Themes throughout the book...

Changing Viewpoints by Lauren

Last week I took on 25 parent-teacher conferences with a new perspective. Reading Campano's book has opened my eyes to how much I really don't know about my students and their lives. I know bits and pieces here and there and I can certainly ask probing questions, but I used to think it wasn't my business. Now I'm beginning to see that not only is it my business to understand where my students are coming from, but it is equally important to show their families that we are partners in creating the best learning experiences for our students.

At Parent Teacher Conferences I changed my approach with most of the families I met with. Instead of routinely stating positives and areas of improvement, I asked questions. I let the parents/guardians guide me in the conference and prompted them to be open with me about the child's home life. I was so surprised at how many of them seemed to relax when they realized I wasn't focused on behavior issues, for example, but more focused on the why behind the issues. I learned things from this approach I would have been privy to otherwise.

Once parents opened up to me about divorces and separations, the difficulty of the child's parents living in another city, the long commute to school because they had to stay in a new place, or the competition between siblings, I came to see my students in a whole other light. I felt knowledgable and honored that the parents could trust in me and share their worries and frustrations and that I could reassure them we were going to do it together. I wanted them to feel as though their ideas and what they valued mattered to me because it truly did! I just never thought to ask.

Now that I understand my students' lives a bit better, I have already aligned activities and curriculum that can connect more to them. It's a work in progress, but knowing where they are coming from gives me more meaning to where they can go in the classroom.

The Process of Inquiry by Zoe

“Part of becoming a more literate teacher involves becoming an educational activist,” (p. 110). I think this statement is true in terms of being an educational activist for our students, for their parents, and also for ourselves. If we truly want to make a difference in our students’ lives, we must not only think about the time they spend in our individual classrooms, but we must also consider the bigger picture and what we can do to help them outside of the classroom. Educational policy, in many ways, is what will affect their lives (and our own) in the long run. It is up to those of us that work with students on a daily basis to share our own classroom stories and insights with those that are making decisions about the future of education.
Compano speaks about the teacher researcher as a vulnerable identity. It can be difficult to resist the urge to clump students into categories, rather than to think of them as individuals. It would be much easier for us to place them into categories because it requires less thinking and inquiry. I think that too often students are categorized into larger groups based on their backgrounds and not thought of as individuals. If we take the time to realize that our students each have their own unique stories and personalities, we will learn more about our them and also realize that maybe we don’t know as much as we thought we did. Teaching requires frequent questioning about what we think we know about our students and also what we think we know about best teaching practices. It is only through reflection and what Compano refers to as vulnerability that we will be effective teachers in the long term.

Literacy Practices in the “Second Classroom”: Post by Zoe

I agree that teachers feel a lot of pressure for students to do well on tests because their held accountable. They are worried about veering too far from the curriculum in fear of the administrations’ reactions. “What if my boss visits the school and all the students are not on the same page?” (p. 91). But if teachers truly have their students’ best interests at heart then it does make sense to teach in regards to how to best meets their students’ needs academically as well as socially. Whereas curriculum guides and state standards state broadly which skills students should know, it is teachers who know their students best and how to personalize the curriculum. It is time we begin to take the “whole child” into account. It seems strange that teachers may be penalized for getting to know students through a “second classroom,” since it has been proven to help students perform better academically. For example, when Ma-Lee is invited to join a small group to “talk about multiculturalism, or any issues that were relevant to their lives,” (p. 66), she also begins to participate more in class. Perhaps she begins to feel more comfortable in the classroom because she feels her teacher truly cares about her or perhaps because she has had practice speaking in a more intimate, smaller group and now feels more confident in speaking in a larger group setting.
Another case for storytelling in addition to the empathy it creates in the classroom and to the increased student participation in class, is that it can also help with their critical thinking skills. By first telling their own stories, students are beginning to learn how to analyze and closely examine a topic that is meaningful to them. They will be successful in this task because it has significance in their lives. Once they have successfully accomplished this critical analysis they begin to synthesize the bigger ideas of what their stories are really about. As Compano explains, “Leticia’s concern for her own family’s experiences would eventually translate into a commitment to migrant families more generally. She researched the history of the United Farm Workers of America…” (p. 58). Rather than throwing students into generic standardized practice tests, it is more important to provide them with the opportunity to take part in authentic and meaningful thinking experiences. When these opportunities are provided through adequate time and personalized teacher attention, students will have the confidence, motivation, and ability to transfer their deeper thinking skills over to standardized testing.

Accountability and "The Promise of the Classroom" by Lauren

At the start of Part II in Chapter 4, Gerald Campano briefly writes about accountability and  "that increasingly the narrow political and instrumental sense of accountability undermines teaching as an ethical practice" (2007, p. 46). People throw the word accountable around everyday.  Our students are held accountable through their school work and performance, we are held accountable to parents (and, of course, our students on some levels) and our administrators, who are held accountable to their superiors, and so on and so on until we reach the top where it seems politicians are making the rules.  The biggest problem I've seen in terms of accountability is that testing means so much to the promise of a child in school.  If they pass the test, then great!  We did our job.  If they didn't, then something is wrong with the child/family.  I think something is just wrong with the system. 

 In Part I, Campano suggested that the stereotypes schools and teachers may have for certain groups of people may in fact prepare them for the kinds of jobs in which they are "penalized" (2007, p. 15).  In Part II, he writes that testing may also support this claim since many schools use the test scores as a means to make instructional decisions thereby limiting students from low-income families access to learning opportunities that could prepare them for higher education (2007, p. 46).   What I truly struggle with is the push and pull of what the policy-makers expect from schools and what the students truly need. I think for this very reason teaching is so difficult and why so many great teachers feel helpless...the system doesn't help them do their job...it makes it more difficult and holds them "accountable to the system, to politicians, to an abstract 'public'' (Campano, 2007, p. 45).  

