Posting for Jeanann (Week 1 Post)
"I disagree with the article by Torres-Padilla in general. Frankly, I was angry that this text was part of discussions for this class, which is about literature, not politics. I get tired of listening to the woke rhetoric that suggests someone is undeserving or overindulged because of their skin color. People do not get schooling based on the color of their skin, or their country of origin. There is a basis for the intensity of education based on monetary status. With this in mind, there are holes in the conversation when you begin talking about changing the culture of America. People do not move to this country because it is oppressive or silencing. If American culture were intolerable, then there would not be hordes of people swarming the borders to find the "American Dream" or leave their government behind. Does that mean that we do not have faults? Of course, we do! The thing that seems to have been lost in the last 20 years of conversation includes the right to believe what you do even when others don't want to believe it, and the right to an opportunity to discuss it freely. On this point, is where I agree with both authors.
What does this mean for a teacher in a classroom? That depends on the grade level the teacher is educating. Making connections with various cultures is manageable throughout most levels of education, but an allowance for holding personal beliefs should be expected. The conversations also become more student-centered as the students mature in understanding and critical thinking post-adolescence. This means that they should carry the conversations, but the big question is, how do we begin? And at what ages do we start pulling back the leading of the questioning?
Glazier, J., & Seo, J. (2005). Multicultural literature and discussion as mirror and window? Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 48(8), 686–700. https://doi.org/10.1598/jaal.
Torres- Padilla, J. (2005, July). Death to the originary narrative! or, insurgent multiculturalism and teaching multiethnic literature. Retrieved June 5, 2024,. "
I agree with you so much about the Torres-Padilla article. The classrooms of today look so different than the classrooms in the 90's or even early 2000's. We have classrooms that are more diverse.
ReplyDeleteSo I feel the conversations in the classroom can focus on diversity, but I think you made a good point about the maturity of the class. In my classroom ( 7-8 special education classroom), my students do not lead the conversations. So I need to see how to impart knowledge so they can make informed decisions.
I cotaught in an 8th grade Literacy class and one unit was on the Holocaust and conversation was very quiet. They class did not want to voice opinions. So again how do I promote that conversation?
I feel like the conversations become stilted for multiple reasons. One reason is that the society has made it feel like you should not have an opinion about anything that is your own. Another reason is that the students do not have enough background knowledge about history to participate in those conversations. Lastly, the students don't really have a grasp on conversational structure of communication skills. Each of those situations creates a poor dynamic for classroom discussions.
ReplyDeleteI think that part of the reason that people are nervous to discuss these topics openly is because there is no openness to hear from the other perspectives. As educators, we need to remember that none of our students, or their parents, have had the same experiences in lives. Living in a smaller community in the midwest is going to be totally different than living in a small community in Mississippi, or in an urban environment like Chicago. In other areas in the world, and yes, even in this country, there are students who receive a different education than the majority. There are children in this country who do not have access to clean drinking water in their towns and face other outside influences that factor into their education as well. Students who are coming to this country are not always coming here because of the American dream. Many are coming here to have a chance to survive. Many migrant children are coming into our classrooms after facing trauma and and experiencing horrible situations. I do not feel the American dream is their goal. Teachers need to be open and listen to our students voices with compassion and understanding and sometimes that means having difficult conversations and even setting political opinions aside. It is unfortunate that discussing the representation and discussion of cultures in literature is related to politics, but it goes along with my original post that the majority often feels threatened when they feel uncomfortable or their beliefs or ideals are not agreed upon. I challenge you to think outside the box and don't disregard things as woke when we are working with so many young people with experiences that differ from our own.
ReplyDeleteAs I understand your conjecture, children coming into school with diverse experiences are incapable of learning in the way children who come from what society deems as good, solid foundations. This conjecture breaks the system of best teaching practices. Allington (2015) might suggest this is where a poverty pedagogy forms. The conversations about similarities are conceivably more powerful than those about differences. My diverse thinking from my background assists those students in overcoming those obstacles. This builds a tenacity that is lacking in the younger generations. I challenge you to look at their diversity, not as adversity, but as a way to enhance their education through a different lens for learning.
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