Saturday, March 23, 2013

First Day of "Spring Break" (Emphasis on the " ")

"Spring Break"is finally here. It's quite ironic that in my last post that I reveled in excitement about the thought of an actual break, when in reality, this is probably the cruelest thing any program could ever do to a student. ;(

Our program is designed so that while you are (supposed to be) working on your master's portfolio for the entire year, a large chunk of time is to be dedicated to working on your master's portfolio. I have no qualms about working on my master's portfolio- in fact, I have been pursuing my topic fairly intensely for the entire year. What annoys me is that inevitably, one's entire break will be consumed by this project- if one wants to do well (or not loose sleep in the weeks to come).

It's sad because I have spent this past year orienting lessons, journal reflections, and inquiry questions of  practice to this overarching question about the intersection of controversial and innovative teaching with  safe and respectful communities. Having years of research experience, I anticipated my research to evolve and occasionally, take a life on its own especially since there is so much that happens in a classroom from day-to-day. Because of this, I have to challenge the expectation that one could finish this portfolio (beyond adequacy) without sacrificing sleep, time, and sanity- I think I am at that point where all of the latter are beyond sight.

I probably could relax this break... but in return, I sacrifice producing a high-quality product that makes the mark and actually could be of use for future practice. As I type this "on my break from typing my dissertation essay," I'm counting down the days to be down with "spring break."


Thursday, March 21, 2013

Finally!

This is the FINALLY week.

In so many ways.

1. Finally Scandal
Scandal is BACK!!!!!! Jesus, Lord my God, thank you for bringing this show back into my life. I am mad excited to see what unfolds. At 9:30, I will definitely be sitting on my couch in with popcorn and Pinot Grigio, browsing through the web and reading commentary about the cast. I will be live tweeting and providing commentary with some of the best shade-throwers in the world. Can't wait. THEN at 9:55 pm, I will pray for brother Huck because Lord knows he needs it.

http://eventot.com/intercessory-prayer-for-brother-huck-scandal/1315459



2. Finally Sleep
I finally get to sleep! I have slept a whopping 8 hours over the past few days. As soon as I leave school I am going home and knocking out in my bed (I am currently typing this blog post on my lunchbreak).

3. Finally SPRING BREAK
Spring Break is here! Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord! - and while its technically not a break because the whole week is supposed to be dedicated to working on the master's portfolio, it'll be nice to wake up at 9 am as opposed to 6:30 am this week.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Music to Keep Going: Playlist

Music is procrastination's mistress, but motivation's lifelong partner.

Just sharing some tunes that I have been sapping up as I embrace some of the more stressful moments of graduate school.








Monday, March 11, 2013

Lesson Plans: Harlem Renaissance Source Analysis and Gallery Walk

I just realized that I've never shared my lesson plans. These lessons are apart of a week long unit that I am doing on the Harlem Renaissance. This unit is a sub-unit of a larger unit titled Art, Power, and Jim Crow. Thoughts and suggestions would be appreciated. These are my lesson plans in their raw form and execution. Perhaps I will post a follow up post to discuss how they went. Anyway, enjoy!


Rationale for Unit: In this Unit, we will explore the relationship between art and identity. Examining depictions of African American identity in the past and in the present, we will consider the multidemensionality of art in terms of its purpose, mediums, and interpretations.  By using the Jim Crow Era as a reference point, we will look at the ways in which artistic expression is use to both oppress and uplift. In this unit, students will be encouraged to draw parallels between past events, current events, and anticipated trends. This unit will  entail a mix of abstract and practical thought and approach. Students will be encouraged to examine the role of art in their own lives and in the lives of others; students will also be pushed to establish connections between structures/institutions and art. This unit will include a group-based critical, empathetic analysis of contemporary mediums of Black artistic expression. 



Kevin Beckford African American History 1 hour 5 min
Science Leadership Academy
Harlem Renaissance
Source Analysis Lesson

Student Understandings:
Students will understand that…
  • Art entails many mediums, interpretations, and purposes.
  • Art has historically been a means of oppression, reflection, and uplift.

Students will know
  • Art is a vehicle for expression as well as a vehicle for change.
  • Art and interpretations of it are not static; our approach and understandings of art are very much influenced by our own individual and collective experiences.

Students will be able to…
Students will be able to independently utilize academic databases and online primary source databases.
Students will be able to analyze primary sources.
Students will be able to utilize technology in their examination, research and critique of art.


