Pecha Kucha Script

Ryan Mottram

Mrs. McKamey

12/5/18

Pecha Kucha Script

Introduction

- Me: Ryan Mottram, FNED 346, Sophomore at RIC, ELED/Multidisciplinary major

- Stadium's location: 100 Crescent Ave. Cranston, RI behind Cranston Football Stadium 

- Minority Enrollment/Reduced lunch rate: Over 60% in both

- Surroundings (neighborhood): Dominantly white population, middle-class, houses 

- Mentors: Mrs. Kathleen Perry, Mrs. Salsbury, Mrs. Grism

- Classroom: 3rd grade

- Mascot: Stadium Shark

- More info.: Above average public school, about 350 students currently enrolled

Christensen

-Talks about the use of technology and therefore various electronic devices in schools and whether or not it is beneficial for the education of young students
- Use of electronic devices, such as laptops by students for test-taking and access to Dreambox, which is a website for educational games and activities.
-Use of these devices is monitored by my mentor, Mrs. Perry
-Young students' use of these devices is fine as long as it is monitored frequently by the teacher


Kristof

-Talks about how a student's success is mostly based on the culture they've grown up in, not income
- Dominantly minority enrollment at Stadium
- Despite racial aspects, all students in my class seem very bright for their age and have potential.
-Jaymean, a Hispanic boy I've worked with may struggle with math and reading, but when I work with him he completes the assignments/assessments and gets good grades


Delpit

-  "codes of power"
-  Mrs. Perry gives students "What Checks" if they call out "wait, what?" without raising their hand repeatedly at a time.
    - blue piece of paper with a check on it, not sure what the consequences are exactly
- Personally do not agree with this strategy of power due to their grade and maturity level
- I feel it would be more appropriate to have in middle school because at this age students should know not to call out in class

McIntosh

- Talks about whiteness getting valued more in the larger culture and white leadership in schools
- All of the teachers I've met at Stadium are white
- No unfair treatment of students due to race noticed, as there shouldn't be any


SCWAAMP

- Talks about dominant white privilege is cultures and schools
- There is this one white student in my class, Jacob who acts up a lot and gets a lot of attention by Mrs. Perry and the assistants as a result
- Question of lack of discipline or white privilege?
- I believe it's more of just lack of discipline by the teachers than white privilege, he just gets told to stop instead of being sent to the office of given a conduct notice

Kahne & Westheimer

-Talks about school citizenship and mainly why service learning projects are beneficial for students and future educators
-I have learned new ways of lecturing an elementary level classroom through observing Mrs. Perry's class and her style of teaching
  -my own curriculum, use of technology for games and tests, group readings
-I have also noticed things I'd like to improve on and fix for my future class
   -Disciplinary methods that might be more fair and tests that are challenging but not too difficult

Shor

-Talks about how an established curriculum by the teacher is needed in certain classrooms to encourage school citizenship among its students
-Mrs. Perry seems to have a well-organized curriculum
   -Laptops, use of projector, group readings, activity worksheets
-Not merely textbook, pencil, and paper in the class
-However, I believe some of the tests given could be modified a bit
  -Seem to be a little long and difficult for their age group
  -They don't get tested on some of the readings until almost a week later, which is most likely why some seem to struggle

Rodriguez

-Talks about separation between primary or "home" language and culture and language in schools.
- Also how some student may leave behind their home language to learn another
- Black, Hispanic, Asian student(s) in my class
-All speak English fluently, but I don't doubt some are bilingual
- The Asian boy in my class, Tony is Chinese and he probably speaks Chinese at home with older relatives
-Haven't noticed any struggles of speaking in class or completing assignments with English being either their primary or secondary language.


What Have I Learned?

- Elementary teachers need an established curriculum that makes class fun, entertaining, and encourages students to learn
- These teachers must be enthusiastic to get students engaged, and not just do their job
- Teachers must appeal to the students' age group in the class by implementing fun and educational activities

What Do I Want To Do?

- Elementary school teacher
- Multidisciplinary Studies or Social Studies
- 4th or 5th grade classroom preferably

Who Will I Become?

