I have a problem with the fact that students have more rights about their religion then teachers do. I understand that it is true, and I understand why it is that way. But I feel persecuted that I can't wear religions jewelry or clothing without fear of persecution and even loosing my job.
During our Law and Governance course last summer we discussed the details of the case you mentioned with Sikh person who lost her job because she wanted to wear her religious clothing. If she has said, oh, I just like this fashion style, it would have been ok, but because she worse it because it was prescribed by her religion, it's unacceptable. Similarly, if I wore a necklace with a star on it that is nondescript, no problem. But as soon as it resembles a pentagram or a star of David, I am in dangerous territory. I wonder if I, as a non-Jew could wear a six pointed star, because it is just fashion, but a Jew could not.
I appreciate the separation of church and state that exists in our country, and I don't think it is the right of teachers to be able to preach to their students or try and convert their students, but it seems to me that teachers should have as much right as anyone else to express their own personal religiousness, or not.
Showing posts with label diversity in education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label diversity in education. Show all posts
Friday, August 14, 2009
Diversity in Education-August 10th
Post Encounter-
I really enjoyed my encounter with the Baha'i, I found that their religion genuinely appealed to me and that they were very helpful as far as giving us information pertaining to the way in which we could interact with Baha'i students we might have and any special considerations that they might need.
The one thing that I had an issue with was all the rules. If people want to follow strict rules, great, but I've never done well with them. Fortunately it sounds as if the Baha'i aren't judgmental about their rules, they don't project them on others, but it's not a religion for me.
This activity was really really interesting because I had permission to go somewhere and explore something new without feeling like a voyer, or self-entitled to explore someone else's culture. I was afraid of feeling like I was some white person headed to Africa on safari, to see the exotic animals and culture, but it wasn't that way at all. I feel like this experience will help me to branch out and explore different culture more in the future.
I really enjoyed my encounter with the Baha'i, I found that their religion genuinely appealed to me and that they were very helpful as far as giving us information pertaining to the way in which we could interact with Baha'i students we might have and any special considerations that they might need.
The one thing that I had an issue with was all the rules. If people want to follow strict rules, great, but I've never done well with them. Fortunately it sounds as if the Baha'i aren't judgmental about their rules, they don't project them on others, but it's not a religion for me.
This activity was really really interesting because I had permission to go somewhere and explore something new without feeling like a voyer, or self-entitled to explore someone else's culture. I was afraid of feeling like I was some white person headed to Africa on safari, to see the exotic animals and culture, but it wasn't that way at all. I feel like this experience will help me to branch out and explore different culture more in the future.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Diversity in Education-August 5th
McIntosh's article about the now proverbial 'Invisible Knapsack' is a fantastic peek at the rest of the ice burg. I'd heard about this knapsack before, and reading the actual article really articulated the issues surrounding it. I would love to find a way to incorporate that article, or a cutting from it, into my lessons, for students of all races and ethnicities. I've always found that metaphors, especially ones I could visualize, helped me to understand issues, and I don't think I am alone in that. Using the metaphor of the knapsack, and as someone in class today mentioned, identifying what is in it. What are those benefits, each day. And what is the flip side of that could be a really eye opening experience for children. Another way to approach this issue, without the complex reading or specifically saying 'this is about race'. Would be to ask students to make lists of their privileges, and things that they think aren't fair. We'd have to talk about what we mean by that. And we could discuss the reasons for privilege, such as someone being the oldest child, getting good grades, having lots of money, living near certain amenities, and hopefully also broach race and ethnicity in that same conversation.
Diversity in Education-August 4th
We.
A seemingly innocuous little word, but carries with it so much power. Being social creatures, we (see what I just did there), and by we I mean humans, desire to be part of a group, this isn't universal, but most of us do. We is generally an inclusive word, but it can also make it painfully obvious that you are NOT a part of a groups as well.