As teachers it seems almost impossible to meet the expectations of all those putting pressure on us to do well in terms of test scores, but I feel compelled to not be held accountable to test scores and politicians solely, but to my students as well.  Starting small within our classrooms we can create an environment that is as Campano describes "the classroom of promise" meaning one that allows children "to gain insight into their experience, and to allow opportunities for creating meaning" (2007, p. 60).  This type of classroom would be more than simply listening to and understanding students' home lives and would eliminate the idea of students "as clients for the latest programs" (Campano, 2007, p. 48).  It would allow us to see that these students do not have deficits, but do bring with them rich experiences, not in terms of middle-class experiences, but in ways that allow them to think meaningfully and "thoughtfully about serious intellectual and ethical issues in a cross-cultural framework" (Campano, 2007, p. 72).  

Throughout Part II, Campano repeatedly sheds light on how we can, as educators, work to make literacy a meaningful part of immigrant students' lives when connecting it to their valued and authentic experiences.  Campano doesn't deny the fact that he, like me, feels the task to be overwhelming and that it is nearly impossible to know all there is to know about the backgrounds of each of our students, but we can attempt to create a classroom where student voices and cultures are not silenced and stereotypes are not perpetuated.  

Finally, the play written by students titled "What the Teacher Didn't Know" to educate teachers at a professional development workshop is something that all teachers should take a moment to read.  We can't be perfect 100% of the time, but as teachers we can aim to show some empathy and understanding for students and where they are coming from.  The following excerpt (Campano, 2007, p. 99) from “What the Teacher Didn’t Know” gives us insight as to what immigrant children may feel like when teachers do not "cultivate mutual empathy and understanding (Campano, 2007 p. 46):

What the teacher didn’t know is that I just came from Mexico five months ago, so sometimes I don’t know how to say things in English.  He didn’t know my language is an important part of me.  Speaking Spanish is something I feel proud of, but he is cruel for not encouraging me to maintain my traditions.  Instead he put me down and made me feel like a stranger.  And all, my teacher didn’t know that people spoke Spanish here before English!  

Power of Inquiry by Zoe

Compano speaks of the necessity of teacher’s practicing “deliberate mindfulness” (p. 20) when speaking with students. That is, to not give generic and unthoughtful responses to students’ stories. When this happens in classrooms, students feel as though their voices are unheard and then feel invalidated and as though their thoughts are unnecessary for classroom instruction. It’s important for students to realize that they have knowledge they can contribute to the classroom as well.

In order for students to feel they are worthy contributors, it is necessary that teachers provide what Compano refers to as a “second classroom,” (p. 40). “It includes the relationships that they build and nurture with one another as they share their life stories.” Providing a safe space in which students feel as though their stories and experiences are a vital part of one another’s learning. Also, when students are actively participating by sharing their stories they also become more invested and motivated in their work. For example, when Carmen wrote about her father, she said she had never written so much in school. This is because she was writing about a topic that she knew well and also cared for. 

Ways in which teachers can nurture the second classroom are by encouraging students to write about their experiences and then also share them with one another. By giving students the space, time, and encouragement to write about their stories, they are able to reflect and come to an understanding of their worlds. I believe it is equally as important for students to share their stories with one another in order to foster a classroom community through both empathy in getting to know one another as individuals but also so that they begin to perceive one another as contributors to their learning experiences in school. Teachers should actively model this practice by moving away from the teacher “initiate, response, evaluate” format that is typically followed in elementary schools. By doing so, students will not rely so much on teacher reaction to their thoughts. 

Beginning Thoughts, Insights and Questions by Christy

As I read the first part of Campano’s Immigrant Students and Literacy many things struck me.

            The fact that both Gerald and Celso have Filipino Manongs yet lived vastly different lives because of the choices their father and grandfather made is quit mind-boggling.  Gerald’s grandfather runs away from his culture, moves his family to the east coast, and assimilates to the American culture and life styles. In turn, Gerald knows very little of who he is and where his family came from.  His grandfather came to the United States to build a better life for his family and wants no reminders of his life from the past. Because of the decisions his grandfather made Gerald is rich with knowledge, opportunity and a comfortable living situation.

            Whereas Celso knew is ethnic background from early on.  He is proud of it and works hard to support his family. However, living in California with many other immigrant families has been a more difficult life for him than Gerald.  Navigating school, having huge responsibilities at home, not having the material things kids he goes to school with have, all pose many challenges for Celso to be a confident, successful citizen one day.   Even though Celso was Gerald’s student and he gave him many opportunities to bring his culture and identity into the classroom it wasn’t enough.  There were too many other mandates that Gerald needed to adhere to and that didn’t support Celso and his strengths. 

            It doesn’t seem fair that a family needs to hide who they are in order to have a good life in the United States.  Things are different in the northeast than California—will the new core standards make our world feel more like California, Texas, and Florida or more like New York?  Does having the same (core standards) really mean that it’s equal? 

            If only teachers could see Carmen’s strengths—she has so many.  Maybe she could feel successful.  Instead she’ll probably drop out before she reaches high school.  The signs of how she is feeling about school and what it has to offer her (really very little) are starting to show.  When you dismiss a child’s strengths, identity, it feels as if you don’t care, don’t respect that child.  How could you be in the world of teaching if you don’t have the utmost respect for children?  In situations of stories like Carmen’s where she had to miss several weeks of school to tend to her dying father because he had no insurance, how can you not only have more respect for Carmen, but how can you not put her on a pedestal? It is more than a cultural issue it’s a class issue too.  Do teachers use the curriculum mandates as an excuse?  In Jones’ book Girls, Social Class and Literacy she says we are a nation that hides.  Are teaching hiding from poverty and making excuses?

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