ACTION FOR #7: Practice Democratic Principles Spring 2010

Practicing democratic principles is an important part of teaching as teaching are role models for hundreds of kids throughout their careers. Actually, its probably more like thousands. As role models, teachers need to be aware of the diversity in the world, and take an active part in understanding those who are different.
In order to practice democratic principles, I decided to attend different GSWA events in order to better understand the struggles of women. GSWA is the Goshen Student Women Association, and they often put on very enlightening events such as the Healthy Bodies Week, the Michiana Monologues, and the GSWA chocolate house. I attending all three of these events and was very glad that I did. Previously, my knowledge of women's struggles was fairly limited. In school I learned the history of the women's movement to obtain equality under the law, but I have not been very aware of their continued struggle to have laws upheld, changed, or even the personal struggle that every women faces because of society and culture.
The Healthy Bodies week convocation that I attended focused on the pressure that women face to eat correctly, to stay thin, and to constantly diet. The goal of the convocation was to advocate for loving one's body exactly how it is instead of being pressured into not eating desert by other well wishing people.
The Michiana monologues was an event that I found particularly thought provoking and enlightening. The monologues were stories submitted by women in the Michiana area, and read, or performed by other women. It was a powerful experience as the stories combined a mix of laughter and raw truth to help me understand the personal struggle that women face. One story that was read was a detailed account of a rape that will be forever burned into my head.
The GSWA chocolate house was a similar experience in that one of the females read two poems that she had written. The first described her frustration at the constant catcalls that she, and other women, received on a daily basis in Washington DC, but also occurs pretty much anywhere she goes. This was not a reality that I was not aware of, but in the smallest sense can relate to. Growing up in Bogota, Colombia, having blue eyes was simply extraordinary, and I was constantly stopped by people who asked me about my eyes and how great they were. It got old very fast, to the point where I wouldn't look up at people as I walked by them, hoping that they wouldn't see my eyes. While this is just a fraction of what this women experienced and wrote about in her poem, it helped me understand her frustration much better. She also wrote a poem about just wanting to be able to take walks at night, which was also fantastic.
After attending these events, I feel like I am more aware of what women face one a daily basis that I don't even have to think about. The unfairness of it all is very evident. I am unsure how I want to incorporate the things that I have learned in the classroom. As far as content, math doesn't really allow for discussions on equality and gender differences. This experience for me as a role model, however, will help me, with relationships outside of the classroom and discussion inside the classroom, to advocate for women's rights and talk about the more hidden struggles of which students and teacher's need to be aware.

Action 6 - Recharging my Battery Spring 2010

There is nothing quite like sitting down and reading a really good book. I enjoy reading all sorts of different books, and have been reading for as long as I can remember, though less so since I've come to college. To recharge my batteries as a teacher, I decided that I should read inspirational books about teaching. On a whim, I picked up abook on this topic: "Why I teach: Inspirational True Stories From Teachers Who Make a Difference" written by Esther Wright, M.A. I decided to read inspirational books about teaching because I think that the reason many teachers get burned out is that they get caught up in the negative part about teaching: the constant struggle with the students, lesson planning, grading, feeling unappreciated, etc. Reading these stories will remind me why I want to be a teacher, and the affect that I want to have the my students lives. Instead of being bogged down by the negatives, inspirational reading will keep me focused on my goal and give me energy as a teacher.

Because I needed to develop a plan for recharging my batteries and staying physically, spiritually, professionally, and mentally energized I decided to read a portion of this book every week. Through observations, I am currently at the High School for about 5+ hours each week. For this reason, I think that a good strategy is to have a weekly way to recharge and remember why I want to be a teacher. Because each of these books is split up into short stories, it was easy to read a story or two each week. I had originally planned to share several of the stories that really inspired me or that I really connected with, but that is not possible. The "Why I Teach" book was full of inspiring stories. From extremely poor kindergartners to a 50 year old women taking college classes to get a teaching degree, this book covers a broad variety of students and teachers. Each story is inspiring in its own way and covers difficult topics such as death and Tourettes Syndrome. It is impossible to simply sum up the lives of the students and teachers described here. Only the lessons, which are that love, compassion, and passion can lead to amazing experiences where both the students and teacher's lives are touched forever. Reading this book every week left me excited to begin my career as a teacher and to start pouring myself into my students. Unfortunately, none of the stories in this book were about high school Math teachers, which only serves to inspire me to create my own.
Since I finished the book, I picked up a second inspirational book entitled: "Chicken Soup for the Teacher's Soul: Stories to Open the Hearts and Rekindle the Spirits of Educators" by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, which I will use to recharge my battery, and stay motivated to teach.

