Ok, so I am going come out and say it, even though I know especially at Lewis and Clark (liberal college extraordinaire) I will probably be shot, but I am not a very political person.
With this confession out in the open, I am having issues with some of the readings that pretty much equate going into teaching as waging a war. The more we talk in class, and I will admit that it isn't as much this class, we are being presented with situations in which we must act fast and make gut decisions on what is right and what is wrong. We have to be the General who is telling his army what they need to do in order to survive this crazy world we know as education. Why am I feeling like I am being pushed into being a fierce being who needs to kill or be killed?
I understand that elementary education is the foundation of all future lessons a child will learn, but must we use it as a forum for our own political agendas? What happened to providing children with a variety of options and encourage them to chose for themselves, and just be a happy child?
Please don't open up the firing range tomorrow guys...
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Uh oh Leah, I can hear the tanks and heavy artillary coming towards you now. Put your cats in the bomb shelter now.
ReplyDeleteIn a way, I think, teaching is like a war. We are constantly fighting against the negative influences in the world that tries to degrade, drag, corrupt and influence our kids in negative ways. In a lot of instances, some kids will only have a teacher to stand by their side and help them along the way. I am not saying the students are like our little armies and we should manipulate them as we see fit to fit out own agendas. I too believe that we should be presenting the students with options and points of view for them to make their own decisions and ways of life. Depending on the age of course. We can't have little 4 year olds running around wanting to run for office or be a drug dealer or join the circus because he is making a decision that he wants, but more to know about the world around him.
As teachers we are constantly fighting against negative influences in the students lives and surroundings. It is our job to keep them on track, give them the support and knowledge they need in the world so they can fight their own fights when the time comes. For now, they need someone who has the strength and fortitude to fight it for them.
Maybe the firing range coming for me now too.