An Invitation to My TCC Students

In an attempt to write beside my students, I threw these ideas together to introduce myself and invite my students at TCC to introduce themselves in their first writing sample this term. Here's my invitation and my own attempt to model for them. 

Quilting: My Neglected Hobby

Everyone has a story to tell. Some stories are told in words, others are told through pictures and still others are told through objects and artifacts that describe the culture and values the story teller wants to convey.

I would like to tell you about myself through my hobby. You see, I am a quilter, a quilter that discovered this magnificent art form late in life. I didn't begin quilting until my two children were nearly grown. Actually, I've always loved to sew, crochet, embroider to create nearly anything I could with textiles, needles and thread. I don't sit still easily, so I often crocheted afghans while watching television when my children were young. I found it challenging to learn how to design blocks with new stitches, yet relaxing because once I got hooked into a rhythm, the work seemed nearly mindless. I also loved to embroider, a craft some call cross stitch. My Aunt Nana taught me how to cross stitch when I was very young, during my annual summer visits to her home in Mexico City. The problem with embroidery, however, I found is that it would take me what seemed like years to complete a design.

So, then one summer day when I was trying to figure out what to do with my life after my divorce, I stumbled upon a new shop in town. The sign on the building advertised, "embroidery machines". Quite nonchalantly, I meandered into this new Bernina shop, just to look around, and found myself walking out with a used electronic sewing/embroidery machine. Wow! Now, since I've alway been handy with my hands, machines and gadgets, it didn't take too long for me to figure out how to use my new toy. I remember being so excited about being able to design sophisticated embroidery designs on clothing, or nearly any kind of fabric. I was ready to set up shop and start my own sewing business!

Never shy about asking questions or seeking help, I returned often to the Bernina store for advice. It was during one one of these frequent visits that I was introduced to quilting. In fact, I learned that Bernina is primarily a sewing machine designed for quilting. But what was even better, is that I could combine quilting and embroidery together. So, I became addicted. I joined a quilting bee, attended quilting meetings and bought every book or magazine I could find to help me learn my new craft. At Christmastime, I made fancy embroidered pillows, rag dolls and wall hangings as gifts for family. Soon I was making quilts to give as gifts. These I called my two-year quilts because I became so immersed in learning new quilt block designs and embroidering fancy stitches that I truly underestimated the length of time it would take to complete a project.

I have to admit that I haven't made too terribly many quilts, and nearly all those that I have designed I've given away as gifts. Today I only own one quilt that I've made. It's a child's alphabet quilt that I thought I'd give to the next niece born into the family. The only problem is that the last three children born into my family have been boys. So, the picture I've attached to this story is my testament to my hobby; a hobby, that I have to admit has gone sadly ignored during the past few years.

I don't quilt much any more because once my youngest child left home for college, I decided to go back to college myself. Since then, I've earned a Master's degree in reading education and am currently working on a doctorate in language and literacy at the University of North Texas. I am by profession and passion, a teacher. I have taught in public education for more than 20 years. I currently teach 7th grade in Keller ISD and of course writing at TCC-Northwest. I truly have a passion for anything related to language, literacy and culture, as I also speak French and Spanish. Si, soy Latina, con raices Chilenas y Mexicanas. 

I look forward to writing with you this term because everyone has a story to tell. I can't wait to hear yours.    

Framing My Research: An Open Inquiry

Dr. Mathis,

I hope you do not think that I have been ignoring the request to explain my ideas about my sociocultural inquiry project. Believe me, thoughts have been ruminating in my brain for a while. I’ve been trying to sort them out in a way that both makes sense and flows across the courses in my program.

My interests have always involved the key areas of:  writing to learn, new literacies/digital writing, multicultural/bicultural agency, critical literacy from both perspectives, (social and literary), and complexity science. I know that I must focus and narrow my research, but I’m not precisely sure where or how to do that yet. I guess I don’t feel like I know enough yet.

I do know, however, that the sociocultural perspective about learning and agency informs and will continue to inform all of my work as I proceed. When I think about what I want to investigate I have been considering three things: 1) what is important and valuable in the field of literacy, 2) what is important for society, 3) what is important to me, and 4) what is the difference that will make a difference?

