Conferences,+Fieldtrips,+Guest+Speakers

We will use this page to highlight and reflect on the various "outside" activities we do throughout the program.

Anti-Racist, Anti-Bias Conference (Saturday April 2, 2011)
Geri - Although I typically don't post in online classes, I thought I'd add what struck me the most. I really learned a lot in the immigration session that discussed how to help parents of students who may be undocumented and who need to understand their rights when approached by immigration officers (ICE). I really was struck by the lives undocumented poeple must live, being afraid of being pulled over or approached at whim and could be held and deported immediately without having any contact with their families. I learned ways they should react to help their cases. However, as I was learning all of this, I kept thinking of the many people I know who are opposed to undocumented (illegal) immigrants and are not in the least concerned with the poor treatment they receive. They feel they deserve it. The presenters in this session spoke only as if they were speaking to an audience who felt undocumented immigrants living in the US were entitled to do so. I personally believe they should have some rights and was happy to learn they are being helped by various organizations. However, I know many people who just say, if they are illegal, they do not belong here. I am left with many questions... what does it take for a person to become a legal immigrant? Why are there so many undocumented immigrants in the United States? What are the barriers to becoming documented and legal immigrants in the US? Does anyone know or know where I could learn more?

This was my fourth anti-racist, anti-bias conference and always am energized and awestruck at what I need to continue to learn and apply to my professional and personal life to work toward being anti-racist and anti-biased. Hope it was a good experience for you all too.

I'll ask around at my school where you could get some more information! The moment I came to school today I told my aide about the different sessions I attended. She helped me to answer some of your questions. To become legal there is some type of citizenship exam that they must take. There also may be classes involved. This test is supposively really hard. As in, even many of us wouldn't be able to answer the questions. There are so many undocumented because they're afraid of being sent back without being given the chance to take the exam and also the thought that they may not pass. One barrier is the fact that some people are illiterate. She gave the example of older people in her family. They worked on farms in Mexico and never learned to read or write. Kim

Michelle: I really enjoyed the conference on Saturday. All three of the sessions that I attended were worthwhile, in one way or another. First of all, though, I wanted to say that I loved the keynote speaker!! He was engaging, funny, and so relevant in what he had to say. It was interesting to hear about the struggles that Chicago schools are going through/have gone through. It's heart-breaking to hear that there are many public schools out there that don't even have libraries. Libraries are such a basic element of a school; that's amazing that grandmothers stood up for what they knew was essential for their "babies": a library!

The first session that I attended was the Peace Center workshop. Because the program is geared to 4th and 5th graders, it was right up my alley! Lindsey and I both thought that we would like to suggest going to the Center on a fieldtrip with our entire 5th grade. This time of year, kids forget how to treat one another with kindness and respect. The Peace Center provides ideas for how to deal with this is in the classroom as well as (and most importantly) provides kids with strategies to use when they feel pressure/frustration/anger.

The second session that I attended was the "Bullied" documentary. The movie itself was very emotional, sad, and raw at times. I literally had a stomachache as I watched this historically-known case (which occurred in the late 1980's) unfold. After the movie, we had time to discuss our reactions with the large group, as well as to hear what is happening in other schools around WI. Since the movie focused on a boy who had been bullied because he was gay, most of our group conversation focused around this issue. While there are certainly many, many more forms of bullying, this type of bullying has historically been ignored. Until this case. The high school boy sued and won 900,000 dollars. Two of his administrators were found to be responsible for not protecting him from the daily harrassment and physical abuse. The big question that the entire group had was: what happened to the administrators? Were they let go, demoted, or retired? The facilitator didn't know. The documentary (FYI) is available for free to teachers through the site Teaching Tolerance. The other idea that I walked away with from this time was the idea of a "Safe Place" sticker/sign for classroom teachers who want to reinforce to students that their classroom is always open for kids who need to get away from a bully, talk about bullying, report bullying, etc..

The third session was "Student Voice." Despite a slow start to this session (technical difficulties with the video clip they wanted to open with), it was a very relevant, thought-provoking time. I could feel the passion that the 2 facilitators have for their students; one even cried as she was telling a touching story about a long-ago third grade student of hers who had confided in her that he couldn't read. This session reinforced to me how important it is to look at each student as an individual, and to make a true, consistent effort to get to know them on a personal level. Little things, like calling them by the name (or nickname) they prefer is essential to making them feel valued and comfortable. I had to laugh at this suggestion because I had a student who, mid-way through the year, did an about-face and asked me to start calling him Pete not Peter anymore. He was growing up, he informed me, and wanted to be called Pete! Wow, was this hard for me in the middle of the year to do... but I worked very hard to do it, and he (thankfully) was forgiving of my occasional slip-ups.

