Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Education Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 14 of 14

Full-Text Articles in Education

Kids Make Sense... And They Vote: The Importance Of Child Study In Learning To Teach Responsively, Frederick Erickson Dec 2017

Kids Make Sense... And They Vote: The Importance Of Child Study In Learning To Teach Responsively, Frederick Erickson

Occasional Paper Series

A lecture that discusses the "developmental-interaction" perspective and practice that has become the hallmark of Bank Street. Erickson builds upon the relations of mutual influence among students, teachers, and learning environments, and taking account of the relations between local practice within the small-scale "here and now" interactional ecosystems of immediate learning environments and the workings of culture, language, and society across more distal connections in social space and time.


The Developmental-Interaction Approach To Education: Retrospect And Prospect, Nancy Nager, Edna K. Shapiro Dec 2017

The Developmental-Interaction Approach To Education: Retrospect And Prospect, Nancy Nager, Edna K. Shapiro

Occasional Paper Series

This paper analyzes the past, present, and future of the developmental-interaction approach to education: human development and the interaction between thought and emotion as well as the interaction between learners and their environment. Shapiro and Nager review the history of the developmental-interaction approach, outlining its essential features and tracing Bank Street College's distinctive role in its evolution. They then reassess key assumptions, address criticisms of developmental theory and its place in education, and suggest possible new directions.


"Noise Level Zero" And Other Tales From The Bronx, John Wolfe Nov 2017

"Noise Level Zero" And Other Tales From The Bronx, John Wolfe

Occasional Paper Series

Wolfe reflects on his journey of teaching in various settings, teaching him what public education should and should not be. He compares his experiences at two public schools in the Bronx with very different approaches to public education.


Principles For Responding To Children In A Traumatic Time, Sal Vascellaro Nov 2017

Principles For Responding To Children In A Traumatic Time, Sal Vascellaro

Occasional Paper Series

A list of principles that aim to help educators in their struggle to respond to the range of traumatic experiences many children have to live with—the death of a loved one, serious illness, violence, drug addiction, homelessness. This list offers something tangible to use as they respond to the children in their care.


Re-Visioning The World Trade Center, Alexandra Weisman Nov 2017

Re-Visioning The World Trade Center, Alexandra Weisman

Occasional Paper Series

This is a story that takes place more than a year after September 11, 2001. It is about the complex, ongoing ways that this event has affected curriculum. It is also about the thoughtful and ingenuous ways that eleven- year-old students at the Bank Street School for Children came to “re-vision” the World Trade Center site through three different perspectives.


Introduction: Teaching Through A Crisis: September 11 And Beyond, Alison Mckersie Nov 2017

Introduction: Teaching Through A Crisis: September 11 And Beyond, Alison Mckersie

Occasional Paper Series

An introduction to a volume of essays that provided a vehicle through which educators could share their experiences following September 11. This includes how teachers were addressing the troubling questions that the tragedy raised: What kinds of conversations had been sparked among children, teachers, and parents? How had curriculum shifted in response to this heretofore unimaginable event?


The Need To Be Apart In An Inclusive Educational Setting, Zenaida Muslin Oct 2017

The Need To Be Apart In An Inclusive Educational Setting, Zenaida Muslin

Occasional Paper Series

This paper illustrates the need for direct acknowledgement and support of children and faculty of color in inclusive educational settings. Muslin recounts her experiences at many different schools and how each offered a new perspective on diversity. The most profound impacts she has made in her community stem from her work at Bank Street School for Children, where she and her fellow faculty recognized the importance of having separate meetings and focus groups devoted to the concerns of people of color within the institution.


Conversations With Children About Death, Molly Sexton-Reade Oct 2017

Conversations With Children About Death, Molly Sexton-Reade

Occasional Paper Series

This paper emphasizes the need for conversations around death in the classroom. Today's children are exposed to information about death through a wide variety of media. Teachers have a responsibility to provide opportunities for children to process this information in ways that are developmentally appropriate - acknowledging children's "magical thinking" as well as experiences children may have surrounding death.


