SP19:Methods of Teaching ReadingI:24405

Ya'll get the joke? PROACTIVE?? I felt like I had to do that. But seriously. When I saw this chapter was about being a culturally proactive teacher, I knew that it was going to be important for us to pay attention to. I know we all have heard the term so much this semester, but I think it is really important to grasp the concept of what it is. So, what does it mean to be a culturally proactive teacher? Garcia and O'Donnell- Allen define being culturally RESPONSIVE as "teaching that uses the cultural knowledge, prior experiences, frames of reference, and performance styles of ethnically diverse students to make learning encounters more relevant and effective for them" (Garcia, O'Donell-Allen, 2015, pg 18). They then go on to talk about how being proactive means to build on the ideas that have come before us, but adding a little modern day twist to the lessons. Sooooo, we can put the two and two together, and be culturally proactive by appealing to our ethni...

  According to Merriam Webster Dictionary online, the word proactive means "acting in anticipation of future problems, needs, or changes". In education it is truly important to be proactive culturally. You must anticipate the needs of your students in order to create an equitable environment that is conducive to learning.  In order to be proactive, one must start by learning about their own privilege and the personal bias they may hold subconsciously. Understanding these things will allow you to create an equitable environment and make positive changes for the future. This is not a new concept. A person with privilege not understanding how it affects the world is almost comparable to a person who owns a dog without knowing what a dog is and what they need to survive. Therefore, understanding your own privilege is needed in order to discuss privilege with your students, both white and students of color. If you don’t understand how privilege shapes the world, how can ...

How many of you love to read, but have not been able to fully enjoy it because of the texts that have been picked out for your classes throughout your education?    - ME.          Now that we are the teachers, it is our turn to curate an ELA curriculum for our students and colleagues. This is no small feat. If you're worried about what kinds of texts to choose, how to keep your engagement up, and creating a healthy community in your classroom, look no further. This guide will help you on your journey to creating curriculum that your students are excited to engage with.        As most of us know, there are some specific texts that almost everyone who went to public school had to read throughout English classes. These texts may have helped some students to grasp the content, but I am willing to bet that a majority of students didn't actually gain knowledge from these texts that they still remember today. What was...

Hip-hop Literature : The Politics, Poetics, and Power of Hip-hop in the English Classroom Laura Leigh Kelly (2013)     " I found myself taking on a dual identity: I was hip-hop outside the class room and student inside it. There was no space for both at once. As well-versed as I could be in the language of hip-hop, that knowledge did not pro vide me with any source of power or access inside academic spaces. While I saw myself in hip-hop, I did not see myself in classroom texts" (Kelly, p. 52).    As we prepare ourselves to become teachers and educate students in our own classrooms, our discussions often seem to circle back to the same common theme-- culturally relevant pedagogy. Perhaps Hip-hop culture isn't one of the first things that come to mind, but Kelly argues that it should be. And I agree. Hip-hop has grown past the music industry and broke out into the "mainstream" to the point where you simply canno...

https://www.ted.com/talks/taylor_mali_what_teachers_make?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare Taylor Mali's poem, "What Teachers Make," is a true testament to this idea or goal that all educators are striving to make a difference. It's not enough to just love kids and think they're cute, and because of all the cuteness want to spend all our time with them, but really do we want to spend all our time with them??? Nah! I'm just kidding. Truly though, we have to be mindful of our positions as educators because we are shaping minds and it can go bad but it can also be really good. Garcia and Allen, the authors of "Pose, Wobble, Flow: A Culturally Proactive Approach to Literacy Instruction," have given insight to me in a way that we should think of ourselves as makers. We are constant DIT-ers (Do It Together-ers). Education is and should be circulated by collaboration, we can't do it alone or least without uncrea...

  What Would It Mean for English Language Arts to Become More Culturally Responsive and Sustaining?       “Let’s begin by noting that literacy education is always culturally responsive – times two. Literacy is culturally responsive and education is culturally responsive” (Boner, p.11). It is known that educators teach based on what they know, what they have learned, and often what they are comfortable sharing. So how do we make a point to go beyond what is taught in the classroom and add culturally relevant materials that will allow all students to learn about culture around us through literacy?                        Growing up there were many students of color in my various classes. However, what I wondered was why people of color were often portrayed as negative individuals. For decades people of color such as African, Hispa...