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.
~Michael Foucault
In order to grow as a teacher and a person, you have to look at a person or situation from several dimensions. Also, you have to challenge personal prejudices and beliefs. You need to become proactive and seek the reason behind the prejudices and beliefs. Do they come from something you heard? Do they come from your childhood teachings? As you are searching and reflecting on teaching practices, beliefs, ethnic groups or situation, you have to focus on changing your mindset. Change is frightening. Change is uncomfortable.
Questioning who you are is frightening and uncomfortable because you are not always certain what you are going to discover.
As I read the articles, I was reminded of my journey of accepting my students for who they. I do not have trouble accepting or appreciating people of different ethnic groups. Yet, I am an education snob. I believe everyone should push their children to earn good grades, parents should attend all conferences and college should be encouraged from the day the students step into the kindergarten classroom. When I first heard the Ebonics debate in California a few years, I went on a fifteen minute rant. I was standing behind Bill Cosby, Jesse Jackson and Maya Angelou. After reading Delpit and Dowdy articles, I learned the purpose behind Ebonics. I still did not agree with the use of it in the classroom but I understood it as a way to create a comfort level for the students. In my opinion, teachers learning Ebonics is comparable to learning conversational Spanish. It was just another way to effectively communicate with your students. Ebonics is example of my mind being closed to a new idea meant to help students and teachers.
My family is composed of various ethnic groups. We learn to accept people as they are. Our philosophy is skin color is so overrated. There are good people and bad people in every race. Of course, I bring my core beliefs with me into the classroom. As I read the articles and the books for class, I began to reflect on my classroom and my interactions with my students. Are my students comfortable and secure in our class community? Have I made an effort to connect their real life with school? Do I treat differently students based on gender?
First, I thought about the gender of students. I enjoy male students more than female students. I do not enjoy the female banter or the dramatic behavior they exhibit. I admire the way Henry taught the young ladies to find their voice. She took their dramatic behavior and channeled it to a positive behavior. At the same time, she did not take away who they were. I connected this with Laurie in Hicks’ case study. Laurie was imaginative and had the ability to express herself throw writing. The girls were getting lost in the classroom because of their home environment. The role of a teacher is to find a balance between home and school. Teachers play various roles with teaching landing at the bottom more times than not. In my beginning years as a teacher the first I spent time getting to know my students on a personal level as well as on an academic level. As my roles increased I spent less and less time getting to my students. Zonnie and Daniel are perfect examples of what happens when do not take time to get to know your students. Zonnie and Daniel are creative students but the assignments places limits on their ability. I believe it is better to discover a student’s strengths and use the strengths to build the weaknesses.
Secondly, as I reflected on my classroom community, I have left students behind. I did not appreciate their talents or gifts. I went from poverty level school to a middle class school this past year. I formed a social class prejudice. I complained about how spoiled the kids were and unappreciative they were. I did not like their smart mouth attitudes. I formed bonds with a select few and kept the other students at arms length. At the poverty level school, I had spoiled students with smart mouth attitudes. I dealt with it by saying they are the product of their environment and it is my job to create a safe different environment within the classroom. I walked into my new middle class school with different expectations. I expected the students to behave as proper little adults and their parents to attend conferences without me having to call and send five different notes. In short, I expected my job to become easier. I expected to go into my class and teach while not worrying about their home environment. Wrong. They brought their discourse to school every day. I was challenged in a different way. Parents had different expectations. They were in my classroom business questioning my methods. The students questioned me. I did not have parents questioning me or students in my other school. I had to change my mindset in order to be successful. I had to see with different eyes.
I walk away from this class feeling renewed. I rediscovered that children bring their home and personal beliefs with them to class everyday. In order for students to participate in the learning community they have to find a connection or some from of acceptance. It is the job of the teacher to make sure students feel accepted. The acceptance begins with the open mind of the teacher who has the courage to change his/her mindset.
Zandra Hunt