Chapter Seven - Courtney Mix-Binish

Throughout the book I have kind of felt that these stories were stories we heard during under grad.  Hearing about the teachers who stepped outside the box to reach their students.  Initially, I went into the classroom trying to understand my students, very similarly to the teachers who were highlighted in this book.  I came to find, that is not me.  I wanted to understand that my students are going to act differently than I do, or that I need to be sympathetic to them.  One thing I learned from the field, however, is exactly what is spoken about in the end of the book- these are unique situations of specific classrooms in urban environments- just like “Freedom Writers” (and please note, I did, in fact read that book and try to do that in my classroom…needless to say, it did not work.)   I appreciate this acknowledgement because sometimes a person can second-guess their own practices when they hear about extraordinary teachers such as these.  A teacher can feel like they should be doing something different in their classroom, even though their methods are already successful. 

I also appreciate how this book highlights teachers who are real.  Their real-life situations have been documented or all to hear and they are not afraid.  It feels, many times, that we need to monitor what we say and do in fear of losing our jobs.  The greatest thing about these teachers is they have embraced their craft and are not afraid to be judged for what they do or how they act in a situation.  Thinking specifically about Nancy, I know many teachers who would have flipped when their student said “f*cking” when referencing sex.  Nancy very calmly, yet sternly explained the inappropriateness of the comment.  She knew reprimanding the student wouldn’t do anything but cause a stir in the classroom- she knew the student could use this as a learning experience…remembering her students may not have had an opportunity to learn this outside of the classroom.

I believe that a teacher can read this book and, without reading too much into it, can learn a lot about how to handle the classroom.  I recognize a lot of the  methods used in the classroom and how they are successful in my classroom as well. 

Nancy Serrano by: Deanna Hicks

Nancy's story was one of true passion to encourage and allow children to see that where I live does not determine what my success will be as an adult. Nancy's main goal was to educate her children about life experiences and to get them to think outisde of the box. You don't have to succumb to your surrendings and challenge every thing that is set in front of you.
Nancy Serrano's story resembled my life in some ways, although I did not grow up poor, I have three sisters and one brother. The first time leaving them was when I went to DePaul for the Golden Apple program. Like Nancy all of my roommates were white from suburban America. I had to let down my barriers and actually get to know them. Nancy went back to her old neighborhood to teach and this was also my dream, I thought it would be awesome to teach in the neighborhood in which I grew up and to show children positive influences. now I work in an urban neighborhood on the south side of Chicago and although we learn the curriculum. I take moments as Nancy did to discuss the difference between proper language and language for at home. (I have first grade)
Nancy's mission as a teacher was to provide her students with 1. the ability to have an open mnd and be critical thinkers you do not have to accept things just because other people say that is how it is supposed to be. 2. She wanted her students to understand that they can do whatever they want it does not matter where you are from you have the ability to do whatever you want. She encouraged her students to challenge anything and everyone and did not back down when they challenged her. I love the open dialouge she had with her studnets and how she hangled the tough conversations. Especially being a first year teacher this is hard to overcome, knowing your boundaries with studetns, getting them to open up and trust you. I admire the role Nancy took with her children and hwo she had to reflect on her own life and road blocks for the betterment of the students.

Chapter 7: Connecting the Voices -Connie Rogers

Gregory Michie connected the efforts and voices of the five tremendous teachers we learned about throughout the book. In this own reflection, key characteristics of what made these teachers "voices for change" emerged. All of these teachers kept culture at the forefront and made it part of the curriculum. This goes well beyond Black History Month or reading stories folktales from other cultures; it involved valuing and building upon students' experiences and knowledge so that curriculum acted much like a "mirror" (188). With those powerful practice, the five teachers were able to truly connect students to their learning by seeing new ideas and enhancing previous constructs. These five teachers also consistently built strong relationships with students so that they could make learning meaningful to them. Lastly, high expectations were demanded while ensuring social justice. These teachers all knew the realities facing their students, but this didn't cause them to lower expectations; rather, it maintained or elevated high expectations while always keeping in mind ways to help these students who have struggled. Michie's reference to a quote from poet Audre Lorde illuminated the dedicated work of these teachers all must feel compelled to demonstrate so those who are struggling can benefit from opportunities education can bring, "Even the smallest victory is never to be taken for granted. Each victory must be applauded because it is so easy not to battle at all, to just accept and call that acceptance inevitable" (195). Remarkable teachers do not accept failure and the persistent achievement gap between students of contrasting socioeconomic statuses. Like the teachers we met in this book, such as Toni and Nancy, we must continue to learn about the needs of students and their communities and meet them where they are.

