Do
you think that it is the educator’s role to overtly work to make the world a
better place? What are some things that
you could/will try to do as an educator to work toward social
improvement/justice? Be as specific as
possible. (Yes, I know we have a lot to do at the course's end, but I think
it’s worth taking a few minutes to think about it!)
I definitely believe that an educator has a role in making the world a better place. My definition of a better world is one that is populated with critically thinking and open minded people, and that's exactly my goal as an educator - to create those people. I don't think, however, that educators should be blamed (or at least solely blamed) if the world is not a better place.
ReplyDeleteHow will I work towards social justice? Primarily by teaching my subject as best as I can, hopefully inspiring (and now we go back to post #1) my students to ask Why? and How? Whether it's in the context of science or social studies or english or whatever, to me, this is the mark of a good citizen: constant attention to the mechanics of how things work.
I am also big on the idea of knowledge as a tool for empowerment. If a student learns that s/he can grasp higher level concepts of volcanism or climate processes, it is much more likely in my estimation that s/he won't be put off by complex issues of equality and privilege. I'm not saying that learning about rocks is a 1:1 relationship with understanding social justice. Only that knowing a little makes one want to know more, and it's my opinion that the more you know, the harder it is to sit idly by while injustice takes place around you.
Additionally, whenever asked, I will TACTFULLY share my point of view on whatever topic is put in front of me, making clear that it is MY p.o.v. that I came to through much thought and study.
As a teacher, my first goal is to help my students understand history. To do this, I want to use innovative, creative, entertaining, and meaningful methods. I want to connect to them as individuals, and also have them connect to history. By teaching in this personal way, I think I will be working to make the world a better place. But, I wouldn’t articulate that as my overt goal.
ReplyDeleteI want to make a difference within my own classroom, with my students. By empathizing with my students – listening to their problems, giving advice when appropriate, and providing a safe, fun classroom – I hope to be able to facilitate their personal growth. How far outside the classroom my social advocacy will extend, I am honestly not sure. I see my social justice work happening among my immediate sphere, students, their parents, and eventually my colleagues. I am not a very politically active person, so I won’t be out in the streets wearing a placard. But I will support my students, and be a campaigner for their social rights.
I do believe that as a teacher I will feel a responsibility towards making the word a better place. I see education as a most precious right, and doing everything I can to guarantee it to as many people as I can is a duty I will take seriously. I think the responsibility to improve our world, society, and environment is one that extents to many, if not all, people and teaching is a wonderful avenue to approach that goal. I believe making the world better is as much about self improvement as it is about helping others to improve, grow, and learn. I expect to learn many things and be challenged in many ways by my students and I will do my best to take advantage of that fortune.
ReplyDeleteIn regard to how I will work towards social justice, it will begin by trying always to be as socially just in my own words and actions as I desire others to be. I will lead my classroom by example, showing respect for my students at all times. I will try to help them understand that one of the ways I will be respectful of them is to expect them to do their own very best and to work hard in my classroom. I will work hard as well to give them the education they deserve. I'm sure there will be days that we both falter, and I will try hard to foster an environment that supports our abilities to overcome those hard days and move forward with excitement about learning. I am so very passionate about Earth Science and I hope to spread some of that excitement to my students. I want them to see how learning about how the world works can open doors in our minds. Children and young adults tend to be extremely curious and I will do my best to channel that curiosity into active learning and empowerment.
Outside of the classroom I will do my best to remain informed and be a critical consumer of information. I will read and I will vote. I will spend time asking questions and listening tentatively to people's answers. I will become involved in groups of people who organize for the common good. One thing that will not be my immediate concern but that I find particularly bothersome is the lack of nutritional food in most public schools. I can see myself one day advocating for better breakfast and lunch options for my students. One thing at a time though. For now I am going to pursue social justice by working my ass off to become the best teacher I can be, learning from my and others' mistakes and successes, being fair and equitable at all times, admitting when I haven't been, constantly striving to improve myself, being available to help others improve, and to recognize my own strengths and weakness and to utilize them both appropriately.
I meant to say "listening attentively", not "tentatively" in that last paragraph. Kind of a big difference there, haha.
DeleteThe world is a better place when people genuinely care about the well-being of one another. My goal, as it pertains to my classroom, will be to instill a learning community where the students have this sense of genuine caring for each other. Perhaps, if we can establish a "better world" within our own classrooms, the environment could spill out into the students' daily lives. I find it a lot more manageable to think about "changing the world" within our own classrooms.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure Ayers would say that my goal is not lofty enough to change the world. However, I think it would be a step in the right direction if the community I create within my classroom can serve as a model for a "better world"; one comprised of caring, respect, and a thirst for knowledge.
