The reality of achievement gaps will always be around. I do
believe that gaps in student achievement will always exist, however, I have
faith that the size of these gaps will decrease in the future. As Taylor has
shown us, the four main reasons for the gaps are 1. High poverty schools, 2. Ill-equipped
& ill-prepared teachers, 3. Facilities gaps, and 4. Tracking. I do not have
a lot of first-hand knowledge in any of these, but the one that does relate to
me the most is “tracking”. At the moment, in my school there are two “advanced classes”,
math and literature. This may not be a ‘full-blown’ version of tracking, but it
is close enough. Within my middle school building (6th-8th)
there is an advanced math and advanced literature class for each grade level.
Although I like the curriculum (as a Literature teacher), I do not feel the
need for an entirely different class for these ‘advanced’ students. Some may
argue that this is the only way to appeal to the needs of these students, but I
disagree. As mentioned, differentiated instruction, through theory of multiple
intelligences, or deBono’s Thinking Hats, can work just as well.
We all know that each student is individually different,
academically, culturally, gender, socioeconomic status, etc. It is challenging
to understand the diversity within one’s classroom, but to become a successful
teacher who creates assignments to include ALL students is rewarding not only
to the teacher, but the students as well.
Ch. 2 Question: How can teachers not only understand and
appeal to the diversity within the classroom the classroom, but bring it to
life and help students understand and live it?
To answer your question, I think a good way to do this is field trips! Why not take students to a variety of places where they can not only learn about a certain diverse group, but they can also serve in it! Take students to a special education class at a younger grade level to serve and get to know kids with disabilities. Go to a local ethnic festival for them to experience and have the students practice their English and Math skills by reading a menu, ordering and paying for their lunch. These field trips can provide so many both cultural and academic learning opportunities for these students and most of the time they require little to no cost. Maybe a student has a culture-specific event that they can lead and "give a tour" of for his/her classmates. Maybe students bring in dishes of food from their classmates' cultures to have a potluck! Perhaps students interview each other and have to write "A day in the life" story for English telling of their classmate's daily life in first person as if they are their classmate. This meets common core goals and also gives them the opportunity to understand that student's diverse life. I like this question! It's fun to think out of the box!
ReplyDeleteDiscourse is a really important way. Let the children talk to each other on subjects that they all understand and relate to. They learn more this way than trying to teach them the formal, written language. We need to do that as well but first get them more comfortable just holding conversations on more simple things. As they acquire more words and are able to build a vocabulary to be understood by others, their confidence in their ability to get their message across will increase. That is when they will be able to start writing. Another good thing to do is use cognates and simple matching games and word searches. Children love finding words and that is a pattern they can become familiar with.
ReplyDeleteField trips, guest speakers, discussions with each other! These are all excellent ways to introduce students to other cultures. Make the experiences relevant. Try to make those connections to what the students are already familiar with.
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