Exceptional Learners Entries

Social Justice Blog # 9 Learning to Identify Allies

Learning to identify allies is a key part of becoming a better teacher and person by finding and receiving help from those around you. Last May I joined the math organization National Council of Teachers of Mathematics or NCTM. NCTM is a great resource and ally as I think of ways that I can teach math to a class in school. NCTM sends me a monthly magazine that contains articles and journals on important ideas and lesson plans for math teachers. I can also go to their website online where they have a large number of articles to read written by other math teachers and specialists. One thing that I particularly enjoy about this website is that it has math lessons and ideas broken down by age level. Because I am interested in teaching middle school and high school, I have subscribed to those articles and am able to read them at anytime. These articles are a great ally for thinking about what topics are particularly challenging for teachers to teach and students to understand, as well as how to go about teaching these topics effectively. For example one article that I read recently discussed how it is important for students to understand why (-1)(-1) = +1. Without having read this article I would not have realized that this is a difficult topic to teach, but now that I have read the article, I recognize that it is a bit more complicated than it first appears. Thankfully, the author also explained an efficient and understandable way to teach this subject. Another way that NCTM is a great ally is that it provides math problems of the week for different age groups. These math problems are good because they are not calculations but rather logical problems that force students to think. This semester I have used this resource to compile a list of math problems that I think are particularly good and helpful. In all, NCTM is a great ally to me as a future math teacher, and I hope to be able to find more ways that NCTM can assist me in becoming a better teacher.

I often hear how it is easy for new teachers to get burned out, to become disheartened by the system or the stress and pressure of the classroom. I obviously do not want this to happen to me. Because I am not easily stressed by work that I have to do, I was never very worried about this happening to me. This semester, however, I have made a point of asking previous teachers that I have had about their first couple of years teaching, and specifically, about getting burned out. Talking with them has led me to believe that I should expect to get stressed while teaching, and that I need to find a way to relieve this stress. I decided to make a point of finding people or activities that are especially helpful for calming me down and helping me relax. In doing this I have found an ally in one of my friends who is particularly good at getting my mind off of work and things that I need to get done. Spending several hours with him is great for relieving anxiety. One activity that I found to relieve stress and got my mind off of homework was playing Scrabble with a few friends. This was very relaxing and fun, and helped relieve the stress of having two tests and a large paper due later in the week. While I don’t need this at college very often, I realize that I will need to find someone who can help me during especially rough times throughout the school year. When I graduate from college and start teaching, finding an ally or an activity that helps me relieve tension will be a high priority.

I have also identified allies with other students who are also in education classes and planning to be teachers. Several of my friends are education majors and it has been very helpful talking with them about their experiences in schools, and the classrooms that they have observed. One of my friends has been observing at a history class at Goshen High School. It has been very interesting to talk with him about his experiences there and his analysis of the teacher’s methods. This has led to several great discussions comparing what I observed at my classroom at Goshen High School this year and the math class at Pierre Moran Middle School that I observed last May, and his history class. These discussions have been very enlightening as we compare effective teaching strategies, as well as talk about what we would improve. We also talked about the attitudes that teacher's had toward the students. Conversations with other people who are also in the education program has helped me find effective allies for coming up with creative ideas and solutions to problems that we see in the classroom. These conversations have also helped me think of my role as a teacher, and the loving attitude that I want to show them. I plan on continuing to find other people to talk to about teaching in whatever school that I end up in. Talking with others who are both inexperienced and experienced seems to be an essential part of becoming a better teacher.

