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Your blog post offers such a helpful example of the multiple factors that go into creating a great MKO. Expertise is one component, of course, and Sebastian clearly demonstrated that by holding a degree in the subject that Angelica was working on. But I think you go a step further in showing what makes a role model to whom students will actually be receptive. He’s relatable, he’s fun, and he’s a good listener. Your description of Sebastian reminds me of the positive language students used to describe the men from PROJECT 2000: “they’re nice,” “they’re fun,” “talk to us,” “care for us,” “friendly.”
I wonder if I’m oversimplifying though, because I do think that great teachers can also be strict or demanding or command respect from students in ways other than friendliness. Still, I think that in an environment like the SSC, it’s really important to create a space where students can grow more comfortable with the work they’re doing, and the MKOs present are instrumental in creating that environment. Is there a distinction between the role of “tutor” and “teacher,” and should the two have different characteristics?
It sounds like it’s been an interesting week! I’m sure that observing a lesson on the American Dream is a revealing lens for discussing diversity in the classroom. I wonder if some of the students of color who you feel have thoughts in mind about the topic are choosing not to participate because they’re in an environment where other students are perpetuating misconceptions, such as the one you mention about migrant workers not speaking English well. I’m glad that Mr. DuBe seems to be trying to make the classroom environment more comfortable for everyone though. It’s also touching to read about how you’ve contributed to that environment as well as you’ve gotten to know some of the students you’re working with.
Your post seems to me to highlight some good steps towards inclusion in the classroom—addressing stereotypes (using the course material, no less!) and providing role models for students, for instance—but also underscores how much progress is left to be made. Your observations of individual students like Bella and Tristan also serve as a good reminder that, while the social groups that students belong to may shape their experiences, at the end of the day we have to look at students as individuals with unique perspectives that can’t necessarily be generalized.
The contexts of Prairie Creek and Northfield High School strike me as so vastly different that I’m amused by how iPads are a distraction across both settings. The amount of time I see students struggling to open the proper documents on their iPads or doing other activities altogether makes me question why they’re so ubiquitous. It’s too bad that the motivational strategy of giving kids access to iPads resulted in them being distracted rather than motivated to focus on the lesson, but I can’t say I’m too surprised. I wonder what the right balance for using technology in the classroom is. I’ve rarely had my computer out in classes this term (a nice change of pace after four terms of Zoom learning!), so I know it’s possible to lead a lesson without iPads. That being said, at Prairie Creek the presence of iPads was very deliberate and related to the lesson at hand, so I don’t know how one would go about eliminating the distractions associated with them. On the other hand, I would love to teachers and students be a little more deliberate about not using them.
I’m impressed by Michelle’s ability to tackle tricky but relevant topics like vaccines with young students. I do wonder how successfully we can teach children in earlier stages of cognitive development about the importance of reliable sources. When you’re not able to think abstractly, I imagine it’s harder to assess the information you receive for accuracy. Still, it seems like an important idea to plant early on, given how widespread misinformation is.
I wish I could see some of the work that the students produced about the rain! Allowing students to interact with their surroundings in a way that feels meaningful to them seems like an activity that Piaget would appreciate. If only cognitive development were more visible in a classroom setting, because this activity seems like it would produce just that. On the other hand, I wonder how the observation/writing/drawing activity could be viewed through a behavioralist lens. Does it actually reward students for their distraction? If so, does that matter? A cognitivist probably wouldn’t think so, arguing instead that students’ interests are more important than plowing through a curriculum. But I do wonder if the two approaches to learning be in conflict in this example.
I’m very interested in your observation that a handful of male students are especially reluctant to participate, Arlo. I think my surprise comes in part from the “mansplaining” stereotype, not to mention the fact that I’ve certainly been in social studies classes with a somewhat forceful male presence. However, I wonder if among some male students social clout comes from choosing not to care about school. I know we’ve touched on the idea that schools have a tendency to reward behaviors associated with girls and that rewards from teachers may actually be social punishment for boys, so I’m curious if that issue is at play with the five or six boys who aren’t participating in Mrs. McDonald’s class. I’m also curious how that gendered divide comes up to begin with—but that’s probably a question of thousands of years of social conditioning and beyond the scope of this comment. Even so, your observation that “almost all the female students outperform the male students” seems like a cause for concern to me. How can schools better address the needs and interests of all students?
I really appreciate your comments on how students use clothing as a means of expressing identity, Izzy. I’ve noticed the importance of clothing in my classroom as well, not only in how students present themselves, but also in how they interact with each other. It’s been quite uplifting, actually! I don’t think a French 4/5 class has gone by when I haven’t witnessed an interaction where students compliment each other on what they’re wearing. Clearly I’m observing a well-dressed class! It’s refreshing to see students build each other up based on how they express themselves; I feel like media depictions of high schools so often skew the other way. From what I’ve seen, students are supportive of other students’ identity development. For instance, when one student was talking about her plans to visit New York City (I think for a college visit, but I didn’t catch the whole conversation), another student told her, “I can totally see that for you!” These students are at a pivotal moment in their lives, with college just on the horizon for many, so I’m enjoying seeing how aesthetics, self-expression, and peer interaction are playing a role in their self-discovery.
Being very accustomed to the rows of tiny desks surrounded by cinder block walls of a traditional classroom (and continuing to experience this in my own classroom observations), reading about the ways in which students at Prairie Creek interacted with their natural surroundings is very refreshing. I’m reminded of the quote we discussed in class on Tuesday that points out that “there is nothing ‘natural’ about educational settings.’” While the setting at Prairie Creek remains a social construction—all education is, according to Vygotsky—it seems a bit more guided by the ways in which students choose to interact with their surroundings, and those surroundings are also less constructed. Of course, Molly still managed to teach a specific lesson about types of leaves, but she did so after letting students explore the subject material themselves.
I’m also a big fan of the flower store one student set up. It reminds me of one of my favorite games I played with my sisters growing up, in which we collected sticks in the backyard and pretended to run a magic wand shop. I remember play as being largely separate from school; it was for recess and after school. I’m curious about the ways the two can be integrated better in education—and what might that look like for older students as well?
A quick addition to my post—
Here’s the poem the French 4/5 students were working to translate on Friday. The title translates to “Never Give Up.” While I appreciate the relevance of this poem as the students, about half of them seniors, forge their way through high school and into college, I can’t help but feel it’s sadly ironic given the conversations I’ve heard in class that make it clear that, in French at least, students feel their best option is to give up, speak in English, and accept that they’re not going to learn anything.
Here’s hoping that next week leaves me with a brighter outlook. As the poem says, “C’est quand tout te semble perdu que tu ne dois pas abandonner” (“It’s when everything seems lost that you must not give up”).
I love hearing about the ways you’ve found ways to integrate yourself into the Northfield High School community. It’s great to hear that the Academic Support Center deliberately fosters relationships between students and tutors. Your conversations about firetrucks and the Bubonic plague remind me of our discussion of the implications of Piaget in the classroom, namely the importance of letting students’ interests guide their learning and “the having of wonderful ideas.” I notice that you make a distinction between “helping them with their schoolwork” and building “relationships by trying to talk to them about other things,” but I wonder if there’s more overlap between these two activities than first meets the eye. And how exciting that a student also taught you something about firetrucks!