Wouldn't It Be Cool If Everyone Turned Out To Be Blue? Building A Curriculum About Sexual Orientation For Nine- And Ten-Year-Olds, Stephanie Nelson Oct 2017

Wouldn't It Be Cool If Everyone Turned Out To Be Blue? Building A Curriculum About Sexual Orientation For Nine- And Ten-Year-Olds, Stephanie Nelson

Occasional Paper Series

Nelson draws upon her experiences as an elementary school teacher to discuss ways in which sexual orientation can be addressed through curriculum. Aspects of the curriculum implemented in the Bank Street School for Children included "Gay Talks", read alouds, debates, and discussions about civil rights and how they relate to the LGBTQ community.


Performing Gender In The Elementary Classroom, Gail Masuchika Boldt Oct 2017

Performing Gender In The Elementary Classroom, Gail Masuchika Boldt

Occasional Paper Series

This paper raises questions about teachers’ interventions into children’s exchanges around gender in elementary classrooms. Masuchika Boldt argues that gender is ever-present in the classroom and children are constantly making assertions about the meaning of gender and the authenticity of their own and others’ gender performances. She speaks to the question, “If a teacher does interpret this exchange as being at least in part about gender, what, if any, response is called for?”


Introduction: Talking Tough Topics In The Classroom, Jonathan G. Silin Oct 2017

Introduction: Talking Tough Topics In The Classroom, Jonathan G. Silin

Occasional Paper Series

An introduction to this Occasional Paper, in which four educators describe their approaches to tough topics in the classroom—gender, sexual identity, death, and diversity. Despite differing subject matter, the essays have much in common from which we can learn. An important commonality is the involvement of at least three kinds of learning— cognitive, emotional, and social.


Teaching My Child To Resist In Kindergarten, Christine Ferris Oct 2017

Teaching My Child To Resist In Kindergarten, Christine Ferris

Occasional Paper Series

Ferris describes how she taught her son to resist in his kindergarten classroom while drawing on her own experiences as an educator. Their experience draws attention to common teaching methods that do not promote socialization or free thinking. This also highlights the issues that can arise when the value system of a school does not align with a family's own beliefs - especially when alternative schools are not a viable option.


Changing The Shape Of The Landscape: Sexual Diversity Frameworks And The Promise Of Queer Literacy Pedagogy In The Elementary Classroom, Cammie Kim Lin May 2017

Changing The Shape Of The Landscape: Sexual Diversity Frameworks And The Promise Of Queer Literacy Pedagogy In The Elementary Classroom, Cammie Kim Lin

Occasional Paper Series

Analyzing LGBTQ-inclusive children’s literature and teaching practices in the elementary classroom, the author outlines a vision for a queer literacy pedagogy. The article begins with a description of four different sexual diversity frameworks: homophobia/heterosexism, tolerance/visibility, social justice, and queer. It includes an exploration of children’s literature and teaching practices that exemplify each framework, making explicit the connections between theory and practice. It then expands on the theories, principles, and practices composing queer literacy pedagogy. The article will be of particular interest to teacher educators and elementary classroom teachers, though the frameworks are equally applicable to all levels and settings.


Eclipsing Expectations: How A Third Grader Set His Own Goals (And Taught Us All How To Listen), Diane L. Berman, David J. Connor Feb 2017

Eclipsing Expectations: How A Third Grader Set His Own Goals (And Taught Us All How To Listen), Diane L. Berman, David J. Connor

Occasional Paper Series

A description of an illuminating journey through the eyes of a parent, Diane, who wanted a more inclusive experience for her son Benny. For Diane and Benny, this meant becoming meaningful participants not only in Benny’s own classroom community but in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings that determined his educational goals. David uses a DSE framework to analyze and highlight the importance of context, as opposed to focusing on the disability condition, in enacting inclusionary practices. The authors argue for an “adhocratic” model of education that views children, educators, and parents as allies.