Social Justice Blog # 10 Study Effective Teachers

Throughout this semester I observed a special education teacher at Goshen High School. Although this was not a traditional classroom, and likely not a class that I would teach, I learned a lot during these observations and when I interviewed her. During my time in her class I saw that her students were very well behaved, more so than most other classes that I have participated in. I was surprised how well the class behaved and listened to her instruction. The main disciplinary actions that I observed were her moving students and talking to them when they were not doing what they were supposed to. When I asked her about the class's behavior she responded that the main thing she does is give students choices. Rather than forcing them to do activities that they are not particularly interested in, she gives them choices of things that they can do. I saw this occur several times while I was there. For example one day their options were to either work on a project that they had to do, finish a worksheet, or complete a writing assignment. Also, the different projects gave the students different options as well such as creating a comic strip or writing a letter. Although I don’t necessarily agree with the assignments she gave or all of her discipline methods, this strategy seems to be effective, as it allows the students to have a role in the activities that they are doing. I really like this idea and hope to implement it into my classroom, because not only does it give the students more of a say in their education, it also helps teach decision making, and allows students to choose activities that they prefer. I can also use this as a motivational factor to get them to complete assignments

Another way that I have been studying effective teachers is by talking with my older brother, Matt, who is a physical education major, and teaches PE and health to middle school students. I have had many conversations with him about how he deals with inappropriate behavior, incomplete assignments, students who are struggling in class, and other problems that he finds in his class. These conversations have been very helpful because he describes different things that he has tried in order to solve these issues. For the most part, what is helpful is not the solutions to these problems, but the problems themselves. Because he is only on his second year teaching, he is encountering problems that I, as a new teacher, will have to deal with as well. It is helpful to know what these problems are especially because I might not see them while observing a more experienced teacher who has already dealt with these issues. Next time I observe a more traditional classroom I will pay attention to how the teacher gets students to complete assignments, participate in the class, and get them excited about the material. These seem like problems that I will have to deal with on a regular basis. Another thing that I talked to him about was a teacher’s conference that he went to about what effective teachers do. This conference talked about how teachers need to do more than just teach their respective areas, but also teach students the skills that they need for life. These skills are simple things like how to properly shake someone’s hand or hold eye contact while talking. Matt told me about how he implemented this in his classroom by shaking every person’s hand as they enter the room, and taking class time away from his subject area to respond to teachable moments in the classroom. Having somehow who has experience teaching, but is still relatively new is a great resource for learning how to become a better teacher, as well as preparing me for different problems that I will face in the classroom. I plan to often talk with Matt on how he is dealing with these issues, and his advice on what I might do in my classroom.

Another way that I have been learning from effective teachers is from the NCTM website and resources. I studied effective teachers through this website by looking at a section of the website about teaching tips. These teaching tips are written by teachers on a variety of topics like getting parents involved, motivating students, supporting all students, homework, and grading. These articles focus less on lesson plans and what to teach, and shine a spotlight on how to teach. At the same time, the articles were specific to math, and gave me several good ideas on teaching. For example, one idea was to have a weekly prize drawing, or raffle, where every homework assignment that a student handed in earned them a ticket. I found this to be a particularly good idea because it serves to motivate the students to do their homework, and it can also be used to teach about probability and things like the lottery. Giving students grades on papers by focusing on the positive like 4/5 rather than -1/5, was also a tip that is easy to do, and is more encouraging for the students. Another interesting tip on grading that I read was that teachers should not give students zeroes for not turning in assignments, because a student who receives A’s on other homework assignments can end up having a B or C average on homework. Instead, Ken O’Connor, an assessment expert suggests that teachers mark the assignment as incomplete and give students the opportunity and require them to finish the assignment. Then the teacher can penalize the student for turning it in late rather than giving them a zero that does not accurately portray their grade. I thought that this was a pretty good suggestion because it still has students finish the assignment, which was the goal in the first place. It also prevents students from getting discouraged by getting zeroes on assignments. NCTM has several webpages filled with simple tips like these that teachers have used and found effective. Here is the link to the main tip page on the NCTM website: NCTM Teaching Tips. I plan to periodically check these pages for new tips that I can use in my classroom.

