After discussing the book, “The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African—American Children,” by Gloria Ladson—Billings with my course mentor, I developed some new interpretations and thoughts on the book. For example, we discussed how it is unrealistic to pretend we don’t see color when it comes to race, as that’s completely untrue. However, we should use diversity in our classroom to teach tolerance and include cultural elements that are tailored to each student’s diverse background. We also discussed building trust and rapport in a classroom where a teacher is a different race than the majority of the students in that classroom by taking the time to get to know and relate to the students and their families. This is a specific example of something I will do in my own classroom, as a result of gaining this additional insight from the book discussion.
Discussions with my course mentor also broadened my view of the book, “Teaching with Intention: Defining Beliefs, Aligning Practice, Taking Action. K-5,” by Debbie Miller. For example. we discussed the applicability of the workshop model that the author discussed, and some best practices for implementing it in the classroom. We talked about how teachers should talk out loud during the modeling portion of the activity, so that students can hear and see what they should be thinking as they work through a problem independently We also discussed the author’s use of classroom circles for morning meetings, even in the upper grades. My course mentor also mentioned that she used to be a teacher at an all-boys military high school and that she used the circle approach with a “name game” to learn the names of the students in her classroom I found this to be a very interesting approach to connecting with students, and it’s something I’d like to try in my own classroom.
Likewise, I also developed a new understanding of the book, “The Future of Education: Reimagining our Schools from the Ground Up,” by Kieran Egan, after a thoughtful discussion with my course mentor‘ For example, we discussed how the author’s view on the different cognitive stages of understanding is similar to the theories of development theorized by Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. We also talked about the applicability of each of the author‘s five levels of cognitive understanding to different grade levels in the elementary classroom. My course mentor then shared with me how social-emotional learning used to take place in the home, and in after-school clubs and activities (such as the Girl Scouts), but now technology is often replacing human interaction, which is causing children’s social skills to regress. Additionally, discussing “Making Learning Whole: How Seven Principles of Teaching Can Transform Education,“ by David N Perkins, with my course mentor helped me to understand principle number seven, “learn the game of learning,” more in-depth.
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We discussed how students need to actually be taught the learning process and how to learn the material. We can‘t simply lecture and provide knowledge and expect students to just absorb it. We also discussed how this book would be more applicable in the upper grades of elementary, or middle and high school, than in lower grades because many younger students aren’t yet able to be successful in knowledge transfer between subjects. Finally, my discourse with my course mentor about “Teaching to Change the World,” by Jeannie Oakes, Jamy Stillman, Lauren Anderson, and Martin Lipton helped me to better understand that we need to “teach to the behavior expected“ of the students in our classrooms.
My course mentor shared that this is something that was taught to her by her professor during her undergraduate studies, and it means that we should teach to where the goal is for each student. If we refuse to academically challenge a student because we inherently believe that the student is not capable of achieving success, then the student will be less likely to rise to the challenge in the future. We also reflected on a statistic from the book that 341% of American children are homeschooled, and discussed some reasons why parents choose to homeschool their children — such as being uncomfortable with the public school curriculum (conflicting beliefs), behavioral issues, and students having their own training for a sport or activity to complete which would otherwise compete with their school day‘.
A specific example of something I will do as a result of my participation in these book discussions is focus on creating a positive classroom environment where students feel safe to explore their learning and make mistakes Additionally, I will focus on academically challenging all students at a realistic level, where they can grow but still find success. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed discussing my chosen books with my course mentor and having the opportunity to hear another perspective, not only on the book selections but on the field of education in general. I feel confident that I have gained an additional perspective that will be helpful to me when I step Into my own classroom in the future.
