Chapter 1-2

Feb. 17

Camden - In Chapter one, Nieto lays out her framework of her book.  Her goal is to provide a platform for teachers to voice their love of teaching and to describe the multi-faceted and complex forces that drive them to do an impossible job in public schools.  She highlights the context which teachers of varing experience now face by discussing the current shift in political context - a context that has borrowed heavily from the jargon of the businessworld and turned our schools and students into "market places" and "consumers".  She describes two current and competing discourses active in education politics.  The "official" discourse is embodied in our federal legislation and the "unofficial" discourse which Nieto describes at the "discourse of possibility" where teachers view teaching and learning as a goal for equality and social justice.  Nieto points out that the demographic context in public education is also changing and our public schools are not socially equipped to meet the challenges.  Despite growing diversity, our schools are seriously segragated and poverty continues to be a serious problem in our nation.  Turn over rates soar to 50% in high poverty schools and at the same time that the number of students of color is on the rise, our teaching force is becoming increasingly white.  Nieto goes on to reveal the purpose of education in this context.  Racism is institutionalized in our public schools and teachers must not sit by to wait for these structural changes to occur.  It is encumbant on us all to become effective teachers of all students.  She quotes Dewey " It is the aim of all progressive education to take part in corrent unfair priviledge and unfair deprivation, not to perpetuate them".  So Nieto's intent in her book is to illumninate teachers who embody quintessential values of teaching - who hold onto what is important - the future of democracy in our nation. 

Camden - In Chapter two, we meet the first teacher - Jennifer Welborn.  The title of her piece "The Accidental Teacher".  She is a middle school science teacher who was a teacher twice before she settled in and committed herself to the profession.  She says her students "are fun, refreshingly honest and open. They are sincere and unpredictable. They are always forgiving".  She explains that only in her profession, she gets a fresh new start every year.  She teaches because it gives her a purpose and a really good reason to get up and try her best every day.  She knows that she changes lives and she helps her students feel competent.  She enjoys teaching them to take risks and it's ok to make mistakes.  Welborn says that the external demands of her job can be so "unrealistic and unattainable that they are beyond challenging; they are overwhelming."  But her driving force is a commitment to social justice, deeply instilled by her parents and her upbringing.  She realized that science had been used badly to perpetuate racism and she is committed to empowering her students with the knowledge that racism is socially constructed.  "I want them to know all this so that when they read in the newspaper that minority SAT scores are down, they know that these data must be due to social, economic, and political inequities in our society." 

Nieto is getting at the crux of problem in public education today.  Our govenmental policies, while they claim to seek equity do infact seek to dismantle our public school system.  By decreeing its failure to live up to impossible let alone meaningless expection over a long period of time, NCLB really seeks to justify getting rid of public education for all and privitizing education. Good teachers are leaving under the pressure and Nieto wants us to know that those that are staying have qualities the we must examine and draw strength from so that we can keep this from happening.  We cannot afford to just be a bystander. 

Sandy Chapter 1:  I was not surprised by the percentage of teachers (72%) who stated that "helping others was paramount to them" and that most became teachers "out of a sense of mission, for love more than money."  Ms. Nieto does an outstanding job of highlighting the political and changing demographic context in education.  She dicussed the many challenges public schools are faced with such as "privitization schemes including vouchers, tuition tax credits and charter schools.  She points to the fact that these alternatives traditionally benefit students who already "enjoy economic and other privileges, while they further jeopardize those who do not."  I this chapter, Ms. Nieto shares with us the two discourses concerning public education.  One that focuses on accountability, standards, credentials and testing.  The other,  is a way of thinking about teaching and learning as a siginificant goal in the quest for equality and social justice.  She believes that public schools can serve its purpose of sustaining democracy only when "all children have access to teachers who are competent and caring and in schools characterized by fairness, enthusiam and high expectations.  Ms. Nieto highlighted the poverty rates among people of color and the turnover rate for teachers in high-poverty schools reaching as high as 50%.  She stressed the importance of what it means recruit, prepare and retain teachers to work with students whose background and experience are much different than their own.  Last, she outlines a list of characteristics that describe highly qualified teachers.  In addition to the list, it was surprising to learn that less than 1% of all the money spent on public education is used for professional development.  Our student population continues to grow and change and in order for teachers to develop skills to meet the needs of their students, they must be retrained.  I think that part of the problem is that many teachers have not had effective training on teaching culturally diverse students.  Staff development surrounding how diverse students "best learn" and teaching teachers the importance of valuing and celebrating their students' culture is crucial.  You can't reach an IPOD generation with an 8-track mentality.

Sandy Chapter 2: Thank God for teachers like Jennifer Welborn.  Her story proves that you can not run from your divine destiny!  She shares with us how teaching "gives her purpose and a really good reason to get up everyday."  Like me, she believes that teachers DO make a difference.  It is evident that Jennifer truly cares about her students.  She points out how she helps her students feel like competent, important people in her science class.  Efficacy is key when it comes to student achievement. Having a teacher who makes you feel competent will usually push students to try harder.  She does not ignore the many challenges teachers are faced with and she recognizes that the more she teaches the more she needs to learn.  Jennifer read the book, The Mismeasure of Man which brought to light how scientists tried to prove racial superiority and how data that did not support this theory was erased or thrown out.  After reading the book, she designed a unit on scientific racism where her students learn about the scientific method and experimental design.  She wants her students to learn that racial groups are not based on genetic differences between groups of people;, that racial groups are socially constructed.   Jennifer wants her students to know that minority test scores  are usually due to social, economic and political inequalities not due to genetic inferiority.  She also wants them to think about the automatic advantages and  disadvantages that racial grouping brings to people in our country. 

Chapter 3-4

Feb. 25

Sandy Chapter 3:  Ms. Nieto introduces us to a radical but passionate and self-reflective writing teacher named Judith Baker who is convinced that education is sham and poor kids are not liberated by schools but rather the rich kids are privileged by them.  She chooses to fight the system for social justice on behalf of those living in urban and other low income schools.  In her mind, she didn't believe that schools could be respectful to kids of color because she noticed that the anthology they used included no one who looked like them and the history books were what she called, "demeaning."  Judith sought to create something for her students that would make them feel empowered.  Rather than trying to frame her students' thinking surrounding the text, she asks, "What did you notice?"  By doing so, she places the responsiblity on the learner rather than having them try to guess what the teacher is thinking or worrying whether their thoughts are aligned with the response the teacher is seeking.  Judith outlines 4 things that would highlight the kind of teacher she would like to be.  1- trust her deepest convictions and base her teachings on them (regardless of who may disagree) 2- study her students carefully to gain clues to guide her away from destructive attitudes and practices 3- try to be critical of her experience and not generalize her students 4- seek the community of other teachers.  I was intrigued by Judith's involvement in South Africa where she and other educators created a sister school project and provided supplies and resources to several schools in that area.  As an activist, rebel and teacher I can see how she brought her "out of the box" thinking into the classroom.  What struck me the most was her comment, "I had rejected all teaching except the loosest and freest and was very conflicted in the role of teacher, so I decided I would 'be' a teacher but I wouldn't 'act' like one. 