Learning From Effective Teachers

Four times a week I go into the 7th Grade classroom and I watch the teacher. While she is not the best teacher because of her traditional style, she is incredibly organized, and I have learned several important lessons from her.

1. Everything is filed. Worksheets, extra practice material, homework assignments, graded papers, everything is in a file and well organized. Whenever a student needs something they already know exactly where it is. I have found this to be effective because then the teacher does not have to get things for the students, but they can get what they need for themselves.
2. She has classroom procedures. The class is normally fairly organized especially in the beginning because every student knows to do the same thing every morning when they get to class. They have to look on the board and follow direction. These directions of getting their folder, calculator, a piece of paper, and getting started on two problems on the board hardly ever change. Having the students working when the class starts is due to the fact that she is organized and helps the students know what to expect.
3. Students are organized. The teacher requires that students pick up after themselves. She makes sure that they have the room clean and organized before they can leave. This teaches students to be more organized and be careful with their stuff. Forcing the students to keep the room clean helps her to be more organized, and teaches them a valuable lesson.

These organizational methods are ones that I hope to put into place in my classroom as well. Being organized and having the students be organized help the teacher focus more on teaching the students, and not get distracted by other problems.

Not only did I look at her organizational skills, but I observed how she managed the class, and disciplined them. While this seemed like a struggle because the topics she taught were not interesting, she was able to keep the class under control most of the time. While I didn't agree with her methods of sarcasm, long speeches, and arguing with students she does have several interesting ideas on classroom management that I can reflect on.

1. Using seating as ways to prevent disruptions. The teacher will move students when they are being disrupted. This seems to be something that students hate and never want to do. She uses this as a way to get them to pay attention. When a student is talking with people around them instead of paying attention she will ask if they want to change seats. This question often will prevent disruptions because the student does not want to change seats. This seems to be a fairly effective method to quiet students when the teacher needs to lecture.
   
2. The teacher calls on disruptive students to answer questions. This is an interesting idea and I am not positive whether it is a good one or not. It is good because it gets the disruptive student to focus on the class again. It could prove to be unwise however, because it gives the disruptive student extra attention, which could be the reason that they are disruptive in the first place. I am still unsure whether this strategy actually works in preventing problems, or whether it helps stimulate them.
3. Telling students to leave the room. Normally after a rather loud outbreak or intolerable action, at least in the teachers mind, they are told to leave the room until they are ready to come in again and learn. Again, in my mind this is a debatable strategy. Because it allows students to calm down and be along for a second it can be helpful in bringing order back to the class. On the other hand however, it can serve to anger the student further, or prevent them from learning that days lesson.
   

This particular teacher's methods of discipline work in the fact that they keep the students in line, and the class under control. It is my feeling that better methods could be used that both maintain order, and help the students learn. One of the teachers who came and visited class and two ideas that I liked. One is very simple. It is to walk over to the disruptive student and continue teaching. That helps quiet the student, and it keeps the flow of class moving. Another good idea that this teacher gave was to rely on your relationship with students to get them to stay on task. When you can say things like, "Do this for me," I think classroom management becomes easier. Talking with students about problems or issues that they have with your class is also a good idea. By talking with students one on one outside of class I think relationships can be developed, and the teacher and student can grow to understand each other better. These tips are things that I want to use to help maintain good relationships with my students, as well as keep the class under control so that they can learn more easily.

Interviewing students around me was an activity that in order to learn more about effective teachers. Many of them had similar responses.

• Flexible to students needs
• Good communicator and explainer of assignments, gives clear expectations
• Doesn't talk down to students
• Uses their personality (humor, stories) to help teach.
  
