Realistic Great Expectations
A Philosophy of Education
Deuane Khamnivong
UC Davis School of Education
March 27, 2007
My philosophies are rooted in my experiences of being taught and learning to teach. Many also stem from the readings I was given during this first quarter at UC Davis and books I have received from friends. Throughout my experience being a “student” I learned the importance of taking ownership of my education, being realistic in my ideals, and having great expectations for myself; and these are what frame my methods for teaching students. An overarching theme I have for all the sections I’m focusing on is respect. Just like the lyrics of Aretha Franklin’s hit song, R-E-S-P-E-C-T find out what it means to me. Respect for what? In order to understand respect context is necessary. Teaching respect for individuals, things, issues, environment and learning how to return respect is necessary in my classroom. If I do no t teach respect, how could I expect it in return? From this point, I will discuss my expectations and philosophy for the roles of student, teacher, family, community, culture and language.
The Role of Student:
Students must be active participants in their own learning. Just as Paolo Freire (1998) states, "…my destiny is not a given but something that needs to be constructed and for which I must assume responsibility" (p. 54). Learning is a social process and it is through interaction that students begin to learn. However, there are things that need to be taught such as: teaching students to be responsible for their own actions, teaching them to question their learning, and teaching them to be creative thinkers. Not all students are able to grasp these concepts and that is when we must consider that all our students are different. Students have an obligation to inform their educators about themselves and where they come from. Students should inform teachers regarding what they know and demonstrate the abilities they possess. As Sonia Nieto (2004) quoted Jim Cummins, “No learner is a blank slate” (p. 214). No student comes in knowing “nothing.” Everyone has a history and a background that assists their learning; however, they may not possess the academic language that educators have to classify this prior knowledge. Some students are educated in “street smarts,” learning how to survive in the real world; while others may be more “book smarts,” having been exposed to print and literature more often. Therefore, the role of the student is to inform the teachers about who they are and how they learn best. I must take ownership of my education but first I must learn why it is important that I do.
The Role of Teacher:
The teacher is a constant learner. According to Freire (1998), "There is, in fact, no teaching without learning. One requires the other…Whoever teaches learns in the act of teaching, and whoever learns teaches in the act of learning" (p. 31). It says it all, there is no teaching without learning; and as teachers, one cannot assume that “I am always right.” Human beings are prone to make mistakes as it is simply a part of human nature. Therefore, as I teach, I must be aware that the teaching process is a learning process. I take as much from the students as I expect them to take from me. From my experiences mentoring and outreaching to high school students, they constantly remind me of how difficult it was being in high school. I forget that I once went through their experiences because I am at this point now. I learn the new influences and pressures that they experience now that I may not have. Also, I learn how different it is being tracked as a lower performing in opposition to being tracked as a high student. It is from this experience that I realize how detrimental labels can influence the way students act. “The term self-fulfilling prophecy, coined by Robert Merton in 1948, means that students perform in ways that teachers expect” (Nieto, 2004, p. 46). I will expect great things out of all my students, but I also have to realize the limitations of my expectations. Having great and high expectations for students does not mean expecting the same results from everyone. It means regardless of their performance abilities, I will encourage every single one of them to their greatest capacity, every student has the potential to be great if given the opportunity to shine. If asked the question “Is man born inherently good or evil?” I will always answer “inherently good,” but it is society and the person’s choice that shapes the outcome.
The Role of Family:
Family is important because it is the root of a person’s background. There are many different types of families and knowing the different helps me as an educator know more about my student. I believe an ideal family to be supportive, provide necessary/basic needs, and be actively involved in a child’s education. Realistically, I know some of these conditions cannot be met in various circumstances. It would be great if all families were supportive of their child’s education. In some instances, I know it’s harder to be supportive when priority goes first to being able to pay rent or buying food. Being able to bring a child to school a majority of the school days is one way I find families are supporting education. I expect families to be as active and involved as much as they can be. According to Freire (1998), "…it is important for parents to take part in discussions about the future plans of their children. They cannot, ought not, deny that they must know and assume that the future of their children belongs to their children and not to the parents" (p. 97). Parents need to be active in helping their children but all the hopes and dreams shouldn’t be placed on a child’s shoulder. I found this with many recent immigrant families where children are expected to be translators and take what they learn from school and teach their parents. I was fortunate to not have this pressure growing up, but I am aware that it happens often. I do not believe that a family needs to take on extra roles in the school to be concerned or active in their child’s education. The most crucial way I see a parent helping their child is trying to assist with homework, talking with their children about their school experience and coming to parent conferences to see how, as a team, the family and school can support the child’s education.