To summarize, I left the conference feeling like it was time well-spent. I had my comfort-level shaken a few times (but that's OK), and at other times, I felt like what I do with my students in the classroom was reinforced positively. I couldn't believe the beautiful facilities! What an amazing school! (I even took a few pics of it to show to my husband!) And, to top the day off (like icing on a cake), Linds and I stopped at a new-to-us Target on the way home and did some therapeutic shopping! :)

Laura:  I don't have any additional insight into Geri's above comments. I think most of my knowledge of the topic has come from Kim. I thought Saturday was interesting. I was surprised how quickly the day went by. I have to admit that I wasn't excited to be there before it began because Maddie cried when I was leaving the house, but it turned out to be a very worthwhile day. My big AHA from Geri's session (other than the proper & improper lingo) was to simply address all letters home as "Dear Families". This is such a simple change, yet it is appropriate for all my students. I currently have students who live with birth parent(s), students with adopted parents through the foster care system, and a student that lives with grandma & grandpa as his guardians. My second session was the Peace Workshop session. It was interesting, but it kind of felt like I was in a big infomerccial for their workshop. Since they run their workshop primarily for fourth & fifth grade it wasn't as relevant as I had hoped. The English Language Learner/Writers Workshop session was very worthwhile for me. I took a few pages of notes. I didn't realize that developing enough English to interact socially takes 1-3 years and that cognitive academic language proficiency takes 3-7 years to develop. The session was run by an ELL teacher who team teaches writer's workshop at her school. It was interesting to see how my ELL student sees writer's workshop and she provided data on the different levels of language acquisition for ELL students. I didn't realize that ELL students have a specific order of learning (listening, speaking, reading, & writing). She really showed the importance of anchor charts during writer's workshop. I have to admit this is something I have been better about in the past and really need to get back to creating and using with the students again. This would benefit my struggling students as well as my ELL students. Something for my "to do list" I guess. I enjoyed listening to the keynote speaker. He was very knowledgeable, entertaining, and "in touch" with education today.

**Katie - I was also surprised by the "dear families" portion of the adoption session! I have always felt awkward sending home letter that were addressed "dear parents/guardians" because it seems so very impersonal! I like how cheerful "dear families" sounds instead! I really got a lot from all of the sessions and the keynote speaker. He was very informative, passionate, and determined. . . something I hope to be. I also went to the bullying session and watched the new movie. The movie was very sad but what I got more out of was the talk at the end about Gay/Straight Alliance groups in schools. It leaves me wondering if New Berlin has one at each high school and if not what it would take to start one. I can't say that I would want to lead the group but they would certainly have my support for whatever they would need. I guess in my mind I always thought that since kids were growing up in this era that people would be more accepting of those that are gay, lesbian, and transgendered. It is all over television and it doesn't affect me in any way so I assumed that was the majority. But, we all know what assuming does right? :) Overall, I thought the conference was very interesting and I was even more awed by the building! I want to work at that school because it is so beautiful! This will be an interesting conference to attend each year if I can manage it because I walked away with some good knowledge to use in my own life and in the classroom.**

I really enjoyed the conference as well! I went to the positive classroom climate session, bullying, and immigrant families. I liked that I could tie the first one in with my action research! Just today I did something that they taught us in class. Before you respond a situation, put your fingers by your bellybutton (why that I don't know!) and take 5 seconds to inhale and exhale. My kids were WILD in the bathroom and I did this and I had a lot better of a response then I think I would have! The Peace Learning Center sounds really great and I'd recommend it to all schools/ages. They talked about managing conflict, teaching students how to communicate with one another, ECT... The bullying movie was really powerful! It made me think of certain students in grade school/middle school/high school that were picked on. I wondered how they felt back then and if those instances stayed with them through the years? I was surprised by how sad the movie was! I'm glad that people are becoming more aware of the damage this does. My mom always said, "hurting people hurt people." It sounds pretty correct to me. Lastly, I went to the session about immigrants. It was interesting, but I wish it would have given more information about what I can do as a teacher to be supportive and help my students emotionally. The different things they were teaching us was good to know, but I don't think it would be appropriate for me to ever tell my families. I could however, tell them of people who could give them the information they need. (What to do if you are illegal and someone comes to your house, pulls you over, you are arrested, ect..) This information was all new to me. In commenting on what Geri said about those that are oppposed to undocumented immigrants, I definitely think your opinions change once you experience it first hand. I have built a relationship with my families and I see what they go through, what they have to give up, and the pain that is caused. Even though it is against the law, you can't turn your back or not feel for them once you are involved! The keynote speaker was very influential as well. I think he would be a great rolemodel. He has an amazing story and also being a male and African American. All of the information we were able to take with us I think will be able to be applied or at least we are informed which is important! Kim