• Has conversations with the students rather than lectures.
• Cares about the students outside of a classroom
• Doesn't teach out of a book or expect students to learn strictly from a book
• Gives fair tests and assignments

While most of these answers are very familiar to me and are things I want to implement in my classroom, several suggestions were ideas that I had not thought of quite as often. Having conversations with students to help them learn is an excellent idea. Along with not talking down to students, a teacher must be able to facilitate conversation and ask good questions to keep the conversation going, and keep everyone involved. Conversation also implies class control because they are less structured. To be able to have a good conversation where learning can occur, the class must be paying attention and be discussing an idea that is relevant to them. It seems like class management is a must so that a beneficial conversation can occur.
Another idea that I got from a peer on my hall was using stories and humor to teach. Because my subject area is math I wonder how I can use stories and humor to help students learn. I realized that personality is indeed the key. If I can create an atmosphere where learning is fun and I am telling stories that relate to them, students will become more interested and involved. Even if I cannot come up with many stories that fit the topic, having a personality where humor is used in the classroom and encouraged, can create a more interesting class. Along with this, I do not want to be a teacher who is constantly serious and focused on a specific topic or goal that the students must learn. Allowing humor can help conversations flow, keep students interested, and therefore encourage learning. These two specific ideas stood out to me and are ones that I must be thinking about as I plan my math lessons. I need to think about how I can relate to the students and ask penetrating questions to get the conversation started for every lesson that I teach.

Identifying Allies

Learning to identify people who can help you become a better teacher is very important. I decided to find an ally in math by joining a math organization. I decided to join the NCTM, which is the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. I joined this group because they have lots of material for math teachers. By subscribing to a monthly journal for high school math teachers I hope to learn find better teaching methods and ways to help students enjoy learning. Since I recently joined I have not yet received any journals or publications, but by going to the NCTM website I was able to find online editions of their texts. From what I have read I have found NCTM to be a great resource. Its articles are mostly written by math teachers and describe these teachers’ experiences in the classroom. They describe lesson plans and ideas that are very engaging to the students. I was especially impressed that these articles focus on a more progressive style of teaching, which is definitely how I desire to teach. These progressive styles get all the students involved and in the lessons that I read the teacher was much more of a facilitator than a giver of information.
Another good thing I found about these articles was that they explained how to get students to think about mathematics rather than just memorize it. This was one thing that I was worried about as a math teacher. I was unsure how I was going to get students to think in math. In my classroom I see the students trying to memorize formulas without understanding them or knowing exactly how to apply them. In my classroom in the future I want students to think, understand, and learn math for themselves, and this organization is a great tool to help me do so.

I have found that friendships can be allies as well. I have been developing a spiritual friendship with my roommate. We go to church together most Sundays and discuss the sermon and the fellowship there. Friendships like these can be key to helping me relax and stay focused on my life. I think that this will be extremely helpful when I am a teacher. I will need to be able to take time for myself and my spiritual life, and talking with friends about these things can be a great way to do this. My roommate and I have been reading a book together called "A Purpose Driven Life." Even though we have read it inconsistently so far because of a busy May term schedule we hope to read the book consistently and discuss its content next semester when we are less busy. The several times that we have read chapters together led to good discussion about purpose, God, and what our lives should look like. I have really enjoyed talking with him about different topics and sharing together. I hope to continue to develop more relationships like these where deeper topics can be discussed, and where I can feel refreshed and encouraged by what is being said. Talking with my roommate has helped me see the importance of maintaining good friendships despite busy schedules.

Teachers have always had a big impact on my life, and I have foundy that they can be important allies, not only as friends but also as mentors. While I stay in contact with most of my past teachers I have found my parents to be most helpful because they love to talk about teaching strategies, methods, and ideas. Because I have decided to become a teacher, my parents have become more than just parents, but also mentors and guides in helping me become a better teacher. They both have had a lot of experience teaching, and both have taught me in a school setting. I have found that their years in teaching are great assets in helping me come up with ideas to use in the classroom I am visiting. My dad, as a middle school math teacher for over 25 years, has been the most help. Recently he has been sending me links on education articles and interesting things about teaching that he has found. I really enjoy talking with him about lesson plans and methods to get students to think for themselves. Talking to him about things I am seeing in the classroom at Pierre Moran, and also the ideas that I am learning from the text book has been extremely helpful. His ideas also helped me with planning for when I teach at Pierre Moran. By talking to him I feel like I have learned a lot of practical ways to reach out to students and get them involved. One thing in particular that he has done in math class is give each student everyday problems that throughout the week they must work on in groups. This is both encourages group work and interactions, and also helps students learn problem solving skills about common events. This is just one idea that I want to implement later on in my classroom. Talking with my parents as teachers as been very helpful and I plan to continue to use them as a resource, and also to discuss different ideas that I have for teaching.

