WATT Interview with Students
"What is a Law"
Below, there is an audio video of the informal interview I uploaded on YouTube done with five 6th graders and I to understand their thinking of what are laws. Below that, is my reflection of the process but I recommend hearing the interview because my summary does not give these intelligent students justice to their profound remarks. Thank you.
Reflection
Initially, I didn’t see the importance of meeting with students to document their thinking about what they think about the concept of “laws”. However, afterwards, I truly saw how essential to a unit this is. It was in many ways a kind of pre-assessment to understand student thinking of a topic to guide one’s instruction. My unit is on Reconstruction, specifically looking at the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments and how they affected American lives. I decided to expand the concept to a grander scheme, by discussing laws in general so students could not only associate the term with the past, but the present as well. The interview was exceptional and the students were more knowledgeable than I could ever imagine.
The five students I met with were differentiated in that they had a variety of learning styles and were academically at different levels as well. Nonetheless, they each had a unique perspective on laws in general, and seemed exceptionally aware of laws at the present state. I initially asked the students what they knew about laws, and most of the students said that laws ensure safety and prevent chaos, separating the good from the bad. One student even took a further step by saying that laws protect the economy because if there weren’t any laws, people would steal everything, resulting in making all goods free, and basically ruining the economical state of the nation. I found this to be really interesting because it showed what a deep thinker the young lady was. Again, all students’ exact words can be listened above in the audio recording.
I was equally surprised to find out how much these sixth graders already knew about the laws in place. Some students knew exact terms such as the “right to bear arms” or the “right to remain silent” (Miranda law), while the other students knew what some laws entailed. A young lady explained the law of equality, and that no matter your race or religion, all people are equal while another young lady related this to fourth grade social studies and how there were laws that ended slavery. It was interesting to note that she was the only one who spoke of a law from the past and related it to why it was important. I was actually excited she said this because it correlated perfectly with my planned unit of the amendments that specifically ended slavery, and the steps towards African American freedom in that time. When asked where students attained this information, their sources ranged from school, family, and experience. My summary really doesn’t give these students justice, because their responses are much more intricate then I could ever transcribe.
I then asked students the role of government in making laws, and one student blew me away by describing the exact process it entails. He explained how there is a group of people, and if the majority of them say yes, then it goes to Congress, and if the majority of them says yes, then it goes to the president. He then further explained that if the president says no, the law still can be vetoed in order for it to pass, but if the president says yes right away, then the law is passed. This young man knew the entire process, and specifically told me the role government has. Others explained how anyone can write the bill, and that people have a say with laws because they can write letters to the government to have a say in laws. Not every student answered this question, which showed the importance of being able to explain to them where laws come from. In my unit, the visit to the Capitol would really prove to be beneficial to students, and answer this question for them.
Next, I asked students how laws affected lives in the past. I should have asked the students in a different manner because I was trying to see if they could talk about anything they had learned in their social studies units. However, most of them talked in more general terms such as having laws against carrying weapons has made this world a safer place. Another student spoke of laws against drunk driving, which is more of a recent law, and how the roads are a safer place. By seeing this, my unit would definitely help show the importance of amendments and how they have protected different rights in the past.
The final question asked was whether or not the students thought that all laws were fair. This was to have students get some higher level thinking and analyze what they knew about laws to form an opinion. Surprisingly enough, right after the question was asked, there was a unanimous no. It was actually really interesting, so when asked why, one student says that some laws are targeted to certain groups of people, and may be unfair to others. Students’ political stances also came in to play because one student explained that if Mitt Romney becomes president, he is going to make the lower class pay taxes and that is unfair. Another student, who was obviously a Romney supporter, argued with him right away saying no that isn’t true. I found it quite comical to see how students are already forming political parties at such a young age, and have formed strong opinions about them. Again, to my surprise, there were really profound answers. One student explained that the health care law has raised taxes on a group of people so if they do not qualify for the law, then they do not have the opportunity of having welfare, which in turn affects their health. Another student related this to the past, again in regards to African Americans, who were judged by their skin color in the past. She referred to Rosa Parks, and how she couldn’t sit in the front of the bus, and how laws attempt to create a fair and equal life for everyone, despite their skin color.
