Final post: Susan Schuler

Reading this book, was interesting to me. Growing up there were a few students in my classes that were pulled out for what I believe(d) to be english lessons. I never paid them much mind, they were just other students in my class. I never thought about how our class environment might have been affecting my fellow classmates. The holidays that were discussed, even the crayons. (In the book it was mentioned that Crayola has a box of crayons that's different skin tones, which I didn't even know or think about.) Now whenever I do my observations for classes, I think about the holidays they talk about and wonder if they're missing any holidays that the students might celebrate instead or with. My awareness about what they discussed in the book seems to have heightened.
Susan

Final thoughts on the book: Eyes opened wider now.. Beth -Final Blog entry

After reading this book I see myself in the community and as a future teacher differently. We were asked to investigate White Allies...I didn't know what this term was. But I looked and learned.
　
White Allies are people who advocate for diversity in the community. This link is to a web survey that you can take to see where you rank as being a white ally. It is from another local college’s website - Cortland.
http://web.cortland.edu/russellk/courses/hdouts/raible.htm

It's questions are good and helps you to think about what a white ally is.

I also checked out this article which I helped me to understand what being a white ally is
Guidelines for Being
Strong White AlliesAdapted from Uprooting Racism: How Whiteby P a u l K i v e l The full article can be read here:


The article points out many ways to be a white ally but two that I found most powerful were:
1. Assume racism is everywhere, everyday. He asks us to assume it because its true and because we are a part of the dominant cultural and do not have to face it daily. He asks us to notice it, to be aware of it around us in life daily.
2.The second request that I found really powerful was to: take risks. That even if its scary for you, to risk embarrassment or failure by trying to stop racist talk or actions that you see or hear
When I started to read this book, I don’t think I realized how much of an assimilationist I was. I am very much a part of the dominant culture and my education that embraced a melting pot approach to life in the U.S. just seemed so normal. As I child I didn’t think of anyone being hurt by the way our school was run.

As an adult today in the world, I knew that there are people with bi-cultural backgrounds but I hadn’t thought about how our educational system might impact them. I just thought, everyone who comes here becomes American and it may take time but they will learn English and blend into our culture. This book was a great example to how naïve my prior thinking was. And it was a catalyst for me to think about these things, where I previously had not considered how being an immigrant to this country today might impact education.

Embracing the differences and bi-culturalism helps students of minority groups to feel welcomed, important, understood and it helps to succeed in our schools. There are many things I think I would have done inherently, like talking to the ESL teacher and seeing what my students were doing with her or if she kept the lessons of my classroom going. Or having kids see representations of themselves in their class…but would I have taught the individual cultures? Or asked parents to?

I didn’t even know what White Allies were until this class and now that I have researched what it is to be one I feel my eyes are open wider than before.
--Elizabeth Francescotti
People Can Work for Social Justicehttp://www.paulkivel.com/articles/guidelinesforbeingstrongwhiteallies.pdf

Overall Summerization of the book

I cannot say i had a real grasp of what this book would discuss and how it would speak to me. In the end though, it spoke to me on many different levels and about an idea that had not really occurred to me as a future educator yet. People in the United States, in particularly the white dominate culture, often times forget the melting pot that the USA was founded to be. I have always been an advocate for a multicultural classrooms, even if that might be tough for the dominate culture. As educators we take on the responsibilities to speak up for the children in our classes and make their futures' brighter. Myself, as a white male, I need to take on the role of a "white ally", a term Professor Ahmad mentioned to our group. A white ally is a member of the dominate culture, generally white in this country, who actively resists the role of oppressor and is an active ally to people of color. (Google.com).
Often times, as we talked about in class and in our group, children who have a conflicting cultures between school and home are labeled as disabled. As an educator, this book made me realize that often times these children are really just desperate for something to relate to. They just want to feel welcome and appreciated in class. They need to see their home life in society. Many of the problems Mrs. Starr was dealing with, the language barrier, the cultural barriers and the celebration of only dominate cultures, are things I myself may have fallen into had I not been made aware of them in someway. Being aware of the children in my class who may not be of the dominate culture, I will now do my best to be an ally to these individuals and their families.
Another thing, and I made mention of this in my Chapter 8 blog, I will try to include a wraparound program in some way for all of the children in my class. I want to make my future classroom a place where children feel comfortable with myself and their fellow classmates, almost how they would feel with family members at home. Communication lines will be opened early and often to the parents of my students. Are their any other ideas that you feel could be used to make a classroom feel more like a home?? I would like to hear about them

Karen Paine - Rigorous Researcher of White Allies (Final Post)

"White ally" is a term coined by Beverly Daniel Tatum (who wrote "Why are all the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?"). Tatum defines a white ally as "an antiracist, a white man or woman who is clearly identifiable as an ally to people of color in the struggle against racism (Tatum, 1994, page 462).

In my research of white allies in ESL education, I discovered the book "Refusing Racism: White Allies and the Struggle for Civil Rights" by Cynthia Stokes Brown. Brown takes a white ally to be someone who "takes a public stand against the racist assumptions that surround one, against the prevailing system of white supremacy" (Brown, 2002, page 4).

According to Brown, the issues that surround white allies are:

1.) Are there consequences for white people in their stance (ostracism, loss of job opportunities, loss of upward mobility)?

2.) How can white people understand an oppression that they had not experienced?

3.) Are white people really able to support people of color?

4.) Even if they can talk equality, can white people relinquish privilege to balance the scales?

These are applicable to the issues presented in the epilogue of Schmidt-Ruggiano's book. Mrs. Starr did experience some ostracism in her push for multicultural curriculum. Regardless of her approach in class, it was not until Mrs. Starr was able to meet with Raji and Peley's families that she was better able to understand their experience and how that influenced their schooling. Can anyone else find any other connections between what I've researched on white allies and the experience of Mrs. Starr, Peley, and Raji?

