The post includes excerpts from my book review (complete with APA in-text citations).
36 Children by Herbert Kohl
Genre: Non-fiction, Education
Publication Date: 1967
Setting: Harlem public elementary school, 1963-1966
Setting: Harlem public elementary school, 1963-1966
About the Author: Undergraduate degree in Philosophy from Harvard University, Masters degree in Teaching from Columbia University Teachers College.
The title is in reference to the thirty-six children that occupy Kohl's sixth grade class in Harlem, NY, his first teaching position. Kohl’s first full school year begins when he
receives his roll book with all of his students’ record cards and the decision
to look at their names and nothing else, for he believed that, “the dullest
child can be transformed into the keenest and the brightest into the most
ordinary when the prefabricated judgments of other teachers are forgotten” (p.
13). Once Kohl became comfortable and confident in
his classroom, he could take student interests and apply them into lessons. He
used student conversations to create a lesson on etymology and the changing of
languages, referring to the lesson as vocabulary and enrichment activity.
Kohl brought his own books into class for the students to read and explore and also created a classroom of authors. The students were permitted (and encouraged) to write during classes, pursuing any storyline they fancied – including autobiography, historical fiction, fantasy, suspense, or a blending of genres. Previously silent students could speak openly and deeply through their writing. The students also collaborated by looking for peer feedback and critical ideas before formally submitting to Kohl. Students inadvertently and individually learned language arts by developing their own stories, characters, plots, and figures of speech. Eventually, the students create their own classroom magazine and take on the responsibility of writing, editing, publishing, and distributing the magazine in and out of school.
After his second year at the Harlem school, Kohl took a hiatus and traveled to Spain for a year, which I interpreted as him quitting – he writes, “I was tired and lacked perspective” (p. 192). Delpit (2012) writes, “first-year teachers are least able to produce positive growth in their students and that teaching quality increases dramatically for the first three years” (p. 114). Kohl taught at the Harlem school for two years, and then left. For those two years, he was honing his teaching skills, but he did a disservice to the school by taking a leave of absence and not teaching during a time when his performance and skill is increasing. In essence, he taught at the Harlem school when he was at his lowest level of quality teaching.
I do agree with Kohl that, “one good year isn’t enough” (p. 205). For teachers and for students, one year is not enough time to make a difference in education. For true change to occur, reform needs to be widespread – all the teachers, administration, policy makers, the community, and society as a whole needs to be informed about the current conditions and the measures that need to be made to correct these disorders. Teachers shouldn’t label students as failures because the student internalizes that brand. All students should be encouraged and believed in. All students should be challenged to meet their utmost potential. Change can’t happen in isolation or at a singular point in time, reform must be persistent. Teachers and students should strive to persevere in the face of hardship and unfortunate circumstances, and have the strength to “fight, falter, and rise again and again” (p.224).
DD's rating: B
I wouldn't have read this if it wasn't for school, but it was entertaining and easy to read. The book also reinforces a constructivist and student-centered classroom.
Kohl brought his own books into class for the students to read and explore and also created a classroom of authors. The students were permitted (and encouraged) to write during classes, pursuing any storyline they fancied – including autobiography, historical fiction, fantasy, suspense, or a blending of genres. Previously silent students could speak openly and deeply through their writing. The students also collaborated by looking for peer feedback and critical ideas before formally submitting to Kohl. Students inadvertently and individually learned language arts by developing their own stories, characters, plots, and figures of speech. Eventually, the students create their own classroom magazine and take on the responsibility of writing, editing, publishing, and distributing the magazine in and out of school.
After his second year at the Harlem school, Kohl took a hiatus and traveled to Spain for a year, which I interpreted as him quitting – he writes, “I was tired and lacked perspective” (p. 192). Delpit (2012) writes, “first-year teachers are least able to produce positive growth in their students and that teaching quality increases dramatically for the first three years” (p. 114). Kohl taught at the Harlem school for two years, and then left. For those two years, he was honing his teaching skills, but he did a disservice to the school by taking a leave of absence and not teaching during a time when his performance and skill is increasing. In essence, he taught at the Harlem school when he was at his lowest level of quality teaching.
I do agree with Kohl that, “one good year isn’t enough” (p. 205). For teachers and for students, one year is not enough time to make a difference in education. For true change to occur, reform needs to be widespread – all the teachers, administration, policy makers, the community, and society as a whole needs to be informed about the current conditions and the measures that need to be made to correct these disorders. Teachers shouldn’t label students as failures because the student internalizes that brand. All students should be encouraged and believed in. All students should be challenged to meet their utmost potential. Change can’t happen in isolation or at a singular point in time, reform must be persistent. Teachers and students should strive to persevere in the face of hardship and unfortunate circumstances, and have the strength to “fight, falter, and rise again and again” (p.224).
DD's rating: B
I wouldn't have read this if it wasn't for school, but it was entertaining and easy to read. The book also reinforces a constructivist and student-centered classroom.
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