Poetry in the community: Stanzas creating Esperanza

I think in the past we have taught in our schools as if everybody was cut out from the same cookie cutter. Everything was geared as if we were all from the same culture and backgrounds. It is a welcome change to see many school districts and teachers implementing in their classroom a new class structure that include ALL the different cultures that are arriving in our schools. Many of the changes with the ELL standards and SDAIE strategies are not that difficult to include in your lesson plans. But these small changes can help to include all the students in your classroom have a positive learning environment.

Simple things such as including different books in classroom and school library about different cultures can help to include all students. In my observations in classrooms I found that many of the longstanding teachers do not want to make the changes in their classroom, they have been teaching one way for many years and do not want to see the positive changes that can be made in students by including a few basic changes to the classroom.

When I begin to teach in my own classroom I will make a daily effort to make my classroom an environment that is best for all learners. I agree with Fernando that it is important to learn the background, and become familiar with the surrounding communities of your students that you are teaching. This gives you a better insight on what strategies and tools can be used to help your English Language Learners.

posted by rll1860 on 5/19/2008 4:52 pm

Being a substitute teacher has given me a little insight of the hunger some ELL students have to know that their teacher speaks Spanish and can communicate with them about the subject at hand. If they are this hungry for a Spanish speaking teacher, I can only imagine how hungry they are for subjects that deal with their culture. Now they are lucky enough to have books in Spanish at the library but they need more.

posted by catwoman on 4/ 8/2008 4:22 pm

Thinking back through my school years, I had really nice teachers but I always felt that being Mexican made me less somehow. I made excellent grades, was a great athlete and the teachers constantly gave encouragement but I always felt that way. It was later on, that it dawned on me that it was the history that had been taught. We didn't study anything but American history. Back then there was no section about Cesar Chavez, Martin Luther King Jr., etc. It just makes me wonder how different would my self-image be if there had been a cultural model to look up to? As a future teacher, I hope I can bring a safe learning environment into the classroom. Safe not only from physical and verbal attacks, but safe for all students to embrace their cultures which as stated in other comments, has increased the knowledge in students. 04/08/08 1:54 p.m.

posted by catwoman on 4/ 8/2008 3:56 pm

As an elementary ESL student all I remember is having to memorize English poems for a grade. It wasn't studied or talked about, it was just memorized. So when I arrived at high school and teachers talked about stanzas,and all the terms that went along with poems, I became really lost and hated poems. When we had to create our own poems, I really struggled with it, it didn't make any sense to me. During community college I was lucky enough to enroll in an English class with a fabulous instructor that clarified the mystery of poems by explaining what the poem was about, by making us have literacy circles to discuss the poems and to make at least one comment about the poem. Reading poems became a little easier and interesting when she introduced poems from different ethnic poets.

posted by catwoman on 4/ 8/2008 3:05 pm

As we embark on our teaching credentials we need to think of ways to be creative not only to engage our students but to put some fire under the teachers rears that have lost interest in engaging the kids and forgotten that diversity exists and not all kids learn at the same speed and level.

Poetry is like song and what child does not enjoy a song. Every child mainstream or ELL can relate to short and catchy phrases. As i did my observance hours I watched an ELL class learn about Middle Colonies (specifically the Duke of York) using poetry. Mainstream students with the same lesson used only the text that was given to them. I have to say that based on test scores the Ell's did better on that section because they retained more because it was presented to them in an engaging manner that they could have fun with. I cannot imagine them having learned it any other way. Given just a text they would have shut down immediately.

Every culture has a "song", let's embrace that and allow students to learn about each other and their cultures in a way that everyone is engaged. Let's allow our children to be proud of their heritage, not afraid of it! Dodgers4

posted by Dodgers4 on 3/15/2008 5:28 pm

With classes being more diverse than ever, we can agree that the one size fits all approach does no longer work. This no longer works because of language and background knowledge that mainstream and Ells have. For this same reason, we need to find different and creative ways to engage students in learning. I agree with Fernando "learning is an artistic activity", such as poetry being utilized to help second language learners learn the language. Often in classes I see Ell disengaged or quietly seating while mainstream students are participating. Obviously this method only works for some students not all. Ells expressing themselves through poetry can be powerful for them, because often they are just sitting down quietly. An effective teacher needs to be an artist, we must find creative ways to engage all of the students in learning

posted by joserwwe on 3/15/2008 3:16 am

I agree with Valerie, "America is a country of many races, languages and cultures, extremely diverse". So my question is, why do many "American's" deny other cultures? I think that people get so involved with their lives, that they tend to forget where they came from or where their ancestors come from. Many "American's" did not come to this country with open arms, so why should we deny other people to come here?