Chapter 8: vocab; Susan

Assimilationist:
a person who advocates a policy of assimilating differing racial or cultural groups

Assimilating: To absorb into the culture or mores of a population or group


diversity: the condition of being diverse : variety; especially : the inclusion of diverse people (as people of different races or cultures) in a group or organization <programs intended to promote diversity in schools>


impetus:: a driving force : impulse (2) : incentive, stimulus b : stimulation or encouragement resulting in increased activity

2

: the property possessed by a moving body in virtue of its mass and its motion —used of bodies moving suddenly or violently to indicate the origin and intensity of the motion

Chapter 8, post5 : Susan Schuler

In the epilogue  Mrs. Starr expressed her concerns of how she had taught the class in the past. I appreciate that she didn't become defensive as a lot of people would and deny that the way she taught was anything less than perfect, she actually thought about the way she had done things and was willing to change to improve her future classes' experiences. It would be interesting to follow two of her students in her 'after' classroom to see how the changes affected them. To show what the changes were and if they really did improve the experiences for minority children.
It would also be interesting to have some other teachers in Mrs. Starr's school read this book to see how they react, to see if maybe it will help them to realize why Mrs. Starr is doing what she is doing.
Does anyone else think that these are good ideas? Why or why not?

Blog #6 Idea Illustrator - Elizabeth Francescotti

Our World is a diverse place and with technology and news information about other countries and The U.S.'s involvement in the affairs of other countries I think it is fair for us to talk about the world we live in, and not just the country we currently live in. More than fair, I think it is important. We cannot ignore differences without inadvertantly saying a message about being different!

Every classroom should have a globe. Students should be able to identify continents and places and I really liked how Mrs. Starr implemented the use of the globe in her class and students really responded to it and enjoyed seeing it. If we show them, their minds can grasp that the world is bigger than our small town, or our hometown.

Muticultural Crayons! These come with a wide variety of skin tones so students can draw pictures that look like them. Raji loved to draw and see representations of himself...why wouldn't the other teachers make use of these in their classrooms?
It seems like such a basic tool for the classroom and one that makes sense if we have our eyes open...people come in a wide array of colors.
I was disappointed that Mrs. Starr bought these and they all came back un-used from the other teachers.
I was also dissapointed that she was put down, as forgetting American Cultural when she decided to celebrate Spring in the variety of ways it is celebrated around the world. It makes me think about how or current school calendar is still based on an agricultural society...students don't need all this time off to leave school and pick crops...we don't live that way anymore. But, I think it says a lot about how CHANGE happens slowly in the school system!

Change in the school system. Chapter 8 Blog # 6 Elizabeth Francescotti

In reading this final chapter I kept thinking that as teachers we are in the business of service. We are servants to our community and to our students. When I reflect on that I think it means that we need to be willing to take the extra time and energy to go the extra mile. I think I was thinking like an assimilationist when I started to read this book and didn't even realize it. I grew up and though of America as a melting pot and then there was a global studies class in high school where we learned about other countries, but more in a political and historical sense.

When it comes right down to it the best way to serve students with bi-culturalism as their way of life is to not ignore it. Mrs. Starr thought ignoring it would just magically lead to assimilation and things would work out. What we saw was two children with a lot of potential, end up struggling because they had to live a dual life. They potential sucess as readers and learners was being damaged. Their self-images and their ability to learn through social interacts were non-existant.

So to best serve all your students you can't ignore differences. Teaching about the differences means that young learners can see that different is not wrong, it's just different and we can appreciate what is different.

I am lucky that the classroom I am observing in has already had a Mexican Festival day as many of the students are Latino and there is one class that speaks only Spanish. All the students in that school got to play games, sing songs and eat food from Mexico. And I got to see how much they enjoyed it.

Even if the first step you can make is to not ignore the cultures that are in your classroom...you are already making a difference! Reduced drop out rates, being literacy learning, potentially ingraining students at an early age to embrace diversity...these are all worhwhile reasons to break out of an assimilationist way and teach children about diversity. We are to enter classrooms of all types shapes and sizes and we are becoming a smaller world by the minute so global awareness seems just a normal as having computers in Kindergarten classes to me.

Imagine if all you learned and did in school was so opposite to you, so foreign. Would you feel like you, your life, your family ways must be wrong somehow?

I think that message gets sent to kids whether we realize we are sending it or not.
What do you think?

Struggles for change (Chapter 8)

I was both sad and happy with the epilogue. Mrs. Starr really has learned a lot by having someone from the outside stepping in to observe her class. When Mrs. Starr "spoke to other educators and found that they had experienced the same difficulties when working with language-minority children (p. 125)" she took the important first step and found out what problems were out there and how other teachers dealt with the problem. Conversation with fellow teaching professionals is key in my eyes to developing new ideas and new educational tactics. Peley and Raji should have had a wraparound program to help them and their families deal with the problem of being a language minority and culturally different. Much of what Mrs. Starr is attempting, like discussing other cultures, sending notes home and forming the steering committee, will help provide the base for these programs.
I am a little upset though by the reaction of some of the teachers when it comes to these programs. I understand how difficult it must be for teachers in older grades to have parents who have never gone through all these new ideas and processes, but to just totally give up? The older teachers could take small steps, like just talking about another culture or making some kind reasearch project to open the children's minds. Does anyone else think that this problem maybe because of the close mindedness of the other teachers or maybe fear?

