Disillusionment

This chapter of Teaching Hope examined the more personal struggles that teachers face. Those problems that we hold inside and keep to ourselves. These are the issues that bring us down and make us ask "Why the hell did I choose this job?".  I was particularly drawn to entry #81. In this entry, a special educator is approached by a student asking why her regular teachers don't understand dyslexia and why don't they follow the modifications set in place. This makes me so angry. Like this student, I can't understand why a teacher wouldn't take the time to understand what their student is dealing with. Shouldn't we all want to do whatever it takes so that our students might succeed? Is it just me? I hope not. Yes. It might be impossible for our special education classes to teach us everything about every learning disability. But that doesn't mean that we can just turn a blind eye to those that we don't fully understand. The teachers in this situation should be looking up any information they can to understand their student. If they have questions about modifications, they should have a conversation with the special educator, the parents, or even the student. We should all be working toward a common goal: teaching our students in manners that foster success and confidence. When we are able to allow our students to become successful in the face of a "disability" they are able to see that they are "ABLE". Teachers that continue to be ignorant of what affects our students should honestly have a reality check. When you refuse to take the time to understand what students are struggling with, you have no business giving them a low grade. Give yourself one. Let someone who cares teach this student. It might take a little more effort, but isn't that what teaching is all about?

Engagement

The one thing we are all waiting for in the years to come: a breakthrough moment. Isn't that the reason most of us are working towards becoming teachers? I know it is for me. I want to strive for each one of my students to achieve something they never thought possible, or make them think in new ways, or make them feel like someone cares. One moment. That's all I'm looking for. I suppose that my favorite entry in this chapter was #65. In this entry, a teacher is bombarded by questions from his fourth graders as he is about to leave and witness the birth of his daughter. One boy stands up from the rear of his class and announces "Guys, leave Mr. C alone. He doesn't need to worry about us; his wife needs him right now" (147). The teacher is surprised because this is the student that never speaks and is more often found with his head on his desk than his hand in the air. Upon returning from paternity leave, he realizes that this student sees his teacher as a male role model because he has been living without. While some might find this entry to make them feel nervous about someone taking on that role, or apprehensive that they will one day fill this role for a child, it is one of the reasons that make me so excited to become a teacher. You can't be distant from your students. You need to care about them and show them respect. For some students you might be the first to do so. As long as there are kids hurting in this world, they will need teachers to be there to reach out to them. Not because we have to or are expected to, but because we can. In all that we do we should be there for "every Jason who needs someone to love him, respect him, or just listen to him" (148). You never know, you might be the person that changes their life.

"Like going for a swim in a cement overcoat"

So, the first fifty years of the 1900s were pretty busy as far as education. Well, in the next thirty years, even more stuff started happening. One of the biggest issues facing the nation's schools at the start of the 50s was the overwhelming amount of segregation allowed by law. In 1950, seventeen states required segregation BY LAW. Black students attended all black schools taught by all black teachers. These teachers were more qualified than the white teachers, but it is hard to teach to your full potential when you are using second or third rate materials. Because of this imbalance, black students were at an unfair disadvantage. Some parents recognized this and sought to enroll their children in white schools. This is where the famed Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka comes in. In 1954, Earl Warren announced the ban on segregation in public schools in America. While this decision was appeased, it was not upheld in full. Students attended the same schools, but were on different sports teams, clubs, and organizations. Lyndon B. Johnson, however, came in and said, "Hey... cut it out!" and put a ban on all discrimination with the Civil Rights Act.
While all this was happening, in the background was the struggle for Mexican American students. In school, these students were denied the rights to their culture; most importantly through banning the use of the Spanish language. Students that used little English in the home were being expected to learn in completely English classrooms. This obviously didn't go well. Eventually because of the struggle of the students that cared enough to seek a better education, Bilingual Education became allowed in schools. Students of different nationalities were finally able to recognize their heritage as well as learn with greater ease with their peers.
Finally, one of the largest outrages for communities at this time was when girl students wanted to play sports. Imagine that! GIRLS playing SPORTS! Girls weren't allowed to have teams of sports unless they were cheerleaders. Even when girls were allowed to "participate" it was either on a club sport level devoid of competition (and sometimes skill) or among male teams where risk of harassment, injury, and unfair treatment was increased. Finally, due, once again to outspoken students, Title 9 was passed, making a law announcing that for each male sport team there must be a female sports team.
Throughout these thirty years, the term equality came under much scrutiny. If we must treat our students with equality, how can we treat them differently at the same time? We must understand, and continue to understand that "Fair isn't Always Equal" to borrow from a book. When we give students an education, it must be the best education we can give each student. That might mean teaching in a different language, making decisions about where we place our schools, or making a separate team for females to play on. As long as we continue to remember that each student deserves our best, we will be successful in this.

"I don't remember anything bigger than a bear"