- A teacher who wants their students to learn and have fun
-  For students to work hard and be kind to one another
- A teacher who will be available for help
- I have had a lot of family and friend support for schooling most of my life, and I want to give back to those young students who may not be as fortunate as I was

Social Justice Events & Blog Log (Final)

Ryan Mottram

FNED 346

Mrs. McKamey

12/4/18

Social Justice Event 1: Pariah

          This drama film is about a 17 year old African-American girl, Alike who lives in Brooklyn with her family and identifies as a lesbian who is seeking a relationship, despite the discrimination and unfairness she endures by others.  Viewing this film has reminded me that we cannot be afraid to embrace ourselves for who we are, despite what even our closest family members may think based on background and culture.  One does not have to be gay or lesbian to understand the lessons this film is trying to portray. 

          There were a few scenes in the film that I noticed stood out the most.  It was sad how Bina expressed her love to Alike physically and then soon after explained to her how she is not actually lesbian and just used Alike for sexual pleasure and experience and told her never to speak of it.  At first, it seemed Alike finally found someone who she could have a comfortable, intimate relationship with who also understood her feelings.  In my opinion, the saddest part of the film was when her mother refused to accept her for who she truly is and reconcile with her before moving to California to attend college.  I believe this could be a Lisa Delpit moment of “codes of power”, due to how her mother is disappointed in her and refuses to accept her any longer for supposedly going against her family’s culture and background with her choice of sexuality.  When she says to her father that she is not running away from fear, but choosing to leave it, it seemed as though she was showing viewers how easy it is to ignore how people may be judging you and live life how you know it should be lived.  

Social Justice Event 2: He Named Me Malala

   This documentary is about a Pakistani female teenager, Malala Yousafzai who fights for the rights of children, even after the Taliban tries to kill her for defending and promoting the education of young women.  Due to her honorable bravery, she becomes the youngest winner of the Nobel Piece Prize in her country.  Undoubtedly, the most brutal and disturbing part of the movie is where Malala gets shot by Taliban members while riding the bus on her way home from school in a valley.  This gruesome attack on her inspired worldwide support for girls’ education.  Malala was fifteen at the time and her and her father Zia were both advocates for these rights of women in their culture.  She is also the co-founder of the Malala Fund and is currently leading a campaign for girls’ education worldwide.  Malala and her family are truly dedicated to fighting for rights of women and girls’ education.  
  
      This film has reminded me how if there is a cause you want to fight for, you must be willing to come out of your comfort zone and reach out to others beyond your community.  I believe this film can be related to Lisa Delpit’s “codes of power” similar to Pariah, due to the fact that Malala goes against her culture’s norms by fighting for equality for girls regarding their education.  I also believe August is present here because of the lack of protection for these females, and as a result not feeling safe in school and if they do not feel safe then they may not succeed or do as well as they could if they did.  Malala also implies how a simple change in school supplies teachers, and protection can change the world for everyone. 

Link to Final Blog Log 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qF6_X7clekXpILeImQNo0jhOHAmz6JmPrHjJjxATpF0/edit 

Shor Response

Ryan Mottram
FNED 346
Mrs.McKamey
12/2/18

Empowering Education: Critical Teaching for Social Change

By: Ira Shor

Quotes:

"To socialize students, education tries to teach them the shape of knowledge and current society, the meaning of past events, the possibilities for the future, and the place in the world they live in." (pg. 14)

This statement reminds me of how I wish to encourage students to be sociable with each other in my classroom.  An elementary school teacher merely reading from a textbook all day is going to make students either misbehave or put their head down and fall asleep.  I will try my best to establish my own curriculum that will suite the capacities of all students in the class  and encourage them to fully participate together.



"While principals, teachers, and textbooks may lecture students on freedom, nonparticipatory classrooms prepare them for the authoritarian work world and political system they will join." (pg.19)

It seems students are more willing to participate in class and learn together at a younger age than in secondary school and college. Despite political matters, teachers should be willing to bring enthusiasm to the classroom in an attempt to make everyone want to consider participating.  Instead of a lecture every class, they could try to create an educational activity involving movement and communication.



