Teach Out Proposal

CHOOSE A TEXT: Review your whole blog to remind yourself about what we have read so far in class. What texts have stayed with you so far? What articles inspire you?  What topic matters most to you in terms of your own work? Are there any of these texts that you would like to share with others in your life? 

Shifting the Paradigm from Deficit Oriented Schools to Asset Based Models: Why Leaders Need to Promote an Asset Orientation in our Schools

-This text has stayed with me the most because it highlights my career and what I am doing the most compared to the other texts. This one inspires me to continue my work, uplifting students and showing what a positive community can do for the students themselves. 

The Broken Model

-This text remained with me throughout the following weeks due to the fact that the education system does need a change. The administration is so focused on numbers rather than the potential of a student as a whole. This is important to my work because in UB we are required to conduct an annual report. In the report we must inform the government on the students' standardized test scores. Not, to see the passion of our robotics competition winner getting almost a full ride to WPI because their passion is within engineering. Not seeing that through a student’s experience in Upward Bound that they wanted to get a degree and come back and be a Tutor Counselor and help another generation of students. But a test score that they are continuously forced to take without any insight to our students' great capabilities.

WHO DO YOU WANT TO SHARE WITH? Are there people in your life with whom you would really like to talk about these texts? Colleagues? Students? Family members? Friends? Children?

I would like to share these texts with some of the students in my caseload across three schools in three different districts. 1-2 students from Providence, Pawtucket, and East Providence High School. At first I wanted to use my Center for Scholar Development office team; however, I am privileged in this position to know that the whole team already knows what is being mentioned in the texts. Since the class is called Social Issues in Education and we’ve heard all the adults talking, I felt it was more important to hear from the current students actually being affected and hear their opinions of the texts.

WHAT FORMAT MIGHT WORK FOR YOU? Individual interview? Small group discussion? Art activity? Professional development workshop? Poster for your office? Pamphlet to share? Lesson plan? Etc?

The format I’d like to present is a poster to show the students and how they feel about it and the weight of being a number to the education system. I could possibly make it an art activity to how they feel in the education system as a student. I also plan to interview them, asking a few questions on their involvement in a program and other ones in the community. I’d like to interview their opinions on their schools offerings, grading, and testing.

Supported Inclusion

 Title:  RI Laws and Policies; and PPSD Policy;  Queering Our Schools

Argument: The authors argument in Queering Our Schools is that adults need to create dialogue in the community and have more conversations on topics regarding LGBTQIA+ for students in the schools.

Talking Points :

(1) The text begins with a story of Sasha, who is assaulted and the student who set the clothing on fire was sent with two hate crimes as an adult. The family stressed that the student needed to be tried as a child and needs to be educated. This was very honorable for them to do. Sasha's family recognize that teenagers don't think through actions and took the opportunity to build a bridge. Hate is learned and things that aren't understood are immediately rejected so the fact that they helped reduce a sentence is admirable. I checked an update from 2015 and it mentioned the arsonist wrote two letters to the family taking full responsibility. I tried to find out where he was now and if he did change but was unlucky.

(2) On the top of 24 it says, "I realize this [agender] is a concept that even adults have difficulty wrapping their head around....so I can't pretend that's an issue that all young children will grasp. But what they certainly can and should understand is that different people like different things. Different people dress or behave or look differently. And that's a GOOD thing." I liked the end of this quote because it circled back to another blog I wrote about colorblindness and color insight. I wrote about how ten of the same people in a room would have limited ideas while a mixed group of 10 people with all different backgrounds would have never ending ideas. We as a society need different people to thrive. Speaking on the beginning of the quote I find the outcry of children not understanding a concept like this to be funny. I grew up without a father and no one was crying out to the school that their child found out I was being raised by a mom and grandma. I had to make our Father's Day arts and crafts out to my mom and was asked by another student why it was to "Mom" and not "Dad" why did 6 year old me have to explain not everyone comes from the same background and not that students family? Children ask a million questions I don't know why we aren't answering every single one of them truthfully and attempting to "protect" them when they're not in harms way to be educated.

(3) Toward the end of page 24 it states, "...No number of classroom discussions about gender and stereotypes and homophobia will create a nurturing environment if teachers and parents are afraid to come out." Followed, is a story of an editor in her coming out story to her school where she needed to call her Union in order to support her. This text came out in 2014 but feel like it is a very harsh request because since then, the Trump administration is has been attempting to tear down years of hard work in both terms serving. I just came across a tik tok the other day where a teacher replays a conversation where she doesn't know how to tell her students her fiancee is female. The comment section is flooded with people saying what she should say because children should know and replies saying she could lose her job for it, etc.. Especially with the current administration you'd be flagged in "progressive" areas never mind teaching anywhere "conservative" and being out without facing harassment where you're not receiving any support anywhere and become blacklisted. 