Get Involved

On Sunday May 11th I attended the Deaf Michiana Missionary Church in South Bend. I went there with several ASL majors so I was definitely a minority because I was not deaf, and I did not know sign language. This was an awesome experience because I had never been in a deaf church before.
The church met in someone's home. We all gathered in a room about as large as a standard classroom. The room at about ten pews that about 30 people sat on. As the people around me signed and introduced themselves I tried to understand as much as I could. Oddly enough I felt the need to be very quiet and whisper to the people around me in order to understand what was going on even though most people that attended were deaf and would not have heard me. Even when I realized this I still did not talk normally. When the service started the pastor got up and led us through a time of praise and prayer requests. Luckily for me the church had an interpreter who loudly stated everything that the pastor said. This allowed me to understand what was going on, and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole service.
The only part of the service that was not interpreted was the worship time. One lady got up in front of the church and had a machine that made large thumping sounds on the floor. This gave the beat for us to follow. She then began to sign to the beat and everyone copied what she did. I was fairly lost during this whole process because the songs were not interpreted.
One thing that I kept thinking about during the service was how difficult it would be to be a deaf person in a school. Even if they were only partially deaf, there is a lot of interactions and activity that is missed by not being able to hear. Even with an interpreter, interactions between classmates would be difficult and uncomfortable. Another thought I had was how it would feel to be in a completely different environment where you barely knew any of the language. This is the case for many students who are immigrants. I felt uncomfortable in this church because I didn't know what was going on. In a school setting, this would be much worse, especially for a young student. As a future teacher I need to keep this in mind. I must help my students feel more comfortable in their surroundings and create an environment that is welcoming.

To get involved with a group of people different than me I decided to go do my laundry at a Latino Laundromat. It was a very interesting experience. I went there with two other people. When we arrived we took our laundry in and found the nearest washers to put it in. After inserting the quarters and getting the wash started I sat down on a metal table and looked around. The Laundromat was fairly big. There were about 20 people there at all times, and, according to my estimates, were about 50% Latino. Everyone there seemed to be of a low-income class. People seemed to split up according to their race. White people tended to do their wash on one side of the room, while Latino to stay on the other end. I am not sure whether this was purposeful or not, or whether it occurred because their were two different entrances.
The Laundromat was also fairly noisy. There was the constant sound of washing machines and dryers, the clattering of coins coming out of the change machine, the shouts small children playing, and people chit chatting with each other. It was surprising for me to see that not many people seemed to know each other. Other than couples talking together it did not seem like people knew one another. I thought this strange because in a small town like Goshen, I would assume that some people would know each other, or at least get to know people at the Laundromat that they use. In general, the people there seemed courteous yet quiet. The laundry attendant talked to us and was very nice, but other than that we did not have a lot of interaction with anyone else. People generally loaded their wash then sat on benches and waited for it to finish. A couple of them brought books to read while they waited.
Another interesting thing that I saw was a man using his laptop. In a place where poorer people wash their clothes it was odd to see someone working on a laptop while waiting for the their wash to dry. Now that I think about it, its perfectly natural to work on a laptop while waiting for your laundry to finish, but in that atmosphere it seemed out of place.
This was an interesting experience. It was very first time in a large laundromat and it really helped to help me better understand some of their living situations. While I normally do laundry at the college I always assume that after I graduate I will get one of my own. This is not a reality for many people, and it seems like having to do your laundry in public can be degrading and not a pleasant experience. I think this might be while people generally tended to be quieter because they did not want it to become known that they had to go to a Laundromat. It's weird how something as simple as washing onces clothes can be problematic and degrading, and forces people to remember their economic status. I don't often think of things that make one part of the middle class or lower class, but this opened my eyes a little bit more.

