EDUC 7718 Critical Literacy Praxis fall 2014
Week Four- Blogture and Discussion Response Assignment
How operational and meaningful is visual
profiling in education settings? Is
there anything you could or should do to change any negative aspects of this?
Many people say that one important purpose of public schooling in this country
is to enculturate children into what it means to be an American.
What does it mean to be American? Do we require that
some children take on another identity to be American?
In “The Love Song of J.
Alfred Prufrock”, J Elliot wrote, “There will be time, there will be
time/To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet.” The quote describes
how we prepare our interactions with premeditated personalities.
Depending on our crowd we are meeting allows us the feeling of necessity
to “play the part”. Is it the same for appearance? Do we act a certain
way based on the crowd we are with and do we think differently based on someone’s
appearance. What are the importance of first
impressions?
When starting this
paper, I started to play with the idea of judgments in teaching. It was always
a concept I was aware of but never one I looked particularly closely at.
It is my belief as a teacher, I should “look professional”. In my
profession that meant khaki shorts (knee length) and a tucked in collared
shirt. At Springfield College part of my grade was based on my
appearance. Did I have a belt on? Did my pants touch the ground?
Was my shirt tucked in even when I lifted my arms? It never
occurred to me these strict rules were in place because students found me more
credible subconsciously because I was dressed the part. In the first
video, Dana was a well-dressed man. He was clean shaven and spoke to the
students in a monotone voice. The students were engaged in his lesson and
sat quietly as he talked. Was this because he was dressed a certain way
or was it because he was sitting in a chair while his students were on the
ground? In contrast, Rick was not clean shaven and had an earring in his
ear. Even before I started to play the video I started to think how cool it
would have been to have a teacher like that teach reading. I remember my
reading classes very strict and “hard work”. They were professional and
had a structured planned out day. My first thought about Rick was he
seems like a laid back, fun teacher. Even though both teachers looked
very different, by watching the videos, both teachers had a fun and engaging
way to interact with their students.
When I was younger my
parents always told me no I would not be able to get a tattoo and piercings
other than one in my ear was not acceptable. In my eyes, (a know it all
teenager) they were holding me back from my true identity. But now I am a
teacher, mom, and role model. I can now see
what my parents were saying. Although my appearance was not the only
reason I was hired I do believe I may not have gotten my physical education job
right after college had I dressed differently. By differently I mean
jeans and a bed head hair do. My parents
always taught me to try “look the part”. But is the way we look truly the
most important thing? It didn’t hit me until about three days ago when I
was thinking about this assignment and my daughter came to me dressed in gym
shorts and a baggy t-shirt to wear to school. I told her she needed to
change into an outfit more appropriate for school. She looked at me and
said, “It isn’t about the way you look mom”. I got to think, does it
really matter what she wears to school? Does it make her more ready to learn
because she is dressed in a dress? I
thought about it a lot because it bothered me.
I decided it was about being ready to learn. In my eyes, dressing “cleanly” shows a
certain amount of respect for yourself and therefore portray the same message
to others. As I discussed with Dana and
Rick as teachers, just by looking at the two teachers Dana seems to hold their
students more accountable than Rick.
Could I be wrong, absolutely; however, I think there are many things in
my past that have brought me up to believe one way.
When it comes to appearance, I think it deals with trust.
The more people “look like” you the more you trust them and feel comfort.
Once someone looks different than you there is always a layer of discomfort.
I look at my students. I don't look like them, act like them, or have the
same background as them. Trust is expected but would they do better with
a Hispanic teacher? One of my students does better with males than
females, another can only be with a bilingual teacher not because of the
language barrier but because of comfort level.
In
the video, substitute teacher, the
actor was a teacher in the inner city.
He then came into a wealthy school with mostly white students. His speech and demeanor was very different
then what the students were used to; however, you put him back in an urban
setting he would be seen as a “cool” teacher.
In the video the students seemed distraught at the way the teacher was
acting; however, in an urban setting would the students show more respect? So
can teachers be credible role models if they do not
look like the children they teach? I believe they can be credible if there is a common understanding of each other.
Take race for example. Unfortunately,
there has always been a distinction between black and white but isn’t everyone
supposed to be equal? Aren’t we all supposed to walk into a room free of judgments?
Unfortunately, it still happens no matter where we are in the world.
But that isn’t always the case. In
some cases students do connect more with teachers who have similar backgrounds
as themselves. For example, take “What
Would You Do”. The video shows a clip of a white male
walking into an urban store looking to buy urban clothes. Unable to get past the idea of “not looking
the part” the black employee told him he shouldn’t be wearing the clothes. In another clip, the video shows white males vandalizing a
car. In the second video black males vandalize
the car. The video shows how prejudice, stereotypes and discrimination are
still be a problem. Is it worse today because we just don't see it?
So many people cover their tracks.
You would hear, “you didn’t get that job because there was someone more
qualified” when truthfully the real reason was because she was a female.
Or when a coach at my school was told they needed to keep the freshman
coach despite his lack of knowledge and professionalism with the students. He was required to keep his job because he was
black and there are no black coaches.