 I attended the Positive Classroom Climates : Empowering Youth, Managing Conflict, Learning Through Literature: Jane Addams Award-Winning Books for Younger and Older readers, and lastly, the Language Learning for ESL Learners. I really enjoyed the classes that I attended. The positvie classroom climate was upbeat and alot of movement which students really need. I felt that it was very much like the Tribes activities that I do in my class. I really liked that they used a stop sign as a positive in stead of a negative. It was used for conflict resolution. Red was READY? Yellow was SET-BOTH STORIES STRAIGHT, and green was GO! It is geared toward 4th and 5th grade, but I do feel you could really change it to make it work for your classroom. I liked how you could set up a corner of your room to use as the conflict corner and when 2 mor more students are in the corner, it means they are resolving the conflict without the help of a teacher. Granted, the younger students would still need a teacher, but it could really help the students use their words instead of fighting. I will definitely use some of the ideas from this session. I would even love to take a class field trip to try this.

The 2nd session, was okay. I think it would have been better if the teacher that was doing the class knew what time we were supposed to end. We actually went over 10 minutes before someone actually told her what time it ended. She did not know there was a change in the schedule, so we ran out of time. However, what I did take awa from it was a list of Award-Winning books, I amy have never even known about to use in the classroom. We also did a really great execise with Click Clack Moo:Cows That Type. First the presenter, read us the book YO! YES? which is a great book to use for expression and punctuation. Laura, you might like this book if you are not already using it. Then we had 2 people act it out as she read the pages. It was really funny, especially when you may think one way of the thought or feeling on the page and another person may think something else. Then we shared. Moving back onto Click Clack, the presenter summarized the story for us and then we were to get into pairs with post-its. One person was to be the cows and the other the farmer. We were to look at the pictures and post it what we thought the cows or famer was saying. it was a great activity to get the students thinking about the pictures and what they may mean to them.

The 3rd session I attended was the ESL language learners. I thought this was really insightful. I got many ideas from her. I was thinking back to Kindergarten when I had a student that came to me in October with no english at all. I had to learn very quickly how to teach, so he would understand. Alot of it was thrugh pictures. I never thought to use anchor charts, so I guess that is what I will implement. I know that I used many anchors charts this year in 3rd grade. I made many for literacy. I came away with learning about using vocabulary and the shades of meaning activity, as well as the four corners activity. I believe this not only works for ESL, but for all the students.

As for the keynote speaker, I really enjoyed his energy and passion for what he believes. I especially liked his story about how he became a teacher. Jessica

LINDSEY:

<span style="color: #580080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">I wanted to start out by offering any insight I have in relation to Geri's questions. I actually just happened to watch a movie on HBO a couple weeks ago. I stumbled across it, with nothing else on, and decided to watch it. While I usually watch tons of documentaries (I watched such a good one Sunday night--Freakonomics, but I digress :) ) but this was a motion picture entitled "Crossing Over." Ray Liotta and Harrison Ford were in it so, I guess, some bigger names. The movie was a series of different story lines all about immigrants coming to America. Some of the characters had been in America for a while and were about to take part in the Naturalization Ceremony, some were sneaking in across the Mexican boarder, one Middle Eastern family had been in America for a while but their oldest daughter wrote a controversial paper in her High School that was in question by the INS and one INS worker, who issued Green Cards (Ray Liotta) was exploiting his power with a young woman from Australia trying to obtain a work visa or green card. It was //very// eye opening, I learned a lot about the entire process and I was beyond disgusted with the amount of corruption within the system all together. It made me think about the keynote speaker, David Stowell, and his discussion on Chicago and how corrupt it all is.

