Last Blog :(

 

Hello blog readers! 

    Sadly this is the last blog I will be completing for my FNED 246 class! During my time in this class throughout the semester, there were many ideas that have stuck with me. 

    The biggest est thing that has stuck with me is the idea of a troublemaker. Since working in a daycare for a while now, I know what a troublemaker looks like in a classroom. With this class though, I was able to turn my thinking around about what it means as a teacher to have a troublemaker in your class. This topic stuck with me because in the reading it mentioned that instead of teachers solely focusing on education (such as subtraction, reading, adding), teachers should also focus on teaching love and learn freedom. I want to remember this for when I have my own classroom because it is important to create community, and teach life lessons to those who are struggling with how they behave. These types of lessons will connect with students more and their "bad" behavior will decrease, when turned to learn something else that isn't just traditional learning. 

    Anther part of class that has stuck with me is the classroom tour that we viewed. I enjoyed being able to visually see a classroom, and all of the components that make is educational and functional for students. The teacher in the video created a bright and welcoming classroom, which is important in the success of education. Creating a positive atmosphere will make students feel welcomed and excited to learn. This will stick with me because I want to make sure my future students feel comfortable in the space they will learn. 

And lastly the reading Aria. This reading really hit home for me, I feel like it was a way to truly feel the emotions of students that have a language barrier in their education. The main reason why this is going to stick with me for when I am a teacher is because I will never want my future students to feel like they need to lose themselves and their identity to be successful in their education. I want to promote to them that they should be proud of their culture and utilize it within the classroom. 

    There were many things that I was able to learn being in this class but these were some of my favorite takeaways! Thank you for reading!

Goodbye :)

Maci Maiello

Sexual Orientation Video

 

Hello readers! 

Today in class, we watched a video called How A Sanctuary for Self- Expression Can Change Lives. In this video two women, shared their experiences with their own life and the life of their son. The young girl, Reed talked about her experiences growing up as a little boy who longed to wear a dress and heels. She explained in the video that her parents were unaware what to do at first, how to find the right care for her to figure out how she was feeling about her identity. Reed talked about how she found who she really was on the inside. She talked about how Camp I Am, was the first time she ever felt that she could be herself. How she could wear a dress, paint her nails, and put makeup on without being judged for being a boy, acting like a girl. She is now a woman, who is so thankful for her experience at the camp, it opened a new opportunity for her, it gave her the chance to be who she really is. From this experience she was able to say to her parents, "I'm a girl." And from then on she began her full transition so a women and she has never looked back. And is proud of who she is. 

    The other women in the video was a mom. She explained the early years of her son, who kept wanting the wear girl clothes and heels. In the beginning she explained she would turn him in the other direction, continue to buy cars and cut his hair short. She didn't realize until one halloween that it's not worth trying to make him change, that he should be able to dress how he wants. And wear the red ruby heels to playdates. This family also found Camp I Am, and they are. thankful for their experience. They were open up to a community of families and parents going through the same experience. They felt a wave of hope and thankfulness as Milo finally got to embrace who he was. They supported him and loved their experience. The mom, is photographer at the camp, and finds so much in the picture's she captures of children being them full selves with no judgement. In the end she talked about how her son is now a successful gay man working in New York. 

    Overall, this video was very powerful and it had a great message. I enjoyed watching it. And I think that this camp provides so much for children. 

Maci Maiello

Blog #10

 

Welcome back bloggers!

    This week in FNED we watched a video of someone reading a story. After watching and analyzing this film, I came to the realization that I had learned a lot of important lessons. Their ability to effectively engage the students and maintain their motivation throughout the learning process was one of the most important aspects. As someone who doesn't enjoying reading , I frequently struggle to concentrate completely on a book and understand the plot without using strategies like subtle actions or small predictions to aid in processing the information. The kids found the story much easier to follow and understand as a result of their exceptional ability to explain difficult concepts and offer simple, in-depth explanations.

    The way they included a range of components into the book, making it more interactive and more than just the story itself, also pleased me. In addition to holding children's attention, this method deepened their comprehension of the plot's concepts and specifics. It was motivating to observe the different elements of a book being examined since it demonstrated how literature can be an endless resource for engagement and learning. All things considered, the techniques and approaches used in this movie were thought-provoking and inspirational, demonstrating how good teaching and storytelling can genuinely change the educational process.

Thanks for reading ;) 

Maci

Blog #9: Eliminating Ableism in Education

 

Welcome back blog readers! 

    During this week's class in FNED, we were instructed to read, "Eliminating Ableism in Education" by Thomas Hehir.  In this piece, Thomas Hehir describes ableism as "the devaluation of disability" which "results in societal attitudes that uncritically assert that it is better for a child to walk than roll, speak than sign, read print than read Braille, spell independently than use a spell-check, and hang out with nondisabled kids as opposed to other disabled kids." Hehir draws attention to ableist practices by discussing the studies and history of teaching deaf, blind, and visually challenged kids as well as students with learning difficulties, including dyslexia. He argues that "the pervasiveness of . . . ableist assumptions in the education of children with disabilities not only reinforces prevailing prejudices against disability but may very well contribute to low levels of educational attainment and employment." Hehir concludes by outlining six specific recommendations for starting to confront and remove ableist behaviors. Hehir uses his personal experiences as the former director of the Office of Special Education Programs at the U.S. Department of Education, the Chicago Public Schools' Associate Superintendent, and the Boston Public Schools' Director of Special Education throughout this piece. 

