Teacher Activists

As a future teacher and someone who has worked with children the majority of my life, I am invested in providing the best opportunities for them and giving them all an equal chance to be successful. As optimistic as I may be about this topic, there will not be equal opportunities for all the students I encounter. Racism, sexism, ableism and many other structural oppressions are present in the daily lives of our students, especially in the education system. Schools often try to combat this by enforcing a multicultural education where diversity is celebrated but it is often in a tokenistic form (L. Lane, personal communications, February 24, 2016). Many programs do not acknowledge the structural systems that have kept different groups of people oppressed or how one is supposed to acknowledge their own position in the world. That is why I think it is of key importance that before a teacher begins to tackle large problems such as this, they begin by understanding their own privileges and how to address oppression in the classroom.

Teachers must first begin by unpacking their own place in society in relation to their privileges. Social inequalities work at a structural and institutional level in that it has been normalized to the point that it is difficult to detect and address. Therefore, many people reproduce inequalities without even being aware of it. I believe that one of the best ways to better understand ones position is to try things that go out of one’s comfort zone. For example, two years ago I went to Namibia and volunteered in a school for a month. Being immersed in another culture and meeting people that were drastically different then me brought me out of my middle class westernized “bubble” that I had been living in. Now, I understand that traveling halfway across the world is not practical but joining different clubs, meeting new people, or even reading or watching material that challenges your thinking can help to create a self-aware teacher. What arises from a teacher who is aware of their own privilege and the overall structure of society is a person who is empathetic, compassionate, and motivated to create change. Drake, Reid, and Kolohon  (2014) found that teachers that are facilitators are not as effective as teachers who are activists. These teachers are able to facilitate deep learning outcomes, create interesting learning activities that challenge student thinking, and recognize and attend to the “Be” of learning (Drake, Reid, & Kolohon, 2014).

Retrieved from http://pep-teacherleadership.blogspot.ca/2013/03/as-teacher-leaders-we-should.html

Teachers that are self-reflective and activist oriented are better able to implement 21^st century literacies into their classroom because they understand the importance of the skills they provide. One of the best ways they can help students is by facilitating critical thinking opportunities. The 21^st century society that we live in requires people to be critical literate and able to challenge current social paradigms to be a contributing member of society (L. Lane, personal communications, January 6, 2016). Teachers who are empathetic and compassionate are open to the difficult discussions that come with topics such as mental health, multiculturalism, and moral literacy and this helps students facilitate their own learning. For instance, if a child mentions social differences, do not criticize or discourage them for their observations. Rather talk to them about their observations and answer any questions they have (Plous, 2016). Being open to children’s ideas and observations tells them that they have a safe space to think about difficult topics and have discussions that are uncomfortable. When teachers become activists instead of just facilitators, they create an environment that is conducive for 21^st century literacies. 

In case you are further interested in the topic of activism and social justice for teachers, here is a tedtalk by Artika Tyner who is an educator and lawyer that encourages leadership advocacy and social justice education in our schools. The systems of oppression trickle down to effect every generation of people and it can often prevent children from making a difference (e.g. black boys from low SES areas often fall behind in school because they do not have access to preschool learning opportunities). It's the teachers job to be an activist and provide learning opportunities for students that fosters their leadership and activism as well. 

References

Drake, S. M., Reid, J. L. & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving curriculum and assessment: Engaging 21st Century Learners. Toronto, ON: Oxford University Press

Plous, S. (2016). Tips for Elementary School Teachers. Understanding Prejudice. Retrieved from http://www.understandingprejudice.org/teach/elemtips.htm

Hidden Curriculum, Curriculum as Lived, and Global Literacy

Through the first 6 weeks of EDUC 4P27 we have explored 21^st century literacies and their importance in modern day education. After exploring these literacies it is clear that they provide students with essential skills to be productive members of society including things such as critical thinking, compassion, and perspective taking. My group completed an in depth analysis of global literacy and it made me think a lot about how it connects to other aspects of curriculum, specifically hidden curriculum and curriculum as lived.

