Double Entry Journal #5

Double Entry Journal #5

Quote: “Reverent teachers listen carefully to what the subject matter has to say to them, but they also listen carefully to what their students say to them as well.  Teachers must know not only their subject matter, but their students as well.”

I selected this quote because I agree with it completely.  Students are 1000 times more likely to remember something (content related or otherwise) if it relates to their personal lives.  For example, a student who likes to ride horses is extremely likely to remember a social studies lesson on the cavalry if the teacher pulls information from the students’ funds of knowledge when teaching the lesson. 

I can remember a time in the 3^rd grade when my teacher was writing sentences on the chalkboard using our spelling words.  She asked me to create the sentence and I made up a sentence about my new baby cousin, Zoe.  All of these years later I still remember that sentence (and I’m sure that I spelled the spelling word correctly) all because the sentence applied to my life. 

 

1. What is reverent listening and how can it support culturally responsive teaching?

Reverent listening is listening to the ideas and opinions of others with respect.  Furthermore, in reverent listening, teachers and students are encouraged to value the content that they’re studying.  They must understand that all content has value and that a person never ceases to learn.  This reverent listening can support culturally responsive teaching because it teaches that all content, just like all students are different, but have their own uniqueness and value. 


2. Give an example from your own schooling experience of what this quote means:
Reverent listening is not to be confused with humiliation and domination by others who force us to listen, and even less so, with the kind of incompetence that wants to be told what to do.
I can remember when I was in school sometimes we would have to read aloud.  It never failed that a student would stumble over words in the reading and another student in the class would say the word correctly aloud.  I think that this would be a humiliating experience for the struggling reader and would make them feel less dominant (because of their reading ability) as well. 

 

3. What is meant by a "laundry list of value ethics"? Give an example from your own schooling experience. And then explain how this approach to character education can be NON-culturally responsive.

The “laundry list” reference is regarding how many schools assume that the only character traits that they should focus on are the short list of obvious ones such as honesty, respect, etc.  However, things like reverent listening are character traits/value ethics which should also be taught to students.  This can be non-culturally responsive because it seems to put a limit on the values that students are rewarded for possessing.  For example, if a school focuses on the “6 Pillars of Character (trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship)”, then they’re limiting the students because virtues like “reverent listening” aren’t on the list. 

 

4. Have you ever had a teacher that at one time or another exhibited the traits of a reverent teacher? What did they do? How did they make you feel?

When I was in 4^th grade, we had a long-term substitute who was in her eighties.  One way that she did this was by allowing us to tell stories in class (as long as they pertained to the subject). She always listened reverently to our stories, which made us feel special.  

 

5. What factors contribute to a "toxic" school culture?

The reading says in the toxic school culture transformed section that “violence breaks out when educational leaders single-mindedly pursue their goals without listening to others who also have desires and dreams.”  This means that not only do students have to respect each other, but colleagues have to be reverent listeners, too.    

6. Find a quote in this article that you would like to incorporate into your own philosophy of education and explain how it fits or changes your philosophy of education.

The quote that I liked from this article was the one that I wrote about above:
“Reverent teachers listen carefully to what the subject matter has to say to them, but they also listen carefully to what their students say to them as well.  Teachers must know not only their subject matter, but their students as well.”

 

7. Find a strategy/activity conveyed in a video, blog posting, lesson plan, or online article that will help you become a teacher who cultivates a reverence in their classroom and school community.  Link to it and describe how you will use it in your future classroom.

This is from an article in Oprah Magazine.  This is a link to another article in her article which is called 6 Rules for Talking and Listening.  If I want to be a reverent listening teacher, I’ll need to know the rules for talking and listening.  Furthermore, it might be a good article to edit and share with my students.  Link: http://www.oprah.com/relationships/Dr-Phils-Six-Rules-of-Talking-and-Listening

 

 

Source for Google Doc.: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_lNdCbUdjDIvAFO7LhRAQqe9fJc-YReeKH7qGTWlxy4/edit?pli=1