RE_5539

“There are times in life when the question of knowing if one can think differently than one thinks, and perceive differently than one sees, is absolutely necessary if one is to go on looking and reflecting at all.” Michel Foucault

This quote best sums up my experience in this course. The time is now, more than ever. As teachers, we must think differently and perceive differently. If I do not, I have lost the fight before even entering the classroom as a teacher. I have honestly thought about my students in a different light as well as myself as an educator after completing the readings and posts in this course. I never thought about all the facets of a child’s world that influence and creates their histories, and ultimately their educational experience. I have learned a new acceptance of my students, and I question many of my teaching practices.

There were times this school where I really felt defeated.I was overwhelmed by the low academic levels of my 7th graders, my obstacles as well as theirs, and what I was still supposed to be able to teach them along with what they were to be accountable for. I came into this course thinking I am young white twenty something year old teacher, and what I do in the classroom is the best I can do in the educational system at hand. I have found this to be untrue. There is a lot I can do. From reading The Skin that we Speak, I have learned I can value each of my student’s language and at the same time show them Standard English. I can teach my students the beauty and value of code-switching, a skill I never knew about until reading this text. I can work harder to foster and promote an environment of beautiful multiculturalism in my classroom. From Reading Lives, I have learned I can strive harder to incorporate culturally relevant text and activities, and engage my students. I can think twice before I respond to a student, because I now am coming to realize how much I influence my students my language and history. I must value and involve my students’ communities. Ultimately, I must stop making excuses, stop trying to place blame, and simply, “perceive differently”. Then I can go on looking and reflecting (teaching). Perhaps then, I won't feel so defeated.

A message that was revealed in both texts, but especially Reading Lives is that of communication. One project I really want to work on with my administration is holding a parent night in my student’s Winston community where many of the students are bused from to Kernersville. If we are going to understand each others histories, we must be willing to do this. I have thought more closely about parents’ feelings of school, and their need to be a part of the educational process. I have thought about what myself and my school must seem and appear to be to my parents. Additionally, I have a renewed sense of hope and motivation for teaching my students.

There is a lot more behind each face in our classroom. There is a language, a story, and an individual. We all have prior experiences, and we form our beliefs upon those experiences. Our student’s race, gender, social class, and experiences make them each very different. But one thing remains the same, they are all children. They are the best their parents have, and they send us them everyday. As one of the texts said changing your way of thinking is no easy task, it requires somewhat of a moral shift. I recognize this and see it as my challenge. If any teacher is going to continue their career today, we must begin to think differently about ourselves, and then teach our students how to do the same.