Prompt 4
I'd like to start off by saying how this class has really opened my eyes to the privilege and oppression that takes place in our society. I have really become more aware of the stereotypes and how society portrays certain people. I have really been picking up on a lot more. For example, this past week I was visiting one of my friends. Her two year old daughter was watching "Lilo and Stitch," a Disney movie. I instantly noticed that the "bad guy" in the movie was a very large, black man who was wearing sun-glasses and a gold chain. I could not help but question this.
Everybody has a personal history and nobody is free of bias. I think a lot of this bias stems from society and how we perceive things, like the Lilo and stitch thing. This two year old who has very little interactions with anybody except her parents and their immediate friends and family, can already associate the bad guy with the black guy even if she does not realize it. The best thing to do is go out and interact with people that are different from us. This will help nullify these stereotypes. As teachers, we can do this in the classroom by having our children work in groups, bringing in guest speakers, and maybe even field trips. We could start a pen-pal program with children in a different part of the country or even the world. This means I also need to question the statements made in the classroom and make sure it is a safe place for students to talk, as Megan Boler would suggest. I need to hold my students accountable for what they say and investigate where these opinions stem from. I would like to give my students the critical agency they need when they encounter the hardships of the real world.
My personal history could possibly be very different from my students. I did not have a perfect life by any means but I did have both of my parents home, I had a bed to sleep in and food on the table every night and breakfast every morning before school. This could be way more than some of the students. This means I need to be an advocate for the students and be there for them. We hear over and over again that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You cannot learn and pay attention if you are hungry. I think most schools now have some sort of breakfast program, but if not, I will personally make sure one is implemented in my future school.
One challenge I might face, especially in this particular school, is miscommunication. Many students in this school speak Spanish among many other languages. This means that their parents also speak Spanish or another unfamiliar language to me. I need to be sensitive to this in the notices I send home or even homework assignments. I could ask another colleague or maybe even a bilingual student help me put directions in both English and Spanish so that their parents can understand and help guide them, making their school experience more interactive.
A misconception that I have confronted during this experience is that inner-city schools are "scary." I was extremely nervous and anxious before we started this project. I had these preconceived notions that the students were going to be mean to me and misbehaved. I envisioned fights and arguments between the students. This could not be any further from the truth. The students are very happy and happy to have me there. They are full of life and eager to learn. They are also very polite- they always hold the door open for me! The kids wave to me in the hallway and want to give me a hug when they see me and when I have to leave. The girls in my group argue over who is going to sit next to me and then when they do sit next to me, they are practically on top of me. I am happy that I was wrong.
posted by Morriah @ 11:34 AM
2 Comments
2 Comments:
Having a young niece has opened my eyes to the kinds of things you saw in Lilo and Stitch. Isn’t it incredible? Allan Johnson would say that in order to change the social system we must not be passive; we must do something to change it. As we can see, the media is not trying to make a change; rather it is reinforcing what history has been. It seems as though teachers have to do double the work to undo what the media is teaching children, and it becomes worse when you know the form of entertainment at home is the television.
I like your ideas about teaching your students about stereotypes and to bring to their attention the truth about society. I would also suggest a unit on Community Service Helpers. You can teach the students about the people that help in a community such as firemen and policemen. Apart from the helpers it is always helpful to teach, or better yet, ask your students if they know what a bully is. Here you can explain that a bully is not a particular type of person rather a bully is a bully because of their actions towards others.
Also, remember the social studies lecture we attended at Promising Practices. I think the museum in the classroom and the constant learning of different places and cultures around the world will also help the children accept and come to love different people. They will recognize their differences such as dress, food, and language, but they will have positive judgments towards them. The activities the students can complete will help them see how fun it would be a part of that culture.
The more we can do as teachers to oppose the degradation of other races and cultures are going to help the future generations change. You also have a great idea to lessen the miscommunication that will most likely occur in such a diverse school. The school itself has signs that are in two languages so the teachers should drag that through their instruction to both the students and their parents. We want the parents to be a part of their child’s success in academics. How can a parent do that if they cannot understand what their child is supposed to accomplish.
I was also confronted with the same misconception. Before the program started I tried to prepare myself for the worst. When I walked into the school and had a little boy hold the door open for me I found that all of my preparing was unnecessary, and I chuckled to myself a little. I was walking in with the stereotypes that I am supposed to be against as a teacher. It was definitely a learning experience for me as well!
Morriah,
I can agree with you and Samm about the misconceptions we had before going into this school. I enjoyed your ideas about exploring people who are different. I wish pen pals were implementing in schools still. I remember having a pen pal in 2nd grade. It was interesting to see how different people from other cultures really are, and it was also a fun way of learning about different cultures.
How do you feel about inner-city schools compared to other schools that are not as diverse? Do you feel that one is better than another? On one of my blogs I said that I thought inner-city schools actually had an upper hand because they are exposed more to diversity. I feel that these students are going to be much more accepting than students who have only been exposed to people just like themselves their whole lives.
One of the most important things that I have learned from this tutoring experience is not to generalize people into groups. I generalized inner-city schools, their students, and the parents of their students before I had any prior knowledge about the school and its students. I can also agree that I am happy that I was wrong about this misconception.
I know that many teachers prefer not to work in an inner-city school because they are rewarded less than those who work in other schools. But I would have to disagree with this. I believe that by helping students who need it the most (the ones in the inner-city schools) is a much better reward than earning a bonus for your students to do well. (As some teachers earn in middle and upper class schools). Teachers all know that they are not doing the job for money. Some of the students in these elementary schools may lack a positive role model, and for teachers to be able to fill that position says 1 million more words than a bonus check does. :)
I am going to miss our little ones!
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