Gabrielle Poirier

Responding to “What will culturally relevant pedagogy look like, sound like, feel like in your future classroom”? While looking at this article, I realized that in schools, teachers need to have more of a connection with students to make the school year better. I believe having a relationship with a student will let them be more accepted into the classroom. Also, having the students have their opinions and a voice is an excellent way to get involved. Having an open classroom where someone can have a voice is a perfect way for them to share. I think students should talk about their backgrounds. Students should learn more about their experience and the exciting things they might find about their history. I think letting the students look more into their knowledge will make them grow as a student. 

As a teacher, I’m going to contribute to the sense of place for my students by teaching them more about their community and its environments. I, as a teacher, am going to help them not forget where they came from. I believe students should grow up knowing where they came from and their background. Students should know more about where they grew up and the lands around them—having students learn about their community and the hard work put into the town, city or village. Lastly, teaching them how to be great in the world.

Brook, J. (2013). Placing elementary music education: a case study of a Canadian rural music program. Music Education Research, 15(3), 290-303. 
Lopez, A. (2011). Culturally relevant pedagogy and critical literacy in diverse English classrooms: A case study of a secondary English teacher’s activism and agency.English Teaching: Practice and Critique, 10(4), 75-93.

While Responding to the article “John Dewey and the Challenge of Progressive Education,” While reading through this article, I realized that many different trends in the world have a relation to the global network. While looking further into this topic and the issue of education, schools were organized; for example, the teachers taught how they were supposed to—not wanting to change the way they teach students. Also, another one is getting all the students involved in any activity there was. Dewey thought changing it up could be great for the new teachers and students in today’s world. Dewey stated, “there is a difference in the world whether the acquisition of information is treated as an end in itself or made an integral portion of training of thought. The assumption that information that has been accumulated apart from use in the recognition and solution of a problem may, later on, be, at will, freely employed by thought is quite false. The skill at the ready command of intelligence is the skill acquired with the aid of intelligence”. (Dewey, pg. 76). Dewey then went on to say that you need to have use of “acquired knowledge.” Dewey insists that we acquire full intelligence only in contexts where fluid intelligence is required and used” (Dewey. pg. 76). While looking at this article, Dewey wanted to change the schools’ way by looking deeper into social and environmental factors. Dewey never fulfilled his plan, and he came up with methods including “imposed no fundamental change in schools.” He thought this because teachers used “active learning”; most taught how they did before. 

“The problem we face is more profound than confronting Dewey and the progressive-era reformers. The problem is that narrow economic concerns drive shared noneconomic educational values to the margins in today’s global economy. Schooling as a public enterprise advancing common goals is getting shoved aside by a neo-liberal regime seeking to privatize public education and impose corporation-operated charter schools emphasizing rote learning and standardized testing and vocational over civic aims.” (Dewey, pg. 80) Dewey stated at the end that most educators today demand equal access to higher technology opportunities. Therefore, teachers don’t have access to computers and technology like the students do in today’s world. Now teachers have to start planning and teaching around the new technology in this world.  

John Dewey and the Challenge of Progressive Education

While reviewing the “Curriculum Policy and the Politics of What Should Be Learned in Schools”? The curriculum is defined as “an official statement of what students are expected to know and be able to do” (Levin, 8). Levin writes about how the “public policy is about the rules and procedures governing public sector activity, what they are and how they are made”(Levin, 8). Levin explains that teachers need to teach various policy fields, health, education, justice and many more. The curriculum is based on politics. These policies are based on the Government. The Government takes the guidelines from the teachers in the school and makes the curriculum based on that. Throughout the articles, Levin states that “Every student has an opinion in school and that every educational decision is based on policies.” It shapes the student and learners to make them successful. 

While reviewing “The Saskatchewan Way: Professionally Led Curriculum Development” article, shows how difficult it is to meet all the needs of the students. While starting this article, it states that “In education, teacher’s voice is set to mute” (The Saskatchewan Way, pg, 1). Reading that explains that the Government did not include teachers in the K-12 curriculum in Ontario. The teachers, administrations, learned this is the views on educational issues through the process, and reach decisions which met the goals of the students” (The Saskatchewan Way, pg.6). Teachers had plans and issues with the curriculum but weren’t included in the Ontario overhaul. Beginning to read more about the topic, they explain that “It has given focus and purpose to curriculum development and in-service work” (The Saskatchewan Way, pg.7). The last point to conclude this article, they were saying that “Be inclusive of parents, students, and others within the broader community” The Saskatchewan Way, pg.8). Everyone should get a say in the curriculum.  

http://www.corwin.com/upm-data/16905_Chapter_1.pdf.

