hey! this tendency is learned, and i have to ask myself for forgiveness
before i go making demands that anybody else change.
so much of what i "see" in this one fifth grade classroom feels revelatory
in that it's so close to home, that this is "my" school, this teacher is
one i have known for years---we talk about our kids getting braces and
driver's licenses.
like the columbine effect, i am much more horrified that this stuff
happens in what could be my own life, than when i read about it or watch
it happening in some distant place.
i am struggling with how to break out of dichotomies, which i feel are
fundamentally hierarchical, and support deficit theories that control
those who are found lacking the required characteristics that can be
identified as the "expert," the "teacher," etc.
how can i catch myself before i reproduce these practices of
marginalization?
how can i articulate the benefits of doing this
as a teacher
to other teachers?
how can i speak about what never gets talked about in the teachers' lounge?
my ranting is preparatory to delving into the borderland between theory
and practice and i am resisting because i know how difficult it will be.
you can frame it as a tantrum, if you like.
maybe going to see the new star wars movie will help,
or give me some ideas about how to fight the dark side. . .
kathie
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
start all over.
start all over.
we need to make new symbols,
make new signs,
make a new language,
with these we'll redefine the world
and start all over.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^tracy chapman:new beginning
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Katherine_Goff who-is-at ceo.cudenver.edu
http://ceo.cudenver.edu/~katherine_goff/index.html