Rees' Music Room

 Alfie Kohn argues that a classroom should feel welcoming, collaborative, and not industrial, while also giving some things to look out for in classrooms. Kohn prioritizes showing off student work and creativity, while frowning upon reward and behavior systems. They then go on to state that the teacher should not necessarily be the center of attention, and that students should always be working together or in small groups.

  Lisa Delpit brings more experiences to the table than Alan Johnson, creating a more grounded experience while reading. She brings anecdotes from her life and from the real world to show us that there is a substantial difference in the education we receive, and to make it worse, almost nobody is doing anything about it. I say almost, because as Delpit says, white people are listening, but not hearing . I can't claim to be an exception to this, but I can strive to hear. What I will claim is that while teaching, I find that tuning into the people themselves, to their experiences, yields the best results. Each student should be treated differently, given what they need. Common core makes this difficult, as its goal is to standardize everything. This makes it very difficult to hear  what students need. Sure, I understand that this student's reading and writing levels are below average, but with common core, the goal is no longer education, it is to pass a test. These things are n...

Alan Johnson's article is an interesting delve into each of our roles in bias and discrimination. It scratches the surface of many societal issues, such as racism, classism, sexism, and just broadly, discrimination as a whole. But the whole article (as he himself mentions) is written from the point of view of a white, cishet, male, and as a whole, misses the mark. I myself am white, and male presenting, so we share that, but there are a few key differences. First of all, while he acknowledges that he is coming from a place of privilege, he lacks the inside perspective of someone who has experienced these things. I have a small bit more than him, having experienced homophobia and some classism firsthand, but I will never experience racism or sexism. I can seek to understand them, but it simply is not my place to preach about how we are "all the problem." I do believe that everyone has a part they can play, but these parts are so drastically different, and are unfairly assi...

 HBO's "The Gilded Age" Orchestra, which I was a violinist in. My youth orchestra got the highest rating at a festival we attended! Another gig I had, which I can't legally talk about... My sweet cat, Beau!