Karen Paine - Epilogue - Blog #6

One thing we had begun to discuss in our Literature Circle was the purpose of this epilogue. The early edition of the text appears to be a doctoral dissertation by Ruggiano-Schmidt. One of the subjects, Mrs. Starr, was in process of completing a masters dissertation and immediately after the study, created her own text. In turn, Ruggiano-Schmidt made an additional "post-script" study of Mrs. Starr's study. What would have been of more interest to the read is a post-script study of the student subjects, Raji and Peley. Unlike Mrs. Starr, they did not have their own reputation to protect and would not use the post-script to defend, refute, explain, amend, etc. their own situation within the study. The incestuous nature of the studies worries me - how is it possible to remain objective during the process when each participant's role is mutually beneficial?

Karen Paine - Epilogue - Rigorous Researcher

In the epilogue, the "Faltis four level approach" is mentioned as a reference for developing communication with multilingual parents (Ruggiano-Schmidt, page 129). As rigorous researcher, I looked into Christina J. Faltis to better understand the reference. The four step approach is from a book published in 1993 called "Joinfostering: Adapting Teaching Strategies for the Multilingual Classroom." According to the Faltis, joinfostering is "the organization and implementation of conditions to promote two-way communication and social integration within the linguistically diverse all-English classroom" (Faltis, page 1).

The four levels include:

I: early stages of teacher-parent informal contacts in the home and school

II: how to proceed to small informational meetings

III: examples of ways to encourage parent participation and sharing in the classroom

IV: parent empowerment when they are included in curricular decisions

These levels correspond with the more general Faltis framework, designed particularly as a guideline for native-English speaking teachers working in a multi-lingual classroom environment. The framework involves:

1.) two-way communication

2.) social integration

3.) second language acquisition principles

4.) parental participation

Karen Paine - Chapter 7 (Classroom Community)

"Appreciating similarities and differences in the world around us is an important first step in the creation of inclusive social settings" (page 107).

Recently, I read a children's book by Rosemary Wells called "Yoko." She is a girl from Japan whose classmates ridicule her sushi lunch and as a result, becomes emotionally detached from school. The teacher notices and tries to remedy the situation by creating an "International Food Day." All the children bring in dishes from around the world with the instruction from the teacher that they are to try "at least one bite." At the end of the day, Yoko's sushi plate remains untouched, and this is unnoticed by the teacher. Only one students tries the sushi and becomes Yoko's friend.

Sharing food is one of Ruggiano-Schmidt's suggestions for increasing international / multicultural awareness. However, I think the book about Yoko is accurate - this tactic may not automatically increase appreciation of different cultures, but at the very least, it will increase awareness. Creating a climate of welcomeness may not make everyone feel included, but it will get the message across that inclusion is important.

Chapter 7- Illustrator Illuminator

When looking at this image, I cannot think of a better idea than something Mrs. Starr could have done. This is just one illustration of the many suggested by Patricia Schmidt. Have the children sit in groups and discuss on a globe where India, Cambodia and Vietnam are and who they are in our world.

chapter 7 vocab

Ethnography: the study and systematic recording of human culturesalsoa descriptive work produced from such research

culturegrams: is a company that stays up to date on the world's cultures and holidays

ethnocentricism: the feeling that one's group has a mode of living, values, and patterns of adaptation that are superior to those of other groups. It is coupled with a generalized contempt for members of other groups. Ethnocentrism may manifest itself in attitudes of superiority or sometimes hostility. Violence, discrimination, proselytizing, and verbal aggressiveness are other means whereby ethnocentrism may be expressed.

Chapter 7 blog 5 : Susan Schuler

"children by age four have developed racist views through the media as well as through the dominant community culture. Often schools unknowingly contribute to these attitudes by ignoring differences."

Out of the whole of chapter seven these sentences stood out most to me. By age four, children have developed racist views. Age Four! My first thought was of the little girl I babysit who just had her fourth birthday a few weeks ago and I wonder what her views on the world and the world's people are. Then I think how life will be for her. A white, blond haired, brown eyes, very pretty little girl. She's very clearly in the dominant culture. I wonder what her reactions would be to children like Peley and Raji. Of course she is a strong personality, so she would probably butt heads with Peley and steamroll over Raji when it comes to doing things her way.
Then I thought about the media. The majority of people are english speaking white people on the television shows watched in the U.S. While more and more it's becoming more diverse the majority of the shows are still about the dominant culture in the U.S. The majority of any religion or holidays shown are Christmas and Christianity. There's very few that show Buddihism (which is what they celebrate in Cambodia) or Hinduism. Therefore all most children may know is Christmas and Hannakuh to some extent. Any holidays Peley and Raji celebrate would be alien to the other children.
Especially since most schools seem to be more and more turning a blind eye to religious and cultural differences as well as society. More and more it's "happy holidays" instead of "merry christmas". I understand the intent behind that, but part of me has always thought if someone were to wish me a "happy hannakuh" I'd take it in the spirit it was intended and not jump down the person's throat "I'm not Jewish". People are so afraid of offending others with their differences that children are losing out on the experiences of diversity, so that when they're exposed to it, they don't understand it and react in ways that show their mistrust and fear of it. This is what is leads to hate groups and bullying of others who are different. This attitude of 'everyone needs to be the same so we don't offend'. It's going to come back and haunt us. Perhaps it already is starting to.
What are your thoughts?

What Could Have Been.... Chapter 7 Blog #4 - Elizabeth Francescotti

This chapter is an overview of all the missed opportunities for learning, the avoidance of speaking to culturally different families more because it was 'uncomfortable' and the lack of coordination between the ESL and General Education teachers.

Fortunitly, our group was very adept at noticing missed learning opportunities and made many of the same recommendations about pushing harder and going further to best serve Peley and Raji in their education.