I noticed this most starkly in class with our guest speaker, but I feel like she is not alone in making this slip up, I feel like I have heard this throughout my Masters program, and my education in general. But it comes through most clearly when in a class that is discussing issues of diversity and multicultural curriculum. The professor repeatedly will say 'we' when referring to white, dominant cultures. "We must do..." "We have this privilege..." "We do this, and they do that". Some times this is appropriate. We could refer to graduate students, Oregonians, Eugenians... any number of groups that might be accurate, but when the person speaking chooses not to define what they mean by we, more often then not, the understanding is that we refers to white dominant culture. And then I look around the classroom and I know that we have people in our group who do not identify as white, and who do not receive white privilege. I can only imagine that having the teacher refer to themselves and a majority of the class as we, must be alienating to those students who are not part of the group, especially in the context of a class in which we are supposed to be unpacking and examining those issues, but there is still this invisible division.
I'm not sure what the solution is, and perhaps acknowledging that it happens is the first step. For me, whenever I refer to we, especially when in a professional situations, I define what I mean by we. That way, if I am excluding someone around me (for instance saying we, referring to white people in a group with many ethnic or racially diverse people) the people around me know that I am not assuming that they are part of the group I refer to, and that I am acknowledging that their point of view or way of knowing may be different then my own.
Diversity in Education-August 3rd
We were discussing in class racial bias and Prof. Lenssen was discussing a study where black children (girls primarily I think) were asked to choose which doll they thought was prettier and better, between a white doll and a black doll, and most of the girls chose the white doll.
This brought to mind an anecdotal experience from my own childhood that I wanted to examine. Growing up I had LOVED the American Girl dolls, I had paged through their catalogs and longed for one of their dolls. After playing a gig with my fiddle band, at the age of 10, I received a pay check large enough for me to purchase one of these dolls. At this point in time there were only five. Each representing an important period of time for America. Felicity, the colonist, Kirsten the immigrant, Samantha, the Victorian, Molly, from WW2, and the most recent addition, Addy the escaped slave from the Civil War. I don't remember my reasoning, and it might have been something simple and unconnected to race, but I bought the black doll. And I LOVED that doll, my grandmother made a trunk of clothes for her (and another doll that I eventually also got, this one made to look like me) and I played with them long after it was socially acceptable for me to play with dolls. The doll did have one issue I was unprepared to deal with, her hair was textured, much like the typical African's hair, and I didn't know how to deal with it, so years of combing resulted in very thing hair and near dreadlocks.
I don't have a lot of analysis for this, I guess. I grew up in a very very white community, I had only one black person in my entire high school. No black friends or family members, no experience with black people outside of seeing them around town or interacting in the most mundane manner. I wonder if perhaps my reasoning for choosing that doll was that she was the newest, or different then all the others (I was very interested in being different at that point in my life), or the fact that she wore a dress that I liked. Perhaps the draw was her straw bonnet. But in retrospect it's a very interesting question. Why did the little white girl choose the black doll?
Friday, July 31, 2009
Diversity in Education-July 29th
Banks & Banks-Multicultural Education
Part III discusses gender inquality and bias. I always balk at my lack of experience with this. I wonder if because of my nature, I'm just blind to it, or if I've actually been luck enough to be a part of classes that fought the bias, and pointed it out. I was flabbergast to read some of the research and statistics in chapter 6, specifically some of the facts about the boys. The things about girls, I'd always heard before, girls make less money, graduate less from high school or college, perform less well in math in science. But to hear that in some areas a black male is more likely to be killed then a US soldier in Vietname totally shocked me. I was also surprised to read that there is a documentable increase in anxiey in boys that conform to the male sterotype.
For once (so often the strategies outlined in our text books are empty recommendations without any true directions for implementation) I think the strategies at the end of the book our sound. Mixing boys and girls in your seating chart and acknowledging gender sterotypes when you come across them in books is key. More difficult is censoring ourselves as teachers to remove gender bias (as much as possible) from our own language, or to acknowledge it when we do use it. It is so ingrained in us, so deep rooted that we can't see it, despite the fact that in my opinion it is one of the most widly recognized and generally accepted (as wrong) biases that exist.