Sandy Chapter 4: We have only read about 3 teachers so far and Bob Amses' journey to becoming a teacher has been the most FUN!  We worked as a cameraman in the tv and film industry for more than 20 years and realized that maintaining his professional duties and his responsibilites as a parent where becoming too difficult to manage.   Bob did not share with us that "defining moment" when he knew he definitely wanted to become a teacher but he does share the fun journey of getting there and some of the mistakes made during his first year.  He considers his greatest strength as a teacher is the fact that he's an outside.  Many people questioned his decision to teach and he found himself having to often explain and defend himself; even to his own wife!  One of the amazing things about Bob is level of transperancy.  His shares with us how giddy he was when he was handed the keys to the school, how he waited until no one was around before we played with his overhead projector.  His enthusiam was refreshing!  He even used words like..wow, cool and no way!  He also admits that through his mistakes, he learns how to be a better teacher to his students.  Bob mentions that we are role models and kids spend a lot of time watching who we are and how we operate.  If we want students to be life long learners, then we too should be willing continue our own quest for knowledge.  (i.e. enroll in GSU's awesome Ed. S. program!) In this chapter, he shares a very FUNNY story about the St. Valentine's Day Massacre.  It wasn't a real massacre but it was quite a disasterous day where he allowed his 4th graders to have candy early in the morning to avoid "ruining their appetite" for lunch.  Three students vomitted and three others ended up going home early.  (poor Bob)  One of the things he said that struck me was, "It's great to have the support of colleagues, but growing into the job requires that we experience confusion and disorientation that force us to prioritize, build on our successes and develop a system that works.  (Amen to that)

(I am reposting this - It disappeared somehow)

Camden - Chapter 3: o I have now read 4 teachers' stories (including the next one that I will discuss), and Judith Kauggman Baker is so far the one I identify with most. For most of my life, I have considered myself a rebel, many times I have been an activist but the one thing we do not have in common is I always wanted to be a teacher. The attributes that she dislikes about teaching; however, are many that I dislike as well. When she discribes schools as being "template heaven" where not just models but all forms of cookie-cutter pedogogy are imposed on us, I smiled in that way one does when you totally relate to the image. She touches upon a lesson I learned very early as a teacher when I was teaching 1st grade in an inner city school which was "failing". Rote memorization is a skill not knowledge and that students who spend time with their mistakes, who will actually construct knowledge from mismemorized facts. I found her thoughts regarding the absence of cutural perspective for people of color in histoy and literature very much like mine. She names the year of 1971 and I remember that that very year as an ll year-old year old marching on my playground with other students who left their classrooms to chant "We want Black books!"(meaning black history books and books about black children). Keep in mind my elementary school was less than 2 miles from the UC Berkeley Campus. While my school was not segrated, I was very conscience that most schools were and remain today, especially in the inner city. Her concerns have been my concerns - how to keep my class loose and free to take on ideas of inequality that still face students of color. I choose to teach in schools where poverty is the prevailing SES and where students of color are beyond over-represented and daily fight a struggle with myself not to be too authoritarian. Even with 5 and 6 year olds. This is especially true in teaching writing to young children. How do you inspire them to self-select the content of their text and how do you empower hem to think when so much of their thinking and experience with thinking has been dictated to them for all of their young lives? Baker has some very good suggestions 1) questioning, 2) invitations to notice, 3) students have to do the finding and drawing inferences. Most importantly, Baker studies her "... students carefully, hoping to get the clues that would guide me away from destructive, harmful attitudes and practices, knowing too that students are different and they change".
Camden - Chapter 4: I think what is so fun about reading these stories, is there is something about every one so far that I can relate to and say "I know what they mean!" Bob Amses was like me - someone who recareered. I took a $10,000 a year cut in pay to become a teacher and like Bob found out that he was challenged "I'd find out too late, financially!" as well as many meaningful ways that his prior career did not. He say "But the important thing is that with one simple decision, I'd restore order to my life." Amen brother! I too felt, and still feel sometimes, as an outsider because of my lack of traditional training and like Bob, I do consider myself a life long learner. He is cognizant that his students change and that he plays a significant role in that change. He is a strangely humble man, and not that I am into male bashing - you just do not find that often in men. It's perhaps what makes him a great promising teacher because if we cannot "identify our strengths", "maximize our potential",and "realistically and prgamtically confront our shortcomings" we have no business asking our students to do so. His enthusiam about his work is both exciting and refreshing - as he pokes fun at his first utopian ideals of teaching and lesson. Eventually Amses, reiterates what is emerging as the theme of these teachers' stories "Teaching is based on trust, and when students see me as a real person who genuinely wants them to succeed, strong bonds are formed."He treats his students as capable as they search for knowledge and experience together. He sees learning as the domain of his students and compares himself to a coach. His analogy of his role of a teacher is like that of a coach who cannot simply go out and do the pitching for his players is very apt, though I have seen teaching pitch entire games for their students.

Chapter 5-6

Mar. 3

Sandy Chapter 5:  In this chapter, we meet Laila (LOVE the name!) Di Silvio.  This lady is many things.  She was a Peace Corps volunteer in Zambia where she taught community health and for the past 3 years she has worked as a social studies and history teacher in urban middle and high schools.  She begins her essay discussing a problem student named Roscoe whom she's become very fond of despite his disruptiveness.  The question she asks is, When is a students' behavior too much to tolerate?  A collegue responded, "When you cannot get through your lessons.  Roscoe often prevents Laila from completing her lessons.  Roscoe and another student named Antonio stays after school for extra help but they also secretly read Harry Potter books with Laila.  She describes an episode where Roscoe was supsended for 3 days for throwing an eraser at another student.  When he retuned he gave her his personal copy of the 2nd Harry Potter book with a museum ticket stub inside (he used it as a bookmark).  It was a defining moment for her as she realized there is much more to her students than what they display in class.  Unlike Judith in chapter 3 who had difficulty with the title, "teacher,"  Laila says she "relishes in it!"  She speaks of how lucky she feels to have an opportunity to make a diference in a child's life.  Her fear, on the other hand, is that she may say something to a child that might hurt them.  In her words, "I am only human, I have bad days too."  She also discusses another problem student named Latirah who outright refused to work in a cooperative group because she viewed the members as the "dumb group."  Deep inside, Litrah knew she was capable and she set out to prove that she was smart and worthy of good grades.  It took some time, but the two of them learned to trust and respect one another.  Latirah taught Laila a powerful lesson she says.  She rarely assigns groups anymore.  She pulls popsicle sticks with students' names on it to determine the groups.  She mentions how important the word "fair" is in middle school.  But she also realizes that being fair does not mean treating every student the same.  Laila ends her essay the same way she began, with Roscoe.  Unfortunately, we was expelled for 30 days after threatening another teacher.  She has not seen him since he moved away with an extended family member but she thinks of him often.  She hopes that he has a brand new beginning at his new school and hopefully he will find another Laila Di Silvio to embrace and love him.

Sandy Chapter 6:

 If I had to choose 3 words (or phrases) to describe art teacher Patty Bode it would be: BUSY, PERSISTENT and LIFE-LONG LEARNER! She is committed to young people, social justice and a profound belief in the power of the arts to nuture our lives.  Her journey to teaching took 13 years and 3 different colleges but she finished!  Patty understands that her students bring who they are to the classroom everyday.  Growing up, she used visual arts as a way to make sense of her life as a child.  She writes about sneaking into the basement and using her paints to explore color, brushstroke, dimension and drawing.  It was a 7th grade project that helped her make the connection between her ideas, her art, her personal expression and her visual world.  She was asked to create a project that connected her beliefs to the everyday world.  She decided on a collage that included a picture from the Kent State shootings in Ohio.  (that was something that impacted her life at the time) This same project was used as a project in her religion class and it was then that she "felt the power of using art and academic work to connect her visual, social and spiritual worlds."  When she teaches her students, she uses art for social justice and she provides them with the tools for what she calls, "reshaping, revisioning and recreating their world."  Patty consistently helps students develop skills to express themselves and deliver the message "they" want to convey.  Teaching students how to use art to express their thoughts, feelings and personal perspectives is pretty powerful!  One of her art lessons that spoke to me was a lesson that came about after two students argued about a misinterpretation over the use of the word "color."  One thought he was talking about skin color but he was really talking about the color he chose for his artwork.  Patty turned the conflict into a powerful lesson about people having many tints and shades of skin color.  She had students trace and cut out their hands using construction paper then they had to mix paints until they found their individual shade.  She shares with us how the students were running around the room holding up their hands next to one another and talking about the varieties of skin tones.  She had help from the librarian and counselors who came in to discuss "melanin, historical events and political language used to describe racial and cultural groups."  This lesson became a school-wide project the following year where everyone created a hand and learned about skin color. (interesting concept!)  She ends the chapter with, "This art lesson tells me so much about my students, but more important it tells my students why I teach: to create a classroom that is deliberately antiracist, where respectful dialogue, critical thinking and lots of messy art making are required." 