Chp. 5 Toni Billingsley - Meredith Adelman

I found this reflection on Toni Billingsley very familiar. It, in some ways, was like my own classroom. When I began reading and in the first paragraph it talked about her teaching style - "part introduction to the language, part aerobics workout, part improvisation workshop, and part standup comedy routine" - I knew I would be able to relate to teacher.

Toni, an African American woman, is a teacher Spanish on Chicago's west side. She does not think the kids can't learn and even though demanding, she makes it fun to learn. She states, "I think the learning experience has to be fun for both the teacher and the student,...if I'm bored, I 'll get frustrated, and I won't be teaching my best"(pg. 120). Toni does many fun and active things to help students learn; her classroom is a good example of using the multiple intelligences.
Toni, like many in the book, did not have an easy childhood. It was when she went to stay with her grandfather that she found a foundation and come to understand the importance of education. She also talked about how he lived his life was her most important lesson. The idea of modeling what we want from our students is so important and Toni learned that lesson early.

I really liked the how Michie described how Toni tried to help her students. "Trying to help her students see their own worlds with new eyes-were big parts of what Toni considered good teaching. She implicitly embraced the metaphor of curriculum as window and mirror put forward by Peggy McIntosh adn Emily Style (1999)" (pg. 124). For some reason idea of the window and mirror was an interesting image to me.

Michie goes on to observe that although Toni used a lot of action and humor in her class, they weren't grandstanding things, they were to help her students learn. He goes on to observe that she 'had other tools in her kit' (pg. 125). 

Toni had first taught at a large school, Harrison, and did not find much fullfillment in her days. The school had a 'crisis of relationships' as written about by Deborah Meier. (and as discussed in our own class - relationships are so important to a successful learning environment). Her current school, TCA, was smaller and made for more meaningful teacher-student interactions (pg. 126). She also points out that in her previous school, she had to make an appointment to see the principal, but at her current school she is able to walk in to the office at any time. She had scheduled observations at her former school, but has much more informal observations at her current school. She had been asked to rate her own performance for her previous school's evaluation. She said she was average, not wanting to brag. But then that was what her evaluation said!

The second part of the reflection looks more toward the issue of race. Many minorities in urban areas have their only experience with white people when in school. Many white teachers come in with idealized attitudes, but didn't have an understanding of the cultures from which the kids they were trying to teach came from. Toni observes that many white teachers come in with certain ideas about how to empower the students, but what they don't understand is that they must expected the teacher to earn the authority - it wasn't theirs just by virtue of being the teacher, the supposed authority figure. She says the teachers who succeed are the ones who hang in there and truly care about their students. It shows the kids that they won't be abandonded, that here is someone who stick with them. It is easier for an African American teacher to teach African American students due to empathy; it easier on the first step, but the teacher still has to prove herself to be a good teacher with each step there after.
One comment I found interesting was Toni's statement that, "Black kids need a teacher who cares, and if that teacher happens to be black, fine. But you can learn from whoever teaches you" (pg. 130). The question I had when I read this was, "do white kids need diverse teachers too?"
Toni also discusses the conflict resolution program at her school. It seems ineffective to her, but she still feels it is worth the effort. But she understands, although frustrated by it, that the job comes with no guarantees and much uncertainty.

Toni discusses her mentor teacher who was a no nonsense African American Spanish teacher. She insisted on not selling your self short and expected excellence. One of the four characteristics discussed in class - the one most often missed.

Michie goes on to observe and discuss how a meeting at Toni's school is run. It is almost a perfect model from our readings. The staff contributes, there is a reason to have the meeting, and people talk about and discuss solutions.

