Teaching Other People's Children: The Shadow Curriculum

Emergence into a new culture requires courage, toppled with humiliation. Despite the energy or the will, unfamiliar territory/language and events present unrelenting and unavoidable tensions. Hispanic students encounter teachers who fail to support them in maintaining aspects of their cultural identity. For some ELL students honoring and respecting another’s culture may diminish some of the struggles these students face.

In order to be effective and affective educators we need to understand how the new culture will affect them and why. Educators must understand that children are always affected by the perceptions and cultural acceptance of their parents. Parents can choose to assimilate or isolate themselves in the new community. This move is detrimental in the ELL attitude towards their new cultural surroundings.

From the very beginning of life, children are thought of as gifts from God. Families will do anything and everything to make sure the children are taken care of and that their needs are met. Parents will even sacrifice their own necessities to be sure that the children get what they need. Mothers will feed their children and make sure they can go to school before they will eat. In Haiti, children are raised by the whole family, which includes older siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and even members of the community that are not

It's a regular Tuesday morning, just like any other. A Hispanic mother is called to the school for a meeting for a consultation about her son’s performance. While in the meeting, the principal tells her that her child is in the 2nd grade, but is very behind. He adds the fact that her child does not understand the language the teacher speaks, and consequently, is not learning. The mother feels helpless since she cannot help him by reason of not understanding the language either. Hence, this is the difficult reality for numerous Hispanic families.

There were many diverse aspects to this book. Most of this book is a recall from either the main character, or one of his students. This book is intended to open people’s eyes to see that in order to change the world we must first change ourselves. Being able to go through this story and see the mistakes, and the good decisions, teachers in Michie’s life have made, has taught me that the best way to teach is through love, justice, cultural empathy and imagination. Some of the points brought up in this book include the positive and negative sides of physical contact with a student, classification/stereotyping, race, gangs, police brutality/lack of justice, and children not being able to escape peer pressure.

Service Gaps. One of the gaps in services and resources in Little Haiti identified is in education. All of the public schools in Little Haiti have a grade of either C or D ("Miami-Dade County Public Schools," n.d.). These schools with below average achievement scores do not benefit the children attending who are coming from a community that has a below average high school diploma rate. As the workforce continues to become more competitive, college education is going to begin to replace high school diplomas as a prerequisite for the majority of jobs. If the public education system does not begin to provide education that not only aids these youth in obtaining high school diplomas but additionally supports their advancement through college, than this community will not be able to move ahead with society. There is a high concentration of Haitian Americans holding low-skill, low-wage jobs. Understanding that Haiti is one of the poorest countries and that immigrants came to the United States with no formal education, necessary steps need to be taken to ensure that each generation has an opportunity to advance obtain this education and advance their community a bit more (Sohmer, Jackson, Katz, & Warren, 2005). There are a couple ways this writer would begin to address this gap. First, the schools need to initiate or strength their parent association programs. Parents should receive ongoing education on student progress, areas needing improvement, and ways to best support

Through out the movie you see difficulties that the students are trying to finally fit to be part of the system but they still may not be accepted because of their classes. With low achieving school, have a suspicious amount of high test scores the reliability and dependability are questioned. Conflict theory is used that the struggle in society and schools between the haves and have nots. For example, not funding for computer, not having computers, no air conditioning for summer and less opportunities for students in general. The school is portrayed as a place where students do not want to be or care about being in school. The staff don’t care about the students especially they gave up on them. There is a quote that I got from the movie, that Mr. Escalante was asking the math department for calculus

Being open minded to the different practices and environment allows us to learn more about a person individually. Not only that it allows us to learn innovated ways practices may or may not work within our own children and families that can make impacts. Overall this class has changed how similar and different families and children are raised within their culture as it is a huge role to their personal

Teachers must learn about their student’s cultures if they want to educate them to the best of their ability. Many of the students in culturally diverse classrooms will want to learn in different ways. Some will want to learn in pairs, groups, as a class, or just alone. If the teacher is educated in their culture then lessons can be adjusted to appeal to every student as much as possible instead of forcing some to forget about their culture and learn like others. Students from

In this week, we have concluded our second part of the New Kids book discussion. This section of the book continued on with the stories of the students at International High. Many students’ stories were developed and we were given a glimpse into some of the students’ lives and situations. Through this weeks discussion many thoughts and feeling regarding the students at International High School were talked about, many feelings which I too felt.

Gaining learning and experience about other cultures background will enrich my multicultural knowledge. Therefore, as an educator I must learn about others culture. As I begin to learn about others cultures I will understand how values influence the ways families interpret the instruction that feels right to them. A close study on Figure 3.1 implies that a teacher’s point view or the way the students are treaty can affect their learning. It keeps narrating the story of a teacher that had to learn her students’ roots, their culture values, to get to know them in order to reach them in an academically level. The cultural values are very important and cannot be overlooked, they shape our intrinsic motivation. Many families try to keep their values and belief intact at home, so their children when they step in a classroom. Monica Brown, is the Department editor of Diversity Dispatch, argues in her article, Educating All Students: Creating Culturally Responsive Teachers, Classrooms, and Schools, that nowadays it is noticeable the diversity growths in schools, however, this is not the problem. The problem is the way teachers have responded to the diversity growth. (Brown, M. 2007). Therefore, this will affect the students learning. Brown cross with a strong point in regarding the lack of sensitivity some educators show towards their students’ culture. As educator I don’t want to be one of many teachers Monica Brown speaks on her article. I will understand that I must respect my

Education 2110 has taught me a multitude of things, such as ways to implement cultural education and the effects of people’s low socioeconomic status on their lives. Throughout my experience at the Boys and Girls Club and the Feeding Site, I have noticed the importance of connecting with students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Children feel more comfortable when we adapt to their needs, such as providing them with learning material in English and in Spanish. Spanish is apart of most of their daily lives; therefore, they establish their comfort zone and open up to us. As we discussed in class, most children that have a low socioeconomic status do not live positive lives, know where their next meal will come from, or have many things to look forward to. Their focus is not on playing; it is about survival. My experiences at the Feeding Site brought to my attention everything I have gained while being with students, such as connecting with bilingual students, learning teacher preparation skills, and feeling how rewarding it is to teach the children who might not receive any teaching at home.

Small aspects of writing style for the remainder of the book change to include Haitian sayings, words, or the way Haitians pronounce English words, and this passage is a great example of that. The integration of the Haitian language, creole, into the book is very important because it demonstrates the impact Haiti has had on the author and the many people in the book and it also allows immerses the reader into the story and its setting and makes the dialogue between the Haitians and the Americans more realistic. The story told in the beginning of this passage displays Farmers dedication to helping his patients heal and recover. The proverb used in this passage plays a big role in the story and explains the title of the book. This proverb does

I arrived to school at 3 p.m. My shift hadn’t started yet, so I had a little time to catch up the opening. The room was almost full, and that was great. The auction area looked beautiful with a lot of Haitian items. The opening performance was wonderful by introducing about Haiti’s music and culture before the music was played. The concert choir, the band and especially the guest from Haiti performed amazingly. I noted that they played Haiti music which I studied in class. It was a short time to enjoyed music before starting my

Shadowing is a learning/teaching experience, you get to see yourself and ways to improve on your calls as well. Shadowing certainly takes you out of your comfort zone it allowed me to communicate effectively and offer effective open and honest feedback to my peers. Shadowing improves your listening skills and keeps you engaged. It has been an incredible experience, I plan to take every learning experience that I have observed and heard to improve my call flow and strive for 5’s