As part of my activities to get involved with people different than me on Wednesday night I went to a Hispanic Catholic service at Saint John’s. The service was fairly short and small. Only a dozen or so people attended the hour long service. When I walked into the building I immediately stuck out because I was the only non-Latino person there. Even though I am fluent in Spanish I didn’t really get the opportunity to use it there and get to know people. Because of the small service there was no greeter or anyone in charge other than the priest who led the service. Everyone already knew each other and no one talked at all doing the service and people left immediately after. I was disappointed that I was not able to talk to anyone but at the same time it made the experience more real and better. I say this because it allowed me to see the service as an outsider and as someone who didn’t know what was going on. I have only attended a few Catholic Churches so I was lost most of the time even though I understood 90% of what was being said. Simply knowing the language and words coming out of the priest mouth was not enough to fully understand what was happening. One interesting thing that I noticed was that, while people were very courteous, I was ignored most of the time. People didn’t talk to me or seem to do anything different since they had a visitor.
While I left this service feeling slightly bewildered and disappointed that I didn’t get to talk to anyone, when I reflected on this experience I found it very useful. The feelings that I felt at the church, being looked at strangely and somewhat ignored, even though it was in a caring way, is something that my minority students might feel. Even if they understand English, knowing what is going on and getting to know people can be difficult. I must make the effort to get them involved, and help them make friends with the class and feel connected. I must also engage them at a personal level. At the church I never felt like I was a part of the group, only an outsider who they were allowing to watch. I don’t want any of my students to ever feel that way. I want them to feel comfortable and accepted, and able to learn.

UPDATE FOR FALL 2009
Although I was born in Philadelphia, I essentially grew up in Bogota, Colombia. I have many latino friends and am fluent in Spanish. Because of this background I feel like Latino culture is very much a part of who I am. Being a participant in several LSU events at Goshen College has only strengthened this belief. As a student teacher/observer at Goshen Middle School, and in other schools that I have visited, I have noticed a large number of Latino students. Seeing how these numbers will have only increased by the time that I become a teacher, I felt that it was important for me to think specifically about how to teach Math to Latinos. I think that being familiar with Latino culture and knowing the language is not enough, and to truly be able to teach those that are different then myself, I need to look into studies detailing exactly how to do that.
The most interesting article that I read was entitled: Studying Students Studying Calculus: A look at lives of Minority Mathematics in College written by Uri Treisman. This article looked at the problem of high rates of failure for Black and Latino students in calculus, which is a major problem for any of them looking into a career that uses math. Although this article is written about a study at a Berkeley University it makes several important points that I can apply to my teaching. The first important point of the article was that the initial assumptions of faculty as to why these students are failing at such a high percentage were completely wrong. The reasons that the faculty came up with are actually fairly common beliefs so I will note them here:
1. Lack of motivation
2. Lack of skills developed in previous schooling combined with the fact that Math relies heavily on prior knowledge
3. Parents did not push this kids hard enough or do not have enough education to help them
4. Nothing to do with ethnicity but with income.
The article went on to show how these ideas are flawed in different ways, and eventually go to what the cause was, which in my mind, is counterintuitive. The university studied a group of black students and a group of Chinese students. Chinese students were performing very well in Calculus and other math courses while black students were not. After hours of studies and hypothesis the conclusion was made that the black students worked alone while the Chinese students worked together, and came together to solve problems. Simply by working together and teaching one another these students were getting far better grades than other minority students. An important distinction to make is that it is essential that students of a certain ethnicity are helping student of that same ethnicity. This gets rid of any racial or stereotyping problems, and helps the student feel more comfortable.
This seems counter-intuitive to me because Latin culture, or at least Colombia culture, places high priority on relationships and people. It would seem that this would include areas such as homework, and I would think that students would love to work together in this way. I think that this shows that understanding culture is not enough and can lead to wrong assumptions.
Another important point from the article that goes along with this was that the courses and programs set up to help struggling minority students were simply not working as students who entered them never made it back to the main class.
How can I apply this article to my teaching is the question that I often ask myself after reading anything of interest on education. I must incorporate group work and students helping one another in the classroom. I also cannot rely solely on remedial programs to help struggling students and expect the system to help them. By not relying on such programs and having Latino students work together and teach one another, I can help them become more successful in Math.
This article hammers home a point that I think many teachers, policy makers, and administrators miss. It is not the material of the class or the ethnicity of the student but the setting of the class that is extremely important in determining the success of a student.