When teachers work with
parents around difficult issues it appears to be a difference in morals and priorities rather than appearance
and background. In fact, at our school we are trying to promote parent
involvement to connect with all the parents. We host technology events,
workshops, walks, and meetings. Unfortunately the parents who do show up
are the ones already involved in their child’s education. How do we get
more than? Are they not coming to the events because they don't care and
therefore don't want to? Or are they not coming because they are working third
shift in their second job just to pay the bills? I decided to ask one of
my students what affect her learning. She is a student who is usually
looking for trouble. When you look at her on the outside you think a
disruptive student who I cannot connect with; however, when you look closer you
see a scared, timid little girl, in and out of foster homes because she is
deemed as the “bad one” her sister still lives at home with her mom. If that
doesn't seem like a slap in the face then having to take 7 shots a day since
she was 7 months old due to diabetes. I decided to ask her what her
thoughts were about teachers and what teachers she “gets along better with and
why. I also asked her why she believes
students aren’t as engaged with school.
Is it because most of our staff is made up of middle aged white teachers
or are there bigger issues at hand? More specifically, I wanted to know what
type of message we are sending to our students. In our district is
learning the more important part or developing healthy relationships and role
models to get out of what they know. We talked for almost an hour about the
topic. She stated it wasn’t because of
the way teachers looked or what experience they had. She said, “I want a teacher to be real with
me. I want them to care about me and
what I am going through. There are very little teachers in this school who
understand my situation but even a fewer amount of those willing to try and
understand it.” It broke my heart to listen
to her talk but it also made me realize it may not be solely about
appearance. To her, she wanted someone
who actually tried to put themselves in her shoes rather than telling her how she
should be acting in school. Our talk earned me her trust. The next day she confided
in me not because of my race, age, or gender. But because I took the time
to show her that I care. I gave her respect and demanded it back. Day in and
day out is still a struggle for her, but when a girl who used to cut my class
on a daily basis comes up to me to say, “You’re the only teacher I trust in
here, I need some advice.” can I really say I am not credible because I haven’t
been in her shoes. I beg to differ. I am credible to her because I
cared.
Are mentors more credible because they have
“been there” themselves? How much of a
professional face do you prepare to meet the faces that you meet in the various
aspects of your job? If your job were entirely virtual, what would
your avatar presence look like?
I
do believe mentors are more credible when they have been in the same situations
but just because they have not been in the situation doesn’t make them less
credible. The biggest reason why I
believe that because they deal with feelings.
Whenever you deal with feelings there is a connection between the two
people. This is the main reason why I find
displeasure in all jobs going virtual. I feel personal connection and
relationships are the most valuable thing we can give our students in my urban
setting. Sometimes a student just needs a hug. But isn't it sad that we as
teachers now have to ask if it is ok? Gee talks about gap between human
and machine. “It is as though I needed
the robot to seem to have emotions in order to understand it.” (Gee, pg. 136) Can robots feel emotions? Gee
then writes, “How different are our emotions from those of a machine.” (Gee, pg
137). I believe we are in fact extremely different. The power of free will is predisposed in
humans and cannot be duplicated in machines such as robots. Can we then have robots as teachers? “With sociable robots we are alone but receive
the signals that tell us we are together.”
So what is normal? What is underprivileged? In my school both meanings are different then
a school say Glastonbury. Normal to my
students are of Hispanic descent, tattoos, and a single parent household. Underprivileged to my students, are not seen
as the students who requires state assistance but someone who pays for their
own lunch but does not have a cell phone.
A skewed way of thinking? Yes, I believe so; however, it was the way
they were brought up. Cell phones
prepare a common ground for many students.
For example, there have been many times in Mr. Raucher’s class I was
dressed in my pajamas. Why? Because no one
could see my waist down. Did that make
my learning any less credible? No, not
at all. Gee talks about a conversation
being deemed as pauseable. So when
dealing with appearance, do teachers start the listening process by expecting
to remediate and demanding less?
Unfortunately, most teaches in
my school expect less or students who do not have a great home life. Not
because they cannot do the work but because there is a break in importance from
the home life regarding school. The
support at home has fallen short and therefore is not deemed as important to
some teachers. How do we change the
thoughts we grew up with? How can you
change the thoughts our society instils in us? I unfortunately do not think I
know the answer to any of these questions.
It is a major issue that requires not only parents, teachers, and
students to be on board but it also needs to be a place of society
changes.
These questions are
extremely loaded. In this country, our
public schools are starting to blend itself.
American to me is having freedom of speech and an expression of
oneself. Was columbine an expression of
one student? In my opinion the answer is
absolutely no. In another example, ABC
aired a movie called “Cyberbullying”. In
the movie a mother went to a father of a girl who was bullying her daughter
online. The father said she was
expressing her opinion and it was her freedom of speech to do so. Is that American? Does being an American mean you have to speak
English? I believe the answer is slowly turning into no. I believe our once thought of as American the
tall English speaking white male in a suit with a 9-5 job, a wife, two kids,
dog and a white picket fence has changed.
American in the public schools is now seen as a melting pot for many
different cultures and races. I believe
it makes our country an excellent platform for collaboration and rich diverse
background.
Once
again I chose to do a written response. I felt it was the best way to
convey my thoughts into a coherent piece. It was also a great way for me
to share a response when interviewing a students of mine. I talked with
my husband and hoped I would get out of my comfort zone of writing papers but
part of my still believes a paper shows a fluid demonstration of thoughts.
I guess this is one of the concerns with teaching technology in the
classrooms. How can we change from comfortable to in most case the unknown?
It takes time and patience and to be honest, with a seven year old, a
full varsity squad, full time job and my sixth year. Comfort seems the most
reasonable. I hope in my future response I can crawl out of my comfort
hole and try to respond in a more creative way.
Sources:
1.
Gee, James Paul (2012) –
Social Linguistics and Literacies. London and New York: Routledge; Fourth
Edition.
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