Oppressor or Oppressed

Paolo Fierre raises an excellent point in his book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed. In many situations in our world today there are two different groups that are typically represented-the opressors and the oppressed. You can see this happening throughout history and even in our world today. Accepting that we recognize this problem is still occuring in our world today, but still allowing oppression to continue is a hard thing to do. Maybe one day we can experience a world where these two roles of opressor and oppressed have been eliminated. Maybe we can learn from our past to make a better world for future generations. Although opression can be a sensitive and difficult topic to discuss, I think it is a very important topic to study as pre-service teachers. Since many of us as future TESOLers are likely to come in contact with a mariad of different students with different cultures and linguistic backgrounds, we are more than likely to encounter someone who has been oppressed. We as teachers need to recognize the problems and challenges these individuals may have experienced and use this knowledge to enhance our teaching. Being consciously aware of the role of oprression, we can provide the power to help our students let their voices be heard.

Keeping Yourself In Check

While reading the contents of the last chapter in Kuma's book Beyond Methods, I was intreged by his idea of having someone observe in a classroom to help deminish any mismatches. However, as I was reading I could not help but question the process, too.

Having another collegue observe in your classroom and provide feedback can be very beneficial. This collegue can notice aspects of your teaching or even your lesson that coule be improved because they are not being communicated in the best possible way. You as the teacher have one perspective and one vision as to how you would like the lesson to go, but in reality you will have a classroom full of students, all who have their own perspective. Thus, they may not understand parts of the lesson or the teaching style like you as the teacher had planned. Much like the example provided in the chapter; the teacher knew what she meant by, "school system," but there were students in the class who were confused. The observer can recognize this mismatch better than the actual teacher because he/she is seeing the lesson unfold as a whole and not just in the role of the teacher. I also agree with Kuma in that the observer and teacher can collaborate to determine any mismatches that may have occured during the lesson to help make any improvements for the next time. Also, the teacher can learn more about his/her teaching style and methods and make a self-evaluation as well as reflection about their teaching.

Although this process appears to have many pros to it, I could not help but think how practical would the observation steps be. I understand the point of having three seperate steps in the observation process: preobservation, observation, and postobservation, but how would all of this unfold? Do teachers have that much time to dedicate to meeting with the observer before and after each lesson as well as with a few of his/her students afterward? Also, in regards to video taping or recording the lessons, where are teachers supposed to get the equipment? What if the school distrcit cannot afford to purchase the necessary equipment? Does the teacher need to get approval from the students' parents to record their children? The collegue who is observing, does he/she take the day off from his/her job? Are the observers from the same school? School district? Retired teachers?

Personally, I do have questions about the suggestions Kuma made in Monitoring Teaching Acts." These questions are not meant to be taken negatively, nor do I want to umdermind Kuma's idea of monitoring your teaching. I think the idea that Kuma has proposed in his book has great potential to help teachers enhance their teaching, but first I would need to research the idea further to try to find the answers to my questions.

Final Project Update

Cara and I have completed two out of the three workshops working with International students. The two workshops we have had so far have been very insightful. I have been very encouraged to learn about various students' experiences with English. Hearing their stories and asking them questions has lead me to make even more connections to what we have been learning in class. We are both very excited for our last workshop this Thursday 11/18 at 6:30pm because students get to ask us questions about the English language. The topic is, "You Americans are so strange! Why do you...?"

Did You Say Bilingual?

I am currently studying to become a bilingual elementary education teacher. Even before I came to college and learned about the different bilingual education programs, I would always say that I wanted to teach in a classroom where both languages--English and Spanish, were represented. I wanted students to be able to learn the language not only from myself, but also through their interactions with one another. Now, after learning about the different bilingual programs, my ideal job would be to teach in a dual language school. However, it was not until I came to college that I learned about the various other bilingual programs, like the ones presented in Ofelia Garcia's article. Some of these programs include submersion, transitional, and structured immersion. As I was reading the Garcia article, as well as the other times in my college career, I could not help but wonder, "How are these programs considered bilingual?" Yes, they may temporarily include teaching and inclusion of both languages in the classroom, but the main goal of these programs is to phase out the student's native language. Thus, if the main goal is creating monolingual students, how are these methods even considered bilingual? Is it for lack of a better term? Is it because it makes these programs sound legitimate? Or is it because the majority never wanted the minority to be of equal status?

Also, as I was reading through the article, I kept asking, "How do those who implement subtractive "bilingual" programs into their schools define the term bilingual?" Personally, I would define bilingual as the ability to speak and understand in two different languages. Do those people consider subtractive programs "bilingual" because at one point two languages are used and known by the students? Is not the main goal of them to phase out the native language? Why is phasing out a child's native language beneficial? Why aren't majority language speaking students required to learn a minority language? Why do we have these double standards? Sometimes I feel guilty as a native English speaker because I feel as though so many other English speakers are sending the message that to be successful in the world, you must learn English. When I have asked some of my residents, "Why did you learn English?" They respond something like,"Well, to be successful and to be able to communicate with others in the world one needs to learn English." I really hope that as a future bilingual teacher, I can make a difference in the educational word. I hope that students feel that they can be successful when using their native tounge too.

Stool?

