Here's a link to Laurie Halse Anderson's twitter page. I love her writing, and she's just an incredible person to know and enjoy.
http://twitter.com/halseanderson
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Redneck & Hillbilly Discourse
I just read a fascinating article with the title above. The full title is Redneck and Hillbilly Discourse in the Writing Classroom: Classifying Critical Pedagogies of Whiteness. (Beech, 2004) Although it's not necessarily connected to my chapter's topic (writing instruction of diverse students), the article's guiding questions are applicable.
Beech questions the sweeping notions teachers often use when talking about their white students and how they are educated. She points out that many poor, working class, white students self-identify (or are identified by culture) as something different than the mainstream, educated, middle class populous. Those students who hold the label as 'redneck' or 'hillbilly' or even 'white trash' will often confront tensions with academic discourse in much the same way diverse students do. She goes on to talk about how writing instruction needs to be cognizant of that fact.
These ideas apply to my inquiry in two ways. First, diverse or minority students aren't all alike. We can't just 'lump' them together, assuming they have the same Discourses (Gee) and tensions as any other minority student. Of course, this seems obvious, but it again underscores why Ogbu's research (for example) brings so much discussion and dissonance. This also connects to some of Gee's writing when he indicates that some of our research on minorities, especially African Americans, have inadvertently blended African American students = Lower class students.
Second, the article uses a quote from Harris (2003) that says the purpose of a college composition course is "not to leave one community in order to enter another, but to reposition themselves in relation to several continuous and conflicting discourses. Similarly, our goals as teachers need not to be to initiate our students into the values and practices of some new community, but to offer them the chance to reflect critically on those discourses--of home, school, work, the media and the like--to which they already belong" (p. 105).
I really like this quote and it makes me ask the question...what IS the purpose of writing instruction for minority or diverse students? Are we providing an entrance for them to a standardized, majority culture, OR are we judging as inferior. Where is that line?
Beech questions the sweeping notions teachers often use when talking about their white students and how they are educated. She points out that many poor, working class, white students self-identify (or are identified by culture) as something different than the mainstream, educated, middle class populous. Those students who hold the label as 'redneck' or 'hillbilly' or even 'white trash' will often confront tensions with academic discourse in much the same way diverse students do. She goes on to talk about how writing instruction needs to be cognizant of that fact.
These ideas apply to my inquiry in two ways. First, diverse or minority students aren't all alike. We can't just 'lump' them together, assuming they have the same Discourses (Gee) and tensions as any other minority student. Of course, this seems obvious, but it again underscores why Ogbu's research (for example) brings so much discussion and dissonance. This also connects to some of Gee's writing when he indicates that some of our research on minorities, especially African Americans, have inadvertently blended African American students = Lower class students.
Second, the article uses a quote from Harris (2003) that says the purpose of a college composition course is "not to leave one community in order to enter another, but to reposition themselves in relation to several continuous and conflicting discourses. Similarly, our goals as teachers need not to be to initiate our students into the values and practices of some new community, but to offer them the chance to reflect critically on those discourses--of home, school, work, the media and the like--to which they already belong" (p. 105).
I really like this quote and it makes me ask the question...what IS the purpose of writing instruction for minority or diverse students? Are we providing an entrance for them to a standardized, majority culture, OR are we judging as inferior. Where is that line?
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Thinking about Ogbu and academic identity
I referenced Farnham & Ogbu's (1986) work in my previous post, and I've trying to think through it carefully this week. I'll try to generalize some of their ideas for this post..
By using a cultural-ecological framework, these authors hypothesize that from a young age, Black Americans form an oppositional social identity, an oppositional cultural frame of reference, and fictive kinship that labels different types of academic success as "acting white". By referring to other studies, Farnham and Ogbu give evidence that Black Americans have formed an identity in opposition to the majority culture due to their involuntary immigrant status, the job ceiling they have experienced, and the substandard education they have historically received.
As a result of this oppositional identity, they have also formed a collective identity that is the basis for a fictive kinship. This 'family' identity makes it difficult to perform outside of acceptable norms and behaviors which have been taught from a young age.
Farnham & Ogbu (1986) go on to cite their own study at Capital High where they studied 33 students for more than one year. While all of the students were Black Americans, some were considered high achieving and others were considered to be low achieving in their school.
The study concludes that Black American students don't engage with academic expectations due to the negative category of "acting white". Their research found a dramatic reaction, and their findings and generalizations have been argued in many ways for many years.
Of course, I'm interested in their theories as it applies to Black American students; however, I'm also interested in how this cultural-ecological framework might apply to class issues as well. As we were talking about literacy cultural differences in our seminar class on Thursday, I was struck by the fact that in every country we spoke about, the lower-class students received a substandard education and had less opportunity than students from the middle or higher class. Lower SES students certainly don't alway experience the breadth of experience and collective identity that Black Americans do; however, I wonder if this culture doesn't in some ways act in a similar fashion...
Could the 'membership' in the lower SES define a student's identity enough to impact his/her academic performance? (I'm not talking about not enough money for tutoring or buying notebook paper or books, necessarily.... I'm thinking about that almost subconscious connection of a group membership....)
