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Your first blog question: In the the Monroe article, the author posits that understanding cultural contexts is the "key to effective discipline". The author goes further and puts out several strategies in order to become more culturally connected to the lives' of our students. In your blog response, assess one or more of these strategies as it relates to your own cultural contexts and teaching environments. Weigh any merits or shortcomings to her argument given the challenges of teaching in the 21st century classroom.
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16 comments:
From my perspective as a school counselor, I agree with the author's recommendation to utilize specific classroom strategies to help close the discipline gap. While reading the article, I had several different scenarios come to mind involving one particular student and the tension between this student and a few teachers toward the end of a school year. Monroe's suggestion to "Establish strong reltaionships with parents and other student caregivers" was the solution that we utilized to address the tension because the lack of communication between home and school was a big part of the problem. The mother expressed a desire to be actively involved with her student's educational experience and requested that she be contacted with any academic and/or behavior concerns about her child. The team shared academic and behavioral concerns with the parent and included the parent on regular communication from the team about upcoming expectations. From personal conversations I had with the student's mother, we were able to develop good rapport, establish a positive relationship, and understand that were all on the same team with the same goal for the student. I met with the student and shared that home and school were on the same page and wanted to support the student in being successful. The outcome was positive as a result of utilitizing this strategy. The only disadvantage/difficulty I've observed with utilizing this strategy is when the frequency of communication becomes excessive or is expected to occur immediately. In a profession where every day is extremely different than the day before and any situation/crisis could occur, it is sometimes difficult to respond immediately.
The classroom strategies suggested by the author all have definite possibilities. However, as we discussed this morning, there is probably no one right or wrong way to tackle cross-culture behavior issues. As a teacher, we need to be comfortable with the strategies we use. This leads me to my first reaction. Monroe says to, "Apply culturally responsive discipline" in our classrooms. She suggests we "switch between standard-English and African American dialect, and mirror community-based verbiage, cadence, facial expressions, conversation topics, and demeanor." This would make me incredibally uncomfortable. I feel if I attempted this strategy, I would make the situation worse. My gut feeling is that students would take this the attempt at bridging the culture gap the wrong way and claim I was mocking them or making fun of their culture. I love to discuss cultural interests with my students as a way to get to know them better. However, acting or talking like them would be difficult for me. I think by simply asking students questions and understanding why they do what they do would allow me to make educated decisions on how to handle individual discipline issues without having to pretend I am something I am not.
This leads me to my second reaction. Monroe's first strategy listed is to, "Understand yourselves as cultural beings." In this sections she states that, "Behavior, for both students and teachers, is both learned and adaptable." I love this concept. Behavior can and will change. If we get to know our students better, we can adapt our own behavior and expectations to meet the needs of our students and creating an effective learning environment. Therfore, we may need to modify our discipline strategies as well. This might happen from year to year, semester to semester, or even from one class to the next. I've heard many teachers use the strategy of allowing individual classes to determine their own rules. I think this would be an excellent strategy in a culturally-diverse school because student behaviors within one class can potentially be very different based on their upbringings. I've never tried this myself, but after reading the article, it might be a good way to establish order and expectations in the classroom that makes every student happy and comfortable.
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I thought the article was very generalized. Much of the advice it gives to better understand African American students educators, ideally, would do for any student. For example, taking an authoritative approach-speaking clearly, being more explicit than implicit in direction, trying to get to know your students on a personal level and their background can certainly apply to all students.
I found many of her suggestions unrealistic. First, I don't think many teachers are going to switch between standard-English and African American dialect in their classrooms. Also, while we do want to get to know our students on a more personal level, not many are going to visit student homes, participate in their religious activities, get involved in their community organizations, and serve a "surrogate parent".
In addition, I thought the examples she used to prove her point were very poor. Perhaps, I do need an inservice because I thought LaTonya was not being "expressive", but rude. The others kids knew her and how she behaved, and even joked about it.To me, that's attention seeking behavior-done by students of any color. I think she would know by 11th grade that "miss Lady" is rude. Also, on page 163 it refers to kids being penalized for sharpening pencils. I don't know any teacher that would discipline a student for sharpening a pencil-assuming they did it when they are supposed to. If a student in my class gets up to sharpen a pencil while I am speaking, I ask that they wait until I am done. Is that wrong? And it goes on to say that two boys were engaged in a spirited "culturally based linguistic exchange" which apparently was mistaken for aggresive behavior. The article states that this was misinterpreted by a "novice" teacher. If I would see something that looks like aggressive behavior I would break it up, too. Even if I know it is a cultural thing, if it was indeed an aggressive behavior, it shouldn't be done in school.
