The writer quotes Judith Snow, “[Community] requires a willingness to see people as they are-different perhaps in their minds and in their bodies, but not different in their spirits or in their willingness and ability to contribute to the mosaic of society.”
I really liked this quote and for me it really summed up what community should be about. People should be willing to listen to others and appearance or even uncontrollable mindset should not impact the ability of others to speak out. Who allows us to make the choices for others? This also reflects what happens in schools. Who gives us the right to tell someone right off that they are not good enough for this class? Shouldn’t all children be given the opportunity to branch out and shine? I think that this relates back to the idea of detracting. We should allow students to discover their own pace and their own place within the school. As many of the kids said there are a various types of smarts that students can have. Appearance or mindset should not affect a child’s ability to discover themselves within their school.
The author quotes Shayne of saying “So what, if you don’t fit exactly what you’re supposed to? You know, it’s not like I fit many people’s idea of what a teacher’s supposed to be like.”
I totally agree with this quote and the community aspect that was discussed before hand. Although there is this mold of the perfect student and perfect child it rarely gets filled, if ever. No one is perfect and no one is the ideal. By allowing the children to work as a group to put on the production she was allowing them an opportunity to shine. Their strengths were shown. And they also developed this sense of community. I think that bringing out a project that all the students need to work on together allows children to form new relationships. They start to see that their peers are not what they seem to be. That everyone has strengths.
“Fundamental to constructivist teaching is a respect for each student as both an active agent in the learning process and an essential member of the learning community.”
Every student is important to the classroom. And each student brings forth certain strengths making them an essential member of the classroom. I think that children should be allowed to express interest and broaden their interests within the classroom. But this depends on the teacher. Each teacher should show respect for each child. A teacher who singles a child out presents an opportunity for the students to do the same.
I agree with everything you have to say above. You are right no child is perfect. By each student being different it makes a good community. A good community in one in which students can be comfortable expressing themselves. Also, a good community is one in which students can talk to one another when things get tough. Finally i agree with you when you say that every student brings forth different things that make the classroom different. I think it is important to have all different students in a class because a diverse class of students makes the best class.
ReplyDeleteI fully agree with everything you say in this blog. I think everyone shouldbe treated equally and also every student is important in a classroom. Every student has a different personality and opinion and therefore that should be valued in a classroom to make it a community and a better learning environment. I also agree with the second quote“So what, if you don’t fit exactly what you’re supposed to? You know, it’s not like I fit many people’s idea of what a teacher’s supposed to be like.” No one is perfect and therefore no one should be judged; everyone is different and has their own style. Children learn differently and teachers teach differently there is no black and white when it comes to teaching it should be more like gray and mixed together.
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