As I work in Canton, I feel intuitively that I'm hearing more of these 'class-related' stories from students; however, I haven't studied it systematically. I'm sure there are many studies that look at this phenomenon, but I need to decide if it's a rabbit-trail at this time.... :)
By using a cultural-ecological framework, these authors hypothesize that from a young age, Black Americans form an oppositional social identity, an oppositional cultural frame of reference, and fictive kinship that labels different types of academic success as "acting white". By referring to other studies, Farnham and Ogbu give evidence that Black Americans have formed an identity in opposition to the majority culture due to their involuntary immigrant status, the job ceiling they have experienced, and the substandard education they have historically received.
As a result of this oppositional identity, they have also formed a collective identity that is the basis for a fictive kinship. This 'family' identity makes it difficult to perform outside of acceptable norms and behaviors which have been taught from a young age.
Farnham & Ogbu (1986) go on to cite their own study at Capital High where they studied 33 students for more than one year. While all of the students were Black Americans, some were considered high achieving and others were considered to be low achieving in their school.
The study concludes that Black American students don't engage with academic expectations due to the negative category of "acting white". Their research found a dramatic reaction, and their findings and generalizations have been argued in many ways for many years.
Of course, I'm interested in their theories as it applies to Black American students; however, I'm also interested in how this cultural-ecological framework might apply to class issues as well. As we were talking about literacy cultural differences in our seminar class on Thursday, I was struck by the fact that in every country we spoke about, the lower-class students received a substandard education and had less opportunity than students from the middle or higher class. Lower SES students certainly don't alway experience the breadth of experience and collective identity that Black Americans do; however, I wonder if this culture doesn't in some ways act in a similar fashion...
Could the 'membership' in the lower SES define a student's identity enough to impact his/her academic performance? (I'm not talking about not enough money for tutoring or buying notebook paper or books, necessarily.... I'm thinking about that almost subconscious connection of a group membership....)
As I work in Canton, I feel intuitively that I'm hearing more of these 'class-related' stories from students; however, I haven't studied it systematically. I'm sure there are many studies that look at this phenomenon, but I need to decide if it's a rabbit-trail at this time.... :)
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Writing for your community
A lot of us have reflected on Howard's (2008) chapter in the Handbook; however, I find it an interesting chapter to connect to new readings. For example, on page 251, Howard concludes, "The act of writing, particularly the aspiration to be a writer, has created a distance between writers and their communities, even when, or especially when, they aspired to speak for their community."
For my inquiry paper, I have been reading many articles that tie into African American identity and academic achievement. Many of the research questions stem from conclusions Ogbu & Farnham (1986) developed. These researchers described the fear of "acting white" as the signifcant factor that explains why African American students sometimes do not achieve well in our schools. Ogbu (2003) also discussed this theory in his analysis of the African American students in Shaker Heights.
I have found many articles that primarily want to argue against Ogbu's theory, AND I've found an article where Ogbu is trying to defend his original statements and explain his stance that has been miscontrued. As I've read Ogbu's work, I thought his insights were profound and articulate. BUT others have found him offensive and worked against his theories. I wonder if this is an example of a writer trying to speak into his community and finding resistance and angst?
True, his thoughts have introduced many other interesting articles and discussions; however, I wonder how many have come at his expense?
For my inquiry paper, I have been reading many articles that tie into African American identity and academic achievement. Many of the research questions stem from conclusions Ogbu & Farnham (1986) developed. These researchers described the fear of "acting white" as the signifcant factor that explains why African American students sometimes do not achieve well in our schools. Ogbu (2003) also discussed this theory in his analysis of the African American students in Shaker Heights.
I have found many articles that primarily want to argue against Ogbu's theory, AND I've found an article where Ogbu is trying to defend his original statements and explain his stance that has been miscontrued. As I've read Ogbu's work, I thought his insights were profound and articulate. BUT others have found him offensive and worked against his theories. I wonder if this is an example of a writer trying to speak into his community and finding resistance and angst?
True, his thoughts have introduced many other interesting articles and discussions; however, I wonder how many have come at his expense?
Friday, March 12, 2010
They're here....
Yes, it's all the buzz in the curriculum offices around the nation. (Except for Texas :) The Common Core Standards were released on Wednesday. Don't miss grabbing a copy for yourself!
Seriously, this feels like a somewhat momentous moment. Has the federal government ever created specific educational standards such as these? Sure, each state will be able to 'tweak' up to 15% of the Common Core Standards for their own; however, the federal footprint will be great.
Lots of angst about that. It seems like we define excellence more and more stringently...
Here's the link: http://www.corestandards.org/
Seriously, this feels like a somewhat momentous moment. Has the federal government ever created specific educational standards such as these? Sure, each state will be able to 'tweak' up to 15% of the Common Core Standards for their own; however, the federal footprint will be great.
Lots of angst about that. It seems like we define excellence more and more stringently...
