HANDOUT FOR GROUP DISCUSSION

Knowing the “whole” student

“Wouldn't it be possible to imagine life experiences not as a deficit, but as a resource and a potential theoretical orientation to the world, one that can deepen my own understanding of teaching and learning in an ethnically diverse neighborhood?"(p. 15).

“Some of my most profound teaching moments occurred when our classroom literacy engagements become informed by the students' own experiences and identities. When this was done well, they performed at levels equal to or surpassing those of any peer group across the country, even by conventional measures such as standardized-test scores.” (p. 41)

Culturally Responsive Teaching (the Second Classroom)

"(The second class) is ‘second’ because it is the work of students and teachers that remains, for the most part, invisible both in terms of funding and recognition.  It includes the relationships they build and nurture with one another as they share life stories.”

“By infusing the official curriculum with their own lifeworld experiences, teachers and students may develop new, more enabling learning experiences where students both recognize the epistemic value of their cultural backgrounds and gain access to educational capital.”

Campano describes "the classroom of promise" meaning one that allows children "to gain insight into their experience, and to allow opportunities for creating meaning" (p. 60).

Teachers at Activists

"Teachers are in a unique position to understand what schools need and to suggest to wider audiences that an equitable distribution of resources should be thought of as a precondition--not a reward-for educational progress. Part of becoming a more literate teacher involves becoming an educational activist," (p. 110).

"My father reminded me to never discount any child, to remember my grandfather, where he was from and what he had survived. In schools, this faith requires working both within and against dominant curricular practices. We teach students to do well on their high-stakes tests while agitating to get rid of the tests. We advocate for students to be placed in the college track while supporting thoughtful reforms to abolish tracking...Perhaps most important teachers require an inexhaustible believing stance toward their students," (p. 109)

Transcripts

The third graders at a school in Queens decided to breathe new life into partnership work. After I shared with them how I have been thinking of new ways to really know kids and their literacy world not just word. We discussed cultures, traditions, families, life styles, interests, etc. Then the teachers shared this idea with their kids and they decided the kids should come up with some questions that they would like to know about their partner. The partnership came with their list of questions and this is their interview.

Natalie starts her Interview:

Natalie: I just want to ask you about your life—Do you have any pets?

Kennen: Yes, a dog

Natalie: Does it bite? Is it friendly? When is its birthday?

Kennen: no and yes

Natalie: Where do you live?

Kennen: Live right next door to the school...don't have to go by far

Natalie: Do you have any friends? What’s your favorite color?

Kennen: I like red...why…because almost everything in my room is red...like my bed and desk, and eraser

Natalie: What do you want to be when you grow up?

Kennen: I don't know what I want to be when I grow up

Natalie: What do you like to eat for dinner...give me one example...

Kennen: steak

Natalie: Who do you live with?

Kennen: my mom grandma. And grandpa.

Natalie: Do you have any brothers or sisters...wish I could have a boy...right so you can play with it. What do you like to do after school?

Kennen: I like to read books, watch stories about myself...what kind of books do you read?

Natalie: Do you visit people or do you go your house...house...really big...house or apt? Does your mom stay in the house?

Kennen: she's not around much she goes on business trips...

Natalie: Who watches you?

Kennen: Friends or my grandma

Natalie: Who takes you to their house?

Kennen does this interview:

Kennen: Where do you live?

Natalie: Brooklyn

Kennen: Where are you from—your family?

Natalie: My family is from Equador...family was born in Ecuador...traveled once on a vacation.

Kennen: What do you like to do after school—hobbies?

Natalie: My favorite hobby is ballet...now I go to karate. I wish could go back to ballet—I miss my friends. I also enjoy reading a lot...higher levels and

McDonalds...favorite foods...happy meals...chicken nuggets...walk some

Kennen: Who do you live with?

Natalie: I live with my mom dad, grandma, grandfather...my cousin lives below...

This is a transcript of a conversation between the ESL teacher (E) who provides services for 7 students in a first grade classroom of 25 and the classroom teacher (T) regarding a student who arrived in the United States from China five days earlier along with her third grade sister.  E was coming to pick the student for pull-out services. 

E (to student): Chen Yao, come!

