Some Closing Thoughts

The last chapter of the text summarizes what educators can do to support a truly Multicultural Education. I am using the seventh edition and not the eighth, so some of my information and page numbers will differ, but the points listed in my book on page 357 give a good overlook on how all classrooms can be models of democracy, equity and social justice:


1) Place the student at the center of the teaching and learning process.

2) Promote human rights and respect for cultural differences.

3) Believe that all students can learn.

4) Acknowledge and build upon the life histories and experiences of students' cultural group memberships.

5) Critically analyze oppression and power relationships to understand racism, sexism, classism, and discrimination against the disabled, gay, lesbian, young and elderly.

6) Critique society in the interest of social justice and equality.

7) Participate in the collective social action to ensure a democratic society.


I like how the text summarizes the content of the book and then adds that school personnel can make a difference by making teachers AND students both feel empowered. It is a holistic approach to teaching that, in my opinion, will truly make an educational situation where No Child is Left Behind :)

The idea of empowerment is an important one for students and teachers alike in Northeast Ohio. As we watch our economy struggle and falter and get up again only to just fall again, I feel like we are watching a lame horse struggle and die slowly. It makes educators feel helpless when we are at the mercy of financially struggling families to vote to take yet more money out of their precious resources to help fund our schools. Many of us educators feel as if this stress is straining not only our pocketbooks as we face pay freezes, reductions in benefits and layoffs, but our hearts too as we see more "pay to play", reduced or no busing, and kids sometimes missing school or becoming more transient due to layoffs and foreclosures. We see our students having a hard time concentrating at school when we know that their home situations are rougher with utilities being shut off, or other necessities being at the brink of being unattainable. Unfortunately, we also know that with all of these struggles for our students we also know that it is crucial for the students to pass "the test", come to school and be successful - if for no other reason than to graduate or not effect the state report card in a more negative way (that snowballs into reduced enrollment and MORE financial heartache for districts!)

Kids may feel powerless because most of them can't vote, they feel they are "forced" to take "the Test", at the mercy of their caregivers' ability to provide for them properly, as well as the mercy of their teachers to provide meaningful, differentiated instruction that can be culturally responsive and effective. Because I teach at the high school level, I knew that I would be dealing with the developmental teenage angst that often accompanies adolescence, but I have seen an intensified undercurrent of dissatisfaction and anxiety that, I believe, is being caused or exacerbated by our Northeastern Ohio economy, school practices and antiquated ( in some cases) teaching methods that have not caught up with this state's increasing multicultural diversity.

Now that I have depressed you, I do have some ideas of ways that we could rethink this problem and approach it a new way. First of all, educators need to realize that there is a problem not only with how these things effect them but also how it is effecting our students as well. Many do see it but I also see some people who have either been teaching so long in one place that they need some new perspective or may be so caught up with self-preservation that they are missing the underpinnings of anxiety that their students are experiencing.

Next after recognizing that there is a problem, then comes the arduous task of finding some of the causes behind the problems that face our districts and students within them. That can be as diverse as night and day - depending on the district. Northest Ohio actually has quite a bit of diversity within it especially when you continue looking into and then beyond just racial, ethnic, disabled, etc within a school and notice the diversity between districts in terms of student population, numbers, ratios, SES, funding, class offerings, climate, facilities, etc. It is a tall order because I think empowerment for us as educators will lie within the realization of some of the causes of the inequity and the realization that we may not be able to change what OTHER people do, but we CAN change what we do in our classrooms, within our school's culture and climate, affect how our school and district can be known and presented in the community and beyond.

Here's a sort of personal educator checklist I made myself that I thought I would share:

1) Design exciting lessons that engage students where they are AT and facilitate the apreciation and understanding that our differences can make us strong and more intelligent if we learn from them and truly see them as an asset!

2) Be an active member in the clubs, organized groups, committes and social, sporting and Arts events within the school and district. Go beyond what is merely required in the "contracted day" because it is what I want to do - it is what I believe in.

3) Dare to dream with my students. Allow them to see their lives as they imagine them to be in the near future and help them to see how their actions now in school can affect the attainment of those dreams.