Here's the link: http://www.corestandards.org/
Sunday, March 7, 2010
An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube
Here is a great, follow-up discussion to the Web 2.0: The Web is Us/ing Us, YouTube clip. The professor who created the clip is presenting. It's long, but fascinating!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
A text-to-text thought...
I've been trying to read some of the references listed in the Handbook that apply to my chapter of choice. My chapter/topic is Ch. 31: Identity and the Writing of Diverse Students by Ball & Ellis.
I've read two articles:
1. Mavrogenes & Bezrucko "The Influences of Writing"
2. Langer "Beating the Odds: Teaching Middle and High School Students To Write Well"
Here is a connection I've been thinking about today.
In their article on writing influences, Mavrogenes & Bezruczko (1993) make two specific recommendations based on their study. Their second recommendation is to "...pay attention to affective factors such as teachers' expectation and students' self-confidence" (p. 244) I believe this can be a support for instruction in code-switching for students. Ideally, the affective factor of writing instruction recognizes that students use language in many different ways in their lives, and especially to second language learners or even second dialect learners, those different ways have merit and esteem in their various cultures. I believe there are ways to teach 'standardized' writing that acknowledges this truth.
In her article titled, Beating the odds: Teaching middle and high school students to write well, Langer (2001) points out five different areas of instruction between 'average' schools and those schools who are doing extremelly well. Two areas stuck out to me. One is the way teachers approached skill instruction (integrated vs. separate drills). The second area is evidence of connected learning done for instruction. Of course we can expect that integrated skills instruction was done in the excellent schools. The explanation of connected learning was, "Overt connections made among knowledge, skills, and ideas across lessons, classes and grades, and across in-school and out-of-school applications" This was also done in the excellent schools.
This again connects back to the affective factors. There is a need to use in-school and out-of-school literacies to learn well. This feels deeply connected to a student's self-esteem, AND it takes a very confident and talented teacher to build these connections.
This conversation connects to our class discussion too. We wondered how many writing teachers REALLY know how to teach writing or even how to write effectively themselves? This drastically impacts a teacher's self-confidence (affective factor) and therefore, the ability and/or desire to make connections that might be new and unfamiliar to students' 'out-of-school applications"....
I've read two articles:
1. Mavrogenes & Bezrucko "The Influences of Writing"
2. Langer "Beating the Odds: Teaching Middle and High School Students To Write Well"
Here is a connection I've been thinking about today.
In their article on writing influences, Mavrogenes & Bezruczko (1993) make two specific recommendations based on their study. Their second recommendation is to "...pay attention to affective factors such as teachers' expectation and students' self-confidence" (p. 244) I believe this can be a support for instruction in code-switching for students. Ideally, the affective factor of writing instruction recognizes that students use language in many different ways in their lives, and especially to second language learners or even second dialect learners, those different ways have merit and esteem in their various cultures. I believe there are ways to teach 'standardized' writing that acknowledges this truth.
In her article titled, Beating the odds: Teaching middle and high school students to write well, Langer (2001) points out five different areas of instruction between 'average' schools and those schools who are doing extremelly well. Two areas stuck out to me. One is the way teachers approached skill instruction (integrated vs. separate drills). The second area is evidence of connected learning done for instruction. Of course we can expect that integrated skills instruction was done in the excellent schools. The explanation of connected learning was, "Overt connections made among knowledge, skills, and ideas across lessons, classes and grades, and across in-school and out-of-school applications" This was also done in the excellent schools.
This again connects back to the affective factors. There is a need to use in-school and out-of-school literacies to learn well. This feels deeply connected to a student's self-esteem, AND it takes a very confident and talented teacher to build these connections.
This conversation connects to our class discussion too. We wondered how many writing teachers REALLY know how to teach writing or even how to write effectively themselves? This drastically impacts a teacher's self-confidence (affective factor) and therefore, the ability and/or desire to make connections that might be new and unfamiliar to students' 'out-of-school applications"....
Monday, March 1, 2010
Not really something new, but something I've wanted to do...
I've wanted to create some sort of writing portfolio that follows students from grades 7-12. BUT, I want it to be electronic and available for teachers and students.
Wouldn't it be a great resource for writing those college entrance essays? Wouldn't it be great for teachers to see the progression of a student's writing skills?
Alas, I can't seem to get our technology department to go along with me on this. I need to keep pushing, but I run out of time and ability to reason with them. Unfortunately our technology department does NOT have anything close to vision or even a framework for 21st Century learning..... BUT they do keep students safe from porn and Google Earth.
Here's an article that got me on this rabbit-trail:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/01/education/01schools.html?ref=education
Wouldn't it be a great resource for writing those college entrance essays? Wouldn't it be great for teachers to see the progression of a student's writing skills?
Alas, I can't seem to get our technology department to go along with me on this. I need to keep pushing, but I run out of time and ability to reason with them. Unfortunately our technology department does NOT have anything close to vision or even a framework for 21st Century learning..... BUT they do keep students safe from porn and Google Earth.
Here's an article that got me on this rabbit-trail:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/01/education/01schools.html?ref=education
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