I am very self aware. By this point in my life, I know where I am from and know where I'm going... and where I'm going is more important to me... I don't enjoy delving into my past too much this is why my collage was based off of cultural artifacts such as music and art. I was taught not to share unnecessary personal information and it was reinforced with "what happens in this family, stays in this family". I have had great ups and downs and have experienced sooo very much in my short 24 years. My life has been a wild and bumpy ride thus far- but I have learned alot about myself and others. Some people carry their memories with them for life... I've learned something long ago... memories are like books on a shelf, you take them down sometimes, dust them off, read some excerpts and put them back... There are a couple of types of people who would like to do such a personal collage. 1. Those who have never really experience terrible hardship and pain and like discuss the past and people in the past- because it takes them back to good times and there are 2. those who may use the collage as "therapy" because it gives them some control over their lives, whose on the collage, whose left out, etc. The dynamics of my life and the people I know are typical of many other inner city children. I believe that if I were to do such a collage in my class, I would make sure it was less personal. I would ask my students to find science in their daily lives (cars, sports, light) and ask them to come up with scientific questions (why does a light go on when switch is flipped?) that we can find the answers to together. For a teacher to expect that a student would plaster his/her life story on a poster is wrong and is actually not culturally sensitive. I am tired of discussing this "sugar coated" view of the world. It is hard out there... and sometimes race, money, culture has nothing to do with it... making those who struggle remember why they struggled in the first place, is just irritating the wound.
Let's stop focussing on how we got here, and let's focus on making our situations better.
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3 comments:
I both agree and disagree. Coming from a bit of a different perspective, this post really made me think, what is our job as teachers? As a cultural anthropologist, I would argue that culture is EVERYTHING. As a future teacher in Newark, I do feel that what you are saying does have a lot of relevance.
It is difficult to talk about hardships and harsh realities to individuals that have not had the picture perfect upbringing. I think that this assignment done in the appropriate environment (that is, an open, democratic classroom) can really help children realize some facts about their lives.
In an urban environment, this assignment can acknowledge, but not focus solely, on the bad memories or things that are unpleasant to the students. Rather, an emphasis can be placed on the way that socio-economic and political factors have influenced and continue to impact their lives (i.e. why they seem to have gotten the "short end of the stick", for lack of a better phrase).
I think that a lot of our country has a "blame the poor" mentality, and I think that a lot of that blame is internalized by urban youth. Why not use this project to give students ownership of and take pride in their culture, as it can been seen as a form of resistance to the institutional, economic inequality that exists in our country (Unequal Childhoods!).
I think that you have to right idea about looking for ways to make things better. I agree that this project should be designed with an emphasis on the future.
I do not think, though, that we can completely forget about the past. Perhaps, explaining the past in ways that open students' eyes to broader economic and political constructions that have led to their difficult upbringing (in poverty) can be instrumental in inspiring them to strive for future success.
Your collage was awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Your collage was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!
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