Part III discusses gender inquality and bias. I always balk at my lack of experience with this. I wonder if because of my nature, I'm just blind to it, or if I've actually been luck enough to be a part of classes that fought the bias, and pointed it out. I was flabbergast to read some of the research and statistics in chapter 6, specifically some of the facts about the boys. The things about girls, I'd always heard before, girls make less money, graduate less from high school or college, perform less well in math in science. But to hear that in some areas a black male is more likely to be killed then a US soldier in Vietname totally shocked me. I was also surprised to read that there is a documentable increase in anxiey in boys that conform to the male sterotype.
For once (so often the strategies outlined in our text books are empty recommendations without any true directions for implementation) I think the strategies at the end of the book our sound. Mixing boys and girls in your seating chart and acknowledging gender sterotypes when you come across them in books is key. More difficult is censoring ourselves as teachers to remove gender bias (as much as possible) from our own language, or to acknowledge it when we do use it. It is so ingrained in us, so deep rooted that we can't see it, despite the fact that in my opinion it is one of the most widly recognized and generally accepted (as wrong) biases that exist.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Diversity in Education-July 30th
How have we (as teachers) and our schools failed boys and girls?
In my experience, the gender gap and sterotypes that we talked about have not been the case. In my high school the top of the class (all classes) were mostly girls. We had a couple of guys that were up there too, but they were the minority. The all stars in math and science, and especially language arts and social studies, were female. We had one valedictorian and 6 (I think) salutatorians and all but one of them were female.
In my student teaching experiences (in math and social studies) boys and girls have done equally well, and often my female students do better, and this is no surprise.
I do recognize however that that may not be the norm everywhere, though that type of discrimination does seem to be improving.
The place that I see that we really fail students are far as gender discrimination is concerned is with out language. In Chet Bower's sustainable curriculum class we talked extensively about the root metaphors that our society is based on, not the least of which was the analog of patriarchy.
The obvious aspects of this in our language are things like 'don't be such a girl'. Or 'be a man' and those types of things. But throught our language's superlatives and perjoratives the gender bias of man=good and powerful woman = bad and week is pervasive.
I find that this is perhaps less the case in math class then in others, but the place that I have seen it most pervasive is in Physical Education classes. The PE teacher will often build relationships with his or her students by goading and teasing them as is culturally appropriate in our highly competative world, but saying someone throws like a girl, or telling a girl she did something as well as a man subtly reinforces the gender roles, and also contributes to the fact that many girls who exemplefy male qualities are seen as manly and called lesbians or dykes.
Just as its important for teachers to carefully choose their language to avoid being racially, ethnically, religiously offensive or judgemental, we have to pay extra special attention to our language having to do with gender as it is one of the deepest rooted and most taken for granted biases or prejudices in our culture (and most cultures of the world!)
In my experience, the gender gap and sterotypes that we talked about have not been the case. In my high school the top of the class (all classes) were mostly girls. We had a couple of guys that were up there too, but they were the minority. The all stars in math and science, and especially language arts and social studies, were female. We had one valedictorian and 6 (I think) salutatorians and all but one of them were female.
In my student teaching experiences (in math and social studies) boys and girls have done equally well, and often my female students do better, and this is no surprise.
I do recognize however that that may not be the norm everywhere, though that type of discrimination does seem to be improving.
The place that I see that we really fail students are far as gender discrimination is concerned is with out language. In Chet Bower's sustainable curriculum class we talked extensively about the root metaphors that our society is based on, not the least of which was the analog of patriarchy.
The obvious aspects of this in our language are things like 'don't be such a girl'. Or 'be a man' and those types of things. But throught our language's superlatives and perjoratives the gender bias of man=good and powerful woman = bad and week is pervasive.
