my bias...

So, this is a tough assignment for sure. I’ve never thought about any biases I have before. I can see how important it is to be reflectively introspective and examine honestly what might influence my teaching. 

I consider myself to be pretty progressive and open to diversity and individualism.  And yet, Jesse said that we all have biases, and we have to dig deep to figure out what they are.  So, after some thought I feel I’m biased towards those individuals who feel they are superior to others based on ignorance.

I don’t mean ignorance as uneducated, but people who I feel are intolerant and unjust to others, especially those who bully or use violence towards others.  When I see or hear of someone being abused or bullied, it pushes my buttons and I get very upset quickly.  I will usually react by saying something to them or taking some kind of action.

This is just my nature, as I have always been an advocate for the underdog. Even as a kid in school I would call people out if I thought they were bullying someone or making fun of them based on ignorance like racial or sexual prejudices.

Right now, APS has a major campaign against bullying in schools and I have seen on television that it’s an epidemic nationwide in public schools.  It’s rampant in schools and online, and kids are committing suicide because of this cruelty.  To me it’s really scary, because I just can’t comprehend how kids can be so cruel and that there is this group mentality where bystanders just watch or walk away.

This bias within me will never go away since I truly believe in justice and fairness towards others; especially those who are smaller, weaker, or less fortunate.  As a teacher, I will always be an advocate for all students’ rights, and I will set the example in my classroom. If I hear or see anything going on that indicates bullying, then I will address it immediately. 

I will have to make sure that I don’t overreact however, and maintain a sense of calm when addressing it with the students. I will try to teach them to be more understanding rather than taking a punitive approach, unless that's the only choice for whatever reason.

changing education paradigms...

How do we deal with public education? This is a very good question in my opinion. Why is it that we are still talking about all of the challenges for teachers in public education that seem to be quite similar to the same ones from the past? Why does it seem like public education issues are spinning its wheels and not getting anywhere?

This is not to say that teaching in the public school system is a bleak and dismal experience, and yet, it has been on my mind a lot lately since we have been learning about the struggles that teachers have.

These hurdles are not limited to the classroom, but also with the administration, no child left behind, parents, testing, being politically correct, meetings and goal teams, transitions, pull-outs, and what seems like a million little things to think about as a teacher these days.

It’s quite overwhelming for a person like me who is pretty liberal-minded and attended more free thinking and creative schools. I have to try extra hard to follow the rules so to speak, and not to sway too far from what’s considered the norm.

I have also found that in my experience that it can depend upon the school you work at, and the actual culture of the school itself.  It might be the “luck of the draw” to find a school where you are a perfect fit.

However, the movie that we watched by Sir Ken Robinson has literally changed my entire perspective of how public education is, and can be. It was an awesome film about the history of public education and how it is still based on the Industrial Revolution and economics. I like the way he pointed out that students are divided into age groups, and that if you really look into it, that there are more effective ways to group students.

He also talked about how creativity is linked with intelligence, but that the creative arts are being eliminated from the public schools. I thought it was interesting also how he said that learning happens best in groups and that students learn best from each other.

As a creative person, I am going to remember these cool pointers and try my best to always work in art into my curriculum everyday. Even though we are still restricted to follow certain institutional standards, we can try to incorporate some of his great ideas into our classrooms.