Strengths over shortcomings

Talking Points 

1. The deficit model shows how educators often are reactive versus proactive to these “problems”. We focus on what they can not do where the “practices or assumptions cover up the abilities of students” (Renkly & Bertolini,p.24). We are stuck in a cycle. Schools only create interventions after the students fail. But what if we changed our perspective from “What is this student missing?” to “What strengths could this student bring to this lesson/room?”

   

2. “Encouraging faculty creativity to foster students’ assets and work proactively is a first step in shifting this paradigm.” (Renkly & Bertolini, p. 24). This quote really stuck with me. It shows how teachers need to get to really know their students not just as their students but as people. “Fostering students’ assets” is really the heart of it. When we are able to identify and nurture these strengths, students will experience affirmation rather than correction. This can then lead to students building confidence and a sense of belonging. 

3. I think that sometimes teachers forget the power they have over students. “..., teachers’ expectations impact student success more than a students’ own motivation.” (Renkly & Bertolini, p. 26). I liked the term Renkly & Bertolini used of helping the students “fail forward”. It allows the students to see these struggles as stepping stones not losses. When we are able to surround students, especially adolescents, with love and respect, then we are giving them chances to take on the real world. 

Argument Statement

The authors Renkly and Bertolini argue that students are largely influenced by the adults in their life. When educators shift their perspective to focusing on a student's strengths rather than their shortcomings then the students are able to have better outcomes. 

Making Connections

This reading made me think a lot of the documentary we watched in class, Precious Knowledge. You could see in their teaching and in their classrooms how they were putting forward the message of “I believe in you and I know you can”. A lot of times students feel disconnected from the content, but in the Mexican American Studies program they felt seen and heard. The educators in this documentary are those Renkly and Bertolini are advocating for. They were able to design their lessons to the strengths of their students rather than a “one size fits all”. By the end of the program, they were seeing a trend of more graduating students and engagement overall.

Another cog in the machine

The Broken Model

Talking Points 

1. “The tendency is to believe that it has to be there.” (Khan, p.65) The author gives examples of which grades are what, what the “subjects” are and the length of “class periods”. I know for myself when I was looking at different schools for high school a block schedule. I knew I would never be able to stay focused for an hour and a half class 4-5 times a day. After going through RIC, I see there are ways I’m sure teachers did break it up by chunking lessons. Would longer class periods be beneficial in the long run? Would it be more real world experience? 

   
   
   

2. “Tests say little or nothing about a student’s potential to learn a subject.”(Khan,p.91) It may give a bench mark of where the student is now but it doesn’t show that the material is truly being learned. I know for myself, I could not tell you different formulas I learned in geometry or algebra 2. I’m sure I knew them back in high school but once the material moved on so did I. I never retained it. So many of the parents these days are focusing on the one final grade and NEEd their child to attain it but what about the progress they take to get there. Students don't need to fit into this box the education system has made for them. If they fail a quiz or a test, so what? They have now learned what they need to work on and they can work on it to build for next time. It builds confidence in their learning for longer than just 6th grade math or whatever class it may be. But instead the parents try to be snowplows and take away every problem they have, rather than letting them work through obstacles they might find in a different context later in life. 

3. In the video, Class Dismissed, they talk about Horace Mann’s belief that everyone was entitled to the same content in education. In reality, there is no equality in learning. Even though the Common Core exists, it is not a national curriculum. States make their own standards, leading to major differences in how subjects like slavery or civil rights are taught or not. The Prussia model wants the students to become subordinated adults and take their place in society. 

   

Argument Statement

The author Khan and Class Dismissed argued that our current system, developed from Prussia, even though it was established with good intentions, education today should be more focused on individuality and lifelong learning, not just standardized tests. 

Making Connections

I liked the quote by James Fenimore Cooper on page 75 that really resonated with me. “All greatness of character is dependent on individuality. The man who has no other existence around him, will never have any other than an existence of mediocrity.” It shows that our own individuality makes us great. When we are able to critically think and shape our own values, we are developing that greatness. I think this can also be related to AI. Systems like Chat GPT are changing how the world works by thinking beyond traditional limits and pushing us into new ways of thinking. This is what the Prussia model tried to hinder. They wanted to “churn out loyal and tractable citizens who would lean the value of submitting to authority.”(Khan, p. 76)

Discussion with Chat GPT – CHAT GPT CONVERSATION LINK

I asked the question of what would happen if we took away the Prussia Model in the United States? Chat GPT then prompted asking to compare with the Montessori model. I found this particularly interesting because I know there are a few Montessori modeled schools in RI, such as Ocean State Montessori. I’ve noticed after looking at them, more are just preschool and kindergartens, there are only a few that go up to 5th grade. There are none that go into secondary education which I found interesting.

