I just want to take this post to say thank you to Dr. Kirkland and my classmates. Through this class I have learned so much to bring to the classroom, but also about myself as a learner. And I think that is one of the greatest things we can take away from a class. I have loved hearing what my peers have had to say about all kinds of social topics and through their comments I have become a better teacher and feel more prepared to approach different issues that I know I will come against in my career.
Thank you!
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Being the Minority
I have had an experience in college where I was the minority and I feel like this is the place to talk about that experience. It wasn't a traumatizing thing, but it was definitely something that got me thinking. My sophomore year I took an African American Literature class and I loved the literature that we read, however, I was one of the minority in a class of mostly African American students. Now I'm not saying that these students lived through slavery, however, they did have ancestors how probably did and I always felt like my opinion was less then theirs because I wasn't African American. And I know that is not fair to say, because as a white person I do not hold the opinion of what all white people feel and think, so maybe this isn't an example of being a minority, but I guess what bothered me most was that whenever I said a comment I felt the judgement and I love literature and characters as much as the next English major. Also, it probably didn't help that every time a certain girl answered a question another girl behind me said "she doesn't know what the fuck she's talking about". This kind of comment made me afraid to comment in class and it shouldn't have because isn't what we have learned in class that it is ok, even encouraged to be critical of texts? And this is an example where I would reiterate to students that it is important to be empathic towards their peers. True, these peers of mine may not have been slaves, but they have the history, whereas I may not and therefore it is vital for me to be empathic when giving my opinion/comments.
Another interesting component to the class was that my instructor was a white woman. The first day of class she stood at the front and said "yeah, I'm white, but I love literature so what does it matter?" I loved how she said that, because even though society does do it, we shouldn't look at literature by color. And I wish I would have listened harder to what she said then, because I do love literature and I love analyzing and being critical of it and I always try to do so with an empathic heart.
Another interesting component to the class was that my instructor was a white woman. The first day of class she stood at the front and said "yeah, I'm white, but I love literature so what does it matter?" I loved how she said that, because even though society does do it, we shouldn't look at literature by color. And I wish I would have listened harder to what she said then, because I do love literature and I love analyzing and being critical of it and I always try to do so with an empathic heart.
Issues
I know that we were supposed to choose a social issue to focus on for our final project and in each of my objectives I approached a social issue, however each one was different. This is because I feel as a future teacher, we are going to come against a multitude of different social issues and therefore it is important for us to address as many as we have time.
No social issue is the same, even if it is dealing with the same over-arching theme, say gender, that issue with the student is never going to be the same. I think we need to introduce our students to social issue that they may not be familiar with, because I don't want to be a cover for students, I want to be their window. I would like to think that if my students had questions about the world they could come to me and that if I can't give them the answer, I can point them to someone/something that can. One of the reasons, I believe, that schools have trouble with students is because these students have questions/concerns, but the school and the teachers are afraid to answer those questions. Why? Because of society and all of the things that we are supposed to do according to them. But have they been in an urban classroom? Probably not and therefore they don't know that some students have a lot more on their plate then getting a good grade on a paper. Students are real people who have real issues and as a mentor to them, I hope that students come to me and tell me why they couldn't finish a project instead of giving an excuse.
No social issue is the same, even if it is dealing with the same over-arching theme, say gender, that issue with the student is never going to be the same. I think we need to introduce our students to social issue that they may not be familiar with, because I don't want to be a cover for students, I want to be their window. I would like to think that if my students had questions about the world they could come to me and that if I can't give them the answer, I can point them to someone/something that can. One of the reasons, I believe, that schools have trouble with students is because these students have questions/concerns, but the school and the teachers are afraid to answer those questions. Why? Because of society and all of the things that we are supposed to do according to them. But have they been in an urban classroom? Probably not and therefore they don't know that some students have a lot more on their plate then getting a good grade on a paper. Students are real people who have real issues and as a mentor to them, I hope that students come to me and tell me why they couldn't finish a project instead of giving an excuse.