4) When I am overwhelmed, tired and ridden with anxiety at times, realize that I am sometimes the only person in my students' lives that is their "rock", or in some cases, their "soft place to fall". They look to me for example, guidance and wisdom - even if they act like they are not noticing - believe it that they are - more than I probably ever realize.

...Feel empowered yet? Notice that I did not speak about the students' actions yet. That will come after I, as an educator, recognize, realize, reconcile within myself, and take action on myself and my classroom/school/ district and community. I am asking those things from my students after I have found them in myself. Then I are not just asking THEM to do and feel those things - I am merely asking them to learn from my struggles, tribulations and triumphs.

~Diane

Hidden Curriculum

Hidden curriculum...the curriculum that is not directly stated but evident through entire structure of our school day. Students understanding how to wait in line, raise their hand before speaking or to simply understand that they may need to wait a minute until the teacher can get around to helping if two others have asked before them. All of these things make sense to prepare our students for the world--for a trip to Disney, perhaps! What disturbed me was the idea that teachers would group students based upon clothing, family income, cleanliness, etc. Our text states that this practice is dangerous because most tracking brings about inequities. Our school tracks students in both math and language arts. I had actually put a stop to the grouping of all gifted students in one class of language arts only to have the gifted coordinator cluster two groups of gifted in two of my classes. Once I was able to spread the gifted equally throughout my language arts classes, a 2nd year teacher came along and in order to work on a project for one of her master's classes was able to group all gifted students into a gifted integrated literacy class. Of course the effect on all of the rest of the classes was that these students, now removed from the general population, created classes of average and below average groupings. Additionally these gifted students, who are mostly together for the gifted math class also follow each other around most of the day which in effect, segregates them for the rest of the student population. Additionally, there has been teaming implemented in the higher grades with a larger gifted population on one team. This team has taken more field trips and has more project-based learning in place. This is a glaring example of inequity that exists in our school.
I spend an enormous time analyzing my students in order to group them in heterogeneous tables. I take into consideration gender, reading level and academic achievement. My groupings can only be as heterogeneous as the students who are assigned to my classes. I will again fight to have this grouping stopped again next year and am currently gathering data from my classes to support my case. I have been collecting anecdotal data based upon group work, test score averages and assignment completion. Does anyone else have this type of situation at their school and offer suggestions of what to do about it?

Chapter 10-Artino

After reading chapter 10, it does seem to bring together all of the chapters from the book. The question that was asked is what can we add to our efforts in NE Ohio in order to achieve the quality of life and social justice for all.

What is missing? The one thing that I think is missing today in the educational system is lack of knowledge from the educators. This whole semester we have been focusing on cultural awareness and multicultural education, but how many teachers really stick to this justice. The Center for Research on Education, Diversity and Excellence (CREDE) set five standards for improving learning of diverse students (p.378). How many of those standards are currently being followed. It was also mentioned in the book about dispositions, which are the values, commitments, and professional ethics that influence teaching and interactions with students, families and the community. How much of this is being utilized by the educator or teacher?

Further enhancement needs to start with the basics, like stated in the book one of the first steps in becoming a multicultural educator is to examine and clarify one's own cultural identity.

What can we create that is not already there. One suggestion that I think we can create to help make multicultural education more known is to talk about more. Have it incorporated into the lesson for the day, and have it accountable by the School Board. Try to be more involved with the community in which you teach, to get to know the families and students more. Create learning communities based on making multicultural education more of a standard than a way of looking at things.

The only suggestion that I have for how can we do better what we already do, is to really understand the complexity of the world around us. Think more about what the student feels and thinks while you are educating them in a particular subject. Put your self in their shoes. At the beginning of the chapter it mentioned a girl, Natisha, who was withdrawing from school, and her advisor could not seem to understand why because she had good grades. The advisor put his thoughts a side, and processed the paperwork. Why did Mr. Williams not go and talk to Natisha, why did he just process the paperwork. These are the times when we need to step up to the plate, ask questions, get answers, and really make a difference. Let's not just keep shuffling paperwork, and putting our real thoughts a side.

