In chapter 16, Lessons from Teachers, Lisa Delpit
describes 10 valuable lessons that she has learned from extraordinary teachers.
Much of the information she provides comes from her own and her colleague’s
experiences and research and from observations and conversations with amazing
teachers.
So future EXTRAORDINARY teachers here are your 10
valuable lessons:
(I am a visual
learner so I have added pictures that make them easier to remember!)
 |
5.
RECOGNIZE
and BUILD on children’s strengths
6.
USE CHILDREN’S WORLD as a connection to school knowledge
9.
HONOR and RESPECT
the children’s home culture
REVIEW:
SEE,
ALL, DEMAND…
EMOTIONAL STRENGTH…
RECOGNIZE
AND BUILD…
USE
CHILDREN’S WORLD…
CREATE
FAMILY…
ADDRESS
THEM…
HONOR,
RESPECT, COMMUNITY…
Hope the visuals
helped! So here are my questions:
-
How
do you think you can implement these lessons in your future classrooms?
-
Have
you seen your mentor teacher address any of them?
-
Is
there one particular lesson that you find more valuable than the rest? Why?
-
Do
you remember any of your teachers addressing these lessons?
-
Have
any of the lessons here changed your perspective or your philosophy? Has it
validated your opinions? How?
Natali, I love the visuals! I had an experience recently that showcased teachers' ability to "create a sense of family." At this school, there is a student who had previously shown motivation to excel and was very sweet according to his teachers. Recently, however, his behavior started to change, and this was alarming to his teachers. I can't remember all of the details, but, in short, his teachers found out that he was getting bullied and that he lived in very difficult circumstances. As a result, the teachers communicated and decided that every one of them would pull the student aside the following day and tell the student how much they believe in him, how much potential he has, and how much they support him. This made such an impression on me, as I had never heard of teachers doing something like this for a student. During lunch, I talked with other teachers who told me of other ways they have supported students as well and it just made me realize how much a teacher can truly impact the life of a student. As for how I will address these lessons in my classroom, I will start by listening to my students and doing everything I can to learn about them, their culture, and their values. I do not yet know how I will execute all of those things, but I hope that is something I can learn more and more about this semester!
ReplyDeleteWow Danielle thats awesome, I haven't seen much of that at my school, but I'm glad to see that happening.
ReplyDeleteAs for the ten points, I think something that stood out to me in my reading and also in the classroom I'm observing is the need for honor and respect of the home culture, and as the chapter points out so often people think that means integrating a lesson on Rosa Parks, good job we're done. Though we are taught to be mindful of 'diversity' and have class after class where the word diversity is thrown around to make sure we understand that everyone is different, little if nothing is done to put any really meaning behind these things and as a result I often have seen or experienced myself as a student, teachers making blatant statements offensive statements, or simply being ignorant to the cultural differences and values that students have as a result of the families and communities they come from. It can sometimes be something very simple like incorrectly using a word, that can turn an entire group of students off from respecting that teacher because they themselves now feel disrespected, or even how they explain a problem. For example, my mentor teacher had given students an assignment of writing expressions using variables, one problem asked students to create an expression for the amount of money you make a day, the worksheet had a variable for the biweekly pay, but no variable for the days worked in a week. Rather than give another variable she asked how many days they work a week and many of the students answered varied from 3 days to 7 days (because they themselves work weekend jobs, or some of their parents work every day) rather than acknowledging their answers she 'corrected' them by making a statement that implied that people who work 'real jobs' work 10 days every two weeks, and the correct answer should be ten days . She reiterated this point in several classes with complete disregard for the fact that she teachers in a low income school. I've also noticed how the students who are not black females are somewhat disregarded in the classroom, specifically the ecuadorian refugee students are ignored because their needs are different from the rest of the class.
Sorry for the rant, but I think it's important for us as people and espescially as teachers to be aware of the different types of students we have and how their experiences should influence how we teach.
No need to apologize. It's great when we get to hear stories like the one Danielle brought up, but way too often I have seen the opposite, like the story you mentioned. Those are the realities that many of our students face. Your story is validating that. Thanks.
DeleteNatali,
ReplyDeleteWhat a creative post! Thanks for the visuals. I think that we all want those lessons to be part of daily lesson plans and also the curriculum. It’s important that students connect to what they learn. Depending on the different needs and fulfilling them is part of teaching on a daily basis. To answer your question about the mentor teacher addressing any of the ten lessons made me think of my fieldwork experience at North Grand. I attended the Open House that took place last week at the high school; it was a great way to have the families and students come to school together. Many times such events are not taken in consideration, but I felt that it was really nice to have the students and parents walking around the school, meeting with teachers, exploring the art exhibit, playing math games or simply enjoying the evening at school. As I was walking from table to table, I noticed the flyers regarding the Breast Cancer Awareness Month, where the students were given flyers with information women could go for a mammogram or another table where the students were presenting their collages, or simply giving out cookies. The students were excited to share their posters and be in charge of the event as least partially. I felt that it was a great evening where the community came together.
