Howard Coates Learning In The Classroom

Over the years, I feel I have been guided by God to pursue Elementary Education, which narrows my focus to the kindergarten classroom. I will clearly define the most helpful theories that may be implemented throughout the kindergarten learning environment. Effective teacher characteristics will be identified and why they are imperative for this particular age group. Young children have different learning characteristics and it is important for teachers to recognize and accommodate to the needs of their students. Throughout this course, I have discovered certain characteristics about myself and I will elaborate on my unique learning styles.

Coates spent his childhood years in a poor Baltimore public school, a system that “mostly meant always packing an extra number 2 pencil and working quietly” (Coates 25). He grew up believing that “The world had no time for the childhoods of black boys and girls” (Coates 25). School was not to him a place of education but rather an institution whose purpose was to train the students to obey and conform. “Algebra, Biology, and english were not subjects so much as opportunities to better discipline the body” (Coates 25).

Coates receives credibility by using his personal life that relates to other African American youth. For example, his relationship between him and his father is one that many black youth can relate too and learn from through reading Between the World and Me .

Coates compares the lives of black people and the lives of white people, and the white life seems somewhat better than the way blacks live. For example, Coates explains how when he went to a white neighborhood and he was experiencing what the Dream was all about. He noticed how “There was so much money everywhere”. This means that when Coates seen all the different stored and people they looked like they had a lot of money, his is exactly what the American Dream is. “I saw white parents pushing double-wide strollers down Harlem boulevards”, the Dream is

“And though I could never, myself, be a native of any of these worlds, I knew that nothing so essentialist as race stood between us. I had read too much by then. And my eyes—my beautiful, precious eyes—were growing stronger each day. And I saw that what divided me from the world was not anything intrinsic to us... ” (Coates 154) Coates understands that seeing the world from different perspectives humbles the mind. He no longer had to live with the stigma of being a black man in America.

Coates reveals that he understands the reality of black men in America. “Ethos is a rhetorical device through the author reveals his or her creditability to discuss the topic at hand.” (Kemp13). Coates shows throughout part one that he truly understand what it is like to live as a black man in America today. “ To be black in Baltimore of my youth was to be naked before the elements of the world, before all the guns, fists, knives, crack, rape, and disease.” (Coates 17). Coates displays that growing up black in Baltimore was a true challenge due to the racism, even before all the violence was added. Coates builds his credibility by giving the

Coates composes of his childhood in the ghettos of Baltimore in which he took in the codes of the road with a specific end goal to survive however never completely grasped them. His dad was no picnic for him, however Coates now observes that dark guardians frequently are so they don't lose their kids. To grow up dark in Baltimore was for the most part to grow up poor, underestimated, and urgent to affirm one's mankind. The swagger and din of the men on the corners was their approach to ensure themselves and to report their essence as individuals.

Coates describes his early forms of education in grades k-12 and the ways in which it shaped his views of the black body. This period of education was a time in which Coates viewed the black body as powerless based on the difficult situation he was living. This early educational experience in Coats’s life was extremely conflicting due to the fact that the

Informing his son on the authentic story of his life is exactly how Coates fights ignorance and intolerance in the world. Ta-Nehisi Coates supports a case for the necessity of literature, specifically in how students illustrate the stories of their lives. Coates serves as an example for people to cultivate their experiences and education to illustrate the stories of their lives.Coates argues that showing intelligence and literacy is a cultivable skill and anyone who can do so has access to with the proper training by drawing on his own life experience. Many individuals are under the false impression where to be deemed as “smart” means one possesses some extra brain cell or characteristic where others lack. Coates exemplifies how life experiences are not indications of success, and how education does not embody a particular mold. Growing up, Coates was at a stark disadvantage due to his experiences growing up, however, how one can use experiences as an excuse to not fulfill their potential, or a catalyst to maximize scholarship. Coates started off as

Coates explains this with stories growing up and learning what African-American people had gone through in the past all

Coates speaks of the culture of scholastic achievement, and that though it is not by any means a strictly white culture, it is largely comprised of white people, and often rewards white people more for their achievements. One example that he presents is that of the Cherokee, and the way in which they embraced certain aspects of Western culture, particularly in regards to education. This assimilation did not secure white Americans’ acceptance of the Cherokee, but rather guaranteed their rejection because they used their Westernized education against the United States. This is similar to Bryan Stevenson’s use of his own education. As a Harvard graduate he is very clearly a member of the culture of scholastic achievement, and like the Cherokee

For instance, Coates’ mother was brutally attacked in her house. As a result, she would clutch Coates’ hand tightly and scold him if he went out of her sight, In addition, Coates goes into great detail on the authors, who greatly influenced and interested him. He especially emphasizes Malcolm X, where he describes Malcolm’s writings to be very honest. Lastly, Coates mentions how Howard University was his “Mecca.” He explains how his views expanded after attending Howard and how his different love interests influenced him.

Coates’s numerous encounters with racism in American society, consequently taught him that the cost of being black is having far greater consequences for his mistakes than members of other races. Regardless of where one is societally, geographically, or economically, people will see black skin and let a person’s mistakes be an excuse for them to exert their power and harm their body. There is no forgiving of trespasses for members of the black race as there is for those of the white race. Coates learns early on that a mistake on the streets can lead to death or murder, but doesn't realize until later in life that messing up in upper class or white areas can yield the same effect for someone with dark skin. Death, destruction, and arrests are

The Framework for Teaching by Charlotte Danielson has been developed through research as a guideline for current and future teacher’s professional responsibilities in and out of the classroom. Districts throughout the country are using this framework to assess and guide their teachers to build successful methods of planning and preparations, setting up the classroom environment, instruction and professional responsibilities. Each of these domains builds off of each other to form a successful learning environment. Domain 3 focuses more specifically on instruction using communication, discussions, engagement, assessments and flexibility.

Allison is a freshman at a college in Delaware. She plans to be certified and teach in Delaware. What course of action must she take? Be specific. (3 pts)