Prompt 2
According to Infoworks, the elementary school where I tutor is 85% Hispanic, 30% African American, 7% White, and 4% Asian. I go to this school twice a week and I would say that this is accurate from my observations. I work with two different groups of kids once a week. I have no white children and only one little boy that is Asian. The rest are either African American or Hispanic. There are bilingual classrooms in the school which indicates that there are enough students themselves that English is not their first language and they would perform better academically in a classroom that is conducted both in English and Spanish. One little boy in one of my groups comes from the bilingual kindergarten class. Although I can understand him very clearly when he speaks, he very rarely does so. He is the quietest of the bunch and it usually takes him longer to warm up and start participating than the other children. I wonder if this is because Spanish is his first language and he is somewhat uncomfortable or if it is because he is just shy. Also 85% of the students at this elementary school are eligible for free or reduced lunch according to Infoworks. This information and my observations made me think of Johnson in "Our House is on Fire." He discusses that most people grow up in "monoracial" neighborhoods or environments. 85% of the students in this school are of Hispanic descent. I would say that is pretty monoracial. My own personal environments growing up were overwhelmingly white, also monoracial. He also says that this segregation makes us ignorant of each other. I could not agree more. I have had little interactions and experiences with Hispanic people and their culture. I have just as much to learn from my students and their experiences as they do from me. The culture capital that they bring is priceless. I can learn what they value at home, in education, in themselves, and in their families. This can give me a better insight to their lives and learning styles, allowing me to better understand the students individually and form a better relationship with them. If I am educated in their culture, I can better serve them and be sensitive to their needs. Hopefully I will not offend them or turn them off from learning. This goes for society as a whole, if we are more sensitive to each other and more willing to learn from each other, the world would be a better place.
posted by Morriah @ 9:07 AM
2 Comments
2 Comments:
I cannot agree more. In fact I would conclude that most, if not all public schools in Providence are “monoracial” with whites being the minority. This in fact reflects the ignorance most often seen from one race or ethnic background to another. Our feelings of anxiety on our first day, I believe would have been reduced if we were of a Hispanic background or if the school was located in a predominately white neighborhood, such as “our own backyard”.
I think it is great for the school to offer bilingual classes for the students. Delpit would think fondly of this because teachers are not disrupting, rather they are pushing children to first develop their native language before learning English. Being within a bilingual classroom I believe will give those teachers the opportunity to introduce the codes of power, as Delpit puts it, into the children’s minds without separating them from their heritage. Once the child begins to move into an English speaking class they will know what is expected of them.
For the little boy who comes to your group from a bilingual class probably is either shy or maybe he just does not understand. Maybe if you take what we just learned from Goldenberg and apply it to helping this little boy, he may become more of a participant. Try to find those connections and transfers from his native language. Maybe if you find him becoming confused or quiet you could ask him, “how do you say that in Spanish?” You may find that he does not know what you are saying, or you could make it clearer for him. He may even need direct and clear instruction from you. Maybe eye contact with him may help even when you are asking a general question from the group. Sharing his language with his friends in the group may also push him to feel more comfortable.
Great insights Morriah! I can see that you are really trying to understand your students. So am I! :) I look forward to reading more of your blogs!
Thanks, Sammantha! I like your ideas for trying to connect with my bilingual student. I had not thought of some of those things. I agree with your connections to Delpit and Goldenberg as well.
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