Hi Natali,
ReplyDeleteI'm a visual learner too, so thanks for those excellent images. They certainly helped illustrate (ha! see what I did there?) the importance of these lessons as described to us. As the great teachers that we all aspire to be, certainly we want to include these skills in our lessons. One that I believe should be addressed early on in the school year, if not on the first day, is to create a sense of family. By creating a family or community among the students in the class, they are able to feel a greater sense of belonging. From this you can create a sense of accountability and if you are unable to make them responsible for their own learning, they can feel responsible for each others' learning.
Hey Natali,
ReplyDeleteGreat recap of the chapter! I think that honoring our students' communities and cultures is extremely important. If we honor who our students are, we can start to create a classroom environment that is friendly and safe. One of the best examples I have for creating that sense of family are the teachers that let me hang out with them during lunch. I hated the lunchroom, mostly because it was absolutely disgusting, so I always wanted to find somewhere to go in the winter (because who wants to walk somewhere off campus when it's 10 degrees out). Plenty of teachers would invite my friends and me to eat lunch in their rooms. We mostly sat around and talked about books. It helped me see them in a different light when I was in the classroom because they were so willing to adapt their schedules and let us make something of the environment.
I totally agree with what you are saying! Building a safe and comfortable environment means having a successful relationship with your students, which creates a great community. I believe that in order for students to have a great relationship with education means having a great relationship with the community of the school. I am so glad that I am not the only one who would eat lunch and talk about books with teachers in their classroom. The fact that these teachers and "open door" policy (I put it in quotes since my school didn't have doors) made me feel more connected to the school and my education.
DeleteHey Natali,
ReplyDeleteTo answer your questions:
1. I think every teacher should strive to incorporate these ideas into their classroom. These read like a list of qualifications for teachers, and all within the profession should keep these in mind in all aspects of their preparation and assessment.
2. I have seen my mentor teacher address these, specifically creating community within, and outside of her classroom. With her social justice program in place in the school, my mentor teacher helps students see the other side of arguments and disagreements with their peers, and helps to foster a positive working environment.
3. I think that creating an environment of mutual honor and respect can go a long ways in creating a positive classroom environment, on in which the students feel free to share their ideas and feelings about what is going on in the world, and with the material.
4. I remember my high school physics teacher demanding critical thinking of his students, especially myself. That physics class changed my entire outlook on school, and life to some degree. I can only hope I can do the same for my students.
5. Every student has the capability to learn, it just isn't always easy to find sometimes. Seeing the brilliance in students can take some work on our part as teachers, but it is there. You sometimes need to go digging for it, but with some effort, you can find it.
Great post!
Thank you so much for the visuals Natali. I think the list the teacher provide us with is quite assertive and helpful. I particularly like the point of respecting and honoring the student’s home culture. I feel is essential to validate the student’s values and background knowledge. I also liked the last point of fostering a sense of the student’s connection to community. Perhaps presenting opportunities for community involvement such volunteering can potentially help our students aware of the resources available to them and the gratifying feeling one can acquire from helping others in need. If everyone helped each other, our communities would be in much better condition. We need to make sure our students are sensible to the needs of others. I feel astonished whenever I hear that there was an accident or a violent incident in which the bystanders took video footage of the events instead of providing aid or calling for help.
ReplyDeleteHi Natali!
ReplyDeleteGreat choice of visuals! Each picture really correlates perfectly with the lessons! I think that the most important lessons to focus on with our students is honoring/ respecting students home/ culture as well as connecting with the community. I really believe that these 2 lessons are the foundation of all other lessons, we wont be able to build and teach the rest if we haven't established these 2. It will be impossible to build a family, address their needs and build on what students already know if we don't know our students and by connecting with their community and culture we've taken serious steps in getting to know our students.
Thanks for a good post Natali! I also like the use of visuals to help make your points. I think I can implement all of these lessons in my future classes. I already think that all people have the ability to become anything that they want, so i will always look for the brilliance in my students. Throughout the school year I will make it one of my primary goals to ensure that students are able to comprehend and use the basic skills necessary to do well in social studies. I will do this by taking the time necessary to work with students that lack the basic skills while also challenging the ones that already have the skills. As for critical thinking, that is my bread and butter. I want to challenge all of my students to think about things in different ways and to do this I will also include many perspectives on an issue to make sure that the students have to see many different angles of an event in history. To provide emotional strength, i want to get to know the students on a personal level, which I will do from day one. I will also be empathetic towards all of the students' situations outside of the school. As the school years progresses and I become familiar with the students' strengths, I will use them in working with the students one on one and helping them decide what kinds of projects to do for the class. In order to connect to their world, i am going to take the first week of class to really get to know my students, to find what interests them about social studies and to build a community of learners, or more of a family environment. By getting to know the students, I will be able to see some of their needs and then address them in whatever fashion they need to be addressed in. I do not want to just teach about what some dead white guys did. i also want to teach a culturally diverse curriculum to address the different cultures I will find in my classrooms. In order to foster a sense of community, at the end of each unit i want to apply what we learned to present contexts either in our community or our country to ensure that students understand that many of the events that have taken place in the past still take place today and that there are things that they can do to help.
