Hacking the English Language Arts: What It Means to Be a Vulnerable Learner
https://www.ted.com/talks/taylor_mali_what_teachers_make?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare
Taylor Mali's poem, "What Teachers Make," is a true testament to this idea or goal that all educators are striving to make a difference. It's not enough to just love kids and think they're cute, and because of all the cuteness want to spend all our time with them, but really do we want to spend all our time with them??? Nah! I'm just kidding. Truly though, we have to be mindful of our positions as educators because we are shaping minds and it can go bad but it can also be really good. Garcia and Allen, the authors of "Pose, Wobble, Flow: A Culturally Proactive Approach to Literacy Instruction," have given insight to me in a way that we should think of ourselves as makers. We are constant DIT-ers (Do It Together-ers). Education is and should be circulated by collaboration, we can't do it alone or least without uncreativity. "We refer to 'uncreative teaching' as the process of constructing, making, repurposing, and tinkering with instructional materials, often with the collaborative support of colleagues near and far." (Garcia & Allen, pg. 46). We must continue to look to one another to collaborate and share resources to deepen this idea of vulnerable teaching and learning.
With vulnerable teaching we have to admit to ourselves that our students are smart! Yeah, like smart smart, like us! What a crazy concept, isn't it? Being vulnerable allows us to humble ourselves in the sense that educators shouldn't be the only ones educating. As a matter of fact the texts says, "By hacking the traditional banking approach to education, teachers disrupt the commonplace view that they are the sole experts in the classroom" (Grace &Allen, pg. 34). Democratic education is what we should be teaching and we should be modeling vulnerability, uncertainty, and change. All three are keys to connected learning. Educators don't know everything and it's extremely important for our students to have a sense of individualism in our classrooms but to also be able to pursue their own interests and passions with the support of US! However, my question is how far do we go to support our students? Last semester myself and some of my other peers said that we have to leave our beliefs outside the classroom but how do we do this especially when we have to support something we may not necessarily agree with, with our students?
When I was in middle school and was called a"beaner" for the first time that I could recall, I didn't realize the offense that came with it until I got home and told my mom. My mom and I went in to go talk to the principal about it and the principal straight up asked, "what's wrong with being called a bean?" This moment certainly struck a chord with my mom and was quick to explain to my principal the way she sat me down to explain why this term was offensive. The term itself is anti-Mexican, it references us as dirty, poor, illegals who eat beans all the time. I never said anything to the people who called me this and a lot of it was the thought that my sister and I were the only Mexicans in that school, why is what I'm going to say matter? Not having my principal understand why it was offensive led me to believe that standing up for racists slurs like that wasn't going to do me any good so why bother. How could I if I didn't have the support and backup from the principal?
This particular moment in my educational career has stemmed for me a desire to challenge myself but also my students to critique what media the is portraying. Considering how much media revolves around this society or circulates within, it can be so crucial to use the media in our classrooms to have discussions like I had with my mom and principal. To make our classrooms "vulnerable" we have to get rid of this misconception that classrooms should be a "safe space" meaning that it should avoid conflict so our students don't feel uncomfortable.
Uncomfortable conversations, interests, passions, the truths behind the myths we have been taught, and so much more lead to possibility of not only vulnerable teaching but also vulnerable learning. Because we are educators one of the biggest jobs we have to continuously learn and part of that is challenging our educational system and hacking it in ways I know I would have never thought of. The texts speaks of a statement from the Common Core State Standards and it says,"Such assessments are best made by teachers employing their professional judgment, experience, and knowledge of their students and the subject." We are our best shot for our students in this current moment to challenge the way this world has seen education to be. Hacking means to understand our own situations and how we fight to improve it. So in our classrooms how are we pursuing the needs of our students to give them the education they deserve?