 Connections :

I use Facebook from time to time and unfortunately keep getting this one user who is a teacher at a Providence school's posts on my feed, so much that I needed to block her because of her hateful content. However, I did have to unblock her for this assignment because she is a reason as to my third talking point is so difficult to even attempt right now. In the photo she attention seeks for clicks and makes money off of insufferable people putting in their two cents when teachers and adults are trying to work around the hate for their students despite it being mentioned in their PPSD policies. The second photo won't attach so this is the link but she continues to tear down the attempts of inclusion regarding RI school districts trying to educate students...appropriately. 

On a positive note, we have a student who is nonbinary and goes by a really cool name they chose. They chose to be on a ballot for a Valentine's Day dance at their school this year and even though it was listed as a male and female winner, the scholar chose the male ballot to win with their friend and won. Those in charge immediately altered the "masculine" title to something more neutral. 

One last connection was that it took me a while to find this post I vaguely remembered seeing. This supports the third talking point since this teacher was supported by her higher ups and saw immediately positive results with students feeling comfortable. I saw that post and had a pride flag in my suite during the summer as a Tutor Counselor to show students who may identify, that I was a safe space for them. Although I had students at first who were confused, because they all knew my partner and that I was straight, I explained that having it visible could make students more comfortable. I currently have the same flag in my office. I was lucky enough to grow up in a very unconventional family where I was exposed to non straight people at an early age. Even though I didn't "process" it as a child...I didn't care. There was more important things like learning my times tables and logging onto the computer to play club penguin. Even now, the students in the program, they don't care how you identify they just want to have fun in the program and attempt to copy an answer every now and then.

 Reflections : In the Upward Bound Program I don't believe we have a section dedicated to LGBTQAI+ but I believe it's expected in our handbooks to teachers and students they receive under bullying and harassment, which you are immediately dismissed from the program. Regarding names, we have plenty of students who prefer going by different names in general we are just required to give memos teachers and staff before the student(s) arrive so they are aware of the changes and if it includes pronouns.

We work with many different students from different backgrounds, mainly Latin and African. This includes MANY conservative valued families that are close minded on topics such as this. My coworker was interviewing a mother whose son wanted to be in the program. She mentioned something asking about how the dorming situation will work because her son and his friend had applied to join and she doesn't want them in the same dorm because one of the friends is gay and doesn't want her son to be around them. My coworker explained that while you may have your views, our program does not and will not accommodate a request like that and went on to explain we are built on a community of opportunity and inclusion. 

In the past we had a student whose freshmen year was spent in a female dorm assigned as a female. During their second summer they preferred a different name, pronouns, and was still in a female dorm and we offered for them to shower in the Resident Manager's side suite but still preferred the female shower. His last summer he was comfortable and ready to live the summer in a male dorm. We made sure to assign them to a Tutor Counselor who knew what was going on, had selected students in the suite who knew them and wouldn't have an issue, and there were no complaints the entire summer from any students, families, or staff. Well, except for the fact that "boys are disgusting" as he got to experience how teenage boys kept their dorm bathroom "clean". 

 Edit : I just remembered that in our UB Summer handbooks, as a student in 2015-2017, there was a rule that opposite "gender" students could not enter a students private room at ALL or else you would receive a demerit and same "gender" students could be in student rooms and have the door closed. Now, in our handbooks it states, any student can enter another's room but the door must be WIDE open at all times. So, although we are not explicitly mentioning the usage of LGBTQAI+ terminology we have made many subtle changes throughout the handbook to include everyone without making scholars feel targeted. 

We also had a student two summers ago who was part Japanese and coming from a conservative home. They requested in the program that everyone could call them a different name and have they/them pronouns. However, when their parents came to Awards Night and other events, even pamphlets/certificates/slideshows they wanted to ensure that their deadname was on these things so their mother wouldn't say anything. After the student graduated high school they came out to their parents and currently live with their new name and pronouns.

Power of Culture

 Title: Other People's Children

Author: Lisa Delpit

Talking Points:

(1)The author lists 5 points for the readers regarding the "culture of power" to break down the silenced dialogue. On page 27 we learn of a job interview taped where an East Indian man is unfortunately losing grasp of the meeting due to the indirectness of the conductors who assumed they were helping him...but doing the exact opposite. This was in support of the last point Delpit was making, "Those with power are frequently least aware of - or at least willing to acknowledge - its existence. Those with less power are often most aware of its existence" (p.26).  When I interview students to be in our program, I acknowledge some of our questions are worded in a way where I know I will have to explain to some students and sometimes don't bother asking the original question and reframe it entirely for the applicant to understand. Thinking back, I wonder if I am doing a disservice or how I can improve that process to be smoother for our prospective students. 