<span style="color: #580080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Also, I have learned a lot about this recently from my mom's assistant, Diana. Diana was adopted as a baby from Columbia. Her mom was originally from Columbia but moved here in her teens. Once in America she married Diana's father and they had 3 sons. Her mom, however, knew she wanted to adopt a little girl from Columbia so she traveled to Columbia to get Diana. Diana grew up in Delafield, WI and attended Magee Elementary and then Kettle Moraine Middle and High Schools. Two years ago at the age of 31, while planning her wedding, Diana applied for a passport for the first time. It turned out that DIana's records were in correct, her birth certificate was invalid and she was not technically a citizen. Diana was very nervous--she had never been back to Columbia, let alone been out of the United States but she couldn't help but think the worse: that she was going to be deported. After a long process and a hearing to prove she had been in the U.S. since a very young age she was told she would be considered a natural citizen if she took that naturalization test (a test given to all green card holders when they apply for naturalization apparently). I can remember they INS gave her study materials and we sat down to study some of the sample questions. OH MY GOD!! I knew maybe 2 out of 150...SO hard and a lot of nitty gritty facts and figures. So not what I teach my students, that facts and figures can be looked up or googled but that it's about the concepts. It was a horrible experience for Diana but I am happy to say she passed and is now a legal citizen. It was scary to think she could have been forced to leave.

<span style="color: #580080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Lastly, while working at Kim's current school I often discussed questions like this with my aid, Hilda, who was from Honduras. She was amazing and so wanted to help me understand the entire process. When I began that school year I assumed that in order to be at our school, our students needed to be in the country legally. Boy was I wrong. By the middle of the school year, as student grew more comfortable, they began to simply announce "well, we didn't go 'cuz we don't have papers" or "my family never goes back to Mexico because we may never get back." Then when I would schedule conferences many (at least half) of my students would give me their parents' names and phone numbers but if they gave me a work number they would tell me what their "at work" name was too. It was almost a "don't ask, don't tell" mentality. I didn't care what students "had papers" and which ones didn't, it would never affect how I taught them. It was just such a learning experience overall.

<span style="color: #580080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">::Lindsey:: (I have to sign at the bottom too, the signing at the top is totally throwing me off/freaking me out haha)

<span style="color: #176a87; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: 21px;">LINDSEY:

<span style="color: #176a87; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Yes, me again, now I will actually answer Geri's discussion questions :) I left the conference on Saturday think the day went extremely fast and I learned a lot of valuable information that, bonus, I could actually use! When I first entered the Indian Community School I was, like most of you I'm sure, blown away by the beauty of the building. I had been there once during college but we entered through a different end and the cafeteria/drum area were truly breath-taking. Plus, I was impressed with the Alterra scones as well--delish! After finding everyone from our group (sans Matt) and heading into the drum, the introductory speakers proved to be very motivating. I loved their intensity for what they do. Then David Stowell began his presentation and I knew it would be a good day. I could not believe some of the crazy legislature being passed/debated currently throughout this country. The idea that it is illegal to teach Latino Studies in Arizona--um, their land to begin with-- really made my blood begin to boil. So beyond RIDICULOUS!! Stowell was an engaging speaker who certainly knew his stuff. I'm guessing his college courses fill up fast as I'm sure his lectures are great. Following the keynote address I attended the following three sessions:

<span style="color: #176a87; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">1. __Positive Classroom Climate__- I attended this session with Jessica, Kim and Michelle. It was motivating and I liked that it got us up and moving around. We did a few team building activities and then discussed ways to empower our students. I really liked that it gave the students the power to handle friendship issues and conflict. And took that out of the teachers hands--which can often become a time-sucker. One a the parts of this session that I really think I will use was the idea of Win-Win VS. Lose-Lose. That if two students handle a conflict on their own and come up with their own solutions it is a Win-Win situation. However, when adult need to become involved it almost always leads to some form of consequence (lunch detentions, missed recesses, etc.) and therefore both students (or more than 2) experience a Lose-Lose situation. This inspires the students to mediate their own conflict resolutions and hopefully avoid those types of situation all together. I also really liked the "Bob" circle...I kept chanting the song to myself to try and remember the exact words. I did this with my own students on Monday and was surprised at how quickly they caught on. I suddenly heard one girl in my class whispering "say 'Yes' that you are busy" and the next time through the song/chant they all said "YES!" when I asked if Bob was busy. I know I botched the words as I could not remember them exactly but they got the point. We then talked about the words the sometimes choose to use and other ways to get their point across in a more polite way.