We also got a look at how assessments can be culturally biased and opportunities missed by the student because of cultural differences. Peley was able to score so high on her literacy tests that she should have been recommended for the program but instead only was placed in advanced reading. Raji who was also very literate was placed in an average group. The parents made sure their children could read and write English. It is the value they placed on it and impressed upon their children.

However, the lack of social skills which are needed to maintain literacy were a hold back for these students.
They were not able to make that social connection at school, which many of the theorists' in Mooney's text stress as highly important for development. The reason? The conflict between home and school cultures. Peley and Raji had to live going back and forth between two cultures when they went from home and school. They did not get to share in the benefit of the cultures being the same like the other children did.

Which of this chapter's suggestions for change do you think would be the best and simplest to implement to quickly start turning this situation around?

Have any of us been color blind, and thinking this is the best approach?

Discussion Director-Quote - blog#4 Chapter7 Elizabeth Francescotti

As discussion director I think there are two lines that really send the message of this chapter and this text home to us  as future educators.

"Educators may even believe that color blindness is the way to teach tolerance. However, it is recommended that acknowledging and celebrating differences helps to eliminate stereotyping in classrooms."

Being color blind...can be a lot like being silent as we talked about in class last week. It is a way of ignoring the differences which are very clear and visible to the students.

Had Peley and Raji been given time to talk about their cultures AND felt secure to do so, that their shared information would be accepted and not ridiculed, they could have shared another part of the world with the class. We are increasingly a global society as technology makes our world smaller each day. Sharing worldly interests and differences/similarities was a really sadly missed learning opportunity in Mrs. Starr's classroom.

Sad end (Chapter 7)

I found many of the suggested ideas at the end of chapter seven to be very interesting and many things I would have never thought of at first. But first, I am saddened by the fact that Patricia Schmidt has not kept in touch with Peley and Raji's family (p. 121). It would have been nice to know about the development of the two children over the years. Another fascinating thing to have know would have been how well Peley's family learned to handle America, especially with only what is "equivalent to an elementary education in Cambodia and Vietnam" (p.114).
Let down aside, I feel the best suggestion made in chapter seven was to bring a teacher of ESL or special education for a push in program at times. It really makes sense to give the children who are in the program not always feel singled out and allowing the other students to embrace the teacher as a member of the general education program. Also, by bringing in the teacher, it would allow the general education teacher and the special program teacher to align their lesson plans. The fact that Peley and Raji were missing valuable reading lessons and not having an in synced ESL program was a real draw back. Does anyone else think, by having a hybrid or full push in program, the two students would have done much better both socially and educationally?

Susan Schuler: chapter 6

"We have custom. They have custom different. Afraid different custom."

This is what Peley's mother said. It caught my attention because it's true. People tend to be afraid of different cultures, while a lot of people will at least try to get to know other cultures, they ultimately decide their culture is best. There's evidence of this everywhere, if you listen to people talk about other countries and their laws and expectations, most of the time they're talking about them in a negative light. Or when someone from a different country is new to the U.S. people tend to be wary of them and when they engage in a custom of theirs, Americans tend to think they're 'weird'.
There are many different reasons why this is, what do you think they may be?

Chapter 6 Key terms and Vocab

ESL(English Second Language) programs- This is a program taught in English speaking countries to educate individuals that family do not primarily speak English or a class for people who moved to English speaking countries that have no formal education in speaking English. For both Peley and Raji, this program was used to help these children better understand English. They needed this extra English education because their families primary language is not English.

Push-In Classrooms vs. Pull-out: The debate for the strengths and weaknesses of these programs are all over the web (especially concerning ESL programs). One common theme among the debates is the strength of a pull out program to get students into one common area. Often times these programs involve multiple students from different locations in the schools. It is easier for the teachers of these programs to gather students to come to one location and teach in the room. A postive argument for a push-in classroom is that the students often times will have a program more guided along classroom ideals and the students will also feel more included in the general education programs.

Cultural Blindness: Fosters an assumption that that people are all basically alike, so what works with one group of people should work within all other cultures. (www.med.umich.edu/multicultural/ccp/basic.htm#continuum). The website quoted here also provides a great example of what each teacher should strive for, cultural proficiency.

Illustrator- Peley and Raji, left out, isolated from the rest of the class (Chapter 6) Blog #3

This image depicts three students working together while another is left out and isolated. This is what I imagine Peley and Raji experience so often in their class. The have no really consistent friends and the peers don't like to work with them or learn from them. This defeats the purpose of socialization that is so important for students. Students can learn from each other, use imaginative role play to work out ideas or issues but the exclusion of Raji and Peley because of their differences has defeated this important peice to the education puzzle. The word change is seen overlaying this image. And I agree, change is necessary for the right kind of learning experience to take place. More effort is needed to understand the cultural differences so that these students can fit in, make friends and have socialization.

-Elizabeth Francescotti

language barriers, poor if any communication with home and social isolation...oh my (Chapter 6) Beth Blog#3

Chapter 6 is all about how the home and school connection is valued by the elementary school. And it works just fine too. Unless you consider our Peley and Raji. The teachers, general, ESL and assistants all make assumptions, usually negative ones about these two students. We have seen that they are think about the right questions to ask but not asking them. In what attempts that were made were not successful because of language barriers and work schedules and misunderstandings.

