Double Journal Entry #3

" Ultimately, the Cultural Deficit Theorists viewed cultures and environments outside of the mainstream Euro-American, as inferior.  These views catered to highly ethnocentric perspectives. In one article Martin Deutsch clearly outlined the middle class expectations and values existing in the educational system, while pointing out the deficiencies inherent in other groups such as "American Indian children, mountain children and children from other non-industrial groups" (1961).  The fact that teachers and schools were also failing to teach, was rarely broached and the blame remained conveniently elsewhere. "


Unfortunately, I think we still see this today.  Many educators feel that students who are from rural or inner city areas are less likely to want to or able to learn.  They shuffle them to the side and focus on the students they feel they are able to teach.  In West Virginia it isn't an issue of not valuing education or being unable to learn it is that students value different types of knowledge.  While they see the value in knowing "book" knowledge they also feel it is equally important to know real world knowledge.  I have to say I agree with them.  Too often higher educated people want to look down their noses at those who have a knowledge and understanding of mechanics, carpentry or agriculture as unintelligent or inferior because they chose a manual trade.  As someone who has knowledge of both I can attest that the amount of knowledge and intelligence needed for these skills rivals or exceeds anything I will ever do!  

I chose these two pictures because I think they illustrate the differences between the upper-class WASP ideal student and the inner city student.  Many teachers go into teaching thinking that their classrooms and students will look one way and come to find that it is very different.  A teacher has to teach no matter what type of student is in the chair!

1. How does elementary reading instruction contribute to poor literacy attainment for older children?

Emphasis on how to read crowd out reading for ideas, information and concepts.

2. What reading test scores good for?

They don't actually give an accurate picture of the complex issues but they do make things look bad and get law makers attention.

3. What reality about a literacy myth surprised you the most? Why?

I am not surprised by any of these maybe because I am a mother or an avid reader and writer but I know and understand all these issues.

4. What do you know about teaching reading comprehension in the content areas? Give an example of a strategy you might use to teach reading during a science or social studies lesson.

I know that it is the responsibility of all teachers to teach how to read their subject properly.  I remember how hard I found it to read math and that I had a teacher who helped me to understand the text.  I will teach my students to read social studies like a story.  History is just that a story of what happened before.

5. What kind of literacy do you have that was not acknowledge in school? (Literacy means being able to use texts and technologies to accomplish one's purpose in the world.)

I was great at listening and taking notes I could listen and take short comprehensive notes that i could understand later and that others could use and copy.

6. Give an example of a literacy practice.

outlining chapters so students know what the main ideas are ahead of time

7. What is a discourse community?

social media

8. What can happen if students valuable multiple literacies are not recognized as valuable in school?

students can disengage

9. Give an example of how a teacher might build on the extracurricular literacy practices of their students?

allowing a child to pick their own books to write papers on or chose their own sources online

10. Describe a time in which a teacher in your 4-12 schooling experience employed one of the research-base strategies to improve motivation.

We were given a task to find a movie or book that we felt was pretty historically accurate but also entertaining and describe its significance to popular culture.  

11. Give an example from your own K-12 schooling experience that engaged in you in multicultural literacy development.  

We were often asked to find books from or about other cultures that we had to read and report on.

12. What do teachers her gain recognition and respect from their peer also do well on?

Keeping things current and relevant to the day.

The National Council of Teachers of English, (2007).Adolescent literacy:a policy research brief. Retrieved from website: http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Positions/Chron0907ResearchBrief.pdf

Bolima, D. (n.d.). Contexts for understanding: Educational learning theories. Retrieved from http://staff.washington.edu/saki/strategies/101/new_page_5.htm

Retrieved from http://www3.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Deprived Areas Inner City Glasgow buKKhpGxZzUl.jpg

(n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.clipartpal.com/_thumbs/pd/education/classroom.png