Camden- Chapter 5:

I too was struck by Laila Di Silva's dilemma of "When are the actions of one individual student just too much?" in her story about Roscoe.  This is when you have to give more than lip service to getting to know your students.  They may indeed require more understanding and effort than the next child. Laila says that each student has a story and she is right.  It is usually those that demand the most attention, act out in the worst ways that have the most complicating stories.  I was lucky to learn the answer to this frustrating question early- during my first year of teaching when almost everyone of my students had a story that would literally break your heart as a teacher.  Laila acknowledges that this is not an easy task to teach and it never does get easy, if it does - she will know she is in the wrong place.  She acknowledges its a priviledge to be entrusted to teach children yet she fears that she might say something to harm a child, the power to do so is sobering.  I think this is all of our worst fears, or at least it should be.  She highlights this struggle with her story about Latirah.  She learned that she must reflect on her actions, decisions and words at all times and provide choice, fairness and voice to her students whenever possible.  Her third story highlights the awakening of her student Travis and the positive power of her teaching provides rewards that could sustain her through bad times.  I really like her practice of asking her students to write summative reports on her teaching.  It provides her with perspective outside of her own, and allowed to her students to voice both concerns and praise - both of which we all need.  At the time, it was what she needed to nurish her and forgive herself for having a mediocre year.  Right now I can really relate to her regarding her father's passing and how it affected her teaching.  I take some solace from her words "I feel proud, sand, happy and amused with my students' words.  But the imparotant thing is that I feel again...... I am clear again about why I teach."  In her description of what happened to her in relationship to her teaching after her father was diagnosed with cancer and later died, I completely relate to it. 

Camden - Chapter 6:

My first thought about Patty Bode is her picture is amazing since she has to be at least five years older than I am.  We are contemporaries though from her list of experiences and her families observance of the history being made around them in the 60's and 70's.  We both took the long road to a degree with young children in tow.  We also both love art in our own school experience, she was just luckier than I to find good art teachers that inspired her to teach.  She is deeply committed in ideals and practice to teaching from a social justice perspective.  What I love about her is she does it with laughter and a robust look at what history has to offer her students when creating their own socially relevant learning.  Her comments about teachers who inspired her were those that created a safe place for students to become confident and nurtured students' curiosities.  Her investigation of skin color through Art, Science, Math, Language Arts, and Social Studies was ingenious.  The unit started from a fight between two students that was fueled by cultural differences that the two boys didn't even know existed.  She felt it was "my job to help them see into one another's world".  Rather than have the boys punished, she went to bat for them with the principal and they developed the first lesson of what was to become this larger unit.  She managed to teach a socially relevant unit that span across the curriculum, challenging racism and allowing students to engage an emotionally charged issue in a safe and engrossing manner.  Bode says that this lesson told her so much about her students; but also it told her students why she teaches.   This lesson was the catalyst for future lessons that go beyond just the art classroom.  She uses classroom conflicts and world events that raise questions that they seek to answer through art but the exploration of the questions inevitably lead in other subject area directions. 

Chapter 7-9

Mar 11

Sandy Chapter 7:

 In this section of the book, Sonia Nieto highlights veteran teachers with essays that show how they make sense of the world.  In chapter 5, we meet Harlem science teacher, science coordinator and science curriculum specialist, Sandra Jenoure.   As she looks back over the 32 years she's been in education, she is disappointed with the education the children in New York City have received.  She opens her essay with, "Learning is not a business, it is personal; teaching should also be personal and not a business."  Unlike most youth from New York, Sandra was blessed growing up with opportunities to spend summers in what she calls "the country."  While visiting, she spent time exploring, catching fish, hiking and camping out.  These precious childhood experiences impacted her decison to become a science teacher.  She mentions that her student teaching experience did not truly prepare her for the teaching and learning of children.  She was not exposed to the politics of a school building or the politics of education.  But one thing was clear, the educational system in New York City was unequal.  Some schools provided all of the necessary materials while others had little or nothing, forcing teachers to purchase the missing materials.  During her first year, she had a multi-level group with few books, limited materials, mismatched tables and chairs and no real mentor.  She was fortunate to meet the speech teacher and guidance counselor who befriended her and helped her through her first year.  During this time, Sandra learned that educating students was not enough, that she also needed to get involved in their lives.  She provided her students with a variety of authentic learning experiences (a trip to the Statute of Liberty, Ringling Brother's Circus, Mets baseball game, local museums and the Botanical Gardens). When she transferred to PS 155, she found herself surrounded by a community of teachers who believed in continuing education.  They attended workshops and graduate schools to hone their teaching skills.  PS 155 was clearly a special place to learn.  Students had a computer lab, a state of the art library, they took dance lessons with Alvin Ailey's dance group and they witnessed performances by classical artists, orchestral and theatrical groups.  I became excited reading about the school!  It's important for us to expose our students to more than just academics, the arts are important to their cultural development.  Sandra accomplished many things during her fruitful career in education.  She worked with other teachers to write the science curriculum for grades K-6, she and her students were featured in several science videos and she was nominated for New York State's Teacher of the Year!  She ends her essay with, I know it's easy to sit back and listen to the gossip in schools.  'These kids can't learn' is what you hear.  The truth is they can and do.  We have to see and believe.  I believe Ms. Jenoure...I will always believe.

Camden - Chapter 7:

Chapter 7 begins the second section of the book, opened by a brief word from Nieto.  She starts with the discussion about whether teaching is a craft or a science, or both; however, she insists that what is foremost is that teaching is about relationships.  These relationships are the heart of teaching and where we find out who we are.  Nieto also suggests that the desire to teach grows out of teachers' search for identity.  In Chapter 7, we meet Sandra Jenoure, who as a first generation american of immigrants, founded an identity that was inspired to teach.  She starts her story out by taking issue with our profession's foolhearty need to draw rhetoric from and parallels to the business world.  On this very day, my heart had cause to cringe as my district disseminated their new theory on education management that was bulging from all of the analogeous jargon highjacked from the business world.  Jenoure says "Learning is not a business, it is personal; teaching also should be personal and not a business.  When children's lives and future are at stake, we must all make their success our personal endeavor."  She is a 32 year old veteran but so goes back to her beginning when she, like many of us, was had her bubbles burst early.  She "learned that if I wanted those things, I had to get them myself.  I had to make my classroom equal.  I also learned that if I wanted my students to have a voice, I had to make sure they were  heard."  Those of us who have worked in big inner city schools know this all too well, but too few are able to survive past the disillusionment to stay and fight.  Eventually, she ends up in a school where her dedication to her craft was recognized and nurtured, and the science of her profession could grow and flourish to a practioner who could pass it forward to other teachers.  Jenoure says that more goes on in scholls than education.  It is required of us to be involved in the lives of our students in a compassionate and loving way.  She looks holistically at her school and her students and ask herself - What can I do to change something (she started with attendence in her class)?  How can I support my colleagues in a way that is benificial rather than counterproductive ( she singles out gossip as inciderary).  She turned away from the path of a principal - Asking herself the question - Politics and edcuation: How does that combination help our children?  I know what she means!  She began taking leadership role in Science curriculum that led to many exciting places.  One of her final statements in her chapter is " I believe that caring teachers can excite children to learn more.  I believe that empowered students love learning and it was my responsibility to excite them."  I beleive that empowered teachers love teaching and its our responsibility to excite ourselves like Jenoure does. 

