TOCA conference

I attended the Teachers of Color and Allies Summit (TOCA) on CU Boulder campus yesterday and found the keynote speaker to be excellent.  He was very entertaining and honest albeit speaking to the converted. I really appreciated his close examination of the USA Today report of America's 100 Top Excellent Schools.  His elimination process and challenge to the word "excellent" for schools that didn't meet his criteria was very good.  First, the percentage of non-white students set at 25% eliminated all but 36.  His statement, "What America?" regarding the top school having just 2% minorities was so right on.  That is not America's demographics. Other criteria he used was whether or not the schools had open enrollment or lottery instead of a selection process and school size.  He eliminated all 200 schools and then offered a new title for USA Today that would more accurately fit the list as something like, America's top elitist White schools which I found so much more honest.

I am glad he linked racism and his agenda to our current political environment.  I can not agree more.  People hate Obama because he is black.  A far as his politics, he is quite conservative for a liberal.  I guarantee if he were white, those Conservative policy makers would love him and work well with him.  Those same people hate illegal immigration from Mexico because they are Mexicans.  They aren't thinking logically, they are thinking out of fear and ignorance.  It's the same with taking a pro-Palestinian stance.  It is deep seeded anti-semitism instead of knowing the history and issues on a deep level before taking a stance.  I liked the way he delivered this information.  It was clear and concise plus I agree with him whole-heartedly.

The break out session I attended was run by the group, Facing History and Ourselves, and was very informative. It will be a great resource for me when I begin teaching Social Studies.  One hour wasn't enough to really delve into their information so I was grateful to meet the 2 facilitators again today at the NCSS conference in Denver.  They, like myself, had volunteered to stuff bags so we got to talk a lot about their mission and how they could help me in my future class.  It was a nice added bonus to the TOCA conference!  Plus, small world as it is, the director turned out to be an old friend of one of my dearest friends.  Very coincidental!  I love connections.

All in all, I had a great experience and thought it was well done.  I would have liked to have attended more break-out sessions but my afternoon classes dictated my afternoon schedule

Africa

Friday thoughts...

Good work finds the way between pride and despair. It graces with health. It heals with grace.  It preserves the given so that it remains a gift  By it, we lose loneliness:  we clasp the hands of those who go before us, and the hands of those who come after us;  we enter the little circle of each other's arms,  and the larger circle of lovers whose hands are joined in a dance,  and the larger circle of all creatures, passing in and out of life, who move also in a dance, to a music so subtle and vast that no ear hears it except in fragments. 
From "What Are People For?" by Wendell Berry

Classroom Management

How much does a teacher ignore small disruptions in a classroom?  How much time do you take managing the class?  Does everything need to be a lesson in behavior?  Can external movements and noises be ignored and still effectively teach a lesson?  I think there needs to be a mutual acceptance on where everyone is emotionally and physically as participants in the classroom.  What I mean by that is, as a teacher, I want to be able to fully embrace the middle schooler and how they operate in the world.  I don't mean to say that my classroom is going to be utter chaos.  If I want my students to meet me where I am at as far as helping them learn to love social studies, then I need to meet them where they are in their maturity level and skill base.  I think I need to embrace the middle school craziness and goofiness in order to be able to run my classroom effectively.  Fighting against it is fruitless.  They are middle schoolers.  Am I there to some capacity to teach them how to behave appropriately in school?  Yes, of course, but to earn trust means that I need to accept them for where they are in their life which is young adolescence.  I feel that will work in my favor when I really do need to demand their utmost attention.  I hope to respect my students and hope they will respect me.

Who am I Accountable to as a Teacher?

As a teacher of social studies, I am accountable to my students, my community and myself.  Actually, I am going to use just the one word, community, to describe all of those that I am accountable.  I cannot possibly please everyone but I can try to bring integrity in all of my lessons, actions and interactions.  If I have integrity and have a thoughtful reason and justification in what I am teaching, and my goals are to help students to understand the importance and relevance of the study of social studies in their lives, I am able to have an honest dialogue with anyone about my lessons and my style.  Tensions arise when there is a miscommunication or when there is a disagreement as to how I arrived at my conclusions I teach to my students.  I am a very liberal and very opinionated person and will have (and have had) a hard time wearing my political opinions on my sleeve.  When there is tension, I hope to be able to have honest, open conversations with those in my community.  I am hoping to be communicative through a comprehensive syllabus, emails, phone calls and face to face meetings when necessary.  I want to be accessible to all of my community.  I think my ability to communicate with people will help me, and has helped me to build trust and good relationships with those to which I am accountable.  I have certainly worked with all sorts of people who are not as liberal as myself nor agree with my style of teaching but as long as I am mindful about everything I teach and every thing I say, I am free to move throughout my community.  Again, it's all about integrity, honesty, and keeping an open dialogue with my community.

Middle School

I just recently was in a 6th grade Social Studies class as a sub and noticed how engaging the classroom atmosphere was.  There were maps, posters, artwork, artifacts, student artwork, student projects and so many colorful and warm things that filled the area.  The teacher had set up a couch, a comfy chair, beanbags and big pillows around a rug so students could relax when appropriate and the mood was casual. I really appreciated the feel of the classroom.  It said to me that the teacher cared and was excited by all the topics that he was teaching.  I felt comfortable and at home in the room.  The kids were comfortable too and that showed.  It was really engaging.

These are the details I want to pay attention to when I set up my own classroom.  How do I feel in the room?  Do I enjoy being here?  How are the students represented in the room?  Is everything colorful?  Engaging?  Interesting?

Sometimes those are the things that get kids to want to learn.