My
boyfriend proposed to me over the weekend. Later we both had our families come
together to celebrate. My
dad kept saying he wanted a goat in exchange for my hand in marriage, as part
of my bride price. My boyfriend’s dad
said in rebuttal, that he should get the goat as part of the dowry. My reaction was similar to the GIF below.
While I love a good joke, I tried to tell them I was worth at least two healthy goats. But I started to think about all the old-fashioned traditions that are associated with marriage. Asking the father's permission to marry his daughter and later the father giving his daughter away are just some examples. One of my favorites is how women have to wear white dresses because it is a symbol of chastity, but men wear black tuxedos. Why aren't they required to wear white and be pure? This was interesting and my mind kept floating back to how I could teach my students about Feminism when it was so engrained in our culture that sometimes I did not even see it?
The only way I can become better at something is by practicing and students will help me see new things as well. Something I struggled with last year while teaching my ninth graders the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, was the role and stereotypes women played. Looking into the tenth grade curriculum for my World Literature class, I hope to have the students conceptualize and grapple with the feminism lens in a more thorough way. For my project, I began to think about how to introduce the topic of feminism and how to continue the conversation in a methodical way. Students will begin with dissecting Lesley Grinner's S.C.W.A.A.M.P. and grappling with the hierarchy and positions of power people have in the world. From there, my technology portion of my assignment only makes me a techno-traditionalist, because I created a Ted Ed Lesson based on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Ted Talk entitled "The Danger of a Single Story."
On a sidenote, I think it is important to state that I feel confident in my ability to become a techno constructivist, but I am working to refine my teaching ability and remember that one of the most important things I took away from the class was how technology is a means and not the end goal. Also, after having more time to reflect on either being a digital native or digital immigrant, I have realized I bounce between both labels. Then, I wonder why are we making more labels when we are trying to combat labeling people like we did in our S.C.W.A.A.M.
P. exercise. I wonder if the future of S.C.W.A.A.M.P. will include a digital or technology component. Now that I have digressed, please continue on to learn more about my lesson plan project. My project is working to unlearn the myths that bind us as Linda Christensen has meaningfully expressed. Currently, I am working on the now what of my project. Once my students are enlightened; what is our next step? How do we combat the feminism and the S.C.W.A.A.M.P. ideas? This part connects to what Simon Sinek deems the most important, "why do you do what you do? What's the purpose?"
If I were to design backwards, I know the what is to teach the tenth grade world literature curriculum. My how is going to involve the students using technology and what I surmise from the readings of Wesch and Turkle about the importance of conversation and learning from one another. The matter of why I want to teach them these skills connects to the various social inequalities my students, and our nation, struggle with as a whole. The root of my why is to arm these kids with the tools to promote social justice. Similarly, Dr. Susan Patterson described it in her lecture about how it is necessary to teach empathy in schools. It is my hope that students will learn from the different points of view to help them keep an open-mind and an open-heart.
Another part to my lesson plan is incorporating the self-proclaimed, Queen B, also known as, Beyoncé. Her most recent album has promoted feminism but I want the students to compare and contrast Adichie's feminism with Beyoncé's feminism because one is more proliferated in mainstream media. My hope is that the students will realize that Beyoncé is not committed to the strongest purpose of feminism and therefore has a weak conviction of what she believes.
Once students can see how the media is feeding on them and their minds, I hope they are able to change the way they see things for the better. I am not trying to ruin Beyoncé's music, Disney movies, or brand name sneakers; I just simply want students to comprehend the subliminal messages.
My three core beliefs about learning, teaching, and the world revolve around humanity, curiosity, and laughing. I like to think the Sir Ken Robinson and I could be great friends because our pedagogy is similar, except his last belief is for a bigger push on creativity. While I absolutely agree with him, I just find that it is vital to laugh. On the same token, in order to make someone laugh you have to be creative. I am a big believer in the power of one's mindset and if you are able to make learning and teaching enjoyable, then information will be processed more effectively.
Curiosity is what drives toddlers to simply ask, why, a million times a day, but for some reason that rapidly declines. But, why does it rapidly decline? Is there a correlation between young kids accepting the world with the agenda of boys are knights in shining armor while girls are damsels in distress? Curiosity is the only way I become a less ignorant person. It has helped me learn about life to try new experiences and I hope to impart that toothers.
Lastly I want to end with discussing humanity. Students quickly recall how teachers make them feel. That feeling is made up of if the teacher made assessment the goal, or was it resiliency and overcoming hurdles. Did the teacher believe in just the student when they were in their class or did the teacher believe in the in the person the student was going to become? Fortunately, I have had great teachers in school, in college, and in my life to help show me that. I know I need to pay it forward and I know I am not the perfect teacher, but I am crazy enough to try to be.
