WWKD: What Would Kids Do

Wow! This week gave me a lot to ponder on. The conversation that we had in class on Wednesday night about religion in the classroom really got me thinking. First thing that I realized was that the subject was especially touchy to people who have great interest in religion. I, myself, am not a very religious person and therefore find that I am not as extreme about my opinion on this topic as other people are. Just in conversations that I have had outside of the classroom I have noticed a trend which is: parents who are religious seem to have a stronger opinion on what is being taught to their children. A great friend of mine is Jewish and him and his family practice Judaism. He was very opposed to his children receiving education about religion in the classroom even the teaching of his own religion. He even argues that the teaching of history should be done so without any reference to religion at all. On the other hand, a few of my other friends who are not religious in the same intensity said that they would not mind it if their children were to be educated on the facts of religion and how religion plays into our society. One common argument was that it would never be alright for teachers (or any authority) to try to manipulate their student’s freedom of choice. Something I found interesting was that a few of my friends made the argument that because they are not religious they do not know how to teach their children about the influential aspects of religion, aspects that they all agreed are important to a complete understanding of our world.

There is one tiff that I feel a bit obligated to make in this blog entry and that is the extreme link between religion and state that we cannot seem to break. I realize that religion is a huge part of American culture and that it has made huge impacts on our history, which I agree are important to teach about, but I continue asking myself why is it that we cannot teach the facts of religion and the truth about state without being offensive? Our society has put these two topics together and therefore it seems necessary to teach both in order to teach either. It is also important to point out that religion is not the only are where parents become offended and where teachers can overstep there influential boundaries.

Teachers have to be working towards helping their children become able to formulate their own opinions and beliefs. I really enjoyed the example that was used in the Ayers reading with the anti-bias library. I have always said that I will strive to raise my own children with as many options and experiences as I can find to fit into their lives. I have realized through my own life that it only takes one short reading or article to spark my interest enough for further investigation and discovery. In my classroom, I can see it being really beneficial to provide an area where my students can make new discoveries and maybe find something that can become of special interest to them. I will strive to set up an area for further knowledge and help them realize that learning can be fun and interesting.

I think another aspect of making school interesting to kids is to allow them a choice in what they learn and how they will do this. It would be very beneficial to allow and even request class involvement in planning curriculum and designing their learning. Kids should get a choice in what they study, what they read, and the projects they complete. I also think, like Ayers, that it should pertain to their lives. I would make the bold argument that people learn the best when learning about something that is significant in their lives, in which they find applicable to their surroundings. As a professional, I realize that it will be up to me to make learning relevant to my students.

This argument takes me in a complete circle back to my previous concerns about how schools and teachers have so much restrictions coming from higher up authority. I am having a hard time understanding how teachers are supposed to make such an influence on their students when all of these critical lessons will be so hard to incorporate in their daily lesson plans. Or will they? In my opinion teachers should be allowed to create whatever learning experience they see fit for their students. Having the credentials to be a teacher should give them enough authority to make these types of choices. However, I understand they should be able to meet certain requirements. One specific one is mentioned in Ayers: being able to “demonstrate to colleges and the wider school community that what they are teaching is legitimate and worthwhile” (Ayers, P. 93).

One quote that really stuck with me from this week’s reading was that “there is no ‘teacher proof’ curriculum that will humanize and energize the classroom of a deadly dull teacher” (Ayers, P. 87). I must remember that the excitement in my classroom cannot be falsified; I must be genuine in my enthusiasm and charisma. I hope to have as much compassion for my students as Vivian Paley discusses in “You Can’t Say You Can’t Play”. The amount of detail that goes into the success of each student is admirable.