Good day.
- “Given the associated outcomes, one might believe that the future oriented right to be a proficient reader (in the narrow sense) is worth protecting. As such, it might seem justifiable, a la Feinberg, that many young children are not offered a choice in whether or not to attend school reading intervention programs. Perhaps children should be protected against their own self-damaging actions as related to the importance of literacy. However, children can and do choose, at least to some extent, the degree to which they actively engage in these programs—the effort they exert is at least partially within their control. Programming that is misaligned with children’s individual interests, ways of thinking, and ways of being can result in them resisting such programming or specific components of it. In this case, their developing reading proficiency and their motivation to read are likely to suffer—potentially threatening both their present and future freedoms”. (Pg. 41).
– References
Joy Dangora Erickson, & Winston C. Thompson. (2023). On Reading Interventions, Flourishing, and an Open Future: Considering Children’s Present and Future Freedoms. Philosophical Studies in Education, 54, 36–49.
This for me is a tricky quote to grapple with as it’s an almost dichotomous quandary. On the one hand, I strongly believe that students in a democratic society should reflect that and be allowed an egalitarian sense of individualism. On the other, I really do strongly believe that some skills are effectively mandatory, or at least should be, with literacy and numeracy being firmly at the top of that chart. I very much do agree with the quoted portion of the article that poor efforts in aligning programming (course material and the like) with student’s individual interests is at best likely to not be as efficient as one would hope, and at worst, may well “result in [the students] resisting such programming or specific components of it”. Will it be difficult to tailor much of one’s course material to as many students as possible? Sure, but no one said this job would be easy, and with the prior importance stressed on ensuring acceptable rates of literacy among children, it’s an essential one.
Thus: “The reading interventions that the three children described in this article attended appear to be largely unsupportive of their developing motivation to read; all three children indicated a preference not to participate in the required reading interventions. Children’s autonomy to make decisions about their reading were heavily constrained within the interventions. Their individual interests, ways of knowing, and ways of being were largely neglected. As such, it is not a surprise that children’s motivation for the interventions suffered; a large body of evidence indicates that an autonomy-supportive teaching style boosts motivation while more controlling styles erode it”.
As seen then from the article, my argument is proven somewhat right that it would appear at this early stage that it’s essential for the literacy rates of students to curate an environment and set of topics they (the students) will actively seek out. This is both to allow an egalitarian stage in early childhood development, reflecting democratic principles that many of us hold oh so dear, as well as simply to boost information and literary retention among students.
In addition, there’s other elements which can be considered as facets of my educational philosophy.
Video-
Here is a link to a prior presentation I gave for a class during my second semester of the Education program at TRU.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SngDRrN4bjA
Image based I-
While outdated, as It’s 2013, it’s still telling that 48% of Canadians have literacy rates below that of a high school level. This scares me to an extreme degree, as I strongly believe that being able to have at least a high school level of literacy is a strong determinator of future success.
Gif based-
https://media.tenor.com/X5ZrzevjZisAAAAM/patience.gif
I’ve had some negative experiences with some teachers in the past, between those who wouldn’t listen to valid concerns about past trauma to those who lacked patience with me and snapped, yelling and degrading me. I vow never to do what was inflicted on me to any of the students under my tutelage. I vow to be better, to show kindness and to be as patient as needed.
Image based II-
In addition, I’m not afraid to burn the midnight oil to get marking or other work done. My students will be relying on me, and so I feel it needed to go above and beyond for them, even if it can be strenuous mentally or physically at times.
Image based- III
I find it’s quite difficult to do anything when hungry. I can only imagine how difficult it is to learn when one is hungry, especially when they’re a younger student. I promise to myself that to the best of my ability, no student will go hungry in my class, even if it costs financial hardship. And while I also try to avoid politics when I’m ‘in teacher mode’ but I feel if I can use my position in the future to rectify the issue addressed by the above image, I feel that that would be a worthwhile modification.
In terms of Indigenous impact, I think it would be important here to link to the First Peoples Principles of Learning and to explain a little bit on my thoughts on how they relate to education.
https://www.fnesc.ca/first-peoples-principles-of-learning/
– I was taken aback when I first learnt of the First Peoples Principals of Learning due to Thompson Rivers University’s education program by how forward thinking it was. This in itself is a reflection of the ignorance I faced of Indigenous values and how the First Peoples of this country viewed learning as a whole. But I’ve learned better, given time. For “Learning involves patience and time”. I really do enjoy the perspectives on life offered by the FPPL and admire it’s human oriented aspects. Lower down, I mention how I’ve changed as a person for the better after a serious reassessment of my actions, and this involved a long look at the FPPL. It’s one thing to read this and move on, and it’s another to take on these principles and live them, and I think I’m learning to move towards the latter.
In addition, it would be important to link to the B.C. curriculum here and to reflect upon it’s meaning at this stage.
https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/sites/curriculum.gov.bc.ca/files/pdf/supports/curriculum_brochure.pdf
– The new British Columbian Curriculum focuses on a wide variety of things, but some highlights include focuses on: Personalized Learning, so that the new curriculum has the flexibility to be able to teach to varying needs and interests of a new generation of diverse BC students.
Focus on the Ecology and the Environment, especially in regard to science education, while allowing room for Aboriginal Knowledge and Perspectives. Using all of the above, BC’s new curriculum becomes far more flexible, with teachers able to pivot from focusing on Historical Wrongs in one moment of the class to emphasizing Indigenous ways of being and Place Based education in the next. It’s remarkably flexible and offers a lot of freedom for future faculty. Of course, this isn’t to say that there aren’t Core Competencies, there most certainly are in regard to proficiencies in Intellectual, Personal, Social, and Emotional pursuits, as well as Numeracy and Literacy. Detractors may complain of too much of a focus on new material, but I feel that this new curriculum makes an effort to right past wrongs and reflects the new cultural milieu we see in this province.
One cannot forget to include a paragraph on the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action.
– calls_to_action_english2.pdf
This document has a number of ‘Calls to Action’ designed to begin if followed the process of healing in this nation and to “redress the legacy of residential schools and advance the process of Canadian reconciliation”. It details sweeping reform in a wide variety of areas that impact both Indigenous, and all Canadians, such as Child Welfare, and reforms in Education, Health, and Justice. This document also has some reforms more targeted at alleviating the impact of colonialism on Canadian Indigenous peoples such as requirements to review and aid Language and Culture revitalization efforts, government recognition of and reconciliation towards the rights of indigenous peoples. Areas in need of Equity include the legal field, in which Aboriginal Canadians are still disadvantaged, reform to Professional Development and training for Public Servants, and calls for Education to be at the forefront of Reconciliation. That last area is vital, as if I succeed in this program and become a teacher, I will be on the frontlines so to speak in championing equality in this country.