples. In an article published in the news two years ago, the Malaysia's Education Ministry has "endorsed guidlines" to help parents identify gay and lesbian "symptoms" in their children. The following are the list of “symptoms” that were listed. From reading this statement alone, I am embarrassed and disgusted by my government’s actions. I can’t think of possible solutions to this especially since homosexuals are being punished legally in law. What would be the first step to tackle this subject and connect it to high school education?

Symptoms of gays:

In high school I had several LGBTQ teachers. Some were out and often talked about their sexuality, some were out and never talked about it, and some were out to other teachers but not to students (we found out anyways, of course). To me, having an openly gay teacher was not a big deal and I never really questioned it. However, after reading Blackburn's book, I wonder what the experience was like for those teachers, both those who were open about it and those who were more private. Was the administration supportive? Did students ever make comments? Did parents complain?

Here is the link to the story slam Facebook event!  Please share the event and invite your friends!

https://www.facebook.com/events/646637532069220/