Everybody has a personal history. We all walk into situations with biases and mindsets based upon the events that have occurred in our past and they way that we were brought up. Because of this, it is important to remember that everyone has had different life experiences. People have different memories which have had effects on their personality. As a teacher we need to be sensitive to these factors and understanding about each student's background.
I come from a small country town in central Massachusetts. My high school had barely 400 students. The culture diversity level was very low. Almost everybody in the school is white and christian. Therefore, for me to enter into an extremely diverse school is a lot different than what I've seen as I grew up. One of my students is a Jehovah's Witness. Therefore I had to adapt my lesson plans in a way that made the activities appropriate for her. One of my other students has had a hard home life since she was a baby. This is extremely different from the easy, loving home that I grew up in. As a teacher I need to be sympathetic toward my student's histories and cultures. In my experience this semester I found that the students respond well when I try to show them how things like music and their flute playing can be an escape for them. They can focus and put all their energy or frustration into playing their instruments. I provide them with a lot of encouragement, motivation, and care. I developed the assumption that they do not receive a lot of acceptance and encouragement from their homes. Therefore I have been trying to fill that gap and so far, it has worked very well.
Ira Shor explained "To socialize students, education tries to teach them the shape of knowledge and current society, the meaning of past events, the possibilities for the future, and their place in the world they live in. In forming the students' conception of self and world, the teachers can present knowledge in several ways, as a celebration of the existing society, as a falsely neutral avoidance of problems rooted in the system, or as a critical inquiry into power and knowledge as they relate to student experience." As a teacher I have tried to utilize this idea with my students. I try to help my students observe their past in a way that inspires them for a bright future. I try to help give them the tools for self-motivation. I don't want them to look at their past and think that they will not be able to succeed in life. I want them to be inspired to go farther then they have ever been dared to before. I want their past to define their future in a positive way.
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ReplyDeleteBoth of our backgrounds are very similar in that we both came from small town backgrounds where we received support from home. When a student receives help from home, it motivates them to work harder in the classroom. Learning can become something that they want to do, or something they enjoy doing rather than something they have to do. In order to attain this mentality, it is imperative for students to receive support from their parents.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was great that you were able to observe the various backgrounds of your students and not only recognize their differences, but you were also able to accommodate the lesson plan so that way it fit all students. Undoubtedly when we become teachers, we will encounter a classroom of students who come from all sorts of backgrounds different from our own. It is our job to embrace these differences within our classroom. The main theorist that came to mind about embracing the different backgrounds was Dennis Carlson, who believed that public schools play an important role in helping build a new democratic, multicultural community. Carlson was a strong believer that within a classroom, there are different people of different backgrounds and instead of making these various groups invisible, we should instead make them prominent within the classroom. Carlson believed that we must form democratic multicultural communities, communities that support each other and their differences.
Very soon, both of us will be behind a classroom desk, and it is our duty to create the best environment conducive to learning available.
The idea of a community is even more valuable if it is apparent that the student is not receiving any support at home, a community may be the spark that gets this student interested in education.
I came from a small suburban town in Southeastern Massachusetts, similar to yours. I feel that we had parallel experiences in our classrooms in that our students did not have much support at home. When I was growing up, my education always came first (and still does). Its importance was stressed by both of my parents, grandparents, and aunt. It seems that my tutoring students lacked this assistance outside of the classroom. This is unfortunate, because they will not have the same opportunities that we have had and will continue to have.
ReplyDeleteAs far as he various histories and cultures, we also had similar experiences. I truly do respect and appreciate the students for who they are. It is important that as future teachers we are able to recognize theses differences and adapt to changes in the classroom. Unfortunately, my particular classroom teacher had a difficult time with this concept. Hopefully she will be able to adapt as she gains more experience in an urban multi-cultural community.
Its funny that so many people came from completely opposite backgrounds from me. You were raised in a small area with a supporting family. I'm from a very urban area with a kind of crazy, dysfunctional family.
ReplyDeleteI think its great that you were able to key in to your students personal history and adapt to be able to teach them differently. It's a great skill to have for when you start teaching in your own class. It's even better that youre trying to show your students that although their past hasn't been that great, their futures are as bright as can be. Not many people let students know that.
And just because I'm a music major, I love the fact that you're explaining to them that music is an escape from whatever they are going through. Music is an amazing and helpful way to get through life. I'm glad you're stressing that to your students (:
Hi Kaitlyn,
ReplyDeleteI liked how you framed your hope that your students would not see their backgrounds as burdens. When you communicate a respect for a student's culture, you build bridges...not only between you and the student, but between the student and her future.
Nicely done,
Dr. August