I began a little research in the area of blogging for other classes. I’m not sure that I want to get stuck in researching blogging, as I’ve concluded that blogging and other forms of digital writing are just newer forms of writing with the unique advantage of a potential audience and feedback. Perhaps, it can be argued that this changes the author’s writing, thinking and/or learning; nevertheless, that is in itself a different research task. As we move into activity theory, I suspect there may be some connections there, too. I don’t know that I want to spend hours upon hours analyzing the discourse in blogs without a particular context or question in mind. I’m not sure this question gets much bigger than the obvious conclusions drawn from advantages gained by social networking or social discourse. Yet, the writing that occurs through social networking is a current phenomenon that is both transformative and I think has implications for education. I think I’ve whittled it down to issues of audience, voice, and purposes in communication. My conclusion, for now, is that digital writing is simply a tool; albeit a potentially powerful tool.

That said, my reading in sociocultural theory has opened a new way of thinking that I want to explore further. I am deeply interested in topics that concern bicultural identity and agency. As a white American Latina, I think that misconceptions, ignorance or a lack of any consideration exist about people whose heritage either lie in two cultures or those who have chosen to embrace more than one culture. I think that any study I would do in this area would involve my own positionality disclosure characteristic of qualitative inquiry. Yes, this may be in part a personal query, but I believe that it has larger implications for the growing bicultural (and biracial) population that already exists. I often wonder what some of my Latino, Asian, and biracial students think or experience, and where and when does ethnicity and color of one’s skin make a difference? I grew up in the safe zone of a white society, in a family that completely embraces other cultures and races. The Latina side of the family has always been a natural part of my heritage, although often more remote than the immediate surroundings of my privileged white middle class upbringing led me to think consider as unusual or different. I never gave much thought to my race, culture or ethnicity growing up, I realize now, perhaps it is because I did not grow up experiencing racism.

Another side of this quandary involves the ethnicity I claim. Perhaps, growing up in the 70s I wasn’t asked to consider being anything but white or as the official papers suggested, Caucasian. I didn’t consider that the term Hispanic applied to me because it wasn’t a term my family related to. My heritage is part Chilean and part Mexican. Furthermore, I grew up thinking I am American. I did not think that because I speak Spanish makes me uniquely Hispanic. Claiming Latina heritage didn’t seem to be an option as a child, therefore, I never considered being anything but white. Yet, I knew that I was a different type of white than my neighbor, not better, not worse; I was just inherently different from other white people of European descent (a term I still struggle with). I’d like to add that different didn’t carry a negative connotation, just, in my mind, a connotation of something deeper and more dimensional than that which monolingual or mono-cultural people cannot claim or conceive of. 

As I write this maybe the issue I personally grapple with involves the misconceptions that exist about being an American, a multi-cultural American, and above all a Latina. As an adult, living in a more culturally diverse 21^st century society than was ever imagined in the latter half of the 20^th century, I confidently claim Latina heritage, but feel sometimes, inappropriate by checking “white, of Hispanic descent” on government-type census documents. Why? Perhaps I grew up thinking I was more white than brown, more American than Mexican or Chilean. Yet, my Latina roots are deeply seeded in me, so I do proudly claim this heritage, today, not for the financial benefits (although I could use them), but because I value the cultural heritage.

So, perhaps, I wonder, what makes a person more ethnic than another? Is that even a legitimate question? Would claims of ethnicity and race be different if government labels, government programs or financial assistance did not exist? What qualifies a person to claim ethnic or cultural allegiances? And what messages about ethnicity and cultural identity do we, as educators, transmit to our students in public schools?

This last question may seem to be a bit outdated or overdone, in light of the research that exists about racial inequality in public education. Yet, I ponder the problems I see in schools where a lack of ethnic and cultural recognition exists. It is as though being American means that we are all meant to be the same. Discussions about race, ethnicity, color and culture do not seem to be important, or perhaps they are just underplayed in schools that are predominantly white. Students, I believe, are led to believe that race and ethnicity, don’t matter because “everyone should be treated the same”. Yet, because discussions about race, ethnicity and culture, are not dominant in the school culture, how do we really know what students think? I venture to say that there are many misconceptions among children and that conceptions of power unwittingly exist. Is this a societal concern, a parenting concern a school concern? I have discovered that when I ask students to tell me about their cultural heritage, many students do not know how to respond. I believe this is a sign of a general lack of awareness and appreciation for cultural diversity and pride in our multicultural roots in the United States. Of greater concern, are the misconceptions that ignorance is bliss or that a blind eye turned toward racism or cultural intolerance will irradiate social inequities. I wonder if is because, we as a society, only recognize prejudice when it becomes violent or newsworthy.

