Talk can be personal

I liked the idea of having a chalk talk and I plan to use this in my classroom one day. It gives students the opportunity to express themselves and allows every student in the class to participate. I had the opportunity to hear a group of students and professionals talk about the achievement gap between people of color and whites on Friday. It was a very good discussion and it made me think of the clip we had seen in class. While listening to the presenters speak it reminded me of my high school that I attended. I was always labeled the smart child and everyone expected a lot out of my friends and me. It was frustrating at times because I felt that other students got away with a lot because they were the students’ teachers labeled the trouble maker. I also felt that some people looked down upon our school because we were known for gang violence and teenage pregnancies. We were on the news and on the front of the newspaper almost every day for something. I felt that they always reported the bad but never the good that comes from the school. I felt that people labeled us but didn’t even know who we were because they had never been into my school they just know what they say on the news. I feel that teachers nowadays are losing their will to want to teach those who they think don’t want to learn. I believe that we need more teachers like that of the character Hilary Swank played. Students should be given the right to change and they need someone to believe in them. You don’t want your students to go through life experiencing learned helplessness. Every student is different and you may have to modify things so that they can learn to the best of their ability. As a future educator I want to make sure that all students are receiving the best possible practices there are. And if we don’t stand up for them then who will?