Teaching Delpit in my Future Classroom
Since I am preparing to teach at the community college level, I suppose I take away from the article a more diverse point of view. Not realizing that there are multiple was in which to teach students, I found the article interesting and informative. However, I am not sure how much of the article I will actually use when I am a teacher. I feel that, yes, everyone needs to learn the rules of the majority culture in order to be successful ( just like studying abroad, we make sacrifices in order to integrate into the major culture) and ,yes, teachers should aid to make transitions and learning easier. However at the level of schooling I plan on teaching, the students are responsible for what and how much they learn. If it matters enough to them, then no matter the teaching style, they will put in the effort to be successful in the class. If it doesn’t matter, then success will not be obtained as easily.
posted by Liz @ 12:02 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
I think it is more an ideal than a reality that students are responsible for what and how much they learn. In a perfect world, students would educate themselves I suppose. If this ideal were true, what would be the purpose of a teacher? Why have teacher evaluations if the way a teacher teaches doesn't matter for the learning of a student? What if a subject doesn't matter to a student because a teacher has taught it poorly to them or in a way the student doesn't understand or respond to?
Students might have some idea of what matters to them, but Delpit is dealing with the fact that teachers are responsible for telling students what is important to the world. If a student goes into the world with only the knowledge that matters to them personally, are they well equipped to survive in a world with different interests than their own?
Hopefully these comments offer you a different way to consider the article.
I also had never realized that there were multiple ways to teach. Because of this I thought that the article was very helpful. Though I'm not sure students are fully responsible for how much they learn at the college level. I agree that this level will be greater than in earlier years of schooling. The teacher has an important job of presenting the material in a way that is informative and interesting. It is then the student's job to learn.
I think you are right that at the level you plan to teach, your students should be self-motivated. However, you will also be in the position to be the first teacher that may not be from your student's hometown. You may find that you are the first teacher that your students have had that do not agree with their world view.
At the community college level I guess it would be very important to be ready for difficulties. As mentioned in another comment, it is very likely that you will be the first instructor that a student cannot find information out from a friend in regards to. You can not be the only part of the students progression, though at the stage in their life where you would meet them, you must be a critical part of them progressing further.
Post a Comment
<< Home