Freire 9th Letter of Inspiration

A.White

2/26/2015

Prep for TESOL Materials:

“I believe that one of the affirmations to be made is that in both the animate and inanimate world, the fundamental condition of life is that the condition of relationship, relationship to oneself and to the surrounding world,” Freire, p. 136.

This comment really captures the essence of relationships as a driving force to how and why we interact the way we do. Awareness around how you communicate your human and social needs will impact interactions with others. Thus, Knowing how we interact comes from knowing ones’ self. I really believe this to be true as well. I also, would like to add an element of sensory input and output to this discussion on relationship building techniques. I think if we are aware of our vestibular, auditory, and physical needs, we can exercise our ability to be better listeners, and use better communication to fulfill our relationship needs. So then, language learning becomes not only a linguistic acquisition and sociolinguistic practice, but also a sensory integration practice and awareness of oneself, in relation to interacting with others.

“It is this that characterizes our moving around in the concrete world of daily life. We act in it on the basis of bits of knowledge that, having been learned throughout our socialization, have become automatic habits,” Freir, p. 139.

There were so many options for quotes to pick. I chose this particular quote from Freire because I just attended an amazing conference on sensory processing disorder, which relates to the information Freire is presenting in his Ninth Letter. Developed by A. Jean Ayres, PhD. SPD, more simply, discusses how our sensory system works together to make sense of the world. Our five senses, touch, smell, vision, hearing, and taste are information seeking functions, meaning, we learn by using our senses. And in the teaching field I work in, teaching children with autism, I know that things like lights, sounds, clothes, etc. things most people ignore, may totally distract my students. In order to teach my students, continuously finding balance of sensory input and output needs is necessary, and the only way to send academic information, cognitively.  I am fascinated to come home and read how Freire would like teachers to deconstruct their automatic and traditional methods of learning and teaching to function epistemologically because I practice this everyday where I work. It makes you understand the context of the student learning ability in their daily life, real quick, when you take a look at their sensory sensitivities and functions.

            Freire, P. (1998). Ninth Letter. In Teachers as cultural workers: Letters to those who dare teach (pp. 135-154). Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press.

Friere's 3rd & 4th Letter of Inspiration

“I am absolutely convinced that the educational practice I have been speaking about and whose beauty and importance I have frequently alluded to must not be prepared for on the basis of such motivations as these. It is even possible that some teacher training programs may have been irresponsibly seen as “slot machines” of sorts, but that does not mean that educational practice should be viewed as some kind of awning under which people wait for the rain the let up: Waiting under an awning required no preparation or training,” Freire p. 62

What a great analogy Freire uses to describe the deficiency in teacher training, “waiting under an awning.” I think this means that in a lot of prominent education systems, teachers are not being sent out into the field as observers, or allowed to do necessary experiential practice in classrooms. Teachers are trained by core standards, which makes education autonomous, and less creative. I think Freire calls for more motivation by the high education administration and communities, for more incentive to be a teacher.

“Tolerance is a virture,” Freire, p. 76.

To keep it short and sweet, I chose this quote from Freire’s, Fourth Letter. I know how Freire feels about tolerance, as a teaching method for diversity and patience in communication from the video we watched in Module 1. In this chapter Freire makes tolerance sound like a fire extinguisher to prejudice, aggression, and disrespect. Or maybe even a sponge that soaks up negative energy from a situation, with little action. Tolerance understands that someone approaches life with varying limits and boundaries. This does not mean be passive, but assertive and respectful, for your freedoms are not limited, as that is someone else’s progressive discourse.

Freire, P. (1998). Third Letter. In Teachers as cultural workers: Letters to those who dare teach (pp. 61-84). Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press.

TEAMWORK Lesson

Key Resources

Reading Materials:

Best Practices and 'Good' Language Learners

Prabhu, N.S. (1990). There is no best method – why? TESOL Quarterly, 24(2), 161-176.

Rubin, J. (1975). What the “good language learner” can teach us. TESOL Quarterly, 9(1), 41-45.

Classroom Observation

Chapter 6: Peer Observation from:

Richards, J. C., & Farrell, T. S. C. (2005). Professional development for language teachers: Strategies for teacher learning. New York: NY:

     Cambridge University Press.

Chapter 7: Classroom Observation in Teaching Practice from:

Richards, J. C., & Farrell, T. S. C. (2011). Practice teaching: A reflective approach. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

MA-TESOL, Materials and Methods Preparation

Introduction

My current teaching job does not require a syllabus because they are not useful for second grade students at my school. However, as I have mentioned before the IEP, individualized education program, guides our curriculum, which informs parents on progress, and expectations.

For this discussion, I will use what I have learned, thus far, to create a scenario that applies current materials, approaches, and methods I would use for an intermediate ESL classroom syllabus.

Communicative Language Teaching and Its Influences

Learning about your students learning styles, personalities, culture, and home life is very important. Surveys help get an idea of student backgrounds, which is easily created and administered using Google drive. This is assuming all students have Internet access. Using pictures paired with words and questions make the surveys exciting and aids language barriers. Teachers can review reading, writing, and listening levels trough discourse in activity. Also, if possible, there should be a transfer of student academic information from previous institution to help prep for the course. If unavailable then student survey will help aid in information collection.

