Week 9 - Literacy With an Attitude

 3/26/2024

"Literacy With An Attitude"-- notes and other thoughts

It's a good thing that we didn't have class today, because I do not feel well haha. I hope my writing for this blog isn't too sloppy.

As I am skimming through this preface, I am reminded of a class I am taking right now on the side-- it is a book club offered to teachers at my school in which we read a book titled "Dispelling Misconceptions about English Language Learners". The book goes into detail the kinds of factors that contribute to misconceptions about ELL students, most specifically in terms of educational literacy. I think there may be a lot of shared thoughts between that reading and "Literacy With An Attitude". Still, I am not sure which direction this particular reading is going, so we will see.

"Over time, political, social, and economic forces have brought us to a place where the working class (and to a surprising degree, the middle class) gets domesticating education education and functional literacy , and the rich get empowering education and powerful literacy"

This is an idea I have thought about occasionally-- in my first months of teaching I felt guilty that I was not offering my kinds substantial teaching material, and subsequently the rest of my school wasn't. Not that the material was necessarily bad, but I think it's just as author Patrick Finn describes; it is an education that is often not born of creativity and and powerful thinking, but rather one that presents things as they are, unchangeable and matter of fact. How does this all tie in to bringing in social and political issues into the classroom? Is the eduation society has cultivated so limited due in part to limiting the discussion of social and political issues, out of fear that it may empower the lower classes?

"Compared to the more affluent schools in this study, there was less discussion of controversial topics such as labor disbutes, civil rights, and women's rights and less attention to the history of these issues"

To silence this kind of discussion is to silence creative thinking-- it ensures authority is unquestionable, and unaccountable for past struggles.

Finn talks about how these lower-class schools are fiercly step by step in their education-- shaped not by creative values, but by industry. Students are to become unquestioning, ideal workers. I get stressed and anxious thinking about this timeless struggle. I feel as though history has always been a story of rich vs poor, a truth obfuscated by years of deception and change in the system of schooling and education. What exactly can be done to stop this struggle? It boggles my mind, because surely discussion is not enough. How does one spur people into action?

"Work rarely called for creativity. There was little serious attention to how students might develop or express their own ideas"

"When students begin school in such different systems, the odds are set for them"

Finn argues that the language of literacy we should integrate into our classrooms should be one of power-- finding ways to learn and generate powerful literacy among working and middle class students. At this point, lower and middle class schools are designed to be as sanetized as possible, focusing on step-by-step procedure, as opposed to upper class schools, which focus on how such solutions to problems can be found creatively and with open discussion. Finn's argument, then, is that creativity and creative thinking is powerful, and the greatest way that we can foster powerful literacy in the lower and middle classes. To foster this creativity, there must be discussion and connection between the material being taught and the daily lives and struggles of students.

Maybe this one is too obvious a reference, but I am reminded of Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2". Many people who have misread the lyrics may only see it as an anthem of "we hate school" and "school sucks". The reality is the song is reflective of Roger Waters' (the band leader) time in a post WW2 British schooling system, which shaped and abused children into working class citizens, or "another brick in the wall". Such themes I think are reflective of the same exact struggles plaguing American schooling, where lower to middle class schools rigidly attempt to shape students into ideal workers, as opossed to upper class schools shaping students for ruling at the top.

Week 8 (...or is it week 9?)

 Would like to start this blog post by (again) apologizing for this late post. The last week has been quite hectic, but I'm glad I was able to slot out some time to work on this reading.

After an initial skim of the topics of each of this week's reading materials, it's clear to me there is a clear contrast between the laws put in place to protect LGBTQ youth, and the actual realities found in schools.

The official guidance put in place for Rhode Island Elementary and Secondary Education suggests a staunch stance against descrimination:

"The purpose of this guidance is to... foster an educational environment that is safe and free from descrimination for all students, regardless of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression..."

The guidance goes on further to suggest ways that LGBTQ youth can be supported, such as offering gender neutral bathrooms and alternatives, as well as protecting information about a student's orientation if it would endanger their living situation with their parents or caretakers.