Recharging the Battery

One of the speakers who came to class to answer some of our question talked about how easy it is to become burned out as a teacher. Obviously, I do not want this to happen to me so finding ways to recharge my battery is important. One thing that I found helps me relax is sports. Unlike some people who can become extremely frustrated and angered while playing sports, I find sports to be very calming. Sand volleyball, soccer, basketball, or ultimate frisbee are all activities that are extremely enjoyable and hep me to relax, and get my mind off of how busy or stressed I am. Sports have always had a calming effect on me. Even the most stressful and important games were always fun, even when we lost, although it often a day or two to get over the loss. At college, the sports that I play are all intramural or for fun, so there is no pressure to get worked up over. Instead, the games become about playing the sport and having a good time. Playing sports and staying active is something that I plan to continue to do as a teacher. Hopefully I will be able to help out with sports as well as teach math. I want to be able to do this not only because sports help me relax, but also because it is a good place to develop better relationships with my students. I hope that sports can both be an outlet for stress, and a place to meet and get to know more people. If this is not possible I still want to stay active. Buying a gym membership or playing in parks are also viable options.

Meditation and reflection are things that a good teacher does. I have been learning to find times to meditate and reflect on both my life and on teaching and the classroom that I am in almost everyday at Pierre Moran. The most effective way to do this that I have found is by taking walks along the dam and Mill Race trail. By listening to soft music and walking along this trail I find that I can think clearly about my week and experiences without being distracted. This time of reflection has helped me not get stressed by a busy schedule. Taking time by myself also helps to get out of a college environment where people are everywhere and there is always something to be done. Walking around aimlessly on a trail is a great way to unwind, get away from people, and think about life. Sometime I think we can go through life and not really understand what is going on around us or miss out on important opportunities. Meditation and reflection help avoid that and help bring meaning to life. It makes you think about every event in your life and the things you are experiencing, and helps you learn more about yourself. As a teacher I think that reflection and meditation are especially important so I hope to continue this habit of talking walks. Teachers must constantly reflect on their own teaching methods, their students learning styles, discipline methods, and essentially whether their teaching is effective and how they can make it more effective. This is a lot of reflection that needs to happen, and by continuing to take walks I hope to effectively reflect and therefore adapt to my students needs. as well as my own.

The life of a teacher can be very satisfying, but also very stressful. Classroom management, discipline issues, and keeping students interested in the subject can all be sources of stress. Making a plan to relieve stress is very important. I am not someone who gets stressed very easily, but I think that in a classroom setting the stress can easily become overwhelming if I am not ready for it. My plan for stress relief that has worked well for me is to schedule out time for things that I must get done. By planning out activities such as class, homework, sleep, sports, and reflection, I can ensure that I get all the things done that I need to. Making a schedule for the day that includes all of these things helps me avoid stress. Because I have this schedule I know exactly when I will get the things done that I need to get done. One key that I have found to this plan is that I shouldn't schedule my whole day. Doing this makes me feel constantly pressed for time and constricts me. By only setting times for certain events, I can keep most of my day free, which, in my mind, makes it less busy. Planning into my day events that I enjoy doing, like sports, is also important. This gives me something to look forward to throughout the day. Having one event that I look forward to all day helps keep me from being constantly worried about all the things I have to do. As a teacher I want to implement this same method of stress relief. I hope to be able to plan out certain things that I need to get done like lesson plans, grading, or reflection. While I realize that I will not have the same amount of time then that I do now, and that I will have to schedule fewer "fun" events, I think the plan will still work.