Parent involvement

I believe that the involvement of one or both parents is very important to a students success in school. Some students do need more parental involvement than others, like when I was in school all I needed was knowing my parents supported me but on the other hand my younger sister needed my parents help with homework and my parents needed to work with her teachers often. My sisters and I were lucky enough to come from a middle class family where my mother was a stay at home mom and could be more involved with our education if we needed it. Other children are not so lucky. Auerbach talks about this issue in her article. She discusses how many parents do not have the opportunity to have a large role in their child's education. Her article focuses on parents of Latino and African descent and I really identified with article because I grew up in the town next to Lawrence where there is a large population of latinos and low SES families. I also know several pArents from lawrence that wish that they could be more involved in their children's schools. Unfortunately many of these parents can't do all they want within the school because that have to work. The cannot afford the time off to chaperone a field trip and are usually still working when their children get home from school and therefore are not there to help with homework. Some of the parents do not speak English or never finished high school themselves so they either lack the language or knowledge to help with homework or converse with a teacher. For some of the parents that didn't finish school they feel uncomfortable in a school setting. These parents in turn tend to be judged by teachers and school faculty. Many teachers see them as uninterested in their child's education and think they do not care about the student but in most cases it is the complete opposite. Many of these parents are working so hard to safe up to send their kids to college that they can't be involved within the school but they are their to give emotional support. The teachers that think this way often give up on the students and this is just wrong. Teachers should be reaching out to these students. Offer homework help. Reach out to the parents. If their is a language barrier offer handouts in different languages or see if the school can provide an interpreter. The teacher needs to make strides too, not just the parent.

Sexuality

Out of the three readings for this week, Anderson's Lesbian and Gay Adolescents: Social and Developmental Considerations interested me the most. Anderson talks about how many gay and lesbian students try very hard to cover up their sexuality and i agree with that. My older sister's best friend is now proud to be openly gay but you would have never he was gay when he was in high school. He dated girls, made sure to play lots of "manly" sports, and would do anything to prove that he was just a normal heterosexual guy. he always seemed depressed in high school and did not do well in school. years later when he came out as gay he was much happier and excelling in college. I truly believe that he spent so much time hiding his true self and worrying what others thought of him that he fell behind in school. I think a lot of students struggle with this.
As teachers we need to do something to help these students. I think we need to let students know that we are their to talk to and that they can trust us. We need to give our students support. If they look like they are having a bad day maybe we should take the time to ask them how their day is going or give them an opportunity to talk. If we notice they are falling behind we need to offer the help they need to get back on track. They need to know that we care and that we support them.

In a Different Voice

In Gilligan's In a Different Voice she discusses how many psychology models focus only on the male perspective. Unfortunately this shows women and girls that they are not the norm and if they cannot conform to the so called norm their must be something wrong with them. So how is this applicable in a classroom setting? Many female students are made to feel like they are beneath their male counterparts and that can set them up for failure. If the girls feel like they are already in a lower position they may lack self esteem and resist participation in class in  fear of embarrassment. They also may simply believe that they cannot do something because they have been told they cannot  and that can turn into them not trying because they think that they can't.
While do research for another class on women and psychology, I found that many women and girls believed that they did not believe they belonged in math. They were always taught that boys were better at math and science and that affected their self-esteem. I also found that until a couple of years ago it was found that many standardized tests in math used word problems and examples about things that typically interest boys, like sports and cars. many of the girls taking the test could not identify with the problem and in turn had difficulty solving the problem.
So I think it is important for teachers to make sure that their students know that they all can do it. They need to encourage every student despite their gender, race, or any other type of diversity. I also believe that teachers, especially in math, need to give examples and questions that everyone can relate to or at least a variety of different ones. it is extremely important to make sure everyone feels that they belong and can do anything.

Children of Immigration

The amount of difficulties and stereotypes that the children of immigration must face is overwhelming. One of the things that bothered me the most while reading the book was some of the teachers views of immigrant students. Some view them as unintelligent, lazy, and more likely to get into trouble (127). These teachers blame the students for their difficulties instead of helping them overcome the issues that they face. I believe the biggest problem here is that the teachers lack education about these students. They need to see that these students are not lazy but that they are facing a language barrier and other cultural barriers. These teachers need to recognize these difficulties and find ways to help students deal with these issues and flourish in school.

Another thing that struck me during my reading was the family dynamics in immigrant families. Many of the children are forced to take on the role of the parents because they know English. this takes away the luxury of being a teenager and makes it difficult for them to have time to study and have a social life. Their parents' fears of Americanization can also can open the door to bullying and put the students into social exile. In high school differences are not looked upon fondly and when parents do not want the children to conform and become like their classmates they are setting them up to be outsiders. This can also make it difficult for students to make friends, which can make high school a living hell. I think school need to make efforts to help immigrant students make connections and educate other students about the cultures of immigrant students to help them be better accepted. If the students have a sense of belonging and acceptance they are better set up to succeed in  academics.

Schools need to do more to educate both their students and their teachers about immigration and the children of immigration. If the students are informed about the differences in culture and the difficulties that their fellow students may face they would be more likely to accept them and help them through their experience. Teachers nee to learn how to help students overcome their difficulties in both their academic and personal lives. The children of immigration will be able to succeed better in school with a feeling of a support system.

Week 1

This week's readings were interesting and eyeopening. I have read McIntosh's "White Privilege" before and after reading it now for the second time it still made me realize some of the privileges they I never knew I had. On the other hand, i have seen some of these privileges first hand. I never really noticed them until I started dating my boyfriend, who is Dominican, three years ago. I instantly saw how people looked at us differently when we were together and some even treated us differently. When I first  read McIntosh's article I instantly connected with "19. If a traffic cop pulls me over or...I can be sure that I haven't been singled  out because of my race." I identified with this because when I was first dating my boyfriend we were pulled over by police and my boyfriend was asked to step out of the car, while I was allowed to stay in the car and I was the one driving. After searching him and questioning him, they apologized and said that "he looked like someone they were searching for". that was honestly my first real encounter with racial profiling and the first time I really noticed how people treat you differently based on your race. Since then I see it everywhere and I think my awareness of this and understanding of it will help me be a better teacher.

I found Hollin's "Relating Ethnic and Racial Identity Development to Teaching" very interesting and agreed with many of her views. I agree that teacher that is comfortable with their own ethnic identity are better equipped to teach students from different backgrounds. If you are uncomfortable with your own ethnicity it could make you uncomfortable in the classroom, especially if there are students from many different backgrounds. Also if the teacher is comfortable with their ethnicity they become a role model for their students. I believe that I am comfortable with my ethnicity and I am also educated about other cultures and comfortable in two cultures other than my own and I think that this will be helpful in my classroom. I think it is important for teachers to not only be comfortable with their own ethnicity but others too and be educated about them.

I agree with Gay's view that students need to be shown positive representations of their culture not negative ones. If students always read or see negative things about their race they are going to feel poorly about themselves and may even value themselves less. Just like the example Gay used, where students read about African American's being put down and called derogatory terms and the others students started using these terms. Students copy what they read, hear, and see. If they read about a certain race as being criminals or second class citizens they are going to start thinking that way and that just creates stereotypes and negative self images. Teachers need to find ways to educate students about their ethnicity and other students backgrounds in a positive light. This will help build students' confidence and feeling of self worth.

Introduction

My name is Ashley Metcalf. I just received my Bachelor's degree in mathematics at UMass Lowell and I am currently working on getting my master's in education and hope to teach high school. I work for a math learning center and part time as a manager for Target.  In my spare time I play drums and listen to music constantly. i love spending time with friends and my boyfriend and just having a god time.