So, while I agree with the idea of the article and I do think she makes some valid points, I think she should have found more specific examples, and not generalized so much.
to Sarah,
I also really like the idea of students creating their own rules!
To Denise
Great example! How many hours in a day would we need to do that with every student?!
I have to agree most definately with the "Establishing strong relationships with parents" view in this article.
In Palmyra's 2nd grade, the large majority of parents are already very involved in student's lives and the everyday workings of the classroom. Where they are not however, is where the problems arise. Parent involvment is key to the student's positive attitude toward education and school in the early ages. When parents don't show that they care or support what the teacher/school is doing, the young child will act similarly. If I can gain the trust of the parents and we can take a similar approach, the student's outlook usually can change for the better as well.
Also in elementary, we have little choice in "Assuming multiple roles in student's lives." We have the same 20 to 30 kids all day for 180 days. On top of teaching them; we take them to lunch, help them cope with peers, pick them up when they fall on the playground, and sometimes let them cry on our shoulder. The context of elementary school sort of forces you into it.
The section on "understanding yourself as a culture being," is thought provoking. I was raised in a very strict environment where there was only 1 right way to do things and that has certainly left its mark on my teaching and life styles. I must continue to remind myself to be adaptable when it comes to behaviors and what is acceptable. I'm not so sure that I choose my battles in the classroom as wisely as I could and keeping this thought in mind could help.
Growing up in a small town with a historically European-American background, I feel as new teacher I need to start in the beginning with this concept. To understand myself as a cultural being could be developed with one of the tools suggested. I went to the Project Implicit website and took a practice test. My results were inconclusive based on my speed of answer. They came out as a slight favorite toward ‘one group’, but with the inconclusive comment, I probably thought about it too much. That indicates I need to work on this area. I never considered myself as someone who favors one group of people. I do agree on getting involved in extracurricular activities and it serves to keep you on top of youths every changing interest.
I agree with Sarah’s comment about Monroe’s suggestion to that teachers mirror the dialect, verbiage and cadence of their students. As a teacher it is our responsibly to model proper etiquette and decorum in our classrooms, not perpetuate the bad habits of our students. This not only would make most educators uncomfortable, it would also make the students feel uncomfortable because they would feel that their teacher is being phony. I tested this theory in my classroom when I did as Monroe suggested and modeled student vocabulary. The only difference between what I did and what Monroe suggested was that I did it tongue and cheek to make a point, and not to gain rapport. In an effort to make students realize their use of vocabulary made them sound uneducated, I adopted their words and said “This upcoming test is mad hard”. Students immediately gave me strange looks, laughed, and told me I sounded crazy. This was the result I intended. I then pointed out that I used the exact language they used, and if I sounded bizarre that they appeared equally ridiculous. My example resonated with a few students but largely fell on deaf ears and in no way did I gain rapport with my students. I did this a few more times throughout the semester to make students chuckle and to show that I can laugh at myself, but never did it cause students to take me seriously.
I think a wiser stance would be to have students realize that we are all different and rather than conform and hide our differences we should be proud of them and share them with others. I am also quick to point out that there are various times when we should yield to social norms and tone down our quirks (Job interviews, etc).
To thine own self be true. You can not go into a classroom and attempt to be something that you are not. The students will see through this very quickly and you will have lost all credibility with them. I was born in Europe, specifically in Germany and lived all over Europe until I was 21. When I did finally come back to America, (My father is American) I knew that I had to become proficient in English and adopt certain American traditions to an extent, if I wanted to get anywhere. I did not expect America or Americans to cater to my poor English or European ways. I do believe that since I was raised in other countries and I come from a diverse background. My father is Native American(Seneca/Iroquois) and my mother German, that I do understand the cultural connection.I use this and the languages I speak to connect with the students, but never to give them an excuse. I am Native American and German, but I still have an expected role in society and a classroom that I have to fulfill and my cultural identity does not trump that.Could you imagine a class where the Hispanic students did as their culture dictated, the African students did as their culture dictated, the Asian students and Native American students.One part of classroom management is to define your classroom and then within that scope to be understanding of others and their culture.
I do believe that the article has a great point in that we should use more culturally divers examples in our teaching when possible and in our language arts selection of reading.
Once again don't fake it the outcome will not be the one you are trying to achieve.
I will start with responding to all the excellent posts already up :)
Denise: I agree with the author and yourself about having strong parent teacher communication throughout the school year. Our administration and 6th grade team strive to keep all parents "in the loop" with all things happening at school and with their child, good and bad. We try very hard to start the year off on a good note by making sure to make contact with the parents for a positive reason.
Sarah: I agree with you and Mr. Hess who said that mimicking your students "cultural behaviors" would not be very natural. I do not think I could act that way on purpose, but my first few years I did find myself acting like the kids when I got upset and felt out of control of the situation. I would "show" them how they were acting, and felt bad afterward because it was out of frustration.