Taylor Mali's poem, "What Teachers Make," is a true testament to this idea or goal that all educators are striving to make a difference. It's not enough to just love kids and think they're cute, and because of all the cuteness want to spend all our time with them, but really do we want to spend all our time with them??? Nah! I'm just kidding. Truly though, we have to be mindful of our positions as educators because we are shaping minds and it can go bad but it can also be really good. Garcia and Allen, the authors of "Pose, Wobble, Flow: A Culturally Proactive Approach to Literacy Instruction," have given insight to me in a way that we should think of ourselves as makers. We are constant DIT-ers (Do It Together-ers). Education is and should be circulated by collaboration, we can't do it alone or least without uncreativity. "We refer to 'uncreative teaching' as the process of constructing, making, repurposing, and tinkering with instructional materials, often with the collaborative support of colleagues near and far." (Garcia & Allen, pg. 46). We must continue to look to one another to collaborate and share resources to deepen this idea of vulnerable teaching and learning.
With vulnerable teaching we have to admit to ourselves that our students are smart! Yeah, like smart smart, like us! What a crazy concept, isn't it? Being vulnerable allows us to humble ourselves in the sense that educators shouldn't be the only ones educating. As a matter of fact the texts says, "By hacking the traditional banking approach to education, teachers disrupt the commonplace view that they are the sole experts in the classroom" (Grace &Allen, pg. 34). Democratic education is what we should be teaching and we should be modeling vulnerability, uncertainty, and change. All three are keys to connected learning. Educators don't know everything and it's extremely important for our students to have a sense of individualism in our classrooms but to also be able to pursue their own interests and passions with the support of US! However, my question is how far do we go to support our students? Last semester myself and some of my other peers said that we have to leave our beliefs outside the classroom but how do we do this especially when we have to support something we may not necessarily agree with, with our students?
When I was in middle school and was called a"beaner" for the first time that I could recall, I didn't realize the offense that came with it until I got home and told my mom. My mom and I went in to go talk to the principal about it and the principal straight up asked, "what's wrong with being called a bean?" This moment certainly struck a chord with my mom and was quick to explain to my principal the way she sat me down to explain why this term was offensive. The term itself is anti-Mexican, it references us as dirty, poor, illegals who eat beans all the time. I never said anything to the people who called me this and a lot of it was the thought that my sister and I were the only Mexicans in that school, why is what I'm going to say matter? Not having my principal understand why it was offensive led me to believe that standing up for racists slurs like that wasn't going to do me any good so why bother. How could I if I didn't have the support and backup from the principal?
This particular moment in my educational career has stemmed for me a desire to challenge myself but also my students to critique what media the is portraying. Considering how much media revolves around this society or circulates within, it can be so crucial to use the media in our classrooms to have discussions like I had with my mom and principal. To make our classrooms "vulnerable" we have to get rid of this misconception that classrooms should be a "safe space" meaning that it should avoid conflict so our students don't feel uncomfortable.
Uncomfortable conversations, interests, passions, the truths behind the myths we have been taught, and so much more lead to possibility of not only vulnerable teaching but also vulnerable learning. Because we are educators one of the biggest jobs we have to continuously learn and part of that is challenging our educational system and hacking it in ways I know I would have never thought of. The texts speaks of a statement from the Common Core State Standards and it says,"Such assessments are best made by teachers employing their professional judgment, experience, and knowledge of their students and the subject." We are our best shot for our students in this current moment to challenge the way this world has seen education to be. Hacking means to understand our own situations and how we fight to improve it. So in our classrooms how are we pursuing the needs of our students to give them the education they deserve?
This is a great post you have here! Thank you for sharing your personal story. I wanted to touch on the paragraph that states, "With vulnerable teaching we have to admit to ourselves that our students are smart."
ReplyDeleteAs a educator, I never understand this notion of "teachers know everything and students know nothing" or "students are blank canvases!" These are both so wrong. Everyone of our students are smart and bring different smarts and talents to the classroom. Being up front with your students and saying" I don't know everything and you are going to be teaching me along the way" is a great thing to do.
Yesterday, I subbed for 3rd grade and during the day I said, "Honestly, I don't know and understand what we are doing right now, so we are going to move to something else and come back to this later." They could tell I was confused, so instead of me pretending everything was fine, I told them what was going on and we moved on.
