Final Reading Response

While reading the "Cycle of Liberation" from RDSJ I had a hard time understanding what really was going on. It seemed very hard for me to follow. The author's definition of liberation "critical transformation" did not help me at all (Harro 463). However, after doing some research online and according to Wikipedia the definition of liberation is simply just the condition in which the individual has the ability to act to his or her own will (Wikipedia 1). The figure "The Cycle of Socialization" was also hard to follow and very confusing. However, this important with all the different phases they are showing us with the transitions used from one phase to the next. On the other hand, I liked how the author said you can enter the cycle at any stage. Furthermore, one can repeat or stay in the same cycle because oppression does last forever (Harro 464). To me the core was the easiest part of the cycle to understand, it just seemed like all of those things really belonged ex: love, balance, joy, support, etc. The core also seems like the most important part you really do need a strong core to build on the rest of the stages.

Reading Response

I found "The Construction of the Ghetto" article to be very informative. I never really understood ghettos very well. Such as: where it originated and when it started, but after reading this article I feel like I have a better understanding on explaining the color line and can go more in depth on the topic. I had no idea that ghettos went way back to the turn of the century. Something that I found helpful was the table,(Isolation Indices By Year). This was rather shocking to me because I had no idea how low the black neighborhood percentages were starting out with the majority living in white areas. Almost every city started out with a low black percentage and then significantly increased. Take Chicago, which once started out at 8% black in the 1890's and then boomed to well over 70% by the 1930's. Most cities were like this except Minneapolis and San Francisco both saw the black ghettos stay about the same. The author made a good point while stating that blacks started mainly out in the north, ex: like Indianapolis, Kansas City, Philadelphia, etc. However, they made there way down to the south within that forty year period.

# 6 Service Learning

My sixth service learning journal was my final tenth visit. I found this challenging because it was my last day and I did not want to say goodbye. Especially after the class invited me on a field trip with them to Greenfield Village. This was a normal late morning session that I had attended. We started off with recess optional outdoors/indoors the majority stayed inside and played board games while a few went outside all bundled up to play soccer in thirty-five degree weather. Following recess it was time for Art, so I walked the class down to art and watched the half hour session. The Art teacher was an African American fellow who had immigrated many years ago from Africa his name was Jesse Jay Washington (Mr. Washington). At first I thought he was rather strict, but he then let the students take over and have their freedom while they were sculpting their clay pots. I was amazed at some of the work these kids were capable of doing. One child had coils around the whole pot with a very neat design on top. In class, I found out that two children's mothers were artists.
After Art, the class quietly walked back to class and the teacher had set apples out for everyone including myself. They then started on a jumpstart which is similar to ours in teaching class. It is like a lead in to the next assignment or task. The jumpstart is only for English (grammar corrections) and it is a grade everyday. Many students find this challenging because the jumpstarts can often be tricky. The jumpstart has two grades one for participation and completing the assignment and the other is right and wrong. After the jumpstart I had announced to everybody that this was my last session at Red Cedar. The majority were disappointed that I was leaving so soon and others said that I should come back. To me this was like a pat on the back and I felt proud. For the rest of the day Ms. Byrd-good basically made me a teacher's aide. There was a lot of work that needed to be done. Such as copying papers and future lesson plans, grading tests, setting up the calendars, and cutting out construction paper for activities.
Towards the end of my service learning the teacher aide Ms. Velasquez had quit due to a fallout with the teacher. This made the workload much heavier for me and unfortunately I was unable to work with the class as much. This was one of the most disappointing this for me at Red Cedar. Other than that I cannot complain on how fair everybody was to me from the principle to the teachers and staff to the students. This was something I will remember forever. It also helped influence me on becoming a teacher one day. I was always curious and continued to ask myself is teaching enjoyable will I like it? I had found the answer at Red Cedar this was the deciding factor. Finally before I walked out I told the teacher that I will be coming back in the winter and spring at least several times a month to help be part of Red Cedar. As I walked out I told her how passionate I am about wanting to teach now and how that she and her class deserve all the credit for making their class a comfortable learning environment.

#5 Service Learning

For my fifth service learning session I wanted try something new. So, I came after school on a Monday to the Writing Club which runs from 3:30-5:30. The writing club consisted of half of Ms. Byrd-good's class and the other half comes from the rest of the other third graders. This program is optional, but highly recommended for those who are foreign and struggling with writing. On the other hand, it can also be taken as an aftercare.
My job was to set the room up for the afternoon session. I helped pass out snacks and read a story to the class. Then when the class started writing I helped along with the teacher by answering any question or helping those who were troubled by getting them started. My goal was not to give anything away, but make them work without being puzzled. The topic was what is your favorite place to visit and why? A few kids did struggle at early on in the class. However, after awhile the majority wrote some very good papers. What surprised me even more was how the whole class volunteered all fifteen students! I remember when I was in these types of situations back in fifth grade and even today sometimes how I just tighten up and not share my thoughts. Another thing that really impressed me about this class is how everybody was cooperating by being well-behaved and actually thinking which can be challenging for many students at the end of a long day. During the last five minutes nobody packed up or stopped working. To me I find if students like these are having fun learning and are understanding what is taking place then that is a successful day for them and as well me too.
The teacher was so proud that she wanted to reward everybody the next time by bringing in a movie. She had told me that the writing club had been a struggle in the past. Before she had a problem with students refusing to work, which really puts her on the spot. Thankfully, now those students have finally changed for the better and have come along nicely. Another major problem that occurred earlier and that has now been rectified is that there were some behavior problems. The teacher was not even controlling the class due to the lack of respect the students had. Now for the most part it looks that the majority of third graders are enjoying learning and are either getting back on track or some are above par with the extra learning time. Ms. Byrd-good was commenting on how there has usually been one or two kids that have to be retained every year, but as of now there were no students that were involved in that situation.
As we wrapped up the writing session everybody walked out to meet there parents with a grimace on there face. Several students took the bus home which surprised me that they would have an activity bus this late in the day for this small of a school. That day really helped build up my confidence(teaching wise). Before I felt uncomfortable getting in front of a class with 20+ students. My biggest fear was stumbling while reading or giving the wrong advice and somebody trying to embarrass me. However, this was cured after seeing how respectful everybody was of each other and themselves.

