Collins Compositions

In Turkle's article "The Flight From Conversation", she shares her perspective on the technological universe that we live in today. She discusses that in our current society, we have sacrificed conversation with each other for simple connection (in the form of our communicative technologies). Though we are all connected together through our cellphones, we are not interacting in the same ways we have in the past. This has left us in a 'Goldilocks' zone according to Turkle, in which we use our technology in order to not be too close and not too far from others. In this zone of disconnection, we can be left feeling alone, with our technologies acting as a crutch we use to fend off the feelings of loneliness while only continuing the problem. She ends her article with a quote that succinctly summarizes her stance on new technologies, "If we are unable to be alone, we are far more likely to be lonely".   In  Wesch's  article, "Anti-Teaching: Conf

Here is my Text Overview 2019.

For this activity, we decided to create items that play off of the gender expectations for both boys and girls. Toys are one of the first and most significantly gender coded items that kids are exposed to. For the sword, we intentionally mixed these codes to draw attention to these gender expectations. One side is black with flowers and the other is pink with flames. By mixing these concepts and codes, we neutralized the message of the sword being for boys, and pink and flowers being for girls. The toy is now a toy for anyone. This message is represented in the portrait of Merida from Brave. One side of the portrait shows her being presented as stereotypically 'girly' and 'princess' like. The other side shows her more traditionally masculine, holding her sword with out the flamboyant colors of a typical Disney princess. This represents the theme of neutralizing the messaging of boy vs girl, as reflected in both pieces of our artwork.

One of the most important aspects of being a teacher is assessment. Assessments, whether formative or summative, are integral to effective teaching practices. As teachers, there are countless items on our To Do Lists, and often, the collection and analysis of classroom data is timely and easily neglected. Here to the rescue is Quick Key! Simply put, Quick Key is like the familiar Scantron test forms used throughout colleges. Unlike Scantron, Quick Key does not require any fancy forms (or even a number 2 pencil!), and as long as you have a smartphone, you are capable of quickly collecting and analyzing assessment data in your classroom. In order to get started, follow the short tutorial below! 1. Access the Quick Key website (or app on your phone). Click on "Teachers" on the homepage, and follow the "Sign up for Free" prompt. 2. Input the necessary personal information to create your account. The site offers 3 different account options, but you simply ne

In Lisa Espinosa's chapter of Rethinking Popular Culture and Media titled "Seventh Graders and Sexism", she discusses her experiences with sexism and gender stereotypes in the classroom. In her early childhood, Espinosa realized early the double standard that existed for boys and girls. She was puzzled as to why boys were taught to be strong and independent while the girls were encouraged to be nice, do chores and cook. Though Espinosa's realization dealt with the familial expectations of gender, it is also reflective of the media's portrayal of gender roles, such as in the Disney films we have been watching. Espinosa realized that given her realization of this double standard, it was her duty to integrate these problems in hopes of solving them, into her own classroom. Espinosa ultimately argues that these issues are vast and sometimes insurmountable, but it is possible through small acts in our own spheres of influence. Espinosa discusses that she at first

While I was not a Disney obsessed child like some friends I had, I believe Disney played an important role in my childhood as source of entertainment and culture. I fondly remember watching many Disney classics such as Fox and the Hound or Robin Hood. As an adult, I primarily remember watching the movies that were unrelated to the princesses, likely because those were mostly directed towards typical female audiences. An exception that I recall would be the movie Mulan, which seemed more appealing as a child with its action and fighting. Additionally, I was fortunate enough to have been raised in San Diego, CA, which was only an hour away from Disneyland. Disneyland as an attraction was always a desirable location to go to, and one that was rare to attend as a family of 8. Regardless of background, everyone loved going to Disneyland if they had the means to do so. I also recall the 'playground status' given to students in elementary school that came back from vacations wea

Are today's youth digital natives? In the debate of digital nativism between boyd and Prensky, I wholeheartedly agree with boyd's perspective. Digital nativism is the idea some generations are digital natives, meaning they naturally adept at navigating and understanding digital technologies and systems. On the other hand, the existence of a digital native implies the idea of digital immigrants, or those who are foreign to the digital familiarity experienced by natives. In chapter 7 of danah boyd's It's Complicated , she discusses the idea of digital nativism and how it is actually dangerous mindset to have. To start, boyd discusses that the idea of nativism vs immigrant truthfully stems from the fear created by generational gaps which are increasingly illustrated through technology use. She paraphrases Barlow when she discusses that, "the implicit fear that stems from the generational gap that has emerged around technology." The idea of generational tensi

I was born prior to most of the modern day technology youth have access to today. Although I was not born into this technology, my early childhood years saw the transition into today's modern technologies. Due to this, I think of myself more as a digital native than a digital immigrant. Though I was born in a time when cellphones and laptops were not quite as ubiquitous  as they are today, I spent most of my time with the forms of technology that were available to me. As a 6 or 7 year old, I would play Nintendo 64 or Playstation or Gameboy, which were new and advanced for the time. By the time I was in middle school, I was spending a lot of time on the desktop computer, on websites such as Myspace (shoutout to Tom !). I developed the 'native' skills of twitch speed or parallel processing while going down Wikipedia rabbit holes while playing flash games in another tab.