"Words and utterances can have different meanings and functions in different contexts" (Kuma, 210). As I was reading through this weeks chapters, I was able to make some personal connections with the content. Although I am a native English speaker, I sometimes still have difficulty with words if they are not given in a specific context or situation. The problem could be that in the English language some words can have more than one meaning. For instance, on page 205, Kuma gives five different ways the word, "table" could be used. If I was asked about the word table, I would probably define the word similar to the usage in sentence 1, "a flat surface usually supported by four legs" (Kuma, 205). Since the word was not given in a certain context or situation, I would not think that the word could also refer to a math term or even a verb. Thus, I think Kuma brings up an excellent point that situational context is just as important to consider as linguistic and extralinguistic contexts when teaching students about a language. Not only do students need to understand words and/or phrases and deliverance, but they also need to have an understanding of when these words/phrases are appropriate. Without this extra knowledge, students, especially non-native speakers, may be unsure when to use a phrase or confused if someone uses the word in a specific context or situation with which they are not familiar. Actually, I can relate to a time when I came across a word that could have two separate meanings, and if the word is used in the wrong context one can become confused. This past weekend I was playing the game Catch Phrase with my family. For those who are unfamiliar with the game, you can pick a category (i.e. family, around the house, technology, food/drink, etc.), and then you are given a word(s)/phrase that would fall under that category. The goal is to describe the word/phrase to your teammates without using the word and they have to guess the word. The category was "Around the House" and my specific word was "stool." Immediately, I became very confused and wondered why the game would put this word under this category. I was confused because I was thinking of stool in reference to fecal matter, not an object you may use to stand on to reach items that are too high. After I thought about the word some more and remembered the category was "Around the House," I realized the word was supposed to refer to an object you use to stand on, not fecal matter. Of course, after I came to this realization, I could not help but laugh at my own misunderstanding of the word and its context.


Overall, in the future, I will be sure to remember to teach my students not only the linguistic and extralinguistic components of a word, but also include the situational context of the word. After all, the situational context can be very helpful and avoid any confusion.

Waiting for Superman

"I will continue to get paid whether you learn or not." This quote from the film, Waiting for Superman, really struck me while watching the video. The woman who said this was referring to a teacher she had while in school and how that greatly affected her and her attitude towards public school. Although I am not entirely familiar with how the 10 year program works for teachers, nor have I actually been a teacher, but I do feel that something needs to change. Not every educator who has 10 year, will have this outlook, but I do feel that this happens more often then we think. I understand that the intentions of teacher unions are good and that the idea of 10 year was to protect teachers from being fierd or let go without a reasonable explanation. However, I do feel that some individuals take advantage of this institution and may take less interest in teaching students if they feel they have job security no matter what. I would be interested to learn if other jobs have a rule in place, like 10 year for teachers. Just think what would happen if doctors said, "I will continue to get paid whether I help you or not." or if the police said, "I will continue to get paid whether I respond to your emergancy or not." I get the impression that not matter how long a person has been a doctor or how long he/she has been a police officer, if this person continues to not do their job correctly, they will be let go from the position. I do feel that teachers should be protected and that the 10 year idea has good intentions, but school administrators need to be sure that educators are doing their jobs well, and if they are not something should be done about it--possibly letting a person go.

This movie also caused me to think more in depth about what are we really teaching our kids? What messages are we really sending them? Are we telling them that to be successful you should become a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer, or another high paying profession? Smart people do not become hair dressers, garbage workers, factory workers, or other similar types of professions, but rather those jobs are for individuals that did not do very well at school. I strongly feel that we need to change our thinking about which jobs are superior to others. I almost got the impression from Waiting for Superman that we need to improve our school systems so that everyone can achieve and have the credentials to obtain a high profile job. I do agree, we do need to change our school systems and make it so that everyone can achieve and perform well, no matter the demographics of the school, but I also think we need to help our students break the stereotypes of what is a high profile job. To make our world function correctly we need  ALL of the different types of job. We need people who will work the factories, drive the buses, design bridges, teach our children, practice medicine, collect the garbage, etc. I think we need to encourage our students to pursue a career that is interesting to them and one they have a passion for. So, if a person who graduated validictorian of his/her class wants to go to beauty school and cut hair, we should encourage him/her to do so. We should not be questioning them and saying, "Are you sure? You can be so much more than that." I think that to change our negative stereotypes towards the kinds of people who hold certain positions needs to first change in the classroom. I feel that Waiting for Superman was portraying that in order to succeed in live one must become a doctor, business CEO, lawyer, etc.

Poetry Slam

I have mixed feelings on last weeks poetry event. In the beginning, I was very intrigued by the performers and the poems they created. I found them to be enlightening and a really creative way to express their feelings. However, towards the end of the event I became very confused and unsure of the meaning of one of the performances. Unfortunately, I was not able to stay until the end of the event to hopefully learn the meaning behind the poem. Although I was not able to stay until the end, I could not help but think maybe the reason I was not capturing the full meaning of the performance due to a cultural difference. Maybe my background experiences did not match up with the reader's experiences and therefore we were not able to understand one another. I know that if I was given the opportunity to write a poem and then read it at an event similar to the one last Wednesday evening, I know my poem would be much different than anyone else's poem because we are all different and all have different experiences.

While listening to the people speak, I was inspired to have a similar type of event when I become a teacher. Having a poetry event can allow people to express themselves for who they are and share how they feel/their experiences in a unique way, which can be very helpful to a person.