ReplyDeleteWhat I really like about the lessons is that they build off each other. For example, you may not see a student's brilliance until you create a sense of family, where the student is more open to you and then his or her brilliance shines. We may have seen these lessons in one form or another in other classes but I like how the readings simply point them out. I always relate these lessons to my philosophy of how teachers and students must meet each other half way. Teachers must reach out to students and students must participate in their education.
ReplyDeleteAll of these lesson are great to incorporate into our classrooms in the near future. In my opinion, I believe that 7. Creating a sense of family and, 9. Honoring and respecting the children's home culture are the most valuable lessons that we should set out to accomplish when we first meet our students. Students need to feel that they are in a safe space where they can trust each other and the teacher, and working to create this sense of family in the classroom will have great benefits in the long run. Honoring and respecting children's home culture will help create this sense of family in the classroom because they will feel accepted and respected even if their cultures are different from one another or from the teachers.
ReplyDeleteI do believe these lessons to be important and that we should do our best to incorporate them into our classrooms. My mentor teacher has definitely incorporated many of these into the classroom as well. It helps with getting the students to feel at home and comfortable. It helps build a strong relationship between the teacher and his/her students as well as amongst the students themselves. We must reach out to our students and help them achieve what they are capable of achieving.
ReplyDeleteGreat recap of the chapter! To be honest I am not seeing a lot of the elements that you listed above, unfortunately. The one that I can say that my cooperating teacher does well is encouraging critical thinking, but that is about it. I worry thatI will have a hard time incorporating and balancing all of the elements. I think that most of the attributes above are not achieved in a 50 minute period however, but earned throughout the entire year.
ReplyDeleteHonor and respect community certainly stood out for me. On Friday at my school, the students were finishing up the movie, Speak. First, I had no idea that Kristin Stewart (pre vampire...whoops spoiler alert) from Twilight was the lead. Anyway, the kids were watching the final 15 minutes or so and could not care less. Many were talking, looking at their phones, and fidgeting. Of course I could see all of this because I was at the back of the room observing them observing the movie. Once the movie was completed, my mentor teacher put in the movie Raisin in The Sun. He is not movie happy. It just happened that the class was not able to finish the movie Speak before they started Raisin. One student exclaimed, "P. Diddy is in this!" The movie began and after about 3 minutes of restlessness, you could've heard a pin drop. The students appeared instantly pulled into the story and were engaged with the conflict. I tell this story to confirm that finding stories that relate to the students personally, have a much greater resonance. Now granted, I'm making this observation just based on students' engagement with the movie. I wasn't privy to any critical thinking discussions about the viewing of the film to know what they specifically learned, or if they really did like what they were watching. And I'm also not saying that students shouldn't be exposed to other literature/media from other cultures. But finding out what the students interests are seem to be a great step in opening the door to further learning.
ReplyDeleteHi. that is a nice recap (and although I am more of a textual learner. I do enjoy visuals and believe in the adage that a picture often speaks a 1000 words (often lacks "context" though, which is why I prefer a text). I think a lot of these have been engrained in every single education course we've ever taken and are for lack of better terms, "common sense". I've seen my mentor teacher touch on many/most of these themes and although we are much different (in terms of temperament and probably politics) I find many things to admire in his approach and style. Although this also brings up a somewhat amusing observation memory, from one of my previous observations. It was a fairly difficult class at a neighborhood school and the teacher who had the least patience for some of their "nonsense" (and "might" be accused by some of failing at some of these) was by a young woman (I'm guessing around 30? ) who taught Biology at a school that was almost 90% Hispanic. I think some freshly minted teacher or idealistic book author/researcher might have labeled her "culturally insensitive" when observing her classroom management. One problem with this "accusation" though.. She was Hispanic. LOL
ReplyDeleteYep. All good lessons. As you say, these ten tenets have served to validate my extant philosophy of teaching. Now let’s get our hands a little dirty with some of the content of Delpit’s lessons, shall we?
