Week 7

This weeks readings drove home that simply "caring" superficially is not enough. We all want to reach out to our students (at least we should) and we want them to reach back. Rolón- Dow demonstrated that  building connections and trust beyond academics is essential if we want our students to respond to our care.   

I was not overly surprised at the responses received from the female students. They are by no means encouraging or positive responses, but they are honest. Maria hit it right on the nose when she said, “What I'm trying to say is that they care about the kids' school work, not their personal lives, like what happens at home” (95). We have all had teachers like that. They are the teachers who are great teachers in the classroom, but their work day begins with the first bell, ends with the last bell, and they feel unapproachable for extra help or even questions. In truth, that is teaching, but not great teaching. 

What students need are teachers who can get on their level, and make them feel like the classroom or school is their home. It takes a lot of work, but little gestures and simple acknowledgements can go a long way in building rapport with students. I was floored when Mr. Rosenfield seemed to think it was okay to ask his student, Yanira, if it she was raised in a barn. Depending on some students cultural, geographical, or financial backgrounds, they could have been raised in a barn. It is almost asking a student if they were raised in the ghetto, or a trailer park. Mr. Rosenfield probably did not mean harm with his remark, but it was insensitive  and he did not seem to understand it. Furthermore, he made assumptions about the mother’s priorities, and made Yanira look the bad guy in the situation. Is Yanira truly the problem? Could it possibly be that Mr. Rosenfield’s attitude, and insensitivity are the root of the problem? I think Mr. Rosenfield plays a large in why there is a problem with Yanira in class. 

When issues arise between students and teachers, like Yanira and Mr. Rosenfield, students begin to build a wall between themselves and the system. They stop playing “the game of school”, and reject all lessons (academic, social, political, cultural, and relational) because they believe they are not a valued member of the school community. 

Teachers need to aware of how their students view their actions, and who they are. Just because they are not adults, does not mean their opinions matter. In order for students to feel safe enough to respond to their teachers’ caring, teachers need to care about more than academics. It is easy to remember to be culturally sensitive to those who are of different ethnic backgrounds, but we also need to be aware of the cultural age difference between us teachers and our students. A sixteen year old student and a thirty-five year old teacher come from different cultures no matter the race, religion, gender, etc.