I use technology many ways in my everyday life, as well as utilizing it in my role as a teacher.
The most important way that I use technology right now, as a teacher-in-training, is to complete my school work. I research, write, and relay my work to my adviser using my handy-dandy laptop. Additionally, I post to this blog using the internet. I started the blog this fall. When I first started writing in it, I was posting mainly academic pieces, but as time has gone on I have used it more for reflecting on my day to day activity at the school. I blog, because I know I wouldn't take the time to sit and hand write reflections as often. There is also a community of bloggers, including other teachers who blog, so I feel a sense of accountability to keep up with my blog, and to read others. If I didn't write about my experiences I feel like I might not remember many of them in detail in the future. By having the blog to document how I was feeling, I can reflect on how I have changed as a teacher in the last month, year, or few years. I do not use names in my writing to honor the privacy of my students and their families. I would change the names in a story if I felt like it was important to the flow of the piece.
My first exposure to using technology, from a teacher's perspective, was in my Introduction to the Teaching Profession class my Freshman year in college. The teacher would use Blackboard, an online teaching tool to post grades, meeting times, discussion boards, assignments and quizzes. It opened my eyes to the breadth of resources there are for teachers on the internet, and through technological applications. During one unit, we studied web programs to use in the classroom, provided by the site www.4teachers.org. It has programs to help teachers organize lesson plans, write quizzes, write rubrics, share lesson plans, plus many more tools. I haven't found that website especially useful thus far, but I will keep it in my toolbox for when I teach in a more traditional school.
Another exciting experience using technology this fall has been while working with the 7th and 8th graders at the Free School. They are planning a two week trip for next May. It has to have a service component and they have to fund raise all of the money. I have been helping the students research options for their trip online. They need to find ideas like places to volunteer, where to stay, airplane tickets, and how to get a passport. I have taught them how to use Boolean operators to refine their searches. Another element of planning the trip requires technology: the fund raising. I helped one student write letters to potential donors for a fish fry fund raiser and I helped another student make fliers. I grew up using the internet, and word and flier publishing programs, so I am able to show the students some features that they don't already know, although they have all had exposure to the internet, and writing programs in the past.
Recently I started working for the Alternative Education Resource Organization (AERO) helping with outreach. I have been compiling a database of alternative education organizations, networks, schools, etc. for us to make a mailing to promote the conference that AERO holds. Making a database of these education organizations has been so easy, and is very easy to translate into mailing labels. I have been researching the organizations by using the internet, and have found out about many useful organizations. I will hold on to my database to refer to organizations in the future that relate to my teaching career. The biggest idea that I have learned by doing the organizing for AERO is that there are a very large amount of people in the United States, and the world, who hold similar values to me regarding education.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
winter time
It has been getting colder and colder here in Albany! My first winter in the northeast. There is definitely more snow and ice than I am used to so far. I will walk into places and be the only one bundled from head to toe. I worry that my Kansas-ness sticks out like a sore thumb.
The cold weather brings everyone inside at school. Everyone inside at school brings conflict with it. Energy at school escalates so high when everyone is feeding off each other. We have had many council meetings lately (conflict resolution meetings), some of them have been short and sweet, but others have been epic. A notable council meeting recently was called on two boys who have been bullying a lot of the younger children. The teachers don't generally call council meetings on the students, but they might encourage a student who is having problems with another to call a meeting. The bullying had been going on for a while, but no other students had called one on them. So I was relieved it finally happened.
I am excited to be going home in two weeks. I was feeling a little homesick and it will be so nice to see my family.
The cold weather brings everyone inside at school. Everyone inside at school brings conflict with it. Energy at school escalates so high when everyone is feeding off each other. We have had many council meetings lately (conflict resolution meetings), some of them have been short and sweet, but others have been epic. A notable council meeting recently was called on two boys who have been bullying a lot of the younger children. The teachers don't generally call council meetings on the students, but they might encourage a student who is having problems with another to call a meeting. The bullying had been going on for a while, but no other students had called one on them. So I was relieved it finally happened.
I am excited to be going home in two weeks. I was feeling a little homesick and it will be so nice to see my family.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
"The traditional approaches treat mathematics as a cumulative logical development....The new approach would present what is interesting, enlightening, and culturally significant...Every topic must be motivated. Mathematics proper does not appeal to most students and [their] question, "Why do I have to learn this material?"is thoroughly justified (Kline, 1973, pp. 178-179).
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Girls Group at Grafton
Last Friday the Girls identity group took a day trip to the wilderness land that the school owns. It is near Grafton lake and the Grafton Peace Pagoda that I mentioned before. There were about 12 girls from 3rd grade to 8th grade, as well as myself and two other female teachers.
We met with Liz around 10:00 a.m. Liz is co-caretaker of the Free School Grafton land with her partner Dan. They live on a house there, take care of the land, and offer outdoor education. Liz was raring to go, and did not allow any time to dilly-dally. It took about 10 minutes to walk from her house to the teaching lodge located in the woods. We didn't actually use the teaching lodge, but it is an octagonal building with windows on all sides built by Free School students and teachers to use as a teaching space. Instead we used the fire pit next to the teaching lodge.
Oh! I almost forgot to mention, before we took off we circled up, introduced ourselves and each said something we were grateful for. I said I was grateful for my first north-eastern fall. It was hard not to be aware of the beautiful fall leaves and the crisp coldness of the approaching winter. Also along the way, we played a game called "Eagle Eye". Liz called out "Eagle Eye" while we were walking along the path when we weren't expecting it. She counted to 15 while not looking and we each had to try to camouflage ourselves in the surroundings. After 15 seconds she opened her eyes and called the names of any of the people she could see, and they came to where she was standing. Then everyone out of hiding counted another 5 seconds and anyone in hiding had to come closer to the counters in a new spot. I lasted the first round, but no one lasted the second.
So once at the fire pit, Liz taught us how to make a fire with natural means. We used a bow to start a coal, which we placed in a firestarter of highly flammable natural materials, then we placed it into a small teepee of twigs that we had gathered. It actually took a long time, but it was the first time that I had ever started a fire without matches or something similar.
After that we ate lunch, and then created jewelry out of the fibers of milkweed stalks. We also used a pumpkin shell to boil water and cook noodles, and we roasted the seeds on a sizzling rock that had been in the fire.
After that point the girls went and played in the woods and we cleaned up a bit and relaxed.
On the way back to the car we played Eagle Eye once more. This time I ran out as far as I could so that I still had time to come in during round two. I was the only one to survive past round two.
On the way to and from Grafton, the girls brought along the book Women who run with Wolves and we read stories to each other from it.
It was really great to get out into nature with the girls, and we were all really happy to learn wilderness skills. Sometime in the future (maybe in the spring) they would like to do an overnight out there.
We met with Liz around 10:00 a.m. Liz is co-caretaker of the Free School Grafton land with her partner Dan. They live on a house there, take care of the land, and offer outdoor education. Liz was raring to go, and did not allow any time to dilly-dally. It took about 10 minutes to walk from her house to the teaching lodge located in the woods. We didn't actually use the teaching lodge, but it is an octagonal building with windows on all sides built by Free School students and teachers to use as a teaching space. Instead we used the fire pit next to the teaching lodge.
Oh! I almost forgot to mention, before we took off we circled up, introduced ourselves and each said something we were grateful for. I said I was grateful for my first north-eastern fall. It was hard not to be aware of the beautiful fall leaves and the crisp coldness of the approaching winter. Also along the way, we played a game called "Eagle Eye". Liz called out "Eagle Eye" while we were walking along the path when we weren't expecting it. She counted to 15 while not looking and we each had to try to camouflage ourselves in the surroundings. After 15 seconds she opened her eyes and called the names of any of the people she could see, and they came to where she was standing. Then everyone out of hiding counted another 5 seconds and anyone in hiding had to come closer to the counters in a new spot. I lasted the first round, but no one lasted the second.
So once at the fire pit, Liz taught us how to make a fire with natural means. We used a bow to start a coal, which we placed in a firestarter of highly flammable natural materials, then we placed it into a small teepee of twigs that we had gathered. It actually took a long time, but it was the first time that I had ever started a fire without matches or something similar.
After that we ate lunch, and then created jewelry out of the fibers of milkweed stalks. We also used a pumpkin shell to boil water and cook noodles, and we roasted the seeds on a sizzling rock that had been in the fire.
After that point the girls went and played in the woods and we cleaned up a bit and relaxed.
On the way back to the car we played Eagle Eye once more. This time I ran out as far as I could so that I still had time to come in during round two. I was the only one to survive past round two.
On the way to and from Grafton, the girls brought along the book Women who run with Wolves and we read stories to each other from it.
It was really great to get out into nature with the girls, and we were all really happy to learn wilderness skills. Sometime in the future (maybe in the spring) they would like to do an overnight out there.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Staff Development
Last week was an intense week for staff at our school. There was a lot of different activities going on, and a lot of stressful situations on top of that.
Luckily, we had our monthly staff circle on Thursday, which largely deals with interpersonal conflict. Then, the following day we had a scheduled staff development day on Friday, and finally Monday we had our regular once-a-week staff meeting.
The staff circle was intense! The staff is really honest with each other when they need to be, and we got to the core of several conflicts and resolved them.
Then the staff development day we had another meeting, this time a brunch held at the intern house (my house). The most important part of the discussion for me was talking about the way our meetings go. They always drag on so long, and can be very frustrating at times. But we came up with several ways to try to make them better including: taking breaks, prioritizing agenda items, reading off all announcements at the beginning, and having a rotating facilitator each week. We have had a meeting since and it went so smoothly. It really feels refreshing.
We also did a go round and each shared how we help ourselves from getting burnt out. It felt really good for me to come out with the feeling I had been holding that I wasn't connecting with two of the downstairs (older student) staff and that they didn't like me. I just told them that I want to get to know them better, etc. and that felt really good too.
The downstairs staff also resolved to gather at least on Monday mornings to discuss all the weeks activities and to coordinate roles and trips and such.
Well, that is all I have to say about staff development. I don't know how to catch the essence of how important or worthwhile it was, but it has certainly made a difference in the teacher's interactions at school
Luckily, we had our monthly staff circle on Thursday, which largely deals with interpersonal conflict. Then, the following day we had a scheduled staff development day on Friday, and finally Monday we had our regular once-a-week staff meeting.
The staff circle was intense! The staff is really honest with each other when they need to be, and we got to the core of several conflicts and resolved them.
Then the staff development day we had another meeting, this time a brunch held at the intern house (my house). The most important part of the discussion for me was talking about the way our meetings go. They always drag on so long, and can be very frustrating at times. But we came up with several ways to try to make them better including: taking breaks, prioritizing agenda items, reading off all announcements at the beginning, and having a rotating facilitator each week. We have had a meeting since and it went so smoothly. It really feels refreshing.
We also did a go round and each shared how we help ourselves from getting burnt out. It felt really good for me to come out with the feeling I had been holding that I wasn't connecting with two of the downstairs (older student) staff and that they didn't like me. I just told them that I want to get to know them better, etc. and that felt really good too.
The downstairs staff also resolved to gather at least on Monday mornings to discuss all the weeks activities and to coordinate roles and trips and such.
Well, that is all I have to say about staff development. I don't know how to catch the essence of how important or worthwhile it was, but it has certainly made a difference in the teacher's interactions at school
Thursday, October 25, 2007
The B-Word
The Albany Free School allows children to curse, in an attempt to allow them freedom of expression without holding themselves back. However, some words are banned from the school. Any words whose definition are tied to oppression or hate are not allowed, including the n-word and the b-word.
Last year, the students came up with a consequence for students who used the b-word. They decided that if you used it you had to look up the definition and explain it to a room of women. This consequence has been effective, especially for the younger kids, who don't immediately understand why the b-word is different than the other curse words they are allowed to say.
One 7th grade student has had a particularly hard time cutting the habit. He already completed the consequence last year of defining the word to a group of women. Last week he went to far last week with an 8th grade woman by calling her the b-word. At first she tried to solve the problem in a small group by gathering support from the women's identity group in confronting him. The student said he understood why people didn't like the word, but it didn't seem like he really cared. Some of the adult women in the group encouraged the 8th grade woman to call a council meeting about the issue, because he was a repeat offender and to gain insight from the males in the school. A council meeting is an all-school meeting to help solve conflicts. It is run under Robert's Rules of Order.