Regardless, the United States is a society that is deeply racialized and bounded by cultural misinterpretations, whether it is a result of capitalism or social ignorance is of some consequence. However, what is of greater consequence is the inability to recognize or unwillingness to acknowledge the symptoms and existence of ethnocentrism in our society. If public education is charged with preparing our youth for participation in a democratic global society, then, I believe that public education should teach its students how to recognize and comfortably be able to confront issues of racism and ethnocentrism in their own back yard, with the ultimate goal of not just teaching tolerance, but embracing our multicultural American roots.

So what will I research and what does this have to do with literacy and new literacies? I keep thinking about power and critical discourse. I am currently working on an annotated bibliography on critical ethnography for a qualitative research course. I realize that there are two strands associated with the term critical literacy, however, an article I read, “A Review of the ‘Digital Turn’ in the New Literacy Studies”, led me to consider an overlapping notion about the activism involved in critical social ideologies and the critical reading and writing skills that students should be taught to use in order to react critically to social issues. In this article, the New London Group calls for literacy pedagogy that embraces “four related components – situated practice, overt instruction, critical framing, and transformed practice” (Mills, p. 258). This suggests that literacy instruction today should involve a deliberate invitation for students to compose freely as a means of processing and reacting to the important issues about race and ethnicity. The convergence between the Freirian critical literacy and the classic critical literacy associated with thinking critically is made when students are able to apply the practices associated with new literacies to conducted “sophisticated forms of collaboration, social inquiry, problem solving, and critical literacy” (p. 260).

I also became acquainted with some of Bourdieu’s ideas through a research project I completed on Deborah Reed-Danahay, who has studied Bourdieu extensively, for an anthropology class. I barely scratched the surface of his work. At some point, I’d like to read more as well as to read his works in the original French. I suppose I should save that for the dissertation. I feel as though Bourdieu and Bahktihn’s works need a lot of my attention.

I believe that my thoughts encompass more than a simple inquiry assignment, as this writing has helped me shape a larger agenda; maybe. If I am to understand the complexity of ethnocentrism and racism in public schools, then I must understand what the research already says and how to recognize notions about power in the discourse. Therefore, my research may involve a deep understanding revolving around the New Literacy Studies and as well as a critical investigation about the concept of power; but that may involve two different projects. For now, I am interested in studying the works of Michel Foucault and Allan Luke, and then ultimately pursuing Gee’s challenge, in his Routledge interview, to take Foucault’s ideas about power beyond imperialism and post-colonialism. I can’t however, say right now, where this research will take me; perhaps, toward fostering empathy and understanding about multiculturalism and diversity.

I am unsure about how to frame this inquiry assignment. If I am to use this work as part of a research/tool class, then I wonder if an annotated bibliography of the works of Foucault or Luke is adequate. Does this assignment need to be framed in a research question around a particular population? Should the topic search include critical literacy or just power, as search terms? I know that ultimately, should I continue to pursue this topic, I will examine these issues within the context of classroom discourse, online discourse, or children’s literature, for example. For now, do I simply become more aware of the field that involves what power means in critical discourse of across the board?

Well – I’ve said mouthful. I’m sorry to inundate you with so much thinking. I realize that the latter half of this long-winded answer relates more to the assignment, but I guess I felt compelled to write. Thank you for guiding me through this process.

-- Laura

References

Mills, K. A. (2010). A review of the “Digital turn” in the new literacy studies. Review of Educational Research, 80(2), 246-271. doi:10.3102/0034654310364401

Rogers, R. (2004, May). [Interview with James Gee.] In Companion Website to R. Rogers (Ed.) An Introduction to Critical Discourse Analysis in Education (second edition). New York: Routledge. [http://cw.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415874298]

Poverty is Colorblind

Poverty is a major factor contributing to segregation in U.S. schools. In "Why Segregation Matters: Poverty and Educational Inequality" (Harvard University: The Civil Rights Project, 2005) , Orfield and Lee explain that it is a common misconception that race and ethnicity is the predominant factor contributing to segregation. In fact, “Socioeconomic segregation is a stubborn, multidimensional and deeply important cause of educational inequality” (5).