Hannah-
DeleteI love that you were upfront with the students. I think that by telling them about your confusion, you served them better than by making up an answer, thinking you were right, and the students being confused later. Maybe in the future, you could ask the students if they would like to demonstrate for you what you are supposed to be doing. This allows them to feel as if they are in the role of teacher and allows the students to collaborate and construct their own knowledge.
The idea of kids being less than intelligent or blank slates really is problematic. My focus student in Kindergarten last semester did not know his letters. He did however speak two languages and was able to read the environmental print cards. This alone shows that he has knowledge. Like you said, all of the students are smart and bring different life skills and knowledge into the classroom.
Hannah I agree with Melissa, I like how upfront you were with your children. This eliminates the idea that teachers know everything and students know nothing(banking method of teaching). Your children were able to see Ms. Manson in a vulnerable stage. Maybe you could of sectioned them in groups and presented them the topic at hand to allow them time to collaborate. Then you could bring everyone together and discuss as a whole group everyone's findings. This allows all of them to generate their ideas and collaborate with the peers. This also, like Melissa stated, allows them to feel like they're the teacher! They're orchestrating their learning! I think it is very cool you're able to relate real life situations like these to the readings. Good Job Ms. Manson!
DeleteHannah,
DeleteI absolutely love and appreciate your input in your experience substitute teaching. I find it very valuable that you can use those experiences to reflect and allow yourself for even more time in the classroom before you have your own classroom. I also feel that, although sometimes it may be difficult to do so, it is important to admit to our students that we do not know everything and we are not "infinite information holders". As "Pose, Wobble, Flow" chapter 2 emphasized, our students must recognize that we are people too. We do not know everything. We are community members who bring our own culture and perspectives into the classroom and prepared classroom activities. Therefore, if we want our students to recognize themselves as members of their community, we must choose that role in the classroom as well. Thank you for your account on your experience. I would love to hear more about some of your other substituting experiences and how our courses are influencing your stance in classrooms.
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DeleteHannah,
DeleteI've been in multiple situations where I've come upon this type of problem. I would feel that I was a failure because I couldn't help the student. I was even helping my 9th grade brother with his math and was struggling with. I wanted to help him and after we kept getting the questions wrong. I had to tell him that this wasn't helping because no matter what I did we kept getting it wrong. But, after reading this chapter and reading your post I learned that it's okay not to be perfect. No teacher is going to be. I was putting myself down because I couldn't help my brother with his homework. It wasn't until I read this chapter that I could reassure myself that it was okay. As teachers we aren't supposed to know everything and that's what people assume. My brother joked, "Your going to school to be a teacher shouldn't you know this stuff." And I was like "bro I am studying to become an elementary teacher and I will not have to teach how to create a linear equation lol."
Hannah thank you for your own experience and sharing that with us. I think it's great that you're getting experience in a classroom and are able to recognize the position you hold as an educator. We do not have to know everything and you showed that by telling your students that. I think that specific opportunity is a great way to have your students teach you or show you how they have been learning whatever it was they were learning. Great insight. Thank you again for sharing.
DeleteSecilia,
ReplyDeleteI love how you start out with the common saying of "I love kids..." because a lot of people really feel this way. I am going to tell you first hand, that you will never love everything about all of your students. You may not even like them (GASP!!!!). Honestly it is about being intentional to show respect for all of your students.
I really like the idea of connected learning. The quote saying, "Connected learning is realized when a young person is able to pursue a personal interest or passion with the support of friends and caring adults, and is in turn able to link this learning and interest to academic achievement, career success or civic engagement." I want to be this type of teacher. I want to teach my students by allowing them to have freedom in the topics. I believe students learn better when they are learning about something they want to know about. I also want to teach them to become agents of change in their communities and the world. Many people believe that this is the responsibility of a parent. I think that it is like the saying, "It takes a village."
I think that the term "safe space" for classrooms is too subjective. I like how you use the common definition that says we cannot cause discomfort in discussions. I however, want to create a safe space for my students where they can learn to embrace the discomfort. I want to make a safe space where they feel as if they can share their thoughts without judgement.