I find that this is perhaps less the case in math class then in others, but the place that I have seen it most pervasive is in Physical Education classes. The PE teacher will often build relationships with his or her students by goading and teasing them as is culturally appropriate in our highly competative world, but saying someone throws like a girl, or telling a girl she did something as well as a man subtly reinforces the gender roles, and also contributes to the fact that many girls who exemplefy male qualities are seen as manly and called lesbians or dykes.
Just as its important for teachers to carefully choose their language to avoid being racially, ethnically, religiously offensive or judgemental, we have to pay extra special attention to our language having to do with gender as it is one of the deepest rooted and most taken for granted biases or prejudices in our culture (and most cultures of the world!)
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Diversity in Education-July 28th
Why is class a predictor of student success?
Research indicates that students from a 'higher' SES are more likely to be successful in school then those with a lower SES. Clearly it isn't genetics, so what is it that makes SES a reliable predictor of student success?
There are a few things that in my opinion contribute to this.
a. Home Environment. It is likely that those students who come from a higher SES have parents who are educated, and able/willing to help them with their homework and projects. It is also likely that a student from a higher SES has a home environment that is more conducive to studying, for instance a quiet office space, a computer at home etc. It is also plausable that parents who are educated may value education more then parents who are not educated, and so parental expectations/encouragement may be higher. Higher SES students also likely have the money to purcase aids to their education, study guides, tutors, academic summer camps etc. all of which could potentially lead to those students excelling more in school.
b. School is about those with a higher SES. This is particularly apparent in social studies, but is true across the board. Generally, we don't teach/learn about the working class or the poor, unless it is shown as an exhibit of the other or the unfortunate. Those who are part of the uper class are usually those with the power, and so history, and school in general is about the upper class, and students who do not identify with that class may be disinclined to engage in study about a group in which they percieve themselves to be an outsider.
c. Teacher assumptions/sterotypes. It is probable that a teacher will see a student who appears to be poor, or lower class and assume that that student doesn't have the capabilities to pursue a rigourous academic schedule. Especially if the teacher is familiar with that family. Likewise, interaction with a parent, who is uneducated may lead a teacher to make assumptions about that parent's intelligence or capability, which then carries on to be applied to the student. Especially in high school, poorer or low class student may or may not have the resources to pay for college, and therefore might be encouraged to pursue a vocational training or no extra school, rather the look into scholarship and grants.
There is little that we, as teachers can do to address point a, except to be sensitive to it, and aware that it is a possibility. A student who's parent works nights might not have done their homework because they had to babysit their baby brother that night.
Points b and c are where we as teachers have the power to change things and provide equitable experiences. Adjusting curriculum so that it focuses on not only those with power n history and the other disciplines, but also the 'every man', the working class, the poor and disenfrancised. And of course we must constantly be challenging ourselves to acknowledge the assumptions that we are making and biases we have, examining them to see where they come from and what sort of evidence do we have to support those assumptions.
Research indicates that students from a 'higher' SES are more likely to be successful in school then those with a lower SES. Clearly it isn't genetics, so what is it that makes SES a reliable predictor of student success?
There are a few things that in my opinion contribute to this.
a. Home Environment. It is likely that those students who come from a higher SES have parents who are educated, and able/willing to help them with their homework and projects. It is also likely that a student from a higher SES has a home environment that is more conducive to studying, for instance a quiet office space, a computer at home etc. It is also plausable that parents who are educated may value education more then parents who are not educated, and so parental expectations/encouragement may be higher. Higher SES students also likely have the money to purcase aids to their education, study guides, tutors, academic summer camps etc. all of which could potentially lead to those students excelling more in school.
b. School is about those with a higher SES. This is particularly apparent in social studies, but is true across the board. Generally, we don't teach/learn about the working class or the poor, unless it is shown as an exhibit of the other or the unfortunate. Those who are part of the uper class are usually those with the power, and so history, and school in general is about the upper class, and students who do not identify with that class may be disinclined to engage in study about a group in which they percieve themselves to be an outsider.
c. Teacher assumptions/sterotypes. It is probable that a teacher will see a student who appears to be poor, or lower class and assume that that student doesn't have the capabilities to pursue a rigourous academic schedule. Especially if the teacher is familiar with that family. Likewise, interaction with a parent, who is uneducated may lead a teacher to make assumptions about that parent's intelligence or capability, which then carries on to be applied to the student. Especially in high school, poorer or low class student may or may not have the resources to pay for college, and therefore might be encouraged to pursue a vocational training or no extra school, rather the look into scholarship and grants.
