As Shapiro mentioned violence is everywhere in this world including in schools, which is not what we want. School needs to be a safe place where a child can feel as if he/she can truly express their opinion and ask questions so that they comprehend lessons without fear. I think as a school it would be harder for one person to create this safe place with their students, but one can certainly create this atmosphere within their classroom. While becoming teachers I don’t think that prevention and awareness for violence is taught very well. I think violence should be discussed in schools, without over doing it. I believe it is the teacher’s responsibility to be aware of emergency response procedures for any incident, and to be able to detect warning signs in children. Shapiro stated that teachers are not taught how to do this, and I agree. He has a brief 7 step outline that teachers should be aware of before entering the classroom, so that their students aren’t as vulnerable. 1) Being aware that each human life as an infinite worth. 2) Connecting social injustice to violence 3) understanding our real differences 4) take what people say to heart (compassionate attentiveness) 5) learning to live with our differences 6) engages in meaningful dialogue. 7) Formulating a language of possibility.
This subject, especially after countless school shootings and violence, is very controversial. But my opinion is that yes violence should be taught and understood by all teachers before entering the classroom; and should be discussed with students as well, just not in as much depth. A movie I highly recommend on bullying and school violence for any teacher is “Bang! Bang! You’r Dead.”
In the section that Postman and Weingarther wrote I just wanted to make quick mention on the fact that they had some very thoughtful questions teachers should ask themselves on what one could and should put in his/her curriculum.
One other chapter I found interesting was Levine’s impassioned Teaching and Critical Thinking. I believe that teachers have to have passion for what they do. Because if you don’t show a love for learning then why should your student! He says passion in classroom creates strong feelings, expressions, and powerful discussions; which is what we want our kids to have. I like his quote “knowledge of self and knowledge of the world must go hand in hand.” So I think that passion for learning needs to be present in all teachers so that the students won’t be afraid to show their passions and really be able to find themselves.
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3 comments:
Thank you for the movie recommendation; I haven't seen it, so I'll look for it. I'm curious to know more about what you mean by the differences of "depth" with regard to students and teachers. What do you think about including peace studies, for example, in our curriculum?
Were there specific questions in Postman & Weingarther's artilce that you particularly found important? I'd also love to know more about what it might mean to bring passion to your teaching!
hmm... let's see, what I meant about "depth" between student and teachers is the way they are taught about violence. I think teachers need to be aware of all the types of violence (person to person or a person to themselves) so that they know what to look for and warning signs. For example one of my teachers was telling us about a kid he use to have and after observing the child's personality and suttle differneces in the way he moved and marks on him, he starting asking questions and found out that this studnet was being burned by his parents for punishment. That is a kind of a out of proportion example becasue I think that would be something easier to see than verbal abuse or bullying outside the classroom. so I think teachers need to be aware of what can happen to their students and what actions to take to solve the issue. For students I dont think it is that necesary to go that in depth with their teachings on violence, I think it would frighten them. but I do think they need to be aware of things that can happen and what to do if you suspect or are a victim themselves.
No I do not think it is right toinclude a peace studies as a required course, I think it would be great as an elective. The only reason I wouldn't include it in the requirments is because I think some parents mught have a probelem with it. Like the parents that have been in wars and believe that war is necessary for our country.
I agree that the saftey and comfort of our students inside the classroom sould be of very high importance to teachers. I feel the best way to make sure all students feel safe and welcome to express their personality in the classroom is through lots of interaction between students. I think if students have lots of opportuntities to get to know wach other the more comfortable students will feel in the classroom. I also agree with you that with the increase of school violence, in order for our students to feel safe at school that we should educate our students about violence and prevention methods. I also feel that teachers should be more educated about warning signs and be more prepared to deal with violence inside thier classroom to increase the saftey of their students while at school.
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