            Hidden curriculum consist of ideological assumptions in the classroom that do not appear in the planning portion of curriculum but do present themselves in curriculum that is taught (L. Lane, personal communications, January 27, 2016). The knowledge we teach children is not neutral and what we learn and don’t learn are important indicators of values (L. Lane, personal communications, January 27, 2016). For example, in history classes when students learn about the conquest of North America they learn about it from the perspective of white colonialists and not the indigenous populations that lived there originally. Aspects of hidden curriculum often come into conflict with how students experience curriculum. Students experience curriculum through their beliefs, attitudes, and values which are influenced by race, gender, socio economic status and many other categories. As a result, many students do not connect with curriculum because they do not fit into the bracket of white middle class experiences. After some reflection I believe the 21^st century literacies help to eliminate some aspects of the hidden curriculum while also creating better experiences with curriculum and learning for all students

            Global Education is important because it allows students to develop a global identity rather than a national identity which helps create better connections amoung people (Neins & Reilly, 2012). Student’s often overlook perspectives they do not understand unless they are given the opportunity to learn. Reading books from around the world, learning about new cultures in units, and learning about different histories allows students to better understand the differences around them, but also the similarities amoung us. Racism, sexism, and other “isms” happen when people are fearful of things they don’t understand but when they are given the opportunity to learn they will be more compassionate and understanding of people that are different from them. When you can understand new perspectives you realize the knowledge you receive is often from one perspective and it is my belief that through global education students will begin to question the curriculum and knowledge that is deemed important. Furthermore, educators need to appreciate the richness of opportunities that can bring students beyond the classroom and into the global community (Lock, 2015). For instance, educators may set up a global classroom where they skype or interact with schools all over the world to learn about aspects of their culture and heritage. Opportunities improve curriculum as lived because students are able to get a better understanding of their community and the greater world around them. Beliefs, values and attitudes are influenced by the experiences students have and when they are given real opportunities to make connections with the greater world they will feel like they are part of the school community. It is the hope that global and other 21^st century literacies will improve education for all students J

References

Lock, J. V. (2014). Designing learning to engage students in the global classroom. Technology,

Pedagogy and Education, 24(2), 137-153. doi:10.1080/1475939x.2014.946957

           

Niens, U., & Reilly, J. (2012). Education for global citizenship in a divided society? Young

people's views and experiences. Comparative Education, 48(1), 103-118 doi:

10.1080/03050068.2011.637766

Definition of Literacy

After the first lecture I really found myself thinking a lot about what literacy means in education as well as how the definition has changed over the years. As we discussed in lecture, literacy is more than decoding words on a page, it is also about creating social meanings that vary across contexts. This point really stuck with me because it made me think about previous misconceptions I’ve had about what literacy can be. As long as I can remember literacy has meant having the ability to read and write. I would read the books my teachers told me to read, I’d write essays on topics I was told was important, and I even dedicated long periods of time to learning proper grammar and spelling. So while all these skills are important, sometimes I felt like I didn’t take away information that I felt was important to my life. After thinking about the ideas of critical literacy, environmental literacy, financial literacy, and many other types of 21^st century literacies I realized that my definition of literacy was outdated. Literacy in my eyes was a skill that everyone needed to learn to be successful in school and the greater world, but literacy is also knowledge, and knowledge is power. The knowledge that 21^st century literacies create allow for people to think about the world in deep critical ways and help form possible solutions for problems that influence our world today. 

       Retrieved from: https://sites.google.com/a/mail.csuchico.edu/21st-century-literacy/

21^st century literacies also allow for the development of 21^st century skills such as critical thinking and innovation which are needed to be successful in the modern world. I believe the school systems in North America tend to function on an assembly line mentality where all children are taught skills such as memorization or repetition so they can spit out answers on a test but don’t learn any valuable life skills. Children are falling through the cracks because repetition and memorization are not skills that allow for good learning and growth experiences in the school system, setting them up for failure when they leave school. I think the most difficult part about this new definition of 21^st century literacy skills is that sometimes it feels like trying to fit a round peg into a square hole. As said before, the school system has a big focus on standardized testing and scores that determine whether children are learning well or not. Unfortunately topics such as critical literacy and environmental literacy are not so easily assessed under standardized testing. I wonder how can 21^st century skills be implemented into a 19^th century school system? How can teachers change their practices to fit in new ideas? And what does that mean for student teachers like myself? I have been learning more and more about 21^st century skills and I wonder how the new generation of teachers can change the fabric of the education system? Regardless, I’m excited to see where this new literacy definition takes me :)