Journal #4

While attending my fourth service learning session I finally began to see the dark side of my third grade teacher. Ms. Byrd-good was very unfair and rather nasty during a spelling test. She refused to repeat a word on the test twice. I found this surprising because this was like a middle school thing for me and here this class was being kicked around by the teacher. In the end, it turned out about eight out of the 20 students absolutely bombed the test. This even seemed unfair to me because there are eight foreign kids in the class and they have a hard enough time speaking English well as is. On the other hand, I was not about to speak up in front of the class and confront the teacher. While grading their tests which was very painful Ms.Byrd Good said "show no mercy" while grading their tests meaning do not even give them the benefit of the doubt. This was probably one of the grumpiest moods that I have ever seen a teacher in throughout my fourteen years in school. I just wanted to know why she was so hard on them that day? From my point of view I believe that she was in a bad mood because the class was behaving very poorly the day before or possibly she is trying to get them ready for fourth grade and has no idea how far overboard she is going. Another concern I had about this is the parents that would most likely complain after seeing their child's test scores. Especially after the top student in the class only received an 84.
Sure enough the parent complaints came in and Ms. Byrd-good apologized to everyone and discarded the tests. She said the reason she toughened up so much was because of the lack of respect for the teacher and other classmates. It turns out two children in the same class were involved in a fight (John K. and Brandon W.). This really got the teacher riled up and changed her mood significantly. The next day she was back to her usual self smiling away and telling funny jokes, which is doing what she does best by making everyone feel comfortable and putting a smile on everybody's face including myself. After the Pledge, she announced that Michigan may be switching to only healthy snacks in the nearby future and that the school policy was already 100% agreeing with possible law. So, she was informing everybody to start bringing healthy snacks only from now on otherwise, you will be unable to eat. While at lunch duty later that day I noticed the price of lunch and was shell-shocked at $2.25. That much money for just a slice of pizza or a corn dog and your choice of a small salad or fruit. This is just ridiculous with the whole state of Michigan's economy struggling and many families on the border of poverty line at our school they still charge $2.25. I came from an average area in Florida (middle class) but the standard lunch was a $1.50. Still too much! I chatted with a few students who were waiting in line about the high price of lunch. They even seemed a little concerned on child said he is scared to ask his parents for lunch money because they always give him a mean look because money is very precious in his family. He also told me there are days where he is money-less and how painful it is to go without eating lunch. I then told him about my experience back home in Florida about how some students had reduced lunch of 40 cents and others had free lunch depending on the child's parents financial background. I was curious and asked if they had something like this here?
He was clueless and said maybe I should look into seeing if they have something similar. This made me happy that I had potentially solved a child's need for lunch. After all, without lunch how can a growing seven year old boy make it?

Reading Response

After reading "The American High School Has Failed Its Missions" I feel the younger generation has turned high school into what they want it to be. High school students are starting to take charge now in pretty much everything they do. At the same time they kind of set the tone for the rest of the students like their followers. Many do not care if they are learning, but when they get to college they really do regret it. The study habits you develop in high school are usually what one uses in college and it is very challenging to break the bad habits. The author mentioned a very good point which I strongly agree with in that students in high schools need to be motivated if they want to progress and learn (Labaree)otherwise it is basically a waste of time. Another statement that I agreed with the author is that high schools are under lots of pressure to push the students towards graduation with a combination of easy grading and automatic promotion (Labaree). Something has really gone wrong with our high school and the problem needs to be changed immediately so that the younger students in the nearby future can continue to develop their minds. Furthermore, if we keep slacking off in high school and continue unchallenged it will show. The gap between the United States and some of the other intelligent countries such as China and Japan will continue to widen. How will they solve this problem? Will it be solved anytime soon?

I found the "School Inclusion and Multicultural Issues in Special Education" article to be quite informative. I am completely against the law that was passed by Congress back in 1975. I find it hard to believe that they actually dismiss children with disabilities who were not performing with the rest of the students who are similar in age. This seems unfair when you dismiss them what do you leave them with? Many families cannot afford private schools and do not have time to teach their kids(home school) because they are busy working. I am very thankful that the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Act) changed everything significantly. It just seems unfair to leave a child behind these days because without an education it is almost impossible to succeed in today's society. I feel without the IDEA I could have been affected and left behind so this was a great decision and I am glad people rethought this idea because it affects many people throughout our country each year.