E (to teacher): We’re trying to come up with a new name.

T: What do you mean?

E: Like an American name.

T: Oh, is that necessary?

E: Well, you know, Chen Yao…maybe Susy or Emily or something would be better.

T: Oh, okay.  I think Chen Yao is fine too.

(Student and E leave the room.  A couple days later…)

E: We changed her sister’s name to Lily since her name was Chen Lou.  Can you think of any names that begin with Y?  You know, for Chen Yao? 

T: No, does she get to choose?

E: Well we’re trying to do flowers. 

T: Hmmm.  Well if I think of anything I’ll let you know.

Where or how to begin?

Read and pass on to     Talk to your students, let your

a fellow teacher…                student talk to one another,

Writing Prompts:	Books to Start Conversation:
§  What the teacher didn’t know… §  What is something no one knows about your day, your week, your year? §  What or who is important to you? §	·      My Name is Maria Isabel by Alma Flor Alda ·      How Tia Lola Came to Visit/Stay by Julia Alvarez ·      Drita My Home Girl by Jenny Lombard ·      The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros ·      A Day’s Work By Eve Bunting ·      A Picnic in October by Eve Bunting

Group Reflection by Zoe, Christy, and Lauren

The Campano book club members created a plan for our inquiry as a group.  We decided that each member would read the book in its entirety, and created a timeline for reading each section.   We briefly discussed each part when we met as a group on Wednesdays.  Because our school experiences vary and our schedules were so different we thought that a blog would be a great way to share our responses to the reading and also report on our inquiry work with students.

As the semester progressed, we found that there were themes throughout the book that were deepening our understanding of what it means to be an immigrant student and what it means to be an immigrant student's teacher.  Because the themes were woven in and out of each chapter, we decided that each member would focus on one theme and explore it through Campano's views and our own school experiences.  On the blog, you can find our work related to themes.

Because we were spending so much time reflecting on the work of Campano and our own teaching of immigrant, migrant, and refugee students, we wanted to ensure that some time was spent discussing other members' perspectives and responses.  With the challenge of our schedules, we decided that after posting our own reflections, we would be sure to read other members' postings and respond with wonderings and comments to create a rich, online dialogue.  By putting this response process in place, it jumpstarted our face-to-face conversations each Wednesday, opening us up to discuss other topics in response to postings, book quotes, and/or class experiences.

Overall, our group feels that this was a successful way to keep track of our learning and inquiry while reading Campano's book. We worked together well and really challenged one another to look deeper at our views of power, privilege, and perspective in response to school policy and our teaching of immigrant students.  Each of us feels that our ideas and views of students has changed because of this inquiry book club.  We have recommended the book to colleagues and administrators, thought more about our own personal biases and "What the teacher didn't know" and discovered ways to stay informed as teacher activists.

"Brave New Voices" Tell the World What They Think of Education Today

This video is a powerful performance of a poem by four high school students. What passive role do these students' teachers take in education and what can we do as professional educators to stop this terrible cycle that begins early in grade school? Take a look...

What the teacher didn't know...

What's in a name?

This is a transcript of a conversation between the ESL teacher (E) who provides services for 7 students in a first grade classroom of 25 and the classroom teacher (T) regarding a student who arrived in the United States from China five days earlier along with her third grade sister. E was coming to pick the student up for pull-out services.

E (to student): Chen Yao, come!
E (to teacher): We’re trying to come up with a new name.
T: What do you mean?
E: Like an American name.
T: Oh, is that necessary?
E: Well, you know, Chen Yao…maybe Susy or Emily or something would be better.
T: Oh, okay. I think Chen Yao is fine too.
(Student and E leave the room. A couple days later…)
E: We changed her sister’s name to Lily since her name was Chen Lou. Can you think of any names that begin with Y? You know, for Chen Yao?
T: No, does she get to choose?
E: Well we’re trying to do flowers.
T: Hmmm. Well if I think of anything I’ll let you know.

Seeing the Whole Child post by Christy

The whole child -- what does that mean? It means seeing a child beyond numbers, levels, test scores, and to instead know family histories, struggles, responsibilities, things that matter to the individual--what they enjoy or are good at. It means getting to know the child as a person--a human being with opinions, strengths, and passions.