There is little that we, as teachers can do to address point a, except to be sensitive to it, and aware that it is a possibility. A student who's parent works nights might not have done their homework because they had to babysit their baby brother that night.
Points b and c are where we as teachers have the power to change things and provide equitable experiences. Adjusting curriculum so that it focuses on not only those with power n history and the other disciplines, but also the 'every man', the working class, the poor and disenfrancised. And of course we must constantly be challenging ourselves to acknowledge the assumptions that we are making and biases we have, examining them to see where they come from and what sort of evidence do we have to support those assumptions.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Diversity in Education-July 23rd
Low Expectations
Part of my teaching philosophy that I pride myself on is my high expectations. I have had experiences in my student teaching this year with teachers that have low expectations for their students, either all of them or just a few. And it's really discouraging for the educator, as well as the students, because neither feels like a success. For my capstone we are studying what causes students to be apathetic or resistant to learning, and how we can combat that. One thing that has come up over and over is that when students are expected to fail, they do. And if you expect the child to be successful, then they are more likely to do so.
Unfortunately, the problem comes down to determining what those 'high expectations' are. Not each student has the ability/capability/opportunity to perform at the same level as every other student. Creating an individualized goal or expectation for each student seems really time consuming, but when we are lowering our expectations for some students, and not others, we are really doing that same thing. What we need to do is have high, tangible, achievable goals for each child based on their background, perceived ability and past, and then hold them to that constant improvement, and help them to devise goals for themselves that they can work towards. By creating a system of indvidualized goals, rather then relying on a graded point or average system, you can avoid the discouraging low expectations, and the lack of motivation that accompanies it.
Part of my teaching philosophy that I pride myself on is my high expectations. I have had experiences in my student teaching this year with teachers that have low expectations for their students, either all of them or just a few. And it's really discouraging for the educator, as well as the students, because neither feels like a success. For my capstone we are studying what causes students to be apathetic or resistant to learning, and how we can combat that. One thing that has come up over and over is that when students are expected to fail, they do. And if you expect the child to be successful, then they are more likely to do so.
Unfortunately, the problem comes down to determining what those 'high expectations' are. Not each student has the ability/capability/opportunity to perform at the same level as every other student. Creating an individualized goal or expectation for each student seems really time consuming, but when we are lowering our expectations for some students, and not others, we are really doing that same thing. What we need to do is have high, tangible, achievable goals for each child based on their background, perceived ability and past, and then hold them to that constant improvement, and help them to devise goals for themselves that they can work towards. By creating a system of indvidualized goals, rather then relying on a graded point or average system, you can avoid the discouraging low expectations, and the lack of motivation that accompanies it.
Diversity in Education-July 27:My assumptions and pre-concieved notions about people of the Baha'i faith :
We have a 'Cultural Encounter' project in which we have to have an encounter with a cultural group that we have little to no experience with, and attempt to learn more about said cultural group. My group is doing the Baha'i faith. There is a Baha'i faith center right across the street from campus, and when I lived on 15th several years ago I walked past it most days. It's small home, converted into a center with a fence around it and a welcome sign. It always seemed like a place I could feel comfortable walking into, but they also seemed a bit secluded. They never appealed to me personally because I imagined that they would be a religion (like many religions) that opposed drinking, pre marital sex, and other pastimes that undergrads often enjoy.