Both pieces I listed above, connected learning and safe spaces, are how I want to give students the education they deserve. I think by allowing them a place to explore what is happening around them, they will be better equipped to address it. I want to integrate many different things into the ideas of social justice. I want to allow the students to work on writing and language work by composing letters or flyers for change. I want to integrate multiple perspectives for each topic covered. I want to allow students to dictate the direction of our learning (kind of like the animal unit-gorilla-ASL we read about last time).
Melissa (MOM),
Deletefirst of all I want to say that I love hearing from you because I think you have so much knowledge to bring to us. You're right in that it takes a village to help raise a child. I strongly believe that teachers are just as much part of raising children as the parent is. We bring insight to them through connected learning when we learn who they are. Once we feel we have an understanding with our students and they know or feel like we do then the environment or safe space feels a little more real and teaching them seems to be a little more directed because they have voiced what they need. With this being said, and you said already it, its all about us being intentional through our teachings. Intention=respect.
I really liked your TEDtalk, "What Teachers Make." It is very encouraging to know what we can do as a future educator. I loved when he said, "Teachers make a goddamn difference, now what about you?" This to me is so empowering yet disheartening. Because we do make a difference, but it can be a negative or positive difference. We can either be a child's safe place to land or worst nightmare. Sometimes when we are the latter, we don't even realize it. I think it's important to keep ourselves in check, as well as, our colleagues. Like for our math class right now, we are talking about "A Model Vision of Effective Teaching," and one of those steps is "instruction is thoughtfully planned." I believe this makes all the difference when it comes to teaching, because it stresses to your students that you care. They may not realize what all goes into the lesson planning but, they will know you care from the lesson you have planned for them.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the quote you included, "By hacking the traditional banking approach to education, teachers disrupt the commonplace view that they are the sole experts in the classroom" (Grace &Allen, pg. 34). Because I feel a lot of traditional classrooms do make students feel like they can't be an expert on things, that only the teacher can. So, I pose the question of, how can we make our students feel like an expert?
Devanie,
DeleteI appreciate the question you have posed for us and I think many of us may have very different thoughts on this question. With that being said I think Hannah did a great job of this when she subbed for a 3rd grade class. She let her students know that she had no idea what they were doing and that they would go back to it later. I think with this opportunity she could have asked the class if they knew what this was and if anyone could have helped her get it started. This is just an example that I was thinking about when Hannah posted her own experience. I think even to community circles are huge in allowing your students to share their expertise of a specific subject. We don't have to make ourselves less smart to make our students feel like expert, we just have to ask them the right questions and give them the right opportunities to show them that they are just as smart and are experts.
Devanie,
DeleteIt is clear that Secilia's post really got you thinking about the powerful impacts teachers can have on students and how the idea that teachers should be the sole experts in the classroom can be harmful for students and their growth. I think you posed a very good question "how can we make our students feel like an expert?" As mentioned in the readings, although it may be frightening, we as teachers must step of our pedestal and empower our students to work through the vulnerability, uncertainty, and change that comes with learning. Give students the opportunity to take on the role of the teacher and encourage them to think critically, ask questions, and speak out on what they believe in. After all, to be a good educator, "you must be convinced that the fundamental effort of education is to help with the liberation of people, never their domestication" (Garcia & Allen, pg. 33.). A true educator wouldn't view themselves as the sole expert, rather, they would encourage the questioning and challenging coming from a student that feels empowered.