The suggestion is a highly inclusive environment for RI LGBTQ youth-- but reality is far away from suggestion. There are laws in place to help protect youth, but whether or not schools follow through on these, and whether or not teachers and staff are aware of these laws, are a completely different story. I can say for certain with experience that I've heard numerous older teachers in my building say things about the LGBTQ movement that are at best microagressions. Teachers and students are not immune to their own prejudices or the prejudices that influence their families, and I think the second reading, "Queering Our Schools", is indicative of this.

I think the start of the reading says it best: "The terrain, in terms of legal rights and public conversation, is shifting rapidly...At the same time, homophobia, mysogyny, and other forms of hatred are alive and well, and even progressive schools and classrooms have a long way to go..."

The editors of "Queering Our Schools" argument statement is that while there are laws in place to protect against descrimination, there are still struggles and hurdles to cross when it comes to creating safe environments for descriminated groups, most especially in classrooms. My question is this: how can we create an environment safe for LGBTQ youth not only in the classroom, but in their homes as well? The addition of the community and families surrounding schools, as well as their own held prejudices, make the matter of making inclusive classrooms extremely diffficult.

"When you invite kids to talk openly and ask questions about gender and sexuality, you have to be ready for whatever happens. It's trickier than geometry"

If there were perhaps a demonstration of a fully functioning, inclusive classroom, or a completely inclusive school, might that open the door for parents and oppossing groups to see things differently? I feel as though a public school is a pillar of a local community, and perhaps focusing on upending a school to be completely inclusive might lead to better things.

How can we create these inclusive settings? "Queering Our Schools" suggests normalizing discussion and the suggestion of LGBTQ themes and struggles. Normalizing discussion and ideas such that they may repeatedly crop up, might challenge preconceptions that teachers, students, and parents hold surrounding inclusivity.

I think this is further supported by the other material for this week's reading, the "Woke Read Aloud" video, featuring a children's book promoting the discussion of different and preferred pronouns. A material such as this-- something that is welcoming and inclusive-- is a great starting point to not only discussion surrounding pronouns, but normalizing the concept in general. I love how the teacher in the video breaks down the concept even further, into something that is completely digestible not only to a child, but their parents as well. Granted, I don't know how many conservative parents would be showing their kids "Woke Read Alouds", but in a classroom setting this would be an excellent opportunity for discussion and normalization.

My final question of discussion is this: how can I create a better inclusive setting in my classroom, to facilitate discusison? I'm specifically a tech ed teacher, and I am trying to think of ways that I could perhaps promote that kind of discussion in some of my lessons.

Again this week, I am stuck thinking of what I could possibly hyper-link or attach as an image to this discussion. I was drawn back to this wonderful game I had played, "Celeste".

The game's story, about a youth's climb up a perilous mountaintop, is actually an alegory for the struggle of trans youth. The character is ambiguously gendered, and various parallels are drawn between their struggle climbing and the struggles of trans youth. "This memorial dedicated to those who perished on the climb" referring to those who had died on their transitioning journey-- deaths that may have been prevented if there were proper support systems and environments for trans youth to thrive in.

Slightly unrelated, but the game's soundtrack is great too. I attached one of my favorite tracks below.

Week 7- Teach Out Proposal

 I had originally written this on the green paper we were handed, I forgot we had to post this to our blogs (oops).

My initial idea was that I wanted to present the teach out to my dad. He's a really nice and sympathetic guy, but he has expressed in the past how he doesn't understand white privilege, or the dynamicism of PC culture. He's not a big fan of the race/cultural seminars at the schools either; not that he doesn't empathize but I don't think he understands the concepts surrounding white privilege, and feels offended for being targeted.

I propose to teach out to my dad, using a number of readings we have gone over so far in this course, including the Colorblind/Colorbrave readings, as well as any other materials touching on white privelege. I want to break down why we as white people are still culpable in white privilege, and how if one group is privileged, there is another group who is not. I am still not sure how I will break it down into something digestible and natural. I don't want it to sound like I'm reading from a script when talking to him.

An individual interview would be the best format to this. Speaking one-on-one with someone is a lot more personal, honest, and vulnerable. There is an opportunity for a better dialogue. That vulnerability that comes with that, I believe, is needed for this subject of teach out.

I am hoping the rest of the class's proposals will help me brainstorm ideas as to how I can format this. I really would like to make him understand fully.