Postmodern synergistic knowledge creation: extending the boundaries of disability studies

Postmodern synergistic knowledge creation: extending the boundaries of disability studies

    What this article aims to do with the two empirical studies, Deleuzo-Guattarian and Bourdieu, is provide a comparison to the traditional medical studies of those with profound and multiple learning difficulties. Disability research and focus on a person with disabilities inabilities, has become the focus where as individual identity has been lost. That being said, I feel that I agree with the studies that took place and I advocate what results the studies produced.
    Based on results from the first study, those with disabilities stretch their curiousness and capabilities when treated in social situations as if indeed there is nothing wrong with them. I think that the positive implications behind this first study suggest that we as educators move from defining a person within the confines of their disability and instead treat them as any other person. The challenge it seems that we sill face is how those students affect the other students in the class. The article states that eventually those students that were shy with the one disabled student eventually became more accepting. If we want our disabled students to be treated as though there is no disability, it may be of the most importance to model that behavior and even explicitly teach it before it is possibly eventually developed.
    Keeping the first part of the article in mind, we can go on to the second section that moves from observation of a boy in a mainstream setting to interviews of older individuals struggling with MS and there outlook on their situation. Bourdieu’s theory as outlined in this second section is defined through “capital”. I like this notion because it provides a way to break down what gains a person has through social capital (interactions), cultural capital (personal skills), economic capital (money), and physical capital (body). The second part of the article is looking at peoples’ capitals and what they do with them.
    What the second part of the article concludes is that much of a disability is based on what a person does with their capital. Environment often times cannot be changed, but there are those with disabilities that sit back and let the disabilities define them and then there are others that push the limitation of their disabilities and try to live as they would if they had no impairments.
    My question then is how do we as educators use our classrooms to the benefit of our students with disabilities? How do we alter our class environments and the opinions of other students to be accepting to those with disabilities? How do we convince those students with disabilities that just because their abilities in one area suffer, they are not subjected to a life within the confines of that disability?

Appalachian Culture Competency--Ciera Rinck

The article I read for this week was in the category of rural populations with a focus on Appalachian Cultures.  The article was edited by Susan E. Keefe and is a part of Appalachian Cultural Competency: A Guide for Medical, Mental Health, and Social Service Professionals.  The article largely focused on people from Appalachian Cultures and the history that makes up who they are--which is an important part of knowing your students.  The assumptions of the author seem to be "for" the people living in Appalachian Regions with a purpose of creating a voice for these people within regions outside of Appalachia.  By looking at the history of these people they can be better understood.  For example, many of the people who currently live in the regions of Appalachia came as immigrants seeking religious and political freedom and the story of these people is really sad, but I think many people are reluctant to learn about the history of the people or students they are working with--this can be a very important aspect to understanding students and the way they learn or the way their parents think which will ultimately effect the students worldview.  The article also emphasized the importance of the culture of people in Appalachia in terms of family connections and their importance in the area.  As a history major I feel like it is extremely important to understand and partake in perspective taking when working with people in any profession, but as a teacher I think that making connections with your students is extremely important and beneficial in educating children.  Students should be able to trust their teachers.  This point goes along well with the idea that oftentimes people who aren't part of Appalachia see people who are from the region as "backward" "ignorant" and even "historyless," however, these people are rich in culture and see themselves as strong, independent, having strong ties to their personal community, having a distinctive linguistic dialect, and a social structure based largely on kinship.  As teachers it would be a huge disservice to our students if we followed suit of the public view and believed and treated our students in a stereotypical way.  Finally, the author of the article claimed that often times people make the mistake of reading cultural differences as a deficit. It is a shame that people do this, I can say I have been guilty of doing this before I came into the profession of teaching, however it is important to take into consideration the differences of your students when planning lessons and differentiating instruction and as I have worked with a variety of students it has become clear to me that every student I have come across has potential no matter their background.  Incorporating aspects from the diverse variety of students within the classroom community will create a culturally accepting and rich classroom environment that will benefit students in their lives for years to come. 
I really enjoyed this article, and I think it really culminated much of my educational experiences.  It is important to accept each and every student you encounter as a teacher and to understand and connect with them on a personal level by incorporating their likes, beliefs, and family background into classroom lessons and activities.  On a final note, the article mentioned that a positive identity is difficult to maintain in the face of prejudice and discrimination--the dilemma is that Appalachians (and really any group of students that are seen as "different") are often forced to choose between two equally unacceptable identities: on one hand they are just like everybody else and undeserving of any special attention; on the other hand that their culture is inferior and to blame for most of the social problems in the region.  By falling into the group of people that shun those from different backgrounds it will only discourage students, however by showing acceptance and understanding, students can break the cycle that they fall into just from the encouragement of one teacher--it sounds cliche, but I really believe that teachers can change the world through creating encouraging and positive environments which allows their students to be great and accomplish things that seem impossible

