“We are also aware of “labels” and spend significant amounts of time discussing semantics with each other and with our other colleagues. We believe these kinds of comments lead to a subconscious inability to instruct and misdirected attempts to fill their heads with knowledge”(Burhow and Garcia, 2006, p. 6)
This quote stood out to me mainly because it falls within my philosophy of teaching ELLs because you have to be cautious of the language you use and how you label someone. I think it is extremely important for not only educators of ELLs but for ALL educators to be aware of the different labels we use when referring to students and what that means for your intentions about approaching your practice to best support their learning.
“The goal is for kids to build a repertoire of strategies
and make them their own. We want them to become independent, critical thinkers
and lifelong learners” (Burhow and Garcia, 2006, p. 25)
I particularly could relate to this quote because this aligns with my ultimate goals that I want for my students. It is so important for me to create a safe environment for them to feel like what they say, think, feel, and believe matters and means something in this world. I think by equipping them with the strategies they need to take knowledge head on and then making it their own is truly remarkable! I especially am drawn to the part that speaks about making them lifelong learners so that they can see that learning falls on a continuous spectrum and that we never stop learning and are never can obtain too much knowledge.
Additionally, the most intriguing part of the reading is just the entire setting that Brad and Anne have set up for their classroom. I am so interested in all of the ways they have adapted their classroom in an effort to truly benefit their students. Reading about all of the great ideas and new methods that they are using to support their students inspired me to think about some things I may be considering incorporating in my classroom environment.
I already was aligned with the authors' ideas of creating a safe environment for ELLs to experiment with language, literacy, and things of that nature. Because of this, this particular concept really stuck out to me:
“The filter can be lowered to allow an individual to be able
to access language with greater ease when that person is allowed to study interesting
and comprehensible topics; when a student is so engaged in what he or she is
doing he or she forgets about the stress of language; and when the teacher does
not push for output production before the time is right.” (Burhow and Garcia, 2006, p. 11)
This is the first time that I have ever heard about this filter and it was so interesting for me to read about it and consider at which extreme are the students I service at. By reading about ways to lower and higher the filter, it makes me think of more ways that I can adapt my lessons and even overall classroom environment in a more interesting and inviting way in which students feel like they are value and feel comfortable to open up more.
I am soooo very interested and excited about using some of the ideas that Brad and Anne use in their classrooms. I particularly like the idea of having low tables because my kids are small and I feel like lowering the tables will help them feel more comfortable with engaging with their work. It was so intriguing to read about all of the alternative learning areas that were available to students and how they were really leading their own learning alongside the teacher. I guess this just probes me to think about my own learning and how even as I'm typing this I am sitting on the floor with pillows and covered surrounded by me and I am extremely engaged and also comfy at the same time. It just makes sense that when we are allowed to be comfortable in the way we naturally are instead of being forced to conform to some "academic mold", we typically are more engaged and focused on whatever it is we're working on. This blog would be exremelyyyy long (lol) but this book is definitely something I want to keep handy as I consider the things that I am doing in the classroom.
Although I am so intrigued by the concepts that the authors so eloquently expound upon in the text, I also still have some questions floating in my head about what is actually doable and what is only a hope. I only say this because I teach Pre-K and I know that they are big on what isn't allowed due to "licensing" or what students are "required" to do. I guess this gets me to questioning about the feasibility of some of these practices. Also, I am probed to think about the difference in age of the students described in the text in comparison to the students that I teach and I wonder if allowing this much freedom for four-year-olds would be extremely magical or extremely chaotic.
Despite this, I am excited to continue reading about all of the discoveries Brad and Anne made in their classrooms and continue to learn about the stories of their students!
Responses to blogs:
- http://msclarksonsteachingadventure.weebly.com/2/post/2013/10/chapters-1-4-reflection.html#comments
- http://thoughtforteacher.blogspot.com/2013/10/ladybugs-tornadoes-and-swirling.html?showComment=1381886674554
- http://kjohnson116.blogspot.com/2013/10/ltsg.html#comment-form
