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Language Diversity and Learning

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In the reading about language diversity, Lisa Delpit provides the reader with a vignette of what an elementary school teacher experienced when she used a different code or variety of the English language in her new classroom with a student who had prior experience with her instruction. The beauty of young children is that they have no filter. They speak what they are thinking and surely enough, the student called her out for switching it up. This is something I constantly reflect on because I catch myself slipping from very formal, academic language to everyday friendly banter with my students on a daily basis. None of them have ever commented on it and I justify it as a means of keeping them engaged and alert. However, I am worried that I may be sacrificing exposure to an alternative, more academic form, when I do this. One of the suggestions made in the paper was to record myself teaching so that I can focus in on the vocabulary that I am using, more specifically when I am quest...
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Critical Pedagogy

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Franchesca Ramsey and Paulo Freire both touch upon a very important point. It is important to walk the walk. Franchesca says that in fact, among her tips for being a good ally, the most important one is using “Ally” as a verb. It is pointless to say that you are going to help the marginalized if you don’t actually get up and try to make an impact. The same sentiment is expressed and demonstrated by the way Paulo led his life. He was committed to changing the status quo by pursuing a less dehumanizing, more humane world for all. According to him, educators play a huge role in this and they need to recognize their power as a source of political awareness.             As someone who grew up in a family where politics were not discussed, because “beggars cannot be choosers”, it has been a huge learning curve for me, particularly over the past few years with all of the attention received by our last president and constant t...
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Blog #1

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Identity       The central theme in this week's readings was that of identity. How do we define ourselves and what part does our society play in how we do so? More importantly, what are the implications of the identity that we choose? In "Identities and Social Locations: Who am I? Who Are My People?", identity is described as both "tangible" and "fluid" at times. Surely enough, my identity has changed from year to year as a result of things happening around me. However, certain aspects have withstood the test of time and it's those things that I tend to openly share with my students during the first few days of school.     On a macro-level, I would identify as an able-bodied, heterosexual, Christian, Hispanic, middle-aged female. Its quite a mouthful. In constructing that statement, I quickly realize that those things that I cannot control about myself (if I tried) tend to take the backseat to those labels that our society has become increas...
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