Knowing both sides of the issue

Knowing the information on both sides of the issues is important because it can further aid your understanding of the issues in it’s totality, rather than a portion of it. Individuals need all of the information available to become educated enough in standing by, against, or perhaps even in the midpoint of an issue. Humans are prone to be stubborn beings that have reasons to be either for or against an issue and in doing so, close themselves from acknowledging the contrary. What needs to be understood is that just because you are listening to a perspective different from your own, does not mean you are forced to alter the manner in which you believe something to be and accept it, but rather open yourself into hearing another perspective that in the end may change your ways of thinking in a positive light,  may help you think of things you hadn’t thought about before, or comprehend the reasons for which your views differ from others. In the biggest extreme, you may very well be convinced of something you were in opposition with. Yet, that change came about by making yourself more knowledgeable, which is what we should be when addressing both sides of an issue.

            The implications for this in teaching is that it allows teachers to really consider all aspects of a student’s linguistic and cultural diversity. As teachers, we are bound to have students that come from such diverse backgrounds than our owns, but we have to be able to be able to see all aspects of why a child is behaving and talking a certain way before we define what it is. Teachers should make inquires about their students and really attempt to get to the root of things before a judgment is placed. We are not perfect; there is only so much we can see with our own eyes, but the reality of it may be far from that. The article that comes to mind when addressing this prompt, is “Funds of Knowledge” by Moll et al; and how a teacher observed her student’s family. During this observation, she gained so much information about the culture, language, histories, and so on that encompasses her student; in doing so, she could then comprehend not only the surface of her student as only her student, but moreso about what influences modeled him to come out just the way he is; specifically, his funds of knowledge. Therefore, she acquired so much insight about the Lopez’s that she would have not learned had she not engrossed herself to this fieldwork by which she could later apply to her teachings.

There are differing views as to what is the best way we can teach students; yet, as educators we really need to familiarize ourselves with as many resources possible to accommodate our students learning; education is constantly evolving, and being flexible enough to keep up with it will only further enrich us.