Moses at The Met

For one of my fieldwork assignments, I accompanied my brother, Moses, to The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Despite my being an artist in my family, my brother had never been exposed to art, let alone visited a gallery or museum. However, he graciously agreed to join me for this experience. I was thrilled at the opportunity to share the art, its history, and the stories embedded in each piece through the eyes of the artists with him. Leveraging my classroom learning, I found myself teaching him about art techniques, storytelling, and history.

As we explored the exhibition, he began to open up, sharing his opinions and engaging in discussions that prompted deeper contemplation of the artworks. I realized that everyone engages with art differently, and it's crucial not to restrict someone's access to it. 

Witnessing Moses' newfound curiosity for art, and his ability to express his understanding of color, light, and shadow, was immensely gratifying. His willingness to share even controversial opinions challenged me to think more critically about the art.

That day, I experienced a role reversal—I, the teacher, became the student. 

Moses taught me the importance of fostering critical thinking and curiosity in others. He reminded me of why I aspire to teach: to encourage students to question the world around them and to provide them with a safe space to share their thoughts without fear of judgment. Ultimately, Moses taught me that everyone has something valuable to contribute to the world, and we should not limit ourselves in that pursuit.

written by Rachel Georges who is currently a non-matriculated student taking classes in our program

Reflecting on Student Teaching and Translanguaging Pedagogy by Annika Gullahorn

    Though Claremont International High School is not my permanent Student Teaching placement, the high-quality instruction that I observed from CCNY alum Brigid Warnke warrants a blog post! I had the privilege of seeing literacy skills taught through theatre in multiple languages and expertly crafted scaffolding. Though I only spent four days at this school, I learned a great deal about how to support ELL students from Brigid and other Educators and saw so many beautiful examples of the deep culture of respect and community at this school. 

    A piece of language and a strategy I found to be highly effective came at the beginning of the first class I observed. Brigid placed the Outcome or the “S.W.B.A.T.” on the smart board: "I can think about a text using a variety of strategies.” Underneath the English version, the outcome was translated into French, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Arabic. After she read the outcome in English, she had students volunteer to read it out loud in their home language. This automatically showed me, an outside observer, that there was great respect for all languages spoken in the class. Also, this ensured that everyone knew what would happen in class. The main activity was using two strategies to annotate a scene from School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play. Brigid had the students first practice the two strategies with provided sentence starters while watching a video of the scene, then they used the two strategies while reading the scene. This supported and validated multiple kinds of literacy (i.e., understanding body language or tone of voice very well) and provided a structured opportunity to practice the skill. Also, there were options for students to move ahead to the second scene, or more time was provided to keep reading in class the next day. 

    I am left with the question of how to effectively support students who struggle with literacy in their home language in a theatre setting. Most of the students I met in Brigid’s classes already had fairly strong literacy skills in their home language, so the students could successfully participate in class activities via Google Translate or Brigid explaining in French or Spanish. However, I wonder what strategies and supports would benefit students for whom that is not the case.

    A key takeaway from observing this lesson taught multiple times is that learning a skill takes time, and it is important to provide ample time in class for students to wrestle with the idea or skill. It is also essential to provide opportunities to practice in multiple modalities. I am learning that 15 different things do not need to happen in a lesson for it to be successful. Simplicity and a clear focus are also extremely valuable.