Teaching English Language Learners

For this Monday’s blog, I read the article Teaching English Language Learners: Strategies for Overcoming Barriers by Sara R. Helfrich and Amy J. Bosh. The main purpose for this article was to identify four perceived barriers for both beginning and veteran teachers. It wanted to take a look into what educators face when teaching literacy to English language learners. Specifically, the article addresses the teacher’s inability to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of all learners, the devaluation of peer interactions and collaborations in the process of learning a language, and a lack of knowledge about using assessment measures with diverse student populations. Finally, this article provides the audience with ways to overcome these barriers as well as strategies for becoming an effective teacher.

            To begin this blog, I thought I would briefly mention some of the statistics they found about English language learners. First, the population of ELL students jumped from 6 million to nearly 14 million in 1999 according to the National Center for Educational Statistics (Klein et al. 2004). Spanish is the most frequently spoken language at 71%, followed by Asian languages at 11%, other non-European languages at 10%, and other European languages at 7%. “A record of 55 million students were enrolled in public and private elementary and secondary schools across the nation in Fall 2006; an 8 percent increase in this number is expected by the year of 2018” (Hussar and Bailey 2009). Thus, as you can see, the number of English language learners is continuing to increase each year, which means teachers must be well-prepared for the obstacles ahead. Rather than striving for assimilation, teachers should strive for acculturation.

            The first barrier the article mentions states that teachers may not understand the role of literacy development or the importance of literacy and education in diverse cultures. One of the ways to improve this situation is to determine cultural priorities and acquire background knowledge to help support the inclusion of all students. In simple terms, teachers need to get to know their students and where they come from in order to be effective teachers. For me, this is especially important since I will be teaching in an urban multicultural setting. It will be my job to figure out ways to overcome these challenges; therefore, my goal will be to incorporate English as much possible into the school curriculum without downplaying the students’ cultural background. A great way to do this is to have certain “culture days.” It is important for students to embrace where they come from, so celebrating various traditions, foods, customs, etc. in English is a perfect way to do this. In addition, teachers need to address other cultures in their literary sections.

             The next barrier for teachers argues that they may struggle to meet the literacy needs of all learners in their classroom, especially those of ELLs. To overcome this barrier, teachers should work to engage ELL students in classroom instructional activities without isolating them or taking instructional time away from other students. While doing this, teachers need to model how to speak the English language, use explicit instructions, and real reading to convey meaning as well as increase the students overall comprehension. Simply put, students need to be able to make meaningful connections in order to achieve their full academic potential. This becomes extremely difficult for ELL students because they have to do two things at once. They are having to decode and interpret the English language while trying to comprehend the literary material at the same time. Therefore, it is important to give these students a chance to gather their thoughts (“wait-time”) and provide them with authentic activities.

            The third barrier states that teachers should not underestimate the role of peers in the inclusion and education of ELL students. Teachers should use partner-share, group activities, peer tutoring, and use other ELL students whose knowledge and use of the language is further progressed than the other ELL students. I personally am a big fan of peer-collaboration because I believe students oftentimes explain the material better than the teachers. Not only does this give the more progressed ELL students a chance to practice the English Language, they get to practice how to behave in social situations. One thing to remember is that teachers should group ELL students with other English-speaking students as well as other ELL students. One thing to remember is that these students need to feel included in order to succeed. The worst thing teachers could do is make them feel isolated; therefore, the article suggest that peer assistance is a great way to overcome this barrier.

