Assignment One
by Andrea Ratzlaff
1. Diversity
1.1. need 1800 mother talk words before entering grade 1 to not be behind
1.2. "Demographic Imperative "The importance of connecting with students and their comunities for the purposes of mutual information and support suggests a "reciprocal and interactive" orientation towards practice" (Banks et al, pg 247)
1.3. Many ESL learners also face cognitive and psychosocial challenges related to cultural adjustment and adaptation (Delgado, Jones & Rohani, 2005). Some may experience difficulties in forming cross-ethnic friendships, over-reliance on support from peers with similar cultural backgrounds, alienation and isolation, and limited access to positive role models and mentors (Anisef & Kilbride, 2003; James, 1997). Many ESL learners struggle to achieve positive identity formation due to conflicting values at home and in the community and the pervasive impact of internalized racism (Desai & Subramanian, 2003). (Cultural Competence in Alberta Schools: Perceptions of ESL Families in Four Major School Boards Coalition for Equal Access to Education October 2009)
1.4. Instead of thinking of thinking about literacy as an entity (something you either have or haven’t) thinking about literacy as a social practice can be revolutionary”- Jerome Harste
1.5. “In terms of your classroom, it is important to ask,”What kinds of social practice are in place as a result, how is literacy being defined? Who benefits from this definition of literacy? Who is put at jeopardy?What social practices would I have to do to show that I honor the home literacies that students bring with them in school?”-Jerome Harste
2. What is good teaching?
2.1. Universal Design of Learning-Alberta Education
2.2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHiby3m_RyM Learning to Change, Changing to Learn Favorite Quotes• Big communicators, accept as educators that technology is not a choice • School is just one of the places that they learn, child is at the centre • Make bridges to the other places of learning, school will become a place where you join together to do work • Opening doors to the natural resources, connecting students to the kind of opportunities that will fundamentally shift there aspect of education • Global connections! Authentic ingredients • Jobs that kids in school will be having will not have right answer machines • Synthesis, teamwork, multi-disciplinary, multi lingual, multi cultural • Find info, synthesize, collaborate with is. Multi-literacies-21st set of literacies –validating information, cant keep up • Death of education, dawn of learning
2.3. "Students learn what they care about from people they care about and who they know care about them!"-Barbara Harrel Carson
2.4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwlhUcSGqgs&feature=youtu.be What to get excited about!
3. Personal Experiences
3.1. Teaching ESL in rural Africa-3 months
3.2. Research on School systems in South Korea
3.3. Attended rural school-little diversity
3.4. Teaching Swimming lessons
3.5. Tutoring in Calgary
4. Poverty and Learning
4.1. PS22 Chorus
4.2. Nine Powerful Practices-Ruby Payne
4.3. Different Kinds of Poverty in your students Financial, emotional, mental, spiritual, physical, support systems, relationships/role models, knowledge of hidden rules.
5. School Climate
5.1. “Structure should not be used to change organizational performance and effective- ness. It should be vice versa—focus on the culture of ex cellence and the structures will evolve to support that culture.” pg 14. Stolp & Smith (1995)
5.2. "There is a positive correlation between instructional leadership and instructional climate"Samuel E. Krug (1992)
5.3. "School culture is important in areas such as student and teacher motivation, academic achievement, and creating safe and collaborative learning environments" Page 22 Stolp & Smith (1995)
5.4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5SBsk3rS6s
5.5. Ron Clark Academy-Rules for Success