This reflection shows a teacher truly committed to her students and her job of teaching her students. Many of the positive aspects of instructional leadership we have been discussing are part of Toni's day to day activities: from the four characteristics of famous leaders to effective meetings to the ability to structure lessons to meet the unique needs of the students to establishing teams among peers and nurturing relationships with students and other staff.

Chapter 4: Freda Lin - A. Davila

Chapter Four centered on Tawainese-American teacher Freda Lin. I thought it interesting that Freda mentions the Asian culture as the "forgotten minority." Perception is they pose little problem because of the general attitude of hard work and communal responsibility. I reflected that in my almost ten years of teaching I have only had a handful of Asian-American students. The chapter also features some interactions with a dictator-like principal. The whole chapter reminded me of my first two years of teaching. I was in a affluent suburb of Washington DC teaching 10th grade English Lit. My principal ran the school like Mussolini (I hope I spelled that right) and the teachers were forced, due to overcrowding, to "float." I had to vacate my room during my "off" periods and take stacks of paper to a closet better known as the English teacher's lounge. The whole school atmosphere was one of distrust and entitlement - from staff and students. It was such a horrible experience.
Some obervations from the chapter:
How do you feel state standards and the high-stakes testing has helped or hindered your teaching?
Freda mentions that she is conflicted between studying for depth versus breadth. She believes that her students take the most away from projects and that with notes they're "just memorizing," but where do projects fit in when you're rushed to cover a certain amount of curriculum by the end of the year and the BIG standardized test? In my own classroom my philosophy was if I teach your students well, they will pass the test and leave with knowledge. That meant I taught beyond the test. My strategy was to teach them the basic skills but to also infuse relevant material that made them think. A unit on decisions and consequences included all sorts of texts. We read newspaper articles about local people who had made poor decisions. We read Supreme Court cases and short stories. We talked about how the connotation of the word consequence was negative but not all consequences were necessarily negative. However, I am fully aware I have a luxury in teaching ELA. My colleague in the Social Studies Dept. was always frantic to "get to the Civil War" by test time. How do all of you balance depth and breadth in your classroom?
In light of our readings for class this week, how does the evaluation process encourage growth in your school or workplace?
Freda mentions the "whole evaluation process...[as] a big charade" (100). I agree. I have yet to have a principal who genuinely knows what is going on in my classroom or one who cares - provided no parent is beating down their door. The overwhelming impression is as long as the kids are alive when they leave my classroom and I didn't sleep with any of them, the magic that goes on behind the closed door can remain that - magic. I often feel a little frustrated that my principal even feels confident enough in my ability to complete my evaluation. At our school she doesn't even review it with us. She leaves it in our mailboxes to sign and return. There's a note about seeing her if there are any questions, but the one time I actually went to ask a question, it was politely implied that she didn't have the time to deal with insignificant questions. How am I suppsed to make a concerted effort to improve if I'm not given specific feedback about where to improve? We tried a system (it only lasted for half a semseter) where teachers observed other teachers and gave feedback, but it was a nightmare. We weren't given specifics of what to look for and so observations were wildly varied depending on the teacher and their own personal style. Great plan, poorly implemented.