Due to the style of their signage and the few things I'd read or seen around, I assumed they were an Eastern religion, or perhaps Middle Eastern. I associated them with Sihks, another Eastern religion that I knew/know very little about.
My impression was always peaceful, mild mannered, and understated.
Due to the style of their signage and the few things I'd read or seen around, I assumed they were an Eastern religion, or perhaps Middle Eastern. I associated them with Sihks, another Eastern religion that I knew/know very little about.
My impression was always peaceful, mild mannered, and understated.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Diversity in Education-July 22nd-I am from
Our assignment/journal was to write a poem, each line beginning with 'I am from', outlining my culture.
I am from my father, Dad stayed at home and baked bread.
I am from my mother, Mom taught, now I pay attention to how things sound.
I am from the church, love, sharing, thought and injustice.
I am from a world of fantasy, faeries, goblins, princesses and dragons.
I am from a small town, big fish in a little pond.
I am from the Country Fair, community, ecology, cultural commons.
I am from the theater, showcasing skill, vying for the spotlight.
I am from the warm and playful sound of a violin.
I am from the digital world, blogging and broadcasting through the net.
I am from Oregon, green, green state.
I am from my father, Dad stayed at home and baked bread.
I am from my mother, Mom taught, now I pay attention to how things sound.
I am from the church, love, sharing, thought and injustice.
I am from a world of fantasy, faeries, goblins, princesses and dragons.
I am from a small town, big fish in a little pond.
I am from the Country Fair, community, ecology, cultural commons.
I am from the theater, showcasing skill, vying for the spotlight.
I am from the warm and playful sound of a violin.
I am from the digital world, blogging and broadcasting through the net.
I am from Oregon, green, green state.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Diversity in Education-July 21st
Today's excercise was equally facinating, and I was particularly stumped by the fact that just by chance, I ended up my 'society's' leader. I'm a strong personality and I often find myself in leadership positions whether or not I seek them out, and it was interesting for me to note that me being the leader was totally by chance, it was because I happen to be the youngest person in the group. But I am getting ahead of myeslf. The activity was that were were to take 20 minutes to create our own unique culture that didn't resemble any real culture. We were given several guidelines and probing questions and also some props to assist. Our culture was highly respectful, ritualistic, and had many rules. We were also a youth or child based culture (hence me being the leader since I was youngest). We then interacted with the other cultures that people had created and found many of the problems that occur in real life, when different cultures interact, were true in our classroom study as well. And this was with all cultures with a more or less even playing field. I look forward to the continued debrief of this activity tomorrow.
As for the required readings, I've been unable to do the Bates & Bates readings yet because for financial reasons I've declined to purchase the book at the UO book store, and instead bought it on Amazon (for a savings of $50!). So clearly it hasn't come yet, though I received a notification that it shipped today. The other readings however, I was able to do.
In the Hall, it was interesting to note that from the point of view of my sustainable curriculum class, the more ecologically intelligent and cultural commons oriented aspects of culture (as designated by the somewhat stratifying distinction of low and high) were those that were not exemplified by American culture.
The Lenssen article outlined a series of activities one could do within a classroom in order to get kids thinking about cultural differences and the difficulties that they can create. Particularly it seems to allow students from a main stream culture to identify with the disorientation, alienation etc. that students from minority cultures experience. Or along those same lines, to allow students from varied cultural backgrounds to have a culturally significant experience in common, even if it is superficial. Some of these strategies I had heard before, and others are new, but I look forward to adding them to my tool box.
In the rest of the readings, the one thing that stood out to me as somethign I'd never thought about before was the definition(s) of race and how problematic it is, and how it is used interchangebly with culture or ethnicity. Being white myself, I feel like white doesn't determine my culture, and it would be laughable if I were defined only by being white, as if I were the same as all other white people. My culture has more to do with the area I grew up in, my religion, my artistic endeavors and the people I choose to associate with. However, for people who are part of a racial, ethinic or religious minority. All of these elements are often lumped together as one thing, and generalized. That the lable of race or ethnicity was in of iteslf the problem is new to me.
