The artifacts I have chosen as the most significant towards my growth as a teacher in the making are the School Scenarios, Debates, Gingerbread Kid, and “The Class” video. Whereas I feel that the course as a whole has enriched my newfound understanding of what it means to be a teacher; I feel these artifacts have made me think in ways I hadn’t before. Similarly enough, they have touched on issues beyond the surface, which is where the heart of teaching finds itself. It does not suffice to do the bare minimum as an educator; but rather go beyond that to know with certainty that the minds I have positively influenced can make a print on the world on their own.
The school scenarios raised controversial issues that as an educator, I will find myself facing. Due to the fact that there are no Best Practices that can guide me towards the “correct” decision-making, I know I will have to acknowledge all sides of an issue, and inform myself thoroughly to act upon the best interest of my students. The debates really highlighted this idea of not closing myself into thinking one side of an issue will always be correct while dismissing the other. Both sides can be just as legitimate; but it is crucial to know all the facts. As an educator, informing myself from all angles will only make me that much of a useful resource rather than a teacher that simply knows how to carry out a curriculum and nothing else. The Gingerbread Kid has impacted me in assuming the role of a parent, and how I could ideally want my child to someday be. This was an interesting activity in the sense that I molded my child into all the positive qualities I would want it to possess, because through that, I am designating to it all of the things I find important as well as qualities I wish I possessed myself. As an educator, I am not going to have the perfect classroom with highest performing and complying students, but rather, be challenged on a constant basis. Either because of the students themselves, or because of the parents I am going to also form relations with. This can especially be problematic when my students will come from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. While we will share the same ideals on how to educate their children on the one hand, we may also have vastly opposing views on the other; but knowing how to address these issues and finding a middle ground will have to be the way we find solutions together. As a long-term Substitute Teacher, I have seen at first hand the rebellion that arises from students in K-12 as was presented in the film, “The Class” but to a lesser degree. Teaching a class of 28 or so is very difficult, especially when the students are not reciprocating the respect and attention you exert. Yet, I know that by laying down the rules and being consistent with them will create a learning environment more accepting of wanting to learn vs. resisting to learn. It’s inevitable that students will challenge my authority, and I will have to improvise on many occasions because I wont know how a given discourse’s outcome will be, but it is vital that my teacher-students know that I care and am there for them. It is easy to criticize the teacher from the film because he failed to address some issues appropriately, but I’ve come to understand that as a teacher I am going to be far from perfect. What I can do instead, is learn from my mistakes, figure out what works and what doesn’t, and consistently grow and continue to grow as an educator.
The Education 261 learning activities I would consider trying on my own teaching would be the Debates. Since I am going to become an Elementary teacher, I feel it is relevant to apply these debates in social studies; especially if I teach the higher grades. It’s important to not only improve my student’s speech skills in front of the classroom, but have them listen to other sides of an issue. The goal at hand would be to educate them further into not solely persevering into having their issue “win,” but rather learn from the other side and see how those opposing views can be just as valid. The goal would not be to shut down a student’s side of the debate, but rather have students formulate in their minds the reasons that both parties have for expressing their points/concerns on a given issue and learn from it.
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