The poor children are misunderstood and are not getting the important socialization that they need. Vygotsky believed children would learn from each other. He also pointed out the importance of socialization in all aspects: home, school, community and culture. Peley and Raji don't really have socialization at school.. It's clear that Raji is getting that socialization and confidence when he is in India and he comes back with it. However, it fades out fast because he is not socially accepted at school. His intelligence is higher than what the teachers know because he never feels comfortable to speak out...he will reply when someone asks him a question.
Peley is known as bossy but she is clearly a boss at home. She handles many chores and responsibilities. She likes cleanliness. This is what she knows. She get labled a tyrant when she is behaving the way she does because she has a dual role as adult and child. The teachers don't get this.

Add in that ESL program and things are a true mess. The ESL teacher should push into the class room and work with the students so they don't miss literacy classes and so she can aide them. Both students have really clear English skills so I am not seeing nor our the students, the value to this ESL time.

It's a real eye opener here that with best intentions you still need to make that effort to really get to know and get past the boundries to understand where these two kids are coming from, why they behave the way they do, why Raji goes to India. Time seems to be an issue for Miss Starr and willingness to go the extra mile.

Do you agree that taking time to research and possibly have a translator when meeting with the parents would be a worth while investment into the education of these young learners?
-Elizabeth Francescotti

In hopes I am never this disconnected...(Chapter 6)

I find Mrs. Starr to be a very passionate person but at times very misguided. While ESL for students like Peley and Raji is critical, I think that the way she planned it out and communicated the students class schedule to the parents needed to be done in a better way. Mr. Jon may have been a little extreme when he was quoted as saying that "Raji would not be in summer school if he had not left reading class(p. 91)." But what he is saying can not be over looked. He did not know that in order to be in an ESL program a student would be missing valuable time in class. Information like that is critical for a parent to know.
When it comes to Peley, the communication (or lack there of) is even more upsetting. Mrs. Starr would constantly send notes home to Peley's family with the knowledge that her notes would often times be over looked or confused. The fact that Peley was the best at English in her family was something of a problem because Mr. Lom "had the major responsibility for home and school communication (p. 90)." I just get the feeling that Mrs. Starr would just try to treat Peley's family like every other family. She needed to make an extra effort in my eyes to help Mr. Lom better understand what was happening in the class. Try leaving an open afternoon or a few to let him the opportunity to come in. Another idea, and I know we floated this idea in our group meeting, was to maybe have an interpreter go with Mrs. Starr to visit the Lom house.

Karen Paine - Ch 6 - Discussion Director

Chapter Six opens by saying that "home and school connections were primary considerations of kindergarten staff at East Side Elementary School" (page 89). This was a startling way to begin the chapter as there have been concrete examples of blatant disregard for home and school communication between Mrs. Starr's classroom and the homes of Peley and Raji. One such example is the Parent Teacher conference - when Peley's father was very late (due to fatigue from working nights), the teacher did not make adaptations for this and neglected to reschedule. Another example is Peley's birthday party - when it was clear to Peley and Mrs. Starr that there was an impending miscommunication regarding the birthday cookies, Mrs. Starr did not take steps to reach out to Peley's family. More grievously, Raji's family is not made aware that he is being pulled from reading class to take part in the ESL program. Later in Chapter Six, it is admitted "home and school communication seemed strong with the exception of Peley's and Raji's families" (page 89). With this is mind, is it fair to say that home and school connections were truly primary considerations if it was fully attempted for all the students in the kindergarten class?

Karen Paine - Holiday Idea Illustrator (Chapter 5)

I have two links.

One is for a great article that offers many references to internet articles about holiday observance in schools.

http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/pdfs/DecemberDilemma2008-print.pdf

Here is a Google Calendar that illustrates all the religious related holidays for every month during the school year.

https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=6lebd2vdlu7pu3ta284o1pdubg@group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/Chicago

Susan Ch. 5- Holidays

          When Mrs. Brown was working with Peley and Raji for Columbus Day, she asked Peley if she was born in Cambodia. Peley was very indignant, and insisted that she was born in the United States. I can't help wondering why that was. Was it because she knew all her classmates (as far as I'm aware) were born in the U.S. and she hated to be singled out (even if the only other classmate there was Raji)? Or was it something that her parents stressed to her? The way things are set up in the U.S. and social attitudes, Americans stress the assimulation into our culture. After all how many times (mostly on t.v.) does someone say things like "Speak American." (which I admit worries me about the general populace sometimes because you know there are actual people without scripts who say things like that.) Peley's parents could have picked up on this attitude and somehow stressed to Peley that she's an American, she was born here.
        Also throughout the whole chapter I kept thinking that these holidays would have been a great way and time for Mrs. Starr to ask the children what holidays they celebrate with their families and introduced these holidays to the other children.
         One last thing. The birthday spanking... do you think that's something that is still done in the school today? What do you think people's attitudes would be toward it?
Susan

Holidays in Cambodia and India (Chapter 5)

Cambodia Major Public Holidays:
January 7- Victory from Geneocide day (Celebrated to commemorate being free from rein of Khmer Rouge)
April 13-15 or 14-16- Cambodian New Year (Considered most important festival in Cambodia)
November 9- Independence day (Celebrates freedom from France in 1953)
November 10-12- Water Festival (Celebrates end of monsoon season)
These are the major stated holidays in Cambodia. As with the United States, there are a number of other holidays also celebrated (such as Chinese New Year). These are the biggest holidays in Cambodia and below you will see the biggest holidays in India.