The Saskatchewan Way: Professional-Led Curriculum Development

When looking back to Kumashiro’s reading, to be a “good” student. My understanding is schools often expect students to get their work done in time. I was having them do essays and assignments—teachers giving tests to students to test their knowledge of what they have learned through the lesson. Kumashiros pointed out that one student named M said, “If I thought that what we were reading was interesting, or whether I was teaching it just because I had to.” (Kumashiro, pg. 21). N commented that he ‘Wanted to make sense of a book, but the book had its correct way of interpreting it, and that’s what mattered on exams” (Kumashiro, pg. 22). Reading these two quotes tells us that schools have the same standards as always, like Getting your work done to graduate. “I thought I had understood the “themes” or significance of a novel, only to learn that my understanding failed to incorporate ways that racism played invisibly in the story.” This quote refers to the ways of society—schools like not to change the standards of the school system because it’s the right way. (Kumashiro, pg. 30)

Which students are privileged by the definition of a good student? My understanding is that the students that are determined as “good” are the ones that follow society’s standards. The standards are just following the norms of what everyone else is doing. I believe that bars keep everything together and organized in a community.  Nobody wants to change the way the world is or change the way the standards are. I believe  shoolsneed to focus on what the student needs, instead of the standard norms in the world. Kumashiro explains that people that follow norms are the ones that are given advantages from the education system. If you follow the standards of today’s society, you will dominate other people.

Responding to the question “How do historical factors shape a good student.” When I read “A history of education,” many elements can be shaped as a “good” student. Painter told us that everything taught is in “order of things” when looking at the book. This comment means that if the student is brought up in this world, they need to know society’s standards. Painter talks about how “Growth and development transform childhood into youth, and youth into manhood.”( Painter, pg. 2) This quote means that being a “good” student, you need to follow society’s path. Everyone has a way they take to complete the standards of the world. The one excerpt from the book that I thought was interesting was “To meet the ends of life, and the body must grow,  the mind is developed, and the moral nature trained.”( Painter, pg. 2) This quote means that everyone develops into today’s society.

Kumashiro (2010). Against Common Sense, Chapter 2 (pp. 19 – 33) – “Preparing Teachers for Crisis: What It Means to Be a Student” 

Painter (1886). A History of Education

Tyler proposed that the “programme of activities is designed so that individuals as far as possible certain educational and other schooling ends of objectives.” (Smith, 1996, 2000, p. 8). He said the problem was it took away from the learners and began giving them no voice. Tyler raised the thought that “the problem, with the unanticipated result, is that it may lead both educators and learned to overlook learning occurring as a result of their interactions.” I think that he has a great point. There need to be more interactions in the class involving the learners. Having more group work or chances for students to talk will get them more anticipated results and give the learners a natural voice. Tyler also said that the labour of jobs is “being simplified.”(Smith, 1996, 2000, p. 3). In my school, teachers facilitated assignments. Like the teachers simplified essays. They believed that there was one way of teaching material: the teacher talking, and you write it down. There was barely any group work or having any interactions with other students. Some students needed to have group work; they needed to have interactions once in a while, which I agree with Tyler.

Tyler introduced steps to make rules. The steps were Step 1: Diagnosis of need, Step 2: Formulation of objectives, Step 3: Selection of content, Step 4: organization of content, Step 5: selection of learning experiences, Step 6: Organization of learning experiences, Step 7: Determination of what to evaluate and of the ways and means of doing it. (Smith, 1996, 2000, p. 4). These rules would make a school better because it focuses more on organization and new learning experiences, and having content to select. More teachers need to follow these rules to improve the classroom and have more students learn experiences.

The benefit that will make the school a better place is; making a plan. Making a plan will set goals and organization for the school year. I think getting to know all the students well will help. Getting to know their weaknesses and strengths is an excellent idea because it will help you get familiar with the students and have more minor issues in the future. Tyler introduced the thought that teachers should “study and evaluate the process of the students.” Also, students should study and evaluate the process of the teachers as well”. (Smith, 1996, 2000, p. 7). This proposition will help the connection between the students and teachers in the classroom.

Kumashiro defines common sense to be the knowledge that we have from growing up. Kumashiro explains that nobody wants to change the norms of daily life because it’s the way the world did it before. People believe that things from the past will be the right way of teaching it. Nobody wants to change their beliefs in daily life. If we change the way everyday life is, we will have new beginnings in the world.

We pay attention to common sense because it helps us understand our views on daily life. We pay attention to the ways people have taught and explained the ways of the world. We pay attention because people tend not to want to try anything new or different in the world. People do not want to try because they are familiar with the way people teach. People nowadays like to stick to their own beliefs. Without changing common sense ideas, the world continues to live as if common sense is the right thing.

I bring into the classroom my understanding of Curriculum and pedagogy. Definition of Curriculum is the way people teach in the classrooms, guidelines for the teachers, and expectations for a class. I bring the knowledge of Curriculum to be the way we teach in classrooms; teachers don’t like to change how they lead a class. My understanding of pedagogy is the learning methods of essays, assignments, homework and writing information down. My undersigning of this came from myself growing up. If we want to change common sense, it will begin to bring new information.