"Themes and words from daily life are strong resources for problem-posing.The turn towards student language and perceptions makes this pedagogy a situated model of learning, the fourth value in the agenda." (pg.44) 

Although the backgrounds and resources children are in and have can affect their education, teachers and their quality of lecturing also contribute to these factors.  This statement has reminded me of what I want to accomplish as a future teacher in lecturing young children.  I have worked with young students before and I hope that the children I work with in the future will look up to me the same way I feel these students have.  I plan to establish my own curriculum and even create activities/exercises that will encourage my students to want to learn the subject material.  

Comment/Point to Share:

Throughout middle and high school, I had teachers who simply taught from the textbook and made class boring day after day and I thankfully had teachers who went beyond given textbook material and established their own curriculum to teach the class in a much more entertaining way.  I must say I performed much better and received better grades in the classes where teachers were enthusiastic and had their own method of teaching.  

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-JcBFAuLc-0T0ZxUlEwOUNJWlU/view

https://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/E/bo4034411.html

Oak and Finn Responses

Ryan Mottram
FNED 346
Mrs. McKamey
11/25/18

Tracking: Why Schools Need to Take Another Route 

By: Jeannie Oakes

Quotes:

"Heterogeneous groups of students will probably do best in classrooms where the curriculum content is challenging, complex, related to real life and-most of all- rich meaning."

I have heard that it is best for students to be placed where they will be challenged and need to work for the A, but not where they will be overwhelmed.  There are those in high level courses who look down on those in below levels and say that they could be higher also if they just weren't lazy and worked harder, which is partly true and partly false.  For example, there are students who excel in reading/writing course subjects and struggle with math/science courses like me.  Tracking in schools needs to be applied to the placement system properly without having subjects grouped together with others that cause the system to be random and make no sense, which is unfortunately common in some secondary schools. 

"If students of all abilities are to benefit from being taught together, classrooms will probably need to be organized far differently, providing a diversity of tasks and interactions with few "public" comparisons of students' ability."

Students with various abilities and disabilities being placed in the same classroom for subjects does not sound beneficial, but rather chaotic.  Certain students can have pier mentors in average level courses, but those with more serious learning disabilities should be put in separate classrooms so teachers who specialize in that field can work with them through close interactions and appeal to their needs.  Although it may not be best if every student in a school is taught together due to various disabilities, this does not mean they cannot have social interactions with each other through schoolwide activities and other events.  

"One fact about tracking is unequivocal: tracking leads to substantial differences in the day-to-day learning experiences students have at school."

Tracking may be necessary in schools today due to there being students with learning disabilities and in special education, average learners, and then the ones who naturally have above average intelligence.  However, it should be implemented in such a way so that students who mentally and/or physically cannot excel in their subjects as well as other students will not get made fun of or condescended towards, because unfortunately this does happen.  There are certainly students who do not care about their work, do not try, and as a result do not deserve to be in higher level courses, but we also need to keep in mind the special education students and students with minor learning disabilities and satisfy their needs.   

Comment/Point to Share:

I believe a class discussion about whether or not we think tracking and students being taught together or separately to suit individual learning needs would be beneficial for us as future teachers.   

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-JcBFAuLc-0RjNSSW1ueTNfRTA/view

Site Connections to Authors & Map of Authors (Final)

Ryan Mottram
FNED 346
Mrs. McKamey
11/18/18

Site Connections 

My Student learning site is in a 3rd grade classroom at Stadium Elementary School in Cranston, Rhode Island.  The school has ratings of over 60% in both minority enrollment population and reduced lunch.  The teacher has me work with a few students in the back of the classroom along with another assistant teacher to help these particular students who require extra attention with math and reading/writing assignments.  I believe my site can be related to Rodriguez's perspective, due to there being students in my class who have diverse backgrounds and most likely speak a second language at home, including the Asian and Hispanic students.  Although these students are thankfully able to learn the material and do well on their work in the classroom, they may not have been able to do as well had they not comprehended the English language as thoroughly as they did at home.  Due to the fact that these young students are able to have access to electronic devices such as laptops and phones, I feel my site can also be related to Christensen's work.  The students are being trusted by the teachers to complete work, and also have fun beyond pencil and paper and are being granted permission to do so weekly.  Lastly, I believe my site can be related to the work of Kristof, due to the fact that the majority of these students are of race-ethnic minority populations and have different backgrounds.  Most of the students I have worked with are doing very well with math and reading/writing, and so I believe they truly have the potential to be successful throughout their school career regardless of racial and/or other aspects that should not matter.  

