What Are Four Ideas That Impact Me As An Educator

When reflecting on our readings and class discussions, four ideas have made the most impact on me as an educator. First, my idea that education as a privilege has been challenged. Second, our practices and our personal beliefs as teachers have a great impact on the social identities of our students, not only in the classroom but long after they leave us and enter into the workforce. I have learned to become aware of all the different ways people in the word are literate, regardless of their reading and writing skills. Finally, I have begun to think about how I can make my classroom more reflective of the worlds that my students come to me from to help them see themselves as readers and writers.
As a society we have a general attitude that …show more content…
We can’t do this only through interventions aimed at raising literacy scores. We do this by learning who our students are, finding out what ways they use and see literacy used in their worlds, and bring those ways into the classroom whenever possible. Norton-Meier talked about this when she said that she was looking for a way to “transform my curriculum from themes about teddybears and applesauce to inquiry cycles where children ask questions pertinent to their words” (p. 288). This was my ah-ha moment. Perhaps it was because we were making applesauce in the classroom the next day or that we were learning a poem about a Cinnamon Bear. Or maybe it was because I was already thinking about this with my experience with my student last year and his fishing trip. I had seen how excited he was when he could teach me all about fishing and boating. We turned this into procedural writing piece that he was really proud of. However, this was a one-off experience for him. I am beginning to think about how I could have (or will in the future) imbed this into my practice in a more authentic way for children everyday. After thinking about this, I decided to put some thoughts into action. I started with environmental print and telling my primary students that they were all readers. They were sceptical until I showed them signs for Lego, McDonalds and Play-Doh. We put the signs up on the word wall next to their respective letters. The …show more content…
This is very telling about the importance of the isseues that are presented in this class. Much like Norton-Meier, I went into this class with some questions and I am leaving with even more (p. 289). My idea my education is a privilege has been challenged. I am not privileged because that would mean that I am better than someone without an education. Previous to starting this class I thought of myself as a very open person who encouraged children to work to their full potential. I am starting to question what gives me the right to decide what their full potential is? How is my view of my students’ full potential rooted in my own value systems? What impact am I making on a student if I am constantly presenting him or her with situations that are so outside of their norms? What ways can I make my classroom more relevant and reflective of the cultures in my room? I am looking forward to the readings and discussions that lie that may challenge my thinking even