What are the consequences of DELIBERATELY preventing or not preventing a nasty experience from unfolding in a learning environment?
This question seemed obvious to me at first. "Of course we should always prevent nasty experiences! What kind of person would deliberately allow something to happen to one of their students!?" Yet as I thought on it more, I realized what exactly that entails. Ultimately, failure is one of the cornerstones of effective learning. Nothing teaches a student whats right more than them experiencing whats wrong. By allowing negative instances to occur, I would be enabling the learner an opportunity to reflect on the incident. Questioning how it happened, why it happened, and what could have been done to prevent it would be of a much greater benefit to them as learners than my simple intervention to ensure the incident never took place at all. As an educator, I would prefer to think of myself as a facilitator than an outright teacher at times. If by allowing a nasty incident to befall a student would facilitate their own development as learners, I cannot see why I would not allow it to occur.
This is, of course, assuming the incident is within reason. The term "nasty" is fairly general, and my response takes it to mean the failing of an assignment, or doing an activity incorrectly; academic forms of "nasty". In the event of more stereotypical nasty behavior (such as physical altercations, verbal abuse, etc.) I feel I would be obligated as an educator and as an individual with some semblance of authority to intervene. Negative experiences are ones of learning, to be certain. However, I cannot justify something morally wrong affecting a student and not allowing myself to intervene in order to help them learn something from it.
What are the common thoughts and ideas you notice among all of the postings (within the "Learning and Change" section of the Session 3 Forum)
The most prominent theme I noticed within this weeks forum posts is regarding the importance of critical reflection (and critical agency in turn). Reflection is something I believe most educators are familiar with. In order to progress as a teacher (as well as a learner) it is immensely important to be able to look back on your experiences and use them to grow. Reflection allows us to expand our boundaries and leave our comfort zones, actions which are necessary for growth as educators.
Regarding powers structures, I saw a mix of ideas as I went through the posts, many of which were similar to my own ideas. One of the ideas I saw which I most liked was this notion of "teacher as friend" which was brought up in the post by Haylee Drew, something I believe she was entirely correct about. I had a teacher in high school who was far more interested in being my friend than being my teacher. While this made her class one which I very much looked forward to, I eventually stopped viewing her as a teacher, and in all honesty stopped learning. I couldn't take her telling me what to do seriously, assignments seemed like a waste of my time, etc. It simply reinforces the idea that even though it is important for to have a rapport with our students, we need them to respect us as authority figures in order for learning to occur. As Haylee reiterated, a 50/50 split of friendliness and authority may be an effective compromise in order to make your students respect your word, as well as have them enjoy being in your presence.
Regarding powers structures, I saw a mix of ideas as I went through the posts, many of which were similar to my own ideas. One of the ideas I saw which I most liked was this notion of "teacher as friend" which was brought up in the post by Haylee Drew, something I believe she was entirely correct about. I had a teacher in high school who was far more interested in being my friend than being my teacher. While this made her class one which I very much looked forward to, I eventually stopped viewing her as a teacher, and in all honesty stopped learning. I couldn't take her telling me what to do seriously, assignments seemed like a waste of my time, etc. It simply reinforces the idea that even though it is important for to have a rapport with our students, we need them to respect us as authority figures in order for learning to occur. As Haylee reiterated, a 50/50 split of friendliness and authority may be an effective compromise in order to make your students respect your word, as well as have them enjoy being in your presence.
Another important aspect I noted in many of my fellow students posts regarded the importance of examining how our students will see us. Caitlinn Mccman summarized my personal feelings pretty well: "Being from a white middle class background I was never really exposed to being at the disadvantage". This is something I am entirely aware of, and somewhat paranoid about, as I have said in other posts. I want my students to be able to feel comfortable and relatable to be, but I am also aware of how difficult that can be for someone of my background. How my students see me is immensely important to me, as I believe respect is necessary for an effective classroom environment. Being able to reflect on their experiences, as well as my own, is what I believe could be the key to making this happen.
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