Wk 14: Engaging Students

Pg 386 of the text indicates that "culturally responsive teaching encourages student participation, critical analysis, and action. Classroom projects should focus on areas of interest to the students and the communities in which they live." It has been my experience that this style of teaching in few and far between in NE Ohio. Teachers today are test driven, and time limited, and therefore tend to avoid any activity that is project based and/or open ended. Because of testing and time constraints, student interests are often abandoned for "drill and kill" teaching methods designed to increase test scores.

I am guilty of this as well. In my life science classes, I feel pressured to prepare my students for the upcoming OAT, knowing that any life science that my students get will come from me and me alone. Yet, in my Gateway to Technology class, I feel liberated. I have designed the entire class around Constructivist Theory. I do not have a looming test to worry about, I do not have common assessment deadlines to meet. I can afford to spend 2 weeks on Rube Goldberg because my students saw it on a field trip and thought it was cool, or spend 3 weeks on Autodesk inventor because the students really like the program and want to design more challenging items than was originally required. Will Rube Goldberg be on the OAT? Probably not. But in the real world, my students will need to solve problems on their own with only materials available. In the real world, they will need to be able to work together to make something work/achieve a goal. And because of this, I'm willing to spend 2 weeks on a project that gives them real world skills AND that they enjoy.

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Week 14 What we can do in NE Ohio

In Northeast Ohio and throughout the United States we need to work on getting to know people from other cultural groups. On page 397 the book mentions several ways in which to do this, “read about them, attend ethnic movies or plays, participate in ethnic celebrations, visit different churches and ethnic community groups, and interact with members of different groups in a variety of settings.” These are things that we can work into our lessons throughout the year. It would be nice to then have a day or two at the end of the year (after the standardized test) to actually go and meet and talk with people from different cultures. In Wayne County we are so close to the Amish and intercity Akron/Canton yet many of our students really do not know how people from these different cultures live. It would be nice to have sister schools where students could meet up at the end of the year get to know someone different from them.

Adolescence and Education

According to Gollnick and Chinn, "adolescence...is a long transitional period during which the individual is 'suspended' between childhood and adulthood" (pg. 350). The approximate age given for this group is between 13 and 18. This is the time when the students want to be treated as adults, however, are not mentally and emotionally equipped with the tools necessary to be adults. This is the beginning of the age known to educators as the dreaded middle school.

I work in a very culturally diverse setting in inner city Cleveland, where 96% of my students come from low income families. My school is a K-8 building. What my staff and I find is that adolescence appears to begin earlier in this setting. We have 9 and 10 year old students struggling with the typical adolescence issues such as becoming increasingly influenced by peers more so than parents, substance abuse and other "at risk" behaviors. In this way I feel that the cultural component of poverty influences this age groups to "grow up" faster than the middle and upper class peers.

From this stems the need for my teachers in as early as grade 3 to recognize at risk behaviors and be aware that the students may be reflecting the typical adolescence developmental patterns at an earlier age. I am very fortunate that my staff members are open to change and are willing to make changes to their teaching styles to reflect the needs of our early developing students.

Random thoughts about learning

I thought this chapter of the text combined every topic we have learned previously, and showed how to apply what we have learned. One topic that I see reoccurring in every section of this book is that education is beyond the classroom. Events that occur everyday drive students’ education; such has culture, sex, and economic status. It is the job of the teacher to bring them together. Gollnick and Chinn bring up some very good points about incorporating the culture of students in the classroom. They bring up the major points that all teachers should follow to have success in the classroom (pg 378). We as teachers strive to have the perfect classroom and follow these five points, but sometimes its just unrealistic to accomplish with every student. We know that all students are capable of learning if we find the right way to interact and teach them. The real question is how do we teach 30 different kids in the best possible way? Is it possible? Is each kid going to grasp the necessary knowledge is the different ways it is presented? I believe that it is possible for all kids to learn in the classroom, and how we accomplish that task is that teachers must first continue to learn. Teachers need to constantly learn new ways to teach and interact with the kids. Some teachers have been doing the same lesson for 25 years. The kids change over time and teachers need to as well. Education will not get better if teachers will not learn new ways to instruct and how to spark interest in the kids.

