Blog Post #12

 Blog Post Number 12 

1. There was one activity that resonated with me the most throughout this semester. It was based upon the reading, The Silenced Dialogue: Power and Pedagogy in Educating Other People’s Children by Lisa Delpit was an eye opening experience. It was the game of cards that we played. Once I understood that each group had received different instructions it all made sense to me. It was the perfect way to illustrate a powerful concept she taught us, rules and codes of power. It was more difficult to be successful when you did not speak up or explicitly say the rules. I might have felt a little oppressed during this game; however, now I feel more connected to the possible outcomes: confidence, shame, anger, or giving up. At the activity I could not believe I was unable to pinpoint the purpose of what we were doing. Looking back at it, I was stuck in parallel universe regarding the culture of power.

2. A discussion point after we read Shalaby’s Troublemakers was also quite interesting. Many teachers fail to understand the difference between pushing your students and controlling them. Although some teachers have “good intentions” behind getting their students to comply, it may end up hurting them in the end. During my service learning and schooling experience I have seen educators treat their students like “subordinate creatures.” This can contribute to canary metaphor, specifically the toxic air that Shalaby taught us. As future educators, we need to understand: even though students are younger and can learn from us we NEED to treat them as with human rights. It sounds ridiculous to write this, but it is a real problem! It is only when we treat our students as an equal and give them the freedom they deserve, where they can fly their highest. 

3. A quote from Queering our Schools touched my heart: “if he had seen Sasha’s skirt as an expression of another kid’s unique beautiful self… I would not be writing this now.” This quote speaks to me because I believe you should always try to see the beauty in self expression. Instead of critiquing differences, we can be empowered by their confidence to showcase their true selves. Before I wanted to become a teacher, I thought it would be beneficial to teach a small lesson on love and kindness early on. When children learn in a positive environment they can learn to model kindness. After all, when we behaviorally learn as children, it can influence how we perform for the rest of our lives. 

Chat gpt generated image: “could you generate an image of a classroom of students hands on learning kindness based on what I wrote [insert text].” Then, “how about the teacher learning a lesson on specific examples of how to spread love to her students.” 

RI Law and Policies, Queer our School, & Woke Read Aloud: They, She, He Easy ABC

 Author: The Editors of Rethinking and Woke Kindergarden 

These readings and videos were very insightful regarding queer practices in the school systems. For the Woke Read Aloud video I was fond of the children's book that the woman was speaking about. What stood out to me was the gender identity of a certain individual could contradict their gender orientation. For example, a person wearing a dress, having long hair, and wearing pink could identify as a male. Introducing this topic to little children can make it easier to understand that these differences are okay. Additionally, through education we can break down stereotypes that marginalize the queer community. This video reminded me of an Instagram reel I came across while doom scrolling. An educator showed pictures of different cartoon T.V. and anime characters asking the children to identify their gender. Specifically he showed students Piglet and Tweety on the classroom television. They said that the two characters were females, and the teacher corrected this accusation. One of the characters' gender even identified as non-binary. After, he described the term misgendering and the necessary steps to take in the future. These two videos heavily resonated with me because I want to be the kind of teacher that will teach kindness at an earlier age. In educational psychology class we are learning about Bandura’s Social Learning Theories. We as humans learn from observation and behavior outcomes we watch in society. If we can build a healthy and safe learning community in early stages we can set that standard for a child for the rest of their lives. According to the RI Law and Policies and the Woke Read Aloud there are real concerns on how parents will react to education and coming children with gender differences. Deeply, this makes me disappointed and angry in a variety of ways. Through communication and education we can end the silence to challenges and segregation that the queer community faces. I believe that teachers should be professionally developed in these areas so they can spread kindness where hatred is prominent in the school system.  In the Queer studies article, they mentioned integration LGBTQ+ relevant topics into the curriculum. In my opinion, it is a brilliant opportunity to get to recognize queer situations, while continuing to learn about typical history. 

Comment: In Florida, there is a whole law dedicated to the restriction of LGBTQ+ education unless deemed “age appropriate.” It makes me upset that the RI Law and Policies need to restrain using the preferred pronouns to a parent because there are so many that will not accept it. I believe that they look down upon it because of the negative stigma and the lack of education they receive. Also, there are so many parents worried about how society will look at them knowing their child is not straight or the gender they were assigned at birth. A solution to this issue could be offering education services about queer studies in the community.

Comment: There is one more comment I would like to add pertaining to the Queering Our Schools reading. Sasha’s father says a beautiful quote that includes: “if he had seen Sasha’s skirt as an expression of another kid’s unique beautiful self…I would not be writing this now.” This touched my heart because instead of hating on an unfamiliarity in a human, we can find the beauty in the freedom of their self expression. 

What is Neurodiversity? - Blog Post Number 10

 From the Child Mind Institute 

Reflection: 

Reading this article, I saw a connection between how the authors viewed neurodiversity using the Asset Based Model. For example, there is a whole subtitled called “Emphasizing the Strengths in Neurodiversity.” One of these strengths is creativity, which I had read before while researching dyslexia (a condition that falls under neurodiversity). The article described that different parts of the brain are activated in people with dyslexia.  Those with conditions like dyslexia can be perceived as “less intelligent,” but my research taught me they have different working minds than the rest of us. It made me think: they are not “less than,” – they have different strengths and differences. 

The article from the Child Mind Institute, highlighted using the term difference instead of disorder to help neurodiverse people have more confidence in them. To me, I believe that you are seeing them more as a person rather than “a disordered person” which can be limiting to a human. Which again, relates back to the Asset Based Model. 

Unfortunately, it can be challenging for those with neurodiverse conditions because they are a minority for our society. Most features in the world accommodate those with a neurotypical mind. For example, bright lights, stiff chairs, and loud noises and we do not think twice about it. In my placement school there is a boy with ADHD who has trouble focusing with me when it is loud in the classroom. As a future teacher, I think it is important to be mindful about students who call for these accommodations. In order to ensure comfort and freedom, I would like to have various types of seating and allow students to work in a quiet space. 

According to the article, there recently appears to be more awareness around neurodiversity. One quote in particular that stuck with me includes, “For kids around middle-school age who are struggling socially, identifying as neurodiverse can be a way to make sense of what they are going through.” By eliminating the stigma on neurodiversity, these individuals can speak to trusted adults about what they are going through. Neurodiverse people can hopefully connect with one so they do not feel alone in their differences. Educating teens early about neurodiversity gives them the tools to start identifying if they are neurodiverse at a younger age. That way, with these diagnoses they do not feel like something is “wrong with them.” Rather, through awareness we can shift this to “I have different strengths.” To me, this is huge for the coming generations. 

Comments: I learned that raising awareness can break down the stigma for neurodiversity. This made me think being introduced to these conditions at a young age could be beneficial. It would be great to see cartoon characters or informational pop up events at elementary schools. That way, children and adolescents have exposure to possible differences.