Sandy Chapter 8:

 Steven Gordon is a high school English teacher in Boston who will be retiring at the end of the year.  For the past 4 of his 35 years, he has served as a mentor/coach for other teachers.  He strongly believes in the "power of language."  He feels that teachers can help students find the "right" words to make realities clear to themselves and to the people around them.  He points out how he "wants his students to talk and write to find their words."  He encourages them to expand, qualify and explain their thinking.  Before entering education, Steven worked for one year as a case worker for the Department of Welfare in New York.  The following year, he began teaching English to 7th and 8th graders.  After returning to grad school and working as a textbook editor, he again decided to return to teaching.  One of the things he said that struck me was when his students are not working up to their potential, he reminds them that they are "fulfilling this culture's demeaning belief that they cannot achieve."  He tells them the wealthy do not want them competing for positions at colleges and jobs that are "reserved" for their children.  It may sound harsh, but I agree with him.  There are people who want the poor and people of color to fail.  We must continue to inspire and empower students to compete in today's society.  Steven claims his reason for working as a coach as the same reason that he worked with students..." teachers also need to examine their thoughts, beliefs, and actions to find truths that can aspire and sustain their work life."

Two things Steven does that I believe help foster self-reflection is he encourages his students to write him a letter to evaluate, suggest and criticize what he does in class each day and to identify things that encourage or discourage their learning. (POWERFUL INFO) He also writes letters to his student who he feels are not working up to their true potential.  In his letter he explicitly states what he expects and wants from them.  He says his letters usually lead to a change in his students' attitude and behavior.  Writing the letters and reading his students' responses confirms his belief that he's doing the "right thing for his students."

Camden - Chapter 8:

Nieto's introduction of Stephen Gordon makes two very poignant observations of his frustrations with teaching by saying his is perplesed and incensed "by the intractable bureaucracies in schools...that chip away at the job of teaching"  She says he is also exaperated "by the focus on best practices and other seemingly surefire answers to the complex problems of urban schools".  He and me both!  Gordon answers the question of why he teaches simply by saying that students and teachers go to school everyday hoping to become better people.  He believes character is fate.  He believes that his beginning is his family and their morals shaped his choice.  He says his father believed in the power and beauty of language, an obligation by individuals to develop their minds, and social justice.  He feels an obligation to do public works and to "do right by his students" by respecting their identity and intelligence.  This brings him joy and privilege at being their teacher.  One troubling aspect of Gordon's piece is that he talks about what students need to become functioning members of "this culture, able to participate in the literate, political, and artistic instituitions of the society; not merely to be passive, wallet-opening consumers."  At first this sounds empowering but with a second look and listen, it sounds as if Gordon still believes the dominant culture knows best and he needs to teach students to work within the system.  He says " I must fulfill my responsibility to my students by giving students the terms valued by the culture they have been born into, the language they will need to survive and grow in society."  He goes on to assert that he wants them to decide for themselves if society words and promise ring true but his premise starts from a place where he feels he is rescuing or playing hero to students, from a deficit prospective.  Even his words about students fulfilling "this culture's demeaning belief that the cannot achieve" means he wants his students to work within the system that sets his students up to fail, not work at dismantling it.  Again, I do not think that Gordon doesn't mean to empower his students, but I do believe he comes at it from an assimilist's point of view.  He details an event where he broke up a fight between two female students and a Nigerian mother thanks him with a present from her homeland.  I think this would have been a more powerful illustration had he truely assisted the students in examining their conflict much the way much the way Patty Bode did. I did find his work with the National Writing Project of interest.  Having his students reflect on his words is very powerful and empowering to his students.  It gives them voice and provides him with perspective.  

Sandy Chapter 9:  Here we meet a dynamic photography teacher named Katina Papson.  Photography is a hidden and undeveloped passion of mine so I was very anxious to read her story!  Her biracial background (Ecuadorian mom and Greek Orthodox American dad)  gives her an interesting perspective of living in a multicultural society.  Aside from teaching photography, she also faciliates a social justice theater group that encourages students who feel they have been marginalized or silenced to participate.  (YOU GO Katina!) Through her project, students are provided a forum to meet discuss, write, direct and perform their own expressions of social and political issues.  (Katina reminds me of Patty Bode from Chapter 6 who uses visual arts to promote social justice) She explains how exposure to the arts as a child provided her "a world where I embarked on cultivating a better understanding of my identity.  And participating in the arts granted me the space to create and explore differences.  Being biracial, she often wondered whether or not she fit in. She was concerned about looking and sounding so different from the other families in her close knit community. Katina's love for photography was birthed at the age of 7 or 8 when her dad bought her a Polaroid camera.  She mentions how the camera made her determined to seek relationships and spaces with the hope of ultimately finding within it her "true" identity. During her first year of teaching, she noticed that most of her minority students and those who felt as if they had been labeled always sat in the back and were not engaged.  Through discussions with her students, she learned of their concerns regarding their education.  They felt somewhat oppressed.  She then altered her assignements based on this new knowledge to accommpdate their need to explore their own personal politics.  (I wonder if this was embraced by other teachers and administrators?)  She references Friere and the topic of educational reform working to combat common patterns of school subordination and domination.  In her classroom, she operates in what she refers to as "the grey area."  Here, students voice and help one another learn by sharing their personal lives and perspectives.  She insists, "There in that circle of young creative minds, is a revolution." 

Camden- Chapter 9

Katrina Papson is multi-lingual and multi-cultural within her family, she is described as deeply commmited to social action through art as a result.  She acts a facilitator for a high school social justice theater group and especially encourages students to participate who have been marginalized or silenced.  She also directs an alternative summer arts camp for teen youth arts.  She describes herself as someone who has always been interested in difference, particular contrast.  She has a strong desire to assist others in exploring contrast through teaching.  Her memories of childhood detail the development of this interest through photograph "watching for a moment of insight" and spurring a "mission for more differences".  She was "determined to seek relationships an spaces with the hope of finding within it my true identity."  The camera became her tool for self-indentity, reflection, critical examination and questioning of relationships.  When she began teaching, she was perplexed at how to teach students despite their "differences".  She worked through their silence with open discussions, nonjudemental listening, flexibility and love.  Through the use of questions, dialogue around problems of her students' lives.  They studied the issues together and explored social change through art.  She and her students are able to discover "the grey area" where they are able to find voice, learn together about each other's lives and gain multi perspective, wherein they find revolution. 

Chapter 10-12

Mar 18

Sandy Chapter 10:

In this chapter, we meet Ambrizeth Lima from Cape Verde.  After coming to America at the age of 15, she says in her essay how she experienced culture shock and language shock.  She also felt as if she was "invisible."  Understanding what it's like to feel that way, she believes it to be her responsibility to advocate for her students.  For her, teaching is a "combination of joy, sadness, elation and helplessness."  Even with that range of emotions, she teaches because she says it transforms her students and it transforms her.  She views teaching as a spiritual experience that brings her peace in knowing that she has exhausted all possibilities to make learning a wonderful experience for both her students and herself.  She shares with us her pain and frustration as a results of watching young Cape Verdean boys who give up on themselves and end of incarcerated and ultiimately deported back home.  I understand her sadness because I feel the same way about young African American men who lack a sense of identity, direction for lives and who are often misunderstood.  Like the young Cape Verdean men, too many of our youth are headed for a life of poverty and incarceration.  Without caring mentors and understanding teachers to advocate on their behalf, they may look to negative influences to find acceptance and their life's purpose.  One thing she mentions that struck me is that "part of learning is to question things we take for granted, to discover issues that need to be debated, to uncover hidden realities that need to be transformed."  She spoke about something that we often talk about in class as students.  Now that we have uncovered some of the inequalities in education, we become burdened because now it's our responsibility to do something about it.  We have to share what we know with others and work to make changes to the existing system. 

