Sunday, October 31, 2010
Irony.
Went to the Rally to Restore Sanity in DC yesterday. It was pretty insane. I hope people appreciated the irony.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Nothing Thoughtful.
Some funny stuff happened on Friday:
- Someone from TFA came in to take a picture of my classroom. The kids were taking a test, and it had already taken a little while to settle them down. Just when they were getting into their groove, the office called to tell me she had arrived, disrupting the class twice, and so they started to get antsy. Then someone came to the door and opened it, but didn't walk in, which made the kids start to yell, "Who's that? Who's there? The door is open!" Other students started to walk through the hall, which added even more noise to the class (we don't have real walls). Then, the TFA lady walked in, and the boys lost it. "That girl is HOT!" We got through the test, though.
- A girl raised her hand to ask a question. The boy sitting next to her turned to look and recoiled in horror. "MR. LYU! Why do girls grow hair under their arms?!?!?" "Uh... come talk to me after class and I can explain it to you."
- I told the class that if anyone can beat me at a 60-problem multiplication facts timed test, I will pay him or her $5. If I beat a challenger, they have to do two multiplication worksheets. After school, I got seven challengers. They called me a cheater because there's no way anyone can do them that fast. Yeah. I'm schooling 9 year-olds at multiplication. I feel so cool.
On a related note, when we took our first timed test at the beginning of the year, a girl in my class got ONE in two minutes. Friday, she got 29 in two minutes!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Poverty in the Classroom.
It's sometimes difficult to hold students accountable for their work when it's so glaringly obvious what they have to deal with at home.
One of my students missed over two weeks of school because she didn't have a place to live. The school gave her a free backpack and school supplies because that's what they do for kids who are categorized as homeless.
Two kids in my class are wearing clothes that probably haven't been washed in a month. One comes in every day with wet clothes that were hung out to dry in the basement the night before.
Driving through the neighborhood to drop off some kids, I saw that many houses had no windows or blinds. It stormed a couple of weeks ago.
I expect all the kids to have their homework done every night, and to come prepared and ready to learn every morning. If they can't do it at home, they do it with me after school. Yes, I know some people in other countries have it much worse. But still... why does ANY kid have to go through that?
One of my students missed over two weeks of school because she didn't have a place to live. The school gave her a free backpack and school supplies because that's what they do for kids who are categorized as homeless.
Two kids in my class are wearing clothes that probably haven't been washed in a month. One comes in every day with wet clothes that were hung out to dry in the basement the night before.
Driving through the neighborhood to drop off some kids, I saw that many houses had no windows or blinds. It stormed a couple of weeks ago.
I expect all the kids to have their homework done every night, and to come prepared and ready to learn every morning. If they can't do it at home, they do it with me after school. Yes, I know some people in other countries have it much worse. But still... why does ANY kid have to go through that?
Monday, October 4, 2010
Allen.
It's official. Allen withdrew from the school today. He is no longer in our class, and no longer at our school.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
My New Haircut.
As part of a reading contest, since my students read 100 books as a class before my co-teacher and I read 25, I had to shave my head.
In conclusion, I have a funny-shaped head.
In conclusion, I have a funny-shaped head.
Failure is the Only Option.
Something interesting, and a little more than sad has been happening recently, and it's left me at a loss for how to address or fix it.
Two of the boys in my class, Dean and David, are extremely bright. Their grades and test scores don't show it, though, since the second I start my math lessons, they say, "I can't do this. It's too hard." Dean slouches in his chair and his eyes glaze over. David turns around and then tries to wander the room finding something else to do. When I let the students practice what I just taught, Dean tries once, I tell him to fix one or two things, and he says, "Forget this! This is impossible!" He slams his pencil on his desk and pushes his paper away, slouching back, pouting, and not participating the rest of the hour. David just sits there staring blankly at the blank-er paper on his desk saying, "I don't know what to do."
I've been extremely encouraging. Some of the items on the LXS Values and Code of Conduct are to be your best at all times, never give up, believe in yourself, and have no fear of failure. There's even a saying on the side that says "Impossible is NOTHING" (Don't sue, Adidas... please). I preach these like they they're the word of God. I tell them that they can do it, and that I believe in them. But, it doesn't seem to be working.
These two boys are the oldest in my class. They're both 11 going on 12, which should put them in middle school. But, for some reason or another, they are still in 4th grade, and far behind in both reading and math. At such a young age they've already experienced and internalized failure, and for obvious reasons, hate it. Since they can't do anything right, they've decided they might as well not try. But of course, if they don't try, they never learn it, and then they end up failing anyway.
I know I need to give them a taste of success and show them that they can do this. I also have to teach the idea of malleable intelligence - that if you work hard, you become smart. Regardless, there's something so wrong and sad about an 11 year-old that already truly believes that he can't do anything right. All those defiant behaviors that people see coming down the line in middle school and high school come from a defense mechanism against failure. I wonder how many people have ever told them that they are capable of learning all this stuff. I also wonder what it's going to take for them to believe it themselves.
