'Funds Of Knowledge For Teaching'

In the collateral-collectivist cultures (African-American, Hispanic and Asian), emphasis is placed on the family, above all else. This means that in these cultures, even education is second to the needs of a family. When teaching children from these cultures, it is important not be ethnocentric, but rather understand the structure of their cultures. As teachers, we cannot be colorblind; for it is a disservice to those we teach.

Family involvement plays a major role when helping students prosper in the school setting. In order for children to be successful, as a teacher, we have to provide support to the parent’s to make an effort in wanting to play apart in that success. Communication plays a major part in the effective relationship between families and school. Giving the parents a sense of idea as to how their child is doing in school is built through the student’s academic needs.

In chapter 9 of the book Black Ants and Buddhists it talks about the different situations that families and teachers may encounter inside and outside a classroom setting. One of the situations that it talks about in this chapter is about different types of families and their origins. Talking to students about their families it might be challenging because as a future teacher we might not know what is their situation or who is taking care of them. For instance, last year when I worked in a school I told a student that his mom and dad would be so proud to see that he had made a 100 in the test. I noticed that he was upset when I told him that, he later on told me that he lives with his grandma, I felt bad for the entire day because I didn’t

This is just some of them. Teachers will learn much that is applicable about the general characteristics of children at particular ages, stages and grade levels; but are effective with each child, additional information is needed. Each child comes to the classroom with a history-year of reactions, experiences, and characteristics styles of behaving that are unique. Teachers who blind effective communication with families are less likely to be frustrated while working with the many unknowns in children and are more likely to meet realistic goals for each child and support each family in reaching their own particular goals. When teachers are open to learning from families there is much knowledge about the particular aspects of living with children that can be learned. Because it is the children that bring families and teachers together, the benefits for children alone should be motivation enough to work to create effective partnerships. (Chapter 9: Informal Communication with Families)

In order for teachers to create a learning environment that is culturally responsive to each individual student, a teacher must learn the student’s funds of knowledge. The importance of learning the funds of knowledge of your students is crucial. A teacher can approach learning more about a student’s prior knowledge and culture in a variety of ways, including, instructing personal interviews with questions about their personal life such as what are the most important things in your life. Another way to discover your student’s funds of knowledge is by placing yourself in their shoes and doing a school and community walk through. You can also be provided with more insight into your student’s lives by conducting an adult interview from someone that also lives in the same community. In order for me to create lessons and classroom practices that are culturally responsive is by discovering my student’s funds of knowledge. I am at Blackwell Elementary School, which is located in Marietta and is apart of the Cobb County District. After having the students create heart maps and interviewing them, doing a school and community walkthrough, and talking with an adult, I was greatly impacted by all the new information and perspectives I learned. Without going through this process to obtain the information, I would have no knowledge on my students or the community surrounding Blackwell besides what meets the eye. This experience impacted my own thinking about the school I am working in for

As an educator it is important to be aware of the various learners in the classroom as well as being able to shift lessons accordingly to adapt to a greater number of students. In addition it is essential that culturally responsive practices is adapted in the classroom in order for all students to have a sense of belonging and are able to participate. For this reason, a teacher must actively use culturally responsive practices to engage students and their families because it helps to develop a relationship and maintain a level of communication. Learning “facts” about different cultures is not enough, it is more important that we make

In February, Galaviz will be traveling to the NEA Foundation Gala in Washington, D.C., to receive $10,000 and the NEA Foundation’s Horace Mann Award for Teaching Excellence. As one of only five recipients in the nation, this prestigious honor really reinforces Galaviz’s devotion to continually going above and beyond for her students, something that, for her, starts long before the start of the school year. Every summer, Galaviz goes door to door, meeting with the families of her incoming students. As an educator, she believes that knowing about the student, their family dynamic and their home helps her to be a better teacher. “I

2. Dr. Moll came to find that families and children had many funds of knowledge: household management, medicine, religion,

As the principal of any school you have the increased responsibility for the compiling to the rules of the local school district as well as state and federal guideline. This becomes especially true as you undertake the challenge of serving as principal of the Elm Street Elementary School.

During the placement I was able to spend time observing interactions between parents, children and staff. I witnessed many positive aspects in the schools approach to engaging parents and was particularly impressed by their open door policy for parents and the support provided to families in times of need by the learning mentors. As part of the admission process to the school, staff visit the parents and child at home and discuss the implementation of the home-school agreement (appendix 1.b). This agreement sets out the expectations of each of the parent, school and child in regard to their actions and attitude towards their time in school. This is often one of the first interactions teacher and parents have and Grayson (2011) suggests most teachers report these home visits to have a lasting positive effect on the child and parent-teacher relationship. During the school’s inspection in 2014 Ofsted identified relationships across the school and with parents as a key strength.

Student Funds of Knowledge Case Study Trevaun is an active African American boy. He is in 2nd grade and attends Williams Elementary School. He does not have a least favorite subject, but his favorite subject is math. He enjoys Physical Education too, for he gets to play basketball, which is his favorite sport. He loves to roller skate and play video games as well, which is why his favorite time of the day is nighttime. Trevaun’s mom allows him to play video games as late as he wants as long as he completed his homework first, and gets up on time for school the next morning. Therefore, he does not have a bedtime.

Teachers should advocate for all students’ backgrounds and cultures to better their students’ learning. To accomplish this, teachers should be informed about their students’ home lives, be conscious of how and what they should be taught, and ultimately make their education a priority. Students from poverty in a multicultural classroom need the correct tools and teaching approaches from their teachers.

The second is Communication between the Home and School. In order to help families create settings within the home to support their children as students we, the teachers, can provide suitable materials which give information and assistances on how the parents can help at home. Through pamphlets, e-mails, and phone calls teachers can inspire and encourage parents to converse and work with their child. Through our involvement with the families, parents become more aware of their child’s school platform, they interact on a more positive level with their children they are more skilled to reinforce the teacher's objectives in order to achieve better schoolwork. When we give parents information to become more knowledgeable partners with the school, their child sees that their parents and teachers are communicating with one another about their schoolwork, which allows them to become more aware of their parents involvement and abilities. This will open up the opportunity for the child and parents to talk openly about the child’s schoolwork and the decisions the child makes at school.

A student has the ability to learn without a teacher. However, the Law of the Teaching Process creates the background for a teacher to guide a student on the path to more knowledge. A teacher should establish a safe environment that encourages thinking to help students learn “the unknown by the way of the known” (84). Acquiring their knowledge and increasing their mental power correlates to the aims of a teacher as they guide students. While a teacher is to be passionate in laying out knowledge, the really work of an education, acquiring knowledge, is the work of the student. A student learns by discovery and information stores as the student interprets the new information.

Formal education is shown through daily activities, that value cultural skills and knowledge that focuses on the child to solve everyday problems based on experience. This learning background causes the learning at home to be significantly different than at school, where they are taught to solve problems through theoretical reasoning. Children come to school with what is known as school readiness, the academic knowledge they bring into the classroom that was already provided by their families, community and culture. “Schools are challenged by the increasing cultural and linguistic diversity of the students they serve”(Lightfoot et al.,