In 8th grade my American History teacher, Mr. Sheridan, was discussing the civil war. He challenged us to think like a confederate soldier. To think as if our whole way of life is about to be lost. This experience made me think about looking at the different view points which many people possess. A couple examples of this are the Scottish’s view of the English; the Joker’s view of Batman; etc. But it is due to this experience in Mr. Sheridan’s class that I enjoy looking, and writing, from a view that isn’t always that of the hero. I find it wholesome to approach a subject from a totally different point of view in order to really come full circle with a story. Not everyone supports this type of thinking and that is ok. My prior education, for the most part, did not like this sort thinking. I think that by not exposing another side to a story, people are missing out on big chunks of detail. I believe I can work well and teach in a school environment. My potential lies within making a story out of abstract ideas. Children like stories because their minds are engaged and stories pass the time. A few concerns I have about this approach of teaching is; can I get to engaged myself and forget about the subject I’m supposed to be teaching? Then if a story isn’t keeping their minds engaged, how do you engage the students more? I suppose the only way to truly find this out is to have a trial by fire. Also, in Expeditionary Learning Core Practices, the author states that schools support a college bound culture. He says that schools starting as young as the 6th grade should be providing visits to college campuses and having college symbols up all throughout the school. I do not agree with this. Perhaps students should start looking towards colleges in their sophomore year of high school but not sooner. It is in my beliefs that starting them on the hunt for colleges to soon will allow the school to push students to choose an in state school rather than broadening their horizons. That being said, my last concern is how can I promote preparing a student for college before they have ever given college a thought?
Pretty good. Children’s minds are definitely better at learning when they are engaged, just like you mention with stories.
I’ve never thought about reading or writing from the point of view of the antagonist before; this would certainly be an effective way to analyze a particular text.
Shamus,
I just came back from a talk in DC in which the president of Wesleyan University spoke about creating safe spaces for contentious and distinct points of view in our democracy. I hope this will be an ongoing part of our collaborations together as well seek to bring different perspectives, as well as take responsibility for listening and acting on others concerns. These kinds of activities with literature or “case scenarios” are wonderful for opening social discussions.
I appreciate your remarks about the rush to push college, and yet the need for readiness. I’d like to know more about and have you define why this “sort (of) thinking was not encouraged in your previous learning?
MAJ Hodde