Week 10 Anthology 21,22,23 and Folder 10

1. “Technocratic and instrumental rationalities are also at work within the teaching field itself, and they play an increasing role in reducing teacher autonomy with respect to the development and planning of curricula and the judging and implementation of instruction.” (200 Giroux)

One of the reasons that I have wanted to become a teacher is to be able to use my ability to create fun and interesting ways to learn. But with the curriculum that I see in schools today it seems somewhat more unlikely that I can do that because of the emphasis on standardized testing and very specific goals that must be met. The quote explains well how teachers have less independence to create their own lesson plans. This is disappointing because this takes away teacher’s passion and excitement that they have when they have freedom with their curricula.  I especially find this restriction harmful not only to teachers but to the students. These students need all the excitement they can get when learning in a classroom. By having very specific curriculum where the teacher is just simply carrying out someone else’s plans it is far less affective. I don’t understand why this power has been taken away from the classroom teachers This sends out the message that their lessons are not acceptable and their experience has no value. Which I’m sure in a majority of cases teachers are highly qualified and practiced enough to be able to make the proper judgment on how to teach their students certain material.

2. “I have argued that by viewing teachers as intellectuals those persons concerned with education can begin to rethink and reform traditions and conditions that have prevented schools and teachers from assuming their full potential as active, reflective scholars and practitioners.” (202 Giroux)

This quote is a good expression of how important teachers are and how they need to start being viewed that way by others and those who are teachers as well need to view themselves as intellectuals to start making change happen. It’s disappointing that teachers in a sense have to prove themselves to others to be viewed as having important careers. To me it is so obvious that teachers are incredibly important and special people to have taught and inspired so many to do amazing things using the knowledge that they have gained and the passion for learning that enables them to do these great things. Teachers are the people who set the examples and empower students to grow and keep growing in life. These are such outstanding things to be able to be apart of in people’s lives and there are so many people who fail to see it this way. But this quote is challenging teachers to better themselves and continue to be “active, reflective scholars and practitioners.” These are not easy tasks and that is why it is such an important process to endure because in the end it will make you a better teacher.

3. “Mary confessed: ‘I don’t know what critical thinking is’; ‘I have never done it’; ‘I have never learned about it.’” (210 Anthology)

             This quote from the vignette about Mary surprised me.  By the description of her schooling and career experiences it is hard to believe that this quote from her is true. I wonder how this is possible for this person to not have that understanding of what critical thinking when she has been through so much education to become an educator. I have a hope that maybe she is just unfamiliar with the terminology and does actually does demonstrate critical thinking in her life experiences. Either way how has this not been a topic not been involved in any of her experiences? I believe that we talked about this in class that children are not being required or introduced to having their own opinion about things. To me this is laziness because the reason people are not using their critical voices is because they don’t have to, people do it for them; people such as their teachers, news reporters, or authors. I think that people take on other people’s beliefs as their own without questioning or critically analyzing it because it is easy just to agree. In this case it seems as though Mary has done something similar by not having an idea of what it means to think about something critically. I think about how I have become a critical thinker and really to me it means not to trust everything you hear. This may be a narcissist view but that is how people must view things to protect themselves and develop their own views. This is necessary to adapt and grow as a person and as a teacher especially this is important to teach students to do this or else you will have no standards for yourself.  This reminds me very much of Zoe’s speech that we watched when you said, “Don’t believe anything I’m saying.”

4. “ Stan and John epitomize teachers who, for whatever reason, either do not know how to think critically or if they do, cannot act on their analyses. They should not be teachers in our democracy. They model what is the most dangerous threat to our society—the inability to speak in critical voice.”

(212 Anthology)

This quote is incredibly important to me because it is vital for teachers to be able to reflect and look at things critically before they share things with their students. Teachers must see the potential messages that they are sending out to their students and decide if that is something that they intend to instill in their students. Teachers that don’t look at things through these lenses will be creating students who will make the same mistake down the line. This country needs people to question and investigate before they automatically make a decision about how they feel about something. That is why I truly enjoy watching Stephen Colbert and John Steward and their interpretations of what is going on in our society. It gives me another perspective that I can also analyze and see the bias or influence they might have to comment the way they did. I also have an appreciation for the fact that I have been able to be a critical thinker and am being pushed to keep questioning materials that I am exposed to.