Whose story gets told
As a teacher, we have a lot of control over what is talked about in the classroom. We may have to follow a certain curriculum set by the school that we have to follow, but we can all hit it differently. Like the TikTok teacher, Dancingteacher808, we need to make sure our students are learning about everyone. If your curriculum is to learn about historical figures in a certain time period make sure not to zone in on a singular story. To stop students from feeling marginalized we, as teachers, must show multiple viewpoints or stories from different backgrounds. Students who see their background at school, and it being successful stories, is really helpful for students to feel less marginalized. Students tend to feel marginalized because students who are not like them often do not know how to react or they do not have a lot of interaction with them in school. This is why it is important for teachers to have control over whose stories get told in the classroom and to make sure they're not just checking the boxes. We need to make sure we have variety in stories and we aren't victims of heroficatioin. Teachers are who students look up to and they set the tone for the classroom. This is why it is important for teachers to find ways to have the stories of our students get told. This will take some work from the teacher. The teacher in the classroom has to want to do it and have that for their students in the classroom.
Hey Sadie! This is such a great blog and way of interpreting the prompt. I completely agree! It is truly up to the teacher to change the tone of the classroom and how their students feel and are treated. If a student only sees a certain type of person being focused on and they can’t relate to them, that student is not going to feel seen or important. A really good way to change this is to show all types of historical figures that can be a representation for those students. Being a teacher is tricky. Teachers have standards and curriculums that they absolutely have to reach. At the same time, there are other topics that teachers feel are just as or even more important for their students to learn. Finding a way to blend both of these and fit it all into a school year is difficult but very important.
ReplyDeleteHey Hannah! Thank you so much for your compliments. I am so glad you agree that teachers set the tone. I think this can be seen when you walk into any classroom and see the different personalities of the classes. Teachers constantly complain that their students aren't engaged in the material but are only showing them the white-washed version. I agree that showing historical figures of al kinds is really helpful.
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