Mapping of the authors chart link: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uORcrubdNjYPKe20oIS9CATO1snhgXw7GHaPykTv3Hg/edit  

Final Map of Authors chart link:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uORcrubdNjYPKe20oIS9CATO1snhgXw7GHaPykTv3Hg/edit 

Response to Kliewer, Varenne, and McDermott

Ryan Mottram
FNED 346
Mrs.McKamey
11/11/18

Culture "as" Disability 

By: Ray McDermott & Herve Varenne

Quotes: 

"A disability may be a better display board for the weaknesses of a cultural system than it is an account of real persons."

Elementary and secondary schools that are not as attentive as they should be to their disabled students and whose teachers or students do not treat them normally with the same amount of respect as they would a normal individual, surely have a disability in their system.  Treating these students the same academically is not so appropriate, due to them struggling to keep up with the pace of the class and potentially being set up for failure.  Treating them the same socially is absolutely necessary and should not be a problem for anyone to do so they can feel like everybody else by fitting in and gaining more motivation to work hard as a result.  The special ed. students I worked with showed more confidence when doing their work and class activities when I or another teachers helped them, because they had someone to look up to and not feel hesitant to ask for help.  

"The easy use of the term suffer often carries an invidious comparison of the "disabled" with those seemingly "enabled" by the conventions of a culture."

Both persons who are mentally and/or physically disabled suffer enough as it is, and others should not cause them to suffer more than they already do.  Every school that offers a special education program should definitely have the resources necessary to appeal to their needs as well as the teachers who are willing to help them.  All elementary and secondary schools should offer special ed. if they do not already.  Rather than comparing disabled and enabled students to see who suffers the most in schools, faculty and staff should take more action by doing their best to equalize the education between the two.  

"Failure is a constant possibility in American schools, and by the dictates of the normal curve, it absorbs about half the students along the way.  Failure is always ready to acquire someone."

I strongly believe failure is only possible if one chooses or allows themselves to fail and/or if others around them do not care and let them fail.  Regarding young and disabled students, it seems failure is only possible if the teachers permit it and do not do their job, due to the amount of attention these teachers are required to give to those students.  It is different with average capacity students in secondary education schools, for they are at the age where they are responsible for their own work and taking initiative to get help from the teacher when needed, and the teachers have multiple students to instruct.  I've worked in an elementary special ed. classroom with two other teachers and when the few students we had needed one-on-one help with math or writing sheets, we gave that to them and made sure they learned how to do the work so failure would not be an option.  

Comment:

I feel a class discussion about what we think regarding mentally and physically disabled students being in separate classrooms or equal in the same classrooms as average capacity students, would be beneficial.   

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mzLNrk6d8WMNzipSieLlf5L-KQxXhSTl/view

Citizenship in School: Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome

By: Christopher Kliewer

Quotes:

"The presence of a thoughtful mind has been linked to patterns of behavioral and communicative conformity associated with competence in logical-mathematical thinking and linguistic skills."

Just because a student may seriously struggle with mathematics and science does not mean they cannot do well in other courses that tend to focus more on reading and writing.  Students with learning disabilities tend to struggle a lot more with math than subjects such as English and history.  Once the student gets the extra help by an assistant teacher he/she will more than likely understand the material soon afterward.  Most of the students I've worked with who needed extra help and/or had a learning disability were able to retain the information once they had that one-on-one help and understood the work done.      

"School citizenship requires that students not be categorized and separated based on presumed defect."