As for the required readings, I've been unable to do the Bates & Bates readings yet because for financial reasons I've declined to purchase the book at the UO book store, and instead bought it on Amazon (for a savings of $50!). So clearly it hasn't come yet, though I received a notification that it shipped today. The other readings however, I was able to do.
In the Hall, it was interesting to note that from the point of view of my sustainable curriculum class, the more ecologically intelligent and cultural commons oriented aspects of culture (as designated by the somewhat stratifying distinction of low and high) were those that were not exemplified by American culture.
The Lenssen article outlined a series of activities one could do within a classroom in order to get kids thinking about cultural differences and the difficulties that they can create. Particularly it seems to allow students from a main stream culture to identify with the disorientation, alienation etc. that students from minority cultures experience. Or along those same lines, to allow students from varied cultural backgrounds to have a culturally significant experience in common, even if it is superficial. Some of these strategies I had heard before, and others are new, but I look forward to adding them to my tool box.
In the rest of the readings, the one thing that stood out to me as somethign I'd never thought about before was the definition(s) of race and how problematic it is, and how it is used interchangebly with culture or ethnicity. Being white myself, I feel like white doesn't determine my culture, and it would be laughable if I were defined only by being white, as if I were the same as all other white people. My culture has more to do with the area I grew up in, my religion, my artistic endeavors and the people I choose to associate with. However, for people who are part of a racial, ethinic or religious minority. All of these elements are often lumped together as one thing, and generalized. That the lable of race or ethnicity was in of iteslf the problem is new to me.
Diversity in Education-July 20th
I'm taking a class called Diversity in Education this summer, which requires me to make a journal entry for each day of class. Most, if not all, of my entries for the next few weeks will be reflections on the class activities and readings.
This class has definitely not matched my expectations. Having already taken several classes having to do with issues of diversity in education, I expected a ho-hum revamp of the same info I've heard several times. It's important information, but I sort of feel like I've got it. The activity in class today, however was really fascinating. So now my impression is that this class will, in fact, deal with same issues of student identity and diversity that I've seen in other classes, but will approach it in a new and fresh way, arming me with pedagogical tools that I can then use in the future.
Today's activity asked us to make snap judgments and stereotypes about our professor, and then about each other, and to in turn debrief those judgments and see how right, or wrong we were. It was interesting from a self-serving point of view in that I always enjoy hearing from people the way I come across, the type of impression I give, and I was fairly pleased with the things my partner said about me, most of them were even true. It was neat to examine our bias, and I definitely noticed that my bias and stereotyping was effected by the class I'm taking immediatly before this one, Curriculum Reform for a Sustainable Future. And while the excercise was interesting and a great tool, I didn't feel like it pointed out anything to me that I was already aware of. Either way, I feel like I will likely enjoy the class.
This class has definitely not matched my expectations. Having already taken several classes having to do with issues of diversity in education, I expected a ho-hum revamp of the same info I've heard several times. It's important information, but I sort of feel like I've got it. The activity in class today, however was really fascinating. So now my impression is that this class will, in fact, deal with same issues of student identity and diversity that I've seen in other classes, but will approach it in a new and fresh way, arming me with pedagogical tools that I can then use in the future.
Today's activity asked us to make snap judgments and stereotypes about our professor, and then about each other, and to in turn debrief those judgments and see how right, or wrong we were. It was interesting from a self-serving point of view in that I always enjoy hearing from people the way I come across, the type of impression I give, and I was fairly pleased with the things my partner said about me, most of them were even true. It was neat to examine our bias, and I definitely noticed that my bias and stereotyping was effected by the class I'm taking immediatly before this one, Curriculum Reform for a Sustainable Future. And while the excercise was interesting and a great tool, I didn't feel like it pointed out anything to me that I was already aware of. Either way, I feel like I will likely enjoy the class.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)