This is so powerful. I AM IMPRESSED! I love the metaphor you used with the quilt and stitching. You are so creative! When I hear analogies, such as the ones that you used (i.e. the quilt, the stitching, the frayed...), I tend to hold the information presented to me. I especially appreciate how you used this as your "hook"! You certainly got my attention! One of my favorite researchers, Kelly Gallagher (2004) posits that students acquire a deeper appreciation for literature when they “develop their ability to think metaphorically as means of reaching deeper levels of comprehension” (p. 125). Furthermore, he suggests that metaphors help students connect the text to real world events, “thus sharpening their higher level thinking skills”. I highly recommend this book for teaching “metaphorical thinking” regardless of age.
Jeff Zwiers (2004), another great researcher, also incorporates analogy as one strategy to improve comprehension of content in his book, Developing Academic Thinking Skills in grades 6-12: A Handbook of Multiple Intelligence Strategies. Zwiers provides a practical approach to teaching students how thinking, language and content learning are related (p. 9). In Zwier’s (2004) book Building Reading Comprehension Habits in Grades 6-12: A Tool Kit of Classroom Activities is a great resource for using across the content areas. You may really appreciate having these books right at your fingertips when planning these types of meaningful activities for your students!
The quality images you shared made it enjoyable to listen to your presentation! Often times, in a normal power point presentation, I will get overwhelmed by trying to read the text and take notes while the instructor discusses the "slide" in more depth. I would definitely share your Pecha Kucha with any class I might teach in the future. Ironically, I just saw a movie last night based on true events, called The Life of a King (Goldberger, 2013). I don't want to spoil it for you if you decide to watch it, but it highlights the very essence of your presentation. Making the connection between the two is an example of how I might use your information for transformative teaching. Thank you so much for an information filled presentation!
Goldberger, J. (Director). (2013). The life of a king [Motion picture]. USA: Millennium Entertainment.
Zwiers, J. (2004). Building reading comprehension habits in grades 6-12: A toolkit of classroom activities. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Zwiers, J. (2004). Developing academic thinking skills in grades 6-12: A handbook of multiple intelligence strategies. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Thank you for these resourced, Cassie. I look forward to checking them out at the library. I, too, love metaphors and analogies. Like you said, they are powerful tools for deep learning.
Carrie, Your presentation captured so many of the realities faced by my students on a daily basis, from their underfunded, segregated school to the negative influence that unwarranted attention of the police has on their lives. It seems that all of the prescriptions for “fixing” education do not address the constellation of issues that result in educational inequality. I teach in Connecticut, where the public schools have one of the largest achievement gaps in the country. Last month, a Connecticut supreme court judge ruled our school-funding system unconstitutional and now the schools need to find a more equitable model for funding the schools. The district where I teach needed $15 million in additional funds to cover its budget, yet the state cut funding to the district by $1 million while providing additional state funds to wealthier districts. According to Lambeck (2016), the district needed $15 million in additional funds from the state just to stay even, yet the state cut $1 million in funding while some wealthier suburban districts got additional funds from the state. The powerful forces in the government appropriate the funds according to their own desires and the inequitable funding suggests that they are not committed to providing students with the education that they are entitled to and closing the achievement gap. It is very disappointing that this is still going on, so many years after the U.S. Supreme Court asserted the rights of all students to an equal education. I have had my 10th grade male students tell me that the police follow them whenever they leave their house. This scrutiny leads to and sustains negative perceptions of law enforcement. This type of harassment has long been a problem and I hope that more people will finally be convinced that it is a problem that calls for change. Weigel (2016) reports that South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, who is black, gave a speech to the Senate in which he described how he was targeted for police stops because of his race. I hope that lawmakers will accept the reality that bias exists in the police departments throughout the country and that there will be legislation that will fix this problem. Lambeck, L. C. (2016, October 6). District in disarray. Connecticut Post, pp. 1, A5. Weigel, D. (2016, July 13). On the Senate floor, black GOP senator talks of disrespect from police [Electronic version]. The Washington Post.