Ok. So. Fifty years is a lot, right? Well I always knew that, but in looking at how America's school system changed in the beginning fifty years of the 1900s, fifty years seems like an eternity. At the beginning of the century, kids hated schools. Well, more than kids usually hate school. During this time students had the option of working in the mills and elsewhere. Here, students didn't have to read, no calisthenics, or listen to teachers. AND they got to make money (that they gave to their families... but still... come on!). So, while kids were hanging out, hating school and working in the factories, BAM: immigration! Millions of immigrants entered the United States, and they brought their millions of school age children. All of a sudden, schools were filled to the rafters, and schools often had to have shifts because there were too many bodies in one place. Eventually, to combat the overpopulation of schools, schools started being built at about the rate of one a day. (That's a lot). Students were able to filter into these schools in order to take some of the pressure off.
Problems solved, right? Well, not really. Things were pretty crazy. The whole "one room school house" thing wasn't cutting it anymore. Students were split into grades and taught completely in English. Yup, all of those people from countries that weren't English speaking countries were forced to learn in this new COMPLEX language. Well, ok. That's a problem that is still an issue. What else was happening? Well, John Dewey came around and decided to spice the educational system up a bit. He decided students should learn by doing. They should exercise their bodies as well as their minds. They should learn outside of the classroom. Kids should move around the school. Students should learn trades and useful things for later. All this learning should be fun. (And somewhere in there a zoo and bears and stuff happened... ?)
So while all that crazy stuff was going on, some French guy decided that IQ testing was a great idea. No big deal, it was just a system that was developed in order to achieve a Utopia filled with only smart people. The average mental age of an American man was 13.7. Smart, huh? Well, this test was used on students. White students tended to do fairly well, but the severely affected groups were those that differed in ethnicity. Apparently, being not white makes you stupid. Those students that didn't score an agreeable score were tracked into shop classes and other remedial programs.
Apparently, thus ends 1950. So, looking back, we might have made a few mistakes. And, who is to say that we aren't making mistakes now? I suppose what we have to do is continuously ask ourselves if what we are doing is beneficial to all learners. What sort of biases are we doling out? Are we giving the same opportunities to all learners regardless of age, ethnicity, ability, level, gender, sexual orientation, political standing, religion, etc etc etc... Also, do we have enough bears?

Generations Article

Abstract
This article examined the differences between people from the past four generations. Because we are from four very different time periods, there are huge differences in beliefs and expectations. Much of the difference can be seen when all four generations are placed in the work force together. This article outlined the specific beliefs across the board between the Veterans, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y and how these beliefs translate into the workplace. The author reminds all generations to keep in mind that we have all been raised differently within our generations and to remember these differences when working with older or younger generations in order to coexist peacefully.

Reflection
From personal experience I have seen the difficulties present when dealing with coworkers that are from a different generation. Many tend not to trust your teaching abilities due to lack of experience. It is hard to remember that they, too, were a first year teacher once. It was nice to see exactly what people from different time periods mean when they ask for certain things. Understanding what a request means from a different experience is really helpful. I think that it is important to understand where people are coming from, and hope that this will be able to work both ways for both me and my colleagues.

Challenges

This chapter pretty much summed up and put into one place all of the situations I worry most about dealing with as a teacher. It's not that I fear them, I only worry how I will handle myself and the students involved. Perhaps most of this worry comes from my own experiences throughout high school. Between 7th grade and graduation, it was a miracle to go six months without attending the funeral of a friend. I watched as friends withered away from cancer, got hit by cars, and slammed headlong into motor vehicles, trees, and bridges. I remember at each funeral the teacher that was closest to each individual would stand and deliver a eulogy or some meaningful memory to explain what this student meant to them. This is why entry 44 meant so much to me. This teacher is right. "no college professor's lecture or college textbook" prepares us to stand up and deliver a eulogy for a student. There is no "How to Read at a Student's Funeral For Dummies". It is rarely even stated in our classes, "Oh, and by the way, sometimes students die." This is why I worry about things like this: it is something constantly in the back of my mind because it happened so much in my school, and continues to happen there. This teacher handled this situation extremely well, and I hope that none of us have to endure the pain that is losing a student, especially when they are those that choose you as a friend and confidante making them "more than a student". Throughout our careers we will see examples of many of the stories held within this chapter on the challenges of teaching. I feel that the author of entry 32 put it best in saying that the stories we see in our students should become "tattooed on [our] heart[s]" and we should allow their voices to "stitch the open wounds of [our] past"

Anticipation

Throughout this chapter, twenty teachers shared their stories of anticipation. Each story moved me in its own unique way, but I feel that the biggest lesson that I drew from this section is that even though teaching is our experience, it is not about us. It is all about "them"... the students. In every instance, every teacher showed that although we go through rough times, get nervous, or have a shocking moment, each and every moment that we spend in the classroom (or sometimes outside) is for our students. Even for teachers that were completely out of their element realized that even though they might be uncomfortable, they can't let it get in the way of their profession. This isn't a fair weather job, and we must become comfortable with the notion that this sometimes we are faced with negative conditions in which we must flourish. As future educators, we must keep in mind that we have to bring unique experiences to our students and strive to foster an environment where they feel comfortable achieving as much as possible. When we successfully accomplish this, we, like teacher #10, will find ourselves working in a place full of love and compassion. This, perhaps, was one of the most touching readings, because it goes to show that when you care for students, they begin to care for you; when you are there for them during their tough times, they will return the favor and be there when you are in the same place. I feel that this is when you know that you have truly reached your students.

Chapter 7 Response

Due to the diversity of the students we teach as educators, we need to examine what we hold as required and uniform and what we can adapt for each individual learner. Students each have their own unique heritage and culture through which they learn the habits which they will use to accomplish tasks they are given. When we don’t take this into account and teach each student the same, we put many students at a disadvantage. In order to understand for themselves how they learn, students need to take an inventory and figure out how they know, think, decide, and act. As teachers, we must take an inventory of the different types of learners that are in our classrooms and take as many opportunities as possible to teach them in that ways that are most beneficial to them.

I feel that this article definitely highlights the importance of understanding the needs of each different learner. When teachers can successfully teach to the different styles students are better able to learn and succeed academically throughout school. Teachers are also given the opportunity to give each student the tools they need to become unique individuals through learning diversity. As students become comfortable in their learning styles they grow as a unique individual in a diverse world. Through this acknowledgment of diverse learning styles, students will grow to appreciate the differences they see around them and the peers around them.