            The final barrier argues that teachers may not feel condiment when using assessment and progress-monitoring tools with ELL students. I know this is something I struggle with because I want to be fair to all students. One thing the article suggests is that teachers should not be hesitant to use assessment and progess-monoitoring tools. They should use oral questioning, numerous of discussion opportunities, as well as other adapted forms of assessment. Teachers need to make sure the assessment tools they use are reliable and valid and make sure they accurately portray the ELL student’s knowledge. One thing I like to do is create portfolios for my students. I feel these show their true progress, and students always like to see how far they have come at the end of the year. Another thing teachers should do is constantly assess their students; this is the only way to get an accurate view of how well the ELL students are doing in the classroom. In conclusion, yes, teachers have a lot to overcome with ELL students; however, I believe it can be done. This is something that I will have to work on, which is why I enjoyed reading this article. 

QTC 10.1 & 10.2

10.1 Lower Order:
Define self-regulation.

10.2 Higher Order:
You notice several of your students, even those who are usually high performing, are having difficulties with a long-term group project you have assigned. Design an intervention strategy that will increase their collective self-efficacy. 

Kill Santa

First off, I didn't come up with that title! It's the name of the article, I promise. I have nothing against the 'ole guy. I chose the article Kill Santa: Religious Diversity and the Winter Holiday Problem, to read this week initially to learn more about how to approach this in my classroom. I had expected the article to offer strategies for talking--or not talking about--Christmas in a diverse classroom. At this point in our lives most of us have heard both sides of the issue and may have even divided individuals into two categories...those who want Christianity in schools and those who do not. What I liked most about this article, however, is that it went a completely different route. Instead of focusing on those for or against the teaching of religion in schools or how one viewpoint is more right than the other, the article focused more on making the idea of privilege visible--noting that the primary way in which privilege operates is by virtue of its perceived normalcy. The author suggests that instead of speaking in code about Christmas that we should be using it as a platform to teach young people how to be comfortable with tension and discomfort so that they can become kind, compassionate, and well-informed individuals. I'm fascinated by this idea--but I'm still not quite sure what this would look like in a real classroom. The author is forthcoming with her opinions in regards to Christian privilege, giving examples of the many school activities that are clearly celebrations of Christmas, even if the name is left out of it. When I think back at my years in elementary school, Christmas and Christianity were everywhere. Our Christmas plays had Santa's, reindeer, and even a nativity scene. What I really think this article was getting at is instead of focusing so much on watering down our religion and faith based practices we should be acknowledging that some groups have dominance over other groups in society. The next step then, would be to determine what we should do next--how do we then create, knowledgable, compassionate students? The more we know--the more we are aware of one groups dominance over the other--the more responsive we can be. Regardless of whether you celebrate Christmas or not, I do think Children need to be aware of the role that religion plays in the world--how it has shaped our society. To do this, we can teach about world religions and their historical significance in our classrooms year-round, not just during Christmas.

The article made me think about my own experiences with Christmas activities in school. Here is a picture of me in my awkward stage (I wonder if I'll ever get of that?) in 3rd or 4th grade with my mom getting ready for our school play of The Nutcracker.

the angels and wise men from the nativity scene

QTC 9.1 & 9.2

9.1 Lower Order: 
What are terminal behaviors? What are some strategies mentioned in the text to effectively reduce these behaviors?

9.2 Higher Order:
In your one of your classes, a student has been consistently interrupting you, as well as her fellow students. Her comments are not related to the topic at hand and is usually completely arbitrary. You have attempted to address these issues using cueing, detention, extra work, even a referral to the assistant principal, yet nothing seems to work. Design a contingency contract addressing this problem. Describe the steps of implementation, as well. 

QTC 8.1 & 8.2

8.1 Lower Order Questioning:
Define the terms algorithm and heuristics. How do the relate to one another?

8.2 Higher Order Questioning:
Design a heuristic plan for a class within your content area. Refer to page 268, making you sure you include at least four of the six suggestions.