For a much better blog post about this subject, you can read this.
PS. For all the fans of Allen... He's been absent from school for the last 10 straight days. Apparently, his whole family is very sick. I know I should be doing more to check in and make sure they're doing all right, but right now I feel like I need to concentrate on the classroom and deal with catching him up when he gets back. Is that wrong?
Two of the boys in my class, Dean and David, are extremely bright. Their grades and test scores don't show it, though, since the second I start my math lessons, they say, "I can't do this. It's too hard." Dean slouches in his chair and his eyes glaze over. David turns around and then tries to wander the room finding something else to do. When I let the students practice what I just taught, Dean tries once, I tell him to fix one or two things, and he says, "Forget this! This is impossible!" He slams his pencil on his desk and pushes his paper away, slouching back, pouting, and not participating the rest of the hour. David just sits there staring blankly at the blank-er paper on his desk saying, "I don't know what to do."
I've been extremely encouraging. Some of the items on the LXS Values and Code of Conduct are to be your best at all times, never give up, believe in yourself, and have no fear of failure. There's even a saying on the side that says "Impossible is NOTHING" (Don't sue, Adidas... please). I preach these like they they're the word of God. I tell them that they can do it, and that I believe in them. But, it doesn't seem to be working.
These two boys are the oldest in my class. They're both 11 going on 12, which should put them in middle school. But, for some reason or another, they are still in 4th grade, and far behind in both reading and math. At such a young age they've already experienced and internalized failure, and for obvious reasons, hate it. Since they can't do anything right, they've decided they might as well not try. But of course, if they don't try, they never learn it, and then they end up failing anyway.
I know I need to give them a taste of success and show them that they can do this. I also have to teach the idea of malleable intelligence - that if you work hard, you become smart. Regardless, there's something so wrong and sad about an 11 year-old that already truly believes that he can't do anything right. All those defiant behaviors that people see coming down the line in middle school and high school come from a defense mechanism against failure. I wonder how many people have ever told them that they are capable of learning all this stuff. I also wonder what it's going to take for them to believe it themselves.
For a much better blog post about this subject, you can read this.
PS. For all the fans of Allen... He's been absent from school for the last 10 straight days. Apparently, his whole family is very sick. I know I should be doing more to check in and make sure they're doing all right, but right now I feel like I need to concentrate on the classroom and deal with catching him up when he gets back. Is that wrong?
Race and Ethnicity in Baltimore.
Quick history lesson: the Mason-Dixon Line was the line that separated the South from the North during the American Civil War. It is also Maryland's northern border (making it a Southern state), but since Washington, DC is inside Maryland, it is south of the line. Kind of awkward, no? It ended up being one of the "border states," meaning it was a slave state that didn't secede from the Union. But, when you read those stories of the Civil War where brothers were fighting brothers on opposite sides, this is where it was happening most.
I've probably mentioned it before, but there are some people who say that Maryland is the first northern city. They usually come from the south. Then, there are people who say that Maryland is the first southern city. They usually come from the north. In any case, it doesn't really fit and there are still awkward racial tensions that stem from how racially segregated the city is, and how immigration from Latin America especially is changing the old dynamic. Also, the complete lack of Asian people (except right by the universities) has made me understand for the first time in my life how big a part my ethnicity, background, and culture play in who I am, as well as how who others think I am.
There have been a number of ways that race/ethnicity issues have popped up since I've come to Baltimore. The first time, I had landed in Baltimore for the first time, and was waiting for a shuttle. A 40+ year-old Japanese man had been at the counter, and left to go to the bathroom. As I approached the counter to buy a ticket, they start calling reservation numbers for people to go wait outside, and his number is called, but he is in the bathroom. The attendant calls his name a few more times, growing increasingly impatient. He finally walks over to the counter where I'm standing, and says, "Are you the little Chinese man that was standing here and we're waiting for?" "No, he's in the bathroom." "Oh."
Last week, I walked into school and another teacher had gotten a haircut. "Mr. Green! Nice haircut! Looking sharp! Did you do it yourself?" I ask, as I enter my classroom. Before I go on, to be clear, Mr. Green is a very nice guy, and extremely capable teacher who means no harm to anyone and manages his classroom like a pro. I like the guy a lot. Anyway, he comes in and says, "No, man! All my friends make fun of me because I got my own hairdresser. But she's this little Oriental girl and she be like (cue Asian accent) Mr. Green! You no worry! I do you real nice! Real cheap! And she does it real nice doesn't she? Only cost me $8 from those Oriental ones like you, huh?"
Every day, the kids go to a resource class for an hour in the morning. These are classes like art, Spanish, computers, or library. A different person teaches them, and we get that hour to plan and prepare for the rest of the day. The kids had library this past week, and the teacher is notorious for having awful classroom management, just yelling at the students for an hour, and pushing worksheets that either no one understands, or are too easy to they spend the bulk of the hour wondering what they can do, not getting anything to do, talking, and then getting yelled at. The librarian, Ms. Byrd, writes her "bad" kids' names on the board, and when I picked them I read the names. We have two Bens - Ben King, and Ben Price. When I looked at the board, I saw that one of them had gotten in trouble. Just to make sure she knew which one had gotten in trouble, Ms. Byrd (a black lady), had written "Ben (white)" on the board.