Brett contributed his idea of letting his students establish norms for the classroom instead of him just setting up rules as the teacher. I see myself stealing this technique and "prompting" students to include respect and understanding as a norm. This will help to establish a sense of community with positive values that the outside world often lacks. I liked what Ayers said in Chapter Five about the teacher needing to remain a "student", specifically a "wanderer and seeker, instead of a master and commander." I hope to come across as a wanderer and seeker, as I am at my best when learning from others.
This question reminds me of something that my mother has told me in the past about teaching: "It is not your job to go in and save the children you instruct. You will never be able to save them from everything the world has in store. Instead, you need to choose to go into the classroom every day and empower them to the point where they realize that THEY have ability to save themselves."
ReplyDeleteNow that's not a verbatim quote, but it is still the best piece of advice that I have ever been given in relation to teaching. I immediately thought about that when reading Kurt's question. No it is not my job to overtly make the entire world a better place. That is not in my job description nor is it something that is even possible. What I can and will do is try my very best to make my classroom a "better" place for all of my students. Like Ryan, my students will learn history AND like Jonathan I hope that my oasis of a better world/classroom will spill out into the lives of my students outside of the classroom. I want to empower them through my lessons, my personal curiousities, and who I am as individual to see that it is NOT my job as a teacher to create a better world. Instead, that it is everyone's job, and that teacher's do it because we want to, not because it in any way pays the bills. Maybe that will motivate them to do the same.
Danny, there's a difference between making the world a better place and saving the world. As teachers, it is not our job to save the world, or to save our students or the city of Richmond. Nor is it in any way in our job descriptions to make the world a better place. That is a personal commitment, one that everyone should make. However, as teachers, we have the potential to have a huge impact on a large number of influential youth every year. We have to recognize this responsibility and decide for ourselves what we are going to do with it. This class informed us the issues- it got us discussing the problems that exist and what to do about them. But once we get into the classroom, it is up to us what we do with this knowledge. I have no intention of intentionally bringing up race or privilege in class, but I have no doubt that at some point in what will likely be many years teaching, I may have to confront these issues with students, and that I may have to deal with issues as a white teacher at a predominantly black school. And when this does happen, the awareness I have gotten from this course will help me because knowledge and awareness really are key. I also know that as a teacher I have responsibility to not only know what is going on in my classroom or school, but to be aware of the policy decisions that are made that effect the education system. Our students have no voice, they cannot vote and they have no say in the decisions made regarding them. We have to stay informed and advocate on their behalf. I would also hope to create a safe space for my students, so they are able to learn, not only about mitosis/meiosis, but to think critically and question ideas.
ReplyDeleteSo, yes, ultimately, I do believe that part of being an educator is working to make the world a better place.
It is absolutely the educator's role to make the world a better place. As a biology teacher, I hope to help students become more scientifically literate, more confident of their critical reasoning skills, and better communicators. If I can help even some of my students become more skilled in those areas, I think the world will be a better place. Teachers have the unique ability to make the world a better place through their students. If we can help our students understand the world a little more fully, and if we can help them gain the tools and confidence to influence their environment, I think the world could be an exponentially better place.
ReplyDeleteI hope that I can help expose students to diverse fields that they may be interested in. I would love to help them discover their interest in (or hatred of) biology, and I would be honored to help them find passions in other subjects. I loved college, and am so thankful that I continue to have the opportunity to pursue higher education. I'd like to talk to students about college and what they need to do to get there. For the most part, who gets to go to college and who doesn't is so incredibly unfair. That's one aspect of social justice that I would really like to work on.
I hope to honestly and sensitively discuss issues of race/gender/class/etc. with my students as the need arises. I will work to keep reading about the issues we've been discussing in class. Eventually I would like to have some sort of policy/administrative power and work to change some aspects of the educational system that could make school, and life, more fair for everyone. I don't know yet how I'll do this, but I think it's really important for teachers, and not just politicians, to get involved with social justice issues.
I do believe that it is the educator's role to make the world a better place, but I do not believe that we are the only ones who contribute to that. Educators are a part of the puzzle and the entire world's well being can't really put on any educator's shoulder. But with that said I think that educators play an extremely important role in improving the world. When anyone has asked me what I wanted to do with my life for the past 3 years or so, I have always responded with "change the world" and I think I will contribute to that through a classroom.
ReplyDeleteAs an English teacher, I am really big on helping my students see the importance of language in their lives and how things in my classroom genuinely connects with their everyday lives. I know every student won't fall in love with the English language and want to become a young version of me, but it doesn't mean that I won't try to aspire change for the better within them. Of course that change is relative and what I think is better is not necessarily what others think as better, but in an English classroom I want to help students help themselves in a literate world, where it is impossible to go a day without encountering language and the written world.