How can we change education in northeast Ohio. The government seems to think that money will solve all problems. If we give more funding to schools, everything will improve. I only partially agree with that. I think the money needs to be spent more wisely. For example I think buying technology for schools is great, but guess what half the teachers don’t know how to use it. I doubt that all teachers sit down and try to learn the new technology when the school buys it. I understand that there are much smarter people than I am creating ideas on how to improve education. Personally I think education will improve greatly if teachers continually learn and study their trade. I always interview my classes on the first day, and they get to interview me as well. One questions always comes up. Why did you become a teacher? My response is because I learn something new everyday. They will learn from me and I will learn from them. I try to make it comfortable for them in the room. I tell them its not embarrassing to make mistakes. I’m not the smarter person in the world and I will make mistakes, but I wont make the same mistake twice. Learning new information is a powerful and to get the students to understand that is the challenge we face everyday.

One area that showed as a great need in my own school is culture awareness. At my school the ELL students make up 1/3 of our schools total population and because ELL students take classes in every department of our school. I think it is a great idea to train our staff to understand our ELL students and help them success. No matter how assimilated students in a classroom are, it is the teacher's responsibility to ensure that they understand diversity, now the contributions of members of both dominant and other groups, and hear the voices of individuals and groups who are from cultural backgrounds different from the majority of students." (p. 381). I saw many teachers at my school are afraid to incorporate diversity and/or multiculturalism into their classroom, even for the minority culture that exist in their school. Many feel like the students will feel singled out if they are in their classroom. For teachers to recognize the need to represent all cultures in a classroom and know how to naturally do this, professional development in this area needs to be offered and required. Every year, my team and I have created a “ Culture Diversity Celebration Day” at our school before Thanksgiving break and the students get to wear their own cultural clothes to school, brought in food from their culture, and we invited all our staff to come and enjoy lunch we us. Our hope is that by exchange some ideas with our staff about our ELL students they will feel more comfortable with the ELL students, get to know the students better, and ready to have them in their own classroom.

Student Centered Learning

Multicultural education is ultimately the idea of putting the student at the center of the teaching process. As an educator, we must make the information relevant to all of the students in our classrooms. Throughout Northeast Ohio, there are hundreds of culturally different schools in the area. Because of the differences, teachers need to put their particular students first when creating lessons in order to engage them. As our text suggests, "multicultural curriculum supports and celebrates our diversity in the broadest sense" (pg. 380). In order to by a multicultural classroom, teachers must draw upon the "histories, experiences, traditions and cultures of the students in the classroom" (pg. 380). Many teachers may not live in the area in which they teach. This means they may not be familiar with the daily lives of their students. As the opening story of the text talked about Natisha, many of the teachers may not have even known that she is taking care of her family at home (pg. 376). We cannot be blind to the fact that these situations are taking place in the schools in Northeast Ohio. I think it is also important for students in every school to understand the differences that are taking place in other schools in the area. For example, as an elementary Catholic school pupil, I was very unaware of the happenings of the public school in my city. Being so sheltered made adulthood transitions difficult. Now as an educator, I like to take the time to call upon the differences in my classroom as well as differences that my students are seeing throughout their world. I draw upon these differences when creating lessons.

Wk 14: Real Life Experiences

The topic that kept coming up in the Gollnick and Chinn text that caught my attention is that to engage students and have them get meaning from the content, educators must relate the material to the students. "... the subject begins to have meaning for students because it relates to their lives and what they know. It validates their experiences" (p.382). The example listed on that same page is really intriguing to me. A teacher found that changing the context of a math problem from farmers and cans of milk to something the students can relate to (money for the purchase of a leather jacket) caused the students to be able to solve the problem easier. I feel that this is something teachers can work on in their classrooms.
This is something that I constantly have my own students telling me. They want problems that relate to their lives- to their own real life experiences. Doing this allows students to make connections from the content to what matters to them. It makes learning easier and more meaningful. I really have noticed that when I re-write an example on the board or for a test or worksheet that simply includes the name of another teacher the students currently have, their faces light up instantly. I realize this may take more work, but I feel the benefits would be substantial.
I know that I use the tests that come along with the textbook. While these tests do show aspects of multiculturalism (the examples include different cultures and traditions), I'm not sure the students relate to the questions. I think that if I took a few tests a year and rewrote them to include topics that relate to the students' personal lives, it may have a positive effect. Of course, like anything else in a teacher's life, it will be a process. It will probably not be done in a year, but taking it a little at a time could be helpful. It may even require updating the tests every so often- which isn't a bad thing either! I think it's worth it if the students can make a personal connection to the material. If we "connect the curriculum to their culture and real world experiences," the students will "be able to see themselves in the curriculum to provide meaning for their own lives" (p.378).