So, I realize that this started off as a post about race and ethnicity in a state that has a confused racial identity to begin with, but I realize that all I've really done is told three stories that really have no point and have nothing really in common with each other besides the fact that something racist or uncomfortable happened. I know that we're supposed to take a stand, and clear these misconceptions with our kids, but to be honest, I don't even know where to begin, and I'm having trouble teaching the normal stuff as it is. Also, these stories didn't involve my kids, really. They were all things that adults around them are doing and saying. What am I supposed to do about that?
In conclusion, I am confused. And, since I'm just throwing around stories/thoughts that have no relation to what else has been said, let me just say that I have never been in a place where my "different-ness" has been made so obvious to me. I guess the only other time was in Sweden, but we had all the other UC kids, and it was temporary, so even there it wasn't as glaring. It's really made me appreciate who I am more, even as I start to try thinking about and figuring out what my background and culture means to me. I definitely have found a new appreciation for it, though. It's funny, I didn't think this program would be a growing experience in this way.
If you can help me make sense of all these things that have happened, and what they mean, please let me know. Thank you much.
I've probably mentioned it before, but there are some people who say that Maryland is the first northern city. They usually come from the south. Then, there are people who say that Maryland is the first southern city. They usually come from the north. In any case, it doesn't really fit and there are still awkward racial tensions that stem from how racially segregated the city is, and how immigration from Latin America especially is changing the old dynamic. Also, the complete lack of Asian people (except right by the universities) has made me understand for the first time in my life how big a part my ethnicity, background, and culture play in who I am, as well as how who others think I am.
There have been a number of ways that race/ethnicity issues have popped up since I've come to Baltimore. The first time, I had landed in Baltimore for the first time, and was waiting for a shuttle. A 40+ year-old Japanese man had been at the counter, and left to go to the bathroom. As I approached the counter to buy a ticket, they start calling reservation numbers for people to go wait outside, and his number is called, but he is in the bathroom. The attendant calls his name a few more times, growing increasingly impatient. He finally walks over to the counter where I'm standing, and says, "Are you the little Chinese man that was standing here and we're waiting for?" "No, he's in the bathroom." "Oh."
Last week, I walked into school and another teacher had gotten a haircut. "Mr. Green! Nice haircut! Looking sharp! Did you do it yourself?" I ask, as I enter my classroom. Before I go on, to be clear, Mr. Green is a very nice guy, and extremely capable teacher who means no harm to anyone and manages his classroom like a pro. I like the guy a lot. Anyway, he comes in and says, "No, man! All my friends make fun of me because I got my own hairdresser. But she's this little Oriental girl and she be like (cue Asian accent) Mr. Green! You no worry! I do you real nice! Real cheap! And she does it real nice doesn't she? Only cost me $8 from those Oriental ones like you, huh?"
Every day, the kids go to a resource class for an hour in the morning. These are classes like art, Spanish, computers, or library. A different person teaches them, and we get that hour to plan and prepare for the rest of the day. The kids had library this past week, and the teacher is notorious for having awful classroom management, just yelling at the students for an hour, and pushing worksheets that either no one understands, or are too easy to they spend the bulk of the hour wondering what they can do, not getting anything to do, talking, and then getting yelled at. The librarian, Ms. Byrd, writes her "bad" kids' names on the board, and when I picked them I read the names. We have two Bens - Ben King, and Ben Price. When I looked at the board, I saw that one of them had gotten in trouble. Just to make sure she knew which one had gotten in trouble, Ms. Byrd (a black lady), had written "Ben (white)" on the board.
So, I realize that this started off as a post about race and ethnicity in a state that has a confused racial identity to begin with, but I realize that all I've really done is told three stories that really have no point and have nothing really in common with each other besides the fact that something racist or uncomfortable happened. I know that we're supposed to take a stand, and clear these misconceptions with our kids, but to be honest, I don't even know where to begin, and I'm having trouble teaching the normal stuff as it is. Also, these stories didn't involve my kids, really. They were all things that adults around them are doing and saying. What am I supposed to do about that?
In conclusion, I am confused. And, since I'm just throwing around stories/thoughts that have no relation to what else has been said, let me just say that I have never been in a place where my "different-ness" has been made so obvious to me. I guess the only other time was in Sweden, but we had all the other UC kids, and it was temporary, so even there it wasn't as glaring. It's really made me appreciate who I am more, even as I start to try thinking about and figuring out what my background and culture means to me. I definitely have found a new appreciation for it, though. It's funny, I didn't think this program would be a growing experience in this way.
If you can help me make sense of all these things that have happened, and what they mean, please let me know. Thank you much.
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