So after finding out more about the problem (like that he was a repeat offender, had already served the initial consequence, showed little remorse and expressed that he had little control over it coming out of his mouth or not), the students started proposing punitive consequences to try to get him to stop using the word. For example, some people suggested that for every time he said the b-word he would have to pay a dollar. However, several of the other students had a problem with this because 1. he would probably just get the money from his parents and 2. the consequence was totally disconnected from the problem.
We finally settled on the student being required to do community service at a survivors of domestic violence center, once a week for four weeks. The idea behind that is that right now he doesn't see the pain behind that word, or care for that matter. If he can be exposed to issues of physical and emotional abuse he might decide he doesn't want to be identified with those struggles through his language. We'll see how it goes!
The council meeting was really powerful for me to witness, because it really took it's own course but ended up in a place that we all felt good about.
Last year, the students came up with a consequence for students who used the b-word. They decided that if you used it you had to look up the definition and explain it to a room of women. This consequence has been effective, especially for the younger kids, who don't immediately understand why the b-word is different than the other curse words they are allowed to say.
One 7th grade student has had a particularly hard time cutting the habit. He already completed the consequence last year of defining the word to a group of women. Last week he went to far last week with an 8th grade woman by calling her the b-word. At first she tried to solve the problem in a small group by gathering support from the women's identity group in confronting him. The student said he understood why people didn't like the word, but it didn't seem like he really cared. Some of the adult women in the group encouraged the 8th grade woman to call a council meeting about the issue, because he was a repeat offender and to gain insight from the males in the school. A council meeting is an all-school meeting to help solve conflicts. It is run under Robert's Rules of Order.
So after finding out more about the problem (like that he was a repeat offender, had already served the initial consequence, showed little remorse and expressed that he had little control over it coming out of his mouth or not), the students started proposing punitive consequences to try to get him to stop using the word. For example, some people suggested that for every time he said the b-word he would have to pay a dollar. However, several of the other students had a problem with this because 1. he would probably just get the money from his parents and 2. the consequence was totally disconnected from the problem.
We finally settled on the student being required to do community service at a survivors of domestic violence center, once a week for four weeks. The idea behind that is that right now he doesn't see the pain behind that word, or care for that matter. If he can be exposed to issues of physical and emotional abuse he might decide he doesn't want to be identified with those struggles through his language. We'll see how it goes!
The council meeting was really powerful for me to witness, because it really took it's own course but ended up in a place that we all felt good about.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Student-teacher opportunities
I have started looking for student teacher opportunities for Fall of 2007. My first filter has been 1)alternative public schools and 2) location. Basically I have been looking at alternative public school in major cities that I am interested in living in. Oh, and they have to have middle school grades.
San Francisco, California
Lighthouse Community Charter School
info@lighthousecharter.org
345 12th Street
Oakland, CA 94607
k-12
Claire Lilienthal School
http://www.clairelilienthal.org/
3630 Divisadero Street
San Francisco, CA 94123
We are deeply committed to providing a superior K-8 alternative school within the San Francisco Unified School District. We attribute our success to an active partnership among the students, parents, guardians, teachers, and staff. We are highly supportive of student development and ethical behavior where every individual is treated with respect.
We are dedicated to:
* providing a challenging, exciting, & relevant learning experience
* helping students reach their highest potential in academic performance
* ensuring adequate funds to support our unique & highly-valued curriculum
* maintaining a safe & nurturing educational evironment
* promoting positive interaction among our diverse population
Seattle, Washington
John Marshall Alternative
http://www.seattleschools.org/schools/jmarshall/index.html
520 NE Ravenna Blvd,
Seattle, WA 98115
6-12 "reentry program"
Alternative School #1
http://as1.seattleschools.org
11530 12th Ave NE
Seattle, WA 98125
k-8
"modified free school"
Students, with the help of parents and staff, choose their teachers and classes. Many choices are available. Each day starts in a family-style core group where students plan their day, and work on a core theme. Mornings are devoted to reading, writing, math, and the like. Art, crafts, drama, dance, music, and multicultural activities are integral to learning at AS#1, as are fieldtrips and wilderness adventure. Parents are welcome at school, and often help with tutoring, teaching, transportation, playground supervision, and tasks in the office. Our all-day kindergarten provides hands-on experiences and involvement in electives with children of other ages.
Seasonal "Snow sports program"
Salmon Bay School
http://www.salmonbay.seattleschools.org/
1810 NW 65th St.
Seattle, WA 98117
k-8
Summit k-12
http://www.seattleschools.org/schools/summitk-12/
11051 34th Ave NE
Seattle, WA
Summit school has a progressive K-12 liberal arts curriculum, linking elementary, middle and high school students. We produce a knowledgeable, well-rounded student community ready to take on academic challenges. Elementary students are nurtured and given creative freedom. The small middle school encourages participation and exploration along with academic skill mastery. The intimate size of the high school insures quality individual growth. The professional faculty embraces a student-centered, inquiry approach to learning that focuses on social justice, experiential learning, and the arts.
Asheville, North Carolina
Evergreen Community Charter School
http://www.evergreenccs.org/index.html
50 Bell Road,
Asheville, North Carolina 28805
k-8
High Academic Standards, Experiential, Hands-on Learning, Service Learning, Environmental Education, Integrated Arts, Holistic Curriculum, Parents as Partners
Artspace Charter School for Arts Integrated Education
http://www.artspacecharter.org
2030 US Highway 70,
Swannanoa, NC, 28778
ArtSpace Charter School is a tuition-free public school offering a creative, arts-integrated approach to a complete education.
The school offers a complete education through integrated curricula based on the visual and performing arts, utilizing an experiential approach. We believe in a family oriented, cooperative approach to education that encourages parental involvement and community relationships to nurture responsive citizenship.
Francine Delany New School for Children
http://www.fdnsc.net/index.htm
119 Brevard Road,
Asheville, NC 28806
k-8
We believe that students learn best when they are actively engaged in an experientially rich, hands-on program of study in classrooms that serve as working models of the learning community we strive to create. Students are challenged to develop critical thinking skills and to reach ambitious academic goals while developing self-respect and respect for others. Curiosity and creativity are valued; teachers function as guides and partners.
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor Learning Community
http://www.annarborlearningcommunity.org
3980 Research Park Dr.
Ann Arbor MI 48108
k-8
Ann Arbor Learning Community is committed to the rigorous development of student intellect, curiosity and cooperation with a focus on helping students value themselves, their peers and their community. A safe and nurturing environment supports the social and emotional development of children, which is fundamental for effective student learning. Our learning community – made up of students, teachers, staff and families working together -- affirms and supports a variety of learning styles and believes that students require multiple opportunities to demonstrate their mastery of concepts. Student’s understanding of how they learn empowers them. In our pursuit we promote participatory learning that is experiential, student-centered, developmentally based and individualized to student’s particular learning styles and strengths.
San Francisco, California
Lighthouse Community Charter School
info@lighthousecharter.org
345 12th Street
Oakland, CA 94607
k-12
Claire Lilienthal School
http://www.clairelilienthal.org/
3630 Divisadero Street
San Francisco, CA 94123
We are deeply committed to providing a superior K-8 alternative school within the San Francisco Unified School District. We attribute our success to an active partnership among the students, parents, guardians, teachers, and staff. We are highly supportive of student development and ethical behavior where every individual is treated with respect.
We are dedicated to:
* providing a challenging, exciting, & relevant learning experience
* helping students reach their highest potential in academic performance
* ensuring adequate funds to support our unique & highly-valued curriculum
* maintaining a safe & nurturing educational evironment
* promoting positive interaction among our diverse population
Seattle, Washington
John Marshall Alternative
http://www.seattleschools.org/schools/jmarshall/index.html
520 NE Ravenna Blvd,
Seattle, WA 98115
6-12 "reentry program"
Alternative School #1
http://as1.seattleschools.org
11530 12th Ave NE
Seattle, WA 98125
k-8
"modified free school"
Students, with the help of parents and staff, choose their teachers and classes. Many choices are available. Each day starts in a family-style core group where students plan their day, and work on a core theme. Mornings are devoted to reading, writing, math, and the like. Art, crafts, drama, dance, music, and multicultural activities are integral to learning at AS#1, as are fieldtrips and wilderness adventure. Parents are welcome at school, and often help with tutoring, teaching, transportation, playground supervision, and tasks in the office. Our all-day kindergarten provides hands-on experiences and involvement in electives with children of other ages.
Seasonal "Snow sports program"
Salmon Bay School
http://www.salmonbay.seattleschools.org/
1810 NW 65th St.
Seattle, WA 98117
k-8
Summit k-12
http://www.seattleschools.org/schools/summitk-12/
11051 34th Ave NE
Seattle, WA
Summit school has a progressive K-12 liberal arts curriculum, linking elementary, middle and high school students. We produce a knowledgeable, well-rounded student community ready to take on academic challenges. Elementary students are nurtured and given creative freedom. The small middle school encourages participation and exploration along with academic skill mastery. The intimate size of the high school insures quality individual growth. The professional faculty embraces a student-centered, inquiry approach to learning that focuses on social justice, experiential learning, and the arts.
Asheville, North Carolina
Evergreen Community Charter School
http://www.evergreenccs.org/index.html
50 Bell Road,
Asheville, North Carolina 28805
k-8
High Academic Standards, Experiential, Hands-on Learning, Service Learning, Environmental Education, Integrated Arts, Holistic Curriculum, Parents as Partners
Artspace Charter School for Arts Integrated Education
http://www.artspacecharter.org
2030 US Highway 70,
Swannanoa, NC, 28778
ArtSpace Charter School is a tuition-free public school offering a creative, arts-integrated approach to a complete education.
The school offers a complete education through integrated curricula based on the visual and performing arts, utilizing an experiential approach. We believe in a family oriented, cooperative approach to education that encourages parental involvement and community relationships to nurture responsive citizenship.
Francine Delany New School for Children
http://www.fdnsc.net/index.htm
119 Brevard Road,
Asheville, NC 28806
k-8
We believe that students learn best when they are actively engaged in an experientially rich, hands-on program of study in classrooms that serve as working models of the learning community we strive to create. Students are challenged to develop critical thinking skills and to reach ambitious academic goals while developing self-respect and respect for others. Curiosity and creativity are valued; teachers function as guides and partners.
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor Learning Community
http://www.annarborlearningcommunity.org
3980 Research Park Dr.
Ann Arbor MI 48108
k-8
Ann Arbor Learning Community is committed to the rigorous development of student intellect, curiosity and cooperation with a focus on helping students value themselves, their peers and their community. A safe and nurturing environment supports the social and emotional development of children, which is fundamental for effective student learning. Our learning community – made up of students, teachers, staff and families working together -- affirms and supports a variety of learning styles and believes that students require multiple opportunities to demonstrate their mastery of concepts. Student’s understanding of how they learn empowers them. In our pursuit we promote participatory learning that is experiential, student-centered, developmentally based and individualized to student’s particular learning styles and strengths.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Harriet Tubman Free School
The Harriet Tubman Free School (http://www.tubmanfreeschool.org) is an offshoot of the Albany Free School. It is in its second year of operation and has 30 high school students, 3 full-time staff, and 2 interns. The school has 5 students that grew up going to the Albany Free School, but the rest are students that came from public school. There is a wide variety of reasons that the students have for going there and a wide variety of goals that they have. Some students were otherwise facing dropping out of school, and others hoped to graduate high school faster. The goals of the students vary: some want to graduate in 2 years and go to trade school and some want to take the regents exam and go to college.
The school day is scheduled loosely, but there are classes offered every day. However, the classes are not mandatory. The students meet with their advisor throughout the week to set goals and maintain them. The students are divided among the 3 teachers for advising, with each teacher taking a certain age range. The students are all working on building portfolio’s while they are attending.
I have spent quite a bit of time at the Harriet Tubman Free School. I teach math there once a week. I am one of two math teachers. I have a group of 3 students that regularly show up to my classes. They are all ninth graders and so far we have been working on percents, long division, multiplication, fractions and algebra. I have been pulling interactive mathematics activities off of the internet to do them with my class. My favorite so far was “How to win at Wheel of Fortune” which found the probability that letters will occur.
