GRDG626 LITERACY, LANGUAGE, & DIVERSITY IN AMERICAN EDUCATION Week 3 – The power of words/The power of teachers Dr. Gloria E. Jacobs St. John Fisher College

Agenda Sharing Review Video & Discussion: Schools & Creativity Minilecture Break Small Group Discussion Focused Discussion Next week Exit ticket

Sharing First Period – Kathryn Others?

Minilecture/Review from last week If culture is that which disables and creates disabilities (McDermott & Varenne) And culture is lived And language and literacy is part of how we live culturally Then how we use language and literacy can deconstruct disability and difference Thus, if we are aware of our belief systems and how they are reflected in our language and literacy use Then we can change that language and literacy use in order to mitigate the construction of difference.

VIDEO Sir Kenneth Robinson: Schools Kill Creativity Response On the paper chips, each person write down words that comes to your mind in response to Sir Kenneth’s talk As a group of 4, organize your words. Create and label categories Study the categories, then quickwrite what you’re thinking in response to the video. Compare your quickwrites, then come up with one sentence to capture your group’s response. Write it on the IWB.

Recap: Rex & Schiller/Jacobs Framing/Reframing How we understand the world, then shifting that view so we can see something in a new way. Assumptions Becoming aware of our assumptions about students and how those assumptions cause us to position students in particular ways. Once we are aware of our assumptions and know how to reframe, we can choose what interpretations to make about students or what’s going on in a classroom.

Recap: Rex & Schiller/Jacobs Identity We and our students perform certain identities in the classroom What identities we perform depend on the relationships we have with the hearers and context of the conversation When teachers and students share cultural and social backgrounds, they are more likely to have similarities in how they perform identity. “If we want students to assume particular identities, then we must be aware of how we position them and what we say, which over time creates identities that students adopt” (p. 21).

Recap: Rex & Schiller/Jacobs Worlds We bring our worlds into existence through talk. We may share worlds with our students, or occupy different worlds. The worlds we create and the identities we perform are reflected in the language we use, which in turn affects how we position ourselves and our students, which in turn affects their identity and chances for success in school.

Recap: Rex & Schiller/Jacobs Interdiscursivity How our discourses overlap and intertwine. As teachers, we have the choice and ability to use language in different ways in order to move between worlds and thus position students as successful.

Recap: Rex & Schiller/Jacobs Power = Independence (autonomy) + Ownership + Self-efficacy (belief in one’s capacity and power to affect a result) Power as product I have it, you don’t. You can get it if you do … Power as process We negotiate who has power at any given time. Exchanged through social interaction). Power as caring Power is negotiated with the purpose on the well being of the individuals and the community as a whole. Power should circulate in the classroom

Recap: Rex & Schiller/Jacobs Power “To be able to act productively to change the situation, we need to understand how to see the worlds in which we and our students have invested identities and the assumptions guiding the discursive choices we have available to us” (p. 43).

Recap: Rex & Schiller/Jacobs Face Threat A move that threatens a person’s sense of self Stereotype Threat the threat of being viewed through the lens of a negative stereotype, or the fear of doing something that would inadvertently confirm that stereotype. The Obama Effect – change in language changes the outcome Saving Face Protecting someone's view of himself so he is not diminished in any way. Protecting someone’s sense of power/self-efficacy/agency.

Recap: Rex & Schiller/Jacobs Building Knowledge Ask genuine questions Circulate power during discussion Create opportunities for multiple people to experience power and status

Break Reconvene in 10 minutes

Small Group Discussion Melissa Ashley Kit Amanda Group 2 Kimberly Emily Jessica M Alyssa Group 3 Lauren Rachel Julie Group 4 Justine Meghan Kathryn Kalina Group 5 Laura C Jennifer Chelsea Jessica S Group 6 Jeffrey Laura J Cassie Abbie

Focused Discussion Use Rex & Schiller to think about the Jacobs article. Who were the actors? How might we change the frame? (1) What assumptions were being made within this event/conversation? Was there a frame clash, and if so, what might it reveal? (2) What identities were being enacted in the moment, and how were the actors being positioned? (3) What worlds were being invoked? How were those worlds honored? (4) How did these worlds intersect and perhaps clash? (5) How did power circulate during this event? How did or might the actors have agency? (6) All groups: What different actions on the part of Sophia could have changed the outcome for Hannah and Grant?

Focused Discussion Select a real classroom event or conversation from the teaching experience of someone in your group and reframe it using Rex & Schiller. Ask Who were the actors? How might we change the frame? What assumptions were being made within this event/conversation? Was there a frame clash, and if so, what might it reveal? What identities were being enacted in the moment, and how were the actors being positioned? What worlds were being invoked? How were those worlds honored? How did these worlds intersect and perhaps clash? How did power circulate during this event? How did or might the actors have agency? How might it have played out differently with these new insights?

Next Week Reading Writing Compton-Lilly Chapter 3 Yosso (2005) on wiki Chapters 1 & 2 optional if you want an introduction to or review of literacy theory Yosso (2005) on wiki Sleeter (in Au, 2009) Writing Reflective Question

Exit Ticket How can paying attention to how we use language in the classroom serve to resist the construction of disability as described by McDermott & Varenne or the labeling experienced by the children in the “Girl Like Me” video?