Jodi: When the author mentions assuming multiple roles in students' lives, I agree that it can be very difficult but I also think the students and parents would see that you are taking that extra step and are really trying to connect and they would respect your actions which hopefully would lead to having a greater overall respect for you! When I was in Philly and MD, the administrators would often suggest getting out into the community. Other teachers would tell me about going to children's birthday parties and picnics. I actually lived in an apartment complex where MANY of my students lived, I think it was great for their parents and the kids to see me outside of school. My husband and I would even play ball with the kids, talk with them, etc...
Warren: I am with you when saying that we grew up with having 1 right way to act. I often find myself baffled at my students who are acting out because I would have NEVER done that in school, or even to another adult, EVER!
Glen: I feel that you will grow tremendously in understanding your cultural being because you have already used one of the tools!!! That shows that you are ready to make changes, that is a big step. I am also going to take the test, because I feel, like you, that I treat everyone the same, but maybe this test will open my eyes to areas that need some work.
Mr. Hess: I already mentioned how I also have shown students "how they are acting" when I got frustrated, but again, I hope I do not do that again, it didn't help the situation.
I think that Monroe has some points that are valid. I did my student teaching in a tough
Philadelphia area middle school and my first year of teaching was in a rural Pennsylvania school consisting of about 95% New York City transplants. Needless to say both schools were very diverse and teaching was difficult. I don't think the idea of switching between standard English and African American dialect is a good one at all but teachers can make the effort to bridge culture gaps by being aware of for example, popular music, movies, etc. and referencing/incorporating them in class where possible. This does help to build rapport without being phony.
I also agree with parental involvement and here in Palmyra most parents are very involved with the education of their children. I have noticed that in the three places that I have taught that the most difficult behavioral problems are with those children that have little or no parental support. Monroe has nice ideas about getting involved with families and communities but in many inner city situations
(like where I student taught),many students had parole officers not parents. To make a real difference you do have to become a surrogate parent. It would be a huge committment and not one that many would be willing to make.
I think Monroe is correct in that we should be aware of cultural differences but I don't think that most of her ideas would make a difference with discipline. Using her opening example, I wouldn't care what LaTonya's background was, she was a disruption to the class and her behavior was unacceptable!
The author mentions that "the discipline gap appears to stem from a lack of cultural synchronization in the classroom", and I am going to agree with her. I feel the best teachers really get to know their students and the differences within the classroom. Good teachers will be able to use the many cultures to their advantage during instruction and should allow their students to share their cultures with the class. I have even seen lessons that deal with "breaking stereotypes" that would lay out many common stereotypes and then have the students explain where those stereotypes might have started.
In 6th grade we have our students choose at least 4 different multicultural novels to read throughout the year. We also do a multicultural Lit. Circle which leads to great discussions from my 99% Caucasian classes.
The very last paragraph of this article makes many wonderful points. Especially when she states that most teachers have good intentions but still need to take a step back and truly look at who and why they are disciplining certain students.
Music is certainly a way to connect to the students. I have a spotlight student in my class on a weekly basis and they are allowed to bring in music of their choice for the class to hear. It is amazing how quickly the kids warm up to each other when they hear the music (whether it is their favorite kind or not). I also play my style of music and we talk about the background of lots of different types. It is the universal language!
Sorry, I meant to add that as part of Donna's post.
I agree with Jodi on many points. The article, although focused on cultural differences, makes suggestions that could apply to all kids. There are things we can take back to the classroom even if we don't teach culturally diverse populations. Although we all want to positively affect every kid's life we see, it would be impossible to do so. As Jodi says, it is unrealistic to go to all of their community events, church gatherings, parties, or take the role of surrogate parent. I don't even think it is fair that she suggest this. Many teachers have their own families to take care of. We would be doing a disservice to our own children if spent all of our free time with our students. It's not that we don't care, but teachers do have a life outside of school...a life where they pursue their own interests, enjoy their own cultures, and spend time with their own families. Our job is to teach students a particular subject in a comfortable and safe learning environment. I understand that Monroe thinks spending time with kids outside of school will help create this ideal "place" for learning, but it is not ideal for the well-being of the teacher. Many of these education critics and researchers seem to forget that teachers are only human. Plus, if you go to some kids' events, then you have to go to all of them or you will be accused of having "favorites" in class. Doesn't it seem like sometimes we get placed in a no win situation :)
Look at all these bloggers!! Just checking in (and I read your response to the first prompt). Well done. Please read somebody else's response when you get a moment. Hope your research is going well. I have my cell on me for any clarifications. Check out Warren's kid---very cute. MZ
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