My dad has always been a "big history guy." I can remember talking about wars, presidents and social movements with him throughout my childhood and my curiosity about history has never faded, but instead has grown over time. Not only has history always fascinated me, but I feel very lucky because school was a safe space that provided a lot of things that my home-life was unable to do when I was young. My parents are good people, but my dad has struggled with alcohol and substance abuse for as long as I can remember. He was rarely seen and if he was, my brother and I would often be taking care of him. I saw my mom even less than my dad because she worked her butt off trying to support us all. The point is, I loved school. School was a place where we had structure, clean rooms, food, fun and adults that didn't expect you to take care of them. When I was at school, I felt like a kid who's biggest problems were an upcoming test, I never wanted to leave. Throughout elementary, middle and high school a lot of my teachers became aware that my home was a difficult place to be. I had teachers and coaches take an interest in me, encourage me to pursue clubs, sports and teams and ask about my life. They made me feel like I mattered and like I was not alone.
My brother's experience at school was much different than mine. Most of his teachers did not seem to understand him and saw him as lazy and unruly. As a result, he eventually rejected school and shut down when he was forced to go. This, as well as my experience with teachers, convinced me that teachers can make a huge impact. However, every teacher and every person has their own biases, hopefully biases that they are at least vaguely aware of. The biases of my brother's teachers may have been why they gave up on him. However, I plan to work as hard as I can to understand my own personal biases and not let them impede my ability to help all kids, even if they seem to by rejecting school.
I cannot imagine a better way to spend my life than to try to do what some of my teachers did for me, making me feel that I mattered and that someone was on my team. I hope to not only peak my students interest in history, but also make my classroom a safe space for students and let them know that I see them as the unique individuals that they are. My goal is to make school a place where students feel comfortable, happy, curious (about history) and excited about their futures.
When we graduated :)
Thanks for sharing your experience and also your brother's. It is difficult and heartbreaking to imagine how it is possible for teachers to push off the responsibility of helping any student, no matter their attitude. If we could think of every child in the classroom as "ours" then we wouldn't be able to justify thinking that someone else should reach out. I like your insight about the personal biases we bring in and that, though difficult, it is our job to understand and address them.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your story. I think this really shows how much of an impact teachers can have on their student's lives, which can extend even outside the classroom. Personally, my AP Language teacher in high school was the teacher who inspired me to want to become a teacher due to his passion for teaching and care for each and every one of his students. Good teachers can really change the lives of their students or, if nothing else, positively impact their education, making this a profession that can be truly rewarding.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. I'm sorry to hear about what happened to your brother. I agree with you that a teacher can make a big influence to a student. The influence can be both good and bad, it depends on how does the teacher treat them. Every student is flexible and they have unlimited potential. As educators, we should strive to encourage every student to be active in life and learning, rather than prejudice and give up at will.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your story. You mentioned more than once that your teachers did make you feel mattered, which is also what you want to do for your students. That exactly shows the positive impact of education on students development. Education is not just teaching. To impart knowledge is not and will never be the only task for teachers, however, supporting students and providing the real help for them during their development are also important. I think what you value that let students know they are regarded as the unique individuals in the classroom is really necessary during teaching, which will lead students to value themselves and respect others. That might be the foundation of all kinds of learning.
ReplyDeleteErin,
ReplyDeleteHow interesting how you and your brother's educational experience was quite different from each other. Although, unintentional, some educators' gender bias may have been at fault for making your brother leave school. However, this gave you a motivation to be a teacher for all students and create a safe space for them.
Thank you for sharing. Your post turned into an uplifting, inspiring story. I know you will do great as a teacher and help out you students during their times of needs. LT did have some great teachers, even at Gurrie, Mr. Driscoll was my favorite teacher because he was so passionate (Erin and I went to the same middle school and high school for those of you who are reading this).
ReplyDeleteFor school ages, schools are their second families, teachers are their second guardians, and classmates are their second siblings when they are in school because they spend most of their daytime in there. Relationship should be highly addressed. It has touched me deeply to read how your teachers help you succeed. That's the teachers that students need -reject bias, warm heart, teaching passion......
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your comments on bias, one good teacher can make a world of a difference, yet, one bad teacher can ruin it. As teachers, it is especially important that we make an effort to control and change our biases so we don't harm our students, but instead encourage them.
ReplyDeleteI thought the section talking about your brother give you go insight about school, it's not for everyone. I think its important for teachers to show their passions for their content to their class. That can be through personal stories, video, projects, field trips and more. However, when you are designing lesson keep in mind the students that don't share that passion for history. How do you motivate students like your brother? The best ways to do this is inquiry and discover. Giving students the option to choose what they are interested in. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI had a similar experience (see my post on Kiley's blog entry) and feel like school was an escape for the realities of my life...that is, until it wasn't. Then, I got a window into how school is experienced by those who are disengaged, for whatever reason. I think this diversity of perspective will be beneficial to you in the classroom, as teachers can sometimes fail to see the humanity in the students that struggle. Maintaining a metacognitive awareness of your biases is so important to learn as a teacher and I'm excited to see you are taking ownership of that fact already.
ReplyDelete