<span style="color: #176a87; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">2. __"Bullied" a Teaching Tolerance Film__- I attended this session and when I walked into the classroom I was happy to be able to get a "big-kid" chair and happy to help the session leader get the video up and running :) I knew I wanted to attend this session because, obviously being in an intermediate school bullying is an every day issue, but also because the film was by Teaching Tolerance and I love their Children's March film. I knew the video was about bullying but did not expect it to focus on one young man's daily battle (yes, battle) with his peers. A group of his peers truly made his life a living hell because he was a homosexual. He repeatedly went to the principal at both Ashland, Wisconsin's middle and high schools only to be told, "well, if you didn't act so openly gay they wouldn't do this to you." It literally took the audience through this one man's experience and everything he dealt with. By the end of the video I was holding back tears. This was just ONE person's account--and this happens every single day to students EVERYWHERE. We can all remember a time we were bullied--these are things we carry with us, painful memories that can shape who we are. I also couldn't help but think that the bullies that the film discussed learned this behavior somewhere, that no one is born "hating" a group of people, are they? That they felt being gay was wrong and something to threaten a human life over because they grew up believe homosexuality was not normal and the only thing worth acceptance was their view of normal?? It really made me sick to my stomach. Most people I encounter that have my similar viewpoint are close to someone who is a homosexual or they themselves may be, I am not a homosexual and I actually don't even personally know any homosexuals well at all. I just think this an issue of humanity not sexuality.

<span style="color: #176a87; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">3. __Student Voice__- This was the final session I attended and it while it was nearing the end of the day, it was within this session that I finally decided on my new Action Research question. I have always felt strongly about student voice and giving students the chance to make class decisions (what I have since learned is all a part of the democratic classroom). This session solidified my viewpoint and how beneficial it is. The session also opened my eyes to some student viewpoint I may have never considered. We discussed something as simple as student names. They interviewed one student named Markos (I believe? I can't remember exactly) and he was discussing how his teacher kept insisting on calling him Mark, his "American" name. The student discussed how he then became Markos at home, where they spoke Spanish, but that at school he was American Mark and this what was expected of him. I never thought about something just as simple as a name. I have a student in my class now names Allyson and she will answer to either Ally or Allyson. I always try to ask her which she prefers and she says she does not care. Lately, however, when I call her Ally she will follow by muttering "Allyson." Point taken, she wants to be called Allyson--I only wish she would have just told me :( But, she is an extremely shy young lady who often has trouble even completing a sentence when she raises her hand if she notices that she has been talking for more than one sentence. It was an eye-opening session all together but the "Bullied" film was a bit difficult to follow as my mind was still reeling from that viewing.

<span style="color: #176a87; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with how the conference turned out. While I hate to admit it, I expected the day to be long and possibly a bit boring; learning things we have already heard over and over while simply going through the motions. I was indeed wrong and found the conference to be highly beneficial while entertaining at the same time. I learned value information and have even used some of the new ideas/activities within my own classroom. If this coming Saturday's GMARC conference is anything like the Anti-Racist * Anti-Bias conference it will certainly be time well spent and I will be looking forward to it.

<span style="color: #176a87; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">I also ordered the new film, "Bullied: A student, a school and a case that made history," from Teaching Tolerance and it is said to arrive within 10 days. So, if anyone would like to see it or borrow it, whatever, just let me know. It's worth the 40 minutes! :)

<span style="color: #176a87; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">::Lindsey::

<span style="color: #4400ff; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">I forgot all about the libraries until Michelle mentioned it! How awful, that is a perfect example of things we take for granted. We started Book Bags with our families and my coordinator said the grant was first started because many families didn't own a single book in their house :( Laura-The ELL session you went to sounded very interesting. I was contemplating between that one and the immigration session I went to. Maybe I could photocopy your notes sometime? Katie-I agree about the dear families! We do that at our school just because we have so many non-traditional families. Lindsey-I didn't know that about Diana! That is so crazy, I'm glad everything worked out okay. I think sometimes when we have a personal connection to an experience our opinions can be strengthened or even changed. I know mine has working at my school. Kim