As far as social justice goes, I hope to create a classroom environment where my students feel comfortable enough to talk about issues of privilege and the world that affects them every day. I want to help them critically think about the issues that are important to them so that they can decide to be activists in their own capacity. Often students feel like what they say doesn't really matter because they are just the consumers, if you will, within a school setting. To me, they aren't empowered enough. By helping them critically think about the issues important to them and how they can play a role in changing things for themselves, I think I would be helping the "change the world" bit some justice. I can't do it alone and if I engage my students in dialogue and thought about issues that pertain to their lives, then I would be participating in contributing to the next step within the social justice "cause."
I can agree with those who believe that better educators can provide the foundations for a better world but I also think that education shouldn’t be considered the “great solution” to all of our societal problems. There are so many things that affect a person’s morals and values that a classroom teacher cannot cover in a classroom. Fact is, as teachers we will be spending 7 out of 24 hours daily with these kids and while we may be implementing certain changes toward betterment of the student, there are other factors that can undo our progress.
ReplyDeleteI believe that we will all be great educators with the purpose of changing our communities and the education in the city of Richmond for the better but am also cognizant of how miniscule our progress may seem in comparison to the nationwide problem or even global. So yes I do expect to work toward bettering of the world and preaching those same principles to my students because we have to start somewhere. Overall, I can sleep at night knowing that I am doing something that is in line with my ethics and morals.
I also agree with Josh’s point about speaking from my p.o.v when asked about a certain topic and sharing what I believe rather than speaking from the point of an institution past or present when asked for my own opinion.
Everyone here seems to be on the same page about educators and our role in making the world a better place. It's not like we're thinking, "hey, I'm going to teach math, and I hope that all the students learn is math and no important life lessons." I realize that I'm going to be in a position to be a positive role model moreso than I have ever been in the past, and I graciously and willingly accept that position. I'm planning on showing the kids what it means to be a good person, but only by doing and simply being. People notice when other people are being genuine, and I think that in order for my students to respect me, I am going to need to show them that I am genuine and honest. I'm not planning on walking into the classroom and putting on any kind of front (except that maybe I'm more excited to be there on Monday mornings than I actually am : ) ).
ReplyDeleteAs a math teacher, I'll have the unique opportunity to teach my kids problem solving skills outright. I hope that my lessons instill a sense of thinking critically about approaching a problem, and I hope that I am able to show how the skills I am teaching are applicable every day in the real world. When I am teaching something seemingly meaningless like trig identities and working through that stuff, I hope that I'll be able to give the student a sense of how to apply rationalization to the real world. I think about most things in a very methodical, math-y manner, and I'm not going to expect my students to do that, but only to see that they are working with much more than numbers here.
I'm excited to get in there and teach for change. It's the mantra of our RTR program, and I think it's a good one. I also think we're all going to do a damn good job of it.
Marie here
ReplyDeleteAs I read the comments of the classmates, I expected nothing less than the commitment and passion I saw expressed in the responses. It is evident that all of us have embarked upon this journey for deeply personal reasons but also a universal one that allows us to think we can step in and make a difference as a teacher. Even when we know that the students face huge mountains in their lives, we are willing to do our small part to help prepare them to climb those mountains.
I agree with those that think that it is the educator’s role to overtly work to make the world a better place. I also agree that it is everyone's role to do so. We have but one life, we get but one chance. Someone said we should "live, laugh, love and leave a legacy". I will pass that message along to the students - that they must also use their lives as change agents.
I believe that being genuine and caring will allow students to recognize the care and concern I have for them. I hope that to be the example of being open and honest and fair my students and colleagues will be inspired to do so as well. I have often stood up when things were said and done that did not seem right to me and I plan to continue to confront injustice wherever I find it. I plan to use the knowledge I have gained in class and in life to teach for freedom and change. Some things that I could/will try to do as an educator to work toward social improvement/justice are to advocate on behalf of students and families and to work toward substantive changes in systems that need improvement
Sometimes I ask myself why I have embarked upon this course at this point in my life. The level of work is overly intense at times – leaving no money, no personal life, no time for fun. This weekend’s storm damage put me way behind on assignments and tonight I had a power surge that wiped out the research document I had been working on all weekend that is due Monday and I had to start over with tons of other things I need to do. For now, I do it because I know that it is a calling, a profession and a mission I have been sent on. This experience as exhausting and exasperating as it is may be an inspiration for someone else - that way I will have taught by example toward social improvement.
As teachers we will have a great chance to reach into the future to touch lives and touch the future. I have done many things in my life, but teaching has been one of the most gratifying things I have done. I often say that, "I didn't find teaching. Teaching found me - and I am the better for it." I hope the students that I encounter will be the better for it also.