Reflecting on this Semester
Reflecting on this semester there are many things I
will remember. The top three, however,
are the way we built a community, the meaningful way Delpit’s ideas translate
into everyday life, and the Aria reading by Rodriguez.
I didn’t realize until the first day of class that we
were a combination of graduate and undergraduate students. During this first class, we introduced each
other, learned about each other, and laughed together. The “Moo-in” at the beginning of each class
further contributed to our community building.
We repeated our names before every class, learned how our day was, and learned
different things about each other. This
experience, along with the food and laughs we often shared helped develop our
sense of community. I would use this
technique in my classroom to both engage students and encourage comfort with
each other.
On a more serious note, before this class, I had never
heard of the author, Lisa Delpit. One of
the major themes within her work is the culture of power. I had never thought about the culture of
power. I acknowledge that there is a system
of power in place everywhere you go, but I had never thought about it
specifically or the effect it has on different people’s lives. I believe a great takeaway from Delpit’s writing
is the idea that those who have power often do not realize they have
power. At the same time, those who live
without power do understand the difference between those living with and without
power.
“Aria” by Rodriguez was a beautiful read. His words created a feeling within myself
about different cultures and how people experience culture. Reading about the author’s experience with
his family and classmates depicted two realities within one person. On one hand, he had his familial experience
including language, foods, and traditions.
On the other hand, he experienced his school reality and the way he adapted
to popular culture language, and traditions.
It was interesting to see how as he grew he became more enveloped in the
American tradition and moved away from his familial world.
This class was a great experience from beginning to
end. I enjoyed our discussions and
learning from each other. I will strive
to utilize some of the ideas presented in this class to conduct my class in a
meaningful way.
I have really appreciated being a part of this learning community as well! We have had some late nights and some long conversations but it felt good to build an inclusive community from the ground up, and I am proud of the progress that we have all made as social justice warriors together!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see you included the experience of this class. It was a pleasure getting to know everyone and I enjoyed our class discussions. The "moo in" seemed silly at first but turned out to be fun and we learned something new about each other every week. Although we do have morning meetings and time to share thoughts in our school, I definitely need to include an animal in our sharing time.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed our sense of community that was built during this semester. In addition, to sharing our own experiences whether from a professional educator taking our graduate class or from an undergraduate who was placed in their first classroom. We can all learn each other and that is a lesson I still apply as an educator.
ReplyDeleteI too feel the same way about Lisa Delpit's meaning of the culture of power. It really is something that is so embedded into our society that it is very easy to overlook unless you are specifically looking for it. It is one of the readings that I feel many of us have been able to relate to in some experience.
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