"May the odds be ever in your favor" Article by Marshall and Rosati

 

Goals set forth by the authors: First, we wanted to challenge students’ stereotypes about social class by helping them recognize how class structures their everyday lives. We used Pierre Bourdieu’s definition of class to guide our teaching. In this model, three forms of capital are at work: economic (financial assets), social (networks and institutional relationships), and cultural (education, ways of speaking, style of dress). Our second goal was to encourage students to see class struggle as part of their own histories, and to connect Collins’ story of collective resistance to the real world by providing them with a historical example of class solidarity.

So where to start - I am completely in shock with the creative and innovative ideas that so many other people have as it pertains to educations and what/how it can be perceived.  

1. Reaching the students on a social level 
2. Introducing heavy concepts that might elicit certain feelings (anger, heappiness, sadness, etc) 
3. Clear understanding of Class and power through a movie
4. Teaching actual history and events that have taken place from a social justice standpoint

Moana as a Disney Princess

 How does it feel to think about DISNEY in through the critical lenses posed by Christensen and my slides? How did these frameworks help you think about Moana?

I have always looked at these movies as an adult through the analytical standpoint of the means and its underlying tone- even more so because I have two toddlers who love to watch movies.

This framework helps me to more quickly analysis the events and the characters in the movies and this can also be a great too to engage the students in learning the terminology that is within the new curriculum- while still being clear and adaptive for MLL students in the classroom.

Final Project part 1: what do you believe about how students learn and what do you want to improve for fall 2021?

 Questions: What do you believe about how students learn and what do you want to improve for fall 2021?

Where do I start? I believe that all students can learn at their own pace and use tools that they have acquired from different people, teachers and family members who have had an impact on their lives moreover the students are usually more technology savvy. I want my students to be more interested and engaged in their learning this school year and produce work that they are proud of doing on a multitude of levels, ie at home, with friends and at school. The enjoyment and engagement in the classroom will be an ever-changing event- I want to grow with the students and the times to better adapt my interventions and learning on my part.

I want to improve on my student engagement and work completion data that shows the students growth. I am thinking that I need to include this in my google classroom to streamline the tasks and ideas that I have for the students to become more self-sufficient in their learning - student lead and centered vs. teacher lead.

Response to Mitra

 Question: How does this Ted Talk make you think about your role with young people in an online environment?

Answer: This Ted Talk that I just listened to makes me think that however old the child is or where they are from their ability to adapt and learn is something that occurs no matter what. I am one to say that no matter the language or expectations students rise to the occasion and usually exceed the expectations in ways that are not always visible. - One thing this dwells in my mind is the fact that Mitra states that "could there one day be a time when knowledge is obsolete?" - this in fact seems to be coming at the speed of light and I am honestly scared that people, both adults and children will one day not know how to function nor understand how to live without the technology, ie living off the land, off grid and or how to function without TV, Phones, Computers ect.

Response to Turkle and Wesch

Question: What is the relationship between Turkle and Wesch? Do you see them as allies or opponents in this discussion of new media and technology?

Answer: There are many similarities and differences between both of this impressive speakers. I feel as though it seems on the one hand that they seem to be opponents in the ideology of new media and technology but also speaking to the point that youths are changing and not in ways that we totally understand and our expectation have also been altered.

            Turkle:

            Wesch: The following section of the text from Wesch seemed to be completely what I not only see in the classroom but also the way that I feel as a teacher of Middle school students- "The signs of the significance problem extend beyond the classroom scenes captured in the video and permeate our everyday conversations in ways many of us do not recognize. Consider the often-heard lament, “some students are just not cut out for school.” The statement passes without question or even a hint of protest, yet think about what the statement says when we replace “school” with what school should be all about: “learning.” Some students are just not cut out for learning? Nobody would dare make the statement. Learning is the hallmark of humanity. We are all cut out for learning. It is what makes us human. If our students are “not cut out for school”, perhaps we have made the mold too narrow or inflexible, or more likely, just not meaningful enough to inspire a student to fit in. That’s the significance problem." This goes back to the fact that many students are not "build" the same meaning that they do not process and produce work in the same almost stagnant ways that education expects to occur.

Mike Wesch TED Talk

Question:  What does Mike Wesch believe about how students learn?

Answer: Wow where do I begin, there are so many take aways that I had gotten from this, my largest came when he spoke of the student that always sleeps in his class and how he changed his mindset and provided him with an outlet for him to grow and develop as a whole.

        I want to know how I can bring this into my classroom to better accommodate the students that have other interests and the way which I need to present it to not only the student but the families and administration.

I have pure admiration for this man and how he effectively changed course in the way which he interacted with the "sleeping student". This just goes to prove that he like many others has a strong relationship with his students and he changed his way of teaching to better and more effectively reach his students- this is a true goal that I have set as well.

Response to Prensky and Boyd

Question:  What do you make of the (divergent) positions of Boyd and Prensky?  What do you hear each of them saying about who youth are?  Where do you stand on the “digital native” terminology?

Answer: Based on the two articles that we read and the TED talk we watched about Robinson's point of view it makes me feel as though there are many parallels that can be drawn between all three.  

    Prensky: This article made me think about the way in which I teach and how I can use the students strengths and weaknesses as a tool for my classroom.  However the terminology that was used " digital natives" and "digital immigrants" made me feel a bit uneasy as i thought about it.  Based on the interactions I have had with students over the past few years however digital savvy the students are they still need to understand the basics to some extent.  Something else that I did notice when I was reading is the way which the font changed from line to line or statement to statement which reflect an almost childlike play on the main themes in the text.  

    Boyd: When reading chapter 7 of  "It's complicated" one would notice that the author had given the students a similar title as Prensky did but not as problematic of terminology.  The labeling of students as digital ‘natives’ leaves out the nuances and inequities that exist in any skill acquisition.  Boyd seems to show that the skills that is being acquired on any and all levels is where it all starts and that the educators are the ones that facilitate that action. On some level I can see this when new students arrive from countries with less technology experiences- this is where the students need to have direct instructions that are explicit.

    Robinson: When watching this TED talk, it really resonated with me as I felt that he grasped the way that Education is presented in the United states - that it is TEST CENTERED and not as student oriented as it should be.  

Overview and connections: All three of these people seem to be getting at the fact that there has been a global change in the way that students learn and develop.  the epitope of this occured when this Global Pandemic hit and we all had to become more digitally adapted and formed spaces for the students to communicate, learn and grow.