Agreeing with Lisa Delpit/ Ebonics

After reading the story "What Should Teachers Do" by Lisa Delpit I was very shocked by the information that she had given. I hadn't put much thought into how correcting a student's dialect that wasn't use to English could be hurtful or even detrimental. Most teachers would think that they are just helping the student to become proficient in english and don't realize that they're doing more than just that. The article states that when a student is corrected with language, it suggests that there is something wrong with their family or even culture. Let alone, coming to school where a lot words are different than home would be very difficult. I definitely think it's up to the teachers to encourage and engage these children in language, but in a fun and positive way. The article mentioned that teachers should practice role play activities such as puppet shows so they can practice standardized english and students won’t feel pressured from correction. In my opinion, teachers should be more concerned about kids knowing and understanding what they’re reading instead of just knowing how to pronounce a word.

Our class exercise proved that when correcting kids on how the way they speak, it creates silence. After we were divided into the readers, correctors, and test makers, the readers were expected to read Shakespeare. When reading, the correctors yelled and corrected them for every word mispronounced and most of them had gotten softer when they spoke or didn’t want to read at all. In addition, when asked comprehension questions about what actually happened in the story very few could answer correctly. This clearly shows that correcting kids on how they speak can very easily shut them down and show them that what they’ve learned from their loved ones is not right.

What should my classroom be like?

The Fundamentals of my classroom

After reading the Chapter 3 Creating an environment for learning I started to wonder about what my classroom would look like and how it should make my kids feel. Even though I don’t know whether I want to teach young children or high schoolers there were a few things that I definitely feel that are beneficial to have within my room. First off, I will have a jar of pencils and pens on my desk for children to borrow if they forgot one, because we all forget things time to time no matter how responsible we are. I would also have a few family pictures or knick knacks on my desk that are important to me to help my students to get to know me better. In addition, I would love to have a small pot of flowers on my desk to brighten up everyone’s day when they walk in the room. I think it’s very important to have a clean and healthy room for students to relax and be able to comfortably do their work in. Throughout high school, there were many classrooms that didn’t have tissues or hand sanitizer which made me very embarrassed when having a runny nose and self-conscious when I was sick. There will always be soft tissues and hand sanitizer for all kids to use, as well as Febreeze when it gets hot and the rooms tend to not smell their best. In addition, I hope to have a basket with blankets on the floor if I teach elementary or high school english because I always had difficulty trying to read in my english classes when it was freezing in the winter. There will also always be a visual aid to what is for homework each night and the board will always be legible and written in big letters. Even though I didn’t need glasses in highschool I struggled to see the notes that my teachers would write if I sat in the back row and it was very frustrating. Therefore I hope to arrange a seating arrangement in which every student has the right to see everything and learn in the best way that they can. I hope to constantly be changing the seating arrangement so students can over time become more comfortable with everyone. I think it’s very important for my students to feel emotionally comfortable as well. Hand raising and speaking up about one’s own opinions will be greatly encouraged and there will be no such thing as a stupid question. Respecting others in the class will be held at a top priority and open discussion about certain topics that we are learning will happen often in order for everyone to get to know each other. Also when my students tend to look tired or unmotivated I hope to give them a few minutes to stretch and grab a piece of candy. Overall, I want my students to feel special and loved when they are within my classroom.

Observation at Legacy Village/ Blogpost 2

Description:

• Chinese woman and tall guy. The guy is wearing Jordan shoes, tan pants, a retro black and red shirt, and has a small bag in his hands. The girl has a striped black and cream dress on with black ballet flats and a small black tote wrapped around her waist.They look like they're in their mid twenties, maybe 26 or 27.

• 2nd guy: Wearing a blue button up collared shirt with dark jeans, earrings, and Nike blue tenner shoes. His dark brown hair is spiked up and was fixing his shirt.

• 2nd woman: Is wearing a red collared shirt with a black stripe across her stomach with black pants and tan rubber flip flops. Her hair is black and up in a bun with a large pony tail. There is also a cupcake or ice cream symbol on her shirt.
• There are three women in the background. They are all carrying large over sized purses and are huddled around each other like they are talking. They all are wearing black or tan pants and have dark hair that is up in either a ponytail or bun. There is a small girl that looks 10-12 with a green soccer jersey standing next to them. Her hair is in pink tails. 
• There's a tall guy with dark hair in a white polo shirt with stripes and tan pants. He has puma tenner shoes on and is walking very quickly by himself. Looks 18-21
• There's a girl with curly black hair with a leather white purse across her back. She has a huge green shopping bag in her hand and is wearing short jean shorts with a formal white top. She also has an additional white shopping bag pressed against her chest.

Interpretation: 

• The woman and the guy are a couple because they were walking together and were standing very close to each other.The guy may like rap music or hip hop because of his retro shirt. He also may be interested in basketball because of his shoes. The girl may be well off financially because she is dressed nicely. They may be getting engaged or are engaged because of their age
• The 2nd guy may still think he is young because his hair is spiked up and he's wearing earnings. He may also be concerned with the way he looks or self-conscious because he was trying to fix his shirt.
• The 2nd woman may work at fast food place and just got off or in to work.
• The 3 women are moms because they're older and have a child with them and all have big purses. The girl next to one of the mom's must be a daughter to one.
• He likes to dress nice and may be athletic due to his tenner shoes. He may be on a mission to somewhere or needs to find a bathroom.
• She may be very well of financially because of all the bags she's carrying and the clothes she's wearing. She may be aware of how she looks.

Parking Lot:

• The guy and the girl that are a couple. Are they engaged? 
• Is the woman in the red shirt struggling with money because she's working in a food court? Is that her only job?
• Does the girl with the nice leather purse and shopping bags consider herself to have a good personality?
• Where was the guy that was walking quickly going?

Webpost1: Class Survey

Webpost1: Class Survey


1. I prefer to be called Adrianna or Adri. (Whatever is easier)

2. My hometown is Hilliard Ohio.

3. I am still unsure of what grade I would like to teach but I do know that I would enjoy Spanish, English, or Biology.

4. My hobbies include being creative, helping others, interacting with kids, and eating ice-cream. I would say what makes me special or unique is that I really enjoy trying to make other people laugh and have a good time. I also am very young for my grade and am cheering at Carroll.

Learning Style and more:

1. In order for me to feel comfortable and take intellectual and creative risks in the classroom, a safe environment must be formed between my peers and I. No question should be a "stupid" question and respect should be held as a high priority. In addition, everyone knowing each other's names would be very helpful.

2. In class, I enjoy speaking up and raising my hand when I become comfortable within a class. I would consider myself to be fairly responsible when it comes to getting my work done and getting to class on time. I have found that over the years I am more of a visual learner and do well when I can explain what I'm studying to another person.  Whenever I have a hard time of understanding something I usually ask someone else to try to explain it because they more than likely will have a different way of going about it.

Education Past and Present:

7. A formative memory has been the relationship that I have made with my spanish teacher from high school. When I was a freshman I remember being so surprised on the first day about how she had acted and treated all people with love and generosity. She accepted all students, no matter how different and constantly knew how to keep a positive attitude. Having her again my junior year and being able to keep in touch with her has truly shown me who and what I want to be. I hope to one day to become a teacher just like her.

8. Some of the significant issues in the education field that I am worried about is the removal of teaching cursive and handwriting in elementary schools, the push for standardizing testing, and the gender gap between boys and girls.

About Dr. Shutkin

1. What has been your most memorable experience while being a teacher?

2. My email link to my blog is: adeptula.blogspot.com