"Mind the Gap": Session 2

1)      In chapter one of Diane Ravitch’s The Death and Life of the Great American School System there are a number of quotes that stand out to me, but I will only focus on two.

“In my writings I have consistently warned that, in education, there are no shortcuts, no utopias, no silver bullets. For certain, there are no magic feathers that enable elephants to fly”   (p. 3). I think it’s easy for people to believe in the latest fad in education because we want an easy fix to our problem. If only there were a magic potion that would create dynamic teachers, highly engaged and motivated students, higher test scores or even better no need for high test scores!  However the reality is that there is no magic potion that can fix things, it takes dedication from us as teachers to create a magical environment within our classrooms despite all the constraints we face.

“I began ‘seeing like a statue,’ looking at schools and teachers and students from an altitude of 20,000 feet and seeing them as objects to be moves around by big ideas and great plans” (p. 10).  This quote is exactly what is wrong with policy writers, school reformers and all the like. Schools, teachers and students are not pawns to be moved around the checkerboard of educational reform. Reformers want to make subjects and teaching uniform so that all students are accessing education equally, but the truth is that not all students learn the same way. Along that same notion, all teachers do not have the same teaching style. I feel that if all reformers are “seeing like statues”, they are too far removed from the situation to be calling any shots.

2) In chapter two, Ravitch defines a well-educated person as a well rounded individual who can both create own ideas, and be respectful to others. I agree with her definition, I think it encompasses the type of individuals needed in the world. I would also include that a well-educated person should be passionate about something. It does not necessarily have to be something academic. I would also include skills in technology as a part of an individual’s repertoire.

3) I think many great points were brought up during our discussion. I think people had interesting opinions on the questions regarding improvement of curriculum and instruction vs. changes in structure and governance. I thought the most important statement that was made was that parents perhaps do not understand what curriculum is and that’s why it’s easy to point the finger at politicians, principals, superintendants, etc.  At Pittsburg High we host a parent workshop and inform parents on graduation requirements, p.e. uniforms, etc. but it would be nice if we could incorporate a brief presentation of education rhetoric/jargon. I wish I would have brought in this point during the discussion. It would be nice to see if any other schools do events like these or if it would be possible.

4) A gap that is high on my list is an extensive knowledge of theories of language acquisition. Here are some sources that can help me expand my knowledge of this topic.

a) Lightbown, P. & Spada, N. (2006). How Languages Are Learned.  Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press.

I took a course during my undergraduate studies and we used this book. It has information on how language is acquired, teaching for multiple intelligences, and even included a few strategies that could be used in the classroom. I would like to take a closer look at this text and see it through new lenses after having been in the classroom full time for a year.

b)      Myles, F. (2010).  The Development of Theories of Second Language Acquisition. Cambridge Journals, 43 (3),  320-332.

This article look at the evolution of theories over the course of the last 60 years. It is pretty interesting to see the changes and expansions of theories.

c)      Gehring, D. Second Language Acquisition Research Guide. Retrieves from http://apu.libguides.com/content.php?pid=46858&sid=345196

This website is hosted by the library at Azusa Pacific University. It helps people evaluate websites related to second language acquisition, and has external links to other websites, blogs and conferences. It can be a good starting point for conducting more research.

5) I have had two experiential learning opportunities so far in my research. The first took place a little over a month ago when I attended Carnaval in San Francisco. It was here that I was inspired and knew what I wanted to do for my capstone project. I looked into the history of Carvanal and learned its mission is to unite people through culture, and music, and dancing. This is what I want to capture in my capstone project. I want my students to relate to each other and to Spanish through culturally relevant experiences. The second experience was a visit to the San Francisco MOMA yesterday to see the Photograph in Mexico exhibit. The exhibit was really great and showed Mexico, Mexican history, and Mexican culture in many different lights. The exhibit was spread out in four rooms, each with a theme , but one could walk as they pleased. One thing that I learned was that  the MOMA has workshops where teachers can receive certifications to self-tour the museum with their students. I thought this is a great alternative to having someone from the museum give the tour. I did not know that was possible. The experiences make me excited to further research the impact of experiential learning, the importance of teaching culture, and the history of Latinos in the Bay Area.

6) Ask Meg a question:

            Meg, do you have any suggestions of places  that could be useful to my search of culturally relevant students studying Spanish  in the Bay Area? Also, would you recommend that I focus only on a certain numbers of cities instead of the Bay Area as a whole?

My Comments: 


Mike Rose: http://mikejas.blogspot.com/
Andrew Eckloff:  http://aeckloff.blogspot.com/ 
Troy Bristol: fatheadtroysmc.blogspot.com