The purpose of the program we are currently in is to equip us with the skills and training to become teachers. We have now been in this program for 9 months and we have yet to put our focus towards the assessment of our students. Since we "are going to be teaching in 3-4 week," it is of the utmost importance that we gain an understanding of what and how to grade (anonymous). Therefore, I found the assigned readings this week to be very valuable.
Adger's article places a strong emphasis on the variables that a teacher will encounter with students of a vernacular dialect. However, I unwittingly incorporated students that speak Standard English within the focus as well. I found dialogue journals to be one of the most valuable topics within both of the readings, due to the fact that I am going to be teaching a creative writing class. Adger states that, "A dialogue journal is a bound notebook in which a student and teacher communicate regularly in writing over a continuous period of time. Students can write as much as they want about topics of their choice. The teacher writes back each time the student writes - often responding to the student's topics, but also introducing new topics" (121). During my interview with my teacher at Central High, she informed me that it is incumbent upon the teacher to build a community and form relationships with his/her students during the first few days of class; only then can you begin to know your students and have a better idea of how to plan your curriculum. Dialogue Journals are one of the best ways to do this!
Going off of this statement, I feel it very important to share the following story of a student in one of my classes, for it shows the relevance of knowing your students as individuals and the necessity of being a flexible teacher:
My teacher (who teaches creative writing) was telling me a story about one of her students...we'll call her Allie. Through her writings, my teacher learned that Allie recently discovered a malignant tumor in her sinus passage and will have to undergo chemotherapy and surgery. With that, Allie is also the victim of domestic abuse. Her father repeatedly abused her and her mother, and her mother recently kicked him out of the house. The day my teacher told me this story, Allie was late to school. Her mother was unable to give her a ride and it was too late to catch the bus. Allie paid $15 for a cab and arrived to school 5 minutes after first period had finished. She went to turn in a paper that was due that day and the teacher refused to accept it. Allie implored her to take it, stating it was finished and that she tried her best to get to school on time. Needless to say, these "excuses" failed to change the teacher's mind. My teacher, as well as myself, were heartbroken, for both my teacher and I knew the obstacles Allie had been enduring over the past X amount of years.
It is through her journal that my teacher discovered this information about Allie, and Allie now consideres my teacher a mentor and shoulder to lean on, since she talks so little about her personal life to anyone. This, alone, shows how powerful a dialogue journal can be to a student AND a teacher. It also shows why we need to be flexible. Education does not revolve around the teacher....but the students. Because of this, we need to make sure our students have access to us, as well as resources, in order for them to succeed.
Although this blog does not address the major topics discussed within our readings, I felt it necessary to share. As teachers, we need to develop thick skin and discover methods and forms of therapy (yoga, blogs, a good book) to get us through some of the travesties that are bound to turn up in our paths.
-For Allie
Resource Link:
http://www.uslaw.com/library/Legal_Writing/Problem_Dialect.php?item=205380
This blog titled "The Problem of Dialect," talks about different connotations different dialects have and why we have these associations with them. It's very interesting and aruges that "there is nothing inherent in a dialect that makes it...superior or inferior to another."
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Jamie,
ReplyDeleteThis is an incredible story, thank you for slightly deviating from the week's focus and sharing this as it is equally, if not more, important.
I too am fascinated by the idea of teacher/student dialogue journals, and plan on using them with my students in my future practice. However, although this tool is an incredible means by which to "get to know" your students, there are some extremely obvious legal questions and concerns that enter the equation when students are given the chance to share very personal information.
Overall, I guess my main question is although we want to get to know our students as individuals, as you say and with which I completely agree with, should we still set a "limit?" Or would this be disservice to our students, and potentially against the law on our part as teachers. For example, what if we communicated the restriction "keep it appropriate," and this restriction prevented a student of domestic/sexual abuse from seeking help. Where would we fit in with the blame game in this case? On the same train of thought, what if students reported such circumstances in their journals? Would we be liable to report this? Although I imagine that we would be, how can we be sure they were telling the truth?
Overall, although your story is truly touching and highlights an extremely large strength of using dialogue journals, I can imagine some complications that could have extremely harmful effects for all parties involved.
Taking these potential implications in mind, where do we all stand with the dialogue journals? Has this happened in districts before? How has it been dealt with in the past?
Thanks for reading.
Hola Jamie,
ReplyDeleteThat is an incredible story, and it reminds me of what a big huge massive gigantic enormous jumbo job we'll have once we hit the classroom for realz. On top of all of our curriculum-related job tasks, we also become mentors and advocates for certain students who need us most. A big job but an important one also. It really shows the critical role that relationship-building plays in a successful classroom. Building repore is actually one of my worries for student teaching--how do you create relationships when everyone else already knows one another in the class and the school year is almost over. I'm sure it will be fine, but needless to say repore-building will be a work in progress during our first years of teaching. I think that your assertion that the dialogue journal is a highly effective way to build those relationships is right on. These journals could end up being places for students to acutally engage in school and make school relevant to their own lives. My only concern is that teachers are by law mandatory reporters. We spend so much time and effort building trust with students, but as soon as they reveal something in their dialogue books it may end up being passed on up the pipeline if needed. I guess we'll just need to be upfront with students when the dialogue journals are introduced. We should tell them that they should feel comfortable writing whatever they want, but that teachers have responsibilities as well: "With great power comes great responsibility" I guess.
Rebecca
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ReplyDeleteSeriously Jamie, that was pretty intense. You get my Blog of the Week award for sure! Developing relationships with students is a necessary part of teaching, but realizing that not all students will want this relationship is a necessary reality of the occupation. Walking that fine line between teacher, mentor, and friend is really difficult. I always revert back to the scene in "Dangerous Minds" involving the principal and his "knock on the door policy". Recently in this program, we've been conditioned to look at the specifics of our future teaching career; sometimes I really feel this program misses the big picture. Standards, grades, writing workshops, and differentiation are all important. But if you can't motivate an adolescent to be "successful" and "healthy" (whatever their individual definitions of these concepts may be), then what have you done? You've managed to teach, but never to educate.
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