 Camden -Chapter 10

In her own childhood, Ambrizeth Lima describes her first experience in an American school at the age of 15 as something that made “a part of me want to die”.  Her fear and culture shock paralyzed and silenced her.  She grew up to find her voice that she now uses in her journey of teaching.  She reports feeling a since of burnout however, which she attributes not to her students but to draining conflicts over power, specifically “the powers that be”.  She sees herself as an advocate for students but questions why she does it when she often feels powerless.  She counters herself by saying that teaching is also about morality and ethics and she is responsible for protecting her students’ freedom to learn.  She says that teaching is a revolutionary act and she must advocate for a generation of young people.  Lima clearly believes that children can become victims of instruction and society or citizens who promote economic and social stability.  She does “buy-in” a bit here to boot-strap ideology and I have some problem with her belief that “If a child has access to a good education, she or he may go to college and get a good job, and live a good life”.  Maybe, maybe not.  She goes on to focus on her male students, and again I have some problems with that.  I find some of her following comments in direct opposition to this viewpoint:  “Part of learning is to questions things that we take for granted, to discover issues that need to be debated, to uncover hidden realities that need to be transformed.”  She also engages in deficit thinking with her own culture, so perhaps its not deficit thinking then?

Sandy Chapter 11:

Ayla Gavins works as an academy director at an urban K-8 pilot school in Boston.  One of her many reasons for becoming a teacher is because she enjoys being in the company of "smart people. " She says it makes her "feel good!"  For her, teaching provides a combination of experience and theory which keeps her questioning, thinking and coming to her own conclusions.  One of the things I am noticing about many of the teachers Sonia Nieto highlights in her book is how they are not just teaching advocates and change agents, they also continually challenge the status quo and question authority or what we have in the past taken for granted.  I am just now learning to do that.  I have to ability to trust my instincts when something doesn't quite feel right but if it comes from someone I view as "knowledgeable" or "authoritative," I sometimes question my own judgement. 

At Ayla's school, I like how they meet twice a week for professional development.  At the meeting, they look at the work they have done, they question it and plan for research, improvements or additonal learning.  (powerful!)  The teachers in her school plan their own staff development.  Ayla likens herself to a moving train.  She states that she feels as if she is a part of something, "globally, nationally and locally."  It is in this context that she believes she can make real changes.

Camden Chapter 11

Ayala Gavins opens her chapter with a description of her childhood experience in school as less than memorable.  She cannot recall a single conversation with students she went to school with and limited memories of her teachers.  Gavins thrives on the intellect of her colleagues and they keep her teaching.   She feels that she would have been much smarter with a different kind of schooling, one where her teachers got to know her, and her lack of memories is what drives her to teach now.  She states, “ I’d like the experience of students I teach to be richer and more meaningful than mine.”  She credits her early mentors at her first school and lessons certain students who have contributed to her growth and character as an educator.  She describes Becky as constantly creating something new, often unrelated to school and sometimes defiant.  Lance is more excited about life and learning than anyone she ever met.  Why does she highlight these students?  Because they are so different from her and they are so authentically themselves.  Gavins says she has been able to develop a style and philosophy of teaching that is democratic and progressive.  Through her students, she laughs constantly and she says a sense of humor is a must to be a good teacher.  She says their questions are hilarious and their interest in each other makes her smile.  Gavins believes that teachers should be spokespeople for education, sharing daily triumphs and challenges with the public.  She takes less of an advocacy role.  Perhaps she is evolving to that place, she says “ I am on a moving train.  I am part of something – globally, nationally, and logically.  I can relate to this place, I see myself on the same train. 

Sandy Chapter 12:

Elaine Stinson is like me in that she wants her students to get along and care about one another.  She believes that if students are comfortable with who they are in the world there is a good chance they will do well in school.  She knows the importance of building relationships because of her own experiences in school.  Elaine was a very shy student and she struggled with initiating frienships.  She feels her teachers did not take time get to know and understand

 her.  Now that she has her own classroom, building a sense of community is a critical component.  She states that she became a teacher because she loves the relationships that she builds with her students and their families (student AND family relationships are important).  In her opinion, children best learn when they are appreciated as whole and unique individuals.  Elaine also views teaching as a way of providing for her students something that was missing from her own school experience.  What she has learned is, "meaningful learning happens through meaningful interaction, whether it's with peers, teachers, music, authors or nature."  It is her belief that when children feel liked and accepted for who they are, they are more willing to take risks and open up to sharing their ideas.  Their sharing helps them make connections with ither ideas.  As she wrote her essay for this book, she found yet another reson why she became a teacher.  She says it's because she works where her students are always glad to see her, it's a place where she feels cared for and respected, where the discussions are rich and learning is inspired AND a place where she laughs everyday.  Who would not want to be a part of that environment? 

Camden Chapter 12

 As Elaine Stinson describes her early school experience, I can’t help thinking how many children in today’s time will feel this way when they are adults. She says “Many of my teachers seemed to be more concerned with what they were charged to teach rather than with whom they were teaching.  She was bored and unchallenged.  She was shy and her family background unknown by her teachers.  So in opening about her own teaching she says she tries to provide something that was missing in her own experience.  She wants her students to feel liked and accepted for who they are and she rightly believes that they will be more willing to open up and share their ideas and to connect to others’ ideas.  Establishing community is very important to Stinson and answers are not what is important in classroom learning but instead the process in discovering them are paramount.  Building community involve creating a sense of caring in all members for all members.  She, like Gavins in the prior chapter, believes in the power of humor in the classroom and also elaborates to the importance of being aware of tenor of the community.  Stinson advocates that students who learn to trust and care within the class can then extend this caring outside of the classroom.  They are able to practice this caring by appreciating the “others” in the world.  Within this context, Stinson challenges her students to question and investigate perspective.  She says that “Diversity as an asset is played out regularly in my classroom, whether we are exploring various ways to solve a math problem or sharing our own storied in class meetings.”  They learn that multiple perspectives learn to multiple solutions. 

Chapter 13-15

Mar 25

Sandy Chapter 13

Sonia Nieto introduces us to Kristen French, a Native American literacy teacher for 4-12 year olds in an urban  Montessori school.  As I read Kristen's story, the word resilience immediately came to my mind.  She struggled in elementary school and viewed herself as quiet and invisible.   In middle school, Kristen finally found her voice through drama when she became involved in theater and creative writing.  In high school, she again struggled and then became pregnant.  In spite of her pregnancy, Kristen graduated and went on to a local community college where she met an anthropologoist named Dale McGinnis who later became her mentor.  Dale believed in Kristen's abilities and his support helped her with gaining her degree in elementary education with a minor in Native American studies.  She asked him why he had been so supportive of her and he answered by saying he had difficulties in school too and he also had a mentor who encouraged and believed in him.  Dale charged Kristen with doing the same for her students.  Through a student/teacher literacy collaborative project, she works with students at what's called the Open Publishing Center.  Here, students come to finish work or receive writing support from Kirsten.  The program was embraced by students so much that she began offering her planning time for students to come, write and share their stories.  It was during this time that she noticed the students were beginning to share their lives through their stories.  Kristen's students developed an interest in addressing issues they felt were important.  They began with the issue of homeless after learning about a homeless man who died from exposure only a few blocks from their school.    The students brainstormed ways to help the homeless and decided to create a quilt and donate it to the local shelter.  Finally, Kristen shares with us some of her students' poetry.  Like us, they wrote "I Am From" poems.  When she reflects on why she teaches, she mentions the word love and hopes that her students will share their own gifts with others.