Janet, thank you for your reply. I am very fascinated in your school district and the incredible wealth, funding, and achievement gap. Thank you for updating me on the supreme court case. I have been wondering about the outcome. The NY Times article you sent to us pteviously was very powerful. Finally, I really admire you for teaching at Warren Harding High School. It shows your true character and your passion for teaching as we all know you could be making significantly more money if you were teaching at another school in the city.
I appreciate the elaborate visuals that meld with your subject to create a rich tapestry of information, but also, the topic itself is a courageous one to undertake, especially against the grain of education and power within society. I could not help but connect this to our current readings in Van Dijk (2008) which illuminates that groups within the fabric of the community wield societal power over other groups, particularly notable between police and the African American community. I find it even more interesting that the language you mention, is the discourse in which police and the African American community work within, two separate discourses, one of oppression, the other of resistance. I appreciate your mention of achievement with regards to power, because it peels away the layers of pretense towards a more serious dysfunction within the African American community; that they are stuck within the throes of an American colonization, marginalized by whiteness and victims to an economic disparity that they cannot possibly transcend, and thus develop a discourse of resistance to balance the scales. Education becomes a side-note in the struggle for survival, and the achievement gap widens as a result (Gregory, Skiba, & Noguera,(2010),Kao & Thompson (2003). It's a very real problem and hopefully we can band together to shed light on the dysfunction for the educational future of our communities.
Kao, G., & Thompson, J. S. (2003). Racial and ethnic stratification in educational achievement and attainment. Annual review of sociology, 417-442.
Gregory, A., Skiba, R. J., & Noguera, P. A. (2010). The achievement gap and the discipline gap two sides of the same coin?. Educational Researcher, 39(1), 59-68.
Van Dijk, R.A. (2008). Discourse and power. PalgraveMcmillan.
Thank you for your remarks, Ty. I am very passionate about addressing the achievement gap. I am currently writing this paper up for publishing. If you are intetested in collaborating on future projects related to this, please let me know. I have a few project ideas in mind and would love to collaborate.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWow Carrie!
ReplyDeleteThis is so powerful. I AM IMPRESSED! I love the metaphor you used with the quilt and stitching. You are so creative! When I hear analogies, such as the ones that you used (i.e. the quilt, the stitching, the frayed...), I tend to hold the information presented to me. I especially appreciate how you used this as your "hook"! You certainly got my attention! One of my favorite researchers, Kelly Gallagher (2004) posits that students acquire a deeper appreciation for literature when they “develop their ability to think metaphorically as means of reaching deeper levels of comprehension” (p. 125). Furthermore, he suggests that metaphors help students connect the text to real world events, “thus sharpening their higher level thinking skills”. I highly recommend this book for teaching “metaphorical thinking” regardless of age.
Jeff Zwiers (2004), another great researcher, also incorporates analogy as one strategy to improve comprehension of content in his book, Developing Academic Thinking Skills in grades 6-12: A Handbook of Multiple Intelligence Strategies. Zwiers provides a practical approach to teaching students how thinking, language and content learning are related (p. 9). In Zwier’s (2004) book Building Reading Comprehension Habits in Grades 6-12: A Tool Kit of Classroom Activities is a great resource for using across the content areas. You may really appreciate having these books right at your fingertips when planning these types of meaningful activities for your students!
The quality images you shared made it enjoyable to listen to your presentation! Often times, in a normal power point presentation, I will get overwhelmed by trying to read the text and take notes while the instructor discusses the "slide" in more depth. I would definitely share your Pecha Kucha with any class I might teach in the future. Ironically, I just saw a movie last night based on true events, called The Life of a King (Goldberger, 2013). I don't want to spoil it for you if you decide to watch it, but it highlights the very essence of your presentation. Making the connection between the two is an example of how I might use your information for transformative teaching. Thank you so much for an information filled presentation!
References
Gallagher, K. (2004). Deeper reading: Comprehending challenging texts, 4-12. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.
Goldberger, J. (Director). (2013). The life of a king [Motion picture]. USA: Millennium Entertainment.