Another reason why I often go over to the high school is that they regularly host games of kickball, capture the flag, and whiffle ball. Many of the older students at my school like to go over and join the games there. The high schoolers are really great about including the younger students.
The school day is scheduled loosely, but there are classes offered every day. However, the classes are not mandatory. The students meet with their advisor throughout the week to set goals and maintain them. The students are divided among the 3 teachers for advising, with each teacher taking a certain age range. The students are all working on building portfolio’s while they are attending.
I have spent quite a bit of time at the Harriet Tubman Free School. I teach math there once a week. I am one of two math teachers. I have a group of 3 students that regularly show up to my classes. They are all ninth graders and so far we have been working on percents, long division, multiplication, fractions and algebra. I have been pulling interactive mathematics activities off of the internet to do them with my class. My favorite so far was “How to win at Wheel of Fortune” which found the probability that letters will occur.
Another reason why I often go over to the high school is that they regularly host games of kickball, capture the flag, and whiffle ball. Many of the older students at my school like to go over and join the games there. The high schoolers are really great about including the younger students.
Brooklyn Free School
This week I went on a full day trip with the 4th through 8th graders from our school to the Brooklyn Free School (the website is really cool, check it out: http://brooklynfreeschool.org/). The school has been operating for 3 years, and is already at capacity in their current building. We went to the school to attend the convergence of northeastern democratic schools that was being held there. There were several different democratic schools that were represented including the Brooklyn Free School, the Albany Free School, the Harriet Tubman Free School, and the Hudson Valley Sudbury School. Each school had between 20 to 40 students and 5 to 10 teachers. In the morning there was a meeting of everyone in attendance. Each school gave a report of news from there school, talked about upcoming events, and then the students proposed events for after lunch.
After lunch there were many different activities offered. There were 3 different walking trips to parks and walkways in the area. There was a discussion on schools and pedagogy. I decided to go to the room designated for board games and I played Scrabble with students for a few hours.
All in all the day was very Free School-esque. There weren’t any required activities; people chose what they wanted to do. The Brooklyn Free School is a little smaller than the Albany Free School. The Brooklyn school is housed in a church that still holds services on weekends. The student population is more diverse than the Albany Free School. A majority of the students at the Albany Free School are white, but at the Brooklyn Free School there was more racial diversity. That is a very interesting fact because the Albany Free School is housed in a neighborhood that has a very high population of black residents, but the school population does not reflect that. The Brooklyn Free School must be more rooted in its neighborhood, or perhaps the idea is more widely accepted in New York City.
The interactions between the students and teachers at the Brooklyn Free School seemed relaxed.
After lunch there were many different activities offered. There were 3 different walking trips to parks and walkways in the area. There was a discussion on schools and pedagogy. I decided to go to the room designated for board games and I played Scrabble with students for a few hours.
All in all the day was very Free School-esque. There weren’t any required activities; people chose what they wanted to do. The Brooklyn Free School is a little smaller than the Albany Free School. The Brooklyn school is housed in a church that still holds services on weekends. The student population is more diverse than the Albany Free School. A majority of the students at the Albany Free School are white, but at the Brooklyn Free School there was more racial diversity. That is a very interesting fact because the Albany Free School is housed in a neighborhood that has a very high population of black residents, but the school population does not reflect that. The Brooklyn Free School must be more rooted in its neighborhood, or perhaps the idea is more widely accepted in New York City.
The interactions between the students and teachers at the Brooklyn Free School seemed relaxed.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Rainbow Camp
The Free School community owns a cabin on Grafton Lake that they call "Rainbow Camp". It is about a half hour drive from the city of Albany. The cabin is an old inn, which is somewhat rundown these days. There is one large common room on the first floor, along with a rap-around porch and a kitchen. The upstairs has several rooms and beds and is rumored to be haunted.
We did our first "all school" overnight this weekend out at Rainbow Camp. The school owns one large 15 seat van. We also had to drive 3 more mini vans to fit everyone. We left Thursday morning around 10:30 a.m. and returned the following day at 3:00 p.m. When I say "all school" that really means the "downstairs students" or the 1st through 8th grades. The "upstairs students" are the preschool through kindergarteners.
There was one large glitch in our original plan: lice was discovered on a student on Wednesday. Therefore we spent the first hour and a half of school before we left searching every child's head before they were allowed to board the vans.
On the way to Rainbow Camp I rode in the 15 passenger van with all of the 1st through 3rd graders and another teacher. As we were driving along the highway we began smelling a burning rubber smell. We wrote it off as the smell of new asphalt until we got off of the highway and noticed smoke coming off of the rear wheel. Turns out the parking break had been on that whole time: oops.
Many of the students had already been to Rainbow Camp before, and many of them were seasoned veterans. Some of the students had never been to Rainbow Camp before, let alone been on a school overnight before.
As soon as all of the vans had arrived we had a meeting regarding rules while we were at Rainbow Camp. Despite some people's misconceptions, at Free Schools the students do not do whatever they want all the time. A catch-phrase popular among Free Schools now, originally said by A. S. Neill, the founder of Summerhill a leader in the Free School Movement is, "Freedom, not license"
"I define license as interfering with another's freedom. For example, in my school a child is free to go to lessons or to stay away from lessons because that is his own affair, but he is not allowed to play a trumpet when others want to study or sleep."
So anyways, many of the rules had to do with safety and respect for the site. We set up boundaries, and if you wanted to go beyond those boundaries you had to check with a teacher. The students weren't allowed to go off by themselves. They were asked to be respectful of the neighbors and encouraged to play outside while there was still sunshine and daylight. The students were allowed to wade into the lake if they had warm things to change into, but they weren't allowed to swim because a lifeguard was required by lake policy.
There were some popular places where many of the students wanted to go. The "fairy steps" were a set of stone moss-covered steps that led into nothing more than a fern covered wooded plateau. Legend has it that if you walk silently up the steps you are granted a wish at the top. The "dinosaur rock" is a giant rock out of place in the middle of the woods. The cemetery is a dilapidated cemetery from the early 19th century. Some of the headstones are still erect and legible, while others are barely noticeable due to the earth and leaves which have come to cover them. Another hot spot is what the students call the "witches cabin", which is an abandoned house up the hill. There is a creek which leads into the lake and a bridge over the creek for cars to drive over and, it seems, for children to play under. Then there is the large grassy shaded area directly in front of the cabin, which is good for football, tag, and imaginary games. Over the weekend several of the students could often be found at the picnic tables playing Magic or Yu-gi-oh. And finally there was the lake front, with a boat and two large climbing trees that looked out over the lake.
It was incredible to see the change in the moods of the children as soon as we arrived and as the overnight went on. Their moods changed from anxiety at being in the car to peacefulness at being close to nature and to have the space to explore. Groups of 4 or 5 children would head off to one of the locations I described and the conflicts which are inevitable during the school day seemed so distant at Rainbow Camp. The older children were allowed to go off without an adult, whereas the 1st and 2nd graders were asked to stay within vision or to have an adult with them. There was very little conflict or tension. Only one council meeting was called the whole trip, and it was called on a first grader named Logan because he waded completely into the water, fully clothed, and decided to go swimming. The consequence that the students proposed and that was passed was that Logan was not allowed past the grassy area with the picnic tables for the rest of the day.
Around 3 p.m. I went with another teacher and 8 other students on a short drive to the Grafton Peace Pagoda (http://www.geocities.com/dharmadoors/grafton_peace_pagoda.html). I had heard talk of this place for some time, and assumed that it was a project of students of the free school. I learned that the Peace Pagoda was built on land that originally belonged to an indigenous American man. He donated the land to the Free School because he liked what the school was doing. Then the school donated the land to the Peace Pagoda. The peace pagoda was built with the help of monks, nuns, community members, teachers and students. It was made in the Buddhist tradition with scaffolding constructed of lumber. The 14th anniversary of the pagoda being built was celebrated the weekend after we were there.
So we were going to the Peace Pagoda, walking through the woods towards it. I was incredibly surprised when the path we were on came to a plateau, the trees parted, and there was the peace pagoda. The place resonated with spiritual vibes. The pagoda is not something you can go inside, instead it is something to walk around and observe. On the side of it's walls are images that tell the story of the Buddha.
We went to the altar house and were greeted by several volunteers visiting from Japan. They called on Jun Son, the leader of the peace pagoda, and a Buddhist nun. Bowing to us she led us into the altar room. She chanted to welcome us and then led the students in drumming. Then she asked us why we had come. We told her we wanted help her prepare for the coming anniversary celebration. She gave us the chore of weeding the gravel area surrounding the pagoda and invited us back for tea after we were done. The students started out with lots of complaints and disbelief at how many weeds there were and how small they were. However, before we knew it it had been an hour and we had made a serious dent in the weeds. We went back to the altarhouse and Jun Son was waiting there for us with tea and cookies. We thanked her for allowing us to come. One of the young volunteers gave us all pinwheels, made out of paper and pencils, with images of peace drawn on the paper.
The trip to the peace pagoda was by far the most moving and enjoyable part of the trip for me. Jun Son is an incredible person who emanates peace, joy and acceptance from her.
We did our first "all school" overnight this weekend out at Rainbow Camp. The school owns one large 15 seat van. We also had to drive 3 more mini vans to fit everyone. We left Thursday morning around 10:30 a.m. and returned the following day at 3:00 p.m. When I say "all school" that really means the "downstairs students" or the 1st through 8th grades. The "upstairs students" are the preschool through kindergarteners.
There was one large glitch in our original plan: lice was discovered on a student on Wednesday. Therefore we spent the first hour and a half of school before we left searching every child's head before they were allowed to board the vans.
On the way to Rainbow Camp I rode in the 15 passenger van with all of the 1st through 3rd graders and another teacher. As we were driving along the highway we began smelling a burning rubber smell. We wrote it off as the smell of new asphalt until we got off of the highway and noticed smoke coming off of the rear wheel. Turns out the parking break had been on that whole time: oops.
Many of the students had already been to Rainbow Camp before, and many of them were seasoned veterans. Some of the students had never been to Rainbow Camp before, let alone been on a school overnight before.
As soon as all of the vans had arrived we had a meeting regarding rules while we were at Rainbow Camp. Despite some people's misconceptions, at Free Schools the students do not do whatever they want all the time. A catch-phrase popular among Free Schools now, originally said by A. S. Neill, the founder of Summerhill a leader in the Free School Movement is, "Freedom, not license"
"I define license as interfering with another's freedom. For example, in my school a child is free to go to lessons or to stay away from lessons because that is his own affair, but he is not allowed to play a trumpet when others want to study or sleep."
So anyways, many of the rules had to do with safety and respect for the site. We set up boundaries, and if you wanted to go beyond those boundaries you had to check with a teacher. The students weren't allowed to go off by themselves. They were asked to be respectful of the neighbors and encouraged to play outside while there was still sunshine and daylight. The students were allowed to wade into the lake if they had warm things to change into, but they weren't allowed to swim because a lifeguard was required by lake policy.
There were some popular places where many of the students wanted to go. The "fairy steps" were a set of stone moss-covered steps that led into nothing more than a fern covered wooded plateau. Legend has it that if you walk silently up the steps you are granted a wish at the top. The "dinosaur rock" is a giant rock out of place in the middle of the woods. The cemetery is a dilapidated cemetery from the early 19th century. Some of the headstones are still erect and legible, while others are barely noticeable due to the earth and leaves which have come to cover them. Another hot spot is what the students call the "witches cabin", which is an abandoned house up the hill. There is a creek which leads into the lake and a bridge over the creek for cars to drive over and, it seems, for children to play under. Then there is the large grassy shaded area directly in front of the cabin, which is good for football, tag, and imaginary games. Over the weekend several of the students could often be found at the picnic tables playing Magic or Yu-gi-oh. And finally there was the lake front, with a boat and two large climbing trees that looked out over the lake.
