1). From the Johnson/S.C.W.A.A.M.P. group work, "People don't want to look because they don't want to know what it has to do with them and how doing something about it might change not only the world but themselves."- This came from one of the first group activities where we were pulling important quotes from the Johnson reading and I think it truly reflects what we focus on in this course, why we are so resistant to accepting our mistakes within a classroom setting. The problem originates from how we as a society cannot stand the feelings of being uncomfortable and having our societal positions of power questioned therefore we refuse to hear the injustices our ignorant actions cause. This stood out because it's essentially what we were building off of throughout the whole course and how we can begin to open our minds and start being more self-aware of our contributions to societal ignorance.
2). Group slideshow on Rose's How Structural Racism Works- I really liked being able to analyze Rose's Ted Talk and learn more about structural racism and compare it to what my understanding of the colorblind ideology is. Hearing how she sums up the reasoning behind it as "..because I can't see color it's not my fault and it's the fault of those who are being discriminated against." That statement showed me how ignorant as a society we are and how "not seeing color" is just an excuse for us not to accept the fact that we have contributed to systemic and structural racism. The consequences from the examples of the redlining, culturalization, and the HSRW project illustrated to me what denying one's privilege leads to within our society
3). Jodi DiPiazza "Firework" video- I remember having to hold in tears when first watching this in class. Coming from the perspective of an intended special ed major seeing the girl be able to do something as special as that may have been the most meaningful thing I saw. The way that her parents talked about not being sure of how she would be treated differently because of her autism but being able to see that her disability is not her identity but is just a small aspect of who she is as a person reminded me of why I wanted to pursue special ed in the first place. People's identities are so much more than just their disabilities and Jodi showing everyone that was awesome.
Overall, I think everything I was able to learn about this year has changed my perspective to my teacher disposition. I think going forward I am will be a more self-aware teacher by being able to recognize my privilege and see past the surface when talking about injustices within the classroom. 4 Ways to Teach Students About Social Justice Issues provides approaches similar to the ones we learned in learning out to have conversations about social justice and the value of it in a classroom.
I definitely agree, this class has significantly changed my teacher disposition.
ReplyDeleteMaddie, this was a really well written post. I noticed that each of your "big three" had to do with how people see themselves and others. A lot of times the things we see are surface level and we don't want to take the time to see past any conclusions that we jump to. But the three things you focused on talk about not stereotyping, and being aware of how we see others.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your blog, I realized that the SCWAAMP article was such a good reading to have done early in this course. This is because it doesn't just apply to one topic, it references privilege within everything that society does not feel comfortable facing head on. You have lovely blogs always!
ReplyDeleteHi Maddie! Jodi's video also made me emotional! It's so inspiring to see real stories come out of the topics we discussed in class.
ReplyDeleteHi Maddie! I love your "big three." The Jodi video was so inspiring! People should not be defined by their disabilities as they have so much more to offer than their label and the video proves that!
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