Zwiers, J. (2004). Building reading comprehension habits in grades 6-12: A toolkit of classroom activities. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Zwiers, J. (2004). Developing academic thinking skills in grades 6-12: A handbook of multiple intelligence strategies. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Thank you for these resourced, Cassie. I look forward to checking them out at the library. I, too, love metaphors and analogies. Like you said, they are powerful tools for deep learning.
DeleteCarrie,
ReplyDeleteYour presentation captured so many of the realities faced by my students on a daily basis, from their underfunded, segregated school to the negative influence that unwarranted attention of the police has on their lives. It seems that all of the prescriptions for “fixing” education do not address the constellation of issues that result in educational inequality.
I teach in Connecticut, where the public schools have one of the largest achievement gaps in the country. Last month, a Connecticut supreme court judge ruled our school-funding system unconstitutional and now the schools need to find a more equitable model for funding the schools. The district where I teach needed $15 million in additional funds to cover its budget, yet the state cut funding to the district by $1 million while providing additional state funds to wealthier districts.
According to Lambeck (2016), the district needed $15 million in additional funds from the state just to stay even, yet the state cut $1 million in funding while some wealthier suburban districts got additional funds from the state. The powerful forces in the government appropriate the funds according to their own desires and the inequitable funding suggests that they are not committed to providing students with the education that they are entitled to and closing the achievement gap. It is very disappointing that this is still going on, so many years after the U.S. Supreme Court asserted the rights of all students to an equal education.
I have had my 10th grade male students tell me that the police follow them whenever they leave their house. This scrutiny leads to and sustains negative perceptions of law enforcement. This type of harassment has long been a problem and I hope that more people will finally be convinced that it is a problem that calls for change. Weigel (2016) reports that South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, who is black, gave a speech to the Senate in which he described how he was targeted for police stops because of his race. I hope that lawmakers will accept the reality that bias exists in the police departments throughout the country and that there will be legislation that will fix this problem.
Lambeck, L. C. (2016, October 6). District in disarray. Connecticut Post, pp. 1, A5.
Weigel, D. (2016, July 13). On the Senate floor, black GOP senator talks of disrespect from police [Electronic version]. The Washington Post.
Janet, thank you for your reply. I am very fascinated in your school district and the incredible wealth, funding, and achievement gap. Thank you for updating me on the supreme court case. I have been wondering about the outcome. The NY Times article you sent to us pteviously was very powerful. Finally, I really admire you for teaching at Warren Harding High School. It shows your true character and your passion for teaching as we all know you could be making significantly more money if you were teaching at another school in the city.
DeleteCarrie,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the elaborate visuals that meld with your subject to create a rich tapestry of information, but also, the topic itself is a courageous one to undertake, especially against the grain of education and power within society. I could not help but connect this to our current readings in Van Dijk (2008) which illuminates that groups within the fabric of the community wield societal power over other groups, particularly notable between police and the African American community. I find it even more interesting that the language you mention, is the discourse in which police and the African American community work within, two separate discourses, one of oppression, the other of resistance. I appreciate your mention of achievement with regards to power, because it peels away the layers of pretense towards a more serious dysfunction within the African American community; that they are stuck within the throes of an American colonization, marginalized by whiteness and victims to an economic disparity that they cannot possibly transcend, and thus develop a discourse of resistance to balance the scales. Education becomes a side-note in the struggle for survival, and the achievement gap widens as a result (Gregory, Skiba, & Noguera,(2010),Kao & Thompson (2003). It's a very real problem and hopefully we can band together to shed light on the dysfunction for the educational future of our communities.
Kao, G., & Thompson, J. S. (2003). Racial and ethnic stratification in educational achievement and attainment. Annual review of sociology, 417-442.
Gregory, A., Skiba, R. J., & Noguera, P. A. (2010). The achievement gap and the discipline gap two sides of the same coin?. Educational Researcher, 39(1), 59-68.
Van Dijk, R.A. (2008). Discourse and power. PalgraveMcmillan.
Thank you for your remarks, Ty. I am very passionate about addressing the achievement gap. I am currently writing this paper up for publishing. If you are intetested in collaborating on future projects related to this, please let me know. I have a few project ideas in mind and would love to collaborate.
Delete