Crossing Over to Canaan: Chapters 1 & 2

Why is reflection so important as an educator?

I found it very interesting that something which I discussed with my advisor during my student teaching interview, was here starring me in the face in chapter one. I never really gave any thought to reflection as a teacher, but my advisor brought up some good points on why it is important. First off, when you think about it, a teacher is constantly on the go, all day and everyday. A hectic school day of teaching lessons is followed by an evening of writing more lesson plans, grading papers and assignments, and a few hours of sleep before starting the routine all over again the next morning. A teacher needs to slow down and take a few minutes out of the day for his or her self to consider what went well with each lesson taught or what could have been done better or what should be changed. If not, the teacher may keep on using lessons or doing things which may not necessarily work well or it may be the complete opposite - not taking time to appreciate how well a lesson may have gone. So as a future educator, I am going to take all this into consideration and make sure that I can put aside some time to think and reflect back on the school day, perhaps even keeping a journal or notebook in which to write ideas and thoughts down.

"A Community of Learners" - why is this so important and why isn't it being done?

Chapter two gives brief insight into the lives of several teachers and their experiences, but the introduction of chapter two is what I would like to focus on. I found this particular quote quite striking and I am wondering what could be done to change it; "prospective teachers are treated only as individuals who must construct and implement lessons alone. The notion that collective thinking about teaching and learning should be an aspect of preparing to teach is not prevalent in most programs. Rarely are new teachers encouraged to come up with new ideas and pedagogical innovation. . ."
I believe that collaboration is the key - teachers and schools must build a community of teacher learners. Teachers should be able to feed off one another for new ideas, input, or support within their school or school district. By doing so, teachers can bring fresh ideas to their classroom and a sense of harmony between teachers and faculty may bring the school that much closer together. I think that collaboration is something that should be taught in teacher education programs and be instilled in the future educators of this country.

"African Americans: Deculturalization, Transformation, and Segregation"

After reading over and considering Spring's chapter 3 on "African Americans: Deculturalization, Transformation, and Segregation," I found much of the information to be quite interesting and shocking.

From what I have learned in school, you always hear of the North being opposed to slavery, espcecially at the time of the Civil War, but in this chapter it discusses the slaves and living conditions they faced here in the North. On page 44, it discusses the increase of slaves that were hired to work in the workshops and warehouses of northern states. I was very surprised upon reading this because when we think of slaves, we traditionally think of plantations and the slaves who worked in the fields. It just goes to show that history is sometimes hidden or missing from one's learning repritore.

I also found it interesting that today we talk of education being an equalizer, that is, everyone is deserving a decent education. I find it striking that back in the day, education was used to "subjugate a population" (page 42) and that the power of education was used for bad instead of good. "It can be used to control a population after it has been conquered or to deny a population an education or try to limit their educational oppurtunities (page 42)." Slaves and freed slaves were put into segregated schools which were "designed to keep them at a low level of education. (page 49)." Inferior teachers and shabby classroom conditions did not help the situation either.

In some ways this still happens to students today - some face shabby classroom conditions and teachers who may not be up to par in their teaching skills. Also, considering what area students attend school in, they may be kept at a low level of education and may never reach their full potential. Its saddening to think that this is still going on since schooling of the 1800 & 1900's - we have made strides in the field of education, but there is still much to be done.