This makes perfect sense to me, as I contemplate the Brown v. the Board of Education (1954) decision against “separate but equal” policy in public education. In my lifetime, I have always understood U.S. public schools  legally integrated; or put another way, that segregation and discrimination by race and ethnicity should be considered illegal. Yet, a cursory review of demographics in any American community will display another self-emergent social force in public schools; socioeconomic class.  If schools could be truly color-blind forces a different reality to emerge. The reality that even in the most racially and ethnically balanced or successful school districts, class and money talk. Segregation in public education is characterized by poverty. I would argue, however, that skin color has traditionally camouflaged the underlying problem of poverty prevalent to minor populations.

The socioeconomic demographics of a community are often reflected in the achievement levels of the neighborhood schools. Many families shop for residences based upon the quality of the schools in the neighborhood. Therefore, people who can afford to live in nicer neighborhoods will be able to send their children to richer schools, supported by the tax structure of that community. By contrast, families that cannot afford to live by the standards of higher socioeconomic communities will be relegated to poorer school districts, based upon a lower tax-base. Because racial minorities have historically suffered from a lack of opportunity and inquity in the workforce, racial minorities have had less opportunity to seek higher standards of living and better school districts. The achievement level of public schools, therefore, tends to reflect the economic make-up its community neighborhoods.

“Achievement scores are strongly linked to school racial composition and so is the presence of highly qualified and experienced teachers” (5). Some might call this a vicious cycle. Teachers do not typically choose to work in the most challenging school districts with the greatest adversity. Consequently, research has shown that the highest caliber teachers tend to be found in the highest achieving schools. Although this argument has many implications depending upon the comparison factors, it does stand to reason that keeping highly experienced and qualified teachers in highly stressed schools is difficult.

When I consider the characteristics of a complex adaptive system, it seems to me that the simple rule of emergent change within a society would suggest that one of the great forces of change in schools has to do with the socioeconomic status of its demographics. Race and ethnicity are related to poverty by forces of racial inequality in this country. It could be argued that they are inextricably linked, however, the numerous cases of white families who suffer from poverty would suggest that poverty is color-blind. Yet, as Orfield and Lee point out, the fact remains that “Minority children are far more likely than whites to grow up in persistent poverty” (5).  The key lies in the concept of “concentrated poverty” (5). Research will show that minority students have a longer history of living in poverty than white families who experience temporary periods of economic downturn.

When I consider the students in my 7^th grade middle school classes who enrolled in pre-AP English Language Arts through a policy of open enrollment, those who struggle less tend to reflect families with higher economic stability.  But this isn’t the case for all my students. When I take a closer look at those who struggle the most, Latino children and those who qualify for free and reduced lunch, many of which are also white, stand out. Poverty seems to be the underlying factor, which tends to coincide with ethnicity. Of course many other factors can be found to contribute to their underachievement in school, but many indicators point to families that want their children to succeed as indicated by enrolling their children in pre-AP classes, living in a middle-income community, thereby availing their children to a higher socioeconomic community.

Orfield and Lee reminds us that Martin Luther King Junior’s work in the 1960s was about achieving equality through opportunity among minority populations. “The civil rights movement was never about sitting next to whites, it was about equalizing opportunity, (8). Segregation must be understood at deeper levels than an examination by skin-color might suggest. I think the legacy of poverty will become more color-blind as society becomes increasingly racially mixed and bicultural, as biracial children populate our schools in greater numbers, and as America’s demographic landscape continues to evolve. Poverty is a difference that makes a difference in public education.

