"As a simple but representative example, most of us have taken a paper-and-pencil test in our schooling, one on which the teacher marks answers wrong with an X and then calculates our grade at the top of our papers- as in '100-30=70.'" -P.L. Thomas
Thomas discusses how this is the deficit ideology, where it focuses on the weaknesses rather than strengths. Although the specific term is new to me, this idea takes up half of my heart. I once watched a Ted talk "Every Kid Needs a Champion" by Rita Pierson and it came to my mind as soon as I began reading about these different ideologies. Pierson makes a similar remark to her audience, "I gave a quiz, 20 questions. Student missed 18. I put a +2 on his paper and a big smiley face." At first I laughed at this idea... because how can a plus two actually be taken seriously? I certainly wouldn't take that serious. I'd be like "UGH. I failed..... WTF!" However, her attitude towards it was positive, "you ain't all that bad" and a simple 😊 on the top of the paper can keep the students confidence going. Focusing on what the student has already learned and understood can also help you as the teacher to work on the areas that still need progress. In order to help the student work to get a better grade, it is important to keep their levels of confidence and motivation at a high.
Just because I think every one who will ever encounter a child should watch this video, here's the link! https://youtu.be/SFnMTHhKdkw
Literacy
Reading. Spelling. Grammar. Full Sentences. Run ons. Punctuation. Writing.
Is that all there is to Literacy?
That's what I thought until my last SED 445 class.
I quickly realized during this class that I had been so closed minded the the definition of the word literacy. I'm assuming this is because of my love and interest in reading and writing, or maybe I was just never taught? I guess I don't really know. Do you know how full the word literacy is?
Karen Cordeiro-Kaplan discusses the different Literacy Ideologies in the schools and society. A new literacy that I learned about in particular is Cultural Literacy. This literacy focuses on the teaching of culture, beliefs, values and the classic books. I learned that making connections between your own life and the society around you with the text read is an example of a cultural ideology. Not only is the reading and writing involved in this ideology, but also a component of discussion. The students can then create a network of knowledge and see the relations between the texts and the different cultures in society.
Practicing Writing
Often when thinking about past writing assignments, I can see that the assignment was more-so for the teacher to verify I completed the reading assignment and evaluate understanding.There are so many other types of writing, not only reflective papers.
The NCTE discusses that writing grows out of many different purposes, not only an evaluation of knowledge. Different writing assignments that are important, for example, are notes, resumes and cover letters, business reports, interpretive statements, lab reports, etc. Learning these different types of writing is not only important for the students education to prepare them for future classes and careers, but to prepare them for effective social networking, improving society and getting to know who they are as a person.
"The future of the world is in my classroom today." -Ivan Welton Fitzwater
So you're about the fifth person who has mentioned that TED talk in the last week. I need to check it out. I like how you mentioned the changed mindset of being negative (giving a grade based on how many questions a student got wrong) and being positive (giving +2 on a quiz). Just the idea of a simple of giving two points rather than taking away 98 seems to change the mindset of the students. They feel they achieve more in class seeing there is something they did right rather than seeing all the things they did wrong. In school I actually would see all my teachers putting the points lost on the top then my grade. It always sucked seeing -12 on an assignment or worse. I also liked that NCTE seemed more positive about learning. Good job on the post!
ReplyDeleteKelli! You KNOW how I feel about that Ted Talk. Last time I watched it, I ended up following links to other teaching videos she has--they are definitely worth a watch, I particularly liked the one about casual versus formal register in writing...she's so funny. :) I think you hit the nail on the head with your assessment of your own writing in school--that the point of it was for the teacher to see that you knew the mechanics of writing and had completed the reading. That eliminates any real analysis or critical thinking, if that's the only concern, don't you think? I definitely want to make sure that in my own classroom I am assigning more meaningful writing!
ReplyDeleteI love theTED talk you linked in this post! So informative and true. I laughed aloud at the quote you included, the +2 and the smiley face. I think that's a great perspective to explore!
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