Blog Post #8

 The idea of damage-centered research and its adverse effects speaks volumes to me. Constantly picking on pain can create a negative narrative. I find myself in a peculiar spot when it comes to this. In a country where when I walk around, people tend to categorize me as an African American man. It's nothing I denounce or shy away from; I embrace it with pride. But I'm a first-generation Haitian American raised in a Haitian household. I learned American history and culture through school and friends. I wish I could say I learned black history through school, but most of what I learned was my own research after hearing egregious things and saying to myself, "No way that happened," and looking into it myself.  

This being said, I also looked up the fantastic parts of history, but the field of highly dense and heavy research is a relatively new or old muscle I'm working out again. I fear that the more I dig into restorative justice in school, the more likely I'll dig into damaged-centered research. I'll keep this article in mind as I try to see the good in my research. 

Blog Post #7

 I was asked this this week: What should I bring to the table or do well at work? I could not answer the question, and I got some healthy feedback on how I should praise myself and take my wins or hits as hard as I take my misses and losses. What do I do that can't be measured? I'm still determining that. I love the idea of radical care; I just don't know how to apply it to myself yet. I know other educators, and I am more than a number on your KPI sheets; it's hard to look past. 

Blog Post #6

 Before this class, I didn't fully understand the difference between quantitative and qualitative studies or research. It wasn't super important to my work before; I have a firmer grasp now. I felt like I leaned toward quantitative analysis because of the directness of numbers. After this reading and class, I don't believe the numbers should stand alone and that there is power in perspectives, personal stories, and experiences.   

Blog Post #5

 

"Rhode Island children, youth, and families are facing a behavioral health crisis that is not being

adequately addressed by our current structure. The existing fragmented behavioral health care

system has resulted in worsening outcomes for children, youth, and families – and we saw this

intensify during the COVID-19 pandemic. This crisis demands strong action from all parties – state

government and community partners including providers and advocates – in close partnership

with families and youth."

The first part immediately stuck out because I began thinking of my students. How is this bleeding into their education, and how will this affect opportunities that they will either have access to or not in the future? How can the school help or hinder these families?

When I think of the word "data," the first thing that comes to mind is blind facts. Or a paintbrush? What picture is this data telling, and is it the whole picture? does the outcome goal matter? Can perception play a significant role? Obviously, yes, but that is what enters my mind. 

 

Blog Post #4

 How does seeing this wide range of capstone projects make you feel?

It gives me an idea of where I want to take my project. I've had my idea or plan for a while now, as I do believe it will apply to my career moving forward. Stress hasn't settled in deeply yet, but I do believe it will as I get closer to the day my project is due.

Blog post #3 Research Menu

 Upon reading Rachel's Journey to Praxis: Supporting Youth Activism, it became evident that she was employing an innovative research method, 'Crust.' This qualitative approach, centered on interviews, enabled her to gather perspectives from nine youth workers within three non-profit organizations focused on supporting young people. 

To me, her sauce felt like a constructivist mindset. She used this research to build on a guiding idea or theory: that systems and structures are malleable and that young people can challenge the conditions and policies that inform their lives. From what I understand from the reading, she believes that can be done through youth social justice activism. 

Her toppings were the interviews. The interviews were used to build upon her research and come to a conclusion. 

Blog Post #2 Postpositivism

What I understood about postpositivism is that reality is out there and real, but we are either incapable or limited to fully capture it. Because of this, I find it hard to believe and act in 100 percent absolutes. I align with postpositivism in most of the three research ideologies. I believe in and search for objective truths, with the caveat that some truths might be imperfect. The example of the swans given in the video was perfect. When you think of a swan, you think of a white majestic bird. Seeing a black swan is enough proof to interrupt how a person might live or see the world. It reminds me of the first time I saw a black squirrel. For most of my life, I believed all squirrels were brown. It was a significant identifying trait. It was what I was used to. Seeing a black squirrel didn't shatter my world, but it was an "oh moment where it was made clear that my assumption was incorrect.

If I were to take a post-positivist approach and apply it to one of my questions about the previous post, I would shift over to my questions about the MLL students in RI. I would shift my thinking to Providence schools that are struggling to assist and teach MLL students. I would shift it and comb through the different classes and find what teachers are excelling and doing, and attempt to capture what the reality is.