Week 14: Educational Efforts in NE Ohio

What might we add to our educational efforts in Northeast Ohio in order to achieve the quality of life and the social justice goals for all (as summarized in the last chapter of the Gollnick and Chinn text).

Consider: What is missing? What might warrant further enhancement? What can we create that is not already there? How can we do better what we already do?

One of the components that is missing in Northeast Ohio’s education efforts would be “Caring”. According to Gollnick and Chin, “One of the complaints of students is that their teachers don’t know them and do not care about them” (p. 384). I’ve heard that so many times from students and even from my own child. If a student feels that a teacher “doesn’t care” then they sometimes feel hopeless at being able to achieve academically. If a teacher show’s care, along with high expectations, a student will feel more apt to try to be successful. As stated in the text, “A caring teacher has high expectations for students, and pushes students to meet those high expectations” (p. 384). I’ve also heard from some teachers that have been in the field a long time that they’ve “given up” or “just don’t care anymore”. We cannot allow ourselves as teachers to start treating teaching as just a job. We are, most times, the first line of defense that these kids have. They have to know that no matter how bad it is outside of our classroom walls that inside, we care about them. I think that in Northeast Ohio teachers can become bogged down by school levy’s not passing, pay freezes, more students in the classroom than they can handle, etc. that they forget why they became teachers in the first place. Teachers need to reach out to the students and show that they care in order to foster successfulness in the classroom. Lastly, Gollnick and Chin state, “What are the characteristics of caring teachers? They are patient, persistent, and supportive of students. They listen to students and validate their culture. They empower their students to engage in their education. Caring teachers don’t give up on their students. They understand why students may not feel well on some days or are having a difficult time outside of school. Nevertheless, these teachers do not accept failure” (p. 385).

Age and Ageism

Looking at 'age' and 'ageism' as cultural constructs which impact the professional work of the educator--how does this interact with other cultural components which impact school and its relation to the community?

"The high-tech gadgetry into which the young teens in the United States are entering is one that some of their parents and grandparents cannot even comprehend or even know exists" (pg. 367). This sentence stood out to me as something I've been saying for awhile now. It is second nature to a Generation Zer to be in constant contact with their friends and parents. It is a double-edged sword. They become too comfortable in "writing" whatever they want but not knowing how to verbally communicate properly. Also pointed out by Gollnick and Chinn, "[A]stute in the use of cell phones, Internet, and other means of staying connected, the Z generation will pose a challenge for both educators and parents" (p. 367). The advancement in technology has been so great over the last decade alone that Generation Xers haven't been able to catch up, or haven't wanted to. In order to be an effective teacher, one must keep up with the latest technologies in able to relate to the students. Students communicate differently now. Students like to e-mail and they expect a rapid response. They are not used to waiting for an entire weekend for an answer. Teachers need to become technologically advanced in order to better serve their students. Also, using technology in the classroom is a great way to keep a student's attention. A lot of students have told me that they like being able to post homework to a website, prepare PowerPoint presentations or use the internet for research. The days of teaching students in lecture format while they take notes are going away fast. Students require instant access to knowledge, hence "Google". Anytime there is a question about anything, someone is logging onto Google. Be it a good thing or bad, I think the technology age is here and students are embracing it and teachers need to as well.

Week 14-Education & the Pursuit of Social Justice for All

What might we add to our educational efforts in Northeast Ohio in order to achieve the quality of life and the social justice goals for all (as summarized in the last chapter of the Gollnick and Chinn text).

