Access
"Students and their families have been exposed to people, programs, resources, and connections that can open doors for them, and they are able to navigate and access those opportunities" (Johns Hopkins, n.d.).
Table of Contents
Introduction
Working in a high school in an urban setting that regularly faces budget cuts in education and a lack of investment from the federal government, it is important that I am using my platform as an educator to expose my students and their families to "people, programs, resources, and connections that can open doors for them" (Johns Hopkins, n.d.). As a Spanish teacher, I am able to highlight culture and diversity that relates to my class. I do this through Multicultural Night, Hispanic Heritage Month and a multilingual poetry contest. All three are relevant to the content that I teach, but they also provide additional opportunities for the students to learn and grow on their educational journey. Below I explore how I can provide access to my students with the intent of opening doors beyond curriculum.
Teaching as Leadership
In order to best serve my students, I regularly look for ideas and models on how to provide them opportunities. One that I look to is Teach for America's Teaching As Leadership model. It "offers evolving guidance on several questions that flow from our commitment to students’ enduring path to self-determination and opportunity" (Teach for America, 2016) pertaining to Academic Growth, Personal Growth, Social and Political Consciousness, and Access. As I provide the students opportunities both inside and outside of the classroom, they grow in their journeys to becoming adults. Regarding Access, TAL (Teaching as Leadership) asks the following questions (seen below in the Student Indicators and Broader Outcomes Wheel):
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To what extent are the students growing relationships with their teachers, mentors, community leaders and other influencers?
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To what extent are the students gaining knowledge and skills for navigating new pathways to greater opportunity that will foster enduring growth beyond this classroom?
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To what extent are the student influencers gaining knowledge and skills for navigating pathways of greater opportunity for students in academics and in life?" (Teach for America, 2016).
Teaching as Leadership: The Student Indicators and Broader Outcomes Wheel
1. When describing enduring student growth, Teach for America (2016) mentions, "students know and trust their teacher, peers and their mentors because they feel safe, cared for, and valued inside and outside of the learning environment" (p. 9). Not only does providing my students with access to outside experiences lead to new learning experiences, it also can lead to better relationships between students, their teachers, mentors, etc. There have been a number of times that I have seen students outside of class, and the students generally look favorably on those that invest extra time in them and their interests. This increases when the students see their teachers, mentors, etc. investing time in putting together opportunities and activities for them outside the traditional classroom setting. The three events below were all opportunities for the students to learn and build relationships. This in turn leads to a better classroom environment, as more of my students trust me and know that I am there for them on their educational journey. Below the students are seen in a Multicultural Event, in which students, parents, teachers and other staff all participated. Many of my students came, as well as participated in country tables, performances or set-up/take-down. It was a lovely experience to talk with students and their family members, and this type of event helps bring bonds between the students and myself that assist in improving class culture and management in my classroom. The students see that I am committed and interested in their lives, and they are more willing to work hard in my class. This can lead to a rippling effect, as well, as the students that go to the event talk to students who did not attend. This creates a much-more trusting environment, where the students see me as an invested participant in their education.
The students watch a performance while eating food from many countries.
2. I work to provide access to opportunities for my students that help them grow academically and as young adults. To ensure dramatic student growth, Teach for America (2016) states, "Most students are actively and continuously participating in new opportunities and accessing new resources, people and networks. Students are participating in community and/or school events and programs. These opportunities may or may not lead to enduring success in school and in life, but students are passionate and engaged' (p. 9). In the Multicultural Event, Hispanic Heritage Month and Poetry Contest, the students generally showed excitement and actively participated. My goal is to continuously open doors for students to future opportunities. I also want my students to be excited about my class. Providing activities/programs such as these three, the students can become excited about their education. In the photo below, the students enjoy the Multicultural Event and are provided access to learning about many different countries, dances and cuisines. It also provides an opportunity to build a school community with all the students, parents and staff. This can lead to more students feeling comfortable in their classes and enjoying coming to school.
The students enjoy the Multicultural Event, while learning about different countries.
3. As I work to find opportunities that provide access to students that invest them in their education, it is imperative that I have fellow students, teachers and community members involved. They provide a positive network and a motivator for the students. In these events, there were student, teacher and parent volunteers that stepped up and participated to make sure everything ran smoothly. These "influencers are aware of path-broadening academic and personal endeavors and seek these opportunities for students" (Teach for America, 2016, p. 9). Having these volunteers invested in the students helps build community that can serve as a motivator for all the students. In the photo below, the tables for the Multicultural Event were run by teachers and students. Similarly, the Poetry Contest is run and judged by teachers around the state.
The tables at Multicultural were run by students and teachers.
Opportunities
Conclusion
In the events above, I worked with others to provide my students access to lessons and events that taught them beyond class content. In Multicultural Night, as well as the Day of the Dead and Hispanic Heritage lessons, the students benefited from cultural exchange and learning about cultural differences in a positive and safe setting. In the COLT Poetry Contest, students with an interest in poetry will have the opportunity to further explore their passion in a competitive setting, while learning Spanish along the way. The ACTFL World Language Standards describe the goal of students' exposure to culture in the classroom as learning to "use the language to investigate, explain, and reflect on the relationship between the products and perspectives of the cultures studied” (ACTFL, n.d.). In providing the students access to these types of events, they are able to reflect on the relationships between their cultures and others. The ultimate goal is that the students become passionate about learning a language and benefit from these increased opportunities, whether that is through opening doors to future plans or just enjoying their education.
References:
ACTFL. (n.d.). USE OF TARGET LANGUAGE IN LANGUAGE LEARNING. Retrieved October 27, 2019, from https://www.actfl.org/guiding-principles/use-target-language-language-learning.
Teach for America. (2016). Teaching as Leadership Student Outcomes Wheel and Rubric. Retrieved March 15, 2020.