ple, everyone. But how do you bring this stuff up in a classroom with a curriculum that does-
n’t involve these topics? Especially for me, where the topic is actually math. What can I do to
get my students’ attention?”
Another student wrote, “Linda shares with students her stories about a hard life, her fa-
ther’s alcoholism, lack of education, not being a good student. This helped her open up with
her students. I do not know the direct effects of gang war or gunfights. I do not have a
wealthy family but we live a comfortable life and are close knit. If I have nothing in common
with my students, will they trust me?”
I decided to address these issues by borrowing a page from Linda’s book on teaching. I
asked these students and others to read their comments about Linda’s classroom and ques-
tions about teaching to our class. As students read and spoke, common themes emerged,
and it quickly became apparent that students in my class were not really writing about Linda
and her classroom, but about themselves, their concerns about relating to their students,
and their apprehensions about becoming teachers. And just as Linda described, “Students
who stung privately with humiliation discovered that they weren’t alone,” and common
themes, shared understandings, and the experience of reading and writing together become
the building blocks of our classroom community.
For me, Linda’s approach to community building seems valid no matter what your subject
area. It means that teachers must continually seek out ways to connect lessons to the lives
of their students, be willing to allow students an arena of choices, and not be afraid to go off
on tangents. Learning and community building are usually not done in straight lines.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION—“DO WE NEED A SICHA?”(From a handout distributed in a seminar for student teachers)
On an Israeli collective farm (kibbutz), important decisions are made at a community
meeting called aSicha.Last week we established three simply stated, yet profound, rules
for our classroom community. We based them on two songs performed by Aretha Frank-
lin, “Respect” and “Think.”
1.Respect.Respect yourself. Respect others.
2.Think.Think about the implications of the things that you say and do and their im-
pact on other people.
3.Freedom.Maximizing the freedom of individuals to participate, learn, and grow
from student teaching and this seminar requires individual and group responsibility
and a commitment to rules 1 and 2 (respect and think).We also had a serious discussion about whether attitudes expressed in the “sanctity” of
the teachers’ room or privately held prejudices and beliefs affect the way teachers func-
tion in their classes and treat students. Part of this discussion included whether student
teachers, or other teachers, should respond to people who make derogatory remarks
about student intelligence or racial and ethnic groups.
While we were having these discussions, I noticed four things.- Some members of our community were sitting with friends, talking with them while
other people were speaking to the class, and passing notes back and forth. - Two leaflets were being circulated around the room during community discussion.
- While members of our community were speaking, other people held their arm up to
attract my attention.
154 CHAPTER 6