Learners and Learning

Student surveys allow for comfort and honesty in feedback to teachers. The teacher should continuously be learning methods that will improve classroom. This feedback helps implement new approaches and materials for curriculum. Learning from feedback, ultimately improves learning in the classroom.

Conclusion

Developing a syllabus guides students and teachers on course expectations. Some students need structure of a syllabus than others. It really is a way to meet students’ needs in preparation for a course. It also answers simple questions that reduce questions that will most likely need to be answered. A syllabus reduces ambiguity in course goals, which, again, some students need more than others. I would make sure I put my contact information, helpful, resources, curriculum build, big projects, activities and the weight of each assignment in my syllabus for my imaginary ESL class.

Reflection

Developing a syllabi’s reduces ambiguity in course outline, by telling students what they need, sets expectations, basic course preparation. Some students need these items more than others. Surveys help inform teachers of methods, approaches, and materials that aid learning.

Methods and Materials PREP:

Teacher Education Standards

NCATE Standards

• 1.b Candidates understand and apply theories and research in language acquisition and development to support their ELLs’ English language and literacy learning and content-area achievement.
• 5.a Candidates demonstrate knowledge of history, research, educational public policy, and current practice in the field of ESL teaching and apply this knowledge to inform teaching and learning.

NCATE Performance Indicators

• 1.b.1. Demonstrate understanding of current and historical theories and research in language acquisition as applied to ELLs.
• 1.b.2 Candidates understand theories and research that explain how L1 literacy development differs from L2 literacy development.
• 1.b.3. Recognize the importance of ELLs’ L1s and language varieties and build on these skills as a foundation for learning English.
• 1.b.4. Understand and apply knowledge of sociocultural, psychological, and political variables to facilitate the process of learning English.
• 1.b.5. Understand and apply knowledge of the role of individual learner variables in the process of learning English.
• 5.a.1 Demonstrate knowledge of language teaching methods in their historical contexts.

CAEP Standards

• 1.1 Teacher candidates and completers know subject matter (including pedagogical content knowledge) and pedagogy.

Feire's 6th & 7th Letter

A.White

2/14/2015

Reflections on Feire:

“We cannot declare that the students of such an educator will necessarily become apathetic or live in permanent rebellion. But it would be much better for them if they were not subjected to such a discrepancy between what is said and what is done,” Freire, p.98. I am a teacher now, and believe the balance between having structure and compassion to be a practice and continuum that teachers will constantly work to maintain. This is because personalities are different, and building rapport with another human can be a challenge. As teachers we must be flexible in our personalities and ability to meet students where they are; because we are with them for long periods of time, and we are role models. Freire in his Sixth Letter, discusses the interpersonal struggle of being a student witnessing meek teachers and oppressive teachers, he also gives his perspective as a teacher and how he consciously tries to find balance in teacher-educator relationships. I find this true for my own learner and teacher experiences, I actually work with children diagnosed with OCD, oppressive compulsive disorder and ODD, oppositional defiance disorder. It is an internal challenge to be firm, fair, and transparent, allowing the children to feel heard and understood. This takes patience and a multiple experiential approaches. Some examples are, ignore attention seeking behaviors, and providing extreme unexpected positive praise when is on task. Building balanced relationships is really a golden key to teaching and learning.

“The very fact that we are a markedly authoritarian society, with a strong tradition of command rooted in our history, and undeniably inexperienced in democracy, can explain our ambivalence towards freedom and authority,” Freire, p. 113.

Feire’s Seventh Letter, makes me want to jump up and down with excitement, that someone could put into words and print the thoughts I have pondered as a kid in school, and as a teacher working in a school. For the most part, school was mundane and routine, but at certain times in my life I have felt extraordinarily oppressed, stuck, and stifled by teachers, or co-workers who show up with authoritarian attitudes, closed-minded, and impossible to communicate with. However, my past work as a teacher in the Bay area, and my work here at USFCA, has been incredibly freeing as these classes and teachers have lifted this illusion that school has to be this fear-based system of control. I remember when I moved to Colorado, on my second year of graduate school. I just started a full-time job, and could not juggle everything at once; I remember the anxiety I felt around having to talk to professors about accepting late work, and being overwhelmed by prioritization. Well, my advisor, Brad Washington, advised me to take a week off from school, to catch up, then re-enter as I felt comfortable. Just his understanding in the matter, relieved my anxiety, so mush so, I was able do my work even better, with a clear mind. This lesson is huge, as we have all been students before; be transparent, we are all human, we all have things going on in our lives, some days we are on our ‘A’ game, some days we cannot focus. The authoritarian attitude takes attention away from the learning process to feed someone ego, probably unconsciously. Sharing life situations, or asking for more communication leads to better understanding. Understanding is the best way to figure out what a student needs to refocus, and move forward, then accomplish goals. This is transferable in and out of the classroom.

            Freire, P. (1998). Sixth Letter. Seventh Letter. In Teachers as cultural workers: Letters to those who dare teach (pp. 61-84). Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press.