Emergent Bilinguals

To be honest, it's hard to respond to this reading for a number of reasons.

Firstly, in both of my teaching positions, I was surrounded by emergent bilinguals (love this term, by the way) and felt powerless to help them past what I was already doing for the whole class. Additionally, while reading this, I felt guilt because I felt bad that I have never put extra effort into my ELLs. What kind of teacher does that make me.

As I am running out of ways to format my blogs , I will write this blog similar to a 3-2-1 exit ticket.

Three things I learned/ liked:

• I like the idea of R. E. A. L. instruction. Of course picking relevant texts is important and something I've always done. However, I pick stories that are socially relevant but that doesn't always include languuge or cultural relevance. Engaging is something that not only increases learning but limits distractions. Affirming is powerful but difficult . In a truly diverse classroom, how do I Include the Latino, Asian, White, Native American and African American cultures of my classroom in the one year that I have them. Asset- Oriented Literacy can definitely be a confidence builder for students that can break down the “I can’t” barriers many students build after years of instruction that confuses them. 
• The five rules are great. Although, when I first read the rules, I felt that they were all the same thing, upon further reading them, I learned more. I already do the read and write rules but never in front of the kids. I just show them proof that I wrote the essays too through teacher models I write on the board or use in my PowerPoints. But rules 1, 2, and 5 are truly inspiring. I think kids would love to think of their teacher as a learner as they do teach me so much both informally and formally. But rule number five is a rule I feel is the most important for ALL teachers. Our kids are our future and they are seeing a world of hate, not acceptance. It’s important we teach them to care. 
•  Lastly, all books should have an ACTION TIME section. This was more than inspiring. It gives you clear things you can do to start the action of being a effective emergent bilingual teacher. 

Two things I want to learn more about:  

• Something I’d like to learn more about is how to help develop a growth mindset so that the high rigor expectations aren’t a negative experience for the students who may already feel negative about their schooling experiences from the past. 
• I’d also like to learn more about how to address a student who is verbally fluent in Spanish but cannot read in their first language. Is it then our job to help develop that skill? Will reading the text in their first language be upsetting that they can’t read in a language they feel so comfortable in? Do further chapters address this?

One question I still have:

• Most of these techniques had to deal with reading and classroom culture with some writing sprinkled in. Is there more writing techniques further in the book? 

I look forward to the lesson of emergent bilinguals so I can be proactive in my classroom next year. 

Podcast Bandwagon

For years, I have avoided the podcast bandwagon that my friends are all apart of. Clearly, I have been missing out. Many parts of this podcast stuck with me even after I listened to the video. I also absolutely love that a script was provided which helped me to follow along with the audio. Below are my thoughts on the sections that stood out to me.


The early adopters of those social technologies...were self identified geeks, freaks, and queers. 
I first started going on the internet when I was in 7th or 8th grade. At first I remember it was solely to communicate with my friends in Texas who I missed horribly. But then, I found chat rooms. As every teenager in America has felt at one point in their life, I felt like an outcast. In chat rooms, I found friends that I never had to try to hard to keep. They shared experiences with me and, like Boyd, never made an actual appearance in my life. However, I remember the late night rooms where I learned how to socialize for the first time. It built a confidence in me that face-to-face interactions never would have allowed me to gain.

...These technologies became part of everyday life, . . . [and]people brought with them all of their flaws. "The internet [is] causing us to be a racist society," without realizing ...we're just making it visible online. I never thought about this....but it is very true. Bullying isn't new. It isn't worse. It is just easier to document and commit behind a computer screen. Racism isn't new. It is very much alive. The internet allowed for this to surface to a wider public opening the eyes of people who may not witness in on a national level. However true this may be, it means we can also spread positive messages in the same way we can spread hateful ones.

"I would love to have the freedom to just go out and play with all my friends, but I can't." This made me so sad. I remember my friends and I had a special code (made with a bouncing basketball) that signaled it was time to come outside and play. Kids can't do that today. Unfortunately, I am guilty of shaming my students for their crazy amount of time spent on the internet. However, I never saw it from this perspective. My eyes are open. I still want kids to go outside. But I will no longer shame them for it because it is not an option for many.

And we make  a level of aggression and critique and tearing people apart part of the national pastime. I actually noticed this a while ago and realized I had to change. I know always try to name my intention when I need to vent. I try to use constructive language that still allows me to release the tension or frustration I feel without tearing down someone else. This means using a lot of I statements. Students have so much assess to the negativity of the world, so we need to ensure they get lots of the positive, too!

There's a beauty in...amplifying things that are messy. The story of #ifiwasshot was really inspiring and made me think of a lot of movements that the internet helps spread an awareness of really messy topics like the #metoo and #blacklivesmatter movement. These are beautiful but messy topics that need to be talked about. The internet allows this to definitely be amplified!

"More conversation, less surveillance." Of course, Grandma knew exactly what to say to make Boyd rethink her hair cut. Grandmas know everything. I don't know if I can get completely on board with less surveillance unless we are educating in internet safety and precautions. But I like this idea and hope one day, I can fully support and apply this concept.

Though digital literacy confused me in its implementation in class until I researched it even further, I did fully understand many of the things Boyd said. I was not the biggest fan of technology and the internet but I always understood it's importance. However, now I feel that I can be open minded to new ideas thanks to Boyd.