Week 4 Discussion - Equity and Excellence

Equity and Excellence

Monday, January 27, 2020, 8:15 PM

If a student teacher were sent to observe in my classroom today, he/she would see

equity and excellence played out in my classroom from the first

bell to the last. I stand at

the door and greet students by name as they enter the classroom each class period.

I

will sometimes congratulate students on achievements, like big plays in the game the

previous night, or a great job in the band concert.

If

I know that someone has been sick

in the family, I will ask about him/her.

I am first and foremost a social studies teacher,

but I am also passionate about literacy.

Therefore, my classroom is riddled with maps,

anchor charts, graphic organizers, etc. A

ll of these items are used to varying degrees to

help all students make connections to texts, videos, primary sources, or whatever we

are using that day.

Rigor is high and students never know what to expect each

day.

They do not know what will be happeni

ng until they walk in and see how desks are

arranged. Whatever it is we are doing, we work from bell to bell, with no down time.

These practices are visible in practically every classroom in our school.

Another

common practice is that at some point in eve

ry class period, students will write.

I

enforce grammar rules just like the ELA teachers.

At the beginning of the year I discuss our different “registers of speech”.

I teach

students that it is ok to speak their home language at home because that is h

ow they

communicate.

But at school we have to use what we call formal English.

I explain that

most people have at least two registers of language, one for home and one for work, but

some people will have even more than that because of different peer grou

ps.

I think

this conversation is important in establishing equity because it reinforces the value and

validity of each culture in the room.

To the best of my knowledge there is only one other

teacher in the school who addresses registers of language.

I

think we could do a better

job of this as a school.

Not only honoring it, but modeling formal register better as we

teach.

Some teachers speak like they are at a football game with college roommates.

I

find this habit counter

-

productive to our efforts o

f achieving excellence.

Equity and Excellence

Monday, January 27, 2020, 8:15 PM

If a student teacher were sent to observe in my classroom today, he/she would see

equity and excellence played out in my classroom from the first bell to the last. I stand at

the door and greet students by name as they enter the classroom each class period. I

will sometimes congratulate students on achievements, like big plays in the game the

previous night, or a great job in the band concert. If I know that someone has been sick

in the family, I will ask about him/her. I am first and foremost a social studies teacher,

but I am also passionate about literacy. Therefore, my classroom is riddled with maps,

anchor charts, graphic organizers, etc. All of these items are used to varying degrees to

help all students make connections to texts, videos, primary sources, or whatever we

are using that day. Rigor is high and students never know what to expect each

day. They do not know what will be happening until they walk in and see how desks are

arranged. Whatever it is we are doing, we work from bell to bell, with no down time.

These practices are visible in practically every classroom in our school. Another

common practice is that at some point in every class period, students will write. I

enforce grammar rules just like the ELA teachers.

At the beginning of the year I discuss our different “registers of speech”. I teach

students that it is ok to speak their home language at home because that is how they

communicate. But at school we have to use what we call formal English. I explain that

most people have at least two registers of language, one for home and one for work, but

some people will have even more than that because of different peer groups. I think

this conversation is important in establishing equity because it reinforces the value and

validity of each culture in the room. To the best of my knowledge there is only one other

teacher in the school who addresses registers of language. I think we could do a better

job of this as a school. Not only honoring it, but modeling formal register better as we

teach. Some teachers speak like they are at a football game with college roommates. I

find this habit counter-productive to our efforts of achieving excellence.