Valenzuela: Teacher-Student Relations and the Politics of Caring & Rolon-Dow: A Color(full) Analysis of Care Narratives in the Schooling Experiences of Puerto Rican Girls
I always knew that caring was important in the classroom, but I don't think I really acknowledged how crucial it could be to some students and how much of a difference it could truly make. Looking into the predominantly Latino student body with the predominantly non-Latino teaching staff in Valenzuela's article was interesting: the "teaching staff sees students as not sufficiently caring about school, while students see teachers as not sufficiently caring for them" (61). Well, if we have both groups blaming each other and neither one wanting to budge, we're never going to get anywhere. There was also some information from Noddings: "Noddings argues that teacher's ultimate goal of apprehending their students' subjective reality is best acheieved through engrossment in their students' welfare and emotional displacement. That is, authentically caring teachers are seized by their students and energy flows toward their projects and needs." (61). It certainly sounds like understanding the cultures, lifestyles, and backgrounds of students would help teachers a lot. The examples of what was going on in the classroom was really blowing my mind. I know their are moments when teachers have to demonstrate their "power" but it is not supposed to be in such a way that makes the teacher look like a tyrant. Mr. Johnson made himself sound absolutely terrible simply to impress the observer in his classroom: "The main problem with these kids is their attitude. They’re immature and they challenge authority. Look at them, they’re not going
anywhere. I can tell you right now, a full quarter of these students will drop
out of school come May.” And then what he says to the student who is kind of trying to make him shut up? “Joel, stop thinking, you know it might hurt you,
cause you some damage upstairs.”
So I'm assuming he's mentioning out loud in front of the entire class that this student has a learning disability or something of the sort. No one want to work or learn in an environment that is so verbally abusive. I think that's the worst thing a teacher can do, is to verbally abuse students because you can't tell when the students are getting hurt by it. The Rolon-Dow article connected with this article really well. It took what we were learning and went further with it. It really made it clear that good teacher-student relations go back to the neighborhood and family life of the students. It feels to me like teachers believe they try to reach out to students in one way, and when that doesn't work, they stop and say the student is not interested in school. What they don't realize is that, even though it might drive us as teachers crazy, those students want and need to be pushed to new levels. They need to be understood for who they are, not what they cannot do. It's interesting to me because it's like everyone knows there is a problem but no one is really DOING anything about it.
Dance: On Being "Hardcore," a "Hardcore Wannabe," or "Hardcore Enough"
Trying to understand why students want to be considered "hardcore" is beyond me and I'm not sure why. It doesn't make sense to me and I feel like it should be something insignificant to most people. I mean, I get that people want a reputation, but wanting to be considered hardcore seems like way to much hard work and suffering. Yet students work very hard to achieve this status. "The stereotypical hardcore inner-city youth is a ruthless gangerlike Black (or other ethnic minority) male from a desolate, low-income urban area who carries a gun and participates in drive-by shootings and other senseless acts of violence without fear or remorse." (55). These acts of violence are life altering things, yet according to these students, they see it as just playing a role and that they need to hold in and hide all emotions that go along with it. "People will look at you and think you have no heart." (56). Students who have this kind of thing going on in the background are obviously not focusing or caring at all about what is going on in school. These students can't be ignored. These are the students that need our undivided attention. One interview says exactly that: "A couple of teachers at my old school use to push me to work. (now at his new school) They don't show no support. If nobody's gunna show no support at a school... why would you wanna work?" This same student is one who gets in fights and wants to prove to everyone that he is tough, yet here he is, wishing that teacher would push him to graduate and make something of his life. This tells me that students want to be interested in school and that it's up to teachers to be as involved as they can be in their students' lives to really and truly understand them. I know it makes the job much harder, but it seems like the best way to achieve the most in the classroom.
I agree with what you say how the non latino teachers will look at the latino students and think they do not care about school. The students do care but no one give them anytime to teach them or give them a chance. Some of these students have to go to work after school or provide for their families and its a lot of work for them. Teachers need to communicate with their students and find out what they are doing outside of the classroom and see why they might be having trouble in the classroom. How Mr. Johnson talks about his students he is not giving them any shot of succeeding. He is putting negative thoughts in their heads and by putting them down in his own mind he is not going to teach these students what they need to know and not care if they learn. If one way does not work for a student a teacher cannot give up and say they do not care you have to be able to find another way to teach their students and give them every shot to succeed.
ReplyDeleteBrianna, I had a similar reaction, while I was reading about “Hardcore”, “Hardcore Wannabe” and “Hardcore Enough”. I just could not get it. I could not understand the way these people act and I could not understand the whole concept. In the school I teach, I had to pass near by many black basketball players, and I feel afraid of them. It is not that they do something to me, but the way they talk to each-other, the way they look, the tons of muscles they have make me nervous. I am glad I am at school, not somewhere outside. After reading the article, I was more afraid today than usual. Then I just tried to listen what they were saying, and one of the boys was talking how he values his family and he tried to convict others how this is the most important part of everyone lives. Very often we are afraid only because we do not know these students and we rely on the visual images of the gangsters. If these boys could feel my fear, it is possible that I could be encouraging them to act this way.
ReplyDeleteI feel like because I have a face and a name to go with Dance's description of a "hardcore" person it's not so hard for me to understand that this type of person exists. But because I can visualize the person it doesn't mean it doesn't still make me feel sad and frustrated. The biggest challenge that I see in being a teacher is that no matter how caring and compassionate you are, when you have that "hard" student in the classroom, I don't think there is anything you alone can do to make the student change. Hopefully some of your compassion and the things that you do in your classroom will resonate if not now sometime in the future, and the student will have a chance at changing the path that they are on. But, for the present, the student may not be focused on making the change now.
ReplyDeleteI really agreed with the points you made in your post, Briana. This line struck me in particular: "I think that's the worst thing a teacher can do, is to verbally abuse students because you can't tell when the students are getting hurt by it." This reminded me of a teacher I had in middle school. She was constantly making negative, sarcastic comments to her students. Unfortunately, her comments hurt a lot of students. I remember most kids hating her because of the verbal abuse. In examining those events now, I see that she really hadn't built any kind of rapport with her students. She didn't know how far was too far, and she never seemed to balance it out with any positive comments or jokes. This really contributed to a negative learning environment. Personally I always walked into her class nervous, not knowing if she would single me out with a biting remark or not. I can't imagine what other students went through.
ReplyDeleteEven at the end of the year we turned our textbooks back in, and since they were only a year old - most of us had written that the condition was "new." Well she even managed to tear into us for that. She said how could this be "new" if you have used them?! She said, "if someone wore a dress and then gave it to you would you still call it new?" We all felt like we were getting in trouble for thinking our books were in good condition. That one scene has stood out to me to this day. This just goes to show how much a caring environment can impact a child in the classroom.