The repetitive instruction sparks behavior issues, which increases learners from being removed from the learning setting. The decrease in instruction widens the gap for developing young people who can critically and creatively think. The pipeline can largely be attributed to the “pedagogy of poverty”. Hammond describes this as, “setting up students up to leave high school with outdated skills and shallow knowledge. They are able to regurgitate facts and concepts but have difficulty applying this knowledge to new and practical ways.” Unfortunately, you often see this at the elementary/primary level in poorer schools. Having worked in these conditions, I’ve seen the pedagogy of poverty used repeatedly by teachers who came from a similar background. They are often perpetuating the same low-level instruction to the next generation without knowing it.
AwarenessAwareness is the first part of this dynamic framework. We examine our own social and political viewpoint and how it impacts our instructional practices. We begin by asking ourselves these questions:
This particular portion of the framework became clear to me when I worked in a pre-dominant culture that was not my own. I had to learn about how my behavior was building a culture of responsiveness or a wall of exclusion. I had to face some truths about my behavior and level of privilege compared to my peers and learners. Learning PartnershipsLearning Partnerships focuses on building strong relationships where learners trust us and our process of delivering learning. They know that we are doing everything we can to create opportunities for their growth. We might develop these partnerships by asking these questions:
Relationships always come first before instruction. At the beginning of the school year, I heard Emmanuel Acho cite this quote: Rules before Relationships = Rebellion. This is true to all of us. As a teacher, we might take umbrage with a new administrator demanding curricular or cultural changes before they have learned about our teaching practice. If we don’t like it, why would we do it to our learners? Information ProcessingInformation Processing is about deepening our learner’s intellective capacity, which has been defined by Hammond as, “the increased power the brain creates to process complex information more effectively.” This requires us to examine our teaching practice to determine if we are using the adequate processes, strategies, tools, and products to help learners engage with the curriculum at a deeper level. We can examine our practice by answering these questions:
Community BuildingCommunity Building focuses on leveraging the power of the group to create a safe and caring environment that connects with the learner’s background. It’s difficult for them to connect to something they don’t understand, which may be our view of what a community looks and feels like based on our personal experiences.
Things to considerThe thing I appreciate about each chapter is there is a summary of the big ideas, invitation to inquiry questions for application, and additional resources to explore further. This really helps us as learners to broaden and deepen our perspective.
Can you believe we have only made it to chapter 2? There are so many nuggets of wisdom that I can’t contain myself! The thing that has stayed with me the most is preparing our learners for rigor, so we get out of the loop of watered down instruction for more economically disadvantaged youth. I’m so grateful that this book openly addresses so many concerns that rest upon my heart so beautifully. Before you know, we are heading into the chapters about neuroscience that went over my head. I’m excited to revisit them through a new lens to help us grow into loving and appreciating this amazing book. Have a blessed day.
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Categories
All
Archives
February 2025
|