ReplyDeleteDelpit’s ideal of fostering a sense of the children’s connection to their community, “to something greater than themselves” (132) is of particular interest to me. Delpit identifies a shift in the declared purpose of black students’ education. Located after federal school desegregation laws in the late 1950s, the former attitude of the purpose of education for black youth, “you pursued learning because this is how you asserted yourself as a free person; how you claimed your humanity” (132), gave way to the “meager” “incentive,” you “must do well in school for only one purpose – to get a job” (133). Not only is this supposedly in the best interest of our earning obsessed culture, but it is also in the interest of the nation. The state provides public education in order to maintain a workforce, in order to compete in the global economy. And though I think there might be some nostalgia at work in Delpit’s example, there is no doubt that the discourse of education has shifted from raison d’etre to raison d’etat.
And indeed, this is not limited to our black students. For instance, the Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1977 is colored with the rhetoric of earning. Teachers are to promote “…independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities.” Indeed, how often did you hear during your own schooling that whichever assignment you were railing against that day would help you write emails, speak up in work meetings, or perform some other equally pertinent task to the life of the worker drone?
If we aren’t even pretending ED’s about liberation any more (for economic self-sufficiency is not liberation), how do we stay inspired and inspire our students, as Delpit suggests?
Hey Natali, nice visual aids.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite lesson is "Demand critical thinking." I appreciated the story of Dr. Shabazz and his 109 graduate students and I agree that Shabazz's model is especially useful to the urban classroom. My mentor teacher at Westinghouse is constantly connecting the world to the classroom, another tenet of the chapter's 10 lessons, to encourage students to practice critical thinking. In my experience, students at GWCP are less enthusiastic to learn literary devices, poetry analysis, etc. for the sole purpose of getting good grades and scoring well on tests. But when they are given a chance to critically think about how to construct their own soliloquy in response to Shakespeare, for example, they usually shine. I find that when student's understand their own agency in the learning process and question what is given learning appears to be useful to their own lives. Overall, I find the students at GWCP much less willing to memorize vocabulary or literary devices but eager to question the given knowledge and supplant it with their own... the latter, to me, seems to be the purpose/activity of education.
Similar to what a sociologist, C. Wright Mills once said, I truly believe an individual cannot understand his/her own experience or gauge his/her own fate without locating his/herself within the trends of his/her epoch and life-chances of all individuals of his/her social layer. That being said, I think the one I would focus on most in I had to pick one skill at a time, would be the honoring and respecting a child's home culture/fostering a safe and healthy class environment by creating a community within the confounds of my room. Students' developments do not pose as only an individual issue but community issue. So much of our experiences and societal feedback can mold us. The stigmatisms students/youth face with everyday interactions, little moments, such as discussing nuclear families when a child lives with their grandmother, or giving students typing assignments when they don't have access to a computer at home. These can totally have students re-identify themselves in a negative way. It is important that we watch our word choice and verbiage in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteMy mentor does all of these, effortlessly, whether purposeful or subconsciously. With 10 years of experience, she brings so much energy, creativity, and encouragement to the classroom. My ideal class room would run like hers. She's very conscious of how she speaks of personal things but always finds way to make real life connections for the students. The class is very much so student based learning. They feed off of one another, whether agreeing/disagreeing. The send each other air high fives and say "awesome sauce" etc. They are a family and have to grapple with one another when coming to conclusions about text because she does not offer answers, only questions to push them into critical thinking and creating credible/justifiable answers.
Natali: Of the characteristics that Delpit had elucidated, the two that I have attempted to hone in developing my lesson plans were those that emphasized a sense of community that allows students to think critically with respect to their place in the world and their pathways to make a change in that work. I agree with Drew: I do think that students are more engaged when they have the opportunity to create their own products of knowledge in relation to the concept being presented, rather than having the teacher discuss the purely formal elements of something like, say, a speech, where students are asked to note rhetorical qualities an the like. Turning the student into a constant producer is a way to drive home the point that they are co-creators in the learning process, one that is horizontal, where I am just as interested in the object being discussed as they are.
ReplyDeleteNatali,
ReplyDeleteLove the ways you visually paid respects to this chapter and its lessons that we should ingrain in our heads as future teachers. I guess the question I will ask is if I knew any of these types of teachers while I was a student in high school. The answer is yes, but I'm not so sure if they exhibited all of them equally. It just depends on our character and what we value as human beings. But that's the other thing I find intriguing- that being decent human beings, as Dr. Ward who passed away last year told our class told us, is what it's about too. It's not only teaching the content, but also it is our responsibility to teach students to be the types of sons, daughters, neighbors, and best friends we yearn for. I think that these 10 lessons will help our students get there and more importantly, if teachers model them. We wear many hats: teacher as healer, teacher as instructor, teacher as coach, teacher as leader. Maybe it's possible that the most important one of these is teacher as friend because that way we are giving into the fact that our students have much to teach us, too.
When reading these lessons I started to think what kinds of lessons I have learned from my teachers. The lessons that I have learned are to be truthful, to not worry about time too much, and let the students speak.
ReplyDelete