Critical Empathy
As being critical is an important aspect of an English class, so is showing empathy while we are being critical. If there was a set list of things that teachers had to try to teach their students, there would of course be grammar and sentence structure, but I would also want to include empathy. If individuals show empathy towards one another that would make our world such a better place, because if only man showed more empathy then maybe our world would be more harmonious. The first step can begin with us, as a future teacher I plan on modeling to my students critical empathy. That in our classroom it is vital to be critical but while being critical it is just as important to have empathy for their peers. There should be no judgement; in order for students to try and understand what their classmates are conveying, they have to try and imagine themselves in the same situation and that is something that I am going to encourage. That instead of judging what students have to say we show empathy and try to put ourselves in their mindset.
Critical empathy is probably one of the most important components when dealing with social issues in the classroom. Take for instance when a class is discussing religion. Students need to know that it is ok to question and thinking analytical about a persons religion, but that it is not alright to judge and put-down a persons choice of worship. I want my students to question and wonder, but I do not want them to judge and come to conclusions to quickly. This is where empathy comes into play, before a student says their comment or opinion I would ask students to put themselves in the mindset of their peer and try to see it there way. In doing this, students are taking a moment to think about their comments before they speak and how to voice their comments in the most respectful way possible.
I just feel like one of the things I will definitely take away from this class is that if you are one thing to text you must be critically empathic. In order to have great class discussion that actually go somewhere, students need to learn to be critically and they need to be empathic toward their classmates, teacher, and the author of the text that they are interpreting. I am so grateful that this type of learning was so engrained in us during this class, because if I take something into my future classroom it is definitely going to be that my students become critically empathic intellectuals.
Critical empathy is probably one of the most important components when dealing with social issues in the classroom. Take for instance when a class is discussing religion. Students need to know that it is ok to question and thinking analytical about a persons religion, but that it is not alright to judge and put-down a persons choice of worship. I want my students to question and wonder, but I do not want them to judge and come to conclusions to quickly. This is where empathy comes into play, before a student says their comment or opinion I would ask students to put themselves in the mindset of their peer and try to see it there way. In doing this, students are taking a moment to think about their comments before they speak and how to voice their comments in the most respectful way possible.
I just feel like one of the things I will definitely take away from this class is that if you are one thing to text you must be critically empathic. In order to have great class discussion that actually go somewhere, students need to learn to be critically and they need to be empathic toward their classmates, teacher, and the author of the text that they are interpreting. I am so grateful that this type of learning was so engrained in us during this class, because if I take something into my future classroom it is definitely going to be that my students become critically empathic intellectuals.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Question
Dispositions of Intellectual
What does it mean to be an intellectual learner? If I were to put it into my own terms, I would say that it means thinking critically about learning, that in order to be an intellectual learner we have to question our learning and how we learn and how our students will learn best. As a future teacher we have to take into consideration the environment that we are teaching in, that in order to have a successful pedagogy we have to think how are students will learn. This means that we can't just walk into a classroom and teach the same pedagogy to every classroom environment. That is unfair to the students and to me, because I am not challenging them or myself in their learning. One of the best gifts I think we can give our students is for them to become a disposition researcher/learner, that they have the mentality to think about texts in a way that is more than what meets the eye, that they are able to research and think critically. Honestly, that is what I think I am going to take away most from this class. BE CRITICAL. It is vital to any English class, we have the power with texts to question what is in front of us, not everything is set in stone, the world, I believe is meant to be questioned. It's up to us as teachers to let our students know that it is ok to question. In fact, we have to model our own questioning of texts to our students.
Teaching Critically
If there is one thing in this class that I know I will come away with, it is knowing that I have the confidence to be critical of multiple mediums of texts. I know that the ways that teaching has been done are not always going to speak to students in a productive day, no student is the same and therefore they are not all going to interpret and understand lessons in the same way. This is definitely going to happen in multilingual, multicultural students in the classroom. There are many issues that can be seen in texts and it is important as the teacher to address these issues that are seen in the texts.