Camden Chapter 13

 Kristen French provides at a look at what most teachers say they want - to make a difference in their students’ lives.  She starts her personal story with an interesting perspective on empowerment, “Empowerment can be a loaded word, as if one person can empower another.  I don’t want to presume that I have the ability to empower another. I don’t want to presume that I have ability to empower anyone but myself, but the possibilities for empowerment can be created when a foundation is provided.”  She then provides us with a poignant story of her self-empowerment by a community college professor that provided her a foundation.  She was a young mother when she enrolled and she emerged as a teacher who is challenged to stay strong and pass on to her students the courage to succeed.  She developed a student/teacher critical literacy collaborative as a writing specialist and ran it during her prep time.  The students and French spent time getting to know and trust each other, and then they began to tackle issues in their writing that were affecting their own communities.  This extended to community projects and poetry writing that where students learned to empower themselves to “create a bright future”. 

Sandy Chapter 14

Merlinda Pellerin-Duck is a high school social studies and technology teacher from Springfield, Massachusetts.  As Massachusetts TOTY for 2003-2004,  Merlinda believes, "Children need to be actively invloved in their own learning if they are to get something from it."  She feels that students can not sit passively and have information and knowledge poured into them.  Teachers have to be sure their insturction is well-planned, relevant, interesting and exciting.  Merlinda and one of her collleagues created a technology unit where their students connected with students from the Ivory Coast to practice  writing, speaking and translating English and French while also learning about student life in another country! (exciting) The project ended with a teacher from the Ivory Coast school coming to Massachusetts to teach, while Melinda and her colleague who created the unit went to teach in Africa. (awesome!)  Another highlight for Melinda occured when she taught at Duggan Middle School.  Several of the local libraries had been closed due to budget cuts and the students began working with a local activist group to let communities leaders know how important these libraries were to their community. They demonstrated, held rallies and wrote to the mayor and council members.  Their efforts led to a new library system and longer operating hours.  When asked, Melinda's primary reason for teaching is, "I teach because I see extraordinary possibilities in students.  I could not see myself doing anything else but teaching."  Me neither Melinda!

Camden Chapter 14

Melinda Pellerin-Duck illustrates the power of family stories and their impact on self-concept, self-confidence and self-empowerment.  These were the gifts she received from her family and took with her on her journey into teaching.  At an early age, she learned that we are all in this together and she both teaches and learns from her students.  She talks of her students as her teachers as well.  Richard T. was one of her first as a new teacher and was in the “class from hell”.  She developed a common bond with him and from this bond they taught each other how to triumph.  He taught her to be consistent and firm, she taught him to give people a chance.  Another student, Jose, taught her that “I can’t” has no place in the classroom and she taught him to push through his fears.  Pellerin-Duck goes on to say her colleagues are also her teachers.  She sees her friends, family and students as fellow travelers and learners.  She clearly sees herself as a helpmate, someone to help students transform themselves, creating meaningful lives for themselves and each other.  She not only sees herself as an activists, but her students as activists in the act of becoming. 

Sandy Chapter 15

Unlike Kristen in chapter 13 who struggled in school, Yahaira Marquez was an excellent student.  Yahaira is a first year teacher who works in an urban high school.  She believes students need positive role models they can look up to in order for them to feel they are capable of achieving great things.  She feels the students in her school and community lack role models who look more like them.  She fills that gap by working in a school with primarily minority students and she does more than just impart academic knowledge, Yahaira also serves as a mentor to the students she works with.  She shares with us her frustration with students who sometimes lack interest in their own education.  She combats their negative attitudes with encouraging words of how "succeeding in school now will benefit them and place them at a higher level later."  Although it is Yahaira's first year, she quickly learned about the politics in education.  She discusses the aggravation of being told what works best for her students by "the powers that be."  She says, "The field of education turns out to be more political than I would ever have expected it to be, but instead of getting disillusioned when I find myself standing alone with an idea, I keep focused on what is truly important...the success of the students."  She does not allow those negative experiences to cause her to forget why she became a teacher to begin with.  Yahaira became a teacher because she "wants to help others succeed and expand their minds and knowledge.

Camden Chapter 15

Yahira Marquez is a teacher who wants to “give back” to her community.  She is Latina and she grew up in public schools in New York City.  She graduated valedictorian of her class and went on to college to major at Boston University.  She faced her first class with the with new teacher fears and saw her image in their faces as a young girl.  She went into the profession knowing that she would make little money but with the intent to make a big difference in young people of her culture.  She wants her student to believe that they can do it but they must be provided with role models “whom they can look up to as they of age”.  She sees herself as someone who can serve as a positive example of success from their culture.  She describes her role as one that is multi-dimensional, where she must wear different “hats” – that of teacher, advisor, and confidante but continually striking a balance between her identities.  She must get to know her students on the outside school because they too have different identities.  She extends this idea of multiple identities to multiple perspectives and seeks to teach in a why that investigates multi-perspectives.  She feels that teaching students the power of the English language gives them the “basics” and the ability to use them well will provide them with the tools they need to succeed.  In speaking about why she teaches, she says that teaching is anything but monotonous.  She answers the question “because there is more to it than meets the eye, and because it make me at better person”.

Chapter 16-18

Mar 31

Sandy Chapter 16

If I had to chose one word to describe Beth Adel, it would be the word brave.  She teaches school social studies in a middle school and chose to share the fact that she is a lesbian after one of her students asked who she was with when they saw her at a movie theater.  After having the converation, Beth was worried about the ramifications of her decision to be open about her sexuality, but there were no negative reprecussions from her students' families.  What she did notice was how her students became more open and honest with her.  She says her class felt more like a "community."  Beth believes that social justice is a important part of teaching.  She wants her students to know and understand how some individuals and groups have been victimized and exploited because of their identities.  She makes it clear that in a democracy, oppression of any kind should be confronted, resisted and transformed.   Beth went into teaching "to make a difference in students' lives and to help them develop analytical skills to become better able to make informed decisions as active players in a democracy."  Teaching in a middel school, she understands how risky it is for students that age to be themselves becasue they risk ridicule from their peers.  She talks about many of the topics I discuss with the young women in my mentoring program.  Things such as trying to keep up with the latest fashions, wanting to look older than they really are working hard at appearing to be cool or sexy.  Another reason Beth gives for teaching is "because it requires her become her most courageous self, and she's constantly inspired by students who learn the power of being whole people along with her."  When Beth plans her units, she says she resists the urge to "cover he most information in the least amount of time."  Instead, she begins the unit opening, listening and allowing time for students to make connections.  She teaches them to research the answers to questions they may have using multiple sources and viewpoints. (powerful!)  Then they are encouaged to share their findings with their classmates.  One of the things Beth said in this chapter that stuck with me was, "Teaching to actively engage all students requires constant reflection, creativity, courage and humility."  (true indeed!)

Camden Chapter 16

Beth Wohlleb Adel is a history teacher who wants to teach her students about democracy.  She wants her students to look at history from all perspectives but feels that all voices must be heard, particularly those of the oppressed, victimized and exploited.  She says “real teaching and real learning both require great acts of courage.”  And she does so by modeling being open and honest when she answered the tough questions about her personal life as a lesbian.  She became a resource for her students because they respected her for courage.  Through her journey she finds that she has become a fuller human being.  Adel says that once her students start practicing honesty and openness in the classroom, they let her get away with nothing less.  When she feels the rush to cover the curriculum, her students remind her that she is not connecting with their hearts.  They do so either directly, through doing less homework, and write dry papers.  Their disengagement is palpable.  So she looks for ways to incorporate the curriculum into meaningful inquiry.  She encourages students and their families to find issues that are meaningful to them.  They discuss them and she incorporates them into her lesson plans.  She ends her writing but acknowledging that she is not always at her best and she does get angry.  She says though that anger is an essential part of any meaningful relationship.  She apologizes, takes care of herself and has learned something about being a whole human being. 

