Dear Scarlet,
Here you are in your new hoodie from Grandma. We’ve been talking a lot about neutrality lately. You’ve grown accustomed to saying “Boys can wear girl stuff and girls can wear boy stuff.” I’m trying to break you of that. I don’t want you to even think in terms of boy stuff and girl stuff. It’s all just stuff, and it’s open to everyone. I think going to school has set us back a little bit, but we’re still working away at it. We’ll get there. Anyway, you love your new hoodie.
Source:
http://dearscarlet.tumblr.com
This is a paragraph that has really affected the way I think about teaching. Dear Scarlet is a blog the mom of a girl named Scarlet keeps to document her life growing up. She has been careful to raise her daughter in an environment where gender prejudices and assumptions are minimized and actively discusses why this is with Scarlet. As pre-service teachers, we learn a lot about power imbalances and how we can create a classroom environment where these are talked about and diversity is valued as a learning resource. It is great that in Scarlet's school, the classroom enforces a 'girls can wear boy stuff and vice versa' value, but as Kait insinuates, this is reinforcing that some parts of the world are a man's domain and others are for women. This will be a reoccurring theme in Scarlet's life and despite Kait's values and open conversations with her daughter, the fact remains that Scarlet is in an environment that perpetuates this notion for many hours a day. Teachers need to be aware of this power at play, not just in terms of gender, but also race, sexuality, language, learning disabilities and anything else that could negatively affect a student's performance due to negative associations. Many people would hear the bit about girls wearing boys things and feel like a large step has been made in terms of gender equality in the classroom, not critically examining the underlying assumptions that fuel statements such as that. It has also made me think about the trust parents must have in their child's teachers when they send them off to school. They may have spent 5 years as their child's primary educator and must relinquish this role to whomever happens to be teaching that grade. This already very difficult process can be especially pronounced if the teacher has different values than the parent or does not see the child as someone important and capable. I will be mindful as a teacher to use the parent as one of my most valuable resources for accessing who a student is and what works for them. I believe this relationship with the parent is crucial and should include ongoing communication so both parties are aware of the students progress and challenges and can help one another out if needed.
This video is something I watched recently that has made me reconsider my approach to teaching. In this video, a student-based approach to learning is described as a one year project students could participate in during their final two years of high school. Thanks to an open-minded and conscientious principal, these 8 students were able to design their own learning within a weekly structure, allowing them time to learn about what interests them and to develop an "individual endeavour" over the course of the semester. They would choose one question to lead them through the week that was related to one of their core school subjects. The students say that what makes this process valuable is that they "actually want to know the answer." At the end of the week, the students give a presentation of the subject they decided to research and interact with their fellow students to answer questions they may have and also to fuel future learning. They ended up learning about a variety of subjects from the 7 other people. This program ran without tests or grades to evaluate the students, rather, they were motivated by curiosity about the world and also not wanting to let their friends down at the end of the week. They would give each other constructive criticism, which strengthened their presentations, but also fuelled how they engaged with each other's projects. The students did not need to confine themselves to a classroom, rather, they were able to take lessons outside the school, wander the library, anything they needed to do in order to fully research the subject. The time spent on their individual endeavour allowed them to gain a mastery of skills and devote focus to them, learning such things as playing the piano. In addition, for the last 3 weeks of the program, they take on a "group endeavour" and learn how to collaborate. The group dynamic over the semester would strengthen and provided the students with people they felt comfortable debating with and also great resources of different learning styles and interests. At the end, the students felt they had an ownership over their learning and many went on to pursue secondary education, proving that the program did not hinder them the way that diploma exams can for people who must take them. Ownership for education is very important because as one students mentions, after high school there won't be a teacher guiding them through the rest of their lives. This is practical preparation for the world after school and also creates a work ethic that will transfer quite effectively in their future aspirations.
I like the idea of students having options for how they learn. Not everyone learns by teacher-guided lectures and textbooks and worksheets, but some do. I don't believe people who do not know the students should be able to force them through a traditional school system that has clearly not allowed some to succeed due to the values of this educational structure. If we took more time to acknowledge merit that comes from pursuing a passion and experiencing life, a grade letter would not be the be all end all of education. One boy in the video said he had dyslexia and the fact that he could work on projects in a manner of his own choosing and not allowing dyslexia to define his success in school allowed him to graduate high school. How many students are we failing because our own system has failed them? Having a free structure as to how research is conducted and allowing students to find resources outside the classroom breaks limits on what can be learned inside the classroom and engages them in their own learning. Do we keep students in classrooms because it is becoming a primary reason for the role of the teacher? Are we afraid that teachers will become obsolete if we allow students to partake in programs such as these? I believe there will always be room for educators, as long as they are willing to relinquish some power and place it into students hands. Students will learn and teachers need to trust this. I believe that the primary role of the high school core subject teacher in Alberta is to prepare the students for the diploma exams. Why should someone who does not know every student be able to decide the precise knowledge every student should have by a certain age? This takes exactly no amount of diversity into account. Any knowledge not in the exam in considered worthless. Any form of showing one's learning process and knowledge aside from a multiple choice/essay answer is considered worthless. Why is this?
I believe the entire educational system needs to undergo a paradigm shift where all these factors are considered. Until then, I will be attempting to find creative ways of allowing students to learn the curriculum content in ways that are meaningful to them.
I like the idea of students having options for how they learn. Not everyone learns by teacher-guided lectures and textbooks and worksheets, but some do. I don't believe people who do not know the students should be able to force them through a traditional school system that has clearly not allowed some to succeed due to the values of this educational structure. If we took more time to acknowledge merit that comes from pursuing a passion and experiencing life, a grade letter would not be the be all end all of education. One boy in the video said he had dyslexia and the fact that he could work on projects in a manner of his own choosing and not allowing dyslexia to define his success in school allowed him to graduate high school. How many students are we failing because our own system has failed them? Having a free structure as to how research is conducted and allowing students to find resources outside the classroom breaks limits on what can be learned inside the classroom and engages them in their own learning. Do we keep students in classrooms because it is becoming a primary reason for the role of the teacher? Are we afraid that teachers will become obsolete if we allow students to partake in programs such as these? I believe there will always be room for educators, as long as they are willing to relinquish some power and place it into students hands. Students will learn and teachers need to trust this. I believe that the primary role of the high school core subject teacher in Alberta is to prepare the students for the diploma exams. Why should someone who does not know every student be able to decide the precise knowledge every student should have by a certain age? This takes exactly no amount of diversity into account. Any knowledge not in the exam in considered worthless. Any form of showing one's learning process and knowledge aside from a multiple choice/essay answer is considered worthless. Why is this?
I believe the entire educational system needs to undergo a paradigm shift where all these factors are considered. Until then, I will be attempting to find creative ways of allowing students to learn the curriculum content in ways that are meaningful to them.