Negotiating Social Action Projects_CLIP21

What this episode covers

On Today's Show: Tonightacirc;euro;trade;s show is part two of a three part series, which was recorded on the beautiful island of Hawaii, at the International Reading Associationacirc;euro;trade;s Regional Conference which was held there two weeks ago. Negotiating Spaces for Critical Literacy Social Action in a JK Classroom Upcoming Shows NOTE: Some of the audio had to be re-recorded on site, in Hawaii, for sound clarity. Thanks To: Charles Cadenhead, Wayne Serebrin, Mike Muise, Liana Honda, Anna Sumida, Avis Masuda, Andrea Ross, and Lina Clohessy. Podcasters Mentioned: Andrea Ross of Just One More Book Charles Cadenhead of Mostly News Let me know where you are: Click on 'Join the CLIP Frappr Map' in the menu bar. Post a comment: Click the comment button below or leave a voice mail by calling 206-350-6204 or e-mailing at clippodcast[at]gmail[dot]com Produced by: Andy Bilodeau Negotiating Social Action Projects_CLIP21 Partial Transcript Hello Everyone. You are listening to show 21 of the CLIP podcast. Tonightacirc;euro;trade;s show is part two of a three part series, which was recorded on the beautiful island of Hawaii, at the International Reading Associationacirc;euro;trade;s Regional Conference which was held there two weeks ago. I focused my talk on particular critical moves in my life as a literacy educator. In todayacirc;euro;trade;s segment you will hear me talking about the second move, which I refer to as Negotiating Spaces for Critical Literacy. Some of you may have heard me share this story in show number 1. My experience in presenting this work has sometimes been met with skepticism regarding whether or not my students really were able to participate in projects dealing with such deep and often difficult social issues. So today, what I will do is take you on brief journey to familiarize you with some of the sights and sounds of the classroom. The School Site The school was located in a very diverse, multi ethnic, middle class community just outside Metropolitan Toronto in Ontario, Canada. Although the socio economic context has been designated acirc;euro;tilde;middle classacirc;euro;trade;, this was not straightforward. Within this area, there were homes occupied by more than one family. The class was a half -day pre school group that met from 8.45am acirc;euro;ldquo; 11.15am, M-F. Physical Environment and Resources -The physical space of the classroom was flexible enough to incorporate changes and provide room for innovation and improvisation. -A wide range of rich resources such as videos, news articles, music, books, everyday texts, art posters and web sites were available. Along with materials needed to support the study of the different issues that interested the class. -Observation was an important feature of practice, as it enabled me to build on childrenacirc;euro;trade;s interests in important and reflective ways. -The carefully constructed environment offered children physical, social, emotional and cognitive spaces in which to engage in their critical projects and, to become co-researchers and participants in collaborative activities. The Curriculum The curriculum emerged in an organic way from the cultural and social practices in which my students and I engaged. Classroom practice was the result of a complex dynamic of theorized practice, each one informing the other. Critical literacy theories impacted approaches to teaching, but the effects of these approaches and the issues raised in practice also affected the theories and understanding of them. The curriculum was not free from curricular mandates and the threat of standardized testing. The School Board dictated specific programs to follow. As the classroom teacher, I made sure that I understood what was expected of me through the mandated curriculum in order to demonstrate to parents, colleagues and administrators that our negotiated curriculum surp...

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