The Red Shoe (Webb, 2000) & Why is that child so rude? (Templeton, 2013)
Throughout The Red Shoe article the author accounted for her first memories of school. These memories were not the best. The author had a teacher that was not very understanding or open to the diversity that can be within a classroom, not only race/ethnicity but also the diverse ways that students and families compete tasks. In this article the author shares the memory of the red shoes. In kindergarten the author had to tie a pair of red shoes to earn the stars necessary to pass kindergarten. When the author went up and tied the red shoes the way that her mother taught her (which was “different”), the teacher yelled at her. This caused the author to become embarrassed and eventually shut down. This experience carried with her throughout her education career (as a teacher and administrator). The author states that “ I was teaching student to govern themselves, and we, as a group, had created our own rules just for our classroom.” This statement is extremely noteworthy and stuck out to me after reading the article. The Why Is That Child So Rude? article examines and challenges multiple assumptions that many educators (and others) state. These assumptions relate the parent involvement/support, students being rude/disrespectful, students not caring/having excuses, students being lazy and sleeping in class, and many other assumptions. Throughout each assumption (and in the following sections) the author examines these assumptions and dispels many of them.
Both articles examine the importance of understanding, acceptance, and respect. These aspects are crucial in developing a healthy learning community, and will make the students feel more comfortable so that they are able to learn adequately. The articles also stress the importance of identifying these assumptions, and further developing as an educator by identifying them and working through them. I have heard multiple of the assumptions listed throughout the article in my internship multiple times, and have always questioned why these educators are making the assumptions. After reading this article, I realize that they may not notice that these are assumptions this hinder the students learning in some manner. Overall I thought that both articles were amazing and provided a wealth of information and different perspectives on the issues discussed.
(2)
(3)
Text-to-self connection: Throughout the Why Is That Child So Rude? article the author examines multiple assumptions. I have a personal memory related to one of the assumptions. The assumption of “the child is lazy, he always sleeps in class” – one of my classmates in first grade that I was very close with would always fall asleep in class. She always fell asleep in class because her parents were getting a divorce and struggling/figuring out custody agreements, which affected her sleeping at home. This memory relates to the reading in many ways and provides me with an personal connection related to this assumption so that I am able to better assist students in this situation.
Text-to-experience (Boys and Girls Club) connection: After my first day at the boys and girls club, I tried to think about my automatic assumptions that I made initially. When with the fourth and fifth grades, I felt concerned that they would not value my time (although this was not an assumption stated in the article, I still made the assumption based on their age). After spending some time with them, it was evident that they did value my time, as long as I made the effort to interact with them. Once I approached a group of students, they immediately welcomed me into their conversation/table. One of the students asked me multiple questions related to USF, school in general, and other personal (not overly personal) questions. I felt very welcomed and learned that I should never judge students based on their age, they are all enthusiastic as long as you show them that you are interested.
Text-to-experience (in Fall/Spring internship) connection: One of the assumptions challenged in the Why Is That Child So Rude? article is “why does her parents let her leave dressed that way?” This could refer to multiple “ways” to dress, but I interpreted it as being dressed in the same clothes, clothes that are to big/small or dirty, etc. In my level one/two internship, I had a student that wore clothes like the ones I described above. My CTs did not make the assumption, but rather they inquired as to why this student was not wearing “adequate” clothes. It was revealed that the parents were struggling, and doing the best that they could. After reading the article, and seeing that some teachers would simply assume and not inquire was shocking to me.