My experience with a second language is not like others; I struggle to learn Spanish. Because my mom struggled since we were young, she did not want that for us, so she decided not to teach us Spanish. This had the opposite effect. Family expected us to speak the language and when we didn't, they would talk about us as if we were not there. So, I can only imagine what it feels like for the English language learners.

I only wish that I had the same experience with poetry. I remember being taught the structure of specific poems, but i do not remember much of the content. I think that it not only depends on the poem, but the way that it is presented to the student for maximum comprehension.

posted by adominguez on 3/15/2008 1:50 am

America is a country of many races, languages and cultures, extremely diverse. Studies have shown Linguistic and cultural diversity is an indisputable fact of modern American society.

To be able to relate to students that are learning English as a second language I must really put myself in that scenario. I can imagine if I were a student in Japan, speaking English would feel like all I knew along with the culture that I have embraced and nurtured since I could remember. When speaking English is all I have ever known, I do not know how I would find myself being able to communicate my thoughts, feelings and ideas in any other language other than English. In a sense, I would feel like I am losing a part of me. The key here is that I must learn to convey these thoughts, feelings and ideas. Hence, the question of "what would be the next best solution to do this successfully?". As Fernando argues

posted by vblair on 3/13/2008 2:21 pm

This reminded me of when I was in high school because we would paraphrase the lines of Shakespeare

posted by Vanny on 3/11/2008 6:01 pm

Poetry has always been the language of the invisible in America. Poetry has been written by inner city youth, women, African Americans to speak out on issues that oppressed these groups or individuals. Poetry taught by teachers to students who have experienced discrimination in a society that was built by theblood of foreigners, is an appropriate strategy to help students succeed in their lives. Their lives that are filled with tradition from ther ancestors, which should be kept alive and not forgotten but respected by educators and parents alike

posted by pdawn on 3/11/2008 4:00 pm

I believe that a persons culture is their building block. How can we pretend that it does not exist or try to give them another block to stand on? When I am teaching I plan on having every Monday be the day where my students spend a few minutes coming up in front of the class and sharing with us what they did over the weekend. This way, the rest of class can sit back and observe the millions of beautiful differences that surround them as well as, and HOPEFULLY, build new realationships on similarities. I agree with Nikki, and poetry, to me, plays a huge role in being a catalyst in seducing the learning mind. Poetry has always been a large player in my life and I will always incorporate it in my classrooms. When my aunt died of breast cancer it was poetry that she left behind for me to enjoy. I was in the hospital having surgery at the time and she would bring me all sorts of books with beautiful messages in them. Poetry has withstood time for a reason and it is that reason that I believe will help keep culture alive in the classroom! Wes

posted by WesBehar on 3/11/2008 11:44 am

i could not agree with Frenando more when he states that allowing children to maintain their cultural differences in American schools can greatly help those students in achieving success in the American school system. When children are alllowed to "embrace not erase" their culture not only does the individual child benefit but so does his or her entire class. Even as a child I remember being fascinated by people who were not from the united States. I would always ask questions regarding their homes, food, clothing, music etc. Actually i still do that today. when we embrace each others differences everybody learns about the world outside their own.

I have to say that i really like the idea of using poetry from the different cultures to help promote learning for english language learners and the other children as well; I truly feel that this is a brilliant idea. My son Tanner has been in speech therapy since he was three years old for stuttering. he has used alot of poetry ove the years to improve his fluency when reading. What a great idea it would be to introduce him to poetry with relevant cultural content.

Fernando is correct when he says that learning is an artistic activity and so is teaching, the more creative we are as teachers the greater the impression we will leave on our students.. this is the type of teacher I hope to be someday, one who truly cares and strives to leave a positive impact on the students that i have been entrusted with.

posted by nikkibaartman on 3/10/2008 5:57 pm

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