India Major Public Holidays:
January 26- Republic Day (Commemorates the Constitution of India signing in 1935)
August 15- Independence Day (Celebrates the freedom from Britian in 1947)
October 2- Mahatma Gandhi's Birthday (Celebrates the "Father of India")

All other in India are based upon religious beliefs. They celebrate all other holidays of different religions as well. The major religions are Buddism, Christianity and Hindu.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_India
http://sgholiday.com/2010/05/cambodia-public-holidays-2011-calendar/

Vocab and Concepts - Elizabeth (Chapter 5) Blog #2

Vocabulary/Concepts

1. Representative Symbols - A symbol is something such as an object, picture, written word, sound, or particular mark that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention. All language is made up of symbols but culturally not all symbols mean the same to all people or in all languages. For example, Red symbolized love in Peley’s Cambodian Culture so she understood the Valentine’s day event to some degree.2. Assimilationist Perspective - is used in the text frequently and assimilation means a successful melting pot scenario within the educational system. Assimilation in this text means “Cultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture"3. “Yuk” - Peley often makes this sound and it seems like she has a true aversion to being dirty or having unclean hands. I am really curious if that is a home element or from the broader Cambodian culture. She is often forced into this uncomfortable position which leads to a product but the product is meaningless for her and her family and the process is where the learning would happen and when her hands are forced into glue and she is left to run to clean off it’s really upsetting.

4. Isolation- the separation or isolation of a race, class, or ethnic group by enforced or voluntary residence in a restricted area, by barriers to social intercourse, by separate educational facilities, or by other discriminatory means. In this text the general definition of isolation or segregation is the social barrier that exists for Peley and Raji

5. Intregration - to end the segregation of and bring into equal membership in society or an organization. For Raji and Peley to be completely included this would need to happen.

A link is attached for further information on Immigration and Education:
http://www.tc.edu/cice/Issues/09.01/91_02_cice_fall2006_edintro.pdf

Holidays and Curriculum...creating isolation for some (Chapter 5) Blog #2

It is honestly hard for me to picture a pre-k or kindergarten classroom without holidays and season changes being recognized. It has been this way for so long and my bias here is that I participated in these activities as a child and enjoyed them. But what this reading has shown me is that the holidays took up a greater deal of the curriculum than I recall and that can create a deep sense of isolation for those children who do not know, understand or celebrate the traditional Western Holidays.

The continuing lack of communication between the home culture and the ESL teacher and classroom teacher is troubling. They are both noticing that the children are not socially fitting in and the ESL teacher realized how little she knew about her students but neither did anything about it. There were times where the remarks made by Peley or Raji were simply ignored when what they were communicating might have been cleared up if the teachers had pressed harder and asked more probing questions without being intrusive, just curious and interested. I think if the questions about their home life and home cultural were discussed and a genuine interest was shown the attention would have been deemed positive and the children might have opened up.

It's frustrating to see them get so close to the right thing to do but not to follow through and ask the questions and get to know these two students better. The focus is just on a set curriculum without any thought on adapting the curriculum to the students which is an essential element of a true inclusive education for all students.
There just was not enough effort and reaching understanding of the holidays meanings and a complete lack of understanding of what holidays are celebrated or not in the homes of these two children.

Do you think that removal of all celebrations and seasonal activities is the best way for a school to run, instead of continuing to use the mainstream culture to help shape early childhood education?
Would there still be value in discussion of just seasonal changes as a scientific reasoning of the world the children live in?
- Elizabeth Francescotti

Blurred Lines (Chapter 5)

I have always found one thing about suburban American schools to be particularly upsetting; they continue to focus on Western European holidays. While my family is of Western European decent, through and through I am American. Being that I am American, one thing I am proud of is our acceptance of cultures from around the world. The actions of Ms. Star in Chapter 5 truly rubbed me the wrong way. She celebrated most of, if not all of, Western European American Christian holidays. I understand that most people in America do recognize and celebrate these holidays, but we cannot allow them to over shadow the other holiday's people of our country celebrate.
One perfect example is Christmas; a holiday that seems to overrun every other culture and holiday in our country. For Peley, "a Christmas gift for her parents was meaningless (p.78)." Her family had no semblance of a Christmas theme in her house, according to the author. As for Raji, whose family was in India, we have no idea how his family celebrated the season, if at all. I feel Christmas, while I do celebrate the holiday, has become too big and diminishes the other holidays that are celebrated around that time. America was founded as a place to celebrate and welcome people of all beliefs and as a place to keep personal religious beliefs separate from state run agencies.

Karen Paine - Ch 5 - Peley's Sensitivity

Schmidtheads:

What I have noticed throughout the book and particularly in Chapter 5, is the author's ignorance of Peley's obvious physical sensitivity. For the Christmas assignment, the students were to make a piece of art that they would give to their parents as a "Christmas present." The project required the students to place the entire surface of both palms in glue and print them on construction paper that was decorated with a pre-printed poem. Peley resisted this project. Mrs. Starr had to physically place Peley's hand in the glue herself, all the while Peley exclaiming "yuk yuk." In fact, after the project, "Peley continued making her 'Yuk' sounds and quickly washed her hands after the imprint' (page 78). Ruggiano-Schmidt stated that Peley was not happy about placing her hands in the paste because "a Christmas gift for her parents was meaningless." I definite agree that this was one reason why Peley was displeased with the project. But neither Peley's teacher, nor Peley's observer, questioned whether a physical sensitivity was a factor in Peley's resistance.

Illustration (Chapter 1-4)

First four chapters: Susan Schuler (Chapters 1-4)

The first four chapters had a lot of information to take in.
Reading about the teacher's reaction or more aptly said, non reaction, to what is happening in the classroom, my first reaction is to wonder just how much attention she is paying to her students. My second reaction is to think what if I end up like that? Not noticing the issues going on right under my own nose? It's one thing to not do something properly and to notice and learn from it. But to do something wrong and not even know or realize...
I wonder what her reaction was, what everyone's reaction was to how they were portrayed in the book? Did they learn from it, did they change the way they did things?
Another thought that ran through my head while reading this was to think that this was written back in the nineties and keeping in mind the editing process and the actual observation, these children were children in early nineties or even late eighties. Where are they now? What are Raji and Peley doing now? Did their social problems get better through the years? Did they even complete school?
Did anyone else think about this?

