Standard 1 Reflection

MEd. Program Standard 1

Teacher leaders will:

model ethical and moral behavior.

Relevant Courses in Program: 

EDU6085 Moral Issues in Education

Reflections 

Original Experience

Prior to this program, I understood the wonderful privilege we had of modeling strong ethical .. and moral behavior for my students. I have always considered honoring culture and cultivating student personal sense of identity a high classroom priority. I have also always been committed to promoting compassion and acceptance in school, and shedding a light on injustices to create aware, empathetic students. Prior to this course, I recognized that our classrooms were charged, and composed of students of diverse backgrounds, and beliefs however, I was reluctant to ever discuss topics that could be controversial, mostly because I never wanted any student to feel uncomfortable, or marginalized. After this course, I am now well-aware that it is not only critical to know about your students’ culture, but also to discuss authentic, real-world issues, and to model to students, and colleagues the importance of having difficult conversations with peers, and learning how to disagree respectfully.

New Learning

Judith Pace refers to a “charged classroom.” The charged classroom that exists in our nation refers to the intrinsic tensions in our classrooms today. There is not a solitary cause for these tensions, rather there are a multitude of complex contributors. Among these contributors are different viewpoints, conflicts and the handling of conflicts, contemporary, curricular demands and constraints on teachers, maintaining high expectations, while encouraging authentic engagement, diversity and pressure to close the achievement gap, while employing teaching techniques that engage all students. Any educator who has spent a day in a contemporary public classroom is well aware of the convoluted, difficult, highly complex, seemingly impossible nature of our profession. This book eloquently points out that many aspects of the charged classroom are also, in nature rather contradictory. For example, we are expected to cultivate student’s unique identities (p. 5) and to engage and excite students, while maintaining order and high expectations for student behavior. We are told to teach students how to think, and to express themselves appropriately and constructively, yet, are often encouraged to avoid conflict. Classrooms are incredibly complicated and riddled with tension, yet we are increasingly pressured to close the achievement gap, to improve test scores, and to cover all curricular materials in a timely manner. The term “charged classroom” sheds light on the intricate, countless, classroom tensions present that educators and students must navigate, and their implications on the educational system, and students.

Throughout my research in this program, I was truly stunned by how much research elucidates the importance of social, and values education. A huge theme throughout my research was reframing the goals of public education to include, and emphasize teaching values. While academic learning will always be at the forefront of our efforts, social, emotional and “ethical competencies” must also be explicitly taught. (Cohen, 2006).  Another theme in my research was simply the inconsistent nature of implementing ethic learning, and guidelines for social-emotional learning in our nation, as the adoption of such programs are at the state level, and not always long-term. The most powerful component of my research came up in two different sources in which the authors equate ignoring the teaching of social, emotional, and ethical education to social injustice, because this type of education is a human right which all students are entitled to (Cohen, 2006; Beland, 2003).

Another theme that surfaced throughout my research was that our society and students are changing, and, as a result, it is increasingly important to equip our students with the necessary tools to interact positively with one another, and handle difficult situations, and emotions. In Wanted: Compassion, Goodwin asserts that our children are less empathetic than they have been historically. Goodwin asserts that our society is generally impolite, and that this can be attributed to a general lack of consideration for the feelings of others. He believes that we can only amend this lack of empathy through education, and teaching specific strategies in our classrooms to teach compassion to our students. His solution involves explicitly teaching compassion to our students and children, and provides steps for educators to teach students how to be compassionate.  Through strengthening perspective talking, helping kids practice caring, and measuring and valuing compassion in the classroom, Goodwin asserts that we will cultivate more compassionate, and caring students. Every article, and study that I encountered had one thing in common. They all expressed a need for increased social emotional education in our public schools.  Hanson et. Al (2012) explained the impacts of the Lessons in Character program, which is an ELA curriculum that integrates a character education program on student academic achievement, social competence, problem behaviors, and the school environment. This article explained that social emotional curriculums do not necessarily need to stand alone, or be separate. They can easily be integrated in core content areas, and through daily instruction