Colorblindness is the New Racism

 Talking Points 

1. Armstrong and Wildman explain that people with racial privilege may not notice it because it feels “normal” to them. When people say they are “color-blind,” they often avoid recognizing these advantages and it gets swept under the rug. But it is very unrealistic that people do not recognize it in everyday life. 

1. I liked the idea of “color insight”. “Color insight admits that most of us do see race and underlines the need to understand what that racial awareness might mean.” (p.67) I think that color insight makes you acknowledge that race affects everyone’s experiences. We can then reflect on our own assumptions and privileges to then hopefully take the steps to address these inequalities.

2. 
   In the TED talk, Hobson says “If we truly believe in equal rights and equal opportunity in America, I think we have to have real conversations about this issue. We cannot afford to be color blind. We have to be color brave. We have to be willing, as teachers and parents and entrepreneurs and scientists, we have to be willing to have proactive conversations about race with honesty and understanding and courage.” This really hit me. There are so many different ways even in my own life, professional and personal that I can be proactive to be color brave and to become more comfortable with the uncomfortable. 
   

Argument Statement

The authors Armstrong, Wildman and Hobson argue that society makes colorblindness hides privilege and encourages racism to not be named which continues to promote inequality. Color insight won’t magically fix everything but helps create a name and open a door for more meaningful conversations, but we can become more color brave.

Making Connections

In 2020, when there was a spark in protests against police brutality, I remember coming to my own realization of my own colorblindness. I would say to myself, “I think everyone should be treated and respected the same and I do not see color.” But when I chose to learn more about racial groups, I realized that seeing color is the point and it also helped me acknowledge my privilege. I was not trying to help fix the problem because I wasn’t acknowledging it. I loved the idea of everyone being treated “the same”. It sounds fair. But if people start from unequal positions, equal treatment just continues to keep inequality. By seeing color, I notice the oppression and disparities across our society in education, healthcare, etc. I used to think I was being almost polite and my intentions were good when thinking in the way of colorblindness, but by acknowledging race I can see how race shapes the world in different ways. This was very hard for me to accept at the time, but I think it was progress into becoming more, as Hobson says, color brave.

Privilege, Power, and Difference

Talking Points 
    1. “Clearly, we aren’t getting along with one another, and we need to ask why not.”
(Johnson, 2018, p. 3). Johnson's reasoning is that it is rooted in human nature. As
humans, we fear unfamiliar things and approach the unknown with discomfort rather than curiosity about what could be. We have become prisoners in a world we have made ourselves. 
    2. People ignore the words that make them uncomfortable and automatically have a negative reaction towards them. People try to push these terms, like racism and
privilege, to the side. They twist these words and add “phobia” or try to make
them invisible. When people become so uncomfortable with these terms, they
become defensive in a way that makes them not want to understand another way of
thinking or being. Ignoring the privileges and differences keeps us in a state of 
unreality. The reality of these terms, like racism, is that it continues because of how we still feed into it, whether we are willing to acknowledge it or not. 
    3. There are two types of privilege: unearned entitlements and unearned advantage.
These unearned advantages can give the dominant groups of people “a competitive
edge that they refuse to acknowledge or give up” (Johnson, 2018, p. 25).  This made me think of the Always TV ad with throw like a girl. They asked these young girls to do things "like a girl". They tried their hardest to run and throw, showing this phrase positively. But when asking adults, they would flail their arms and negatively depict this phrase. This ad shows that this phrase is typically used to show weakness or gendered beliefs, and how the expectations of females are learned over time throughout our society. 

Argument Statement
The author, Alan G. Johnson, argues that privilege is a problem that is avoided in
conversation, which leads to no solution. We can’t fix what we don’t acknowledge as a
problem.

Making Connections
Last semester, I took an action research class where we had an assignment to
recognize our own defensiveness. Our mind subconsciously puts up defenses when
we are faced with realities we may not feel comfortable with. In life, as Johnson
relates to being a middle-class male, we tend to have an in-group bias. We can tend
to demonize the “others” and turn it into a “us” versus “them” situation. As a society,
we feel as though the system we have now rewards certain characteristics or
behaviors. We can either stay stuck in those rules because they are what we
see as “normal,” or start to question the system, even though we may fear how we
measure up to it in the end. Our own unconscious defensiveness gets
in the way of really seeing the reality of our society. Through this assignment, it forced me to acknowledge my own defensiveness. In my work and my personal life, there are situations I may not feel comfortable in, but when I am able to step into the discomfort, that's where I can start to grow. 

         Webster's dictionary's definition of defensiveness