On the Take 20 video, when asked what was considered one of the most important aspects of teaching, one woman responded that it was to understand the culture of the school you are at and the students. It reminded me of the orientation session held by Arts and Sciences where they took us aside for about an hour to tell us about the cultural trends of the freshman and what their generation is like. Maybe they are hitting on something, and it's important to think about what it is like to be a student sitting in the classroom looking up at you. It would be the best way to tailor the assignments to interest them and be relevant to them.
It also reminds me of my own highschool and my ethnic psychology class. My own highschool was very multicultural, and it is interesting now to note all of the small ways the teachers chose relevant materials. For English class, we read a lot of Southwest literature and included a lot of Native American culture. We grew up in such dynamic culture anyway, the school needed to respond to this dynamic and teach us more about what was going on in society. In relation to my ethnic psych class, we were taught how essential this is. I used to want to be involved in cognitive neuroscience, and in that field it is primary to know the culture of the people you are working with. It effects their communication style, their rational concerning events, their home-life, and their thinking process. If all of these aspects would influence therapy sessions/cognitive training, why would it be any different for students learning in college? It is important to think about the student's culture because it will influence their behavior in the classroom, their attitudes toward the teacher, and their work. It is naive to think that every student responds the same/has the same process, but sometimes I feel like teacher's try to average out their students and only teach the 'norm' of curriculum. How much more multicultural could we get in the classroom if we chose materials that were culturally relevent, but more extensive than the students had been exposed to before? What if the teacher understood their student, and could relate to them as individuals?
Some of this makes me wonder- where should the focus be in the classroom? I think a lot of it is on the teacher who is presenting the material. What would happen if the students were given more options in the material they could write their papers on? What about more condoning more multicultural, comparitive studies types assignments? Rather than simply teaching Moby Dick, presenting ideas of how writing style/themes could relate/contrast to Native American Studies or maybe the environmentalism movement? This is kinda going all over the place, but I think it could be helpful for students to be more understood, and if the classroom material was reflexive to these differences. Knowing differences, could they start finding associations and relevances?
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5 comments:
Stephanie, you ask some excellent questions.
"What would happen if the students were given more options in the material they could write their papers on? What about more condoning more multicultural, comparitive studies types assignments?"
I know our current assignments for 1301/1302 are frustratingly limited. Hopefully we can see that change; however, if we do not, at least there's the comfort (and hope) that in our own classrooms (someday, somewhere) we will have more freedom.
I, too, think you're asking good questions.
I've seen a lot of new faculty who come from, say, a large city with very multi-cultural and city-savvy kids, and they enter the classroom here expecting that TTU students will be the same. And, when they're not, they don't know how to handle it.
The same can happen to new GPTIs. You can't expect these students will be the same as you were. Or as the students in your HS, or undergrad, etc. were.
BUT....is it bad to "pigeon hole" students? How much SHOULD we know? Should we assume?
We can't help but to come in with expectations. So knowing about the population is important so our expectations won't be unrealistic. BUT we can't limit our students by our understanding of them, either.
But I like Moby Dick :(
Okay, seriously. These kinds of questions raise more questions in my mind that lead into an infinity of what ifs. The main question that comes to my mind is where do we draw the line? I love the idea of teaching more multicultural subjects, etc. But, where do you start/stop? Works written in English? Translations? South American Literature? Asian Literature? There is so much out there that it is impossible to teach everything.
Also, I've noticed from a grading perspective that it is a lot easier on the teacher to limit the possible responses. If I become a teacher and that is my only concern, then sure, I may let the rascals have freedom of choice. But if I have other obligations, it could be difficult and straining to have 30 different papers multiplied by the number of classes you teach times the number of essays the students have to do.
I don't know. It's a real conundrum. :P
I think you're right. We need to remember what is like to be that freshman sitting in that desk. By teaching here, that means remembering that you are teaching incoming freshmen, many of whom are from towns like my own. Towns where there were less than 50 in the graduating class and the most controversial thing that happened was a valedictorian graduating early because she was pregnant and causing a fight in the class above her. On the other hand, you are also teaching students from schools in the Metroplex. How do you teach a class that will help those students interact and both gain something from the class?
I think giving the students more options with their topics is a good idea. Some teachers do that. They allow flexibility within a certain "range" of topics. I can't help but think I would want the range to be somewhat specific enough that I wouldn't have to do an inordinate amount of extra work.
Also, I like your comment about thinking like freshmen (hopefully without the comma splices and incorrect possessives). I think one of the pros of young teachers is that they aren't that many steps removed from the learning process. They can more easily remember their own student identity.
That being said...I can't believe you went to the whole A&S orientation. That place was freezing! I bailed halfway through.
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