Entry 4: My New Knowledge

3 Ideas worth pondering

 

     One idea that I think is worth pondering more is an idea that is present in both Muhammad  and Tompkins, collaboration or shared knowledge. Muhammad (2020) addresses this idea when talking about learning from Black Literary Societies, "They shared knowledge and promoted ideas to cultivate a scholarly and literate way of life (pg. 25)." This idea of learning from each other to cultivate a learning not only for yourself but for the group. This idea is echoed in Tompkins (2017) when talking about "Characteristics of a classroom community (pg. 15)" while talking about collaboration in the classroom, "working together often increases students' motivation and enhances their achievement (pg.15)." Again the idea of not just learning for yourself but for the betterment of the group. I think this idea is worth pondering because it helps elevate the whole group, it allows for interactions among students, and presents learning in different ways.

     

    A second idea worth pondering is allowing students to see themselves in their learning, another idea that is presented in both texts. In Muhammad (2020), she presents the idea of "select texts that speak to their multiple identities instead of texts based on their reading identities alone (pg. 28)." The idea is to allow students to see lives and characters that are similar to their own to help them better engage in their learning. This idea is presented similarly in Tompkins (2017) when talking about "Sociocultural Theory. Reading and writing are viewed as social activities that reflect the culture and community in which students live, and students from different cultures (pg. 8)." Once again talking about being able to see yourself in your reading and writing. This idea allows for students to better engage with their learning because they can see themselves in what they are learning.

    A third idea that is worth pondering how can we as teachers combine the teachings of Muhammad in the world of high-stakes testing? Muhammad (2020) teaches that learning should embody "multiple theoretical perspectives to learning (Pg. 32)," and that "literacy embodied interdisciplinary understandings (pg. 32)." But in today's education we "focus on skill-based learning by favoring of high-stakes tests (pg.32)." Are we going to be able to make sure students can learn to make them more complete students while also preparing them for testing that favor skill over all else?

2 Comments that inspire me

 

     One quote that inspires me is from Muhammad (2020) "to be educated was to be literate. (pg. 22)." This inspires me because it lets me know that if students can read, write, and speak they can go anywhere and learn anything they want to know about. They can do anything they want if they know how to be literate.

 

    A second quote that inspires me is from Tompkins (2017) "Effective teachers adjust their instruction because students vary in their levels of development, academic achievement, and ability (pg. 28)."  This inspires me to make sure that learning is accessible to all students. That I can not make my teaching a one size fits all learning. To make sure that students can learn and show their learning in ways that helps the grow and become greater students.

1 Commitment to my future students

 

    After reading Muhammad I commit to my future students to help them find the joy in reading. She states that "learning content oftentimes neglects to teach them to experience joy and contentment in literature and learning (Muhammad, 2017, pg. 33)." When we find joy in something we are more likely to engage fully in it and get more out of it. So if I can help my students find joy in what they are doing they are more likely to be engaged in learning and get more out of the learning than if they just learning to learn.

 

Muhammad, G. (2020). Cultivating Genius. Scholastic. 

Tompkins, G. (2017). Literacy for the 21st Century A Balanced Approach: Seventh Edition. Pearson