Consider: What is missing? What might warrant further enhancement? What can we create that is not already there? How can we do better what we already do?

11/23/09

Young Gen X'er teaching the Y's and Z's

The chapter for this section of the book has so much information in it, I found it difficult to select only a few key points to discuss here. Probably the most influential pieces have to do with the recognition of the collective consciousness of a "typical" gen X person, in this case a teacher, as opposed to the experiences and mindset of the Y's and Z's that are in our classrooms today. When I get frustrated with my older co-workers (baby boomers) and some of their inability to relate to some of our students, it is a helpful reminder to me of how all of us come to the table with generation differences that influence much of what we think, say and do - even as educators who are supposedly cognizant of best practices and what is best for the students.

For instance, the text describes the "adult" category as ages 20-65. While I am sure most of us can agree with this age-grouping, it is important to note the teacher differences in a generation Y teacher fresh out of college teaching alongside someone like me who is a young generation X-er ( I am 35) and beside us is a very large population of almost-ready-to-retire baby boomers in their early 50's on up. I bring this up because the text mentions numerous times that teachers are some of the prime examples to students as role models and we are, as a group, poised to be able to detect and report suspicions of child abuse, neglect, suicide-risk and depression. However, the different generations of teachers will most likely have different views and priorities based on what generation they are a part of and it may very well permeate what types of current strategies and practices that one is open to learning about, practicing or dismissing.

I have actually heard, in the teacher's lounge, multiple teachers in their 50's exclaim that, "When we were younger, there was no excuse for ______ and ______ and ______ behavior. We had to learn to suck it up and deal with it like everyone else!" These statements are said on almost a daily basis around the 20 and 30-somethings who bring up some of the risky or violent behavior that our students exhibit such as, "aggressive, hostile behavior, alcohol and drug abuse, passive behavior, changes in eating habits, changes in sleeping habits, fear of separation, abrupt changes in personality...etc" (pgs 347-348, concerning warning signs of youth suicide). I am not saying that ALL of the baby boomers feel this way, but after reading the text and observing it now for my 12 years of teaching, I have noticed that the older the teacher is, the more conservative they tend to be in terms of feelings on these matters. The really great, seasoned teachers I have met have still kept to what they believe in but also are savvy enough to realize that times and kids are different and not bury their head in the proverbial sand.

The educational implications, like mentioned above, is huge! Many of our students come to us not only with different familial and moral/ethical/cultural etc beliefs than us, but as a whole, have had a different experience as a child in the United States than we have had! The technology, obviously, is different, communication is different, social norms and what is deemed as "shocking" or "inappropriate" is different. These differences permeate the childhood experiences and collective consciousness of our students. I feel, as educated and responsible educators, we are responsible to notice, take note and consider that when we react, pass judgment or take into account our students' learning and all-over well-being - - regardless of what the "norm" was when "we" were growing up.

~Diane

Age and Poverty

According to Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society, 18% of children in the United States were living in poverty as of 2007. This is such a sad statistic due to the fact that children do not play a role in determining their financial well being. Therefore, age directly impacts education in the realm of poverty. Children living in poverty bring a lot of baggage with them into the classroom. The problems stem from hunger to lack of sleep, stress from family problems and low self-esteem from not having as many material things as other students. We all learned in our undergrad that Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs must be met inorder for a persons brain to focus on learning. Unfortunately, children in poverty are not getting their needs met and this poses major challenges for educators. It can be very hard to focus and motivate children coming from poverty because they may see no positive outlook on their future. The biggest concern for these children may be going home after school and getting to work in order to help supplement the family's income. How could they possibly have time for homework or keep themselves awake in the classroom? Educators need to know their students and have compassion on their situations.

Age

I never really thought about age being a part of culture. I have heard of hip-hop and pop culture and understand that most of the people you are appealed to it are younger but never really thought about age in terms of culture. Age really does affect how we act and changes as we grow older. This made me think about the section on cultural identity and how on page 20 the woman’s importance of cultural groups changed and age became more important.