The Role of Community:
A community should be a safe place, a place where one feels at “home.” The people in the community need to value and respect it otherwise as Freire (1998) says, "How was it possible to ask of the children the minimum of respect for their material surroundings when the authorities demonstrated such absolute neglect of and indifference to the public institutions under their care?" (p. 48). If children see that communities don’t even respect themselves, why else should anyone else? Such things as graffiti, littering and violence can be prevented, but education is needed to show the detrimental effects these pose on youth. If schools get community members involved and teach them ownership of their surroundings, then perhaps it is a first step to valuing the community. It is a process to get communities involved but change never happens overnight so there have to be gradual steps to work towards having communities understand how it is important it is to provide a safe space for their children to grow up in.
The Role of Culture:
Culture is important but it should not be the only determining factor that one should consider in students. According to Nieto (2004):
"Culture is integral to the learning process, but it may affect each individual differently…Culture is neither static or deterministic; it gives us just one way in which to understand differences among students. The assumption that culture is the primary determinant of academic achievement can be oversimplistic, dangerous, and counterproductive because, although culture may influence, it does not determine who we are" (p. 148). Teachers and students alike need to learn the differences that exist in our society. Just as I expect communities to be safe for the students, I should expect my classroom to be a safe space for students to express who they are. Teaching values and discussing differences about cultures are steps to understanding and preventing overgeneralizations and stereotypes. Every student is different and brings different things to the table, “The educational and personal experiences that ESL students bring to schools constitute the foundation for all their future learning; schools should then therefore attempt to amplify rather than replace these experiences” (Cummins, 1994, p. 53). This again ties into respect, if students are taught to respect other cultures, they are being taught about tolerance and understanding. Students should not be forced to accept the norms of another culture but understand the differences that exist.
The Role of Language:
I believe language is necessary and important; it provides a basis of understanding and allows us something to fall back on when something is foreign to us. Language is social and like Nieto (2004) stated “One’s native language is a foundation for future learning” (p. 214). Language is communication and essential in schools, we use language in classrooms and in our daily lives. The diversity of languages is something that should be addressed and respect for different languages can be tied into when students learn different cultures. I am offended when someone imitates different languages in offensive ways such as blabbering nonsense in an attempt to be funny. It goes back to lack of respect for others who do not speak the main language and makes it seem as it is something to be made fun of. I find it degrading and want to teach my students respect for the plethora of languages we are fortunate to have in this country. If a person is ashamed of speaking their native language it denies access to their true self. I never felt at home since I grew up in a predominantly Lao community and at school there were many Lao children, but in public places I felt self-conscious when people would look when I spoke with my family. Therefore I want to teach my students to be proud of their language so they can feel comfortable speaking their native language at school and outside.
The reason I titled my paper “Realistic Great Expectations” is because I have such high expectations for all my students but I must factor in the reality of where I teach and the resources available. Nevertheless, it is not unrealistic to have high expectations for traditionally underserved and underrepresented communities; it is more so to think these communities can never succeed. As I become my ideal teacher, I will continue to shape and mold my philosophy with what I learn along the way since I cannot become a great teacher without being a constant learner.
References
Cummins, J. (1994). The acquisition of English as a second language.In R. Pritchard & K. Spangenberg-Urbschat (Eds.), Kids come in all languages. (pp. 36-62). Newark, DE:
International Reading Association.
Freire, P. (1998). Pedagogy of freedom: Ethics, democracy, and civic courage. (P. Clark, Trans.) Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Nieto, S. (2004). Affirming diversity: The sociopolitical context of multicultural education (4th ed.). Boston: Pearson.