    Also, this week we watched a video called, "Examined life" by Judith Butler and Sunaura Taylor. In the section, wheelchair-using Sunaura Taylor and gender theorist Judith Butler examine disabilities, bodies, and social spaces from a philosophical standpoint. By examining the concept of interdependence, they put doubt on the idea that disability is solely a medical condition and emphasize how socially constructed it is.  During a walk in San Francisco, Butler and Taylor use the activity as a platform for philosophical discussion about the drawbacks of having "an ideal morphology" of how a body should move and look. They study if we actually live in a society where people help one another and challenge the culture's concern with individualism. 

    This video had me thinking about the placement that I am currently in. There is a boy in the class that is physically challenged, and has a one on one aid to help him throughout his day. I love to see each time that I am there, that there is no separation between him and the other kids. They don't single him out because he isn't the exact same as them. The students in the class was kind to him, and help him out when he needs it. They will go and get this chair to put on the rug when it is circle time, because he can't directly sit on the ground. I am sure that these acts of kindness make the student with the disability feel better. 

Thank you for reading!

Maci Maiello

Blog #8: Aria

Hello! 

    This week in my FNED class we read a story about a Spanish speaking girl named, Aria. The story begins with explaining that in school Aria, struggled. She was not improving in her academic success due to the language barrier she was facing. The nuns that were teaching her tried to push her out of her comfort zone and get her to speak, but she had no interest in it. Everything changed one day when the nuns showed up at her house to speak with her parents. From that day forward, her home life changed forever. Her English continued to improve each day, she found herself volunteering in class (raising her hand). While she found a new language, she lost her other one. Aria explains that at home it was silent. Her parents were left behind at home, they weren't understanding her English so no one would talk at home. All you would hear is silence. She became sad that this was her new normal, that she lost her favorite thing about going home. 

    In the end of the reading, it states, "Today I hear bilingual educators say that children lose a degree of 'individuality' by becoming assimilated into public society." This quote explains that when children of other cultures/languages go into school, they lose what makes them an individual. They become part of the melting pot of America and use English only. By doing this, students lose where they came from, and in that process they lose themselves. 

    In the classroom that I am currently placed in, I feel as though I can kind of see this process starting. I am in a kindergarten classroom, so it is very early into their education. All of the children that are in this class are all Spanish speaking. During circle time, you can definitely see the speech barrier between the teacher and students the most. The children in the class are always encouraged to talk, but struggle through it with broken English. It is not encouraged to speak English within this class, the children are working on speaking in English. During the period I am there, the students have a designated time to work on their speaking skills. They will do things like show and tell and have to get up in front of the class and talk in complete sentences. Through this process I am sure some students will also feel like Aria, because they are losing their own normal that they have know their whole life. 

    For my own future classroom, I hope that all my students don't lose themselves through education. It is important that all students are represented for who they are. Thank you for reading!

- Maci Maiello 

Blog #7: Literacy With An Attitude

 

Hello blog readers:)

This week's blog is focusing on the book, Literacy With An Attitude by Patrick Finn. 

    Patrick Finn makes the case for a redefinition of literacy that empowers working-class kids by emphasizing their social justice and civic rights over middle-class assimilation. Finn argues that literacy should be viewed as a powerful civic right that empowers working-class and disadvantaged kids to recognize, argue, and defend their civil, political, and social rights, challenging the established opinion that views it as only a means of upward mobility. According to the book, working-class children should not be educated to become middle-class because most of them don't want to be, but rather to be able to utilize literacy to fight for social justice and to speak for their own interests. The book advocates for a more equitable educational system by offering solutions for educators, parents, and community organizers to adopt a literacy-based strategy that empowers children from working-class families. 

    I believe this book provided positive insight on what educators should be wanting to achieve with each of their students no matter what class they are placed in. Schools provide students with the education that they will need to be able to make it to any class they wish to be apart of. In many ways it is an escape for many to achieve what they want for themselves. Teachers should be empowering their students to be who they want to, and to help them achieve that. A person's background/class should not define the level of education a student receives. 

Thank you for reading:) 

Maci Maiello

Blog #6

 Welcome back bloggers! 

    In class this week, we watch a classroom tour video! Within this video, the teacher took us around her middle school classroom. First impression of the class... it was BRIGHT! I think a bright, colorful classroom provides a positive learning environment for the students! Second thought, it is too organized! This is definitely something I wish to be like in my future classroom. There were many posters on the wall that displayed what subjects she taught. It also had a homie feel, with all of her pictures from her own personal life. Another important thing that I noticed when watching the video was her enthusiasm. You could tell that the teacher was very excited and that she truly loves her job! It is so important to have teachers like this because if they are happy and excited about teaching, then the students will be excited about learning. It creates a positive environment for all! 

    Another thing that we took a look at this week was culturally relevant pedagogy! This video talked about how each student that makes up a class will bring their own culture to it. It is the job of the school/teacher to adapt to each of there students and who they are. It should not be the students adapting to what the school wants of them. Teachers should be cultural connection builders, this means providing understanding, creating relationships, and promoting inclusivity among all. Teachers should be focusing on making sure they aren't making a students culture their only trait. Such as not grouping all Latino's together just because of their culture. Students should all be integrated regardless of their culture. This is definitely something that will help make all students feel welcome for who they are! 

Thanks for reading:)

Maci Maiello