Unmasking Halloween: Implications for Practice.
What would you do if your teaching load was “topped up” by having to teach a language you didn’t know very well?
Contemporary society is full of different cultures, religions, personalities, ideologies, backgrounds, experiences, etc. This significant mix has undoubtably and inevitably created conflicts and tension amongst citizens through their individual beliefs on what is “right” or “natural”, or in the case of Unmasking Halloween, what is “Canadian”. Within the education system and as demonstrated in this case study (or society in general), finding a balance where every individual feels included is an extremely intimidating task. My solution in this situation would be just that: finding a balance. I agree with the direction the Middleboro teachers were going in making the school celebrations more inclusive. The idea to take the students on a fun field trip is excellent as it allows all the children to be excited and have fun outside of school. In addition to this, I think it would be beneficial to teach students about the variety of different cultures and their beliefs surrounding this holiday. This could take place over a week or a couple of weeks, where they would have different lessons and do different activities, making them aware and appreciative of the different belief systems. This school wide theme would then lead up to a day where a variety of mini events take place (maybe a bunch of little booths set up in the gym, headed by different classes), all of which bring attention to and include the different holidays. Not only are the students thoroughly learning about the different belief systems and their holidays, but they are having fun doing it. I believe this approach would provide a feeling of inclusiveness and appreciation for one another. Family members could even come and be apart of this day in order to add to the sense of community and togetherness.
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Who Cares?: Sociology
How do our taken for granted and unconscious assumptions about gender influence our educational practices?
Sociocultural beliefs of what is “normal” and “natural” within contemporary society outlines various male and female characteristics and expectations. Within these constraints, arises a gendered division of labour that segregates the work force into male and female jobs. For example, the idea of “women’s work” is fueled by the sociocultural views of women and their characteristics; where women are emotional caregivers that support the family through nurturing its members and maintaining the household. These restrictive female gender roles continue to be portrayed through “women’s work”, where gender stereotypes that are ingrained within cultural and institutional practices are reinforced through job choices and characteristics. For instance, women tend to occupy positions that reflect their roles as caregivers and “homemakers”, such as nursing and teaching (Luxton, 2014; Mitchell, 2017; Grattan, 2012). These traditional views on gender roles trickle down into the educational system, where educational practices are influenced by one’s gender identity, as our career path inevitably affects what we pursue within our educations.
Of course, I am a gender-conforming female within the B.ed program to become a teacher. I undoubtebly fall within these sociocultural ideologies that I am speaking of. The point I am trying to make, is that these societal expectations become restrictive and harmful when one feels that they cannot do what they are passionate about because it is “male-work” or “female-work”. I recently wrote a paper on women in STEM work, for example, on the challenges and barriers they face through underrepresentation, lack of support, and discrimination, throughout school and into their careers.
Grattan, E. (2012). Social Inequality and Stratification in Canada. In P. U. Angelini (Ed.), Our Society: Human Diversity in Canada, pp. 65-91. Toronto, ON: Nelson Education.
Luxton, M. (2014). Family Coping Strategies: Balancing Paid Employment and Domestic Labour. In B. Fox (ed.), Family Patterns, Gender Relations, 4th ed., 342-363. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.
Mitchell, B. A. (2017). More Than a Labour of Love: Gender, Unpaid Work, and the Cult of Domesticity. In Family Matters, 3rd ed., 134-158. Toronto, ON: Canadian Scholars.
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The Future is Now: Philosophy
Do you think that critical thinking, social responsibility, and interpersonal skills are necessarily compromised when an educational system embraces technology? Justify your position.
Technology in the classroom is a topic that I initially had negative feeling towards. After my first practicum and being in a classroom that relied heavily on technology, whether it was through the smartboard or ipads and laptops for the students to use, I was able to see its benefits in practice. Currently, I would say I’m neither fully for nor against it. I understand that technology in the classroom allows for endless opportunities to present information to students and can really cut down on effort and planning, however, like many things, it is important to find a balance. I believe that critical thinking skills can be taught and promoted from an appropriate use of technology as it opens the door for many different approaches and activities that elicit critical thinking, however, relying or focusing on it alone is never a good thing. Social responsibility, in my opinion, can be benefited the most by using technology. The unlimited access to news stories, research articles, and just a wealth of information in general, ranging from happenings in our small little community to the state of the entire planet, gives us the opportunity as teachers to support and enrich our students as educated citizens who are motivated to do more. Interpersonal skills are an area that I believe suffers more than the others. In the classroom, I associate technology with distracted students all doing their own thing online. I also hold the belief that present-day children have too much “screen-time” in their leisure to begin with, and that they do not need to be constantly relying on technology at school as well. I believe that face-to-face interactions are now extremely limited due to everyone’s online presence through social media, online shopping, video calls, texting, etc. I am extremely guilty of this, as I am sure many of us are. In my opinion, students relying on technology at such a young age, suffer more than us. I say this because many of us (depending on your age) grew up without this reliance on technology to get in touch or stay in touch with people and a majority of our interactions were done face-to-face, thus, forcing us to develop our interpersonal skills. Students these days have been born into a world rich with technology and don’t know anything different. To many, their lives of communicating to their friends through a screen, playing games, accessing different social media platforms, etc., is what is normal to them. Picking up the phone and having a conversation over it, or even better, in person, has become uncomfortable and awkward.
