The first two chapters of Ayers To Teach: A Journey, in Comics were very helpful in addressing
a lot of the concerns I find I have when thinking about myself as a new teacher. When I talk to my 16 year old sister about becoming a teacher, she constantly reminds me that the students “will eat me alive if I don’t put them in their place…but, you have to be nice”. I find there is some nervousness when thinking about myself as a teacher. Will I be able to handle the kids? How will I ensure that I am not only teaching them the curriculum, but also provide valuable lessons that can be applied to their lives in a positive way? What if they ask me questions or act in a way that I’m not prepared for? After diving into the first portion of this text, I found myself much more at ease since there was evidence that I did not feel alone in my concerns. Also, by addressing the myths of teaching, this book has already helped me feel more comfortable about some of the expectations of teachers. The author demonstrated how rewarding the teaching profession can be, which allowed me to return to the reasons why I chose teaching in the first place. I’m not indicating that this book gave the impression that teaching is going to be easy, but it did help me understand how teaching actually is in the real world, what I can expect, and how to deal with real-life situations in a way that allows for control while maintaining inclusiveness and making classroom time fun. In the second chapter, Ayers really allowed me to better understand possible misinterpretation of standardized intelligence that often exists in educational systems. As a teacher, it will be critical to be able to understand each student as an individual. Every person not only has a different set of strengths, but everyone also learns in extremely different ways. By taking the time to learn about students, a teacher has the amazing opportunity to better understand how each person really thinks. From a true understanding of students’ abilities and requirements, a teacher can adapt lessons or classroom atmospheres to allow for the expansion of those students’ thoughts, and creative and learning capabilities, opening up a world of knowledge that the students may not have known even existed. Flexibility, adaptability and understanding are therefore some of the most important qualities a teacher can have. We also see how by having these characteristics as a teacher, out interactions with many people, including parents, can change drastically. For example, a situation is depicted of a teacher and parents discussing a student’s progress in the class by focusing on the student’s capabilities and needs. When this is done, the parent is able to see the teacher as an ally working with them toward their child’s success. When teachers focus on positive attributes in dynamic students, while addressing some challenges in an optimistic way, the potential of each student can be achieved. In the same context, Ayers describes the possible detriment in labelling children as “At Risk” because of their behaviour. Such a label can work to actually impede a child’s progress as it creates an automatic expectation from others who encounter that individual. Instead, teachers should approach each student in a way that is not limiting. By getting to know each student for themselves with no pre-judgement, a teacher can then work with the student to create an environment that allows for growth and learning while addressing any issues in a positive way, as an ally to the student, that encourages success.
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In response to reading “Where do I belong” Canadian Curriculum as Passport Home by Cynthia Chambers and Reimaging the Urban by Beverly-Jean Daniel, I found both papers to be interesting, in their own ways, in helping the reader better understand the function of limitations or boarders (both socially and physically) in school communities.
I found Chambers’ paper to be relatable, but the message she was trying to get across was less clear than Daniel’s. It was interesting to see how much change there has been in regards to the definition of boarders and citizenship from a Canadian perspective. It was quite revealing when she demonstrated how the entire essence of what being Canadian is and was is so dependent on the understanding of what boarders mean to us as Canadians. There was also a real sense of inclusiveness and exclusiveness when talking about citizenship and boarders; how, in her family’s history for example, people were deemed “illegitimate” Canadians due to immigration restrictions. Also, even today, there is a clear understanding of the “us” and “them” when seeing the requirements for a passport to pass into the US (which was not always needed). All of these thoughts have made me question how those whom have migrated into Canada may feel about how they are possibly being labelled while here in Canada. If there is such pronounced legal and social ideas of what it means to be Canadian, to be “one of us”, than what must it feel like if you weren’t “one of us” to begin with? Canada is known for its accepting, multicultural population, but is this always the case? I also think this paper makes an extremely important point about how teachers can use their curriculums to not only better understand the long histories of different groups of people, but also to better understand the long and complex histories that help define their students as who they are. By using curriculum as a tool of knowledge, understanding and inclusiveness, those whom have been hushed may be heard, allowing for an open, peaceful common ground to be found in a country of boarders. A lot of similar thoughts came up when reading the paper by Beverly-Jean Daniel, with more in-depth focus on urban and suburban dynamics. Although Daniel makes many important points regarding urban communities, I will only focus on a few that I found most captivating. Daniel made an extremely important link between urban and suburban when she explains that both concepts are fluid and interdependent. Often, the terms are looked at as static and contradictory; however, the urban and suburban are not only very much dependent on each other (ie. one could not exist without the other), but are also extremely complex and intertwined concepts with no box isolating one from another. The way Daniel was able to describe how physical characteristics of each grouping, including physical location, zone layouts and building structures, are all related to re-establishing stereotypes of what it means to be “urban” was compelling. The term “urban” is stereotyped, often in media such as movies and television, as a problem that needs to be fixed; however, urban in other senses is seen as new, modern and chic or may also be seen to have many characteristics of suburban stereotypes. I am interested to see how these opposing ideas of what urban is actually play out in the real world. As I begin my work in the urban cohort, I’m excited to personally enter the communities that are vaguely defined as “urban” and see how these communities vary from the stereotypical understandings of their nature. I’m also excited to hear experiences from individuals in these communities which will allow me not only to better understand others, but also to immerse further into cultures, world experiences and relationships that I have not yet been able to experience. By working in different communities than what I have experienced so far in my life, I am able to push myself to see past the stereotypes and expectations that society has created and focus on growing not only as a teacher, but as a person, mentor and friend. |
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January 2017
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