It was incredible to see the change in the moods of the children as soon as we arrived and as the overnight went on. Their moods changed from anxiety at being in the car to peacefulness at being close to nature and to have the space to explore. Groups of 4 or 5 children would head off to one of the locations I described and the conflicts which are inevitable during the school day seemed so distant at Rainbow Camp. The older children were allowed to go off without an adult, whereas the 1st and 2nd graders were asked to stay within vision or to have an adult with them. There was very little conflict or tension. Only one council meeting was called the whole trip, and it was called on a first grader named Logan because he waded completely into the water, fully clothed, and decided to go swimming. The consequence that the students proposed and that was passed was that Logan was not allowed past the grassy area with the picnic tables for the rest of the day.
Around 3 p.m. I went with another teacher and 8 other students on a short drive to the Grafton Peace Pagoda (http://www.geocities.com/dharmadoors/grafton_peace_pagoda.html). I had heard talk of this place for some time, and assumed that it was a project of students of the free school. I learned that the Peace Pagoda was built on land that originally belonged to an indigenous American man. He donated the land to the Free School because he liked what the school was doing. Then the school donated the land to the Peace Pagoda. The peace pagoda was built with the help of monks, nuns, community members, teachers and students. It was made in the Buddhist tradition with scaffolding constructed of lumber. The 14th anniversary of the pagoda being built was celebrated the weekend after we were there.
So we were going to the Peace Pagoda, walking through the woods towards it. I was incredibly surprised when the path we were on came to a plateau, the trees parted, and there was the peace pagoda. The place resonated with spiritual vibes. The pagoda is not something you can go inside, instead it is something to walk around and observe. On the side of it's walls are images that tell the story of the Buddha.
We went to the altar house and were greeted by several volunteers visiting from Japan. They called on Jun Son, the leader of the peace pagoda, and a Buddhist nun. Bowing to us she led us into the altar room. She chanted to welcome us and then led the students in drumming. Then she asked us why we had come. We told her we wanted help her prepare for the coming anniversary celebration. She gave us the chore of weeding the gravel area surrounding the pagoda and invited us back for tea after we were done. The students started out with lots of complaints and disbelief at how many weeds there were and how small they were. However, before we knew it it had been an hour and we had made a serious dent in the weeds. We went back to the altarhouse and Jun Son was waiting there for us with tea and cookies. We thanked her for allowing us to come. One of the young volunteers gave us all pinwheels, made out of paper and pencils, with images of peace drawn on the paper.
The trip to the peace pagoda was by far the most moving and enjoyable part of the trip for me. Jun Son is an incredible person who emanates peace, joy and acceptance from her.
| www.flickr.com |
Monday, October 1, 2007
Resource book update
I completed my original page for the resource book. I made copies of it and presented it at staff meeting. The teachers were all enthusiastic about the idea. I am coordinating the resource book with the volunteer coordinators (who are two of the teachers). There is one folder of blank pages, and one folder of completed pages in my mailbox for now. Once we get more, I will create a binder to place them in.
So far the volunteer coordinators say they have been really helpful. It helps to get to know the volunteer better and to open up discussion about their experience and skills.
The completed pages have not been made available to the students yet. However, yesterday I had a conversation with an alumni who said her major critic of the Free School is that when students express interest in a certain topic the teachers are still too hands off. She said that if a student is interested in gardening, for example, they might not know where to start learning about it. Another critique she had was that students sometimes don't know that they might be interested in a certain subject, or know that it is available. I think my idea for a resource book could help alleviate these problems by giving teachers people to connect students with on problems and by giving students ideas of different subjects to learn.
From here, I need to encourage volunteers who are already active in the school to fill them out, along with teachers.
So far the volunteer coordinators say they have been really helpful. It helps to get to know the volunteer better and to open up discussion about their experience and skills.
The completed pages have not been made available to the students yet. However, yesterday I had a conversation with an alumni who said her major critic of the Free School is that when students express interest in a certain topic the teachers are still too hands off. She said that if a student is interested in gardening, for example, they might not know where to start learning about it. Another critique she had was that students sometimes don't know that they might be interested in a certain subject, or know that it is available. I think my idea for a resource book could help alleviate these problems by giving teachers people to connect students with on problems and by giving students ideas of different subjects to learn.
From here, I need to encourage volunteers who are already active in the school to fill them out, along with teachers.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Cute Story
This week at school while I was teaching my German class, a group of Free Schoolers went to this place called People's Island. It is on the Hudson River. It is an island, but it is tall with cliffs, and you have to hike to get to the top.
Before they started hiking the teachers told the students that due to the danger of the cliffs they expected to the students to stay behind the teacher who was leading, and to not run ahead of the group. They told the students that if they ran ahead, they would have to hold the hand of a teacher.
They began their trek up the side of the island, and sure enough one of the youngest students runs ahead of the pack to peek out over the side of the cliff, "Now Justin," says the teacher, "We warned you at the bottom to not run ahead. If you continue to run ahead you will have to hold my hand."
The group continues. Justin stays behind for a little while, but before too long runs ahead of the group again. "Ok. I warned you. You have to hold my hand now." Justin holds the teacher's hand without any protest, "I wanted to hold your hand! That's why I ran ahead."
Before they started hiking the teachers told the students that due to the danger of the cliffs they expected to the students to stay behind the teacher who was leading, and to not run ahead of the group. They told the students that if they ran ahead, they would have to hold the hand of a teacher.
They began their trek up the side of the island, and sure enough one of the youngest students runs ahead of the pack to peek out over the side of the cliff, "Now Justin," says the teacher, "We warned you at the bottom to not run ahead. If you continue to run ahead you will have to hold my hand."
The group continues. Justin stays behind for a little while, but before too long runs ahead of the group again. "Ok. I warned you. You have to hold my hand now." Justin holds the teacher's hand without any protest, "I wanted to hold your hand! That's why I ran ahead."
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Staff Circle
This evening I attended my first staff circle. It was really the best event I have attended at the Free School that isn't between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. All the staff meets and basically has a feelings check in. People talk about how they are feeling about school but also things that are going on with them in general. We passed a talking stick around the circle and everyone did an initial check in, then the stick kept on being passed around until everyone was passing (it took three times all the way around tonight). The circle started at 5:30 and went until 8:00. It was helpful to take a step back from the craziness of day to day school and really reflect on how we were all feeling about school, the students and each other. Also it was helpful to know about personal issues that are going on with my coworkers so I can meet people where they are at. It's like if someone is especially tired or irritable a certain day or week it's hard to know why that might be unless they tell you. We reflected on interpersonal dynamics. It is really incredible to be a witness to the relationships the other teachers have built over the years.
Other highlights of this week were another successful German class. We started out by practicing the alphabet and phonetics and ended with a reading of the "Rainbow Fish" in German. Also, I learned how to play guitar some for the first time ever. Also, my math class went well! There were three students in attendance this week and they didn't want to break for lunch cause they were enjoying themselves so much. Also I got to be a part of a class meeting of the 7th and 8th graders that was to resolve a conflict. The meeting went really well and got to the root of the problem.
I am stressed out about the museum lesson plans. I have definitely been procrastinating.
Other highlights of this week were another successful German class. We started out by practicing the alphabet and phonetics and ended with a reading of the "Rainbow Fish" in German. Also, I learned how to play guitar some for the first time ever. Also, my math class went well! There were three students in attendance this week and they didn't want to break for lunch cause they were enjoying themselves so much. Also I got to be a part of a class meeting of the 7th and 8th graders that was to resolve a conflict. The meeting went really well and got to the root of the problem.
I am stressed out about the museum lesson plans. I have definitely been procrastinating.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Meetings, etc.
I just got done with our weekly staff meeting. They are generally not under 2 and a half hours. I have been to some meetings that I thought were drawn out and stressful but these take the cup. I just don't feel like meetings have to be like that. Everyone's blood sugar is so low by the end and people are stressed and ooh...i don't enjoy them. I have an idea that we could do staff development in training to have more skills for those meetings. There are some people who seem to be resistant to change and not very receptive to criticism (not in theory, but in reality/action).
This morning was great. We had an activities meeting then a 7th and 8th grade class meeting, and then I went to the natural history museum with a group of 4 students. The afternoon I felt a little more tired. I read a chapter from a book to a student and then I helped another student build a coffin for her dead bunny.
I am a little stressed out to night cause the second packet is due in a week. I have been reading Alfie Kohn's Punished By Rewards and I think I will have a real good time writing a reflection paper on it because I worked at a school that was run on a behaviorist model so I have lots of experience to relate to the issues the book relates to.
I am also a little stressed out cause I interviewed for a job as an after-school educator at the natural history museum. In the interview I was asked to design a unit outline and a specific lesson plan which I will implement with the children on a trial run to "try out" for the job. It seems like a great opportunity, especially since I need practice in designing lessons and units. The program is designed around hands on, integrated education that utilizes the resources of the museum. I design week long to month or two month long units that the children choose from. I would be paid for one hour of lesson planning time and one hour of teaching time, four days a week. So yea, I am stressed in finding the time to create an impressive lesson plan.
I got three recommendation letters from past bosses and parents which are always rewarding and fun to read over.
This morning was great. We had an activities meeting then a 7th and 8th grade class meeting, and then I went to the natural history museum with a group of 4 students. The afternoon I felt a little more tired. I read a chapter from a book to a student and then I helped another student build a coffin for her dead bunny.
I am a little stressed out to night cause the second packet is due in a week. I have been reading Alfie Kohn's Punished By Rewards and I think I will have a real good time writing a reflection paper on it because I worked at a school that was run on a behaviorist model so I have lots of experience to relate to the issues the book relates to.
I am also a little stressed out cause I interviewed for a job as an after-school educator at the natural history museum. In the interview I was asked to design a unit outline and a specific lesson plan which I will implement with the children on a trial run to "try out" for the job. It seems like a great opportunity, especially since I need practice in designing lessons and units. The program is designed around hands on, integrated education that utilizes the resources of the museum. I design week long to month or two month long units that the children choose from. I would be paid for one hour of lesson planning time and one hour of teaching time, four days a week. So yea, I am stressed in finding the time to create an impressive lesson plan.
I got three recommendation letters from past bosses and parents which are always rewarding and fun to read over.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Math Lessons
So I had my first math class today by myself. I only had two people show up (the class is optional, but it went really well. I was nervous before hand but then I just took a big breath and relaxed. I did some preparing, and then the rest I went with the flow. In the class we talked about the U.S. census. The students made guesses as to what the census charts (race, gender, age, household, employment, etc.) and then went over what was actually on there. We talked about controversies in the census lately including race and ethnicity (the census used to only allow people to select one race, and many identities were lumped together) and also relationship status/household regarding gay and lesbians ability to identify as a family. Also, we talked about what populations might be underreported in a census. Then I proposed taking a census of the school. The students decided what information they wanted on the census of the school. We typed it up on the computer, printed it out and the students will administer it later this week. Next week we will analyze the results, find modes, median ages, etc. and percentages, ratios and compare it to the statistics for their neighborhood (found under area code on the internet).
School has been growing on me as time goes on, more connections and relationships, more comfortable. Today I played football with the 5th through 8th grade boys. I read woman empowerment fairy tales to some young women and I spoke up when a 3rd grade boy called half push-ups "girl pushups"
Yesterday we had our teachers meeting. It is the first school I have worked at where the teachers dedicate a part of the meeting to discussing gender and race issues among students and teachers. The discussion went well and some important issues were brought up. We talk about intimate details of the students lives, but it really allows to support them better to have similar understandings of where they are at and what they need. Teachers meeting went from 3:30 to 5:00. Then from 5:00 to 6:30 we had a once a month "teachers advisory" where past teachers and community elders are invited to be a part of our discussion regarding school policy and issues.
School has been growing on me as time goes on, more connections and relationships, more comfortable. Today I played football with the 5th through 8th grade boys. I read woman empowerment fairy tales to some young women and I spoke up when a 3rd grade boy called half push-ups "girl pushups"
Yesterday we had our teachers meeting. It is the first school I have worked at where the teachers dedicate a part of the meeting to discussing gender and race issues among students and teachers. The discussion went well and some important issues were brought up. We talk about intimate details of the students lives, but it really allows to support them better to have similar understandings of where they are at and what they need. Teachers meeting went from 3:30 to 5:00. Then from 5:00 to 6:30 we had a once a month "teachers advisory" where past teachers and community elders are invited to be a part of our discussion regarding school policy and issues.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
First Week At School (with students)
Wow so what a week! I feel: excited, intrigued, vulnerable, questioning, friendly, hopeful, exhausted, challenged and relieved.
