This week, I was presented within one particular issue which stood out; one idea that made me somewhat uncomfortable: the notion of 'eros' and eroticism in the classroom. Reading over this part of Hooks' work initially, I had a hard time understanding what purpose this kind of teaching had in the classroom. I still do. Obviously, I had many of the reactions i think one would expect from this kind of reading: I was troubled with the notion of being 'too close' to students, the concept of utilizing erotic impulses for positive classroom gains seemed insane to me. Passion is good. Passion is a great thing to bring into the classroom. But as far as I'm concerned, your passion should be about your students success; students learning. Having a passion for the students themselves simply seems inappropriate, and frankly a little scary. Everyone has heard the horror stories of teachers being put on the chopping block after being accused of inappropriate relations with their students. Even if they're found to be not guilty of whatever it is they've been accused of, they are forever marked, likely to never find steady work again.
On my initial post, I had a brief discussion with another student and realized where my issue with this concept may come from: the fact that I'm a male.Teaching and nurturing, stereotypically, are female concepts. As such, society in general is much more comfortable with female teachers around male students than the opposite. In tandem with this, there is much more likely to be an issue surrounding a male teacher and female student than the opposite; people are simply programed to be wary of men around women in a position of power. I believe it is this inherent societal bias that has me so opposed to the entire concept. It is so easy for someone to cry wolf and tell everyone you have an inappropriate relationship with a student, I feel it is best to make sure that opportunity never arises for them in the first place.
No comments:
Post a Comment