KEEPING IT R.E.A.L IN THE CLASSROOM AND ITS CONNECTION TO STUDENTS’ LANGUAGE

Reading Stewart’s chapter one, I think that the central message to draw out is that every teacher should develop a positive relationship with all of their students, regardless of race or color. Also, providing a conducive environment for learning in the classroom, by accommodating and collaborating with the students through the learning process. Our students are the reason why we teach, so they should be our top priority.  

Hearing the story of Valerie, and how she escaped El Salvador to come to America with her younger sister for a better life, reminds me of the students I have in my class. The ELL students, who come from different part of the country, some with their parents, some alone. One could the see zeal they have in them to understand English, and be able to write fluently in it. I remember one of my special education student who is an ELL student. She always tells me how frustrated she feels when in her English class, and is asked to write an essay, but doesn’t know what to write. She is so good in Math, but she dreads English. This is why I continue to ask myself, ‘what other modification and specialized instruction should I put in place for a student like that? Obviously, it’s not all about translating the instructions and questions to their native language. But I think Stewart answered that question with his statement, “Keep it R.E.A.L”.

What are the R.E.A.L Instructions? According to Stewart, the full meaning of R.E.A.L is “relevant, engaging, and affirming literacy”. How do we as teachers provide the curriculum that is relevant to the students in order to make them engaging in the classroom, at the same time setting high expectations for the students? Understanding and incorporating students’ “surface culture and deep culture” and also involving the students in choosing the text that is to be read in the classroom. This is something I find strange to do, but I know as a student, if my teacher asked allowed me to voice my opinion in the planning process, I would be more engaged. As a teacher, knowing my students individually, their lives, their race, their culture is a way of creating that bond between them, which in line creates a conducive environment for the students.

Setting high expectation for my students, especially the ELL students who are still finding it difficult to get their way through English seems difficult. Danny Martinez in his writing, “Imagining a Language of Solidarity for Black and Latinx Youth in English Language Arts Classroom” talked about the bad experiences his parents had in school as ELL students. He used that to spell out the “physical and linguistic violence” against ELL students, which as a result makes these students attribute their “lack of knowledge …to their use of stigmatized language” (pg. 183). I agree with Martinez that it really hurts. Being a teacher with a different articulation, it hurts when you hear someone laugh at the way you speak or express yourself in English. I won’t want my students to feel that way, or feel that they are not smart or that their language is unwanted which means that their culture is unwanted as well. According to Martinez, teachers should embrace the language of these students and use that as a base to their learning English and having mastery in literacy.

I think Stewart and Martinez’s writing on how to teach our students, boils down to having a collaborative and cultural based classroom. Also, understanding who your students are, and what they bring with them to the classroom. Creating a good relationship with them. Stewart said “we (as teachers) need to ensure that we are learners of our students and their lives” (chapter 2, pg. 33). He also outlined sample rules and patterns that makes the classroom a conducive environment for both the teacher and the students. I love the sample rule 1, “I Learn, You Learn”, and I believe it’s the umbrella for the three other samples. Students also being the teacher in class makes the learning process more engaging for them. I also believe it brings out the rigor in them. I would make use of these five samples in my classroom, and see the reaction of my students to it. I am sure they would love it.