The first day we had a council meeting (a democratic all-school meeting). I was a little dismayed at how disrespectful the students were during the meeting. I had heard that these were magical meetings where the students were able to voice concerns, address problems and formulate school policy, but that totally wasn't possible with people talking over each other and being generally distracting...but also it was the first meeting. Everyone was real excited to see each other again and the first graders were really excited because it was their first time being in a council meeting.
I spent quite a bit of time bonding with a new student. There are 5 middle school boys and they are trying to get more of a gender (sex?) balance by having more girls. So there were two girls visiting. One of them fell in real easy with the boys and the other one is who I spent time with. She was really shy and nervous to be around those rambunctious middle schoolers. I feel proud in being a part of her deciding to stay.
Tuesday I went to the high school free school at 11:00 to help teach a math class. It was the first meeting of the class. My co-teacher is an older man who was a math teacher "in a past life". Since everyone was different ages and different experiences we went around and found out about what people wanted to learn, why they were there and what their past experiences were like. I think it will be really hard for the two of us to cater to 10 high school students needs...they are kind of intimidating for me. The students at the elementary school are excited to meet me but the high schoolers are like, "what are you gonna do for me?" and if they don't like your answer they don't seem to care about you. So that will definitely be a challenging experience. My coteacher will be there twice a week, but for now I am only committing to once a week so I can have lots of time at the elementary school. We decided to divide it up so that he is meeting with the students interested in preparing for the regents exam, I will do a "transition math"/"algebra"/applied mathematics/whatever hour long math activity once a week for those who are interested. Lesson plans! aaah!
My best times so far this week were when I was with a small group of students doing an activity. Sometimes there will be a group being rowdy and fighting and yelling and that just isn't what I'm into. I taught one student one-on-one how to draw people and horses. I played kickball. I taught letters and numbers to kindergartners. I played circle games. I went bowling. I went swimming.
I have been involved in and stood in on several conflict resolution sessions so far, but there haven't been any council meetings to resolve conflicts. The free school doesn't always break up fight, sometimes they let students duke it out which I think is interesting. Kinda makes me nervous though.
Next week I am going to offer a skateboarding class. I have to work on planning my math class.
The first day we had a council meeting (a democratic all-school meeting). I was a little dismayed at how disrespectful the students were during the meeting. I had heard that these were magical meetings where the students were able to voice concerns, address problems and formulate school policy, but that totally wasn't possible with people talking over each other and being generally distracting...but also it was the first meeting. Everyone was real excited to see each other again and the first graders were really excited because it was their first time being in a council meeting.
I spent quite a bit of time bonding with a new student. There are 5 middle school boys and they are trying to get more of a gender (sex?) balance by having more girls. So there were two girls visiting. One of them fell in real easy with the boys and the other one is who I spent time with. She was really shy and nervous to be around those rambunctious middle schoolers. I feel proud in being a part of her deciding to stay.
Tuesday I went to the high school free school at 11:00 to help teach a math class. It was the first meeting of the class. My co-teacher is an older man who was a math teacher "in a past life". Since everyone was different ages and different experiences we went around and found out about what people wanted to learn, why they were there and what their past experiences were like. I think it will be really hard for the two of us to cater to 10 high school students needs...they are kind of intimidating for me. The students at the elementary school are excited to meet me but the high schoolers are like, "what are you gonna do for me?" and if they don't like your answer they don't seem to care about you. So that will definitely be a challenging experience. My coteacher will be there twice a week, but for now I am only committing to once a week so I can have lots of time at the elementary school. We decided to divide it up so that he is meeting with the students interested in preparing for the regents exam, I will do a "transition math"/"algebra"/applied mathematics/whatever hour long math activity once a week for those who are interested. Lesson plans! aaah!
My best times so far this week were when I was with a small group of students doing an activity. Sometimes there will be a group being rowdy and fighting and yelling and that just isn't what I'm into. I taught one student one-on-one how to draw people and horses. I played kickball. I taught letters and numbers to kindergartners. I played circle games. I went bowling. I went swimming.
I have been involved in and stood in on several conflict resolution sessions so far, but there haven't been any council meetings to resolve conflicts. The free school doesn't always break up fight, sometimes they let students duke it out which I think is interesting. Kinda makes me nervous though.
Next week I am going to offer a skateboarding class. I have to work on planning my math class.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Advanced Advisor Training
High school was a place for me to gain academic knowledge, but I went to my Unitarian Universalist youth group for social knowledge and spiritual and emotional support. There were only eight to ten of us that met, but it was the perfect number to get to know each other in depth. Through Unitarian Universalist programming I developed leadership skills including speaking in front of a large group, problem solving and fostering leadership in others. Three important mentors for me were my two youth advisors and the director of religious education at my church. The youth program, my peers and my mentors had a tremendous impact on my social and spiritual development. Before the end of my time in youth group I was certain that someday I also wanted to be a youth advisor. However, one significant requirement to become a Unitarian Universalist youth advisor is to be 25 years old, so I have a few more years to go.
In the meantime, I volunteered to become a conference trainer for the Unitarian Universalist youth advisor trainings. Through volunteering I could serve the youth community as well as begin to train myself at becoming better at ministry with youth. The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) provides trainings for youth advisors to gain new skills and experience. The UUA offers basic, as well as advanced advisor trainings. In April 2005 I attended the training of trainers for Advanced Advisor Trainings (AAT), to learn how to facilitate the conferences. The model for the training is to have one adult co-facilitator, aged 25 or older, and one youth co-facilitator, aged 14 to 20. The training is led in this way to model healthy youth/adult relations. During the training we all received binders with lesson plans for all of the activities as well as other resources. We went through the activities as if we were advisors taking the training, but also received coaching as to how and why they led the activities the way they were.
Finally during this summer of 2007 I co-led my first AAT. I was paired with another adult and we began communicating about the then-upcoming conference. We had support from regional coordinators from where the conference was being held as well as support from UUA staff in planning the function details of the conferences. Our main job as co-leaders was the content (as opposed to food, housing and registration). Communication got off to a rocky start due to both of our busy schedules, but eventually we got a chance to catch up. Prep work for the conference was mainly reviewing curriculum (by this point it had been two years since the training of trainers). Other jobs that had to be done before the training were coordinating roles between the two of us, securing supplies, and finding out background information regarding the region the conference was being held in and the advisors who were going to be there. My co-leader and I discussed our facilitations styles and how we could envision them working well together. However, when it got down to it, there was always more we could have done, but the conference was going to happen whether we felt 100% ready or not.
I arrived at the site the Friday morning and the conference was held from Friday night to Sunday morning. The co-leader and I met to finish coordinating which one of us was leading each activity. I learned so much from this person as a facilitator. She had an ability to bring all the elements of our discussions together so they had continuity and relativity. It was amazing to watch her facilitate, because she let the conversations have a life of their own, but she still led us through a clear path. She had led a few of these conferences before so she told me I could do as many of the activities as I wanted so that I could gain more experience. She proved to be such a wonderful support person to have as I was leading that by the end of the weekend I had no fear going into any of the activities. We would take turns facilitating discussion and writing on the board, or other support tasks.
I ended up being responsible for a little over half of the programming. We agreed that I would head the anti-oppression programming for the weekend. Recently there has been a shift in the anti-oppression programming offered by the UUA from a confrontational standpoint to self-examination. The three hours that we spent talking about anti-oppression were broken up into lecture, self-reflection, small group discussion, whole group discussion and role-play. I felt really proud about how it went and got some great feedback on it. One participant commented, “The presentation of anti-racism/anti-oppression was the best I’ve seen at a training. A sometimes negative subject was presented as objectively as it can be in a non-guilt inducing way. Refreshing.” One aspect that I had to work on for this section of the conference was not rushing the process. The training is very curriculum based, but I found that if I rushed through the meaning was lost and the anti-oppression curriculum is crucial not to rush through. Despite being trained in similar ways regarding anti-oppression, this was my first time leading a group through the process of examining oppression.
I learned a lot through the process of leading the conference, especially regarding teaching. I learned that having confidence while public speaking is crucial and that “ums” and uhs” should be spared. I learned how to follow lesson plans and I got practice at amending them as you go. There were many activities that we changed in order to best suit the needs of the participants and to stay within the time restraints. I experienced team leading within the context of a healthy relationship and balanced partnership. I was reminded that you don’t have to have all the answers to questions; you just have to get the questions flowing.
If I were going to do the process over again I would begin reviewing the materials sooner, as well as have more communication with my co-leader sooner. Also, I would get more sleep! It was an empowering experience to have 8 elders looking to me for guidance, and to have them feel that their needs were met by the end of the conference.
In the meantime, I volunteered to become a conference trainer for the Unitarian Universalist youth advisor trainings. Through volunteering I could serve the youth community as well as begin to train myself at becoming better at ministry with youth. The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) provides trainings for youth advisors to gain new skills and experience. The UUA offers basic, as well as advanced advisor trainings. In April 2005 I attended the training of trainers for Advanced Advisor Trainings (AAT), to learn how to facilitate the conferences. The model for the training is to have one adult co-facilitator, aged 25 or older, and one youth co-facilitator, aged 14 to 20. The training is led in this way to model healthy youth/adult relations. During the training we all received binders with lesson plans for all of the activities as well as other resources. We went through the activities as if we were advisors taking the training, but also received coaching as to how and why they led the activities the way they were.
Finally during this summer of 2007 I co-led my first AAT. I was paired with another adult and we began communicating about the then-upcoming conference. We had support from regional coordinators from where the conference was being held as well as support from UUA staff in planning the function details of the conferences. Our main job as co-leaders was the content (as opposed to food, housing and registration). Communication got off to a rocky start due to both of our busy schedules, but eventually we got a chance to catch up. Prep work for the conference was mainly reviewing curriculum (by this point it had been two years since the training of trainers). Other jobs that had to be done before the training were coordinating roles between the two of us, securing supplies, and finding out background information regarding the region the conference was being held in and the advisors who were going to be there. My co-leader and I discussed our facilitations styles and how we could envision them working well together. However, when it got down to it, there was always more we could have done, but the conference was going to happen whether we felt 100% ready or not.
I arrived at the site the Friday morning and the conference was held from Friday night to Sunday morning. The co-leader and I met to finish coordinating which one of us was leading each activity. I learned so much from this person as a facilitator. She had an ability to bring all the elements of our discussions together so they had continuity and relativity. It was amazing to watch her facilitate, because she let the conversations have a life of their own, but she still led us through a clear path. She had led a few of these conferences before so she told me I could do as many of the activities as I wanted so that I could gain more experience. She proved to be such a wonderful support person to have as I was leading that by the end of the weekend I had no fear going into any of the activities. We would take turns facilitating discussion and writing on the board, or other support tasks.
I ended up being responsible for a little over half of the programming. We agreed that I would head the anti-oppression programming for the weekend. Recently there has been a shift in the anti-oppression programming offered by the UUA from a confrontational standpoint to self-examination. The three hours that we spent talking about anti-oppression were broken up into lecture, self-reflection, small group discussion, whole group discussion and role-play. I felt really proud about how it went and got some great feedback on it. One participant commented, “The presentation of anti-racism/anti-oppression was the best I’ve seen at a training. A sometimes negative subject was presented as objectively as it can be in a non-guilt inducing way. Refreshing.” One aspect that I had to work on for this section of the conference was not rushing the process. The training is very curriculum based, but I found that if I rushed through the meaning was lost and the anti-oppression curriculum is crucial not to rush through. Despite being trained in similar ways regarding anti-oppression, this was my first time leading a group through the process of examining oppression.
I learned a lot through the process of leading the conference, especially regarding teaching. I learned that having confidence while public speaking is crucial and that “ums” and uhs” should be spared. I learned how to follow lesson plans and I got practice at amending them as you go. There were many activities that we changed in order to best suit the needs of the participants and to stay within the time restraints. I experienced team leading within the context of a healthy relationship and balanced partnership. I was reminded that you don’t have to have all the answers to questions; you just have to get the questions flowing.
If I were going to do the process over again I would begin reviewing the materials sooner, as well as have more communication with my co-leader sooner. Also, I would get more sleep! It was an empowering experience to have 8 elders looking to me for guidance, and to have them feel that their needs were met by the end of the conference.