I think if you really look at it this is the one cultural topic that allows you to behave certain ways. You are allowed to be fussy and cry when you are little but as you grow up more you are expected to stop behaving that way. If you are in you late teens/early twenties you are not really identified your job but once you reach your thirties your job has become a part of who you are. Once you have reached your old age it is almost ok if you are cranky. We are expected or allowed to behave different ways depending on what our age is but that is not considered ageism. This is not true for the other cultural factors.

The influence of age on education does not stand alone

"What we behave is often a function of age... At the same time, age does not stand alone in affecting the way a person behaves. Ethnicity, SES, religion and the gender interact with age to influence a perosn's behavior and attitude". The interactions of these factors are compicated. In some cases, one of them plays more roles in children's behavior and attitude; sometimes some of them do. It is not suggestible for us to predict what kind(s) of behavior children would be just with reference to their ages.

Generations XYZ

This concept appealed most to me because it was the impetus to my beginning a technology master's degree. I am a generation X member and was familiar with the term growing up. My father, a 1946 baby boomer would often discuss these concepts with me. He would say that "your generation needs to be more educated than my generation and your children will need to be even more educated than you." Interestingly enough, in Gollnick and Chinn says that Generation Y are the most education minded generation in history. (p. 366).
The impact on education lies in the way we educate our students. We are starting to notice trends with our students. Lower reading levels in literary text because students are side-tracked from reading for pleasure by more pleasurable things such as X-Box, Computer games, MySpace, IPods (my kids watch tv shows and movies on theirs) and texting. You would think that these are all some form of reading and would enrich the reading levels, but this simply is not evident.
My students are the oldest of the generation Z. They require more than posing a question as a set induction. A video or sound clip does more to inspire participation than a well-thought out question. Using the types of technology that this generation relates to will be effective in educating this generation. Online, interactive textbooks to illustrate content, blogging for discussion, using RS feeds for notifications of assignments or changes...This may seem cynical, however this generation needs more than paper, doesn't always have the social skills for face to face discussion and does well to have information fed to them via a text reminder or RS feed.

Self-Harm

It is vital for educators to understand the impact age has on our students because it helps us understand how the child/young adult strives and either succeeds or fails and “fitting in” to their social environment. The text mentions suicide fairly extensively. This is fitting considering the large number of young people who commit suicide every year (2,000) and the fact that is remains the third leading cause of death in teenagers (p.354). Early in my career in education, I became increasingly aware not only of the very real danger suicide is to my students, but also of the increase of cutting or self-injury. Self-injury is a way for the individual to gain control and “cope” if they have never acquired positive ways of handling stressers and grief. This is important to note, because it encompasses some of the same reasons given for suicide. “Because of their youth and lack of experience in making accurate judgments, depressed adolescents may be more prone to respond to the suggestion of suicide than an adult” (p.355). This lack of experience also influences students towards self-injury. Both of these speak to self-harm as a way of coping and dealing with the world around them. All too often adults attempt to put our rationale and ability to cope on young people and assume they possess the same skills. We need to be aware of this very real danger to young people.

Educators and adolescents

Understanding that age has an effect on culture is very important to educators. Educators must try to understand the complete psychology of their students. Although there is no way an educator can fully understand what students are going through on a daily basis it is important they try to identify issues that could potentially interfere with their learning. There are many external factors that could possibly affect a kid’s behavior in the classroom during their education ages. The adolescent years provide many challenges and changes that occur. Kids are exploring and learning about the other sex, identifying new peer relationships, and trying to fit in within their peer groups. This often can lead to students participating in activities they might not otherwise just to fit in. Students are constantly learning and having their beliefs challenged which can cause turbulence at home and the classroom. Students must learn to identify/ deal with these challenges and it is important for teachers to be there to identify/ help students deal with issues. A teacher must identify the cultural setting the students are in and the stresses that may be brought because of their culture and age. As a students continue on their path to graduation teachers must try to equip students with the tools to enter the real world and another “age group”.

Topic: Age and Culture for Practicing Educators

Looking at 'age' and 'ageism' as cultural constructs which impact the professional work of the educator--how does this interact with other cultural components which impact school and its relation to the community?

Add to your response to the question above also, your own sense of how greater knowledge and understanding of the relation between "age and culture" might inform the practice of educators.

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