I really enjoyed your pictures, video, and overall layout of your blog post! I found the video to be particularly interesting. Especially when they said, “Students are not mere representatives to a cultural ethnic group.” I think this is important because it proves to teachers that they need to be more aware of where their students come from before they even walk into the classroom. I also found your personal story about having teachers who didn’t agree with Black History Month to be quite relatable. I came from very non-diverse community. Now that I’m really reflecting on my schooling, I’m not sure that we ever did acknowledge Black History Month other than in Junior High. When we did acknowledge it, it was only for a few days, a week at most. Then we would move onto talking about something else that was completely unrelated. I never received much schooling that focused on civil rights movements or anything of that nature. My high school, US History class was mainly focused on things our past presidents had done, wars, and military affairs. So, I do really agree with you when it comes to embracing history months regardless which cultural group is being recognized that month. I do pose the question of, what do we do if a student in our class doesn’t agree with acknowledging/respecting a history month for a different cultural group? Also, what do we do if there is a student in our classroom that doesn’t have a nationally/globally assigned history month?
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your questions at the end because they are real issues. I think it is important to talk to students who show any kind of restraint when learning about other cultures. Why do they feel that way? We also have to understand that when dealing with children at such a young age, they are learning a lot from their parents. As teachers we have to be able to interrupt that conversation and have a child think critically. Antero Garcia and Cindy O'Donnell-Allen in Pose, Wobble, Flow talked about being relentlessly curious. We have to stray away from playing it safe, and show our students that we should all be relentlessly curious and never stop thinking.
DeleteWow , thank you first for sharing your personal experiences. I can imagine that even now as an adult it’s difficult to get passed things that should have been different within your education but being able to reflect is so important. Having experience such as this will no doubt allow you to see the problems and help you become a wonderful teacher. Thank being said I also loved the inclusion of your TEDtalk ( those always seem to hit home!) they can also be useful in classrooms to show kids that there are many people that they can connect to that see what they go through and express it to the world. Delving deeper into your post I really liked the quote about how as teachers we are ALWAYS saying we want to teach because we love kids, and that’s very true in most cases. However , it is a good thing to put out there that not all children are going to be easy to love at all times but it’s our job as educators to delve deeper into the WHY behind that. What is going on with this child’s life that’s bringing forth this behavior? There is so much we need to take into consideration when dealing with what we are unfamiliar and I feel that informative posts like this are a wonderful jumping off point!
ReplyDeleteNathalie, I like your view on things. I can agree that not all kids are going to be easy and most of the time those are the kids that need it the most. I saw a quote the other day on social media stating, "Kids who are loved at home come to school to learn. Kids who are not loved at home, come to school to be loved." I absolutely LOVED this quote and think it goes perfectly under this blog. Kids come to school to be loved. The traditional banking method of teaching (us giving information and having kids reciprocate/teacher being all-knowing) doesn't show our students we love them. We MUST become "hackers" and challenge the traditional norms and push our students to become active in their community AND their education. Although this may be challenging for us educators, it's crucial. I can say that I've learned the most I've ever learned in the blocks here at IUPUI because they threw out the traditional forms of teaching. It was hard for me at first, just as it will for our students, but it's something that really sunk in and greatly impacted me later.
DeleteNathalie and Mayson I appreciate that we understand that loving all of our students isn't going to happen everyday. It's so extremely important for us to continue to dig deep and truly understand that cultures and traditions of our students. WE have to adapt to our students. As hackers we challenge our students to not only learn more about their cultures and traditions but to learn about others and the community they are surrounded by. Mayson I think its safe to say that there were a lot of us who had a particular hard time with being challenged the way we have been in this education program. Its funny when I have conversations with friends who are attending other universities and are part of the education programs because a lot of them have not learned anything we are learning now. I think its extremely important for us to recognize just how important collaboration is for one another especially on hard days.
DeleteThe one thing I really loved about the chapter in Pose, Wobble, Flow and your blog was its understanding of how we should be changing the student and teacher relationship. Friere talked about the banking method in his writing, which means we as the teacher are filling the student with information. In Pose, Wobble, Flow the authors talk about how we should successfully become a vulnerable classroom which should stray us away from falling into the banking method of teaching. I remember on multiple occasions, especially when it came to writing argumentative papers in english, or debates in speech class, we were told we couldn't talk about certain topics. These topics tended to be topics that were controversial. Now as a student in high school, controversial issues were where I started to actually show my own opinion. My opinion grew from controversial issues and one of the big reasons we weren't allowed to talk about it was because we weren't taught how to respect in a debate when it came to issues that we felt so strongly about. Having a vulnerable classroom should allow for talk on controversial issues. On page 38 of Pose, Wobble, Flow we see how Cindy sets a basis for discussion in her classroom by asking her students what the norms are for their classroom, what the guidelines should be, and how will they hold each other accountable for stepping out of these norms and guidelines. Once these rules are set, hopefully these students will be able to understand respectful talk about controversial topics, and allow themselves to become vulnerable. In the world today there are so many debates and arguments where neither party has any respect for the other person and it turns into a personal attack.
