What is worth learning?
It is said that we go to school to learn and to educate ourselves for a brighter future and better job. But how much of this is true? How are we expected to educate ourselves if the curriculums are limiting our learning.To answer the compelling question, "What is worth learning?" aside from what the curriculums say we should learn I believe that everything is worth learning. For example, when it comes to black history as mentioned on the null curriculum, its very much restricted and it is being taught one sided. Both teachers and students should be exposed to every side of history in order to grow their knowledge. I connected the compelling question to my Blackout Poem because after reading the "Ending Curriculum Violence" article I personally think that racial violence is not only happening nowadays in the classrooms but it has been happening for several years outside the classrooms. For my Blackout poem I chose words like "harm", "emotional destruction", "harmful teaching", "violence" and other similar words. I chose these words because they describe what students and teachers are going through when certain curriculum is being taught, and how students are being affected by this.Aside from the on going racial violence a lot of this harm towards students is being done by the biases that come from their teachers. As future teachers I believe that we should try to differ from curriculm violence by educating oursleves about the proper way in which we can teach all the curriculm without it causing any harm to anyone especially students.
How do we teach beyond the curriculum when we are told to teach to the TEKS and the STAAR test? It is like our hands are tied in what the students are told to know to pass a test and then when the students fail the test we are considered "less than" teachers. I think as educators our largest challenge will be to teach all sides of the story while still keeping it within the curriculum that we have been given. It will be a challenge, but the only way that we will make the change is to teach the change.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you! There is so much that we have to teach in order to get all perspectives but at the same time there is so little that we are actually allowed to. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
DeleteHi Mariela, I really enjoyed reading your blog post! I love that you brought up teaching the full story. I agree it's extremely important to teach kids both sides of the story especially with topics that have been restricted, yet are so relevant to the students in our classroom and the community. It is one of the many challenges we will face as future teachers of when and how to teach our students both sides to the story. I like that you were able to connect your blackout poem to your blog. Those were strong examples and I think they capture the important ideas from this week's module well. In what ways do you plan on educating yourself to not engage in curriculum violence in your classroom? Again, I really enjoyed reading your post this week, and I’m excited to hear what ways you are planning to seek further education on curriculum violence.
ReplyDeleteHey Sarah, to begin with thanks for your comment! I think a way that I can personally educate myself more to not engage in curriculum violence is by learning ways in which Im able to teach the material in a neutrally. As well as taking the time to get to the know a little more about the students and where they come from.
DeleteHello Mariela! Thank you for sharing your thoughts this week with us on your blog post. I think the article "Ending Curriculum Violence" also opened my eyes to thing I had not thought about. I plan to teach my students both sides of the story and make sure they know that there is always two sides to be heard. I want my students to be able to learn in a healthy, safe environment where there is no judgment or discrimination in the classroom. I think in the future us teachers will be better at fixing the curriculum and recognize that some lessons are outdated. I also think the words you chose for your blackout poem were great and showed meaning to this week's module. My question to you is, What will you do in your future classroom to make sure no one feels offended or discriminated with the lessons or assignments you give to your students? Again, great blog post Mariela.
ReplyDeleteHi Ellie! I personally think that there is always a right way in which you can say things without causing any harm to others. Not only curriculum based, but with everything. Thinking twice and having the appropriate attitude can be a start. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and questions!
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