Enduring Questions
  • Does the media create or reflect images of Black Americans?
  • What type of artistic mediums were reflected in the Harlem Renaissance?
  • How do I, as an individual, understand art?
Sources:
For classwork assignment: Document Analysis Worksheets


Materials
Laptops, Paper, Pen/Pencil, Headphones, Flash Drive, Moodle (online database), Speakers, Projector, DVDs, converted video clips, Document Analysis Sheet, Comprehensive Document of Images, Art, and Photographs

STANDARDS
U.S. HISTORY 8.3.U.A.
Compare the role groups and individuals played in the social, political, cultural, and economic development of the U.S.
8.3.U.C.
Evaluate how continuity and change have impacted the United States.
  • Belief systems and religions
  • Commerce and industry 
  • Technology
  • Politics and government 
  • Physical and human geography
  • Social organizations
Humanities Arts 9.4.8. D
Describe to what purpose philosophical ideas generated by artists can be conveyed through works in the arts and humanities.

Science Leadership Academy
9th Grade African American History Standards
Sources: Student can analyze a variety of source documents including visual representations of information.
Research: Student is making progress in producing independent research-based projects
Perspective: Student seeks to understand and fairly present the ideas of others, even when they disagree with the point(s) being made.


STUDENT SKILLS AND DEVELOPMENT
Students will be able to independently utilize academic databases, online primary source databases
Students will be able to analyze primary sources.
Students will be able to connect historical events to the contemporary.
Students will be able to critically analyze examples of artistic expression.


PROCEDURES 
Hook- I will begin class by showing clips from Live at the Apollo. We will watch a clip of Lauryn Hill getting boo'd, a clip of "And I Am Telling You," and a clip that features the 'Sandman." We will then have a short discussion about the Sandman and minstrelsy? (Some guiding questions: Is the Sandman an example of minstrelsy? Is the Sandman reflective of a 'reverse' cultural appropriation? What are your thoughts about the Sandman)- 10-15 minutes total

I will introduce the Benchmark Assignment: go through each of the options and solicit necessary feedback/ answer questions (10-15 minutes)

Remaining 40 Minutes
At the start of class, the room will be organized in its normal set up.

I will then sign on to Moodle and show students the comprehensive document; I will take the students through the Walt Whitman and Langston Hughes document. 

I normally allow students to listen to music/ video or audio files of the document with their headphones. 

Students will spend the class period working on completing one source analysis sheet. They will pick one form of artistic expression from the document and analyze it (40 Minutes). 



Day 2
Resisting Jim Crow through Art, Music, and Intellectual Creativity
Living in the Harlem Renaissance
Kevin Beckford African American History 1 hour 5 min


Enduring Understandings
The Harlem Renaissance (as a time period noted by Historians) was a time of relatively great progress; racial, heteronormative, and gender norms were muddled and questioned during this time.

Enduring Questions
What is the relationship between artistic expression and institutional racism?
How can art explain societal ailments?
How can art rectify societal ailments? 
GOALS/OBJECTIVES
Students will be able to analyze primary sources.
Students will be able to critically analyze examples of artistic expression through dialogue and writing.

Standards
Subject Area: Historical Analysis and Skill Development

8.1.9.B.
Compare the interpretation of historical events and sources, considering the use of fact versus opinion, multiple perspectives, and cause and effect relationships

9.4.8. D
Describe to what purpose philosophical ideas generated by artists can be conveyed through works in the arts and humanities. 

Science Leadership Academy
9th Grade African American History Standards
Sources: Student can analyze a variety of source documents including visual representations of information.
Perspective: Student seeks to understand and fairly present the ideas of others, even when they disagree with the point(s) being made.
Discussion:  Student consistently presents his/her own idea(s) in a constructive and useful manner.


MATERIALS
Laptops, Paper, Pen/Pencil, Headphones, Flash Drive, Moodle (online database), Speakers, Projector, DVDs, converted video clips; Twitter

PROCEDURES 
As students enter the classroom, I will play John Coltraine’s “Naima.” (Engagement) I will also bring in food for the class to enjoy. I would really like to set the mood in this class; I will play around with the environment by moving the desks in quads at the sides of the rooms. I will also dim the lights (have one of the lights in the room turned on). 


BODY OF THE LESSON/ PROJECT
Part I (30 Minutes total)- Part 1 (Gallery Walk)
The class will convene in the center of the room. Music clips, art clips, film clips will be portrayed on the screen. Students will be asked to watch the material and also, discuss their source analysis sheets with each other. Students will be able to move around the classroom, talk to each other, eat food. 

Harlem Renaissance (Video Biography of the Harlem Renaissance) 

Duke Ellington
“Black Beauty” 

“I’m Just Wild About Harry” from the play Shuffle Along

Broadway and the Cotton Scene (feat. Paul Robeson)

Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit.”. - 1939/ not quite during the Harlem Renaissance, but relevant. 