ElizabethF. -Cultural Differences are important to recognize, include and utilize in literacy education (Chapters 1-4) Blog#2

When I read the first four chapters of this book I had to keep reminding myself that this teacher wasn’t in the benefit of the hindsight view that the reader has, nor the cultural background of the family life of each of these students’ Peley and Raji.

I found that I thought, wait, she is missing a teaching opportunity here! There are many times when I thought the teacher should have talked about these two classmates cultures, and have them shared and used as a chance to learn about a different place in the world and that the world is so much larger than the average kindergartner knows.

In particular I thought that when Raji would leave the class to be in India for a few months that the teacher should have told the class that he was leaving for his nature country and let them ask questions about that. Then Raji and the teacher could supply answers. It seemed to me that this would have helped Raji with being included, rather than further excluded, because the other children just made their own assumptions that Raji was missing school and just having fun while they all still had to attend, creating a dislike.

“It seems apparent that the classroom teacher who creates a literacy learning environment that promotes social connections and encourages the understanding of different social patterns contributes to children’s literacy learning.” (Schmidt pg3).Mooney’s text “Theories of Childhood” shows that Vygotsky found the “primary contribution to our understanding of young children’s development is his understanding of the importance of interaction with teachers and peers in advancing in children’s knowledge” (Mooney, pg 83). This is key in explaining why Peley and Raji are not advancing in their language development as well as they could be. They are experiencing isolation and peer rejection and it’s hindering them. The matter of fact is that the peers don’t understand Peley or Raji’s behaviors well, nor do the teachers. If there was more family cultural background conducted then some of the ‘odd behaviors’ could be explained as a breach in cultural experiences in their homes, their native countries and school environment. It’s being missed by the teacher because some improvements are seen but deeper understanding is not there. This book shows how important that element is.

If I were Peley or Raji I would really be discouraged and frustrated and as such young children they aren’t likely to know to speak out for themselves with their words. There is no praise for Raji’s talents and Peley is completely misunderstood. This would make a love of learning hard for anyone when there is so much conflict experienced over and over.

We are all becoming more of a 'global community' as technology and travel have made it easier to prevent cultural isolation or immigration. Understanding conflicts in culture become that more important of a topic for teachers to be aware of.

Elizabeth Francescotti - Rigorous Researcher (Chapters 1-4)

As the rigorous researcher, I tried to get a little more acquainted with the cultures of Peley and Raji.

Cambodia is located in South East Asia and is between Thailand and Vietnam. Culturally most Cambodians are Buddhists. And interestingly, Birthdays are not big events like in the West. People of the older Cambodian generation may not even know their date of birth as many lost their birth certificates during the Khmer Rouge Years. This was a period of war torn times. So culturally, the year of the birth is know and birthdays aren’t stressed as highly important events like it is in the U.S.

“India is a land of diversities. This diversity is also visible in the spheres of religion. The major religions of India are Hinduism (majority religion), Islam (largest minority religion), Sikhism, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism and the Bahá'í Faith”( http://www.culturalindia.net/indian-art/paintings/index.html)

As far as art work goes nature is a very common theme and is something Raji demonstrates with his intricate floral designs. Unfortunately this cultural feature leads his talented artwork neglected and instead he is called “girly.”

Resources utilized:

Central Intelligence Agency. "https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cb.html." The World Factbook. US Government, CIA, n.d. Web. 3 Oct. 2010. <https://www.cia.gov/index.html>.

"Indian Culture - Cultural India - Culture of India - Cultural Heritage of India - Cultural Attractions in India - Indian Cultural Heritage." Indian Culture - Cultural India - Culture of India - Cultural Heritage of India - Cultural Attractions in India - Indian Cultural Heritage. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Oct. 2010. <http://www.culturalindia.net>.

Karen Paine - Vocabulary (Chapters 1-4))

Grapheme

A written or printed representation of a phoneme, as b for /b/ and oy for /oi/ in boy. Note: In English, a grapheme may be a single letter or a group of letters. It includes all the ways in which the phoneme may be written or printed.

Grapheme-phoneme correspondence
The relationship between a grapheme and the phoneme(s) it represents; letter-sound correspondence, as c representing /k/ in cat and /s/ in cent. Note: Technically, grapheme-phoneme correspondence refers to how letters correspond to sounds, not vice versa. Phonics as a teaching device in reading instruction concerns grapheme-phoneme correspondences-that is, how to pronounce words seen in print.

FROM: Indiana University

Karen Paine - Ch 1-4 Impressions

The cultures of Peley and Raji are not valued in school, and they are not used as a catalyst for learning with the other classmates. In chapter three, Ruggiano-Schmidt says, "neither child was introduced to literature relating to their cultural backgrounds" (page 36). In Chapter Four, regarding snack time, Ruggiano-Schmidt states that in response to Ravi's favorite foods, classmates exclaimed "Yuck!" or "I don't get it!" (page 44). If the teacher does not familiarize the students with the varying cultures represented in the classroom, then the majority culture may threaten the minority cultures.

This cultural tension is manifested in student relations. Repeatedly, Ruggiano-Schmidt mentions how incidences relating to the children's discomfort or skill go unnoticed. For instance, Raji's intricate drawing of the rocket ship, or Peley's apparent physical sensitivity to touch and textures. When there is animosity from other students there is not adequate intervention. The teachers act on a day-to-day basis and because they are focused only on daily interactions, the cumulative effect of the negative social-cultural interactions between the students, the unhappiness of Peley and Raji, is untraceable.