As I stated before, I was astonished by how much these students already know. Some of them actually taught me new information, which I was not expecting at all. It surprised me to see how many different influences create student thinking and knowledge, and how essential it is for teachers to know what students actually know before creating a unit. I believe that this in term becomes a form of differentiation because one’s instruction becomes molded so that the content being taught is targeted to what the students need to know. It is also a pre-assessment due to the fact it really does form the educator’s instruction depending on what the students know or do not know on the certain topic. I now see the importance of having essential questions in a unit, as it is something we recently learned in this program. Students should be able to target their learning on essential questions that relate to the world they live in. By doing this, students will be able to give meaning to their learning and make better sense of it. After doing the WATT, I definitely plan on implementing it in my teaching career so that I can know my students and their learning styles at a more profound level, making my lessons and teaching valuable.
The five students I met with were differentiated in that they had a variety of learning styles and were academically at different levels as well. Nonetheless, they each had a unique perspective on laws in general, and seemed exceptionally aware of laws at the present state. I initially asked the students what they knew about laws, and most of the students said that laws ensure safety and prevent chaos, separating the good from the bad. One student even took a further step by saying that laws protect the economy because if there weren’t any laws, people would steal everything, resulting in making all goods free, and basically ruining the economical state of the nation. I found this to be really interesting because it showed what a deep thinker the young lady was. Again, all students’ exact words can be listened above in the audio recording.
I was equally surprised to find out how much these sixth graders already knew about the laws in place. Some students knew exact terms such as the “right to bear arms” or the “right to remain silent” (Miranda law), while the other students knew what some laws entailed. A young lady explained the law of equality, and that no matter your race or religion, all people are equal while another young lady related this to fourth grade social studies and how there were laws that ended slavery. It was interesting to note that she was the only one who spoke of a law from the past and related it to why it was important. I was actually excited she said this because it correlated perfectly with my planned unit of the amendments that specifically ended slavery, and the steps towards African American freedom in that time. When asked where students attained this information, their sources ranged from school, family, and experience. My summary really doesn’t give these students justice, because their responses are much more intricate then I could ever transcribe.
I then asked students the role of government in making laws, and one student blew me away by describing the exact process it entails. He explained how there is a group of people, and if the majority of them say yes, then it goes to Congress, and if the majority of them says yes, then it goes to the president. He then further explained that if the president says no, the law still can be vetoed in order for it to pass, but if the president says yes right away, then the law is passed. This young man knew the entire process, and specifically told me the role government has. Others explained how anyone can write the bill, and that people have a say with laws because they can write letters to the government to have a say in laws. Not every student answered this question, which showed the importance of being able to explain to them where laws come from. In my unit, the visit to the Capitol would really prove to be beneficial to students, and answer this question for them.
Next, I asked students how laws affected lives in the past. I should have asked the students in a different manner because I was trying to see if they could talk about anything they had learned in their social studies units. However, most of them talked in more general terms such as having laws against carrying weapons has made this world a safer place. Another student spoke of laws against drunk driving, which is more of a recent law, and how the roads are a safer place. By seeing this, my unit would definitely help show the importance of amendments and how they have protected different rights in the past.
The final question asked was whether or not the students thought that all laws were fair. This was to have students get some higher level thinking and analyze what they knew about laws to form an opinion. Surprisingly enough, right after the question was asked, there was a unanimous no. It was actually really interesting, so when asked why, one student says that some laws are targeted to certain groups of people, and may be unfair to others. Students’ political stances also came in to play because one student explained that if Mitt Romney becomes president, he is going to make the lower class pay taxes and that is unfair. Another student, who was obviously a Romney supporter, argued with him right away saying no that isn’t true. I found it quite comical to see how students are already forming political parties at such a young age, and have formed strong opinions about them. Again, to my surprise, there were really profound answers. One student explained that the health care law has raised taxes on a group of people so if they do not qualify for the law, then they do not have the opportunity of having welfare, which in turn affects their health. Another student related this to the past, again in regards to African Americans, who were judged by their skin color in the past. She referred to Rosa Parks, and how she couldn’t sit in the front of the bus, and how laws attempt to create a fair and equal life for everyone, despite their skin color.
As I stated before, I was astonished by how much these students already know. Some of them actually taught me new information, which I was not expecting at all. It surprised me to see how many different influences create student thinking and knowledge, and how essential it is for teachers to know what students actually know before creating a unit. I believe that this in term becomes a form of differentiation because one’s instruction becomes molded so that the content being taught is targeted to what the students need to know. It is also a pre-assessment due to the fact it really does form the educator’s instruction depending on what the students know or do not know on the certain topic. I now see the importance of having essential questions in a unit, as it is something we recently learned in this program. Students should be able to target their learning on essential questions that relate to the world they live in. By doing this, students will be able to give meaning to their learning and make better sense of it. After doing the WATT, I definitely plan on implementing it in my teaching career so that I can know my students and their learning styles at a more profound level, making my lessons and teaching valuable.