Entry #4: For my Future Students...

 3 IDEAS I AM NOW PONDERING: 

The three ideas I am now pondering include: Following Tompkins (2017) principles in my teaching, using Muhammad’s Historically Responsive Literacy model that includes identity, skills, intellectualism, and criticality, and interweaving both authors ideas to create my own pedagogy that will help my students for the better! Tompkins lists many principles that I am familiar with and some that I am not yet familiar with. I am starting to work on developing my scaffolding skills and learning about cueing systems. Muhammad’s historically responsive framework includes anecdotes from black literary society members. I am thinking about different ways to incorporate these stories into my lesson plans. I will continue to think about different ways to mold these two authors ideas about education together. 

2 COMMENTS THAT REALLY INSPIRED ME

Both texts incorporated information that inspired me, and I know I will use in my future classroom. 

Muhammad says, “In fact, we too often see “diversity” or “multicultural” classes as isolated efforts rather than grounding entire programs in intersectionality as we see in black and cultural studies programs” (Muhammad, 2020, p. 40). Schools pride themselves in being “diverse” solely on the fact that they have students who attend their school who identify as black, brown, or latinx. Muhammad is drawing emphasis to the fact that curriculum and instruction should always be immersed with multimodal texts written by underrepresented authors and stories of black excellence rather than struggle, for example. Another way society separates black stories from the rest is by sectioning off sections of the library for black stories. This is great; however, these stories of black individuals should also be included with all of the other sections of the libraries. I will ensure that my students experience multimodal text from underrepresented author populations and hope that some of my students see themselves when they read these books.  

Tompkins says, “Effective teachers adjust their instruction because students vary in their levels of development, academic achievement, and ability” (Tompkins, 2017, p. 28). 

This inspires me to get to know my students on a deeper level to ensure that I am adequately differentiating instruction. I will actively engage with my students and learn about each on of them in order to get an accurate gage of their developmental level, cognitive capacity, and ability. 

1 COMMITMENT I WANT TO MAKE FOR MY FUTURE STUDENTS

I am committed to taking action and putting in the work required to understand my students’ unique cognitive, social, and cultural identities. As I learn about my students, my societal view will grow. I will read texts written by underrepresented authors in order to gain new perspectives that differ from my own. I will unpack my own biases, assumptions, racisms, and other oppressive thoughts about marginalized groups. I have dreams where in the future, all teachers teach with the HRL framework model, and all students are given the opportunity to use their intellect and criticality. It is so clear that schools reflect society. Building positive school environments will correlate to a better society.  

References:

Muhammad, G. (2020).  Cultivating genius:  An equity framework for culturally and historically responsive literacy.  New York, NY:  Scholastic. 

Tompkins, G.E. (2017).  Literacy for the 21st century:  A balanced approach (7th ed.).  Boston, MA: Pearson.    

Entry #3: My Literacy Foundation

 Here is the link to my literacy collage

Entry #2: I want to REALLY understand

    Prior to using the SQ4R reading strategy, I was not retaining much of what I was reading. I have come to the realization that my comprehension was low because I was not using the best practices to facilitate a proper understanding of the text. First, I was jumping straight into the reading before I surveyed the text for main ideas. The only information I knew before starting to read was the title of the reading. I know now that scanning over the text prior to reading can illuminate some important information. Additionally, I did pose and answer questions while reading with SQ4R. This helped me find my weaknesses and resolve my understanding. I was able to realize that I was a passive reader before using this strategy. I was rushing through readings simply to get them done. I did not realize that through doing this, I was failing myself. Since using SQ4R, I have become a more active reader. I am actively seeking to understand the complexities of the text through questioning and reflecting.  

    I was able to participate in the forum discussions because I had focused and sought understanding from the text by using the SQ4R strategy. Of course, there were still components of the text that I was unclear about, which made it easy for me to ask my peers to help clear up my confusion. My peers helped me to grasp the topics I was not able to work through myself. SQ4R walked me through asking myself questions and allowing me to target areas of the text that I struggled with. For example, after I read the linguistic domain section of the text, I was able to refer back to my initial question to see if I was able to answer it now that I had read. The first time through the reading, I was still not able to answer my question and had to reread some of the text to aide in my overall understanding. Because of this, I was able to make meaningful connections and contributions to the forum with my peers. 

    I will need to have a set of many skills to be a purposeful reader. I believe a reader with purpose is a successful reader. First, I will need to have time management skills to allow myself enough time to interact with texts in the way that I need to do to be successful. The SQ4R strategy leaves no space for rushed reading. It will take a lot of time to read, write, think, reflect, and question the text. Furthermore, I will need to have patience with myself. It is not always easy to pick up complex topics from text the first time you read about them. I predict that I may need to reread some pieces of text before fully comprehending them. Being a successful reader will take effort, energy, and concentration. I will need to hold myself accountable for being this type of reader. I know that this is not a “one and done” type of action. I consider a successful reader to be someone who puts the time and the effort into achieving their own comprehension. Being a successful reader is not something that is just achieved. It is something requires constant effort throughout an individual’s life. I will continue to work towards being a successful reader always. It is essential to be an active reader and truly comprehend the text to formulate the best discussion with my peers. I will hold myself to this standard along with my peers. Engaging in this type of reading paired with great conversation will help all of us to become the type of teachers that our students deserve.