“Critique is understood as an interrogation of the terms by which life is constrained in order to open up the possibility of different modes of living; in other words, not to celebrate difference as such but to establish more inclusive conditions for sheltering and maintaining life that resist models of assimilation.”
Judith Butler
When I think of this quote, I like to take a small phrase at a time and define what it means to me. To me a critique is how you feel about something. In literature I would define interrogation as questioning yourself, your beliefs, and your thoughts. Life is held back in order to open of different kinds of living.
I feel that as children in school they are very limited to having their own say or choice. DPI strictly controls educators and this forces teachers to concentrate mainly on the subjects that the students are being tested by the state. This constrains teachers from teaching from their heart and they are over powered to teach the students to pass the test. If teachers do not teach the students to pass the test then we all know that we will be interrogated by ones self and the principal. The state tests and the interrogations from administrators discourages us from opening up cultural differences which in turn could lead to different ways of living. By teachers following the system and ignoring student’s background, culture, history, and preference gives the students the impression of not being cared about by their teacher. We all know that when we feel that we are not cared about then we will no longer do our best for that person. As a teacher we all know that if we want our students to perform their best then we need to respect them for who they are. We must show each and every child that we love them, we care for them and that we want them to do their very best in school.
“We should not celebrate differences as such but to establish more inclusive conditions.” To me this means that we should not take time out of our daily schedule to talk about and explore the cultural differences between the students. We should just let everyone be themselves and not worry about their peers. It also means that everyone should establish the same school conditions. To me this reminds me of a uniform school where everyone has to be dressed in the same color and the same kind of clothes. I am not for or against the clothing issue but it does bother me when we are talking about how the children should act and learn. I do not want every child to act the same! This would be like going to school and teaching robots all day long. This is definitely not my idea of a job I want to do for the rest of my life. If this were to be the case then every child would read the same way. To me, this would not be so bad. Students would also write the same way and would have very similar stories. I do not know about you, but I do not want to sit down and read twenty-five stories that are very similar to each other. I am all for individualism and creativity. Every child should be unique in his/her own special way. We all know that the more a child is around someone the more they begin to act like them. When our students come to school in America we do not encourage them to act like ourselves. We encourage our students to be themselves and to be unique and different from his/her peer that they are sitting beside. I believe that most children get their identity from their parents and close relatives. Sometimes children do not turn out the way his/her parents want them to or the way they had been raised. We just have to deal with it. Do you think this could be from the lack of being taught issues that are culturally diverse? As a teacher if you shelter and maintain a classroom that resists assimilation then you do not accept “the merging of cultural traits from previously distinct cultural groups”. (Internet-dictionary.com) Is this fair to children that have been raised by a family that has different cultural beliefs? I do not feel that this is fair to the students. The students will learn better if they are in a loving environment. To me a loving environment allows the students to be able to express themselves and their culture beliefs. Just like the “Lost Boys” did in the article. The “Lost Boys” were accepted by their teacher/peers and they thrived. The “Lost Boys” were eager to grow to know and learn the English language. They were able to grow intellectually, emotionally, and socially.
Over the past several weeks we have read multiple article that deal with the assimilation of various cultural groups that have came to America. As teachers we all realize that hardship of getting a child that does not speak English. However, it is our full responsibility to teach the child the NC standard course of study. We are limited on what we teach. We may tie in multiple diverse cultural groups into our social studies lessons. I have learned a great deal from this class. Next year I will definitely find/make time for social studies especially at the beginning of the year. Every child deserves to know about the history and cultures of other people living in America. There is not better way to help all of our students “fit in” with their peers. This will ensure a better school year for you and all of your students.
Misty Mistretta