Reflections
Barb
I first chose these chapters
because they looked the most appealing to me.
I have to admit, I enjoyed them greatly.
I found them very thought-provoking and stimulating.
They also opened my eyes up to situations that are happening.
One might be aware of what is happening, but needs to be told in order
for it to sink in.
Chapter 25 discussed race,
gender, disability, and social class. I
found it interesting that they mentioned who used to write the curriculum and
textbooks – White middle and upper class men.
I would like more confirmation on the percent of different groups writing
textbooks nowadays. I found it
absorbing their study done on the four subject areas: social studies, reading and language arts, science, and math.
It was intriguing to see the different levels of analysis done and that
White males still dominate. But,
how do we change it? As
educators’, how much power do we have?
Chapter 26 discusses a
curriculum for women. I felt that I
really related to this chapter. The
quotes about women not having self-confidence, is not really me now, but during
my undergrad – Yes! I was afraid
of offending anyone. I relate to
things personally, I take what I am learning and relate it to something that I
have either observed or taken part in. The
quote “Highly competent girls and women are especially likely to underestimate
their abilities” (pg. 310); I find is very true.
I found this whole chapter very compelling.
If I was feeling this way and some other women I talked to about this
chapter were feeling this way, what are our female students feeling?
How do we help them to feel confident and succeed in life?
Chapter
27 discusses the Math that is needed in schools.
I, once again, agreed with this chapter.
I struggled with math throughout high school and how much of it do I
really use? How much will students
that graduate really use of math? We
need to take into consideration what they want to do when they graduate.
Do we want to mainstream? Put
students into core subjects that want to go to post-secondary?
Put students into fine arts, technology, mechanics, etc?
Chapter 28 discusses curriculum
and who decides what schools teach. Are
we trying to keep schools stable or change them for the better?
This made me think of who is in power to decide what schools should teach
for the better. In B. C., the year 2000 was a plan, and then they brought in
a few other different ideas (most before my time). How can we affect curriculum and what our students learn?
Chapter 29 discusses “Whose
knowledge is of most worth?” (pg. 342). This
relates to previous chapters; who decides what we teach (again) and why are the
people in power (the ones most removed from education) be the ones to decide?
Chapter 30, the four C’s.
Why do educators distance themselves from the schools?
Why do they not participate when given the chance to?
Being fairly new to teaching (4 years), maybe I’ve missed something.
I know that I’ve heard the horror stories of teachers working very hard
on a plan or idea only to have it not used.
Most chapters discussed the
textbook as a key factor in determining curriculum.
Do we, as educators’, need to become more involved in textbook writing?
How do we accomplish that? We
can refuse to buy a text, but think of how many teachers are out there, how many
will take into consideration all of the above?
Do we take time off work to write a textbook?
How many want to or can afford to do that?
All that chapters were
interesting to read. I hope that
you found them as thought-provoking as we did.
Dawn
I really enjoyed reading these chapters as they were thought provoking as well as informative. I'm sure that reading the chapter on textbooks gave us all something to think about. As a Learning Resource teacher I purchase all literature, be it fiction, non-fiction or textbooks for our school. I now look at these books with a critical eye to determine if they are promoting stereotypes.
Toward an Education for Women gave me pause for thought. I did identify with some of the women in the article regarding my experiences beginning this program. I thought my insecurity stemmed from a number of factors; beginning a graduate program, learning at a distance (a new experience for me) and a sense of isolation. Although I do not attribute all these emotions to the fact that I am a woman, it did give me something to think about ... but I'll probably think about it after this course because right now I just don't have time!
Who Decides What Schools Teach? raised interesting questions about our education system and what it deems important. Although it could not answer these questions, it did give a starting point for what I'm sure will be an interesting discussion.
Chapter 30 raised a topic I am interested in discussing, the idea of change in school. In another course, I had to write an assignment about the factors that contribute to the resistance of change in the school system ... I guess that's a discussion question!