Written Assignment 2: Challenging Student Beliefs
Discussing Values I currently work with high school students and topics regarding personal values come up quite frequently. My students like to know about college, of course, but sometimes questions of politics or other related, touchy subjects arise. Generally, if students ask my opinion on something that could be considered a disagreeable topic, I will tell them how I feel. With that being said, however, I always make sure to let my students know that I am in no way saying that the way I think or feel is the way that they should and that I am right. Essentially, I don’t try to persuade my students to think the way that I do. I do, however, like to allow them a chance to think critically about …show more content…
With that being said, however, I still think that it is important sometimes to challenge students’ beliefs. In the following subsections, I will discuss when I think it is appropriate to challenge my students’ beliefs and why I believe I am ethically justified in doing so.
Beliefs I Challenge
Discriminatory beliefs. One of the most important times I feel I would need to challenge a student’s belief is if they portray discriminatory beliefs or behavior towards others. If I hear a student making derogatory statements about a person based on their race, gender, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, or any other aspect of their culture, I would feel the need to challenge that belief. In order to challenge them, I would ask my students to describe how they feel about particular groups and in what instances they have seen these beliefs affirmed and also proven wrong. I would like to also know how much students actually know about another person’s culture and ask if they would like to explore the other culture or cultures together so that we might combat the discriminatory and prejudiced
Discussing Values I currently work with high school students and topics regarding personal values come up quite frequently. My students like to know about college, of course, but sometimes questions of politics or other related, touchy subjects arise. Generally, if students ask my opinion on something that could be considered a disagreeable topic, I will tell them how I feel. With that being said, however, I always make sure to let my students know that I am in no way saying that the way I think or feel is the way that they should and that I am right. Essentially, I don’t try to persuade my students to think the way that I do. I do, however, like to allow them a chance to think critically about …show more content…
With that being said, however, I still think that it is important sometimes to challenge students’ beliefs. In the following subsections, I will discuss when I think it is appropriate to challenge my students’ beliefs and why I believe I am ethically justified in doing so.
Beliefs I Challenge
Discriminatory beliefs. One of the most important times I feel I would need to challenge a student’s belief is if they portray discriminatory beliefs or behavior towards others. If I hear a student making derogatory statements about a person based on their race, gender, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, or any other aspect of their culture, I would feel the need to challenge that belief. In order to challenge them, I would ask my students to describe how they feel about particular groups and in what instances they have seen these beliefs affirmed and also proven wrong. I would like to also know how much students actually know about another person’s culture and ask if they would like to explore the other culture or cultures together so that we might combat the discriminatory and prejudiced