My Portfolio Review

            This semester I have learned a great deal about how to teach for social justice. I didn’t think I was biased or racist but after doing class activities or portfolio assignments I found that I am actually passively racist because I am not stand against these social injustices. Through reviewing my previous portfolio, I found that I learned a lot about myself this semester and about how to create a safe and uplifting classroom. I will go through each assignment and talk about what I learned and how it applies to my future classroom before summarizing my learning from the class material in general.

Imagined Classroom

            This assignment was especially interesting because when I first wrote it before going through any of the class material I thought I had done a great job! But as we went through the class and talked about different social justice issues I started to find problems with my imagined classroom like what was I making available to students and how was I involving them in the learning process. It was interesting to find that I was even subtly using the deficit model to make excuses for some of the students who would come through my classroom. So the biggest thing I learned about this assignment was how I really did have biases and I needed to learn about these issues so I could keep them out of my classroom. Through the other assignments in this portfolio and the class I learned how I could make my classroom better for disadvantaged children and make sure it wasn’t oppressing any one group! I know that I will need to keep working on fighting these social justice issues in my classroom but I am off to a good start!

Cultural Artifacts

            This assignment was interesting to learn what culture really meant to me. It was hard to define my culture into a few simple objects, but as I tried I did learn more about myself and it was interesting to think about what other people would use to represent their culture. As a teacher I will have to learn how to celebrate cultures other than mine in respectful ways. This activity also helped me to better understand how I could help my students acquire cultural capital, which can be very important for immigrants or other students who struggle to fit in.

Being the Other

            This was probably the most beneficial exercise of the semester because I have been very privileged in my life. I have had a lot of opportunities but I have never really been the other. So when I had to go to the yoga class all by myself I was really self-conscious and embarrassed when I couldn’t participate in the class well. I had to take a lot of breaks and the instructor often corrected my yoga positions. I also felt like I especially stood out because there were two other students in the class who were obviously experienced in yoga. This experience has helped me understand exactly how some of my students will feel when they enter my classroom. For many of them it will be their first experience with biology, and sometimes it will be their first science class in high school. They will likely feel like I did in the yoga class – like I didn’t know what I was doing and like there was no way I could be good at yoga. Having had this experience myself I will better be able to recognize the students who are struggling with otherness and I will be able to reach out to them and help them feel welcome in my classroom. I especially learned from my yoga class that calling these students out in the middle of class will likely make them feel even more alienated so I should be careful how I approach students who are experiencing this and help them in the most beneficial way.

Mexican American Oppression

            This was an important assignment for me because it made me leave my comfort zone and actually learn about a specific group who are discriminated against in America.  I had heard many things but to actually read about the terrible things that are done to Mexican Americans was eye opening. It was also good for me to read about how these Mexican American students under preform in schools often because we (teachers and the school system) put limitations on them. They are also often poor and usually working to help support their families so that school is hard for them BUT that does not mean they don’t want to be there learning. These children might be the brightest in our class, but we have to give them a chance to shine! This assignment also showed me ways I personally discriminate against Mexicans, specifically immigrants but they are human beings who have rights and need to be treated equally.

My Community Experience: Center for Change

            This assignment was a little harder for me – probably because I don’t like to think about things like eating disorders and depression because I find it really sad. I have never had those experiences or at least to the extreme of trying to hurt myself so I didn’t understand and I was scared to understand them because if I see that as a normal occurrence then I will have to realize that my students and family members who I love are vulnerable to that. So it was good to learn about this to help open my eyes and see exactly what I could do to help students with these problems, which helps me along to accepting other sad realities that I will face as a teacher. Another important thing I learned from this experience is how I need to make sure I am never actively putting a student down because I won’t always know what is going on in their life and it could have a huge impact on our relationship and the students ability to preform well in my class.

Book Club: New Kids

            This assignment completely changed my view of immigration. I will be honest at first I wasn’t sure that I agreed that undocumented immigrants should get a free education in our country. I didn’t think that was fair to the students who were citizens but this book completely changed my whole view. Before reading this book, I would have called them illegal but it really changed my whole view, because I recognize they are people who just want to have the opportunity to have a better life in America. It was also interesting to me how all of the kids who came to America wanted to learn so badly, but sometimes teachers don’t accommodate them or even try to help them so that they can learn in our school system. This book also showed how much of an impact teachers can have on their students. The teachers at the international school were able to act as social capital to help these students get cool opportunities like internships and jobs but also they were able to help these immigrants gain cultural capital so that they could learn to function in our society. It inspired me and made me truly want to be like them – helping these students to fit into our society while also respecting their own cultures too!

Reimagined Classroom

            This last assignment was a little difficult for me because it was hard to picture the students I would have and the cultures they would come from but I was able to tweak my original imagined classroom to change how I was putting some students at a disadvantage and help enable students to be responsible for their own learning. I know actually putting this in a real classroom will be a lot harder than simply writing about it but I recognize now that these are all things I can do and it will make a huge difference for the students in my classroom. I can create a safe place for my students to be themselves and fearlessly participate in biology in just changing some of my attitudes and by how I act! And it will definitely take time to write up lesson plans with activities that teach students instead of just lecturing but I know if I put in the effect I will be able to help a few more students live up to their potentials!

            Overall I feel like I learned a lot in this class. I learned about how little things like deficit thinking can be really damaging forms of discriminations against my students, but if I choose instead to help them overcome the disadvantages in front of them they will be able to become the best students they can be. I learned that I may not understand how it feels to be depressed or homosexual or disabled but that doesn’t mean I can’t help these students feel comfortable in my classroom by not being judgmental. Even if I don’t agree with my students lifestyles does not mean I can’t help them to break down the barriers around them as an advocate on their behalf! If I show my students how much I love and care about them then I will be able to help them achieved their own personal academic goals and expectations I set for them. No student is incapable, as long as I make sure not to put him or her at a disadvantage! This puts a lot of responsibility on me and it is a little scary but I know I can be a force for good in these students’ lives and I can help to stop the social injustices that push them down!