After reading, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, I took some time to really reflect on the relationships I have with my students, specifically within our classes and the roles we all play.
So, during my brief stint of teaching so far, I've realized how much the students contribute to the learning atmosphere. Spoiler alert- it's A LOT. Freire mentioned that treating students as receptacles for information leaves students who lack creativity and engagement. I have found giving students time to discuss and breakdown material within the class, allows them to have a much firmer grasp of the material. Giving them time to speak their minds, most always facilitates a helpful learning experience that lends to creating an environment where the students learn, and I do as well.
Freire stresses that the teacher-student relationship needs to have active involvement from both sides to be the most effective. This idea involves breaking down the contradiction of teacher and students, where in turn we are all the teacher AND the student in the class. If students are treated as places for information to be deposited, and not as active members of the relationship, they will suffer. I have found so much fulfillment with being a teacher and a helpful resource to my students, and they have allowed to me understand the material we go over in a new way, which furthers my growth as a student and a teacher. Treating your students in a way that allows them to feel that they contribute to class, will benefit everyone.I personally walked into my classes with the expectation of already clearly understanding the material I would be teaching and explaining it to the students. From the very first day, I realized that would not be the case. Most classes, I have at least one instance per class where a student will work to present the content in a way I hadn't thought of before. Through their follow up questions and responses, I learn so much while I stand in front of the class actively in the role as their teacher. Every student has a unique set of experiences that allows them to process the material in a different way, giving their peers (and me) a way to understand it through a different lens than our own. Letting go of some of the control of the class, and giving it to the students, has been one of the most rewarding things in teaching for me thus far. Seeing how much my students bring to the class firsthand, and learning from their experiences, allows me apply this to other classes. This real-world applications allows me to deepen the knowledge for myself, therefore, making me a better teacher (and student) in the long run.
My first ⚡️#lightningboldt as a teacher stems from the realization that allowing your students to teach you, will in turn enhance your own abilities as a teacher.
-lightning boldt OUT⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️
#LightningBoldt: I loved your final thought on this post – allowing my students to teach me has enriched my abilities as a teacher. Throughout the first half of the semester, I’ve learned so much about popular culture from my students! Thus far, I’ve learned about the existence of Fortnight: a non-killing shooting game, the most popular in the entire world. Furthermore, taking time to understand my students develops my personal lexicon! My students taught me how to correctly use terms like, “clutch” to indicate something that is crucial to a positive outcome; “tea” and “piping hot tea” are synonymous with “truth” and “hot gossip”; “K-pop” is Korean pop music; “Juul” is a new type of pocket-sized vape machine. Juul is a “thing”, or an interest or area of knowledge! Three of my COMM 1010 students did their introductory presentations on the values and merits of their Juuls as artifacts for self-care rituals. According to my students, Lil Uzi Vert is a charming individual.
ReplyDeleteI observe a definite shift in their gaze when I mentally shift out of the “them” and “me”; and into “us” and “we”. This evokes passages of Palmer’s “both/and”. When I think of myself as a student of my students, I embrace the “both/and” possibilities in the classroom. Both them, and me; and us. I want to continue letting go of the “control” aspect of managing a classroom, being okay with vulnerability (and professorial silence!), and turning to my students for answers and ideas.
I love the idea of still being a student even though we are officially the teacher. I think that we're never really done learning, even if we are supposed to be the expert in the subject. I fully believe that the students have so much to teach us in return for what we teach them, whether it's a new way to look at the material, or a new example to use that reaches previously unreached students, or whatever it might be! Students have valuable knowledge to offer us and it's important that we listen to them!
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