Daniel's
As some of my peers, the notion of “urban” and “suburban” is quite foreign to me. I grew up in a very small town, which housed the only High School in a 30 km radius. Beside my sister and I, the number of visible minorities in the school was quite low, and while we spoke the language, our peers and teachers, from the moment they heard our last name, drew preconceived conclusions about us because we were First Nations. Daniel’s explains on page 832 that “Canadian teachers’ images of urban schools primarily emerge from the media.”(832) As in my high school, teachers’ drew conclusions primarily from what they saw in the media or stereotypical views of First Nations people. Although, as previously mentioned, our reserve bordered the small town, certain student thought that we still lived in tipis. This example serves to the show the ignorance of preconceived ideas. If we enter an urban school, and have it in our minds that all students are violent, we will not be able to see past these stereotypes. Chambers "Not being American,” “First Nations,” “Multicultural.” These are some answer we might hear if we pose the question: “What does it mean to be Canadian?” Chambers in her article entitled: “Were do I belong?” Canadian Curriculum as Passports Home,” breaks down the barriers and preconceived ideas of “urban schools.” As she jumps from personal stories and anecdotes to more in-depth analysis, Chambers reveals the present realities for many Canadian families. She explains that while we were labelled as a multicultural country by then-Prime Minister Trudeau, we tend to forget about Canada’s First Nations people. The borders that she often refers to in the article represents the ever changing laws and regulation concerning curriculum, as per claimed in the title. Although Chamber’s article does not necessarily answer the question posed in the beginning of the essay, it does show how our individuals experiences shape who we are as people. Ayers First and foremost, I would like to begin this post by expressing how amazing Ayer’s novel entitled: “To Teach: The journey, in comics” truly is. This short collection on mini-comics explores the trials and tribulations, but also the more rewarding aspects of teaching. On numerous occasions while reading this book I could not resist but to think of my own personal experiences in elementary school and high school. Although i graduated elementary school nearly fifteen years ago, labelling students was a present factor. In our school, label such as “bad,” “slow,” “trouble-maker,” and ‘disobedient” where present. Perhaps teachers were not aware that labels could have a lasting effect on children's self-esteem and the way the view themselves. As examined in the book, children can act out in certain ways because they are not given the proper tools to deal with their emotions. Perhaps they are having problems at home and do not know how to deal with the stress. As explained by Ayers, it is important to get to know your students, and understand why they act in certain ways. I’ve noticed that often children who are given a more negative label are almost forgotten by the teacher and pushed to the side focusing solely on children who are more quite and willing to learn. Often, however, it is the children who act out who need a greater amount of attention and someone to notice them. It can easily be argued that beside parents, teachers play an important role in the development of a child, and often school is the only stable environment for children. This is an important lesson for new teachers.
1 Comment
Linda Radford
10/1/2015 03:27:48 am
Thanks Brooke for sharing your perspective on what Daniel and Chambers are trying to get beneath by way of unpacking the problem of stereotyping and what it means to be Canadian, especially if we look at how First Nation people have been treated in this country. And, I am glad you enjoyed Ayers so much. I look forward to reading your responses to his work.
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