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Module 6 E-Journal #5

  1. Key ideas or questions from the reading connected to course goals • What ideas or arguments stood out most to you in this week’s materials? Discrimination and violence toward LGBTQ+ people has become so normalized that it almost feels expected, despite decades of advocacy and progress made by activists, lawmakers, and communities. Much of what we discussed this week isn’t new information, but the way the public talks about LGBTQ+ people—often with dehumanizing language—has become frighteningly common. What gets lost is the fact that we’re discussing real human beings and their basic right to exist peacefully. Gender non-conforming and transgender people are facing the most intense discrimination right now. California’s 2024 law banning schools from outing LGBTQ+ students to their parents (Adamczeski, 2024) is both a sign of progress and a quiet horror. The fact that we even need a law to protect children from potential violence or rejection from their own families because of t...
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Module 5, E-Journal #4

  Reflections on Your Propensity to Learn and Personal Growth Throughout the Course Where do you notice growth in your own learning process? The readings- especially Nieto and Bode, and Titone- have broadened my understanding of what a culturally responsive teacher and school truly look like. The example in Nieto and Bode about a curriculum centered on the Cambodian American experience helped me realize that my approach to culturally responsive teaching has been somewhat limited. I initially wanted to design lessons that addressed social justice directly, but the case study showed me that social change can also emerge through subtle, thoughtful representation rather than explicit discussions of racism or inclusion alone. As Nieto and Bode warn, “If the topic of a certain cultural group is approached as merely ‘adding color’ to the curriculum, teachers run into any one of a number of pitfalls that run counter to the critical multicultural approach” (p. 368). I now recognize that som...
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Module 4, E-Journal #3

               4. How you plan to apply course concepts in educational settings Which specific strategies, ideas, or examples from the materials would you use in your classroom? The readings made it clear that affirming diversity through multilingual education is important not only pedagogically, but also societally. While creating a perfectly inclusive environment is impossible, identifying its shortcomings is easy. Restricting language use in education ultimately restricts students’ expressions of culture and heritage, prioritizing the educator’s comfort over the students’. Although the readings did not list explicit strategies, many ideas inspired potential solutions to address restrictions on supports for ELL and ELD students. For example, Nieto and Bode discuss the “misapplication of learning-style theory” (177), where racial biases and stereotypes shape assumptions about ethnically diverse students’ learning styles. This can lead to ped...
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Module 1, E-Journal #2

  3. How your attitudes about diverse learners or communities have evolved.   What assumptions or beliefs are being challenged for you? I used to assume that students who were not yet proficient in English would naturally receive the extra support they needed outside of the classroom. I also believed that learning English had to come before they could fully participate in academic content. My experience as an aide challenged this belief. At the school where I worked, some students lost valuable instruction because of the idea that “the English will come later” (Nordmeyer). Research shows the opposite: “(R)esearch confirms that English learners develop English most effectively while also mastering knowledge, skills and literacies needed for college and career success” (Nordmeyer). Seeing this in practice made me realize that waiting for proficiency before including students is harmful. Not all schools provide designated ELD time, and those that don’t leave students further behi...
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Module 1: E-Journal #1

  1. Key Ideas or questions from the reading connected to course goals.  What ideas or arguments stood out most to you in this week's materials? In the handout, "Students: Habits of Mind Explanation", the first habit is "metacognition", or "thinking about our thinking" (Costa, Kallick, and Zmuda). Metacognition is a habit that is largely ignored as a skill- humans react and reflect, and we take it from there. Still, it is not common to think strategically before engaging in a conversation or activity to the point of habit . Having self-awareness in this way takes time and "training". We take reactivity for granted, even though it is unreliable and can cause more issues than needed. When we are arguing with a loved one, for example, we simply respond to each other, over and over, until one person "wins". However, metacognition is a skill that many therapists teach couples so that during arguments, they don't seek to "win...
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