Other People's Children

"When you're talking to white people they still want it to be their way. You can try to talk to them and give them examples, but they're so headstrong, they think they know what's best for everybody, for everybody's children. They won't listen; white folks are going to do what they want to do anyway." p. 21

I think this is true for many people, across nationalities, so I am going to ignore the specification of this comment towards "white people," and focus instead on the fact that many of us will be working with this type of person as educators. I have known many teachers who feel their pedagogy is the best way to teach children, and I can't blame them for standing firmly behind their beliefs, but at the same time, I think there should be room for discussion and continued education regarding educating children. It is important to be perpetual students; always thinking and rethinking through self-evaluation, self-reflection, research and conversation. I think the author wants us to recognize that our way may not be the only way and there are great benefits to talking with and learning from other teachers and their experiences. I have enjoyed reading everyone's personal academic scenarios and relating them to who we are today as teachers. I think it is important to remember who we were as students and directly link that to what can work well for our students. The more adults (past students) you talk with, the more you will learn about the complex population of students that you will encounter in your life as a teacher. I would like to be open to discussion, regarding my own pedagogy and others, as I establish my own style of teaching. I think there are great benefits to learning from others!