What is clear is that Ruggiano-Schmidt believes that without social interactions, students cannot fully display literacy learning; without cultural recognition, social interaction is nearly impossible. This is where the teacher comes in, to bridge the gap of understanding. However, Mrs. Starr never relates the social problems of Peley and Ravi with the cultural differences between home and school (page 36). "When the school program ignores or rarely makes cultural connections between home and school, cultural conflict and struggle become apparent" (page 40).

Quote for Chapters 1-4

On page 57, middle of the third paragraph comes the quote: "(Mrs. Gerard) plans were approved by the classroom teachers, but showed little coordination with classroom themes."

A familiar feeling...(Chapters 1-4)

Reading Cultural struggle brings back lots of memories from my past. I was someone who left class throughout my younger years to go to "reading rooms". As children described on page fifty-four, Peley and Raji's ESL room was small and dark. It reminds me of my past reading rooms. Often times these were small dark rooms with some posters and a small round table in them. The lack of coordination described between the general classroom and the material in the ESL program was just as I remembered. Looking back, and I think every class had these students growing up, the faces of the children being left out, as described in chapter three, still strike me. I often times blew these children off as most of the children did, something that pains me looking back on it.
"Where cultural conflict exists, struggles abound(p.8)." To me, there is no better description of what has been shown in this book so far. Mrs. Starr cannot understand what is wrong and sometimes, when she gets confused, we see her just move on. She never dug deeper to understand these two students and where they come from.

Karen Paine - Procuring the Book

Hey gang,

Amazon has been delaying the shipment of the book, as it is on back order. In desperation, I have emailed the author, Patricia Ruggiano Schmidt, who lives in Syracuse. My hope is that she'll send me a copy! In the meantime, would it be possible for me to borrow the book from a member? Particularly someone who shares my INCL 502 class, because then I could give it back to you on Thursday? I've been panicking about this...

Thanks,

Karen

Karen Paine - Monocultural but Moving in a Multicultural Direction

After taking the Assessment of My Life Experiences Directions, I was a bit disappointed that I was not officially "Wholly Multicultural." However, with reflection upon the course of my life, I do believe that "Monocultural, but moving in a multicultural Direction" is an accurate assessment. The scale seems to be structured chronologically, beginning with prompts such as family of origin and neighborhood as a child, and ending with prompts such current friendships and neighborhood where I live. What I find encouraging is that the numbers I ascribed to the prompts also increased chronologically. For example, for family of origin and neighborhood as a child, I ranked on the scale as 1 or 2 (heavily monocultural). Respectively, for current friendships and neighborhood where I live, I ranked on the scale as 7 or 8 (near wholly multicultural). I attribute the higher score to a purposeful endeavor to enrich my life with multicultural experiences and to deepen my education by interacting with various people and cultures. Throughout my life, it seems America has become increasingly multicultural, however, without the conscious effort to make my life multicultural, I do not believe it automatically would have become so.


-Karen Paine

A work in progress.... Blog #1

I grew up in a pretty mono-cultural middle class environment. But I don’t believe that defines me. I know that the vast and varied experiences in my life have had a much greater impact on me than my neighborhood. After undergrad I moved to Rochester and have been here around 6-7 years. I currently live on the edge of the city and I work in the city for a company which does much of its business with minority groups with whom I interact with daily.  In my six year career in insurance I worked in a diverse office with many African American co-workers as well as other minorities such as Asian and Indian.  I became what I felt was “well-off” and felt comfortable in a middle-class setting. I ended my career to begin a new one where I felt that I was making a difference instead of just making money. My assessment results label me as a mono-cultural person moving into a multi-cultural direction. I call myself a work in progress because I haven’t stopped learning about myself and the larger world that we all live in.

I want to do the best I can as a teacher for all of my students, no matter the gender, race or range of disabilities. I used to worry for my niece who is a three year old with a physical disability. Children already point out to her' the way in which she is different.' But so far in her pre-k experience the young children are able to see past that and see her for who she is.
_Beth

Not Surprising

Looking at the answers I put, I will be honest, I'm not surprised. Over the past few years I have come to realize how monocultural my world is.
Going to college there were far more people of different backgrounds than I was use to. One of my friends of that time, drove the point home of how 'white' my world was, by making a comment on how there were more African Americans at her high school than there were at the college we were both attending. At her high school she was one of the few white students.
Even with this self awareness I could count the people I know who are 'different' from me. A few sorority sisters (including my much loved little) would be classified in our society as 'non-white', a family friend who is wheel chair bound, some co-workers who speak english with accents. Compare this small number to the much larger number of people I know who aren't quite as 'different' from me, shows just how monocultural I really am. Would I like more diversity? Sure, if I get along with the person, that's all that matters to me.
Susan Schuler

And I thought I knew me....

     Upon filling out my personal inventory, I realized that my life is much more open and diverse than I once thought.  I have never thought of myself as a “multicultural” person, even if My Life Experiences assessment says otherwise.  On the scale of assessment, I scored in the slightly multicultural, something that was shocking to me.  I felt that many of the things in my past, like where I worked, schools I attended and exchange students my family has hosted, was more of a common thing.  It just made me realize how much my parents did behind the scene to build me as a complete individual.
     One thing I did not find that shocking was where I fell on the survival chart.  I have always found myself to be uncomfortable in the “higher” wealth society.  I find the lower-middle class/middle class to be something I have always gravitated towards because of my family and who my friends are.  I’m very proud to be who I am and what I have become what I am.  To me, wealth is not everything.  Happiness is the real goal in life and being comfortable where you are, and for me, that is middle class.

- Dominick Mancini