References

http://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/research/k-12-education/integration-and-diversity/why-segregation-matters-poverty-and-educational-inequality/orfield-why-segregation-matters-2005.pdf

http://www.watson.org/~lisa/blackhistory/early-civilrights/brown.html

American Teacher

That's what I'm talking about! "I am a teacher in every cell of my body", quoted in an upcoming movie, American Teacher. I just love it! I just thought I'd post this movie trailer about a new movie scheduled to come out this fall I believe. Eric Benner, a colleague from my school, Trinity Springs Middle School, appears in the film. While he may not be as famous as Matt Damon, nor does he make Damon's salary, he is definitely a rock star among his students. Attached is a promo trailer for the  movie Benner appears in, narrated by Matt Damon.  Although I haven't seen this movie yet, from what I know about Coach Benner's  magic with students is that he is truly an example of differences that makes a difference.  

Differences that Make a Difference

Earlier this week I declared during a class with Human Systems Dynamics that I had figured out what I want to research. In an effort to narrow my focus for research I decided that investigating a teacher's generative learning process is important to the whole system of education. A teacher's growth in the profession will directly impact student achievement. I think growth goes deeper however. Growth, involves agency, identity and ownership in the process of teaching which is quite different from the act of teaching, or the mere execution of lesson plans or lesson delivery. Perhaps this inquiry stems from my personal frustration with planning meeting soundbites about doing, covering, and checking curriculum objectives off the list. Teaching is not simply an act of doing.  Rather, I believe it is a state of being. Teaching requires a vision, a belief and set of principles; ideals and a vision that establish a foundation for decision making. Moreover, teaching is about relationships, the rapport and interaction between student and teacher. Without these, teaching is merely mechanical monitoring and maintenance of minuscule, magnanimous, monumental or mundane mandates. Teaching is about the what?, so what? and now what? of each individual student; a cycle that I don't think becomes accessible for teachers until they discover this same generative learning cycle within themselves. I don't believe that teachers become self-actualized until teaching becomes a mission of discerning the essential patterns of the generative learning process: (adaptability, coherence in diversity and inquiry). So today, I decided that the difference that makes a difference in teaching involves the teacher's personal investment in being a teacher through contemplative agency over compliant activity.

So, feeling rather satisfied with my conclusion, I proceeded to Tarrant County College where I teach a Writing Techniques class for the Academic Foundations department. The students  I teach two nights a week are those for whom the education system has not worked. These students failed the Writing Accuplacer test; consequently they need remedial writing instruction, and have been assigned to me, a novice in this arena. Now in my fourth week of classes with these students, I observe compliant, complacent students. Yet, several appear to arrive each day eager to succeed. How did they fail? Who failed them? What failed them? How did they get through a system without being able to write a simple comrehensive essay?  I don't suppose it really matters. What does matter to me are the little moments, the little wins and the little questions that are beginning to spill from these students. Little by little they are beginning to reveal themselves, through their writing, through their posture, through their expressions and of course through their questions. Little by little, just maybe we are beginning to build rapport. I worry that I may not be offering them what they need. Is what I am doing offering them a difference that will make a difference?

That same day, Andrea came to see me before class, unannounced. She brought with her a rough draft of her writing, annotated for revisions along with the revised copy, all in red ink! She told me that she can't write; that her writing is terrible. Clearly I saw that she can write. I asked how what made her think she couldn't write. Had she been told that before? With affirmation, she nodded. Her face told me that she had learned early on about her impending failure as a writer. So, she asked me to read her piece. She didn't want to read it to me, rather she wanted me to read it aloud. She wanted to hear her words, she explained. Once I skipped a word. She corrected me. She knew her work. I could tell she owned this piece, and in fact she seemed proud of it. So, was I simply there to give her the affirmation she has never received? It was indeed a powerful piece, written from the heart, pulled from the memories I prompted students to write from. She explained to me, "I just followed you in class and so I just wrote". She told me it made her feel relieved. I understood why when I began reading. The first paragraph read, "I was a small child of eight years when I witnessed near murder.  My father came home high on methamphetamines that night. The vivid memory I have is as if it was last night. Scarred into my memories forever".  She admitted that she likes to write. I suppose that is half the battle. So, I praised her for her voice, her organization and flow. Her writing showed clear strengths. Yet, she was looking for the criticism, I could tell. But how could I tear down a writer who has been torn down all her life? So praise first. Then, I explained my thinking and methodology. Mechanics come later, once the ideas have been communicated. I asked her how she liked the sound of her piece. Did she say everything she had wanted to say? "Yes", she confirmed. So, using the rubric I planned to hand out in class we covered the elements: unit, support, coherence and sentence skills. She had it all. Even her sentence skills showed the effort she had put into revising word choice and sentence structure. There were just a few places involving mechanics, homonyms, and spelling needing repair. In my mind these are the easy fixes. Yet, in her mind she was a terrible writer. So, what was the difference that made a difference? I want to say that it was a two-way transaction. If I was able to affirm her interest and skill in writing, then I hope I gave her a sense of hope and confidence; a realization that success is possible. Yet, I feel that she already had this in her, that I hadn't really done much except to inspire something to write about. 

