End of course reflection...

I can't believe that this is the last week of our course. I have enjoyed how discussion based the class was, and how much we shared. I also ended up loving the student-centered model of the class with the student facilitations each week. It honestly has inspired me to make some changes in my own classroom, giving my students more opportunities to present information to the class themselves and encouraging them to ask questions about culture or speak up when they don't understand something that they are learning.

I will be honest, this class has not always been easy because every week it seems that I leave class challenged in yet another area, but the uneasy feeling is so worth it because it usually leads to me making necessary changes in my teaching practices. I hope that I continue to find ways to be challenged so that I never become complacent in my teaching and I always find new ways to connect with my students and serve them better!

"Positive" Stereotypes

I think that the most impacting portion of the facilitation on Tuesday was the activity and subsequent discussion we had on positive versus negative stereotypes. First of all, when we posted up all of the stereotypes we wrote down on the post-its, I was honestly sickened by some of the ones that I read. It is crazy to me that our society has created such negative and demeaning images when it comes to some groups of people. In comparison, when someone hears the statement that "All Asians are smart" or "All women can cook," it seems as though these statements are extremely positive ones in comparison to some of the negative stereotypes mentioned before that tear down and demean the overall image of people groups. Our discussion, however, pointed to the fact that whether you are saying that "all white people are racist" or "all black people are great dancers," both stereotypes are negative because they are seeking to place a label on an entire group of people. There is no such thing as a "positive stereotype" because all stereotypes seek to place people groups "in a box," stripping away the individuality of the people within that group. All stereotypes create an expectation of who people should be or how they should act according to the people group that they are a part of; the moment that they do not meet the expectations set by stereotypes, they are made to feel that something is wrong with them, or they are accused of trying to be someone that they are not.
Not only in my classroom, but also in my own personal life, I am going to seek to fight against all of the stereotypes I am inundated with daily. Though I cannot completely eradicate all stereotypes that exist due to media and society, I can work to not let them play a role in the way I look at or interact with other people. Also, though I cannot force my students to do the same in their own lives, I can make my classroom a place where stereotypical comments are not overlooked or permitted. I hope to have honest conversations with my students about what stereotypes mean and the negative effects that they create in order to get them to think about the things they choose to say, and give them a greater understanding of the power of their words.