Hello everyone! My name is Christian Collins. I am originally from San Diego, CA, but I have been living in Rhode Island since the summer of 2016. I moved here with my boyfriend Ammar, as we both were placed in Rhode Island as part of the Americorps programs City Year (for myself) and Teach for America (for him). Without knowing a soul in New England, we moved from one of the largest and most populous states, to little Rhode Island. I have since fallen in love with Rhode Island and New England in general. We have decided to make Rhode Island our long term home and have since put down roots here, including; buying our first house (yay!), adopting our dog/son Winston (super cute!), recently sold our first home to buy our second (that was fast!) and have created long term commitments with our employers. Currently, I am teaching as part of the Americorps program Teach for America. I teach 6th and 7th grade English Language Arts (with "English as a Second Language"

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This week's reading was theTeaching Tolerance article  Teaching at the Intersections  by Monita K. Bell. In this article, the idea of 'intersectionality' is discussed, and what that means for educators and our students. Various student experiences are discussed throughout the article as a way to make sense of the idea of intersectionality. In my experience, intersectionality has been framed as the threat of discrimination due to one or multiple of your identity markers. In this way, a student in the article, named G.G., is used as an example of the ways in which multiple markers can disadvantage someone beyond just one of their identity markers. Being black and female and queer presents the potential  for increased instances of discrimination due to one, multiple, or all of those markers. In order to be effective educators, we must view our students " through an  intersectional  lens: recognizing that race-, gender-  and  class-related circumstances are contributing t

Collier "Many transitional or ESL programs do not emphasize the backbone of school success: academic literacy." In my experience thus far as an ESL ELA teacher, this is a component that is often emphasized in trainings that I have been to. It takes several years to develop a language conversationally, and even longer to be proficient in an academic context. These skills in language need to be explicitly taught in order for students to learn the language. This is why an ESL classroom should clearly define the language objective for each lesson, so students know the academic language they will be learning and applying. Rodriguez "Only when I was with them in public would I grow alert to their accents." The recounting of this story speaks to the importance of why we need to promote the idea of students valuing their home languages when learning English. If any value judgement is negatively applied towards a student's L1, they may begin to adopt those beliefs

Johnson, A. G. (2006). Privilege, power, and difference. A central component of this article is the idea of privilege, and how privilege (or lack thereof) affects an individuals relationship to power. Johnson paraphrases McIntosh in his discussion of "unearned entitlements" (i.e. working in a safe environment) versus "unearned advantages" (when that safe environment is only guaranteed to one identity). I find this to be a major hurdle for those entering into discussions on race and identity. I intend to using Johnson's article to help in my Teach Out assignment based on LGBTQ identity markers, and hopefully by creating a LGBTQ club at my school next year. By having students interact with others that share the same identity, they can hopefully begin to make sense of the world and their own relation to the power systems at play. Safe Spaces: Making Schools and Communities Welcoming to LGBT Youth I was hoping to use this article as a main piece of my teach ou

The documentary "Going to School" investigates the reality of special education in Los Angeles School District in the early 2000's. The district was in the midst of revamping its special education services, due to the district having significant shortcomings in regards to its services for students with disabilities. The film follows several students, and there are many interviews with educators, support staff, students and parents about what education (and special education) means for them. Below are some of the quotes that made me think the most about the current state of special education and the inadequacies that are present even today. Throughout the film, a particular parent of a student named Richard, was a vocal advocate for the inclusion of students with disabilities in the general education classroom. Beyond advocating for her own son, she worked to help other students and parents understand the special education system and what they need to do in order to advo

For my Teach Out Assignment, I would like to develop a mini-unit or lesson for my own classroom, in which I will integrate the ideas and concepts that we have learned about in our class. Specifically, I would like to integrate more identity work into the beginning of a school year, which will help guide the classroom culture and climate from the first day of school. It is important that students feel safe and accepted in class regardless of their identity markers. By teaching them some of the principles we have discussed in class, I will be able to better facilitate a positive and inclusive climate in class. I would like to have the unit begin with identity work and discussions regarding those identities. This will lead into a series of lessons that bring student voices and experiences into the classroom. Finally, the unit will culminate in a final project that asks students to integrate what they learned into it. Article Choices: Johnson, A. G. (2006). Privilege, power, and d

Quotes for Discussion "When the official curriculum stigmatizes or, worse yet, vilifies LGBT people, bullies feel like moral champions, like guardians of the American way." Standing up against bullies that stigmatize LGBT individuals can be incredibly difficult in a middle school (and, I am sure, all schools). I find myself having internal battles each day when I hear students use a slur for LGBT people, due it being so often and widespread. "If applied across all disciplines and grade levels, integration  and interpretation  of LGBT experiences and contributions can transform our classrooms into safe spaces." When starting teaching this year, I was actually surprised to see that one of our projects in our curriculum revolves around the story of a trans student. I am interested to see how many teachers are choosing to teach this unit as a form of integration, or how many do not due to its topics. "Teachers cannot legislate friendships or alliances; they

For this week's reading, I chose to read the article  Ignoring Diversity, Undermining Equity  by Katherine Crawford-Garrett. Professor Crawford-Garrett teaches at the University of New Mexico, and prepares preservice teachers for their service in schools, specifically teaching them literacy best practices. I was immediately drawn by the title of the article, and was curious to learn in what ways diversity was being ignored at the expense of increasing equity in schools.  Crawford-Garrett beings the article discussing a conversation she had with her Dean. There was a high-stakes evaluation of the school's curriculum by the National Council on Teacher Quality ( NCTQ ). Per NCTQ's website,  "The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit research and policy organization that is committed to modernizing the teaching profession".  NCTQ was to come into the school, and evaluate whether the curriculum at UNM was up to the standards of t