Cynthia Nambo

Chapter three was very interesting for me. For our previous class (EDUG 513), I worked on single-sex schooling for my final project. The rationale for segregating the sexes had much to do with the Sadkers' work Shortchanging Girls, Shortchanging America. The researchers noted that girls were less likely to be successful in the historically male-dominated fields of mathematics and science. So they advocated the removal of girls to limit the perceived competition with their male classmates. (As a side note, now the pendulum has swung the other way and there is outcry that boys are disserviced in a predominately female environment of public schools).
While the explicit references to single-sex schooling ends on page 53, it subtly underscores the entire chapter. It begs the question, like the assumption in chapter two that minority teachers can better relate to minority children, can female teachers teach female students better? (I am anxious to hear Peter's response - Sorry Peter, but you are unfortunately outnumbered in this field!)
Cynthia seems a very strong and passionate teacher. I would love to observe her class. I have really become enthusiastic about project-based learning and I have been keeping notes on different ways to implement it in the classroom.
Michie mentions a term on page 68, coined by Judith Kleinfeld, "warm demanders." He states that "many of the effective Chicago teachers I know - particularly teachers of color" have this characteristic of possessing high expectations while demonstrating genuine caring. Like Cynthia Nambo, I struggled with the hugs and touching that my students exchanged. I actually had one African American girl tell me I was too uptight because I didn't "love on" my students. Once I realized their concept of personal space was much different than mine and their displays of affection were much more pronounced, I was able to alter my ways of giving feedback.
I wanted to hear how the "trial" play at the end of the chapter worked out. Cynthia sounds like she would be fun to work with and someone I'd like to collaborate with. I recognized a lot of my own style in her description of her philosophy. My husband is Mexican American and (like Freda Lin the Chapter 4 is called a "twinkie") has often been referred to as a coconut (you know, brown on the outside, white on the inside). I speak Spanish and so his mother laughs that the guera (Tex-Mex equivalent of a gringa) knows more of their language than her son. My students and their parents were frequently surprised early on in the school years (at the beginning of my teaching career, before I had a reputation) that I was a petite white girl. With a name like Anna Davila, I had to be Hispanic. And many of my Latinas liked to ask me questions about my in-laws and what it was like to be a white girl marrying into a Hispanic family. (My Hispanic boys were always bummed they couldn't get away with saying naughty things in Spanish in my classroom). I got a lot of street cred for having a black best friend and a Hispanic husband and when you're working with classrooms whose faces are predominately black and brown, it helped.
Anyone else find something interesting in Chapter 3?
~Anna

Chapter 3 Summary: C. Rogers

Chapter 3 details the energy and expectations in Cynthia Nambo’s all-girls middle school science classroom at New Horizons. We learn a bit about her life growing up with a verbally and physically abusive stepfather forced to abandon her Mexican culture, but her commitment to holding students to high expectations and understanding where they come from shines through in her ideas and classroom practices.

I was quite impressed with the richness and depth she planned her lessons with. Students spent time reviewing homework assignments together which involved analyzing and debating research in executive chairs which fit with Nambo’s overall message to the girls “You are important, you should dream big, and if you work hard and persevere, great things await you.” (52). I admire how she acquired classrooms resources and materials that echo this belief. In reading about Nambo’s all-girls classroom and her practice of cross-curricular connections and project-based learning a few questions came to mind. My responses are below and I would like to hear what everyone else thinks.

Do you see disparities between the motivation and performance of girls and boys in the areas of math or science?

                 New Horizons (Nambo’s charter school) is in response to studies in the 1990s which found preteen and teenage girls learned a “hidden curriculum” which left girls with declining attitudes and achievement in science and math. The girls in Nambo’s class seem relatively engaged with the scientific work considering they brought in outside research and pictures to aid in their at school project, but they also make comments suggesting a slight distaste for the subject matter. I teach elementary and do not really see a difference between the attitudes or performance in boys and girls, but I actually find at this age that both genders really enjoy science probably due to the hands-on activity. What is everyone else’s experience?

How do you think your school or personal classroom balances expectations with student challenges?

Throughout the chapter we see that Nambo expects her students to do work outside of school and spend significant effort completing projects, but pages 63 and 64 clearly speak to the impact of these expectations. Nambo and possibly the school in general seem to “understand the forces that constrain students and show compassion to their situations, yet at the same time insist that they push against those constraints”. In my experience with urban education I have seen two different examples of this. My first two years of teaching I felt handled this line very well. We knew we had students with challenges and limited resources, but we had consistent, school-wide expectations like keeping shirts tucked in; attending conferences; volunteering at least 1 day a school year; and following classroom social contracts. When this was enforced, I saw students doing very well and showing lots of growth because they thrived in the structure. At this same school, I also saw more at-home projects come back to school. In contrast, the urban school I currently teach at seems to stay stuck within the constraint area and allows many things to build up as excuses. I think it’s important that we do not assume children and families cannot access resources at home, but then find ways to be flexible if it really is not possible. If we do not insist on higher expectations then there’s no room for growth.