No Excuses

  Opportunity Gap:  Milner's focus on this issue keeps recurring through every section of the book.  This gap, which I hope to explore even further as time progresses, proves to be a reality in schools today, but also proves to be a source of excuses and complaining as well.  In Milner's writing, he introduces readers to a few different teachers and their real life teaching scenarios who face opportunity gap issues on a daily basis.  Mr. Hall, a white science teacher teaching in a diverse urban science classroom, is one of these teachers and is introduced on page 45.  Through explaining Mr. Hall's experiences, Milner shows that misunderstanding between students and teachers can be one of the most detrimental problems of all.  Hall addressed this issue in his classroom by becoming more knowledgable about his students, and creating an atmosphere of respect and understanding as well.
   One of the main parts of Mr. Hall's experience that truly stood out to me and got me thinking is introduced on page 55, entitled "Doing more with fewer resources."  Hall is quoted in this section saying "never give up... We've got [fewer] materials than anybody else, and it's just like- so what- who cares?  You know the kids, you can do it" (pg. 56).  Mr. Hall was teaching an above average amount of students in a low income school with below average amount of resources.  Although the odds were, in essence, against him, he used this to motivate him to take initiative and do something about this himself.  He worked within his limits, but also stretched these limits and improved his situation.
     My future goals lead me to a situation where lack of resources may be a constant struggle.  From time spent in a school/orphanage in Haiti, I was able to see how taxing and stressful lack of resources was for both teachers and students.  This plays into the opportunity gap that Milner talks about so often, but cannot be used as an excuse to allow student achievement to suffer.  Rather, as Mr. Hall has taught me, I must use the frustrations of inequity as a driving force to motivate myself to find creative and unique ways to work around the obstacles my students and I inherently face.  If I show defeat and frustration, how much more will my students be tempted to adopt those feelings as well?
    As a result of this reading and reflection, I must sit back and think about my own education.  I am currently in a college situation where I am loved, cared for, supported, and challenged by professors, classmates, and my community as a whole. I am being taught and pushed on a daily basis to expand my creativity and professional qualities as a future teacher.  Rather than take these experiences for granted, I am reminded by Milner and Mr. Hall to keep learning and growing so I can be motivated and driven in my future career to overcome obstacles that will be unavoidable.
     This entire post and time of reflection boils down to dedication. If teachers can be dedicated and driven by their calling as a teacher, then inequities resulting from diversity will not be able to put out the fire in their hearts.  Rather these injustices can be a way to add to the flames until the inequities can ultimately be consumed and overcome.

Blind: to be or not to be

     Week one of reading, and I feel like I am already being bombarded in a positive way with more information than I can process.  I started with chapter one, Milner's opening section of the book.  As I read through this chapter and reflected on his musings, one idea keeps coming back to me, especially in my daily experience in my classroom; color blindness.  

     The way Milner begins his book is by describing "five interconnected areas that are critical in helping educators bridge and shed light on opportunity gaps" (pg 13)  These five are listed and described under the following headings: 

     1. Color blindness

     2. Cultural conflicts

     3. Myth of meritocracy

     4. Low expectations and deficit mind-sets

     5. Context-neutral mind-sets

As he expands and explains each of these five areas, I was able to relate on some level to every one of the five areas.  These sections included strong reminders of my role as a teacher, and the importance that lies in my personal understanding of my students, their cultures, and how best to motivate them.

     But this week, I want to talk through with all of you about this idea of being color blind.  In the past, I have worked with students with varying disabilities, blindness being one of them.  These students must work to find alternate ways to complete daily tasks that I do naturally using my vision.  With hard work and dedication, these students are able to overcome this great obstacle of blindness and achieve their goals.  But if they had the decision of whether or not to put this obstacle in front of them, in many cases I would argue they would choose to avoid the obstacle if possible.  

     Now what does this mean in the context of Milner's writing? On page 16, he says "when teachers ignore the racial component of students' identity, they are in effect treating their students as incomplete beings, and student performance can suffer as a result."  It is at this point that I take a step back and analyze the situation. As a teacher, why would I voluntarily choose to put the obstacle of blindness between me and my students?  As with physical blindness, it is not impossible to survive and teach when viewing students with a color blind attitude.  But it is important here to understand that this is a hindrance, one that does not need to be present.

     I then look at this idea in my current teaching placement for the semester.  I am placed in a predominantly Caucasian classroom with some diverse students included in each classroom.  I have to admit that at the beginning of my time in this school, I fell prey to Milner's so called "color-blindness."  One student in particular comes to mind.  I thought to myself that I needed to take care to treat him in the same way as I treated every other student in the classroom.  While this is true in some sense, it was not until I had a personal one on one conversation with this student until I realized how wrong my thinking was.  My blindness to his cultural background was causing me, as Milner says, to see this student as an "incomplete being" (pg 16).  This golden piece to the puzzle of himself was missing, and I was being the one to stop it from being added.  

     Color blindness will continue to be a concept that I need to remind myself about.  Seemingly, it has become second nature for me to approach each diverse situation with the idea of equality in every aspect.  When it comes to backgrounds and life stories, everyone has their own story.  I need to work to not deprive my students of this part of their being.  For it is my calling to train and teach the whole child, not just the part I can see at first glance. 

Why?

Diversity; in today's day and age, this word has come to be a driving topic of discussion.  Schools are being flooded with diversity, which paints a beautiful, yet challenging picture for education.  As an up and coming teacher, I am looking forward to working in diverse situations, but need to be sure to equip myself with the tools needed to be successful and reach each child as best I can.  Throughout this blogging journey, I have decided to read and wrestle with H. Richard Milner IV's book entitled Start Where You Are, but Don't Stay There.
   Initially, I decided on this book solely because of the title.  I want to challenge myself as a teacher, but yet be confident in the stage in which I am at as well.  The title alone seemed encouraging, and foreshadowed strong ideas of how to grow as a professional in the classroom.  Since grabbing the book from the library, I have come to understand that this book will dive deeper than what I anticipated.  In the prologue, the writer states that the book will address how to successfully teach students whose "profiles rarely spell success" (pg ix). The book also will introduce the idea of an opportunity gap, something that I see very relevant in my teaching career with both special education and regular education students of various backgrounds.
   So here I go.  As of this week, I am diving into this piece of literature, hoping to immerse myself in rich ideas and insights from Milner.  Paired with my in-class experiences from the past, present, and hopes for the future, I aim to relate my day to day experiences with the information provided throughout this book.  Thank you for joining me on this journey, I pray that God uses this time of study to enlighten me and somehow encourage you as well wherever you may be in your own journey of understanding.