Regardless of any disabilities, students should be united with their school community one way or another.  Although some students may require extra help with math or even spelling, this does not mean they can't participate in fun class activities with all the other students in the same classroom.  In the elementary school I'm currently working at there are a few students in the class that need extra help, and so I or the other assistant teacher work with them for a bit in the back of the room.  When they are done getting this help they can go play cards or go the laptops to play educational games with the other students.  It should work this way with minor learning disability students in all public elementary schools. 

"Community banishment of students with Down Syndrome stems from their lack of behavioral and communicative conformity to school standards that form the parameters of intellectual normality."

If students with Down Syndrome are not conformed to their community in their youth then it will be even harder for them to fit in socially when they get older. Although they may require extra and private attention academically in order to fully succeed, they should still be permitted to participate in schoolwide activities with the other students.  I must say I have never worked with a student who has Down Syndrome, but if I ever do I might try to communicate with them through writing on paper rather than directly speaking.  Although there may be difficulty communicating with these students verbally, they can still participate in physical activities with other students so there is no sense of exclusion.  

Comment:

Although mathematics and sciences may be the courses that students with these disabilities struggle with the most does not mean they cannot excel in other subjects that require less complex problem solving and more writing or visual learning.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-JcBFAuLc-0bXVmZVR4ODI0RHc/view

  

Brown vs. Board of Edu., Herbert, TAL

Ryan Mottram
FNED 346
Mrs. McKamey
11/4/18

Response to Brown vs. Board of Education, Bob Herbert, and TAL 

Quotes:

"If you really want to improve the education of poor children, you have to get them away from learning environments that are smothered by poverty." 

A lot of families who live in areas and neighborhoods that may be at poverty level cannot afford to move away from their residential place necessarily. Instead, better schools that are well-maintained and offer a good education with caring teachers should be established in these areas so that the children living in them can eventually move on to pursue a good career and have a better life, as their parents are surely hoping for.  There have been good schools established in rough and relatively poverty-level areas in cities throughout parts of the country including in Providence, Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, etc. that have allowed kids growing up in them who want to learn excel in honors programs and graduate with a high GPA and attend college as a result of their willingness to work hard, despite backgrounds.  People living in these areas are certainly not asking for private schools due to monetary situations, but just schools easily accessible that offer a good education and safety for their children so they can do much better in life, and if there is a school children will come.



"More than a half-century after the landmark Brown v. Board of Education school desegregation ruling, we are still trying as a country to validate and justify the discredited concept of separate but equal schools — the very idea supposedly overturned by Brown v. Board when it declared, “Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.”

Surely everyone can agree that all US schools today should be inherently equal without separation.  unfortunately, there are assumptions that the reasons why schools today still seems to be separate and unequal is because the majority of schools in poverty-level and lower class areas tend to be dominantly populated by minorities living nearby and do not offer as good of an education as schools that may be dominantly white with more teachers.  If there are people who believe this problem did not get resolved half a century ago, then it will certainly not resolve itself now.  Teachers can make a difference by treating all of their students the same no matter where the location of the school is and offer the best education possible to all of them.



"Americans’ pursuit of racial justice is a complex story that reveals the weaknesses of the human character, while at the same time affording hope in the triumph of the human spirit."

Racism certainly does not have to be a weakness of human character, and is nothing more than merely a negative concept that others use to insult individuals based on the color of their skin.  Schools are institutions where teachers should be willing to treat all students equally and entirely disregard all negativity regarding racism.  Being an educator is especially an occupation where this should be understood because of the fact that they will be dealing with young innocent children who cannot help their current home life and just want to make friends and even learn.  Helping others is an important part of life, and teachers should especially be willing to do so with children regardless of the color of their skin.


Comment/Point to Share:

Due to the majority of our schools for service learning being half white and half race-ethnic minority populations, I feel having a discussion one class about whether or not all the children in the classroom at our field sites are truly treated equally regardless of race or ethnicity would be beneficial.


https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/22/opinion/22herbert.html

http://americanhistory.si.edu/brown/exhibition/index.html