Perhaps the most difficult balance to achieve in the classroom, is the balance of maintaining high expectations while authentically engaging student, and eliciting student response while maintaining a sense of order. This also must be maintained while navigating the intense pressure to meet the curricular demands, and focus on closing the achievement gap, and increasing test scores. In order to deeply engage students, the content presented must be of high interest, and relate to students in a meaningful way. Often times, curriculum and content standards do not allow for teachers to create highly engaging lessons as they are focused on teaching to specific standards. This leaves very little room for individualized, interesting lessons that cultivate strong academic identities. Students benefit from a strong, multi-cultural curriculum that fosters a development of their identities, and provides authentic, democratic learning opportunities. Now more than ever, students need to understand how to respectfully disagree, and discuss modern issues in a way that leads to a deeper understanding of differing perspectives. Fostering these dispositions through content is not present in many curriculums, so this becomes a daunting task for teachers to undertake.

            Scholars deem it vital to openly discuss political and controversial topics in the classroom as it promotes “political equality” and teaches students to productively address conflict, which is an imperative social, and societal skill (p.45). Students need to be taught how to be active democratic members of society, however often in the classrooms teachers avoid teaching, or discussing controversial topics for a multitude of reasons. The outcomes of these discussions can be unknown or messy, these discussions can be difficult to manage, and can lead to potential conflict between students and families. I have also found that we are encouraged to avoid potentially provocative or charged topics with our students, and told that such topics should be discussed at home to avoid upsetting families. From my experience, it is also implied that we have far too many standards to meet to justify straying from the curriculum. The current state of politics in our nation illustrates more than ever that many adults lack the ability to have constructive political discussions, and to disagree in a productive respectful manner. I believe that this demonstrates a lack of democratic education and the importance of teaching this skills in our classrooms. Students at any age have meaningful, important opinions, and views on controversial topics. It is critical to make room for provocative discussions in the classroom. Our public-school classrooms are becoming increasingly charged, however students can be taught to handle this appropriately and constructively through honest, open discussions through which disagreements are promoted, and handled respectfully

Impact

My research has allowed me a deeper understanding of the importance of teaching social-emotional skills in our public-school classrooms. Every source that I found, along with my own, informal research that I conducted at my school elucidates the critical importance of teaching students to express and manage their emotions, along with the importance of teaching students how to cultivate positive and fulfilling relationships with others. Inarguably, there is a need to teach social-emotional education to all students in public schools. It is essential that this is done effectively, and that teachers are provided with materials to meet student needs. For students to be successful adults, capable of contributing positively to society, we must support their social-emotional development and teach them how to appropriately express their feelings, manage inevitable disappointment, and cultivate relationships with others. Neglecting this critical component of educating our students could have harmful effects on student behavior, and, eventually, our society. We need to create individuals who can create mutually fulfilling friendships, who can appropriately express and work through frustration, who can advocate for themselves when isolated, and have genuine empathy and compassion for others. While some schools have effective social-emotional programs or curriculums, many teaches do not feel as though the materials provided are sufficient to effectively teach students these skills.

            Above all, this program has demonstrated the importance of creating a classroom environment in which all students feel comfortable expressing, and developing their identities. 

Artifacts:

Inquiry Project Moore

This I Believe Reflection

References

Beland, K. (2003). Eleven principles sourcebook: How to achieve quality education in P–                     

        12 schools. Washington, DC: Character Education Partnership.

Cohen, Jonathan. (2006). Social, Emotional, Ethical, and Academic Education: Creating

        a Climate for Learning, Participation in Democracy, and Well-Being.  Harvard

        Educational Review, v76 n2 p201-237.

Goodwin, B. (2017). Wanted: Compassion: When empathy wanes, the best response   

        might be to strengthen compassion. Educational Leadership, 75 (3), 80-81.

Hanson, Thomas; Dietsch, Barbara; Zheng, Hong. (2012). Lessons in Character Impact

         Evaluation

Pace, J. L. (2015). The Charged Classroom: Predicaments and Possibilities for Democratic Teaching. New York, NY: Routledge.