11 blog

 Rodriguez's article "Aria" had a significant impact on me. This article underlines how schools impose the idea of Americanization on families, forcing many to choose between a public and private identity in terms of culture, language, and so on. This post had a significant impact on me, particularly given my placement at Many of the students in my class speak Spanish as their first language, and reading this article made me wonder if their families, like Rodriguez's, have felt pressured to sacrifice their private individualities in favor of public, more Eurocentric identities that align with what America considers "ideal" in terms of intersectionality.

This semester, I also found the article "Troublemakers" by Shalaby to be informative and insightful. The essay emphasizes how misbehavior in youngsters is sometimes interpreted as simple refusal or the child's decision to be "bad." The educational system categorizes and judges youngsters as either "good students" or "bad students," with no other considerations. Instead, educators must delve deeper into the causes of behavior and acknowledge that each student will react differently to the given situation.

In class, we played a card game designed to simulate the challenges of communication and understanding in diverse settings. Students were divided into different groups, each with its own set of rules, but no one was aware that the rules varied. To make it even more challenging, we weren’t allowed to speak or communicate verbally throughout the game. After practicing a few rounds with their initial group, students switched to a new group with an entirely different set of rules, leading to confusion and frustration.

This activity was a powerful representation of the struggles faced by individuals who speak a different language than those around them—such as a student whose primary language is Spanish trying to learn in an English-only classroom. It was eye-opening to experience firsthand what it feels like to be in a situation where your understanding doesn’t align with others, highlighting the importance of empathy and support in overcoming language barriers in educational settings 

Throughout this semester, we’ve explored various readings and videos addressing critical justice issues. We examined how society perceives different minority groups and discussed the role of educators in fostering support and equality within the classroom. We delved into diverse teaching philosophies, focusing on what to observe in the classroom environment and strategies for effectively addressing and understanding student behaviors.