ReplyDeleteYES KYRSTEN! I distinctly remember being in speech class and hearing that we couldn't give speeches about topics such as abortion, race, etc and I thought what? Why? Which is why myself, and many others, assumed those were topics we weren't supposed to talk about. Topics we weren't supposed to challenge or question. These chapters in Pose, Wobble, Flow say the exact opposite and I can't agree more! If I grew up with teachers such as the ones hacking the traditional method, I would have a bigger voice. I've been socialized to think I should stay in my comfort zone when actually I should have been pushed to my learning edge. Learning edge, as defined in chapter 2 page 37, means; "taking risks to consider new perspectives and ideas." I feel as these can be challenged in ways such as writing civically, as chapter 3 discusses. Giving student's a chance to let their voice be heard, while also engaging in literacy, with something that matters to them in their own community. I think we can all take some vital information from these chapters and display them in our future classrooms. If we all start and condone classrooms as such, we can change the world.
DeleteSecilia,
DeleteI found it ironic that the topic you began to discuss in your blog post was the exact topic I discussed with a friend while at dinner last evening. My friend, who is also in blocks but at a different school, shared the same frustration as I did when listening to other members in our cohorts "whys" for teaching. A ridiculous amount of peers stated, "I just love kids! I really do!" This is frustrating because I feel that once you have reached this point in the program, I feel that you should recognize how problematic it is to want to teach primarily because you "just love kids".
Anyways, I also resonated with "Pose, Wobble, Flow" where the authors described the traditional banking method of teaching where teachers believe they are the holy grail of information and students must be quiet, sit in their seats, and listen to the life-changing information that teachers have to give to them. It is all-around upsetting that this approach is implemented in classrooms all around the United States today. As I was reading this portion of this week's readings, I began to picture myself in my future classroom. I was wondering, "What will I do if the lesson I so carefully planned, fails? Will I resort to traditional methods of teaching that I was exposed to through my educational experience up until college? Or will I remain strong and confident in my beliefs of vulnerable teaching that requires valuing students' funds of knowledge and cultural experience, as well as collaboration and careful preparation?"
This week's readings were definitely reflective for me. I look forward to our discussions over the readings this week in class.
Emma thank you for your insight on this topic of teaching just because we love kids. I think its important to have a place in our hearts for them but it should not be the sole purpose of our dreams as educators. I think its important to reference the poem "What teachers make," because its so important to realize that we make differences. I know we all have different goals but I know a lot of us want to make a difference and I appreciate the connection between making a difference and challenging the banking method through culturally sustaining pedagogy, connected learning, and many other ways of teaching.
DeleteGreat, insightful post. Thanks for sharing; that sounds like such a negative experience to have to go through. I'm surprised the principal didn't know that it is an offensive term to call someone. It's nice that your mom took the initiative to set him straight on that.
ReplyDeleteI'm personally a proponent of "safe spaces," however, I think that we might have different notions of what a safe space is, and that's okay. I want my classroom to be a safe space for people of all racial/religious identities, gender identities, sexual orientation, and ability levels. I feel like tough questions can still be posed and discussed in a safe space. I would want thoughts to be voiced in a way that is respectful of others. I think that it's important for young people with opposing views to communicate, so they learn how to productively collaborate with others.
