Ashley's Blog

       Reading the Rhode Island Department of Education's guidance on supporting transgender and gender non-conforming students helped me see how important it is for schools to be safe and welcoming for every student. The guidance makes it clear that students should be respected for who they are. That means using their chosen name and pronouns, even if they don’t match what’s listed on school paperwork. It also says schools should not tell a student’s parents about their gender identity without the student’s permission, especially if it might put the student in danger or make them feel unsafe at home. I think this is really important because school might be the only place where some students feel accepted and supported. If a student is afraid to be themselves at home, school should be the place where they are treated with kindness and respect. Teachers and staff need to create classrooms where students don’t feel judged or left out, no matter what their gender identi...

Thomas Hehir’s article  Eliminating Ableism in Education  made me reflect on my own school experience. He explains that ableism in schools happens when students with disabilities are judged or treated unfairly because they don’t learn the same way as others. This made me think of my own struggles with ADHD. I was labeled as a “distracted” or “difficult” student from a young age. Teachers would often call me out for not sitting still or not finishing my work on time. It made me feel like I was a bad student. I didn’t get the support I needed, and I didn’t understand why I was struggling and couldn't keep up like my classmates. Like Hehir says, students with disabilities often get blamed for things that are not their fault, when what really needs to change is the way we teach. If teachers had seen my behavior as part of how I learn instead of a problem, they could have helped support my learning. This reading helped me realize that we need schools to work on adapting to students...

  Aria  by Richard Rodriguez reminded me of my experience student teaching in a fourth grade classroom. A new student joined the class more than half way through the school year and spoke very little English, her native language being Spanish. The teacher assigned her to my small group and she had a very difficult time understanding directions and assignments as it was only in English. Many of the students in my classroom spoke fluent Spanish and translated for her often. I could tell this made her feel more comfortable and I was able to see more of her personality come through. Over the next few weeks I saw improvements in her reading and phonetics. I also noticed her becoming more outgoing with certain peers. In the large class setting she looked very lost and didn't understand what was going on. The teacher is working to get her services to help her, I didn't notice any other accomadations made for her. I thought about what Rodriguez said about learning English at school wh...

 Patrick Finn’s  Literacy with an Attitude  connects with Alfie Kohn’s article  What to Look for in a Classroom . Both authors talk about how schools often focus too much on control and order instead of helping students become active, thoughtful learners. Finn explains that working-class students often receive a basic kind of education that teaches them to follow directions and stay in line. He calls this “functional literacy.” On the other hand, students from wealthier backgrounds are given “powerful literacy,” which helps them ask questions, speak up, and become leaders. This idea connects to Kohn’s writing because Kohn also believes that good classrooms are not about quiet students doing worksheets. He wants schools to focus on group work, student choice, and learning that matters. In both texts, the authors agree that schools need to give all students the chance to grow, think, and participate, not just obey. They also both point out that teachers have a big role...

  Alfie Kohn’s article “What to Look for in a Classroom” made me think about what kind of classroom I want as a future teacher. He explains that learning should be meaningful and active, not just quiet students listening to a teacher talk. That idea reminded me of some of my past classes, where I felt bored and uninterested because we only followed directions, completed worksheets, and only listened to the teacher speak. In other classes, the teacher encouraged us to ask questions, share our ideas, and collabarate with one another. I remember feeling more comfortable to speak up and share my ideas than in classes that were teacher focused. Kohn’s ideas about student choice, collaboration, and respect feel important to me because that's when real learning occurs. I believe students need to feel like their thoughts and voices matter in order to grow and build confidence. If classrooms only focus on rules and control, students might stop caring about what they are learning. ...

      After reading "The Academic and Social Value of Ethnic Studies A Research Review" By Christine Sleeter, I choose three quotes that stood out to me.  Quote #1 : "Whites continue to receive the most attention and appear in the widest variety of roles, dominating story lines and lists of accomplishments"(Sleeter, 2).      I chose this quote because I recall from my own expereince in school that my classes didn't really teach about other ethnicities and the focus was primarily on the history of white people. For example, I remember only taking one history class that focoused on world history and instead of learning about all of the great things other countries accomplished, we learned mostly about the bad things that happened. I also notice this being the case in the film industry, characters in films often have steriotypical roles such as the white character being the lead and the good guy while the African American character tends to be seen a...