Sandy Chapter 17:

Here we meet Nina Tepper an ESL teacher who was a semifinalist for the Massachusetts Teacher of the Year Award.  The writings of Jonathan Kozol, William Ryan and Paulo Friere all influenced her belief that there were important changes that needed to be made in education.  It was Friere's book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed that helped shape Nina's understanding of how educators must believe in their students' ability to learn and they must present curriculum that motivates and respects each individual's culture, expereince and developmental learning needs.  With this new understanding, she became involved in designing a magnet middle school for the arts.  Beacuse of the issued many students faced, Nina and a colleague were moved to allow students to ptoduce a teen video project addressing issues that were important to them.  The goal of the project was misinterpreted by one concerned parent which caused a huge investigation.  It was an extremely stressful time for Nina, but she stood by her decision to do the project.  Ultimately, it was decided that she and her colleague acted responsibly when handling the sensitive content of the student produced videos.  As she reflects on her 30 year career in education, Nina sees the greatest gift she receives as a teacher is being acknowledged by a former student who struggled in reading or another who may have had a baby too young who comes up to her and tells her of their latest accomplishments.  Or a student who remembers a literature project that helped them develop a love for reading.  Nina teaches for the youth and the future.  She no longer believes that she can change the world but she does that she can affect the future, one child at a time.

Camden Chapter 17

Nina Tepper started her career at a school that she described as innovative and felt like the opportunity of a lifetime.  Slowly over time, the original vision of the charter school began to be diluted by new administration and she found herself hanging on with a few of the other original teachers.  She taught a lesson that ended up taking her and her colleague through administrative review and involved her union and legal arbitration.  She was eventually suspended and teachers began to withdraw from any association with her. She was unable to seek a transfer or promotion in the district successfully so she made the difficult decision to switch districts.  Her experience is painfully illustrative of what we all face.  She was eventually vindicated from her suspension but it was too little too late.  She suffered a great deal – she no longer feels as she did in the beginning of her career – that she can change the world.  However, she continues to believe that she can affect a single child’s future and continues to teach in that spirit in an inner-city school. 

Sandy Chapter 18:

Seth Peterson is a high school English teacher who is particularly concerned with making words matter in the lives of his students.  He believes that access to power in our society is dependent opon the mastery of formal language.  Seth is dedicated to his students' success and he makes that known through a letter he writes at the beginning of each schol year.   In his letter he stresses the importance of trust, honesty and understanding.  He explains to his students that he teaches because he believes that knowledge is power and he wants them to become empowered in our society that often tries to "limit their power and discredit their voices."  In his letter he also says he can't promise to entertain them but he promises to make the time they're together meaningful and interesting.  Seth encourages his students to write him back explaining their ideas surrounding school and learning.  He reminds them that this is their opportunity to show themselves as thinker and writers and he tells them to "be yourself and make an impression that lasts."  His love of words and language itself is evident in his essay.  He teaches for the "love of words." 

Camden Chapter 18

Seth Peterson says that joy and anger drive him to teach.  Joy comes from being in the classroom with his students, and anger comes from dealing with the bureaucracy associated with teaching and a resulting lack of respect for teachers.  He loves what he does and the bonds he creates with his students.  He cites trust as a sacred element of what he does and to build it requires time.  He strongly believes in the power of words but they have no power if not delivered by a trusted source.  He hopes to become the kind of teacher whose trust and faith “ in his students translates into unwavering expectations.”  Once he has gained this trust, he realizes that he must often be the voice his students don’t want to hear -one that pushes, presses, and lobbies for an extra mile from them.  Peterson has one of my most favorite quotes in his piece “Learning is voluntary act; it cannot be mandated.”  We cannot tell our students to learn, we must learn with them.  He is correct in his assertion that learning is a willing exchange.  Peterson says he loves the fact that every year is a renewal of himself, a new beginning.  He starts his class out every year with a welcome letter to his students and their parents.  It is powerful and I especially commend his bold approach to explaining the political aspects of high stakes testing.  He says he admires adolescents’ piercing candor – I appreciate his.

Chapter 19-20

Apr  6

Sandy Chapter 19

Of all of the teachers highligted in Ms. Nieto's book, I find Mary Ginley to be the most sincere.  Maybe it's her colorful language or just her sweet personality, but I really like her!  She is a "seasoned" teacher who taught K, 1 and 2 for 33 years (wow) and volunteered to move to 5th grade after one of the 2nd grade classes in her school was eliminated. (unselfish)  Oh, and she was chosen as Massachusetts TOTY in 1999!  One of the many amazing things about her is that she teaches her students to question what they learn and to be critical thinkers.  (I am just learning how to do that at the age of 39!)  She is also fearless in her objections to high stakes testing and she spoke against it on 60 Minutes. (you go Mary!)   Mary is a real risk taker and she beleives in "saving the world one child at a time."  In her essay she speaks about a thank you letter che received from a former student named Steven.  She shares with us Steven's first day of school when he spit at her, kicked her and threw his wet lollipop in her hair. Steven had a very rough year and in spite of all of his challenges, she decided to loop with her students and teach him the following year. (dedicated)  Mary understands that the world is not fair and even though schools say everyone is valued, that is not reality.  She consistently seeks interesting ways to teach her students so they can grow, learn and find out who they are and what they ultimately want to become when they are older.   She says, "I keep trying to get the education of our children right.  I will keep trying to get it right because I know each year there will be at keast one Steven whose life is changed because I was there."  After reading her essay, I wish I could have been there too!

Camden Chapter 19

Mary Ginley is a celebrated Teacher-Of-The-Year but she remains the most humble of the teachers in this book.  She is not sure why she went into teachers, she is just sure it was a good decision at the time.  She describes herself as a learner whose first job is to learn from her students and their families.  She sees herself as a teacher whose job lies more in helping her students learn to challenge the status quo rather than how to survive it.  Her class investigates the cultures of students and takes on politically relevant subjects of our society.  She teaches her students to question the validity of what they discover as facts and to critically discard misinformation.  Ginley has learned as a teacher to question herself and her work.  She sees it as a journey where she never arrives at a destination.  She acknowledges that people must wonder why anyone would chose to take a journey that never arrives, a process that just “keeps on trying”.  She reminds me of my thoughts on that it is “in the tries”.  She says that after 35 years of trying to get it right, she know that she will never arrive, she has chosen to be a nomad. 

Sandy Chapter 20

The title of this chapter got my immediate attention...Confessions of an Underperforming Teacher.  After reading his essay, I was better able to appreciate Bill Dunn's writing.  he has been teaching social studies and English for over 25 years in Massachusetts.  He has witnessed the shift in his school demographics which is now 85% Hispanic with 83% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch and 70% second language learners.  It is evident that Bill is somewhat frustrated with the level of poverty, gangs, weapons and high pregnancy rates that plague his school and community but his commitment to their learning and his compassion for their struggles is also noticed.  He is also frustrated with high stakes testing and its impact on the way they are forced to deliver instruction.  In his essay Bill, blames NCLB for the high dropout rates among high school students and he believes the students who do mamange to make it through senior year are still left behind through no fault of their own.  What has him most upset is the idea of "underperforming schools being taken over by the state." He is convinced that the "team" who comes in to evaluate the practices of the staff are not on his team, have far less teacing experience than he has, do not live in his community and their children have probably never attended a so-called underperforming school like his students do nor are they aware of the true challenges his students face on a day-to-day basis.  Bill's essay is full of sarcasm but I understand his point completely!  He says he teaches because "someone has to tell his LEP students they are not the pnes who are dumb."  He also teaches because he says poverty does not equal stupidity. (amen to that!)  Bill comes across as a little angry but he has a darn good argument!