Monday, August 27, 2007
First Day
My roommates finally moved in last night. We made dinner together and talked into the evening. The three of us have been meshing nicely so far. We all seem to have an interest in cleanliness (not to mention education). I was kind of feeling an edge of competitiveness and insecurity, also regarding the interns from last year and I decided to check that at the door. I feel comfortable in the house, and it feels more homely now that two other people are here with me.
We had our first day of school today. The entire next two weeks are teacher training/inservice. We started off with introductions. They took an hour and a half, which was nice to really get a chance to hear from everyone. There were three teachers there that I hadn't even met before, and everyone else I have known for under a week. There was a wide range of experience, and interesting stories of how people got involved in the Free School. Institutionalized "higher ed" isn't a prerequisite for working here so people had lots of different backgrounds. I found out all the teachers get paid the same, despite years at the school, degrees, etc. They all share in the school administration duties, as there is no administration or higher ups.
Then we talked about the background and history of the Albany Free School. Most of that discussion was dedicated to recent history, as the school has gone through many changes in the past year. Last February they hosted a weekend long anti-oppression training. This is my understanding of the situation, as having heard about it second hand. At the meeting were teachers, parents, former students, interns, elders, neighborhood folx. The meeting was a culmination of years of people saying: we have issues we need to deal with regarding race and gender and it finally coming to a head at this meeting. One of the biggest issues was this school being in a predominantly black neighborhood and most of the students being white, and all but one of the teachers being white. Behind that issue were the questions who are we serving? are we institutionally or culturally isolating ourselves or excluding others? Another issue regarded gender: there was a predominance of male voices in teachers circles, as well as male dominance in student settings. How can we foster better relations and a better understanding of how society affects our expression of gender in our relationships with each other and the younger people in the school? This workshop caused a lot of tension among teachers and Free School community members between people who saw room for change and those who saw change as compromising the core values or other community functionality. It resulted in a more democratically run "administration" and trying to create a more accessible Board of Directors meeting. New staff were hired. Also, a white identity group has since started meeting, as well as a people of color identity group. I am really excited to be entering the school at this point of critical self-examination. I asked why those two oppressions were focused on and what sort of class issues they felt they had. They said they focused on race and gender because those were to oppressions that had come up as serious issues. They said that since the inception of the school class oppression has been openly discussed and the struggle to make the school financially affordable has always been dealt with in ways like sliding scale tuition and scholarships, whereas race and gender oppression had not been addressed to that extent.
That was the most notable part of our discussion. Another part that I really appreciated was just watching the staff interact. Surely (perhaps) there are nuances and interpersonal conflicts that I am not aware of, but I really see a leadership team among them, with different people taking on different areas and an understanding of people's personal lives and personalities.
I think school will be an exciting adventure. I feel at a bit of a disadvantage (or something) that I am the only intern who didn't visit before coming so I haven't heard the roar of music and voices that IS the free school, or witnessed the common interactions between people, but I am sure that I will quickly become acclimated.
Here I go!
We had our first day of school today. The entire next two weeks are teacher training/inservice. We started off with introductions. They took an hour and a half, which was nice to really get a chance to hear from everyone. There were three teachers there that I hadn't even met before, and everyone else I have known for under a week. There was a wide range of experience, and interesting stories of how people got involved in the Free School. Institutionalized "higher ed" isn't a prerequisite for working here so people had lots of different backgrounds. I found out all the teachers get paid the same, despite years at the school, degrees, etc. They all share in the school administration duties, as there is no administration or higher ups.
Then we talked about the background and history of the Albany Free School. Most of that discussion was dedicated to recent history, as the school has gone through many changes in the past year. Last February they hosted a weekend long anti-oppression training. This is my understanding of the situation, as having heard about it second hand. At the meeting were teachers, parents, former students, interns, elders, neighborhood folx. The meeting was a culmination of years of people saying: we have issues we need to deal with regarding race and gender and it finally coming to a head at this meeting. One of the biggest issues was this school being in a predominantly black neighborhood and most of the students being white, and all but one of the teachers being white. Behind that issue were the questions who are we serving? are we institutionally or culturally isolating ourselves or excluding others? Another issue regarded gender: there was a predominance of male voices in teachers circles, as well as male dominance in student settings. How can we foster better relations and a better understanding of how society affects our expression of gender in our relationships with each other and the younger people in the school? This workshop caused a lot of tension among teachers and Free School community members between people who saw room for change and those who saw change as compromising the core values or other community functionality. It resulted in a more democratically run "administration" and trying to create a more accessible Board of Directors meeting. New staff were hired. Also, a white identity group has since started meeting, as well as a people of color identity group. I am really excited to be entering the school at this point of critical self-examination. I asked why those two oppressions were focused on and what sort of class issues they felt they had. They said they focused on race and gender because those were to oppressions that had come up as serious issues. They said that since the inception of the school class oppression has been openly discussed and the struggle to make the school financially affordable has always been dealt with in ways like sliding scale tuition and scholarships, whereas race and gender oppression had not been addressed to that extent.
That was the most notable part of our discussion. Another part that I really appreciated was just watching the staff interact. Surely (perhaps) there are nuances and interpersonal conflicts that I am not aware of, but I really see a leadership team among them, with different people taking on different areas and an understanding of people's personal lives and personalities.
I think school will be an exciting adventure. I feel at a bit of a disadvantage (or something) that I am the only intern who didn't visit before coming so I haven't heard the roar of music and voices that IS the free school, or witnessed the common interactions between people, but I am sure that I will quickly become acclimated.
Here I go!
Thursday, August 23, 2007
where I'm at
I am in Albany, NY. I just moved here last Sunday. I am going to be interning at the Albany Free School. I start training next week. The community here is real different than lawrence. There are lots of community organizations, but I haven't figured out quite how they all interact and are supported. I went to a space last night called the Federation of Ideas, which designs itself as a community center, much like Solidarity with free internet and a lending library. but it doesn't affiliate itself politically, cause it wants to keep itself accessible to the people in the neighborhood. Mostly they just practice mutual aid. One thing that was a good sign to me was that they had 3 youth at their general meeting (like between ages 10 and 15) They listened part of the time, talked part of the time, and one of them is planning a showing of the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe movie.
I was just comparing Albany and Lawrence based on Wikipedia stats. Albany occupies a space of 21.8 square miles and has a population of 95,658. Lawrence occupies a space of 28.7 square miles and has a population of 80,098 people (as of 2000 census mind you) 30.7% of Lawrence's population is between the ages 18-24. 19.3% of Albany's population is between the ages 18-24. There is a lot smaller population of people my age here than in Lawrence I think, or a lot of people might be my age but have families. I am excited to start going to the school and get to know more people. Also, the weird thing about albany that makes it seem large to me besides being north-eastern (large buildings, row houses, etc.) is that it is bordered by several other cities including Rennselaer, Troy, and Schenectady. I think Albany draws a lot of people from nearby towns for jobs because of the state capital here. There isn't one particular main drag like in Lawrence, instead there are several. The free school neighborhood that I live in is quaint, everyone knows everyone else, and there are usually sounds of children or people in their yards or in the streets. The neighborhood is gentrified in the fact that all the people that live on my block either work or have students at the freeschool (and have a majority of white inhabitants) compared to the other blocks around it having a majority of black residents. There are 63% of the population of Albany that are white and 28% black, compared to 83% white in Lawrence and 5% black. It definitely challenges my internalized prejudices about how to socialize, like the cultural differences and how that effects who I make friends with. I found out Albany is known as "Smallbany"
I was just comparing Albany and Lawrence based on Wikipedia stats. Albany occupies a space of 21.8 square miles and has a population of 95,658. Lawrence occupies a space of 28.7 square miles and has a population of 80,098 people (as of 2000 census mind you) 30.7% of Lawrence's population is between the ages 18-24. 19.3% of Albany's population is between the ages 18-24. There is a lot smaller population of people my age here than in Lawrence I think, or a lot of people might be my age but have families. I am excited to start going to the school and get to know more people. Also, the weird thing about albany that makes it seem large to me besides being north-eastern (large buildings, row houses, etc.) is that it is bordered by several other cities including Rennselaer, Troy, and Schenectady. I think Albany draws a lot of people from nearby towns for jobs because of the state capital here. There isn't one particular main drag like in Lawrence, instead there are several. The free school neighborhood that I live in is quaint, everyone knows everyone else, and there are usually sounds of children or people in their yards or in the streets. The neighborhood is gentrified in the fact that all the people that live on my block either work or have students at the freeschool (and have a majority of white inhabitants) compared to the other blocks around it having a majority of black residents. There are 63% of the population of Albany that are white and 28% black, compared to 83% white in Lawrence and 5% black. It definitely challenges my internalized prejudices about how to socialize, like the cultural differences and how that effects who I make friends with. I found out Albany is known as "Smallbany"
Why Teach?
The education profession is an exciting career choice for me because it is always changing. New settings, new students, new parents, new coworkers and new pedagogical ideas are always rotating through the life of a teacher. To explain my evolution as a teacher I will explain my own childhood education, the turning point when I realized I wanted to be a teacher and my vision of continuing to teach into the future.
My childhood education is fairly normative: I attended elementary, middle and high school in the public education system. I advanced from one grade to the next each subsequent year. My teachers were almost all white and the student population was about seventy-five percent white, with about fifty percent girls and fifty percent boys. I was privileged to have teachers who believed in my ability to achieve and I excelled in the traditional education system. My parents supported my reading and I often looked forward to homework. Although I got good grades, I often was not challenged enough in my classes and would become bored and distracted. Starting in the fourth grade, my school experimented with multi-age classrooms. Fourth, fifth and sixth graders were in one classroom together and teachers cycled through with the same children for all three years. In theory this switch could have allowed me to go ahead in curriculum and find peers among the sixth graders. Ultimately, however, I think there were too many students per classroom and while learning as a group we could only move as fast as the most struggling student. The only areas that I showed great improvement in were those that we broke up into levels for, including math and art. I was able to skip two years in math, which challenged me all the way through high school. In retrospect I realize that the multi-age grouping served limiting to me because the learning was compartmentalized and the curriculum was linear. Therefore I was only allowed to “learn” as far as the teacher, the students, and the curriculum would allow me to stretch.
By the time I started middle school I was beyond ready. I had wanted to skip the sixth grade year and go straight into middle school, but I did not communicate this desire with anyone and completed elementary school the standard way. I had already been busing to the middle school for math classes for two years, and my mother taught there so I acclimated to the change in schools quickly. Academically I continued to achieve high marks according to the system, but I grew most socially. I joined the theater program and acted in many of the school’s plays. Extracurricular activities and a new social group helped me learn how to communicate better and to be humble. In hindsight I can see the way that not practicing those skills more, earlier caused me hurt in some of my personal relationships, but through that hurt I grew.
My focus in high school changed. This was in part due again to a changing social group. The city had built a new high school and split the boundaries along an East/West line in order to not have a rich and a poor school. This move actually hurt many poor families from my neighborhood because we were sent to the school all the way across town, instead of the school only several blocks from our house. This move separated me from many of the close friendships I made. After that point I saw high school mainly as academic: I went in, did my work, and went home, at which point real life commenced. Apart from a handful of genuinely intriguing and challenging teachers, I became weary of the growing amount of “busy work”. Disillusioned with high school, I graduated high school a semester early, and skipped the graduation ceremony and prom.
It would be easy for someone to look at my school career as successful due to the grades and awards I earned throughout my time in school. However it is clear to me now how I was hurt, both socially and academically by following a traditional school model. My awareness of this was heightened in high school and immediately following by my participation in a Unitarian Universalist youth group. Together we built supportive relationships and learned about youth empowerment. Through that support my conformity with what was socially expected of me began to waver, especially going to college. I did not know what I would want to study in college, and saw more of a waste of my time if I decided to pursue college at that point. I decided to take an alternate route by attending a trade school for cosmetology. My skills thus far had been mostly developed intellectually, and here was my chance to develop a skill kinesthetically.