Campano argues "wouldn't it be possible to imagine life experiences not as a deficit, but as a resource and a potential theoretical orientation to the world, one that can deepen my own understanding of teaching and learning in an ethnically diverse neighborhood?"(p. 15)

Knowing the child to help us empathize with her, but also to build on her strengths. What are her experiences outside of school that she can lean on to navigate her day better and succeed inside of a curriculum that can be so far removed from his own life? Using what she knows can make all the difference. How can I as her teacher encourage and influence this to happen?

Campano continues, stating "that when children come to class, however, they are often led to believe that these realities don't matter, except as a barrier to learning. Many are reticent at the beginning, eager to defer to the wisdom of teachers and administrators. With persistent disappointment, this reticence may evolve into feelings of frustration, disengagement, and eventually disenchantment. What would it mean to develop curricular that acknowledge our students' unique social identities, not as problems, but rather as profound sources of knowledge that could help us illuminate aspects of our shared world and inform the ways in which we conceptualize our pedagogies?"
(pp. 15-16)

How difficult would that be to do in our classrooms? Surveying each student at the beginning of the year. Visiting their homes (or giving caregivers that choice), leading parent/teacher conferences differently. Asking questions like “What is your child good at?” “What is his life outside of school?” “What responsibilities does he have at home?” “Where does he fall in the birth order?”

Campano discusses accountability, stating "to be mindful of engagement of others, to learn productivity from and respond to the experiences of others, and to cultivate mutual empathy and understanding. It is about relationships" (p. 46)

Why does it feel like the only real thing that matters around accountability is a test given on a single day? In life, many people can do well on tests and not be successful. It is one measurement. A person is so much more than that one day’s test result.

Campano continues, noting that "some of my most profound teaching moments occurred when our classroom literacy engagements become informed by the students' own experiences and identities. When this was done well, they performed at levels equal to or surpassing those of any peer group across the country, even by conventional measures such as standardized-test scores.” (p. 41)

Looking at the Way Our Writing Partnership Reads the World post by Christy

Partnership transcription: Natalie and Kennen:
The third graders at a school in Queens decided to breathe new life into partnership work. After I shared with them how I have been thinking of new ways to really know kids and their literacy world not just word. We discussed cultures, traditions, families, life styles, interests, etc. Then the teachers shared this idea with their kids and they decided the kids should come up with some questions that they would like to know about their partner. The partnership came with their list of questions and this is their interview.

Natalie starts her Interview:

Natalie: I just want to ask you about your life—Do you have any pets?
Kennen: Yes, a dog
Natalie: Does it bite? Is it friendly? When is it's birthday?
Kennen: no and yes
Natalie: Where do you live?
Kennen: Live right next door to the school...don't have to go by far
Natalie: Do you have any friends? What’s your favorite color?
Kennen: I like red...why…because almost everything in my room is red...like my bed and desk, and eraser
Natalie: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Kennen: I don't know what I want to be when I grow up
Natalie: What do you like to eat for dinner...give me one example...
Kennen: steak
Natalie: Who do you live with?
Kennen: my mom grandma. And grandpa..
Natalie: Do you have any brothers or sisters...wish I could have a boy...right so you can play with it. What do you like to do after school?
Kennen: I like to read books, watch stories about myself...what kind of books do you read?
Natalei: Do you visit people or do you go your house...house...really big...house or apt? Does your mom stay in the house?
Kennen: she's not around much she goes on business trips...
Natalie: Who watches you?
Kennen: Friends or my grandma
Natalie: Who takes you to their house?

Kennon does this interview:

Kennen: Where do you live?
Natalie: Brooklyn
Kennen: Where are you from—your family?
Natalie: My family is from equator..family was born in equador...traveled once on a vacation
Kennen: What do you like to do after school—hobbies?
Natalie: My favorite hobby is ballet..now I go to karate. I wish could go back to ballet—I miss my friends. I also enjoy reading a lot...higher levels and
McDonalds...favorite foods...happy meals..chicken nuggets...walk some
Kennen: Who do you live with?
Natalie: I live with my mom dad, grandma, grandfather...my cousin lives below...