Camden Chapter 20

Bill Dunn is a teacher who never tires despite the heightened challenges he faces in an urban vocational school where the students are 70% Spanish speaking and 83% of the students qualify for free and reduced lunch.  He poignantly chooses to take issue with the word “under-performing” as a label for his students.  He says “I sincerely couldn’t have come up with a word with nastier connotations to attach to schools and the human beings that inhabit them.”  He criticizes his state from delineating clear winners and clear losers among the students of Massachusetts.  In reference to standardized testing, he says that not only is it a lousy deal for students, it is for society as well because uninterested kids on the street often cross the line from victim to victimizer.  But the process itself is fascist and I agree with him. The words used in the system of NCLB are very threatening as he points out.  Terms like “takeover” schools and targeted assistance leave him “queasy”.   He describes the targeted assistance team as something he is not sure what it is but that he is definitely sure that hey are not on his team.  He takes particular exception with the labeling of students and schools as “failing” because they were born without capital culture and speak the “wrong” language.  Dunn’s reason for teaching says it all “ because someone has to tell my students that they are not the ones who are dumb.  They need to know that only the blissfully ignorant and profoundly evil make up test to prove that they and people like them are smart.”

Chapter 21-22

Apr 13

Sandy Chapter 21

In this chapter we meet Kerri Warfield who reallydoes have a beautufil smile!  (even her eyes smile!)  She has been teaching art for 5 years and she absolutely LOVES art.  In addition to teaching her students how to creatively express themselves, she also exposes them to different views of the world.  Kerri sees herself and other educators as "life touchers."  (I like that concept!)  She believes that all teachers have a desire desire to touch the lives of children which is how we are all connected.  Part of her inspiration for becoming a teacher comes from an art teacher she had in high school who saw something special in Kerri.  She told her that she would make a GREAT art teacher.  As educators, we have the power to speak into the lives of our students.  They listen and trust that what we tell them is true.  That's why we must be very careful with our words.  One of the assignments that Kerri gives her students is for them to write about things they liked, disliked and would change in order to improve the course. (great idea!)  She uses it to access her own teaching and to give her students a chance to reflect on the work they've done in the course.  When asked why she teaches, she gives a few reasons but the one that struck me was, "I got into teaching because I wanted to give kids an educational experience that would make htem feel good about themselves and their future, like my teachers gave me.  Achievement is very closely related to self-efficacy.  When students feel good about themselves thet are more apt to try new things and take risks. 

Camden Chapter 21

Kerri Warfield is an art teacher who says that we all have our own stories for doing what we doing and why we do it but what we have in common is our desire to be life-touchers.  She describes being touched by her own art teacher who saw in her the ability to be an art educator.  She says if this person had not touched her life she doesn’t know if she would have been a teacher.  She embarked on her on investigation about why teachers decided to teacher and many of their stories start with “there was this teacher”.  When she asked teachers about the hardships of teachers she came to the conclusion that all teachers can be worn down if they lose sight of the value of being a life-toucher.  She cautions us that we cannot make geniuses out of all of our students, we are lucky if we affect one in this way but we can strive to be the teacher that touches our students in some way.  She reflects on one student who shared with her that she always smiled and never yelled and that her art class was the highlight of her day.  She wants to be a part of her students memories and she believes this is a desired shared by us all.  She admits that she cannot be perfect and that each day is an opportunity to be better than the day before.  She wants her class to be remember nor for its perfection but for its flaws. 

Sandy Chapter 22

Finally. we meet Mary Cowhey who began her career as a community organizer then became a 1st and 2nd grade teacher.  As I read about some of the the teachers, certain words come to mind. When I think about Mary, the word "connections" immediately comes to my mind.  She has a very interesting resume: facilitates workshops, lectures, curriculum developer and most impressive to me was: delegate to the United Nations World Conference Against Racism in S. Africa.  (busy lady, huh?)  Before school begins, Mary visits all of her students at their home.  She wants to meet them, their parents, siblings and anyone else who impacts their lives.  That's very powerful because you will have a better understanding of your students once you have an opportunity to meet with them on "their turf."  They'll feel more comfortable sharing themselves when their in a safe environment with their family around them.  Her visit also speaks to her wanting to connect with them and begin building a relationship.  If my teacher came to visit me at my home, that would make me feel very special!  Mary is also a gifted poet and she used her poetry to "connect" with a friend who was dying.  She often drove to New York to visit her friend and she's always write her a special poem.  On the day her friend died, the friend's sister had just read to her one of Mary's poems.  In her essay, Mary includes many reasons for teaching.  She teaches because : 1. it lets her think critically about things she THOUGHT she knew 2. because she was a kid once 3.  it allows her to be the person that she is (which is many things!) 4. it's a positive way to make a change int he world 5. it would be foolish of her to think she's done learning or that she could learn more by herself than with other (100% correct on that one!) She lists a few more but the most profound one is because she agrees with Gandhi who said, "If we are to reach real peace in this world, we shall have to begin with the children."  Speak Gandhi, speak!

Camden Chapter 22

Mary Cowhey was a community activist for 14 years and finally she wanted to do something more hopeful and less combative so she went back to school to become a teacher.  She married her two careers into a teacher who is committed to a pedagogy that is socially just.  She teaches hers students to think critically, write persuasively, and consider issues from a multi-perspective stance when studying history.  She wants her students to speak well so their voices will be heard and they will hear others.  Cowhey has reawakened a desire of mine to do home visits.  She says that she visits all of her students before the first day of school, getting to know the families of the students who love them.  She says that by the beginning of the year she knows where her students live, how they get to school and who loves them.  She describes herself as being able to “borrow” this love until she develops her own when first working with the child.  She says if she discovers the rare situation where a child is not being loved, she has to learn to love that student quicker.  Cowhey further says that she teaches because “teaching is a job where you get paid to learn with other people.”  She says there is nothing better than being part of a learning community.  She hopes her students will be life-long learners and inspire others to do the same.  She says that she takes advantage of the cyclical nature of the school year, and tries to never teach the same thing the same way even though other teachers do.  She says she teaches because it allows her to pursue all of her passions from poet to philosopher and she can do so in the company of others pursuing their passions from dancing to racing pigeons!  She declares she teaches because she agrees with Ghandi “If we are to reach real peace in this world, we shall have to begin with the children.”

 Camden Chapter 23

Sonia Nieto begins her conclusion with words of caution “ I believe that one of the main problems in education is our tendency to jump on the bandwagon of the latest quick fix.”  “But quick fixes never work….. it is only through critical reflection, the ethical use of power, collaborative and meaningful relationships, and hard work that any idea really works.”  In an analysis of this book, Nieto lists 5 core qualities shared by the teachers who wrote for it.  They are not qualities that you can study and acquire in the traditional sense.  1) A sense of mission: not in the savior sense but in the way that they know they make a difference for some children.  There mission is tangible and transforms either their students, themselves and/or their communities.  2) Solidarity with and empathy for, students: teachers who love their students develop a strong and consequential relationships with them.  They are passionate about providing a sense of belonging and acceptance – a sense of community.  3) The courage to questions mainstream society: these teachers inspire students to challenge, question, and then question answers in their learning.  They encourage students to confront and never take for granted one perspective.  4) Improvisation: These are caring and committed teachers who see beyond frameworks, rubrics, and models.  In fact they teach themselves and students question the frameworks and models.  They take advantage of the moments and set aside the lesson plans teaching outside the lines where students are excited and energized.  5) A passion for social justice:  this is can be different for different teachers.  It may be insisting on racial, ethnic and economic equality.  It may be mentoring students, creating a loving and compassionate environment, or activism.  Neito concludes with thoughts on inequality in public schools “we no longer can naively state that equality is a diving force of our education system.”  She tells us for this reason, the question of why teachers teach is vital because the future of public education is at stake.