So there I was in beauty school, with time on my hands (as beauty schools go). My awareness of youth empowerment led me to become involved with conferences and workshops focused on anti-oppression. My interest was piqued regarding my identities and their relationship to society. I began reading anti-oppression theory books with all of my downtime in school. Everything changed for me when someone lent me, “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together At the Cafeteria Table?” by Dr. Beverly Tatum. My study of youth empowerment had come full circle, because this book discussed youth empowerment and anti-oppression together. I came to the realization I wanted to be a parent someday, and I had no idea how I wanted to raise my children. I immediately began seeking out books and allies to discuss what I had learned to call “multicultural education.”
From that point on all of my leisure reading was dedicated to books on pedagogy. After six months of working as a cosmetologist I decided that the time had come to put my passion into action and to strengthen my core values, my knowledge, and my skills at being a teacher by going back to school. Taking a break after high school was crucial for me to get my head on straight and figure out what I was really passionate about. The college I attended required a whole slew of general education classes, but still, once my homework was done I amused myself by reading books about education.
I was inspired by Paulo Freire’s concept of revolutionary praxis being theory plus action. At that point I felt stuck in the theory stage. I felt little support from my education peers and teachers in studying progressive education. At that point I sought out Goddard College, because it allowed me to create me own focus within education, and freed up time for me to get hands on experience in the types of schools I had been reading about. Transferring colleges meant living out my ideals for me, instead of feeling stuck in a traditional institution.
My vision now is to draw from as many progressive educators as I can. I am about to start an internship at the Albany Free School. I have never taught in a free school before, but I am excited to see what elements I think could work for me as an educator. I stand strong in the belief that there are as many ways to best teach people, as there are people! Therefore I see my time now, as I complete my teacher licensure at Goddard, as time to continue to expose myself to and draw from progressive educators so that I may become a well-rounded educator myself.
Teaching is a way for me to become a well-rounded person, a dynamic parent and a contributor in the struggle to end oppression and make our world a better place to be. As I continue to evolve in this career I stand grounded in my childhood education, I am motivated by my turning point in youth empowerment, and I am inspired by my vision of an anti-oppressive education and my willingness to adapt. I dedicate my teaching career to my struggle as a life-long learner.
My childhood education is fairly normative: I attended elementary, middle and high school in the public education system. I advanced from one grade to the next each subsequent year. My teachers were almost all white and the student population was about seventy-five percent white, with about fifty percent girls and fifty percent boys. I was privileged to have teachers who believed in my ability to achieve and I excelled in the traditional education system. My parents supported my reading and I often looked forward to homework. Although I got good grades, I often was not challenged enough in my classes and would become bored and distracted. Starting in the fourth grade, my school experimented with multi-age classrooms. Fourth, fifth and sixth graders were in one classroom together and teachers cycled through with the same children for all three years. In theory this switch could have allowed me to go ahead in curriculum and find peers among the sixth graders. Ultimately, however, I think there were too many students per classroom and while learning as a group we could only move as fast as the most struggling student. The only areas that I showed great improvement in were those that we broke up into levels for, including math and art. I was able to skip two years in math, which challenged me all the way through high school. In retrospect I realize that the multi-age grouping served limiting to me because the learning was compartmentalized and the curriculum was linear. Therefore I was only allowed to “learn” as far as the teacher, the students, and the curriculum would allow me to stretch.
By the time I started middle school I was beyond ready. I had wanted to skip the sixth grade year and go straight into middle school, but I did not communicate this desire with anyone and completed elementary school the standard way. I had already been busing to the middle school for math classes for two years, and my mother taught there so I acclimated to the change in schools quickly. Academically I continued to achieve high marks according to the system, but I grew most socially. I joined the theater program and acted in many of the school’s plays. Extracurricular activities and a new social group helped me learn how to communicate better and to be humble. In hindsight I can see the way that not practicing those skills more, earlier caused me hurt in some of my personal relationships, but through that hurt I grew.
My focus in high school changed. This was in part due again to a changing social group. The city had built a new high school and split the boundaries along an East/West line in order to not have a rich and a poor school. This move actually hurt many poor families from my neighborhood because we were sent to the school all the way across town, instead of the school only several blocks from our house. This move separated me from many of the close friendships I made. After that point I saw high school mainly as academic: I went in, did my work, and went home, at which point real life commenced. Apart from a handful of genuinely intriguing and challenging teachers, I became weary of the growing amount of “busy work”. Disillusioned with high school, I graduated high school a semester early, and skipped the graduation ceremony and prom.
It would be easy for someone to look at my school career as successful due to the grades and awards I earned throughout my time in school. However it is clear to me now how I was hurt, both socially and academically by following a traditional school model. My awareness of this was heightened in high school and immediately following by my participation in a Unitarian Universalist youth group. Together we built supportive relationships and learned about youth empowerment. Through that support my conformity with what was socially expected of me began to waver, especially going to college. I did not know what I would want to study in college, and saw more of a waste of my time if I decided to pursue college at that point. I decided to take an alternate route by attending a trade school for cosmetology. My skills thus far had been mostly developed intellectually, and here was my chance to develop a skill kinesthetically.
So there I was in beauty school, with time on my hands (as beauty schools go). My awareness of youth empowerment led me to become involved with conferences and workshops focused on anti-oppression. My interest was piqued regarding my identities and their relationship to society. I began reading anti-oppression theory books with all of my downtime in school. Everything changed for me when someone lent me, “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together At the Cafeteria Table?” by Dr. Beverly Tatum. My study of youth empowerment had come full circle, because this book discussed youth empowerment and anti-oppression together. I came to the realization I wanted to be a parent someday, and I had no idea how I wanted to raise my children. I immediately began seeking out books and allies to discuss what I had learned to call “multicultural education.”
From that point on all of my leisure reading was dedicated to books on pedagogy. After six months of working as a cosmetologist I decided that the time had come to put my passion into action and to strengthen my core values, my knowledge, and my skills at being a teacher by going back to school. Taking a break after high school was crucial for me to get my head on straight and figure out what I was really passionate about. The college I attended required a whole slew of general education classes, but still, once my homework was done I amused myself by reading books about education.
I was inspired by Paulo Freire’s concept of revolutionary praxis being theory plus action. At that point I felt stuck in the theory stage. I felt little support from my education peers and teachers in studying progressive education. At that point I sought out Goddard College, because it allowed me to create me own focus within education, and freed up time for me to get hands on experience in the types of schools I had been reading about. Transferring colleges meant living out my ideals for me, instead of feeling stuck in a traditional institution.
My vision now is to draw from as many progressive educators as I can. I am about to start an internship at the Albany Free School. I have never taught in a free school before, but I am excited to see what elements I think could work for me as an educator. I stand strong in the belief that there are as many ways to best teach people, as there are people! Therefore I see my time now, as I complete my teacher licensure at Goddard, as time to continue to expose myself to and draw from progressive educators so that I may become a well-rounded educator myself.
Teaching is a way for me to become a well-rounded person, a dynamic parent and a contributor in the struggle to end oppression and make our world a better place to be. As I continue to evolve in this career I stand grounded in my childhood education, I am motivated by my turning point in youth empowerment, and I am inspired by my vision of an anti-oppressive education and my willingness to adapt. I dedicate my teaching career to my struggle as a life-long learner.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Why Teach? essay outline
- Introduction
- As someone who benefited from the system, why question it
- Review points: My education, the turning point, and my vision
- Point 1: My education
- Elementary School
- Highlights
- Lowlights
- What it meant to me
- Middle School
- Highlights
- Lowlights
- What it meant to me
- High School
- Highlights
- Lowlights
- What it meant to me
- Point 2: the turning point
- YRUU and Youth Empowerment
- Anti-oppression and social justice
- Beauty school and education
- Point 3: my vision
- Praxis: Theory + action (cite Paulo Freire)
- Reading pedagogy
- Transferring colleges: living out my ideals
- Albany Free School: experience
- Parent
- What do I value?
- What do I want to avoid?
- Social Justice
- Doing my part in the rev
- Conclusion
- Review points: my experience, turning point, my vision
Multiculturalism: A Conversation of Different Voices by Henry Louis Gates Jr.
o “Unfortunately, as history has taught us, an Anglo-American regional culture has too often masked itself as universal, passing traditions off as our “common culture,” and depicting different cultural traditions as “tribal” or “parochial.” (8)
o Henry Louis Gates Jr. addresses the controversy of a push towards “multiculturalism” in our nation’s public schools. He poses the counter argument being that the goal is “replacing honest historical scholarship with a ‘feel good’ syllabus designed solely to bolster the self-esteem of minorities.” (7) to which he counters that America was incepted as a democratic nation, but thus far our institution of education has systematically disenfranchised marginalized people. As well as posing the argument counter to multiculturalism that some people are proponents of, that people should “master our own culture” first before learning others. The counter argument to that being, “what gets to count as “our” culture? What makes knowledge worth knowing?” (7).
o “Common sense reminds us that we’re all ethnics, and the challenge of transcending ethnic chauvinism is one we all face.” (8)
o 8/21/2007 Last night I was talking to Bhawin, the intern coordinator for the Albany Free School. We were talking about multiculturalism and anti-oppression within the Free School community. He made a very good point that when addressing prejudice in children of the free school some might say that it is going against the Free School ideal of freedom of expression. Indeed, once some students felt like he was oppressing them as an adult because he was asking them to take a step back from a situation because they were dominating it. Instead of creating an empowering environment for everyone, the space had been dominated by the gender-privileged students there. If freedom of expression is the goal, then it can’t be at the expense of a portion of the other schoolmates/anyone.
o Henry Louis Gates Jr. addresses the controversy of a push towards “multiculturalism” in our nation’s public schools. He poses the counter argument being that the goal is “replacing honest historical scholarship with a ‘feel good’ syllabus designed solely to bolster the self-esteem of minorities.” (7) to which he counters that America was incepted as a democratic nation, but thus far our institution of education has systematically disenfranchised marginalized people. As well as posing the argument counter to multiculturalism that some people are proponents of, that people should “master our own culture” first before learning others. The counter argument to that being, “what gets to count as “our” culture? What makes knowledge worth knowing?” (7).
o “Common sense reminds us that we’re all ethnics, and the challenge of transcending ethnic chauvinism is one we all face.” (8)
o 8/21/2007 Last night I was talking to Bhawin, the intern coordinator for the Albany Free School. We were talking about multiculturalism and anti-oppression within the Free School community. He made a very good point that when addressing prejudice in children of the free school some might say that it is going against the Free School ideal of freedom of expression. Indeed, once some students felt like he was oppressing them as an adult because he was asking them to take a step back from a situation because they were dominating it. Instead of creating an empowering environment for everyone, the space had been dominated by the gender-privileged students there. If freedom of expression is the goal, then it can’t be at the expense of a portion of the other schoolmates/anyone.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Preparing for a Whirlwind of Changes
In the next three weeks I will be co-leading an Advanced Adviser Training for the UUA in Shreveport, Louisiana, coordinating workshops for the Continental UU Young Adult Network (C*UUYAN) annual spirituality conference OPUS in Toronto, Ontario, and moving to Albany, NY to begin my year-long internship at the Albany Free School.
I have been nervous about the Advanced Adviser Training. The Training of Trainers was about 2 years ago, so my experience with the curriculum is pretty dusty. All in all I know I will do fine no matter what, but even if I blew it there aren't significant consequences. Either way it is a learning experience for me. My co-leader and I had a rocky start getting communication rolling. She was under the misperception that I was a seasoned Adviser Trainer, and I was under the impression that she hadn't led any trainings since the training of trainers either. Instead, the our perceived roles were reversed: she was the experienced trainer, and I have little previous experience. The affect of that miscommunication was that I was freaking out more than I needed to and she was more relaxed about the process than she now is.
Now we are in a much better position to get everything planned by next week when the training starts. It is a Friday night to Sunday morning training, with Saturday jam packed. All I have to do is take Saturday one step at a time and it will be over before I know it. She invited me to go over the schedule and activities to step up for as much as I was willing to do. Her idea is that she has a lot of experience, and can back me up. However, the experience will be great for me to have so I should step up for as much as I am comfortable with. We are having a conference call tonight to hammer out more details.
In some ways I do feel like I have a lot of talents and skills which will serve me well going into this experience. I have experience facilitating discussion, listening, monitoring energy and engagement levels, following a curriculum... The different activities are intriguing to me. I will be leading Team youth ministry, models of pastoral care, learning styles, listening exercise, creating new games, 'identity, privilege, and oppression', what do power dynamics look like?, and one size does not fit all. I think many of the skills that the activities pertain to are ones that I can utilize in my teaching career. I am happy to be doing this advanced adviser training, because someday I hope to be an adviser myself.
