week 6 (finally!)

Sorry this post is a week late: I was out of town last week, and it's been a busy week catching up! At first, I was reluctant to write about my prejudice and biases. This is a scary subject, but I'm going to go out on a limb and talk about it.

What frustrates me is when people make excuses, blaming oppression or negative external influences to cover up their own failings.  I agree that we are a racist society. The deck is definitely stacked against minority groups. However, that doesn't mean that anybody should get a free ride from hard work and responsibility.  One's SES also plays a major role in this. I am equally irritated by White people who leach off government money  because they are too lazy to work hard.

I teach part time at ITT Tech, and about 95% of my students are Hispanic and Native American. Many of them have had very difficult lives. The majority of them dropped out of High School, and have been struggling with unsatisfying jobs, both financially and emotionally. I have a tremendous amount of respect for all of my students, because they are actively working hard to change their path in life. It is really great to see young people taking some responsibility for their own lives. In each class I teach, I always have at least one student who really struggles with schedules and homework. Just last night, I was talking with one such student who has a very difficult time doing work outside of class. Out of the blue, he said to me, "I know I need to stop making excuses, and just do it. It's not that hard, I just need to DO the work."  A few semesters ago, another struggling student told me essentially the same thing.  Hearing this gives me hope in our society.

Does my bias influence my  philosophy on teaching? Absolutely. I feel very strongly that teachers should approach all students through "color-blind" eyes.  I have been reading over and over again this semester that you shouldn't treat everyone the equally, because of cultural differences. I disagree with this, but I think I have a slightly different definition of "equal" treatment. On a basic level, all students should be treated with equal respect, equal caring, equal critique and equal discipline as necessary. When it comes to differences that are culturally influenced, we are warned to be overly sensitive to this. I think this is counterproductive. If we try too hard to be "aware" of everybody's differences, we risk further reinforcing the negative stereotype. 

 In my eyes EVERYBODY is different. Eveyone has cultural differences to varying degrees. Everyone has different learing styles and rates. When it comes to instructional methods, we absolutely cannot depend on just one method of teaching, because everyone is different. You have to employ as many different styles as you can to get through to as many students as possible. This is true for a highly diverse class, or a class of exclusively white kids. Either way, you have to teach to the individual needs of the student, regardless of his skin color or how much money his parents make. If you take the time to get to know each student, to learn what works for them, that is the only way to truly be an effective teacher. When you show that you really care to learn about a student as an individual, then they open up to you, and become inspired and motivated to succeed. I believe that all students who are treated as valued individuals will develop into responsible, hard working adults.