maryann

            In “Aria: A Memoir of Bilingual Childhood”, Richard Rodriguez discusses his thoughts about bilingual education and his experiences from when he was a child. Richard firmly believes that bilingual education shouldn’t be used. He suggests that the people that are suffering during their learning process will benefit them in the long run. I disagree with Rodriguez’s opinion because he is only using his experience as to why he wouldn’t recommend it which is very one-sided. Even though I’m not bilingual I feel that it can help a lot when looking for jobs and it could also increase awareness of other cultures. I believe that bilingual education should be integrated into schools to give all students the same opportunity. He begins by reminding his audience that teaching only one language in school is the path that people should lean toward, implying that he is opposed to students being taught many languages. He feels that teachers should not be req...

       Patrick J. Finn's Literacy with an Attitude: Educating Working Class Children in Their Own Self-Interest addresses how socioeconomic class influences one's education. Those who are higher in class receive a better education than those in the working class. Students in higher classes have access to additional materials and teachers that encourage them to study more. Working-class students face numerous barriers to upward mobility.        In the chapter "A Distinctly Un-American Idea," Finn discusses Jean Anyon's research. Anyon analyzed five separate fifth-grade classrooms in Northern New Jersey public schools. These five schools contained executive elites, affluent professionals, middle class, and working-class students. Most instructors in working-class schools lived in the same city as the school, but in wealthier neighborhoods, were young, had graduated from a local college, and were unmarried. Most of the work in these classrooms was do...

                          The article by Alfie Kohn titled "What to Look for in a Classroom" provides a chart that distinguishes between desirable and undesirable characteristics of a classroom environment. The chart is a useful tool for educators, administrators, and researchers who are interested in creating optimal learning environments for students. According to Kohn, the desirable characteristics of a classroom include active, engaged learning, a sense of community, emphasis on understanding over rote memorization, critical thinking, and intrinsic motivation, among others. These characteristics are more likely to lead to meaningful learning and long-term retention.            On the other hand, the undesirable characteristics of a classroom include passivity, competition, and extrinsic motivation, among others. These characteristics are more likely to lead to superficial le...

The book Troublemakers by Carla Shalaby was overall a good read. The novel touches upon four different students with different backgrounds and their individual interactions at school. Although most of these families are struggling, they can tend to their children's needs and take care of their own. Unfortunately, there is a common misconception that children with parents in a lower class don't care and cannot provide but they are just like every other person struggling just with mouths to feed. Adults, specifically mothers, take care of their own no matter their situation. There are many stereotypes about poor minoritized families not doing enough and she brings that to light.      Marcus is a student with a very apparent and disruptive disability in the classroom. Although his teachers were managing him, they let his mother know his status in the classroom. Marcus’s “... mother was diligent about following these recommendations” given to her by the teachers and prac...