Weblog 2. Letter from Spring's book

Dear student and future educator,
As you look ahead to the future and prepare to become a teacher, I hope that you truly see the power and influence of an education. Not only does it increase knowledge in people, but it also creates a sense of common ground between people of many differences. When people are together learning the same thing, you find many similarities between people of various cultures. The power of a unified group made up of different people is very strong. It can make major changes in that particular area and society which can then spread to larger areas. I am speaking from experience here. At a time when most people saw only differences and barriers between Native Americans and missionaries, I saw an opportunity to teach the Native Americans, help them become civilized and accomodated. 'I did not doubt then, nor do I now, the capacity of the Indian for the highest attainments in civilization, in the arts and religion...' (p. 22)
Education is a powerful thing and it is important that everyone has a chance to experience it. It is also important for everyone to receive a well rounded education in areas such as reading, writing, arithmetic, arts, business, etc. (p. 23) If you work hard, the dreams of everyone of every culture having an equal and fair education can come true, just as my dream of 'establishing schools in Indian Territory became a reality.' (p. 29) Good luck and let me know if I can help.

Sincerely,
Thomas L. McKenney

Weblog 1. Nieto article

Solidarity, courage and heart:

what teacher educators can learn from a new generation of teachers

by Sonia Neito

“Research on what works, where and for whom is needed in order to improve both teacher education and classroom practice…” (p. 457) Where exactly would this research come from? Is it observed in a classroom or are teachers surveyed? I think it would be something difficult to get research on because what works varies from classroom to classroom and depends on the students, the district, the school, etc. It is beneficial to discover which methods do not work and use that information.

The ‘achievement gap’ – something needs to be done to reduce this gap. It just seems to make more sense to give more help to the schools that are struggling than those schools that do well with high achieving students, but for some reason that doesn’t happen. As hard as it may be, we need to be aware of the strong need these students have and use our abilities to help them. “We persist in…laying the blame squarely on the children rather than on the system that creates the gap in the first place.” (p. 459) Blaming the students solves nothing and the system should work to fix it. Easier said than done, I’m sure, but we need to try. But how can we do that individually as teachers?

“If teachers do not develop meaningful relationships with their students of all backgrounds…the students simply will not succeed.” (p. 470) This is obviously very important to know. I think that each student needs to feel that the teacher cares about him/her and wants to help him/her learn. I think teachers can learn a lot from their students as well and understanding where they come from.

I really liked this article and Nieto’s perspective on a lot of the issues. I think she brought up a lot of good points and she really gave teachers a lot of credit (which does not always happen). I liked how she referred to teaching as a form of missionary work, also. That is something I had not heard before. Our feelings and beliefs greatly impact our students. We have an opportunity to greatly influence children’s lives and bring well educated people to our future.

Goals for the course:

• To learn how to address multiculturalism in the classroom and how to teach it to students
• Focus on the many different cultures and not so much how they differ but how they are alike and what they have in common
• Read stories and evidence from teachers involving issues of multiculturalism
• To make sure that multiculturalism is not over-addressed or over-emphasized to students; I want students to feel equal, individual, and important to the class