I can see that getting these students to dig deep inside of themselves to find something to say may be difficult for some of them. Mitch asked me today, but what happens when you don't connect with anything? True, this is a problem I've heard before. We chatted about it. The prompt on his Accuplacer test was to write about a practical skill. This apparently made no sense to him. I explained how connections come from within and that somehow we can find a way to connect with almost anything; that it is just a matter of finding a perspective that means something to us. The trick is in the planning, the brainstorming, the listing. I forgot to tell him it is in the free-writing, writing anything and everything that comes to mind until we reach a breakthrough; and that the breakthrough will come. I have explained the method to my madness throughout lessons devoted to identifying things to write about; things that come from our memories, our lives, the one thing that we are all experts in. So what was the difference that made a difference? We talked, he dared to ask and I pushed him to connect.

Ruby said as she was leaving, "You were brave to do what you did in class today, showing that music video. You captured everyone". After guiding students through a textbook explanation of thesis statement composing, I closed the lesson with writing. We watched a music video of Jason Michael Carroll's, "Alyssa Lies", about child abuse. More than one student asked me if I was going to collect this writing. No I replied. I just wanted them to internalize the process of identifying the main idea, the gist of the piece, write a thesis statement and know what details they might use to support it if they were to write a summary and conclude with a reflective response paragraph. Oh, yes. I also asked the class to sit in a circle. Yes, we all had to face each other. So maybe we are getting to know one another now. Are we a little more comfortable now, three weeks into the  semester? Yet every time we meet I spring something new on them that makes them feel a little uncomfortable. Was this the difference that made a difference? It was at least for one, I it seems.

  

I left my TCC classroom, last Thursday, feeling good about myself, confident as a teacher. We are both learning. I am only doing what I know to do as a writing teacher, and yet I am not sure if it is right. After class I chatted briefly with the adjunct instructor that follows me with the next class after mine in WFAB 2610.  She's a seasoned high school teacher. I teach 7th graders during the day. I sense our approach to teaching English may be different. Which one is right? I feel as though I am arming my students with a process I hope they will use as a resource to find their own strengths. Yes, the skills are coming, the mechanics are imbedded in pieces each week. But is that enough? After each class I leave pondering, and today I left wondering if the difference that made a difference was in my own learning, in my own realizations and then my own questioning of what I am doing and why I am doing it? Today I learned that I really enjoy working with these students. Indeed they are making me question myself as a teacher and as a researcher. Maybe they are the difference that is making a difference for me. 


*Please note that the names in the post are pseudonyms to protect the privacy of my students.

Imperfect Inquiry

After 20 years of experience teaching in public education, I discovered something knawing at me about the students in my classroom and the trends I was observing in the field. Something was wrong, and I didn't know exactly what. Teachers about me were doing great things with kids in the classroom. I was working as hard, if not harder than ever before. Yet kids were beginning to look duller, rather than brighter to me. Was it me or was it the system? So, I decided to enter graduate school to find out.

In 2009 I earned a M.Ed. in Reading Education and haven't left school since. Now in pursuit of a Ph.D. in Language and Literacy Studies at the University of North Texas, I continue to probe the system, as I look for answers about what is best for students. My interests include critical and new literacies, writing as transformation, generative learning and adaptive action, complex adaptive systems, creativity, culture and educational equity. I am a constructivist, an inquirer; the eternal student. 

This site is dedicated to my meandering mind. The pages listed are containers for topics that interest me as a doctoral student in language and literacy education. They are places to investigate my queries and quibbles as they arise. It is my attempt to organize ruminations that find their way to slips of paper, sticky notes or notebooks; a place where I hope to sort out my imperfect inquiry.


-- Laura Slay