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Anya Kayne
RE: Discussion - Week 11
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Culturally responsive teaching is essential if we are going to truly welcome all learners into our classrooms. Some would argue that Common Core promotes culturally responsive teaching, while others see much room for improvement. One aspect of cultural responsiveness is being able to see oneself in the classroom literature. Research suggests that teachers need to thoughtfully choose the books that are in their classrooms so that they represent the communities that work with, but also to make sure that these books avoid stereotyping and include diverse characters in authentic, meaningful ways (Boyd et al., 2015). Other research suggests that many urban, African American mothers see the need for additional “counter-storytelling…[that] uses an oppositional framework to dominant stories privileged by educational systems” (Lewis Ellison, 2019, p.1431). When I started teaching, I remember being gifted a box of books from a previous teacher. I did not have the resources nor the awareness to think about how my students were reflected in the classroom literature. Now, I am much more careful and intentional about each book that is included, but it is an ongoing process of awareness.
In additional to Common Core including culturally sensitive literature, the teachers who are implementing Common Core must also represent the students that they are teaching. We have a major challenge in our community wherein almost half of the students identify as Latinx, but less than 10% of the teachers are Latinx. Research suggests that bilingual Latinx teachers are more likely to implement Common Core in a culturally responsive manner (Castro & Calzada, 2021). It is therefore imperative that Latinx students are recruited and welcomed into teaching credential programs. My local university includes a program called Puerta wherein local, first-generation college Latinx students who are interested in going on to become teachers receive additional advising, support, and community as they navigate college. Research suggests that Latinx students are more likely to face unique barriers when pursuing higher education and these types of supports may be helpful in diversifying the teacher population (Garza, 2019). I believe that it will take some time, but that we are slowly making progress towards our teachers better reflecting the populations that they work with.
Boyd, F. B., Causey, L. L., & Galda, L. (2015). Culturally diverse literature: Enriching variety in an era of Common Core State Standards. Reading Teacher, 68(5), 378–387.
Castro, A. S., & Calzada, E. J. (2021). Teaching Latinx students: Do teacher ethnicity and bilingualism matter? Contemporary Educational Psychology, 66. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2021.101994
Garza, R. (2019). Paving the Way for Latinx Teachers: Recruitment and Preparation to Promote Educator Diversity. In New America. New America.
Lewis Ellison, T. (2019). The matter of parents’ stories: Urban African American mothers’ counter-stories about the Common Core State Standards and quality teaching. Urban Education, 54(10), 1431–1461.
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Katheryn Gonzales
RE: Discussion - Week 11
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As a primary grades teacher, I find that many educators debate about whether to engage in the whole language or phonics approach to teaching literacy. Whole language is an implicit way to teach reading. Educators that use the whole language method of teaching use sight words, whole word, and the look see approach. This approach is holistic and usually taught in context. On the other hand, some educators believe that students need an explicit or direct approach to literacy. These teachers believe that phonics instruction is more appropriate because this is a skills-based approach where students learn to read based on letter-sound correspondence, phoneme manipulation, blending, segmenting, and decoding words. The issue between these styles of teaching reading is that whole language believes educators should teach the from the top down where they teach the overall meaning of reading, while phonics teachers believe you start at the bottom and work up. Phonics is a skills based, sequential style of teaching (Maddox & Feng, 2013).
Phonics instruction is beneficial to auditory learners but those that are not geared to learning that way may find the task of learning phonics boring. The whole language approach is beneficial for the more visual student. This way of learning may not have an impact on the auditory learner. To keep all students engaged in literacy, a well balanced approach to teaching reading is necessary (Carbo, 1996).
My personal belief is that educators should combine both approaches. Both approaches would allow for rich read alouds. Teachers can use text to discuss comprehension, asking and answering questions, visualizing, and more. All while maintaining a print rich environment. Phonics instruction would be useful to teach students to decode words efficiently by teaching phonics patterns that students will see. Educators can teach an explicit phonics lesson and incorporate word work into guided reading groups and literacy activities. Both approaches to teaching literacy are necessary to meet the needs of all students.
Carbo, M. (1996). Whole Language vs. Phonics: The Great Debate. Principal, 75(3), 36–38.
Maddox, K., & Feng, J. (2013). Whole Language Instruction vs. Phonics Instruction: Effect on Reading Fluency and Spelling Accuracy of First Grade Students. Online Submission.
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