Therefore, in order to help our students become critical of the texts we present to them, we must be critical of the lessons that we present to them in class. Take for instance, the social issue of economic class and the possible role that that could play in classrooms, especially those in urban settings. We have to be critical as teachers and think how our students will react to the situations that we present. Therefore if we are going to teach in a low socioeconomic setting do we only teach texts that they can relate to or do we introduce them to different socioeconomic situations? I believe that in order to be critical of texts teachers have to introduce to their students multiple genres of texts. Through our ENG 408 discussions I have learned that being critical of a text is one way to better understand that text that the class is studying.
Therefore, in order to help our students become critical of the texts we present to them, we must be critical of the lessons that we present to them in class. Take for instance, the social issue of economic class and the possible role that that could play in classrooms, especially those in urban settings. We have to be critical as teachers and think how our students will react to the situations that we present. Therefore if we are going to teach in a low socioeconomic setting do we only teach texts that they can relate to or do we introduce them to different socioeconomic situations? I believe that in order to be critical of texts teachers have to introduce to their students multiple genres of texts. Through our ENG 408 discussions I have learned that being critical of a text is one way to better understand that text that the class is studying.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Textual Appreciation
Another objective that is so important to our future classrooms is for our students to have appreciation for different mediums of texts in their education. Some students are given the opportunity to have been introduced to many different genres of texts while they are growing up and that is wonderful, however, there are some students who are not given the opportunity to have experience with many different types of texts. Therefore, this will be another issue that I will address in my classroom, giving students appreciation texts that they may not be familiar with or that they may not have thought could be used in the classroom atmosphere.
As it's discussed in the objectives of ENG 408, it is important for students to have access to different types of literature in the classroom, whether that be African American, Hispanic, White, etc literature. These literacies don't have to be all literature, literacy in the classroom needs to start coming to our students in multiple mediums. One example of bringing in multiple literacy would be for me to model to students that many types of literacy that they enjoy can be utilized in the classroom. For example, one way is to include rap with the poetry unit like we have discussed in our ENG classroom. That rap can be analyzed like poetry and that it can be used in the classroom to help students appreciate literacy more. However, as teachers, we have to be sure that students understand that we are not thinking of rap as "less than" poetry; it is not a bridge to comprehending Robert Frost. It needs to be realized by students that the things they find enjoyable can be used in the educational world.
Rap is not the only literacy that would be brought into the classroom, many different mediums can be utilized in the classroom. Another medium that I definitely want to bring into my education is speeches. I feel that speeches give students a different perspective to an idea, especially if they are hearing it in its original dialect. In addition, speeches are a great way for students to begin to understand different types of cultures. For students to have textual appreciation is vital to their education and speeches are one way for students to begin to appreciate what different cultures have to say/believe in.
As it's discussed in the objectives of ENG 408, it is important for students to have access to different types of literature in the classroom, whether that be African American, Hispanic, White, etc literature. These literacies don't have to be all literature, literacy in the classroom needs to start coming to our students in multiple mediums. One example of bringing in multiple literacy would be for me to model to students that many types of literacy that they enjoy can be utilized in the classroom. For example, one way is to include rap with the poetry unit like we have discussed in our ENG classroom. That rap can be analyzed like poetry and that it can be used in the classroom to help students appreciate literacy more. However, as teachers, we have to be sure that students understand that we are not thinking of rap as "less than" poetry; it is not a bridge to comprehending Robert Frost. It needs to be realized by students that the things they find enjoyable can be used in the educational world.
Rap is not the only literacy that would be brought into the classroom, many different mediums can be utilized in the classroom. Another medium that I definitely want to bring into my education is speeches. I feel that speeches give students a different perspective to an idea, especially if they are hearing it in its original dialect. In addition, speeches are a great way for students to begin to understand different types of cultures. For students to have textual appreciation is vital to their education and speeches are one way for students to begin to appreciate what different cultures have to say/believe in.
Critical Awareness
Being aware of your own critical lens is a vital part of examining learning. Through ENG 408 I have become much more critically aware of the social issues that could potentially happen in my future classroom. As a participant in this ENG class I've learned that thinking critically about important issues is an important element to a classroom's atmosphere, because without being critical about issues how would we ever figure out proper ways to approach them. Therefore, in my future classroom, I am going to begin each new semester by asking students to think critically about the subjects we approach in the classroom and to look at subjects that are new to them with an open-minded lens.
