Reading Response to Chapter 1
As I am typing this response, I have become very self-conscious of the words and organization of this blog post. I found this chapter fascinating as I am highly interested in the “invisible” and “hidden” curriculum in the classroom––and the very language we use in school does need to be critiqued and explored. Despite being an English Language Learner from an immigrant Taiwanese family, it is difficult to recall exactly what it felt like to grasp and pick up a new language when I was in my younger years. By now English has become my dominant language. Yet it is interesting to reflect on my experiences, and the experiences of some of my friends who had more difficulty grasping “academic English.” I find it particularly troubling that some students “remain underneath our radar” because it appears at first glance that they are getting by adequately (Zwiers, 2).
I found Zwiers discussion on academic entrapment as a good warning that I wish to internalize early on in my teaching career. I do not want to demand of my students what I do not teach them––and to especially do this subconsciously and through the mode of language. I hope that I can do my best to acknowledge what my students already know and what they bring into the classroom, and then come together and agree on what is important in what we are studying. As Zwiers highlights, the shifting that occurs between students’ experiences and the subject/text is important––and I want to be able to use language effectively to do that well.
After reading the section on the types of academic capital, I hope to invest some of my time and energy to engage with the students’ families and parents. Despite the varying familial and home circumstances that students come from, to the best of my ability I want to be a teacher that can get the parents involved and excited about what their children are learning. It appears that so much learning happens outside of the classroom (such as in homes, among social networks, religious traditions, cultural spaces) and language is the avenue in which all that learning travels. So I hope to help my students become more cognizant of the way they are speaking and the words they are using.
Michael Yang