According to Chapter 2 of "Pose, Wobble, Flow," page 35 and 36, we as teachers should foster an environment where students can develop their knowledge of "...how to engage, co-construct, and pursue questions of consequence that are illuminated by course content and that matter within and beyond their local context...are personally invested and collaboratively inclined because they value the perspectives and expertise of others for sharpening their thinking...take action armed with the knowledge they have constructed. They examine, critique, and push back against systemic constraints that inhibit a more habitable, just, and peaceful world" (Garcia, 2015). Allowing our students to spend time thinking about and refining their own viewpoints, as well as learning how to discuss topics in a productive way, will arm them in making the societal changes they want to see.
Christa,
DeleteIts very true what chapter 2 says about fostering environments that allow our students to develop their knowledge. I do believe though that there are many teachers out there that have this idea that a "safe space" is where uncomfortable conversations can't happen. A "safe space" to many teachers, especially ones that I have had, are environments where they defend what they have done by hiding it and acknowledging what needs to be talked about. A safe space to me is having conversations with my students to help deepen their knowledge of what they are passionate about, regardless of how uncomfortable the conversation may be.
"We are constant DIT-ers (Do It Together-ers). Education is and should be circulated by collaboration, we can't do it alone or least without uncreativity."
ReplyDeleteThis was one of the quotes that stuck out to me the most in your blog post. It is so important to relay and bounce back off of our teaching team with lesson plan ideas and revisions, unit planning, behavior management, and especially to just have an encouraging support system, because there will definitely be days where we're exhausted beyond compare. I also personally am learning to branch out and come to terms that it is OKAY to ask for help or feedback. It is more detrimental to remain alone than it is to ask questions, revise lesson plans, and coordinate units with your teacher team.
I also was pissed when I read about your experience with children calling you a racist term, and I can relate to Mexican slurs due to two racist students in my high school going on a spiel and telling our government class that "Mexicans need to go back across the border" and calling us "leeches" and "wetbacks". I was the only one speaking up that day in class, and I got sent outside, because "everyone is entitled to their opinion". I guess what I"m trying to say is that although we should create a class culture where all opinions can be shared in a safe environment, it is also our job to create a space where students of all ethnic backgrounds and walks of life can come together and flourish in a positive environment.
There will be times where we don't know if something is offensive, because we are going to power through tough topics and sensitive material. And if you don't know that a student was offended because they didn't speak up or say anything, what do you do once you find out that a term or phrase is offensive?
Morgan,
DeleteI think is an extremely important question because the truth is I have no idea. I think this poses as a great class discussion because what may be offensive to one person may not carry as much offense to another. I think we are quite capable of recognizing words that are used in wrong contexts and that's where we can have those one on one conversations with our students. I also think this gives our class an opportunity to have a tough conversations with each other. They can talk about why something is offensive.
For both you Secilia and Morgan, I was one of the students who never heard a racist term or word before. When I got into middle school, is when I first heard them. I had no clue it was racist until someone in my art class got mad and left. I found out he said some terms that were racist and told him he should be in a cotton field. I heard that part and knew that was racist, but I was oblivious to the other parts. I only knew about the N-word and that was it. I heard it was wrong to say on tv shows and on Black History month. But, I never knew of terms for other racist until high school. I don't know if that's is good or bad. But, I think back at that moment and seeing that I still had innocents of not knowing about them. I think not knowing them helped me go away from being hateful to any race in my life. But, I think it is important to inform students that words can hurt. I don't think we should teach racist terms until middle school, unless they have a purpose for younger people. In many elementary's school, the students see what is on the news and social media. They copy and that is bad to some degree. If it reflects negative out come, like Trump and his wall, that is bad and worse for the students who this targets. One of my friends told me a story about a boy bulling his girls and he told the dad right in his face that if his son bullies his daughters, he will bully the dad. Because, he said something I found funny, because not everyone thinks like this. He said that it is not a child's fault for saying something, it is the parents for not teaching them better. Most of the time I hear people blaming the young for not being better. But, if you see the people they are around, it doesn't give them justice to say that. That is when I think teachers should put more effort to deal with words. Because, starting off saying that young starts a habit. I want to learn how to deal with this better and the context of how to start it off and when.
Delete