Through this class I have learned many ways to bring critical awareness into the classroom atmosphere. One of them involves asking students to be open to new ideas and to be considerate of those new ideas when they are brought to the table. However, just because I want students to be considerate doesn't mean that I don't want them to challenge themselves and their peers. This means not being afraid to voice another opinion, one that may not be the normal answer (we don't want normal, we want new and fresh).
One of my posters I would have in my class might say "Be Critical, No Judgement, Open Mind"
Through this class I have become less afraid to voice my opinion because I know that my classmates are not looking at me as attacking them, they are interpreting my thoughts with the same critical lens that I am using to interpret their opinions.
A social view that I would ask my students to be especially critically aware would be gender and social issues that repeatedly come up in texts of different mediums. One way that I would ask students to be critical would be to have students analyze different mediums of the same type of literature and see if that changes how they view that text. For example, have students listen to two different versions of a song, one by a man and one by a woman and see if that changes their interpretation. This would help them begin to see their worlds more critically because I am giving them the opportunity to be critical.
Setting Up for Conversations
One important aspect to take into consideration when having a classroom discussion is the set-up of the room. Through ENG 408 we have had most of our discussion in a circle and in my opinion that has truly helped our class to have more open, honest discussions about social, classroom, and media issues. Therefore, whenever I have classroom discussions with my future students I will create an atmosphere that allows them to talk with one another in a more personal setting. When you can see who you are talking to it makes the conversation more real, more worth talking about because you can see others reactions to the conversations. This type of discussion set-up is something that I have not had that much experience with other than in this class and because of it, I have learned so much more about how my peers interpret texts in different mediums.
We have discussed in our TE classes that the set-up of the classroom really contributes to how students learn the lesson of that day. It is important as a teacher to take into consideration how students would best learn the lesson that is being conducted, whether that is students working in groups, individually, presenting, or conducting group discussions.
Social Issues
Throughout this class we have discussed multiple social issues that can effect a classroom. The learning that has gone on in our classroom has truly helped open my eyes to the types of social issues that can occur in any type of classroom. Along with these issues truly happening in the classroom it is also important for us address these issues because discussion about social issues is an important aspect of learning.
Important social issues that I am definitely going to address in my classroom are gender equality, openness to cultures, socioeconomic issues and how they effect students.
Important social issues that I am definitely going to address in my classroom are gender equality, openness to cultures, socioeconomic issues and how they effect students.
Objectives: Putting Into Practice
Objectives definitely help me to see the whole picture, to decide what I have to do throughout the class to get the best grade I can. But through this class I have learned that objectives are a lot more than guidelines for what needs to be accomplished in the class for a great grade. Objectives help us to guide our learning and assess ourselves throughout the semester and know what we are trying to accomplish through our learning. I've posted previously that through the objectives of this class I was able to assess myself through a rubric I constructed about my learning. As a student it was beneficial for me to interpret my own learning.
As students, we always expect to be evaluated by our teachers, but through ENG 408 we were given the chance to assess ourselves and that kind of opportunity does not come around often and as future teachers it is great practice for us to think about how to best acknowledge someone's learning process.
As students, we always expect to be evaluated by our teachers, but through ENG 408 we were given the chance to assess ourselves and that kind of opportunity does not come around often and as future teachers it is great practice for us to think about how to best acknowledge someone's learning process.
Assessing Myself:
I will not lie, assessing myself gives me anxiety. I never want to be "too giving" in my grading and I don't want to sell myself short either. So where do you draw the line? Well I think that as long as we are honest with ourselves in how we think we have performed, others will see it that same way. I decided to do a rubric for my first literacy assessment and I thought that it went really well, by going through each objective it was easier to think about my learning. There are of course the multiple readings that we have gone over that have helped my learning, expanded my teaching methods, and opened my eyes to the different mediums of texts and literacy. However, it is the teaching that has happened through my peers that has really been beneficial.
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