Another upcoming event is OPUS. I have been preparing for it as the workshop coordinator for the past 6 months. Everything has come together in the last 2 weeks. I have adequate workshops for both week long and one shot workshops. They are on a variety of topics, catering to a variety of learning styles, and they are centered around the theme of cycles. Yay! Most of my work will be done by the time I get there. But I did sign up to lead one day of a week long, and a one shot workshop on fertility cycles.
And finally, I have been preparing to move to Albany, NY. Many people have asked me questions about Albany and the school itself which I don't know the answer to. In some ways maybe I was under informed in making this huge life-changing decision. In other ways, I feel like I did know enough, I will learn a lot, and I didn't sign my life away. If the situation isn't what I had hoped for then there is flexibility. I have just been telling people who ask questions I don't know the answer to, that I will find out when I get there! Two things I heard from other people that weren't terribly positive were one, that the Albany Free School just had two veteran teachers resign and that it is in a huge flux state, and two, that Albany is kind of a trashy city. I am sure there will be pluses and minuses about both the school and the city. I will concentrate on the things I love about them. The intern adviser that I have been in contact with has been extremely helpful and positive and I look forward to meeting them.
In some ways I am going into this experience similar to the way I approached Century School. I knew that there were elements of Century School that I liked and I was aware that there might be some I didn't. I didn't expect Century School to be the ideal school that I would want to teach at for the rest of my life. Instead I viewed it as a step in the learning process of becoming the educator I want to be. You not only have to know what you want, you have to know what you don't want. Also, the Free School is a lot closer in theory to what I believe than Century School is. We will see how it plays out in action!
I have been nervous about the Advanced Adviser Training. The Training of Trainers was about 2 years ago, so my experience with the curriculum is pretty dusty. All in all I know I will do fine no matter what, but even if I blew it there aren't significant consequences. Either way it is a learning experience for me. My co-leader and I had a rocky start getting communication rolling. She was under the misperception that I was a seasoned Adviser Trainer, and I was under the impression that she hadn't led any trainings since the training of trainers either. Instead, the our perceived roles were reversed: she was the experienced trainer, and I have little previous experience. The affect of that miscommunication was that I was freaking out more than I needed to and she was more relaxed about the process than she now is.
Now we are in a much better position to get everything planned by next week when the training starts. It is a Friday night to Sunday morning training, with Saturday jam packed. All I have to do is take Saturday one step at a time and it will be over before I know it. She invited me to go over the schedule and activities to step up for as much as I was willing to do. Her idea is that she has a lot of experience, and can back me up. However, the experience will be great for me to have so I should step up for as much as I am comfortable with. We are having a conference call tonight to hammer out more details.
In some ways I do feel like I have a lot of talents and skills which will serve me well going into this experience. I have experience facilitating discussion, listening, monitoring energy and engagement levels, following a curriculum... The different activities are intriguing to me. I will be leading Team youth ministry, models of pastoral care, learning styles, listening exercise, creating new games, 'identity, privilege, and oppression', what do power dynamics look like?, and one size does not fit all. I think many of the skills that the activities pertain to are ones that I can utilize in my teaching career. I am happy to be doing this advanced adviser training, because someday I hope to be an adviser myself.
Another upcoming event is OPUS. I have been preparing for it as the workshop coordinator for the past 6 months. Everything has come together in the last 2 weeks. I have adequate workshops for both week long and one shot workshops. They are on a variety of topics, catering to a variety of learning styles, and they are centered around the theme of cycles. Yay! Most of my work will be done by the time I get there. But I did sign up to lead one day of a week long, and a one shot workshop on fertility cycles.
And finally, I have been preparing to move to Albany, NY. Many people have asked me questions about Albany and the school itself which I don't know the answer to. In some ways maybe I was under informed in making this huge life-changing decision. In other ways, I feel like I did know enough, I will learn a lot, and I didn't sign my life away. If the situation isn't what I had hoped for then there is flexibility. I have just been telling people who ask questions I don't know the answer to, that I will find out when I get there! Two things I heard from other people that weren't terribly positive were one, that the Albany Free School just had two veteran teachers resign and that it is in a huge flux state, and two, that Albany is kind of a trashy city. I am sure there will be pluses and minuses about both the school and the city. I will concentrate on the things I love about them. The intern adviser that I have been in contact with has been extremely helpful and positive and I look forward to meeting them.
In some ways I am going into this experience similar to the way I approached Century School. I knew that there were elements of Century School that I liked and I was aware that there might be some I didn't. I didn't expect Century School to be the ideal school that I would want to teach at for the rest of my life. Instead I viewed it as a step in the learning process of becoming the educator I want to be. You not only have to know what you want, you have to know what you don't want. Also, the Free School is a lot closer in theory to what I believe than Century School is. We will see how it plays out in action!
Friday, August 3, 2007
My Reading List
References
Bigelow, B. P., Bob. (1998). Rethinking columbus : The next 500 years (2nd ed.). Milwaukee, Wisc: Rethinking Schools.
Brooks, Jacqueline Grennon. Brooks,Martin G. (1993). In search of understanding : The case for constructivist classrooms. Alexandria, Va: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Burns, M. (1998). Math : Facing an american phobia. Sausalito, CA: Math Solutions Publications.
Bybee, Rodger W. Sund, Robert B. Sund,Robert B., & Piaget for educators. (1982). Piaget for educators (2nd ed.). Columbus: Merrill.
Campbell, D. M. (2001). How to develop a professional portfolio : A manual for teachers (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Davidson, N. (1990). Cooperative learning in mathematics : A handbook for teachers. Menlo Park, Calif: Addison-Wesley Pub. Co.
Delpit, L. D. (1995). Other people's children : Cultural conflict in the classroom. New York: New Press : Distributed by W.W. Norton.
Gardner, H. (2004). The unschooled mind : How children think and how schools should teach. New York: BasicBooks.
Hern, M. (2003). Field day : Getting society out of school. Vancouver, BC: New Star Books.
Hooks, B. (1994). Teaching to transgress : Education as the practice of freedom. New York: Routledge.
Hooks, B. (2000). All about love : New visions (1st ed.). New York: William Morrow.
Hooks, B. (2002). Communion : The female search for love (1st ed.). New York: W. Morrow.
Kaplan, S. N. (1980). Change for children : Ideas and activities for individualizing learning (Rev. ed.). Santa Monica, Calif: Goodyear Pub. Co.
Kohn, A. (1993). Punished by rewards : The trouble with gold stars, incentive plans, A's, praise, and other bribes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
Kohn, A. (2000). The schools our children deserve : Moving beyond traditional classrooms and "tougher standards" (1st Houghton Mifflin pbk. ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
Kozol, J. (2005). The shame of the nation : The restoration of apartheid schooling in america (1st ed.). New York: Crown Publishers.
Loewen, J. W. (1996). Lies my teacher told me : Everything your american history textbook got wrong (1st Touchstone ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster.
Meier, D. (1995). The power of their ideas : Lessons for america from a small school in harlem. Boston: Beacon Press.
Mintz, Jerry. Solomon,Raymond.Solomon, Sidney. (1994). The handbook of alternative education. New York : Macmillan Pub. Co. ; Toronto; New York: Maxwell Macmillan Canada; Maxwell Macmillan International.
Myers, P. (2007). MATHEMATICS EDUCATION - why? why? why?: Future teachers discover mathematical depth. Phi Delta Kappan, 88(9), 691.
Newton, X. (2007). MATHEMATICS EDUCATION - reflections on math reforms in the U.S.: A cross-national perspective. Phi Delta Kappan, 88(9), 681.
Nieto, S. (1992). Affirming diversity : The sociopolitical context of multicultural education. New York: Longman.
Nieto, S. (2003). What keeps teachers going?. New York: Teachers College Press.
O'Brien, T. C. (2007). MATHEMATICS EDUCATION - the old and the new. Phi Delta Kappan, 88(9), 664.
Piaget, J. (1970). Science of education and the psychology of the child. uniform title: Psychologie et pédagogie. english. New York, Orion Press:
Reys, B., & Lappan, G. (2007). MATHEMATICS EDUCATION - consensus or confusion? the intended math curriculum in state-level standards. Phi Delta Kappan, 88(9), 676.
Reys, R. E. (2001). Helping children learn mathematics (6th ed. / Robert E. Reys ... [et al. ed.). New York: Wiley.
Rigg, Pat. Allen,Virginia Garibaldi. (1989). When they don't all speak english : Integrating the ESL student into the regular classroom. Urbana, Ill: National Council of Teachers of English.
Sleeter, Christine E. Grant,Carl A. (2003). Making choices for multicultural education : Five approaches to race, class, and gender (4th ed.). New York: J. Wiley & Sons.
Smilovitz, R. (1996). If not now when? : Education not schooling. Kearney, NE: Morris Pub.
Teaching Tolerance (Project), & Southern Poverty Law Center. (1997). Starting small : Teaching tolerance in preschool and the early grades. Montgomery, Ala: Teaching Tolerance.
Thornton, S. J. (2005). Teaching social studies that matters : Curriculum for active learning. New York: Teachers College Press.
Weiler, K. (1988). Women teaching for change : Gender, class & power. South Hadley, Mass: Bergin & Garvey Publishers.
Weiss, I. R., & Pasley, J. D. (2007). MATHEMATICS EDUCATION - teaching math and science: Improving instruction through local systemic change initiatives. Phi Delta Kappan, 88(9), 669.
Wiggins, G. P. M., Jay. (1998). Understanding by design. Alexandria, Va: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Zaslavsky, C. (1993). Multicultural mathematics : Interdisciplinary cooperative-learning activities. Portland, Maine: J. Weston Walch.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Another day at Century School
I worked at Century School today. I know it is not the kind of place I want to be, or the person I want to be for that matter. I know my ideals, but when I am in action there I behave in contradiction to my values as a teacher. Why do I think this is? There is a culture there that is unsupportive of a nurturing learning environment. I have gained habits while I have been there. The children are used to the function of the school day at Century School. I don’t have the skills or self-confidence to implement my ideal classroom. Essentially I am the only thing keeping myself from being a better teacher. That is what I want to work on in the next year and a half. There are lots of societal problems, and cultural problems within schools and communities, but I need to strengthen my confidence and bolster it with tools and skills so that I can maintain my values as a teacher.
Today in school I really identified with A when he protested to my invitations to choose an academic. He said he did not want to do any of them, because they were all boring and take to long. He wanted to get back to playing as soon as possible. There are certain expectations of me from the lead teachers as to how “many academics” the students “complete”. So a solution in that culture is not to let him play all day, or choose other activities that have not been prescribed for him. While I believe there may be ways to make his academics more fun, it is also difficult because they are very structured curriculums that the school subscribes to. The academics are not very adaptable. Aidan’s parents are very involved and supportive of his education, yet he is not motivated. Century School utilizes a lot of drilling, with activities like Practice Mill. In programmed reading, teachers are encouraged to push reading until they attain fluency, not through a “whole reading” approach, but through memorizing sounds and words until prompting is no longer needed. However, I have often found that some of the students who are reading entire sentences, have difficulty sounding out new words because they have forgotten the sounds, while still memorizing new words.
Today in school I really identified with A when he protested to my invitations to choose an academic. He said he did not want to do any of them, because they were all boring and take to long. He wanted to get back to playing as soon as possible. There are certain expectations of me from the lead teachers as to how “many academics” the students “complete”. So a solution in that culture is not to let him play all day, or choose other activities that have not been prescribed for him. While I believe there may be ways to make his academics more fun, it is also difficult because they are very structured curriculums that the school subscribes to. The academics are not very adaptable. Aidan’s parents are very involved and supportive of his education, yet he is not motivated. Century School utilizes a lot of drilling, with activities like Practice Mill. In programmed reading, teachers are encouraged to push reading until they attain fluency, not through a “whole reading” approach, but through memorizing sounds and words until prompting is no longer needed. However, I have often found that some of the students who are reading entire sentences, have difficulty sounding out new words because they have forgotten the sounds, while still memorizing new words.
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