Mahalia Jackson “Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho” 

Paul Robeson “Ol’ Man River”

National Negro Anthem (Howard University Gospel Choir); Use the song to give context about John Weldon Johnson. 

While the video material plays, students will walk around the room and read/analyze the following poems/ writings: 

Langston Hughes, “I Too, Am America” (Poem)

Claude McKay’s “If We Must Die.” (Poem)

(While watching the clips, students will be able to use their Twitter accounts to give a live update about their  thoughts on the clips. I will go back and assess the tweets after the class; the SAT will monitor Twitter updates as this discussion occurs. This will give students, who do not normally participate vocally, the opportunity to participate and engage with their peers).

Discussion (Possible questions: what is the message in the piece? Why might it have been employed during the time in which it was created What is the legacy of each piece? Are these pieces relevant today?) Extension

Part 2-  Journal Entry (10 Minutes)
Which art piece do you like the most and why?

CLOSURE
I will play four minutes of a video from Being and Becoming: Black Womanhood in the 21st Century. Kelly Simone, daughter of Nina Simone. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W5FaKdE4Ow

ACCOMMODATIONS
I will post links to the videos on Moodle just in case students are absent. 
I will post the article to Moodle for additional review.

Supplemental Reading (will already be posted on Moodle, but will be referred to during this class):
Toward an Aesthetic of Black Musical Expression Author(s): Jane Duran and Earl Stewart. Journal of Aesthetic Education, Vol. 31, No. 1 (Spring, 1997), pp. 73-85 http://www.jstor.org/stable/3333473 .

ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION
Journal entries will be assessed (students will be told that journals are due for the next class)
Discussion will be accessed
TABA charts will be checked by the SAT


Sunday, March 3, 2013

Thoughts on Employment, Career Fair, and Charter Schools

The University of Pennsylvania's Career Services office hosted an education and social services career fair this past Wednesday. I found the event to be informative. I also found the event to be psychologically confusing and unnerving. With 2-3 exceptions, all of the school representatives that attended hailed from charter schools. And while I made my rounds and asked questions/ pitched my credentials, I struggled with just being there because the event was an indicative of the state of public schools in Philly. It's all about charter schools these days and to be frank, I did not sign up for this.

I decided to pursue a career in education because I think that it is a critical means to fight against modern day oppressions and bring about advancement for many communities. My desire to teach is not so much to instruct and assess via skills tests (although, I do love curriculum development and implementation a lot). I want to teach because I had some inspiring PUBLIC SCHOOL teachers who provided me mentorship, support, and encouragement when very few outside of my family, did. My hope in becoming a public school teacher of the humanities/social studies is to do what other teachers did for me. I want to encourage students to think outside of the box and to do something with content. My hope in being a social studies teacher was to bring cool material and questions to the classroom and let the students apply learning in a meaningful, relevant way. 1. I'm not sure I could do that in a charter school. 2. Even if I could be the educator that I want to be in a charter school setting, I'm not even sure that I want to join a (what I think is a flawed) operation.

The thought of working for a charter school elicits the most vile, visceral response within my spirit. Joining the enemy- working within the flawed system- seems counterproductive and antithetical to everything that I believe. When I visited all of the charter school representatives at the Career Fair and signed my name on their email/contact list, it felt like a piece of me had sold out to enemy. While it was interesting to listen to some of the really cool things that some of the schools were doing with regards to inquiry-driven learning or social justice, I couldn't absorb all of the great things that the representatives were saying because I am well aware that charter schools are not producing better results that public schools. The job fair was cool because I had the opportunity to talk to a lot of people and recognize that there some great teachers in charter schools that are doing dynamic things. With that said, they faced a ton of challenges or were blessed to secure jobs at very very unique schools. Additionally, one representative told me that s/he struggled with the decision to join the school that s/he is currently attached to and still has a political beef with what s/he is currently working.

Philadelphia schools are all transforming into charter schools, so I know that in order to ensure some type of job security in the city of Philadelphia, I'll have to 'turn to the bad side.' Knowing this is forcing me to make some careful considerations and ask some critical questions. As someone who has familial responsibilities, financial responsibilities, and a personal commitment to stay in this immediate area for at least the next 4-5 years, I'm thinking that I might have to sacrifice my convictions if 440 (the Phil. public school district) isn't hiring. At the same time, I'm also thinking whether or not I should pursue another (but associated) route in regards to career, even if it is just in the short term. I can't help but reflect on the time when I applied for consulting gigs; if I was going to compromise my convictions, I might as well did so and got paid well to do it. I wish there was someway where I could remain committed to my beliefs and get a check. All of this just to serve my community as an educator... it's such a shame, especially when so many other career opportunities are accessible.

Not losing hope, BUT raising a critical side eye at prospective employment,
Kevin