A Critically Compassionate Pedagogy/Building on Strength with Education, Respect, and Trust
Articles: A CRITICALLY COMPASSIONATE PEDAGOGY FOR LATINO YOUTH/Building on Strength con Educacion, Respeto, y Confianza (with Education, Respect, and Trust)
Authors: Julio Cammarota and Augustine Romero/Ana Celia Zentella
Film: Precious Knowledge
These authors argue that a one size fits all pedagogy such as ones enforced by the No Child Left Behind Act are not effective, especially when teaching multilingual, and diverse students such as Latinos. They argue that the success of Latino students is dependent on the ability of educators to develop relationships that foster an appreciation of their culture and backgrounds. Educators need to know their students, know where they come from, and their communities. As stated by Julio Cammarota and Augustine Romero " Authentic caring promote student--teacher relationships characterized by respect, admiration, and love, which, in turn, inspire young Latinos and Latinas to better themselves and their communities." In A Critically Compassionate Pedagogy For Latino Youth, Angela Valenzuela stated " a lack of care and respect in teacher/student relationships may be a key factor behind the failure of Latino youth." Educators and Latino families should try to work together to increase educational achievement for Latino students "Teacher and parent groups, working with student input, can come up with creative methods for tapping into children's multilingual proficiencies, families' ways of speaking, and other funds of knowledge-methods that translate into academic success" (Ana Celia Zentella).
As educators we need to learn to appreciate Latino students' languages and cultures. We need to rise up against the educational policies that ban the implementation of bilingual education and ethnic studies. These policies are oppressive in that they make the English language the only language of instruction and Western history the only history worth knowing. Evidence shows a better approach to education is to teach students in their native tongue. The ethnic studies at the Tucson, Arizona highschool increased graduation rates and standardized test scores demonstrating that when students can relate to what is being taught, they are empowered and motivated to learn. The educational policies of today that promote cultural subordination are not much different from those utilized by supporters of the Indian Boarding Schools, where the main reason these schools were created was to strip Indian children of their language and culture, in turn subjugating and oppressing them. In this youtube video; https://youtu.be/MMmOLN5zBLY the benefits of a bilingual brain are described in detail, hopefully helping to clear up for some the misconception that being bilingual can be detrimental to educational achievement. In the article Identities and Social Locations: Who Am I? Who Are My People?, the author states "Identity formation is a lifelong endeavor that includes discovery of the new; recovery of the old, forgotten, or appropriated; and synthesis of the new and old." In other words, as educators, it is important to understand that in order to help our multilingual students succeed academically, we need to value their personal histories, such as their languages and cultures, which have over time helped formulate their identities and made them who they are.
Authors: Julio Cammarota and Augustine Romero/Ana Celia Zentella
Film: Precious Knowledge
These authors argue that a one size fits all pedagogy such as ones enforced by the No Child Left Behind Act are not effective, especially when teaching multilingual, and diverse students such as Latinos. They argue that the success of Latino students is dependent on the ability of educators to develop relationships that foster an appreciation of their culture and backgrounds. Educators need to know their students, know where they come from, and their communities. As stated by Julio Cammarota and Augustine Romero " Authentic caring promote student--teacher relationships characterized by respect, admiration, and love, which, in turn, inspire young Latinos and Latinas to better themselves and their communities." In A Critically Compassionate Pedagogy For Latino Youth, Angela Valenzuela stated " a lack of care and respect in teacher/student relationships may be a key factor behind the failure of Latino youth." Educators and Latino families should try to work together to increase educational achievement for Latino students "Teacher and parent groups, working with student input, can come up with creative methods for tapping into children's multilingual proficiencies, families' ways of speaking, and other funds of knowledge-methods that translate into academic success" (Ana Celia Zentella).
As educators we need to learn to appreciate Latino students' languages and cultures. We need to rise up against the educational policies that ban the implementation of bilingual education and ethnic studies. These policies are oppressive in that they make the English language the only language of instruction and Western history the only history worth knowing. Evidence shows a better approach to education is to teach students in their native tongue. The ethnic studies at the Tucson, Arizona highschool increased graduation rates and standardized test scores demonstrating that when students can relate to what is being taught, they are empowered and motivated to learn. The educational policies of today that promote cultural subordination are not much different from those utilized by supporters of the Indian Boarding Schools, where the main reason these schools were created was to strip Indian children of their language and culture, in turn subjugating and oppressing them. In this youtube video; https://youtu.be/MMmOLN5zBLY the benefits of a bilingual brain are described in detail, hopefully helping to clear up for some the misconception that being bilingual can be detrimental to educational achievement. In the article Identities and Social Locations: Who Am I? Who Are My People?, the author states "Identity formation is a lifelong endeavor that includes discovery of the new; recovery of the old, forgotten, or appropriated; and synthesis of the new and old." In other words, as educators, it is important to understand that in order to help our multilingual students succeed academically, we need to value their personal histories, such as their languages and cultures, which have over time helped formulate their identities and made them who they are.
Yanery, at my first teaching job, there was a teacher at our school who would make fun of the way students talked. He did this during our professional development meetings, in the hallways, and even in class. Many students felt hurt, humiliated, and angry. I and other teachers complained to our director on a weekly basis but that jerk stuck around for years. None of us could ever figure out why or how. I didn't know the term then, but our school was in great need of authentic caring. So I see what you mean when you say that we need a change, both in our curricula and our attitudes.
ReplyDeleteHi Yanery! I really appreciate how. You referred back to the Identity article that we read previously in class. Identity formation is a life long adventure. Students of other cultures have a lot to discover about themselves that make their identity more colorful than most. By not allowing the opportunity to explore these colors in a school setting, school becomes a dark place. Students don’t want to attend school,,, they become discouraged. Educators need to take this into account when teaching. The only question I have is will the support be there for the educators who choose to go above and beyond for their minority students? Or will we all end up in a situation like Tucson, AZ for trying to make a change?
ReplyDeleteYanery, you make an excellent point when you say we need to value the cultures of all of our students. Authentic caring is so important in the classroom. Our students need to feel safe and comfortable so that they are able to learn.
ReplyDeleteI found it very interesting that you referred back to the Indian boarding schools. It is a very similar concept. A culture is being oppressed through policies that rid them of their culture or that eliminate students to learn through their own culture.
Yanery, I'm wondering for you, as a school nurse, how these issues play out in the health issues/concerns of students, families, and communities.Thinking back to 'Unnatural Causes', we can see the negative health impact of stereotypes and discrimination. I wonder if the same argument can be made about deculturalization. I'm also wondering what authentic and aesthetic care look like from the perspective of nursing!
ReplyDelete