(2) Delpit writes on page 36 about teachers indirectness and how it can harm the classroom, "...[The teacher] does not need to express any sense of personal power because her authority does not come from anything she does or says. Hence, the power she actually holds may be veiled in questions/commands...her indirectness [may be] an attempt to reduce the implication of overt power in order to establish  more non authoritarian classroom atmosphere...The black children may perceive the middle-class teacher as weak" A student being interviewed states, "She says that we're supposed to know what to do. I told her I don't know nothin' unless she tells me." I feel the most relatable case in the dominant culture of power is an example of a student's experience coming from the patronizing question by teachers when they respond to a bathroom request with "I don't know, can you?" A student who never had that happen before doesn't know you're supposed to start again with a bright smile on your face and ask in the kindest tone "MAY I use the bathroom?" while batting your eyelashes because the code was never taught. Furthermore, I began to think after reading about students being labeled as having behavioral issues that after the miscommunications and teachers give up...they give the direct order "Go to the office".

(3) On page 41 a Native Alaskan teacher Martha Demientieff says "[White people]...think everybody needs to talk like them. Unlike us, they have a hard time hearing what people say if they don't talk exactly like them. Their way of talking and writing is called "Formal English" "We have to feel a little sorry for them because they only have one way to talk. We're going to learn two ways to say things...When we go to get jobs we'll be able to talk like those people who only can really listen to one way." Towards the end of the reading on page 43 we are following a transcript between a teacher and student both who are black. At the end of the dialogue the student, Joey, says "...I guess theres a right and wrong way to talk, you know, not regarding what race. I don't know..." Teacher: but who decided what's right or wrong? Joey: "...I guess white people did." The teacher believing its important to speak on language diversity and power. Having students work through scenarios make them conscious of issues they never thought about. It continues to mention "Students begin to understand how arbitrary language standards are, but also how politically charged they are." I'm not totally confident on the blog this week but I feel as though this dips into students learning code switching on their own and not being informed of this cultural miscommunication but assimilating to the setting where they're not in a position with authority. The term is being used more frequently now on the internet, most likely being misused but are able to adapt to the dominant environment in order to attain what is needed/required. While also maintaining the individuals personal culture. In this link is a small clip about code switching but I wanted to highlight a quote, “The problem that needs to be changed is the value we assign to the way white people talk and the way we devalue the way black people talk” I feel that ties into the conversation between Joey and the Teacher where Joey is becoming conscious that there is no right and wrong way but the dominant culture doesn't see it that way.

Argument: The author, Lisa Delpit argues that students need to be taught by their educators of the codes in dominant cultures of power all while keeping their personal culture safe and preserved. 

Reflections: During the reading I became more intrigued by the direct orders versus indirectness and the impact on the students. It's no surprise that branches of military move into lower socioeconomic and non white communities to lure them into enlisting but I was wondering if people of color find the transition better because there's no questioning like in the classroom, just orders. While writing this blog and speaking to my partner, I was trying to explain what type of article or statistic I was looking for in regarding to following orders in the military and if non white personnel do better on average than white personnel initially when they're starting bootcamp due to not having to deal with the indirectness and coming from a culture where cut and dry instructions were given. My partner came from a strict Asian household and immediately attended the Coast Guard Academy for his degree after high school followed by 5 years of military service (3 years of which he was an Admissions Officer for CGA). He was mentioning that he really struggled in his first "civilian" job as an Associate Director of Admissions at Salve Regina University. He wasn't given orders like he had the last 10 years (along with another 15 years of home experience) and his higher ups were looking for more "initiative" from him. When asked what that would look like they couldn't really give him an answer. He lasted 4 months in the position. 

For some reason I kept going off topic into my own world during this reading thinking of the different impacts this had. Between the military forwardness. To how my students in Upward Bound are being taught by very diverse instructors, and if those instructors are aware of the culture of power. One instructor works at EPHS and is one of few people of color teaching there and comes to teach our students who majority are of color on Saturdays and during the Summer and if theres a better connection in one setting versus the other. I even tried to find clips of both Freedom Writers and Stand and Deliver to compare their authority in the classroom since one teacher came from the same environment as the students while the female teacher entered a classroom where she was the minority and experienced the backfire of indirectness and assumption.